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...

Hi everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all busy working on some sort of art project. Remember back in January when I suggested that you keep an art calendar? (see the 'websites and blogs' section of that issue if you need to refresh your memory) What does your calendar reveal? Are you seeing lots of blank days, with no art making to record? Oops, if so, it isn't too late...there are ten whole months left in the year. Maybe now would be a good time to make a fresh commitment.

The month of March marks the one year anniversary of this newsletter!

I would like to say a big thank you to all Newsletter Group Members. I am delighted at the response and with your participation. So keep submiting art for show and tell, please volunteer to be featured and if you have a question or you would like feedback on a piece, just email me. If you are enjoying this newsletter, please don't hesitate to tell your your friends or collegues that might be interested.

Don't miss the announcement on an on-line art show that you are welcome to participate in. As well, I have someone I would like you to meet in the new 'Introducing' section. So lets get to it...

Remember Marilyn Harris-Mills from the November 2008 issue? Well, wonderful Marilyn emailed me a couple of months ago to let me know about a cp artist she had discovered. I loved Joyce's work and I emailed her to say so. Joyce has since joined our Newsletter Group and I am delighted to be able to feature her work here this month. Thank you Marilyn and thank you Joyce!

Joyce has submitted these images to be included in this newsletter. Please be reminded that these images are copyright protected. Joyce Geleynse owns the copyright and copying and/or reproducing is not permitted.

I am an artist living just outside the tiny village of Inkerman, about a 45 minute drive south of Ottawa.

I began to take my art seriously in my early thirties, when my five children were growing beyond the stage of requiring all my energy and attention. I shudder to think of the paintings I created at that time, but I'm sure I'm not alone in that! Every artist must at times look back on early work and tremble! Aside from attending the odd art course offered by community colleges many years ago, I am self-taught. A lot can be learned by studying the work of other artists and also by purchasing good art instruction books, and both of these things I did. Now, with the internet and all it makes available, I love to take time every once in a while and see what others are doing.

Early on, I fell in love with colour pencil as a medium. I also used Soft Pastels, but the advantages of CP were many: no dust, no streaks down the page, no smudging, etc. Even though I continued to work with Pastel, I often came back to CP.

I am now in my mid-fifties and for the last three years, I have been working almost every single day creating ACEO's........which stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. This is a phenomenon that started on Ebay. Previously, artists had reinstated the practice of trading little miniatures with each other.........something that had been common a long, long time ago. Eventually, someone decided to go beyond the trading aspect of it, and allow for actual purchasing to take place. The name ACEO was trademarked and the movement grew. The only rule for these small works of art is that they must measure 2.5" by 3.5". Other than that, they can be any medium, including collage.

At any given time, there are about 4500 listings for these little treasures on Ebay. I was fortunate to have sold over 2000 of them in a three year span.

Many of my ACEO's were done in oil, but eventually I gravitated back to CP's. I love the fact that they are so portable, and I can take them with me wherever I go.

I experimented with many different surfaces for my CP's. While many artists favour Stonehenge paper, I always preferred using a surface that was already toned. I love adding the highlights with my pencils, instead of letting the white paper do the job. I'd have to say that right now, my favourite surface is Colourfix Paper...........a toned, sanded, paper that can take many layers of CP. I used to use Canson Mi-Teinted paper a lot, but find that the paper often stops taking more layers very quickly and I'll end up with an overworked and very waxy looking area that spoils the drawing.

I believe that the style of an artist's work can say much about their personality. Knowing this, I have to acknowledge that there are two opposing aspects to my personality, both battling for supremacy! I tend to gravitate towards rather precise, "tighter" work............but when I stumble upon an artist such as Karin Jurick (who works in oil and not CP. see www.karinjurick.com) everything in me screams "I want to work like THAT!!" but it never seems to happen for me! I think my more anal side always wins out! Part of me likes everything to be exact, straight, symmetrical, and very realistic........and the other part loves the way so much can be said with one brushstroke, seemingly put down at random and without planning and effort! I love the idea of the stereotypical artist having a messy studio and pumping out brilliant work in spite of their surroundings. But alas, I want my studio tidy..........although most days it's somewhere in between extremes, with just enough used paper towels and pencil sharpening debris lying around to avoid an atmosphere of sterility!

In any case, using CP's satisfies that desire in me that loves precision and conciseness. I love the directness of drawing, without the impediment of a brush extended between my hand and the surface I'm working on. I absolutely MUST have sharp points on my pencils! This is where using Colourfix becomes a bit of a challenge; the surface takes much abuse and many layers of CP, but the trade off is that it's much harder to create sharp edges, and that does bother me at times.

At this point in my career as an artist I switch regularly between using CP's, pencil, and Oil Pastels. (Oil Pastels are the ideal cross between drawing and painting! You can create something that looks like it's been painted, but you've been drawing all along!)

I use Prismacolor Premium pencils. I've tried several other brands (Derwent, Bruynzeel, etc.) but am happy with the Prismas.

Even though I've been at this for about 25 years now, I don't think I will ever stop experimenting with different mediums and surfaces! When I do discover something new, I can hardly sleep that night because I'm so excited!! I'm sure some of you other artists can identify, right? Or do I just need to get a life?!

Right now I'm marketing my art/illustrations through my gallery at Zazzle! (www.zazzle.com/joyart). Zazzle is a Print On Demand site for artists, and It's a GREAT way to sell one's images with almost zero overhead!! Zazzle does all the work and the artist gets the royalties. And I'm thrilled with the idea that somewhere in the world, someone is wearing a tie that has my artwork of marbles on it! For me, it really doesn't get much better than that!

Now wasn't that a feast for the eyes? I think her work is gorgeous. And goodness, what a beautiful studio. I found it very interesting to hear Joyce's story as an artist and I hope you did too. I can so relate to Joyce's love for the directness of pencil to paper. I can also relate to her battle between a desire for a looser style and a desire for precision and crisp edges. I guess we also need to accept that our studios are just going to be rather tidy!

Joyce is available for commission work and you can reach her at joyart@xplornet.com. Why not write Joyce a quick email to let her know how much you liked her art? Artists really appreciate feedback and encouragement! Joyce also has a blog: www.joycesartstudio.blogspot.com. You can stop by there and leave a comment.

Please drop me a line if you are interested. You do not have to be a professional artist to be featured. Hobby artists and newbies are welcome. My email address is teresa@teresamallenstudio.com . I can't wait to hear from you.

Do you remember the Icarus Drawing Board from the November 2008 newsletter issue?

Well there is now a smaller drawing board available. The newest board measures 14" x 20". In comparison, the larger board is 20" x 26".

If you are new to the newsletter and you don't have a clue what I am talking about, please go to the November 2008 issue to read about this incredible invention.

Ester has created a fabulous step by step article demonstrating her beautiful piece "Effervesence". Don't miss it! You can find this demo and all sorts of great info at the Icarus Art website. (look for the demo in the Technique section)

"I wished to copy nature. I could not. But I was satisfied when I discovered the sun, for instance, could not be reproduced but only represented by something else." Paul Cezanne

As a way of honouring this newsletter's one year anniversary, I am announcing an on-line show that I hope you, the Members, will participate in. The show is scheduled to be posted in October 2009.

- your work can be done in any medium, of course coloured pencil would be preferred

- you will submit via the computer so slides etc. are not required (you can scan your work or take digital pictures)

You will have several months to get something ready so I do hope you will participate. Remember this is open to everyone and you can submit anything, from graphite drawings to pastel to cp mixed media. As the focus of this newsletter is coloured pencil, I hope to see lots of work done with cps. Right now I am limiting the number of pieces to two per person but if there are just a handful of participants this restriction will be lifted. If I am flooded with hundreds of images, then the number may drop from two to one. Please note, if you only have one piece to submit, one is fine. I will keep posting reminders and if you have any questions, please contact me.

The purpose of this show is for you the Members to have a chance to show your work. I look forward to seeing your art!

I will post details in later issues on how to submit your images and what info to include.

This month's question comes from J. Stevens: "Where should I sign my paintings? I recently attended an art show and I noticed that a few artists had signed in the painting. What I mean is that they signed their names inside leaves and petals. I thought the signature was supposed to be in a corner. Is signing in a corner an old way of doing things now?"

No signing in a corner is not out of style. in fact it is still the common way of signing art. Artists usually choose to sign in one of the bottom corners. I have a few suggestions:

- don't detract from the painting, use colours to sign your work that are present in the art

- don't use such a large, florid, bold signature that it runs the risk of destroying the integrity and composition of the art itself

As for signing up in the painting itself, yes it is done and while it doesn't bother me, it can make it difficult to find out who the artist is. In the case of florals, it can make a piece have an air of cuteness or sweetness which can be a kiss of death in the art world. :-) Perhaps the artist was trying not to be obvious but there can be a downside. I have read comments by gallery owners and jurors that state that signing anywhere other than in the lower left or right corners is not professional. So if you want your art to be taken seriously by such folks, either now or down the road, I would suggest you stick with the traditional methods.

I have tweaked the gallery section of my website and my art is now divided into categories. I have added new images as well. You will find the new art interspersed with the previously displayed works as I fit the theumbnails in according to their height and dominant colour. Click here to have a look.

I know I mentioned this last month but I will repeat it in case you missed it. Convenient and secure on-line payment options are now available! You can purchase kits or register for classes by using the shopping carts provided. Payment via credit cards, PayPal, or bank transfers are most welcome.

This month I have two wonderful cp artists to share with you. They have very different styles and you can really see the versatility of this medium by looking at their work. First up, is John Smolko. John has developed a unique style working in bright colours and with a distinctive scribble stroke technique. You can see his gallery of art at his website by clicking here.

Next is Allan Servoss. Over the years I have been captivated by his moody pieces and his corn stalks and grasses. I hardly ever look at a corn field that I don't think of how Allan has often depicted them. To see a sampling of Allan's work, you can get to his website from here.

Three very different styles are featured in this newsletter - from Joyce's work to John's to Allan's. Isn't art wonderful! :-)

BLOG NEWS: This week my blog made it's one year anniversary! To celebrate, I added a new section to my blog, entitled Featured Writings that I hope you will find helpful. I have compiled some informative blog posts from the past year (topics include getting into galleries and marketing art). These featured writings can be found in the right hand side bar. Just look for the artsy buttons!

I hope you have enjoyed watching my latest 'leaves' piece develop on my blog in the past month. If you are new to my newsletter, you can check out my art journal blog here: 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. You can also become a follower of my blog. I have recently added the 'follower' widget to the sidebar on the right.

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.

Then just look for the image below every Monday on my blog .Motivation Monday is a new series of writings in which I hope to encourage you and help you achieve your dreams and goals. You can read all of the past issues together by clicking on the Motivation Monday button found in the right hand sidebar, under the Featured Writings heading. Isn't it time you got excited about your life?

A big thank you goes out to everyone who came out to my open studio. We had a great time - lots of art making, laughter and food - a great way to spend a beautiful sunny winter afternoon.

At the end of this month, I will be starting a new session of my Coloured Pencil Basics Course. Please note that the class is almost full. If you wish to register please contact me as soon as possible to reserve your spot.

The Coloured Pencil Basics Course will run Saturday mornings March 28th, April 4th and April 11th. To read all of the details about this course please see the classes section of my website. You can also register from that page.

This is the only course I have scheduled for 2009. I am cutting back on my work as a teacher this year so that I can move my business forward in other areas. I offered Beyond the Basics in the spring of 2008. If you missed this course and you would really like to take it in 2009, please email me. I would consider offering it if there is sufficient interest. Depending on how the year progresses, there may be courses offered in the fall. I will let you know if there are any developments.

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 for members 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.

This newsletter is for you, so please feel free to participate. Send in images of your art for 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?

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

The photo on the left is a view from one of my studio windows during a snowfall and the one on the right is what is just up ahead!

(If you would prefer to not receive a newsletter notice 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