THE BLOG
A Fine Watercolor Workshop
I traveled to the Flaming Gorge Resort to present my “Finding Motion & Life in your Watercolor’s” Workshop for the Uintah Mountain Artists last month. Dave and I wound up hair pin turns on a dark road the night before with blackness pressing in on the headlights and owls and racoons darting in and out of view.
The next morning the sunlight and a beautiful view met our gaze. A nice group of ladies met at the conference center
but you never knew what they were doing behind your back.
Students brought a photo of a family member or an old photo of a relative to use in there paintings. I demonstrated some of these principals by painting a picture of a great grandmother.
We talked about getting life into the figures we paint using angles and putting your mind into your painting. We discussed what makes a figure really say what we want it to say. Here is a sketch of Colleen with Colleen. It’s amazing how just a few lines can capture personality.
Great conversation and painting during the day and mountain sheep and great views at night. It was a perfect two day workshop. Thanks to Deena Millcam for the invitation and for many of these great pictures.
Robert’s Biking Shoes
On our recent biking tour of southern Utah, we went by the Bingham Gallery and the Thunderbird Foundation just outside of Torrey and on the way to Mt. Carmel. We were sagging past some road construction and I talked a few people into making a quick stop into the gallery. One of the ladies found the perfect painting for her husband. It was a small original oil painting on board of a pair of hiking shoes.
“I’m going to buy this for my husband.” She was so excited. He was outside and she was going to surprise him. He walked into the gallery. I had the painting in my hand and was ready to run interference but she asked her husband for a 10 dollar bill because she didn’t have enough change. One of the owners of the gallery was so excited that they liked her painting. She had said that the painting was Seven-Fifty. Robert’s wife thought great. What a bargain. The owner said, “No $750.00. That was a bit more than Robert’s wife wanted to pay.
We had a good laugh about it. She had been so thrilled. I told her if she had a pair of Robert’s hiking shoes, I would paint a watercolor of them for her. They didn’t bring a pair of hiking shoes because, after all it was a biking trip, so I painting Robert’s biking shoes.
Young Heber Valley Artists
Photo by Ivana Radu
I had the great pleasure of presenting and visiting with some young artists at the Wasatch County Library in Heber last Thursday Evening. I was greeted by Sally Baird who made me feel welcome and got everything set up with the help of three rambunctious girls. The pictures were taken by another mother, Ivana Radu who said I was welcome to use them on my blog.
photo by Ivana Radu
We talked about the importance of getting in the sketch book habit. We discussed making books and talked about illustrating stories and what to think about when we hear the words and how do we get the pictures we see in our mind down on the paper.
I dropped some dye in water for some marbling and when I pulled the paper out, there was an appreciative gasp. I loved to see the art the kids produced and answer their questions.
photo by Ivana Radu
photo by Ivana Radu
We put all the art together at the end to let everyone see what the others had made. One student came up to me after the class and quietly asked, “Whose art did you think was the best?” I told him, “Everyone is at different levels with their art and everyone has their own style. You can’t really choose if one is better than another.”
Here is the Marbling dye from Bolu-Undo
photo by Ivana Radu
I paused and he looked up at me and then I said, “But I can say that your art was very nicely done.” He got a big grin on his face and said he was going to be an artist when he grows up. We had a lot of talented kids in the class. It was a great evening.
Watercolor Workshop at Flaming Gorge Resort
Last Saturday was the Bountiful Music & Arts Festival on Main Street. It was a fine day for painting outside. I met some great people and checked out the new location for the Bountiful Davis Art Center.
I will be doing a two day watercolor workshop for the Uintah Mountain Artists on September 26th and 27th at the Flaming Gorge Resort’s Conference Room in Dutch John, Utah. If anyone wants to join us for the watercolor workshop in some beautiful country, you can call Lori Burchinal at 435-828-3668 to register. The info is below:
The Sherry Meidell’s “Finding motion and Life” Watercolor Workshop will be September 26th & 27th from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The price is $150.00 per person.
The material list:
sketch book 9 x 12 or so
pencils & kneaded eraser
black pilot pen
one or two 1/2 sheets 140 lb. or 300 lb. arches watercolor paper, watercolor paints, water and brushes and everything you need to paint a picture
photos of people in motion and a nice face or old photos of grandparents or great grandparents or random people
We will discuss drawing and painting people in our watercolor paintings, how to get motion in your paintings and people. We will talk about finding the stories in our paintings.
Come join us.
Biking Shoes and Watercolors
Our friends, convinced Dave and I to take a 430 mile, or so, bike ride through some of the most beautiful back country of Utah. We started in Blanding, went to Lake Powell and wound our way through Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, The Grand Staircase National Monument, ending in Zions National Park. We met some of the greatest people. The bike ride went through Torrey, Utah. I was able to stop into Gallery 24 and see a couple of my watercolors that are on display there, part of the prize for winning best of show at the Capitol Reef Plein Air Competition.
The picture was taken by one of the ladies on the ride. My friend nick named her the Green Hornet. She is 76 years old and she beat me on the uphills and the downhills.
The Boy Scout Motto “Be Prepared”
Packing your sketch book around is a great idea. There is always that question, “Do I bring it or not?” “Will I have time to sketch?” Will it just get in the way?” I’ve found it’s better to have it on hand. If something comes up, I’m ready.
On the 24th or July our extended family stakes out a spot at Liberty Park for the Days of 47 Parade. It’s a great opportunity for picture taking and sketching. Below are some examples from the day.
It’s also a great way to make new friends. People often ask me, “How do you draw people? My answer is get a sketch book and start sketching people from life. You will teach your brain and your hand to see.
