.
 
|
|||||
February was a wild ride with three back-to-back Loosen Up Workshops. First week was held at the Art Center Sarasota in Florida. Beautifully located among the elegant marinas, the hospitality and social events were so welcoming, I stayed on an extra day to see the Ringling Circus Museum. It took me back to the earthy aromas and performers being shot out of cannons.
My Florida Tour continued north, up to Pensacola. Another grand example of nature drifting onto huge, soft beaches and clean Gulf Bays. The workshop painters were energetic, talented and full of real Southern Hospitality - they even made me real Gumbo! I will be returning to Pensacola in January 2010.
The third workshop was in Daphne, Alabama, across the bay from Mobile. This is a beautiful section of America - Gentility, charm and throw in a Mardi Gras parade and you’ve got a party! I loved my short time there. Onward and upward!
Product Spotlight Introducing the new Burridge Composition Chart featuring dynamic color combinations from the Burridge Goof-Proof Color Wheel (shameless!) Imagine painting your next powerful masterpiece with this studio chart nearby. It’s helpful if you get off track and need to refocus your color, your composition and your original intention. And it’s made in the USA. Includes: $14.95 + CA sales tax (if applicable) + S/H New Solo Show
March, 2009
Discover Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands!
Workshop Setting and Highlights… THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS! Add-on Nov 26-30, 2009
registrar@exploreguatemala.com April 27-May 1, 2009 Product Review
You may already know one of Europe’s oldest manufacturers of high quality color pencils, producing over 1800 million black lead and colored pencils a year. Founded in 1761, Faber-Castell is still run by the same family. The quality of color saturation is perfect for my type of throwing things around on paper. I work these pencils either dry, then spray or brush with water - or I dip the pencil in water and continue to paint/draw all over the watercolor paper. And, if you need more ideas, the set comes with an instructional CD. What I like best: Great watercolor effects, highly resistant to fading and very tough leads … Ideal for my heavy-handed drawing style.
Ask Kate about Art Marketing
Oliv from Banner Elk, NC asks: When asked to submit a bio, what advice do you have for someone whose resume is very weak (no college art degree, limited training, and only two shows)? Also, what should an "artist's statement" include? Dear Oliv, Thanks so much for your question - this is one of my favorite subjects! When writing your bio, the best advice I can give you is to make it narrative and conversational. My favorite format is actually a Q&A style - “When did you first know you were an artist?” Now, your Bio is about you - your Artist Statement is about your art. Galleries rely on your Artist Statement to explain your intentions to potential buyers. In your absence, it speaks to buyers. Yes, your work should speak for itself, and some artists believe a written explanation only makes their work less powerful; but potential first-time buyers need a little help. Buyers want to know everything about you. Educating the viewer makes them buyers. Buyers and collectors don’t buy art for its beauty. They buy and want something of the artist: your inspiration, your vision, your talent. Here are the high points: Bios and Artist Statements are an essential part of your self-promotion - along with your resume, photos, website/blog, etc. Thanks for your email. Hope this helps! Special Note: We have updated the “How to Photo” Notes in both our Hot Art Marketing Workbook and the Workbook & Studio Notes. We collaborated with our pro photographer, Forrest Doud from San Luis Obispo. This new section includes more up-to-date info on taking digitals. If you would like to update your book with these notes, please send us $5.00 and a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (42-cent postage) Thank you! For more info, click HERE to check out our Hot Art Marketing Workbook. Thanks for asking Kate!
Click HERE for top of page. |
 |
This is my fourth feature on successful color combinations using my Goof-Proof Color Wheel. It works for me! Just a reminder - I use Holbein Acryla acrylic paints. You could also use your own professional-grade paints and simply match my color wheel system as closely as you can. This month, the featured color is Cadmium Middle Green. Decide on a Color Combination and a Composition Design Structure. •Cad Middle Green is the Dominant color
Step One: I cover the entire canvas with one dominant color, splashing the stuff all over.
Step Two: Next I goof around with the focal point color, Compose Rose. I’ve established the composition as a Golden Section design. The focal point had the most contrasting sections.
Step Three: Add the two Spice Colors - Marigold and Katsura Blue. These two colors go around the Focal Point as pure colors. Used elsewhere, you “gray down” those two Spice Colors. Whatever your style or technique, always start loose, wet and abstractly.
This painting of “Sisters” was painted with the same color combination. Note the artistic liberty. Stay loose but use this color system. For a detailed description of the Burridge Goof Proof Color Wheel, click HERE. Studio Tip
You should have on hand two types of adhesives in your studio: Yes Glue and gel medium. Here are the differences between the two adhesives and when to use them. The “work horse” for all my collage gluing is acrylic-based gel medium. I use soft gel medium, semi-gloss. It is not extra thick. Because the gel adhesive is acrylic, I can continue using acrylic paint on top and finish off with an acrylic varnish.
The Yes Glue is different. It has been around forever. Much like a library paste, it is used for book making due to its acclaimed archival and acid free qualities. It is water-based. But here’s the deal: Yes Glue is popular amongst watercolorists who use collage and watercolor paint together. When dried, Yes Glue assemblages can later be painted on with watercolor (or acrylic). The point being, Yes Glue is not an acrylic adhesive - a good thing to know if you want to paint watercolor techniques on top of your collage assemblage. Stop the Presses! Now, published experts and experienced collage artists are claiming their Yes Glue assemblages over time DO turn brownish! Yes Glue is NOT archival as claimed. Ann Baldwin, award winning collage artist has stated, “it may not be the great idea we once thought it was.” So I’m changing my mind and switching “everything collage” back to Golden’s Soft Gel Medium or Heavy Gel Matte Medium. Polyvinyl Alcohol Adhesive (PVA) is my other favorite adhesive. It stays flexible and clear.
In every workshop I teach, I’m asked about my adhesive tape and where do I get it? I use it for taping everything - from shipping boxes to temporarily hanging my paper samples on the walls. My favorite tape is a Kraft (brown) paper tape from Uline. It is very sticky, holds heavy things to the wall and peels off without removing the wall paint. This stuff works great as a general, all-purpose, studio tape. www.uline.com - the product is “Pressure Sensitive Kraft Tape.” Attention Shoppers… do not buy that lame “blue tape.” It is actually blue “painters tape” for house painters, not painter-painters! This blue tape is designed to be easily removed so consequently it does not hold things to the wall very long or very well. Besides, that blue color tape sticking around the painting is annoying to me. One more thing - do not use “framer’s tape” or cloth tape in a workshop. These tapes are used specifically for other uses and not generally for art studio purposes. Recommended Book
If you’ve been reading my newsletters and book reviews, you know I enjoy reading about the lives and history of artists and how they made their art during their time in history. I’m usually years behind in what’s currently a hot book. This brilliant and easy to read novel, written several years ago, is about how the European cathedrals were built. Based on exhausting research, Pillars of the Earth is practically a daily account how a monk was driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known. It is a spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute abusive power of kings and their knights (sounds current!). This is a monumental masterpiece by the #1 New York Times best-selling author of “World Without End.” You may also know his other familiar works such as “Eye of the Needle,” “The Modigliani Scandal” and “On Wings of Eagles,” to name only a few. I learned more about the history of the tenth century than when I was in art school. Fascinating, crammed with characters, entertaining and seemingly authentic, this book satisfied and surprised me on a grand scale. Pillars of the Earth
The title says it all. This book shows it all -- from experimental techniques for composition, layering, texture, imagery to encaustics and cutting edge collage, Ann Baldwin is the eminent authority on this subject. If you’ve taken her popular workshops you already realize how fortunate you are to have met her and her clear knowledge on the subject of making fine, innovative art that is stunning, has impact and is award-winning. This very artist-friendly guide book answers all your questions on art materials, creativity, digital photography in mixed media and plenty of step-by-step encaustic painting. Enjoy the opportunity to learn from Ann Baldwin. This book should be in your studio. Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists Music to Paint (and Move!) By
More music! My taste in music is rather eclectic. In my studio and during workshops I play many different styles - classical, world, jazz, lounge… Music of the Month!
Stereo MCs - Hotplate 2 •Hotplate 2
Blockhead - Music by Cavelight •Music by Cavelight •How Do You Know You’ve Arrived When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going? •Set Goals •Write Them All Down In other words... you can tell when your painting is finished if you set your goals before hand.
Copyright ©2009 Robert Burridge. All rights reserved. Click HERE to sign up for the ArtsyFartsy News.
I have Facebook and MySpace pages set up! |
|||
