Monday, April 16, 2007

Our Spring Has Sprung!

The VAA is on a spring surge! March program, April youth show, Water Media workshop, upcoming May meeting (annual business and Art Park Kids program), and Spring Show. I won't bore you with the year-almost-over stuff, but the VAA has done a lot in the last 9 months. Hope you can come to the May meeting - we'll have an accounting of our activities.

Cathy Hegman did a very nice workshop this last weekend. She is very skilled and innovative, and the amount of practice that she does really shows. A couple of times her eyes were on her pallet while her hand was still working the piece under construction. This is my fourth workshop (I snuck one in on you in Virginia the last of March) and I have enjoyed them all. I'm the new owner of a sketch pad, some paper, a pallet, and 14 tubes of watercolor pigment (still the borrower of my husband's brushes).

When in Virginia I saw the DC cherry blossoms in full bloom blue sky mode (before they got snowed on) and saw many opportunities for painting. If I never lift another brush, all these workshop will have been worth it if only to increase my ability in observation. Growth - a good thing. Sort of like what happens when spring has sprung!

Yeah for Spring,
Jean

Friday, April 06, 2007

Small World Watercolors

I just came back from visiting in the DC area and attended a 2-day watercolor workshop with my friend, making this my THIRD workshop to learn some art techniques. Am I on a roll, or what??? It was a good two days, enjoyable and productive, since I didn't even know how to use a pallet when I started. The rewards from being low on the learning curve are indeed great.

The Small World aspect is that the instructor, Jane Andrele Gillette, grew up in my hometown and graduated two years ahead of me in high school in the small town of Algona, Iowa. Though we didn't remember each other, we knew many of the same people and had a great time calling some of them to mind.

As recommended in my drawing workshop, I bought a sketchpad and have started sketching a little. Results are not as horrific as I thought they would be, so more will surely follow.

This non-artist president of the Vicksburg Art Association has definitely expanded horizons this year, even reducing them to home town memories.

Cool.
Jean