Newsletter December '08

Please not that all the images, artwork, photos and text contained in this newsletter, are the copyright of Teresa Mallen and any artists that are featured. The images, artwork, photos and text may not be copied or reproduced in any way unless written permission has been obtained.

From My Studio...

Greetings of the Season!

Tis the season to be busy, so this is going to be a somewhat smaller newsletter.

Thanks Pat Matriscino and Teresa Skall for sharing your art with us this month.

I hope you all find some wonderful new art supplies under the tree! We all know how relaxing and meditative it can be to work on a coloured pencil piece. Why not destress from the bustle of the season by grabbing some time with your pencils?

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very merry Christmas and may you have the happiest of holidays. I wish each and everyone of you all the blessings of the season. May your homes and lives be filled with love and peace.

www.teresamallenstudio.com

First Snow - Lake Tahoe, by Pat Matriscino, Acrylic, Copyright of the Artist

Pat is currently working in her winter studio located in Mocksville North Carolina. She writes that she just got back from Lake Tahoe and thought this image would make a good subject for this year's Christmas cards. Don't you just want to go and stay there yourself? Such wonderful vivid colour. Pat has done a wonderful job capturing the atmosphere of the place. You can feel the cold air just by looking at it. Thanks for sharing your art Pat and feel free to send along images any time.

Next comes the art of Teresa Skall of Rochelle Illinois. Teresa is a decorative painter and in the decorative arts field she has had the opportunity to work in oils, acrylics and pastels. Coloured pencil has now become her favourite medium. She has been taking occasional workshops over the past two years. Teresa enjoys the realism that one can accomplish with coloured pencils. The first three images are created from projects designed by decorative artist Kelly Hoernig.

Please note that all of these images are the property of the artist. Please be reminded that the art that appears in this newsletter is protected by law and cannot be copied or reproduced.

'Circle of butterflies' and 'Shades of Green' were rendered on matboard.

This next piece of a rose, entitled 'A Touch of Sunshine' was done on Canson Mi Tientes paper.

These next two pieces, also done by Teresa Skall were completed with the assistance of their designer, Marian Jackson. They were both done on coloured sheets of Canson Mi-Tientes paper. Teresa finds it easier to fill in the spaces on the Mi-Tientes paper and she finds that the coloured paper also enhances or creates a beautiful background.

Teresa has done a beautiful job on these projects. She has a lovely light touch that allows the viewer to see the different colours that are layered on top of one another. Coloured pencil is perfect for this effect - personally I think this is what is so fantastic about the medium. Teresa's work shows that she has developed excellent control. You need to keep your pressure consistent and fairly light in order to get these results. Teresa has done a wonderful job in her colour blending and shading. Again you need to develop pressure control in order to feather your colour. You don't see hard edges where the top layers of pigment start and stop. (For the people who have taken my Intro course, remember those gradation exercises?) I like her stroke technique in that her strokes don't show. For example look closely at the Parrot Tulip. You don't see separate parallel lines of pigment. It takes patience, practice and persistence to get this technique down. Congratulations Teresa, well done. This is excellent work.

If you are a Newsletter Group Member and you have some art you are willing to share, please send it along. We would love to see it! May I add that I won't do a critique of your work. I will only make positive comments. If you want a helpful critique, you can submit your work for the feedback section.

I had hoped to get a new course schedule posted on my website by the end of November. I haven't done this. I know that some of you are waiting for info on the Introduction to Coloured Pencil course so please know that I will be setting those dates in the next two weeks. I shall publish this info in the next newsletter and of course it will be listed on my website at that time as well. Thank you for your patience.

There are several factors that come into play when setting course dates. I have people interested but some would rather not take classes in winter due to the possibility of bad weather and poor roads. Some folks go on winter holidays and then there are the weekends before and after the March break which are not good times for parents of young children. During May and June graduations and weddings eat into the Saturdays people have available. I had last minute cancellations last year because people decided to travel and some had other events pop up. I can't please everyone but finding a time that is best for most people isn't easy. I also have to schedule around my absence this spring as I will have to be away many weekends in order to sort through my parents' house and their belongings.

While I enjoy teaching and I find it a rewarding experience, it does eat into the time that I have to work as an artist. Over the past two years I have probably taken on more teaching commitments than I should have. I have taught in my own studio and in several other venues. I have found that I am not getting enough time to actually create art so I am probably going to cut back on my teaching schedule. As a result some courses may not be offered in 2009. I appreciate your understanding in this.

Next up is Bonnie Auten's website. Bonnie's painting entitled 'New Wine' caught my attention some years ago. At that time I was stunned to learn that she is considered colour blind or colour recessive. She mentions this in her bio and she states, "To compensate for this, color becomes secondary to powerful compositions, temperature and strong value contrasts."

This helpful tip comes from Newsletter Group Member Zainab Hussain. You might remember Zainab's wonderful art from the June Newsletter. If you haven't seen the June issue, do check it out. Zainab just participated in my Portraits course and she is currently working on a fantastic cp piece of her sister. I have seen the drawing and it is going to be fabulous.

Zainab's suggestion has to do with working in solvents. Gina, another student in the portrait course went home and did some experimenting with skin tones. She tried using solvent but she wasn't happy with the colour she ended up with. Zainab suggests working with solvent in stages. For example, put down a few layers of pigment and then apply solvent. See what happens to the colour. If you don't like it, you can change direction. Of course wait for the solvent to dry before adding more coloured pencil layers. You can repeat the solvent process as you go along.

Thanks for the tip Zainab! If you are a Member and you have a helpful suggestion for the readers, please send me an email.

If you are new to my newsletters and you would like some help, here is how it works. It is really quite simple. If you are a Newsletter Group Member, you can obtain free, helpful advice right here! Perhaps you have a piece that you would like me to review and to give feedback on. Perhaps you have just started something and you are unsure if you are heading in the right direction. Maybe you have a photo picked out and you are wondering if it would make a good painting. We learn from following another's process and this feedback is being offered as a way to learn from each other. If you have something you would like help with, email me a photo or a scanned image and we will go from there. You can also remain anonymous in the newsletter if desired. I look forward to hearing from you.

Not sure how to become a Newsletter Group Member? It's easy, just email me to become registered!

If you are new to my newsletter, perhaps you don't know that I have an art journal blog. Here I write about my art and other art related stuff, I show works in progress, and from time to time I share what is going on in my life.

My art journal blog address is: www.teresamallenstudio.blogspot.com. If you like what you see, why not sign up to subscribe via the RSS feed or via email? Just look for this info on the sidebar of the blog.

Are you reading my blog and would like to share your thoughts? You can click on the comments section at the end of each post to read what others have written. If you have a google account or are willing to open one, you can also leave a message. If you would like to make a comment but you don't wish to leave a message on the blog, why not write me an email? I would love to read your comments, no matter how they reach me.

This newsletter is for you, so please feel free to participate. Send in images of your art for some show and tell. If you have a question, please ask. If you need help, just shout. If you have a helpful tip or suggestion, send it along. Perhaps you have a business or website you would like to promote. Don't be shy, why not get involved?

(If you would prefer to not receive a newsletter in future, please email me. Put 'remove' in the subject line and you will be deleted from my mailing list.)

Teresa Mallen Studio	Coloured Pencil Artist
	www.teresamallenstudio.com