Category: Newsletter

Art Show – Information for Students

1. FEE: There is a non-refundable $15.00 (includes HST) fee for the 1st accepted painting, and $10 each for additional accepted paintings. 2. HOW TO PREPARE THE ARTWORK FOR THE SHOW: All art must be ready to hang. Works on paper must be matted, backed with foam core and fully framed with glass and wire. Works on prestretched canvas do not have to be framed but if unframed, must be painted around the edges and ready to hang (wire on the back). Bring printed labels as well (see #3 below). Paintings that are not ready to hang and properly labeled when delivered will not be hung up at the show. 3. LABELS: Cheryl will give you a sheet of painting labels. These can be run through your printer, or neatly hand printed. Each label should be clearly marked with the following: ARTIST: TITLE: MEDIA: PRICE: (or mark NOT FOR SALE). Remember the library takes 15% commission on sales.  4. DELIVER paintings to Westmount Library: Wednesday May 30 between 6 & 7 p.m. A friend may do this too. 5. PICK UP: Paintings remain for the month of June. They need to be picked up by the artists Saturday June 30 at 4:00 p.m. If you cannot pick your work up at the set time, please assign a friend or family member to do it for you. Give them a signed list that shows the title and media of each of your works that they will be picking up. 6. SALES: A.The usual is to ask the purchaser if they would be willing to leave the item on the wall till the show ends. There will be red sold stickers in the back of the guest book at the library. You should go and put a sold sticker on the labels of your paintings that sell. You also arrange with the purchaser to meet them at the library on the last day of the show to take payment and give them the painting. B.If this does not suit them (maybe it is a gift, or they are from out of town), then you could meet them at the library to receive payment and give them the painting immediately. In this case, you need to let the library know, because they will notice that a painting is missing. Please also call Cheryl to let her know (519-649-1356) about any paintings that you are taking down before June 30. 7. PERCENTAGE COMMISSION TO LIBRARY: Bring cash with you on June 30 that equals 15% of your sales (exact change please). Cheryl will then put that into an envelope for the library and give it to them that day. 8. INVITATIONS: Cheryl will be printing up invitations and giving at least 9 of these to each participant. You may request more. If you are not currently in class, arrange to pick up extras prior to a class. 9. RECEPTION (MEET THE ARTISTS): The success of this show highly depends on you each asking your friends and family to the reception afternoon, Saturday June 02, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. Each participant is encouraged to be present at the opening if at all possible. The majority of sales 

Register Online

To register for Library classes, call the library at 519-473-4708 (with a credit card) or visit any branch in person. Registration opens early in January 2012. For all other classes, registration is now open. You can either register by postal mail (using the instructions to the right) or register and pay online (using the form below). Simply complete the information and click the Submit button. You’ll be taken to PayPal to make the payment. [To learn about PayPal, see the right-side box.] {emailcloak=off}{rsform 7}  

Purchase Enquiry

If you are considering purchasing a painting, please complete and submit the form below. I’ll get back to you with an all-in cost as soon as possible… usually within 48 hours. Thanks for your interest! {emailcloak=off}{rsform 13}  

Outdoor Painting Supplies

The following are recommended for painting outdoors. For Painting easel (optional, some artists are happy to work on their lap or a table) palette (I use a piece of white cardboard plus wax paper & tape or sticky tac) spray bottle of water paint – watercolour, or acrylic [Note: for acrylics, the “Golden Glazing Medium” that slows drying is recommended] brushes container for water paper or canvas, some larger (1/4 sheet wc or 16″x20″ canvas) and lots smaller (8″x10′) for sketches paper towels or cloths, plus some small plastic garbage bags drawing implements, eraser, pencil sharpener sketch book, and paper and pen for notes photo references to paint from box or small folding table to set water and paint on (optional) clip-on umbrella (optional) For Yourself hat sunscreen lawnchair camera (optional recommended)  

The Four Horses

This painting began without any subject in mind. You can watch how early the center horse appeared (Minute 0:43), and I didn’t see it for a long time! I reached a point where the background was left to dry (1:35) The planets and stars were formed by painting dark blue around them and leaving the colours of the pour showing in circles. This painting took over a week to complete – it’s deceiving to watch the video because it is small snapshots of the process. Can you find the fourth horse? Check out my art courses! 

Midnight Sun

Using the same dried textured gesso and pouring colour techniques (see Acrylic Paint Effects video), I created a background. It spoke to me of a winter landscape with distant mountains. Notice how I used the same colours that I had poured to define the snow edges and hint at the mountains. Near the end, the sky felt too busy to me and so I smoothed it over, still leaving some of the original colour pour showing through in certain areas. A pre-coloured background can help ensure a good colour harmony in the final work, if you are careful to have lots of that colour showing through in the final painting. Check out my art courses! 

Sunflower Drawing

This drawing was done with soft conte and watercolour on terraskin paper. Soft charcoal on any very smooth surfaced drawing paper will give similar results. This is a fun way to work – any unwanted lines can often be wiped away. Shading is fast and easy by scribbling some lines and then smearing them (minute 1:43). If you feel in the end that some colour would enhance the drawing, watercolour or fluid acrylic can be placed on top. Do this with a light touch and a minimal of stirring to avoid over graying of the colour as it mixes with the charcoal. Check out my art courses!