THE BLOG
Do Two Rights Make it Wrong?
My friend Becky who does great watercolors, said, “So the American Artist Magazine is having a Self-Portrait Cover Competition. You do people well. You should enter.” She handed me the page she had ripped out of her magazine.
So I pondered it a bit and thought I’ll give it a try. There are a lot of things to think about when I’m starting a watercolor. What colors should I use? Is it a nice design? Will it fit into the size of the cover? How do I hold the camera and push the button and take a picture of myself, all with one hand?
I finally got the “hold the camera and push the button with one hand thing” down but I kept missing my head. So hold my arm out and keep trying. Finally success and I started on my sketch. A self portrait would not be right without one of my characters staring back at me. They all clamored to be in the picture but this little guy won out. I had my head leaning against one of my hands but I thought “It needs a little more action.” So I put the paint brush in my other hand and started painting. That told a better story. I transferred the sketch onto the watercolor paper. I asked my husband what he thought. Something nagged at me from the very back left corner of my right brain. Finally I found it, two right hands. Now that would not do on the front cover of the American Artist magazine. So what do I do? You can see the finished painting and what I did. Just click on the following link and click on latest entries and scroll down and click on Sherry Meidell. www.americanartistcompetitions.com There are a lot of nice self-portraits entered. Mine is the only one I saw with a critter.
Learning From One of the Greats
I wanted to title this post “Learning From the Masters” but I thought that Osral Allred would not consider himself a master. He demonstrated at the Utah Watercolor Society on Tuesday night. Osral and Carl Purcell taught art classes down at Snow College for years and both men have a great knowledge of watercolor. Osral covered some of the basics but he taught things that I had never heard before, things that are important in creating good paintings. One of the things that Osral said was “it takes a long time to know yourself”.
So we as artists spend a lot of time learning our craft. We take workshops and read books. We strive for some unreachable quality in our art. Do we spend too much time trying to become someone else? How do we gain the confidence to venture out and create our own art. A lot of it is just that, creating, experimenting and seeing what works for us and why.
Part of what I learned from Osral was learned by watching him paint. There is a thought process and then a confident laying down of the color with the brush. It’s a process that can’t be rushed. Even when he wiped out an unwanted area, he did it with confidence. Is the confidence what makes us masters at our craft? Is it having the patience and taking the time to create? I’ll let you know the answer when I become as masterful as Osral Allred. (Osral may be teaching some workshops down in Spring City. Be on the look out. You can learn from one of the Masters)
Illustrators Utah
The Illustrators Utah Show opens tonight, September 16th, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Bountiful Davis Art Center. There is also an exhibit by Lester B. Lee and a collection of Paul Mann’s featuring Hall of Fame Illustrators. It sounds like a fun exhibit.
Character Studies
Here are four different studies of Amani, a character I’m working on for a book. It is interesting to play with color and values and keep notes on what you’ve discovered. I learned something from each painting and discovered a very different finished product. It was fun to play with the paint until I ended up with something I really liked.
The finished illustration was possible because of the things I learned from the previous studies.
Watercolor Class at the Bountiful Davis Art Center
I will be teaching a watercolor class at the Bountiful Davis Art Center. It will begin Wednesday, September 7th 9a.m. until 11 a.m. and continue until October 12th.
Class Description: “Art is a life time of observation and learning, a lifetime of exploring and experimenting. Art is a life time of joy in expression.”-S.M.
In this class we will learn and explore watercolor. We will start with a sketch in our sketch books to get the creative juices flowing. We will have a short demo and talk about a principal of art that will help our paintings. Then we will practice and learn how to work with watercolor. We will start from where you are at and go from there. Don’t be afraid of the level you are at. Just come, participate and learn.
Supply List: Winsor Newton Cadmium Yellow, Winsor Newton Cadmium Lemon Yellow, Winsor Newton Scarlet Lake or (Cadmium Red), Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Cerulean Blue, Antwerp Blue or (Ultra Marine Blue), Optional: Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber
Watercolor brushes: such as #6 Round, Princeton Art & Brush Co., Winsor & Newton Series 995 3/4 ” square, 1/2″ square and 1″ square. Spiral watercolor pads or blocks, Arches 140 lb. paper cut in 1/2 sheet and two 1/4 sheets or Arches 300 lb. paper cut in 1/2 sheet and two 1/4 sheets, sketch book, colored pencil and a Pilot Gel pen. Pictures of what you want to paint.
Bio: Sherry Meidell has dipped her brushes in watercolor since kindie garten when she was hit on the back of the head with a hammer. She doesn’t know if the two experiences are related. She is a signature member of the Utah Watercolor Society. Her watercolors have appeared in the Western Federation Juried Watercolor Shows and “The Artist” Magazine. She has illustrated nine picture books for children. If you have any questions you can email me sherry@sherrymeidell.com
You can find out more information about the class at http://www.bdac.org/education/current_classes.htm
From the tongue of Grandma Burt
Grandma Burt had a way of painting a picture with her words. She would say, “That kid will eat anything that doesn’t eat her first.” When she had to go live with her daughter, she would watch Martha Stewart on TV. That night she would describe what she had eaten for lunch that day. We ate wild caught salmon with honey coriander glaze and a meringue-frosted moist cake with just the perfect amount of raspberry filling for dessert. It was everything she had watched on Martha Stewart that day.
When she learned that her daughter was leaving on a mission, she said, “I’m out of here.” And she was. She didn’t live much longer. I wonder what she would say about this painting? It hung at the Bountiful Handcart Days 2011 Exhibit. I know she would be pleased that it received a blue ribbon. She would probably scold me for not painting her with her pearls. Here’s to you Grandma Burt. May my paintings tell as fine a story as your tongue could tell.