Colored Pencil Painting "En Plein Air" Article

I am very pleased to announce the above image is the issue my article (Plein Air This Year) for Colored Pencil Magazine - May 2014 edition has been published.  And may be accessed by subscribing to either the Print version or the Ezine version by the following link.   http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/744202

You know working in plein air (painting in the open air) has been documented here in my blog since it's beginning and while I use the skills learned and honed for normal CP work, a few changes have been adapted to what can work en plein air.  I have traveled to Europe, Bermuda, and around the US either on special art trips where the focus has been to work plein air and on family vacations, business trips with my hubby and with other artists working in various media.  As normally the only CP artist I have had to adapt.  And whether you are just travel journaling for vacation or doing a sketch crawl, CP is a great clean media to work in.  I hope you enjoy the article and the magazine as it has many other great CP artists included.

I have ventured out plein air-ing this spring but due to some tough weather outings, getting a finished piece done in the field has not happened.  Many starts and beginnings which you will see in a future post, have happened.  I hope to complete a few when my teaching schedule lightens up.  So stay tuned!

The main reason I have been slightly absent here on the blog is my local art association (Bon Air Artists Assoc.), of which I am president and a co-chair on our fundraising committee, produced our first inaugural exhibit "Artful Healing", a fundraiser to benefit World Pediatric Project (WPP) here at the Jepson Alumni Center at the U of R.  We showcased 63 local Richmond artists exhibiting and selling wonderful artwork of which a portion of sales went to WPP.  Over $42,000 of art was sold during the 1 and a half day event in late March, with the help of Crossroads Art Center.  The artists were thrilled and from the donated portion of sales we raised enough funds to send a travel medical team to one of the South American locations WPP goes, to help heal children.  30-40 medical procedures can be facilitated during one of these trips.  Bon Air Artists Assoc. worked tirelessly on the project for over 15 months and with the first year under our belt, we are looking to 2015 for a second "Artful Healing" to continue our efforts to support this great cause.

As we push thru the April Showers this week I hope all of you will get out there and make some CP art happen, even if it's just a sketch of a future painting idea or a flower from your garden.  

Gloria Callahan

      

At The Root Series

 At The Root - Orange Beets  9 X 12 Colored Pencil On Ampersand Pastelboard SOLD

My "At The Root Series" is officially that with the addition of the second piece, see my blog entry from my last piece created in 2013. (At The Root - Radishes) here  The background colors of this new addition are more true in this image than in the radish piece photo in the above noted link/blog entry.  So imagine the radish piece with more yellow in the background.  I must get the radishes rephotographed so they represent the series as more cohesive in color, which of course they are.

Which brings me to sharing my thoughts on a series.  I find it difficult to work on more than 2 in a series without interjecting a new subject matter (or non series painting).  Why you ask???? My old job was as a production painter for a local Richmond print company that sells hand colored - watercolor prints.  I did this for 8 years.  And is the reason why I do not paint for myself in watercolor any longer, or for that matter work in large series.  Burn out yes, but also working in a series stifles me a little.  So I need to take breaks and do another subjects in between.      

I like to think about how a series might hang when I work on them.  This piece faces to the left and the radish one faces to the right.  Keeping the direction you want the viewers eye to go in makes both pieces hang well together.  Of course they also should hang well when hung separately too, which I believe these do.  Color integration and cohesiveness is also something to keep in mind so they play well with their series siblings.  Even though they are of different colored veggies they have the same greens in common, the same background and surfaces are similar.  All things to keep in mind when working in series besides the obvious subject matter.  Framing in like frames also is a must, I believe. 

Timing for blog entries has been very short lately, due to the rather large Art Exhibit/Fundraiser for World Pediatrics Project I am helping to co-host.  Getting much else done by the way of art completion has taken a back burner these last few months.  But rest assured we are in the 2 week stretch before the event so the end is in sight, and before you know it I'll be back to the blog with more entries.  I thank all of my readers for your patience and returning to my blog to check in.  

Oh, and yes there will be more At The Root paintings, imagination has me thinking of all sorts of new subject, so stay tuned.

Waiting on a colorful spring to arrive and roots to grow flowers,

Gloria 

2014 Student Show

From January to February I had my first Students Show at my Crossroads Art Center Exhibit space.  A

There can't be a colored pencil teacher who is any more proud of the work they have accomplished than I.  Some are artists in other mediums, several have played with CP and all are fast becoming wonderful friends and lead heads.                                                                 

Class and Me

Kathy Scott produced her tribute to Modigliani's "Woman with a Black Tie" for our Recreate A Master Class on Ampersand pastelboard.   

Brian Austin completed his blue motorcycle in our shiny surfaces class on Uart paper. 

                         

Pauline Clay did a sunset scene in our  landscape class on Uart paper as well as this lovely rose on Stonehenge paper.

       

 Rebecca Spangler's "7 Mile Road" a 

landscape oceanfront scene on Uart paper                 

A couple could not attend the reception and were sorely missed.  And I thank all of you who participated in the show.  I'm already thinking up plans for next year's show.  So if you have been putting off taking classes, let me know and we will try to get you into the Spring session which is registering now or for Fall later in the year.

It took me a while to get these photos up and posted due to the charity event we at the Bon Air Artists Assoc. are producing in March.  A Fine Art exhibit with local Richmond area artists raising funds for the World Pediatric Project - March 22 & 23rd.  A 15 month project in which we hope to sell some great art and raise lots of money for WPP.    

Here's to thinking a colorful spring gets here soon,
Gloria Callahan, CPSA                      

Last CP Painting for 2013 - At The Root - Radishes

                      At The Root - Radishes  9 X 12" Colored Pencil On Ampersand Pastelboard SOLD

This was my last piece finished in 2013, actually on the 30th at midnight, one day to spare.  I couldn't get to photographing it until today with all the craziness that is my life.   This will be a new series "At The Root"  with my next one's reference shot set up and ready to go.  The photo here is typical of many photo's of art where red is in play.  Reds are notorious for not photographing true to the actual piece.   They seem to photograph brighter/not the deep shade it is, even with Photoshop touch ups.  Either the greens are off, or the background is off, when trying for a match of the reds.  Sense some frustration here............ Well just trust that as usual the in real life piece is richer in all ways.

Anyway, since my last post on making a goal list, my own has grown by leaps and bounds, which is usually the case.  I've been trying to juggle a fundraising event that my local artist association (Bon Air Artists) is putting on to benefit the World Pediatric Project.  As president of the association and one of the chairs of the event, I am neglecting my art creation.  (And have been for some time.)  My total count of CP pieces (we all know it's a slow medium) for 2013 was only 12 finished, with a small 13th  workshop piece almost done.  I hate to have unfinished works lying around even if they are workshop pieces.  But it's small and I should be able to finish it while on the road.

We won't talk about how you learn to say no to volunteering too much, since I clearly haven't learned that lesson yet!  But one of my goals every year is to complete a set number of paintings no matter the size.  This year I missed my mark by 3.5 pieces.  I'm progressing to my 100'th worthy of posting on my website pieces, and should hit that mark this year in 2014, sooner rather than later.  We all know that every piece is not worthy of posting on websites or Facebook for that matter.  Discretion is learned.

Hoping your January is warming up at least in a colorful way is not in temperatures...... On to the next one in the series.

Gloria