There were 4 CFWS Plein Air artists at the Tibet-Butler Preserve on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. They had a very nice day painting at Tibet Butler, even though it was very humid.
Ann, Leslie and Jane relax and paint.
There were 4 painters:
Jane B.
Ann W.
Leslie R.
And Marcela M.
The artists enjoyed sitting in rocking chairs on the porch and painting together! Everyone had a good painting!
Jane B. did a lovely landscape.Bees and blue flowers by Leslie R.Ann W. did a little white house in the landscape.Marcela M. did a sketch of the landscape and Darwin the African tortoise!
They even got to see Darwin, the African tortoise! A huge tortoise that has been there since it was very young, donated by someone who couldn’t take care of it when it became very large.
Darwin the tortoise
What fun! Beautiful paintings and a chance to relax, socialize and do some art… what could be better!
Join us next month for plein air at:
November 20, 2021, Saturday 10 am – 3 pm Mead Botanical Gardens: 1300 S Denning Dr, Winter Park, 32789
December 15, 2021, Wednesday 10 am – 2pm (closing time) Nehrling Gardens: $5.00 donation is appreciated, this is a volunteer organization. Please enter through the pedestrian entrance. Please park across the street in the church parking lot or the open field next door. 2267 Hempel Ave, Gotha 34734
Dec. 5 – Holiday Party at Kingswood Manor, off Lee Rd. There will be the raffle, mini paintings, members paintings, outdoor tent for finger foods, and a special appearance by Santa. Masks required for indoor activities. See our newsletter for details and sign up to help with and activity!
Feb. 6 – We hope to line up Niko Floyd, as a plein air event at Kingswood Manor. Check back for more info.
Our annual members art show will be chaired by Charlie Cipes. The juror and workshop artist will be Sue Archer. The workshop “Commanding Color” will be March 7, 8, 9, 2022 at a location to be determined.
Please check our website frequently and read the newsletter for continual updates on our upcoming season, and please consider volunteering to help us set up events.
Then Pam introduced our demonstration artist, Joan Lok, former president of the Sumi-e Society of America who paints in the Lingnan School style.
Joan talked about the basic 4 Treasures of Sumi-e: Paper, Brush, Ink Stick, and Ink Stone
Paper – we buy watercolor paper in weights of 140 or 300 lb. But rice paper, which is not made of rice but plant bark, is bought by the name of the paper. It comes raw (unsized) so when you touch the brush to the paper is absorbs quickly, or sized with alum, to slow down absorbency. Each family that makes the paper has their own secret recipe.
A variety of hard and soft round brushesHard and soft Hake, flat brushes.
Brushes – round brushes are used most of the time and they come in small, medium, large or extra-large sizes. They are constructed to use the entire hair and bristles are gathered to a point. (Our western watercolor brushes are cut to form the point.) Fan or flat brushes are used mostly for washes. Hard hair is bouncy and soft hair brushes, made from goat, is softer and doesn’t have as much bounce. Combo brushes have the harder hair in the middle surrounded by soft absorbent hair.
Ink Stick and stone – the ink is usually made with soot and glue, and then ground on the inkstone with a little water.
Eastern Art has 4 categories:
Mountain and stream landscape by Joan.
Landscapes – also called mountain & water, usually consists of scenery of mountains with water. Joan’s landscapes were painted with a limited palette using indigo for cool tones and burnt sienna for warm tones. Sunlight is not specific to a time of day. Seasons are more obvious.
Figures – which are ceremonial and usually not the center of attention, as is the custom in western art. Humans are shown in harmony with the universe.
Animals – often symbolic, such as fish being good luck. Cicadas, symbolize a hermit who doesn’t care for material things.
Grape vines with bird, by Joan.
Flowers & Birds – Mostly living flowers, in the garden, with birds in the composition.
She then showed a few samples, from the American Watercolor Society’s exhibition, highlighting the use of calligraphic strokes included in AWS paintings.
Diagram of how to triple load a brush.
She showed how to triple load a brush with light tone or water, medium tone yellow, then orange and dark red ink on the tip of the brush.
Flower petals and flower shown from the side.Triple loaded brush does lovely petals.Petal strokes for sunflower or cherry blossoms.
Push down, drag and then lift to make the petal. Three cherry blossoms painted holding the brush vertically, loading the brush with light, medium and dark paint. Practice as much as you can so you build “muscle training”.
Do a whole page of strokes, like the “bamboo stroke” which can be used for other things like electrical poles.
Power poles can be painted with the bamboo strokes.Practice, practice strokes to build muscle memory.
Try the stokes right to left, then left to right. Do a cart wheel, and other strokes to fill a page. Taking Chinese brush painting classes, or sumi-e, can help you brush stokes become looser.
Do a whole page of practice strokes to build muscle memory.
The demonstration painting was a Peony flower. Double load the brush with water and dark paint and work into the brush.
Double load with water and paint for petals.
Pres and lift the brush to do a thick and thin petal, remember to paint toward the center of the flower.
starting the peony by painting the top petals.Add 2 side stroke petals.
Then add water and paint 2 side strokes. Build petals outward.
Paint top center petals and build the blossom from the center outward.
After you do the blossom, refine and add a few more layers of petals.
Finished peony blossom.
Then add the leaves. Black or green can be used for sumi leaves. Paint 3 or 4 lobes for the leaves. When the leaf is semi dry add the veins in black. Practice the calligraphic strokes of the veins to elevate your painting.
Leaves have 3 or 4 lobes.Blossom with green leaves and black veins.
We use green in a big brush. Load with yellow, green and black on the tip. The finished Peony is beautiful. Thank you, Joan!
CFWS President Pam Chock, started off our new 2021-2022 season with a lively general meeting via Zoom. There were lots of beautiful paintings and information to share!
David Williams announced the senior painting group will begin Oct. 8th, at Casselberry Art House. Contact 407-262-7700, Ext. 112 for more info. He also asked us to call Marks Street Center at 407-254-1066, to ask them to reopen for the painting group.
New Season!
Our October demo artist will be Joan Lok, who will introduce the art of sumi-e (Water and Ink Painting). She will discuss its origin, materials, and the art form’s emphasis on brushwork, by creating floral and natural subjects.
Our November demo artist will be UK watercolor artist, Tim Wilmot, teaching his loose style of watercolor from composition to finished work.
Volunteers needed! We need someone to help with our CFWS checkingaccount. If you have one, you are qualified to help! Simple math is all that’s needed.
We also need help with our annual show. Good communication skills are all that’s needed. We have the juror, Sue Archer, signed up and need help with dates. She will conduct our workshop, at McRae studios on March 7, 8, 9, 2022.
If you have an artist you would like to watch while they do a demo for our group, please let a board member know ASAP. We still have a few spots to fill in 2022.
Membership chair, Diane Darnall, said we have 99 members.
Congratulations to these CFWS members who were accepted into the Florida Watercolor 50th Anniversary show! Diana Eagles – In Her Own World, Ron Malone – Rackleman Garden Guitar, Jackii Molsick – Captain Jack, Marian Wagster – First Date, S. Africa Series, Kim Minichiello – Bushido (In Memoriam)
Our Sanford art show at City Hall is getting great reviews. If you haven’t seen our Youtube video – check it out soon! Thank you to Cindy Sturla for setting this up!
SHOW AND TELL BY THE CFWS MEMBERS!
Shelly H. started our show and tell with a landscape painting from Maui, HawaiiMarianna Ross – b&w study and completed trees with human formsPam C. – lobster, sea creatures, inspired by French drawingsCindy S. – geese in a German plein airNancy L. – Vase with real flowers … dried in a microwave and added with Elmers glue.
Terri C.– Rainbow Lorikeets, in the Chinese Brush Painting styleMarian W. – Lake Apopka drive, Cattle Egrets. She masked the birds and poured the background.David W. – American flag in an old, textured wooden house.
Sandi B. – Bee house at Nehrling gardens
Roberta L. – Scotland bagpipe players getting ready for a showMarcela M. – Chapel on the cliffs of Algarve, Portugal.
Judy K. – Journaling at WDW, a colorful bird inspired by a Judith Leiber bag and a blue vase.
Ann W. – Kraft Azalea Gardens landscapeSharon S. – Heron from a San Diego photoGini McDonald – Studaies from Jean Haines book, palette colors that are put on paper and allowed to run down. See if they work well together.Gini – Checking colors to see if they’ll work.Thouraya Z. – Intuitive. Sumi inks and watercolor on top of a marbeling technique.Karen C. – boat on ocean and rain in distance, Grand Cayman dive, gouache and palette knife for wavesMike M. – Seashore, water, in the style of Tim Wilmot, whose YouTube videos are available for study.Jane B. – A black bird seen from the car at the Apopka Wildlife DriveMary D. – her granddaughter and her Mom, at the beachMary – Iceland cold and greyJanet A. – White ground orchid. Paper hands represent tending her garden.Julie N. – Red rose painted in Patty Kane’s class at Crealde.Susan G.M. – dog park in New Smyrna Beach, with undulating sand and lighthouse.Julie S. – a one color lake scene done in green/blue acrylic.Debbie G. – Leu Gardens Barred Owl. The hard part was getting the pink/grey colorDawn S. – White Chapel, inspired while studying “Alwyn Crawshaw paints on Holiday”
Mary reminded us to submit a painting for the Rotary Club of Casselberry Community Arts Calendar. Her painting of her granddaughter and her Mom was featured in July.
David and Nancy invited all of us to join them at the Princeton Senior Center, on Tuesdays from 9 to 1 pm. Address: 2393 Elizabeth Avenue, behind a Grammar school. Park in lot behind school.
Artscape has partnered with local spaces in the Central Florida area to take art out of the gallery. Get your art into local venues where you can get exposure or make a sale.
For a list of upcoming events, please click on the link below:
Joan Lok creates artworks that link Asian tradition to an adventurous, modern viewpoint. Born in Hong Kong, Joan came to America in 1983 after winning an international cultural exchange fellowship. Joan won many awards including the Best of Show from the Sumi-e Society ofAmerica and Sumi-e Artists of Canada Joint Exhibition, the Kyoto Education Council Award in Japan, and the National Cherry Blossom Festival Contest in America. Joan is listed in Who’s Who of American Art. Her art instruction book “Chinese Brush Painting: Flowers” is available in English, Dutch, French, Italian, and Spanish. Joan lives in Columbia, Maryland and teaches sumi-e workshops locally and across the country. In 2020, she converted her popular workshops into online learning, spreading the joy of sumi-e with artists joining safely from home.
Demonstration for the Central Florida Watercolor Society, October 3, 2021:
Joan Lok will introduce the art of sumi-e that literally means Waterand InkPainting. She will discuss its origin and development, materials, and the art form’s emphasis on brushwork, simplicity and spiritual connection (chi or energy.) Joan will demonstrate creating floral and natural subjects in spontaneous brushstrokes.
Artists looking for ways to loosen their watercolor artwork will enjoy seeing how Joan spontaneously creates petals and leaves with single strokes, and develop branches and trees without a sketch.
Joan’s book “Chinese Brush Painting: Flowers is available at Amazon.com.
Congratulations to Joan on her recent award from the Sumi-e Society of America:
French Escapade – painting workshops and plein air to hone your skills
For our artists who are interested… here are some opportunities to take some very good workshops from renowned artists like :
Carrie Waller, Sept. 9 -12, Ginkgo Tea
Michael Reardon, Sept. 27 & 28, Surf, sand and Paris
Caro Carter, Oct. 2 & 3, Blue Mood
Keiko Tanabe, Oct. 11 & 12, Boats in Asian Landscape
Laurie Warren Goldstein, Nov. 3 & 4, Art glass in watercolor
and many many more!
French Escapade has many online workshops for you to enjoy more painting with master artists. They also offer plein air painting vacations for fun and travel.
Our last plein air of the season was held at LeuGardens and we had a great turnout of eight members. After we enjoyed the lovely art show, “The Agua Series” in the main house, we went out into the garden to find special places to paint and draw. Cathy and I painted next to the row of blue Agapanthus or Lily of the Nile.
Cathy paints near the blue Agapanthus and pink begonias.Terri’s painting of the Lily of the Nile.Cathy’s painting of the Musa Banana.
Marcela and Nancy were up by the main Garden House.
Marcela and Nancy over look the lake as they sit on the patio.Nancy’s painting of the welcome center garden house.Marcela’s landscape painting of violet flowers.Janet did a graphite drawing of the gazebo by the idea garden.Janet’s drawing of the gazebo in the Idea Garden.Sandi, Karen, and Thouraya paint bonsai in the Idea Garden.
We had a lot of fun! It was a great time to be outdoors and enjoying the friendship and artistic “play time”. Come and join us in the new season. You don’t have to have any experience! You don’t have to lug around heavy supplies, we pack light and small. You just need a sense of adventure and the creative need to play with your paints. See you out and about next season!
Pam welcomed everyone to the last general members meeting of the 2021 season. We had our members election, of our four officers of the society, as first order of business.
Pam Chock (Merle) and Charlie (Charlotte) Cipes were unanimously reelected as co-presidents.
Richelle Siska was elected our new vice president.
Mary Dall was reelected as secretary.
Marilyn Rathbun, CPA, still working with Pam as our treasurer.
Congratulations to all! There was a great round of applause!
The last board meeting of our season is May 20. Members are invited to attend the fun! Learn what goes on behind the scenes!
There were some announcements from members: The Polk Museumof Art has a Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit up until May 23.
Richelle Siska put together a lovely slide show of art that our members have been working on over the last few months. The CFWS Show & Tell were 14 wonderful pieces of art. Here they are:
Standing Tall by Mary DallMisty by Alice DressnerHope on the Horizon by Susan Greenlee-MamonArbor Day Farmers Market by Stewart JonesEau De Parfum by Richelle Jarc (Siska)The Queens by Judith KayeYellow Crested Night Heron by Nancy LarkinFour Owls by Roberta LermanOrchids by Marianna RossFloofing by Leslie RossettiRock Landscape by Susie SchreiberBad Hair Day by Marion WagsterPlanting Time by Ann WorrallWater Lily by Thouraya ZaparaQuantum Leap Winery by Teresa Chin
More paintings, and great art tips, were shared from our members at the zoom meeting:
Pat Shaer’s abstractDavid Williams’ portraitDawn Shumard’s mother and childLeslie holds up the Loew Cornell fine line penPaint fine lines with white for whiskers or do your signature with this pen.
The annual members exhibition of the Northwest Watercolor Society is online for your viewing pleasure. The juror, Liana Bennett, talks about each painting and why she chose it. Composition, design and control of the medium were some of the things she looked for.
Judy K. – Journaling at WDW, a colorful bird inspired by a Judith Leiber bag and a blue vase.
Pam had a great tip on using yellow frog tape to tape down your paintings. It is a low tack tape for delicate surfaces found here: