Our First "Whine & Critique"

Since the death of Tom Buechner and with "Open Studio" being mothballed, artists in the community had found themselves increasingly drifting apart. It was decided to have a monthly get-together, a time for artists to share a glass of wine and a piece of art. The piece could be finished, unfinished or something the artist is 'stuck' on. The goals are to network and help each other move forward.

Our first W&C was held at 171 Cedar Arts Center. The Center's director, Lynn Rhoda Dates, generously opened up the second floor art studio for two hours. About 18 artists attended ( I did a head count - but forgot what it was) and almost all brought a piece of work. The next W&C will be held in the studio of Bridget Bossart von Otterloo. All artists polled thought it would be interesting for other artists to host the monthly event, sort of a 'book club' format. We want to see each other's studios, perhaps gain some tips on set-up and working.

Any artist is invited. All are welcome. Please bring a beverage of your choice or a dish to share. It's very informal. Pieces are displayed. The artist is asked to say a few words on the piece, then everyone jumps in.

Lessons learned from the first W&C:

• We need to start talking about the art earlier, leaving the socializing for afterward.
• There needs to be a time limit on the critique of each piece.
• Two hours wasn't enough. Three is better.

Two pieces of art seemed to gather the most attention. Barb Blumer brought in two small paintings she'd done using eye shadow. Barb started the pieces for fun, to see if it was possible, and wasn't expecting the (positive) reaction. Marty Poole brought in a large interior he found himself stuck on. Marty presented his problems and requested comments. He got a lot of them.

We didn't get to all of the work. Thus the idea of a timer. Comments on the night have been very positive. It's apparent there were a few rough edges - but hey, it was our first one. They're scheduled for the third Mondays of the month. We have an email list but it isn't complete. If you're intererested in attending and not on the email list, please contact West End Gallery (607) 936-2011 or email me and we'll get you the details.

Artists: Jackie Braselmann, Maria Holbein, Rebecca Finch, Barb Blumer 

Artists: Barb Blumer, Criag palmer, Jen Palmer

Artist Sheila Ortiz with her work

Thanks to Lynn Dates (l) for hosting the event

Schmid's Alla Prima

Lately I've been dipping into Richard Schmid's Alla Prima, a book Marty Poole turned me on to about seven years ago. At the time I had no idea who Schmid was, probably because I was painting in watercolor. But I had started experimenting with oils and asked Marty for advice. He said to get a copy of Schmid's book and then to pay attention to color, drawing, edges, and values. Good advice from two great painters,. but for various reasons I gave up on oils until 2007.

Anyway...Schmid's book. Tom Buechner and I were talking yesterday about it. I told him how amazed I am every time I open it. Schmid is like this Zen master. There's a minimum of BS and he tells it like it is. He never says "My way or the highway", he just says "this is what works for me. Try it." My copy is paint stained and underlined. It's a book that keeps on giving.

For example at one point he talks about curves, in particular curves on the figure. They are rarely as 'curvy' as we want to make them. And to draw them accurately draw them as straight lines. OK, I've read that how many times and yet it never lit up for me until I tried an experiment. Since about January I was drawing from model books - some very good model books. I decided to draw a figure then trace it and compare my drawing to the tracing. Lo and behold I'd exaggerated almost every curve: The line dropping from the shoulder to the wrist, the hip, the calves... it was another little epiphany.

When I say he's like a Zen Master I mean it. Compare "Concentrate on the breath. When your mind wanders bring it back to the breath," and "Start with the simplest shape. Get the drawing of this simple shape correct, then move to the next simple shape, piecing them together like a jigsaw puzzle." They both sound so easy...