More Springmaid

Just a few more pics from Springmaid. The busy shot gives those of you not there some sense of our work environment. Good light, lots of tables & people diligently engaged in creating. The Atlantic Ocean just beyond.

The other pictures are from gallery night. Here's a good shot of the whole group. The grey haired gentleman surrounded by all the women is our teacher extraordinaire, George James.

MODELS IN OUR MIDSTS

The art never stopped the week we were in Springmaid for George James' workshop. Even at night, we were diligently at work at our art.







On Wednesday evening, a group of us negotiated with the models to return so we could do

some more drawing. Unfortunately, the regular models never showed up. But never fear...our ever resourceful artists took the situation in hand! Cathy and JoAnn stepped up (literally) and had a go. They really got into it, striking some rather fetching poses. It was hard to get much drawing in with all the laughing. But it was a very productive night, nonetheless. Great friendships forged and solidified--and a lot of fun!

Do we think there's a career opportunity here? Don't give up the day jobs just yet, girls!

GALLERY NIGHT

Our final night of the workshop is always Gallery Night. Each class displays selections of the work completed during the week. It was really a fabulous group that we had this time and the work reflected it. I only captured a few of my friends here with their work that night, everyone was so busy during the cocktail hour showing. (That's me up top with my work.)


We ate and drank all too well that week but tried to burn it up a bit with nighttime forays to the gym with Kathleen & Cathy and walking the beach with Nancy Bilbro .
Had a chance to be with my buddy, Nancy Beard and had a ball with new friends, Cheryl & Susie, pictured here with their work.

I tried to get a picture of my whole class with George but whoever took it must have been having way too good a time, as two versions of the picture were out of focus. Hard to do with a point and shoot.

We had a wonderful party that evening and made plans to get together this summer in NY and the Poconos. I'm still working out dates.

I really miss the people and working in a studio setting. All I learned from those around me, especially my great new friend, Cathy Hegman, was truly a gift. Being with dear friend Kathleen Conover is always an uplifting experience. I love the intensity of it all, the ever stimulating environment. I cherish sharing the work, the accomplishment and frustrations, the energy. It's a synergistic experience. Coming back is always difficult, this year it seems harder than ever. In many ways, I feel closer to my painting buddies than to my friends at home. There's a bond.

Models Start The Process

We were fortunate to have models come in to our workshop at Springmaid. It is fairly unusual and we were lucky enough to have two terrific models. This was not their primary livelihood, but rather just a side interest. They came with fun clothing in different silhouettes, filled with pattern and color. I just love drawing clothed models, something that's very hard to find, especially in New York. They provided lots of material to work from for the paintings.

More George James Lessons

George spent another lesson working with scale. He drew the two front figures in a way that you saw their totality and so they related to one another. He then added the head and neck of a woman, quite large behind them. To the left, he added a large hand. Since the picture plane is 2 dimensional, one need not be constrained by the precepts of reality. The large head and hand add a lot of interest to the design, filling the space with something unexpected that makes the viewer puzzled and pondering about the picture. George used the opportunity to demonstrate how he sculpted the features of the face.

George And The Women

As we were lucky enough to have models, George was able to do his demo with subjects we had all shared. He drew to the figures with water soluble pencil and proceeded to lay in grey tones to develop the value pattern and design. I loved watching him do this as it is so different from the way I work. I constantly find myself lost in Mid-value Land, where the colors bright and intense, mostly seem to live. I know value is probably a better way to design and I am willing to learn intellectually but my artistic self is reluctant.

George established the values with greys and then went back and added color based on that pattern. I have not tried the grey thing; perhaps that is a means for me to learn this lesson.