Looking Back On 2013

 My space at Crossroads Gallery

I can't help but to look back these last days of the year.  Christmas has passed and I'm tidying up the last to dos before the year ends.  Happily making big check marks on my mental and actual lists.  

Each year I make a list of Goals - Personal and Artist ones (it's a well known fact that I'm a huge list maker, a trait I have passed down to some of my boys and to my granddaughter), my husband jokes that I probably have a master list of lists and I actually do.  But I  digress......

My Personal List always has the proverbial : Loose 10 pounds+, Get more active,  ( somehow these are tied together and involve another item, find more time to do this), and tell more people I appreciate them in my life, live a more present day.........and so on....... You get the drift.

Crossroads Galley Space

But my Artist List usually has more concrete and productive Goals.  And I think even if you are not a regular member of the Make A List Club, your art can benefit by doing so.  Like making my grocery list, it's the very simple act of writing it down that files it into my brain, and makes me think about where I want the new year to take my art.  If your like me with busy days and stuff to do unless I sit down to ponder these things I don't feel in tune with where I'm going in my art.   Yes, there are professional artist goals like:  get my website redesign finished, apply to more shows, and redo my exhibit space at Crossroads Gallery.........

Then there are the deeper listed items that even the hobbyist artist can think on:  Developing better depth perception in my landscapes, continuing to refine my skills in lost and found edges,  growing my small band of plein air sketchers and journaling friends. 
 
There are many people reflecting on the year as it was and I hope just as many looking forward to the new.  As I think about what I want to do to spread the colored pencil paintings word and how I can help my students accomplish their goals I'm thankful for the small band of my blog readers.  I hope my blog entries have helped some of you or spurred on a curiosity for the media.  Let me know if it has, make a comment and tell me how I can help more or just share this with someone you think may enjoy it.  

And if your reading me for the first time, let me know how you found me.   I promise my entries are usually more full of pictures and how I did my latest painting than lists.      


Now to finish the last 2013 painting in my drawing desk.


Oh and instead of a New Years resolution (which I would un-doutably would break by the 5th of January I'm making a 2014 Mantra and it is: Accomplish Your Best   

What would yours be?
Gloria Callahan

Colored Pencil On Travertine Marble - Great new surfaces

                                        Celtic Greenman on Travertine Marble 10 X 10 Tile

This is a post that's been waiting to be written on a piece I accomplished at this years CPSA Convention in Brea, CA this summer.  Elliott Everson conducted this workshop, as a signature member of the CPSA, his work is very appropriate for this surface.  His website is here: www.elliotteverson.com/‎   Take a look at his work and subject matter, it really goes well onto the stone tile he works on and his location.  But since I'm not a fan of snakes, reptiles, and such, I choose to work from a reference of mine that reflected one of my passions.  Green men faces, I have them all around my yard and home, on a wall of my front porch and elsewhere in my garden.  I just love them.  This mythical figure the Green man symbolizes the life that is found in the natural plant world and on earth itself, and has many interesting stories and fables surrounding it.  Being a gardener I can't help to love the simple idea of the green man protecting my garden.  Their faces are as varied as the human faces in our lives.  

I had created this Celtic Greenman originally on a used violin for a fundraiser for the Richmond Symphony several years ago, called "String Art" (see below).  I primed with colorfix pastel primer on the front face of the badly beat up instrument and then applied my color pencil on top.  It was auctioned to raise funds for the symphony so I never had a chance to enjoy it at my home and secretly wanted one of my own.  

  

So it was this image of a stone carving from the Bamburg Cathedral I chose to use as my workshop adventure with travertine marble.  I highly recommend Everett's teaching method on stone, if you ever get to take a workshop from him.  And being an ole decorative painter working on new surfaces intrigues me.  

Working on unsealed, tumbled marble tile was an adventure indeed.  My normal method of working in 20-25 layers on paper or pastelboard wouldn't work here.  Yes, the roughness chews up your pencil a little, so that's similar to pastelboard or sanded paper.  But after a few 3-4 layers of wax based pencil (Prismacolors) you find the pencil sliding on the stone.  Now that would have bothered me but I had just finished working on double frosted mylar for my Jamestown Sea Captain. (See my Aug. entry titled:  Gloria J Callahan, CPSA - Colored Pencil Paintings: Jamestown Sea Captain and my busy summer.   Mylar or Acetate does not take many layers of wax based pencil either.  The one difference is that with the travertine marble can be spray with workable fixative to get a few more layers down. Which worked beautifully on the Celtic Greenman.  

Working with the rough surface was fun to incorporate the dips and crevices into the subject.  This gave me a whole new idea for a series of stone pieces to create.  More to come....... so watch for new work.  Oh, one more thing, you finish and protect your work by spraying with fixative then several light coats of acrylic sealant or varnish.  This of course would not allow you to use the tile for a trivet with hot surfaces as the varnish would be damaged and thus your work.  I'm happy to display it on a counter easel for the art work it is.  And now I have one for my very own.  

Recreating A Master - My Girl With A Pearl Earring

                                                 My Girl With A Pearl Earring 16 X 12
                                             Colored Pencil On Ampersand Pastelboard

This is a piece I worked on as an example of what can be done with colored pencil for my class of advancing CP students, Recreating A Master.  Of course most master works we think of are paintings so it was my goal to teach my students how to accomplish that painterly look with CP.  And as a tribute to Johannes Vermeer's, Girl With A Pearl Earring - I posed my granddaughter Cora in a head scarf and clothing similar to Vermeer's Girl.  By the way I had the pleasure last year of seeing this painting in real life at the Louvre Museum, in Paris.  And mine is almost the same size, except in inches not cm.  Below you will find the photo I worked from for capturing Cora.

I didn't have a blue scarf for her head, nor the right clothes but her Mom had a jacket that was of similar color to the original, See below, (I believe I can show the real image here since it's a master painting and his copyright has expired).  Johannes Vermeer painted this in 1655.

                                            Johannes Vermeer's Girl With A Pearl Earring

I chose to make the clothing more similar to Vermeer's and scarf color.  I chose to change the turban like yellow scarf into Cora's pony tail.  For several reasons, but mainly to make her be well, My Girl.  Cora loved posing for me and especially liked getting to wear the red lipstick.  My pearl earring was not as large as as the one in the master's but it seemed to fit.

Working on this was a love in many ways, it's my oldest granddaughter, it's my tribute to Vermeer's piece, (one I have always loved) and I enjoyed trying to get CP to look like a painting.  The jacket and scarf were very much an act to replicate what a brush originally did.  

Checking in after a long hiatus from the blog, teaching and traveling have kept me from posting but I promise to get you all caught up on what I have been up to as we set into the cold months.  My students will show some of their master works at my January Student Show at Crossroads Art Gallery and My Girl will be hanging there also.  Enjoy Thanksgiving Day Everyone!

Gloria

Stokes of Genius 6 is publishing my "Harley's Davidson"

         Harley's Davidson 16 X 16 Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelboard

Out of 1500 entries, 124 artists have been chosen for North Light Books’ 2013 drawing competition Strokes of Genius 6: Value | Lights & Darks!  Congratulations to the all the winners.  I am extremely excited about my own acceptance for the piece above.  I have admired this book in Barnes & Nobles and one day hoped to be one of the published artists to be included in a volume of it.  There are several CPSA member's in the book also, like Shawn Falchetti (Cascade). Tanja Gant (Waiting; Speak No Evil), Linda Lucas Hardy (Her Eyes So Blue; Repose), and Elizabeth A Patterson (Tomato Bullseye) to name a few.  All with admirable work.  

This piece is just back from the CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America) convention and currently available for sale.  I wanted to thank all the volunteers of the CA chapters of CPSA for yet another wonderful convention.  When your piece arrives so quickly after the exhibit, safe and sound you have to think again about how much work it takes from the national board and local chapters to pull off another successful convention and exhibit.  

Find out more about the CPSA here

Triple D Game Farm - Montana, Incredible Photos

                Exploring Dora - Siberian Lynx  10 X 8 Colored Pencil on Suede Mat Board

At the end of August I had a simply awesome experience at The Triple D Game Farm and Preserve in Kalispell, MT.  The photography and animal portrait workshop with Gemma Gylling, CPSA, a great colored pencil artist known for very moving animal portraits, didn't disappoint.  For more of her work go to:
Glassgems Studio

Triple D Game Farm is a great photographers resource for shooting wild animals in their natural setting, free of leashes, and cages.  And the young ladies who are their handlers Heather and Lindsy are so very capable, brave and knowledgeable.  Not only knowledgeable of these wonderful animals but of lighting, placement and just plain ole' "What makes a great photo"!

Day One:  I had the most incredible first day, photographing an endangered Amur Leopard named Kupalo, and a shy female Siberian Lynx - Dora.   Had someone told me I could shoot 965 photos in less than 3 hours with these animals I'd have laughed.  We were at times within 6 ft of Kupalo, a 2 year old male about 90 lbs. of pure energy and developing predatory skills.  Amur Leopards are as few as 30-40 in the wild and 300 in captivity.   Heather who raised Kupalo from a cub, worked with him so gently and skillfully, allowing him to be the playful young man he is, providing us with some wonderful photos like the one below.

                                                         "KUPALO" - Amur Leopard

Dora was shy and so very elegant in comparison to Kupalo's raw energy and male curiosity.  The finished CP portrait shown at the beginning of this post, was accomplished from a zoomed in photo I had taken on Day one.  In the afternoons we worked with Gemma on the techniques she uses on suede mat board for capturing the fur on her project of a Mountain Lion.  On day 3 we had the choice of following on with her project or moving to one of our own.  I chose the later.  And the above cp painting is the result.  Once I'm sure it's finished I will spray it with fixative and then frame behind glass.  Something I've been trying to get away with (framing behind glass) but needed for this surface.  My hopes are that I will be able to create the same soft fur textures on my favorite Ampersand Pastelboard.  So stay tuned for my further adventures in wildlife art.

I concluded the Montana experience with a couple days exploring Glacier National Park with my sister and her husband along with my hubby before moving on to Helena for a few days.  And many many more landscape photos for future cp paintings.  This is truly a wonderful area of the country and colorful too!

Jamestown Sea Captain and my busy summer.

                                                               Jamestown Sea Captain
                                                   Colored Pencil on Graphix Frosted Acetate
                                                                         17.25 X 11

Each year I find that summer seems to play tricks on a person, it sounds like a long season, "Those lazy hazy days of summer".  But in reality they are fffffffffaaaaaaaasttttttttttt!  Whizzing by at ultrasonic speeds, no time to catch your breath, enjoy, or even get art enough art finished.  Life as you can see has crept up on me and my summer plans.  The portrait above has been waiting to be called finished for many months now,  and for a variety of reasons.  This guy was a wonderful character we came upon on a trip to the Jamestown Settlement a couple years ago and he played the part well as he stood in charge of the ships upper deck.  So I knew I needed to capture his relaxed but confident nature.

I had worked on Graphix - Duralar (Brand name) before, in a long forgotten workshop given by Robert Guthrie at a CPSA convention, several years ago.  But it was Suzanne Vigil, a portrait artist in northern VA who inspired my completion of this portrait.  The double frosted surface (frosted on both sides of this graphic film) created smooth skin tones so easily.  But and I repeat but, your layers are limited to about 4 on each side of the surface.  Like any new surface it takes a little getting used to.  Lifting color is as easy as a vinyl eraser, used gently as to not make a slick area on the surface.  It is acid free and archival so it meets my requirements of a surface suitable for creating lasting art.  Click here for a link to  the Dick Blick   page to see more about the surface.

Working on both sides of the acetate was a little confusing, as when working on the under side you are working the mirror opposite of your image.  And while that might not be confusing on a floral or still life, on a portrait I found it tricky. (To keep facial proportions correct for a likeness.)  Until I realized I could flip my photo in Photoshop and work on it in reverse.  Unfortunately, it took me a while and some cursing to figure this out!!!  Transferring onto the surface is easy because you can see your image thru the surface and should be done with a slightly lighter than a mid-grey pencil, graphite works also.  All in all I may try this again for CP portraits but it requires matting and framing behind glass, which I'm trying to get away from.  But skin tones are so smooth and hair and beard stubble is fun to create.  So who knows.

Photographing the image was a challenge as it is shiny after the layers of pencil are added.  Thank you to my son Chris and his great photography skills in helping me to finally get a good image.

I will tell you, that working on this surface prepared me for the next new one I will be featuring in my next post later in the week.  So tune in for my update............. along with my CPSA convention notes.

Hope your catching up to your summer plans...........

Gloria

Sanded Surfaces Workshop

                                                           Reflections Of Sea Life SOLD
                                                                      8.5 X 12
                                                   Colored Pencil on Uart Sanded Paper

My summer workshop for sanded surfaces ended on Saturday and a good time was had by all.  I love when students are so eager to learn and do so well on the new surface.  The class worked on the above seashell piece to gain experience on the Uart paper as their first sanded surface.  Uart is a pastel paper that comes in many grits from 400-800 and we worked on the 800 grit for this piece.  They learned how layering is different from normal CP papers and how to blend on this surface.  I start them out on Uart as it is a tough surface and takes CP very well with layers and layers to be added to make the rich colors and textures of these shells.  I hope to add a photo demo to my website soon on this piece.

They then made the change to Ampersand Pastelboard, a hard board primed with marble dust in the primer.  Using their own references for the 5 X 7 piece of white board.  Ampersand acts similar to other sanded surfaces but the hard board gives a different feel.  It enables one, upon completion to spray with fixative and then to preserve with several layers of sprayed Archival varnish to be framed without matting or glazing.  Just like an oil or acrylic painting!  This is my favorite surface to work on.

It was a lot to cover in 3 full days but they were troopers and I enjoyed having them in my home studio.

I hope you try a sanded surface and let me know what you think.  I'll be getting ready for the CPSA convention next week in Brea, CA, where my Harley piece was accepted.  While in CA there are workshops to be enjoyed, new techniques learned and a whole lot of great art and friends to catch up with.  While the hubby and my trusty canine hold down the fort here at home.

I just posted on my website the new classes for Fall so have a look and maybe you too can learn this wonderful medium.  Rest assured I'll be checking email if you want info or have a comment.

Stay cool and enjoy some color this week.

Gloria