Newsletter November '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...

Hi Everyone!

Well here we are one month later. It was a busy month but I did manage to squeeze in studio tours, hiking and great food. (At Thanksgiving I baked two pumpkin pies, doesn't sound too bad until I tell you that they were for my husband and I...two people and two large pies...uh oh...) I harvested the remaining garden veggies and I planted oddles and oddles of bulbs.

Here in Ottawa we have already had a snowstorm (October 25th). It was so unusual that it was rather shocking.

November, our month of wet, windy, raw weather...why not do some early hibernating? The Christmas madness is still weeks away so what better time to grab a cup of tea, light a scented candle, sharpen your pencils and steal a few hours of colouring bliss?! Hey, why not make it a habit?

I hope you find lots to enjoy in this issue...lets get started...

www.teresamallenstudio.com

Well coloured pencil has been a 'new' medium for a while and I guess you could say that now it is all grown up! Major art magazines feature coloured pencil artists and their art on a regular basis. Did you see the November issue of The Artist's Magazine? They have none other than Gary Greene's work on the cover, not to mention an article inside. As a fine art medium, coloured pencil is definitely coming into the the respect that it deserves.

Not only is the medium getting great exposure now, it is also growing in its capabilities. Artists are continuing to push this medium to new heights as they experiment with new surfaces and mixed media applications. From sanded pastel papers and boards, to underpainting in watersoluble crayons, things are moving in exciting new directions.

Our humble coloured pencils now have a special product that promises to take the medium where it hasn't gone before...are you ready? How about a special tool that melts your pigment while you work?!! Are you shocked, stunned? Well this product now exists. Hang onto your hats, things in the cp world will never be the same...

The Icarus Drawing Board is the invention of Ester Roi, a very talented coloured pencil artist in California, U.S.A. Ester's painting 'Into the Light' received the Award for Excellence at this summer's 16th Annual Colored Pencil Society of America's Exhibition in Seattle. Congratulations Ester! Do check out her website. Ester calls her style "exuberant realism" and I would agree! Her work is bright, bold, energetic and simply stunning.

Please note that I contacted Ester and asked for permission to show these pictures. Permission was granted. All images are the copyright of Icarus Art, Inc. Please also note that there is a patent pending on the drawing board.

So what is the Icarus Drawing Board? Based on the fact that wax based mediums become soft or melt when exposed to heat, this drawing board is designed to heat up to a temperature such that this softening and melting of wax occurs. When the wax is returned to room temperature, it solidifies again. For cp artists, you would need to be working in wax based pencils for this to work.

The board has a large 20" x 26" drawing surface. The top is tempered glass and there are four anti-skid rubber feet to keep it elevated and stable. The frame is metal and has venting holes.

You would use the cool zone for working on your line drawings, and for putting down layers of pigment. By moving your support over to the warm zone, you would then be able to mix pigment, blend, burnish and rework. Of course you could shift back and forth between the two zones. You can rest your arms on the cool areas of the glass when working.

Ester notes that the effect of heat on colored pencils becomes noticeable only when the surface is almost saturated with waxy pigment. The end result is the creation of a true coloured pencil painting rendering "artwork with similar color saturation and density of acrylic or oil paintings".

For more exciting possibilities, keep in mind that this board would work with wax crayons, oil pastels and encaustic sticks. And remember you would not need to use solvents.The heat is the solvent.

For all the info on this drawing board, go to the Icarus Art website. There is lots of great info, FAQs, tips in technique etc.

The drawing board became available for shipping at the beginning of October. In the last several weeks there has been quite a buzz developing in the cp world regarding this new product. So, Newsletter Group Members you are on the cutting edge of breaking news. How about that? :-) If you are interested in this board, why not order it now and have someone give it to you for Christmas?

Do you know someone who works in oil pastel, or perhaps encaustic media? Do them a favour and let them know about this new invention.

Ester has advised me of their latest news: They are working on a smaller version of the Icarus Drawing Board and it should be available at the end of January.

If any Newsletter Group Members purchases this board, please write me and let me know how you like working on it. If you live in Ottawa, maybe you would let me stop by to watch a demo. I'll bring cheesecake!

Now if you still prefer to work the old fashioned way, with just pencils and paper (no solvents, no mixed media underpainting, and no melting), don't worry. This method is still a great one - hey I still work that way myself. Perhaps you are just starting out in coloured pencil and all of this talk about melting wax gets you feeling overwhelmed. Well relax. Keep it simple. Do what you enjoy. If and when you feel like experimenting with new surfaces or new techniques you can, but until then just enjoy creating art with your coloured pencils - anyway you wish.

"The only difference between an artist and a lunatic is, perhaps, that the artist has the restraint or courtesy to conceal the intensity of his obsession from all except those similarly afflicted." Osbert Sitwell.

Well as Newsletter Group Members, I assume you are similarly afficted. Here is to an intense obsession!

Newsletter Group Member Marilyn Harris-Mills is the founder and General Manager of a non profit group called Decorative Artists In Canada. You can check out the website at: www.daic.ca. Here you can read a history of folk art, check out on-line classes, new video classes, info on conventions, etc. With over 400 members, the membership continues to grow each week. In fact their membership now includes decorative painters from all over the world. If you know someone who enjoys decorative painting, why not let them know about DAIC?

Marilyn is a very creative woman. As well as having a passion for decorative painting, Marilyn also enjoys working in pen and ink, mixed media, watercolour pencils, oils and of course coloured pencil.

You can check out her website at www.princessjcreations.com. Here you can learn about the workshops she offers, visit her gallery, and order art packets.

Not only is she creative, Marilyn is outgoing and enthusiastic - okay she is downright exuberant - with a wonderful, positive outlook on life. It was a delight to have Marilyn attend my Mixed Media Tapestry workshop in September. She was so filled with new ideas following the workshop that she spent the next week painting and painting. Here is some of what she created...The canvas trio pictured below on the left was inspired by the mixed media piece we did in the workshop. I really like the three canvases together. I think I shall try that myself! The image on the right, Marilyn called the Bleeding Healing Heart.

And last but not least, here is Marilyn's version of the moth in my moth kit. She got all of this done in one week! Wow. If you would like info on my practice kits, click here.

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!

This month Newsletter Group Member Jane Selley has asked a great question dealing with coloured pencil technique:

"Hi Teresa. I watched your piece with the tomatoes in the basket on your blog last month. I liked seeing it as a work in progress. I was wondering how you created the dark areas on the tomatoes.

I really enjoyed creating the complementary colour wheel in the Beyond the Basics course. I really liked how my red pepper turned out from your kit. But then I had trouble with my next piece. I created a still life of apples but when I went to colour them I wasn't happy with the results. I used the complementary method of creating darks but the dark areas don't look very good. I know that we learned other ways to create darks so I was wondering if you could tell me what I did wrong. I like your tomatoes and I was wondering if you used green to create the darks.Thank you for your time."

Great question Jane. I'm glad that you remembered that we covered other ways to create darks! :-) There are no rules or formulas in coloured pencil art. Using complementary colours to create interesting, rich shadows and dark values has been used for centuries by painters. But, it isn't the only way. To get interesting darks, you know that I recommend that students stay away from using grays. But you can use any colours you want, not just complements. For example, you might want to incorporate colours found in the rest of the work. This will give your work a unifying colour harmony.

With regards to my tomatoes, you might recall that I started the tomatoes by laying down a base of yellow and orange colours. I did this so that the tomatoes would have a 'glow' and a vibrancy. So I didn't start the piece with a complementary underpainting. I then added the various shades of red and orange to create the local colour. For those who didn't catch this on my blog, you can see one of the work in progress pictures on the left, below. The image on the right is the finished work. (I started posting the tomatoes as a wip on my blog on September 25,2008. You can click here to follow the tomato journey.)

I did not use green to create the darker values in the tomatoes. I used blue-violet and plum coloured pencils. Why? Mainly for colour harmony. I used blue-violet and rich plums in other areas of the piece- in the stalks, background and in the dark area of the basket. I wanted to carry these colours through to the shadows and other darker areas. As the tomatoes were going to be more of an orange and yellow red as opposed to a real red, I didn't want to use shades of green. Think of the colour wheel, what is opposite yellow-orange? Blue-violet, right? So I did actually use a complement even though I didn't do it consciously.

Were your apples a true red or were they pink-red or perhaps yellow-red? This might be why the green colours didn't seem to work. I find that unless I am dealing with a true red, adding greens can sometimes make the darker values dull and a bit lifeless. You want your darks to have energy, to vibrate. The red pepper kit works really well because it is a deep red pepper. So you are right, there are other ways to create darks. Using complements is one way but don't feel bound by this method. Some artists always do an underpainting in a certain colour while others always start a painting by putting down the complement in the dark areas. I don't work this way. I evaluate each new piece to determine what colours I see, what I would like to emphasis and what I would like to make up.

Thanks for the question Jane. Keep in mind that you can always lift your colour if you want to give the darks another try.

This month, I would like to share the art of coloured pencil artist Susan Tait Porcaro. She has just changed her website. I guess she is reinventing her image as she has a new logo, title and tagline. At first I thought I was on the wrong site. So when you see 2 Lips Art and Design, don't give up...click on her art link to see her portraits and still lifes. You can also enlarge the images to get a better view. I find her still lifes particularly beautiful. Please note that since this newsletter was originally posted, I have discovered that the 'clicking twice to enlarge images' feature is currently not working. I assume this is a temporary condition.

Next I would like to feature the blog and new website of Newsletter Group Member Rose Welty. Rose works in several media, including coloured pencil. Her blog journals her artistic journey and it is filled with informative and inspiring writing. If you have been thinking about starting a website, I suggest you read Rose's recent posts about her undertaking in creating a website and a sales blog. Click on the following links: Rose's blog, website, and sales blog. Congratulations Rose on all of your hard work. You have created a wonderful website and sales blog!

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.

It is time for the best studio tour in Ottawa - grab a bright coloured pen and mark November 22 and 23 on your calendar. It is time for the Red Trillium Studio Tour. I may be biased...I am normally on this tour :-) but it truly is a quality tour. Artist have to go through a jurying process. The organizers work hard to ensure that there are new artists on each tour as well as fresh art from the returning artists. Due to the events in my life in the past year, I am taking a break from the tour. I will be back on the tour next year and at that time, my new studio will be one of the tour stops. In the past, I have been a guest artist in the homes of various artists. Now it will be my turn to host artists. I know it is twelve months away but I get excited just thinking about it. Anyway, back to this year - you can visit their website to get the details.

A new gallery has just opened in Ottawa. The OWAA Gallery is located on the west end, in the Goulbourn Recreation Complex , 1500 Shea Road in Stittsville. It opened November 1st so it is brand spanking new. Click here for the website. Please note that the website is still under development so there is some info that has yet to be posted.

If you live in the Ottawa area and you love pottery, get yourself to the Glebe November 7th through the 9th. 260 Fingers is an exhibition and sale of the the work of 26 invited ceramic artists from Ontario and Quebec. Visit their website for details. I have been to this show in the past and it is fabulous. The pottery is truly extraordinary.

I am currently teaching a Portraits in Coloured Pencil course. This is my last course for 2008. I hope to have a schedule for classes in 2009 posted on my website this month. To see an overview of the courses I offer, please see the classes section of my website.

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