Tag Archives: education

Providing Art for Fab Students of Prince George’s County Public Schools!!

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Every year students from Prince George’s County Public Schools build houses — YES, HOUSES!  The teens serve as carpenters, floor installers, plumbers, electricians, etc. and even decorate the completed house with rented furniture so realtors can show & sell it.  (Proceeds fund the next year’s project.)

This year, rather than use rental art, they recruited an artist — me!! — and a photographer, to supply the art.  How cool is that!!  I pulled together photos of about 200 of my works, from oils, to water media and digital art, and invited my 7 Palettes friends to contribute as well.  The students then selected a number of pieces to complement their visions for the various rooms.

Here’s the fabulous 2018 house.  Next post, I’ll show you the art pieces the students chose.

2018 PGCPS House and Proud Teachers

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Calling Those Interested in iPad Art! Local Demos and Workshops!

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Those of you in the Washington, DC area will have several opportunities to check out the iPad as a tool for making art during the next few months.

There will be manageable 2 1/2 hour workshops during which you can get a good feel for ‘what’s the big deal about iPad art’; ‘what if I don’t know anything about iPads’; or ‘what if I don’t know how to draw a straight line!’

And then, if you want to learn more, we offer a couple of day-long workshops during which you can explore some of the details of the intuitive ArtRage app for the iPad.

Here are some of the many uses you can make of ArtRage on the iPad (click image to enlarge):

Illustrated-eg-of-iPad-use

My Local iPad Art Classes Reviewed in ArtRageUS Magazine!

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Stepping back a bit more in time, I am happy to report that I’m now published (digitally, at least) in connection with my iPad art teaching activities. ArtRageUS, the online magazine for users of the ArtRage app, published an article about my efforts to bring iPad art to the Washington DC area in its Third Anniversary issue, March 2013.

Here’s the article, as well as a link to ArtRageUS, in case you’d like to peruse or subscribe.

Teaching and Being Taught in Lafayette

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Last week I taught a one day iPad art workshop to a number of local artists in Lafayette LA and then attended a three-day workshop in watercolor journaling held by Don Getz and organized by my sister Ceci. Another sister, Mercedes, participated in much of the fun, including the iPad session. Since I was so close to home, Ceci and I swung over to Biloxi afterward to visit our dad and his wife and more brothers and sisters.

As for making art while out-of-town, I didn’t paint while teaching. And it was so cold and windy during the plein air workshop that I didn’t do anything of note then either. In fact, after a couple of watercolor/ink drawings, I resorted to my iPad to get something — anything — down before my hands went numb. Though everything is unfinished, I’ll show you the state of play (along with a few photos of what we were memorializing) so you can get a flavor for the beauty of Cajun country. Teaser: we painted the St. John Cathedral Oak, the third largest live oak in the country.

Another iPad Value Study, Followed by Color

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At my iPad art class last Thursday, the students and I worked on additional monochrome value studies, based on a still life, and then proceeded to add color. Here is my initial sketch,

Initial sketch, raku pot still life.

an interim stage,

Interim sketch, raku pot still life.

and the final product.

Finished sketch, raku pot still life.

Recent ArtRage/iPad Activities

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I’ve got 3 weeks down and 7 to go in the Intro to iPad Art class I’m teaching at the Yellow Barn Studio. We have covered some of the most basic how-to information about the ArtRage app and are now exploring/practicing various tools.

In the last week, at the suggestion of Walt Bartman, I tried simulating a traditional oil painting technique – making a monochrome value-study by rubbing out highlights in a toned canvas and then adding color at the value levels developed in the preliminary study. In the iPad framework, I used the paint roller to make a solid underpainting and then used a soft eraser to ‘rub out’ the lighter passages and then added a few darker areas using the chalk tool to capture the darks.

Here are the two stages of the first work I did with this method, painted from our lovely live model Kuniko. First, the study:

Kuniko

Kuniko in kimono, monochromatic iPad study.

And then the colored version:

iPad Kuniko

Kuniko iPad study, developed with color.

Not to Distract You from the Weekend Shows . . . but It’s Time to Plan an Art Adventure for Fall!

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With art buddy, Eneida Somarriba, I’m going to teach a 10 week class on making art on the iPad — at the Yellow Barn Studio, Glen Echo, MD, 4 to 6:30 pm on Thursdays, starting September 20, 2012.

If you haven’t tried this fun and revelatory form of finger-painting, you’ve got to do it! David Hockney, a modern master, has focused on the iPad for several years, exhibiting his digital pictures at UK’s Royal Academy and elsewhere.

Arrival of Spring in Worldgate 1, a Hockney iPad Image from Royal Academy Show

After declining a request to paint a portrait of Queen Elizabeth, he changed his mind on the occasion of her recent Jubilee, presenting her an iPad picture of her aboard the Royal Barge during the festive event.

Jubilee Pageant on the Thames: The End of the Regatta

So, whether you want to make colorful stick figures, high art, or anything in between, don’t miss this opportunity to learn iPad art in a structured environment.

In tomorrow’s post I’ll give you a virtual tour of my living room, painted over a couple of weeks as I worked nightly on what I could see from the vantage of my sofa.

First Morning in Cuba: Painting the ‘Bull Boy’

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No disrespect intended! Walt Bartman had promised us a cowboy and his horse. What we got was a grizzled, droll, and patient farmer . . . and his bull. Of course, both were way more fun to paint than a horse and cowboy would have been.

A Farmer and His Bull Pose for our Group

Walt, painting the 'bull boy'

My perspective on the bull and rider.

From My Perspective

This was my vantage point.

And my gouache sketch. It’s not great — I spent most of my time watching Walt’s gouache techniques, trying to learn more about this unfamiliar medium.

A Pretty Pathetic Gouache, if I DO Say so Myself

Oh well . . .

A word about the gouache: Walt had encouraged us to use this easy-to-tote medium, rather than haul oil painting gear all over Cuba. This was good advice in view of the strict weight limit and our plan to bring giveaway items. But NOT so good for painting quality, in my case anyway. I’ll brief you ‘later’ on the painful months spent acquainting myself with gouache in advance of our trip.

Plein Air Competition Trains Us in Environmentally Clean Methods

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A beautiful scene of Glen Echo Park on the day of the plein air competition

Potomac Patch's Photo of Yellow Barn's "Paint the Park Green" competition

This past weekend the Yellow Barn, situated on the lovely Glen Echo Park grounds, held a two-day plein air competition, featuring environmentally sensitive techniques for painting in oils, acrylics and watercolors. The setting was magical and the camaraderie was warm, as we fanned out around the park to develop our paintings for the Sunday evening competition.

plein air painting of arcade sign and courtyard

Oil painting of Glen Echo's Art Deco 'arcade' sign and courtyard

This is what I accomplished on Saturday. I was up on the second floor balcony looking down over the ‘arcade’ sign into the courtyard. A two-day Cajun and Zydeco music festival was also in full swing over the weekend, so I was at least able to boogie while making a dull painting!

Thank You, Walt Bartman ~~ My Most Recent Yellow Barn Teacher

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Walt Bartman, excellent, indefatigable artist-teacher-mentor and director/founder of the Yellow Barn Studio, is my most recent teacher. I had to wait awhile to build up the courage to face his scrutiny! He’s been great, though. Too bad I waited so long!

Walt has been teaching and painting for more than thirty years. Educated at the University of Maryland and American University, he also studied art in Belgium and the Netherlands through a Fulbright Grant. I like this colorful barn scene by the man aptly termed ‘a breath of plein air’ by the New York Times.

Barnstormer

Barnstormer, oil, 24 x 36"

And here’s another by Walt.

Another Dimensio

Another Dimension, oil, 16x20"

And here’s a nude (from a live model) that I painted during a class of Walt’s.

painting of a nude during 2011 Bartman class with live model

Nude 2011, oil