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The February 15, 2012 program will be presented by Beaverton artist George E MacDonald. Mac has a background in many forms of art but is passionate about sculpture. He loves working with the human form and nature as his subject matter.
More examples of his work can be seen at http://www.pnwsculptors.org/profilemacdonald.htm
Learn about past Programs and Demonstrations
The "Artist of the Month" for February and March 2012 will be SWA members John Turley (February)
and Joan Turley (March)
Learn about past Artists of the Month
The November 16, 2011 program was presented by Cathy Arneson. Cathy discussed the process of illustrating the children's book "We Eat Food That's Fresh" (written by Angela Russ-Ayon.)
A lot of planning goes into illustrating a children's book. You need to consider the target age-group, the mood of the book, and its purpose. Then you need to do research to make sure your illustrations correctly reflect the topic, culture, time-period, and location of the story. Once this is done you need to divide the text into sections that can be illustrated, making sure there is not too much text on any page. The illustrations need to compliment and add to the text. Once all this is done, you will begin to develop the characters and produce a rough-sketch story-board. There is a lot of back-and-forth communication between the illustrator and the publisher (and author) before you do the "final" illustrations. There may even be some photoshop tweaking of the "finals" before the book is published. The illustrating process for "We Eat Food That's Fresh" took nine months. For more information about Cathy and her illustrations go to http://cathyjune.blogspot.com/2008/11/home.html
The October 19, 2011 program was presented by local artist Daniel Ng. Daniel grew up in Hawaii and began his art training there. He continued his art training in California before moving to Portland Oregon where he now has a studio. Before switching to acrylic painting he worked in Ceramics.
More examples of his work can be seen at http://www.danielngart.com
The September 21, 2011 program was presented by local artist Cynthia Heise. Cynthia paints mostly in acrylics using bright colors and lots of overpainting. Most of her paintings are of people; many are self-portraits. She brought examples of both small and large works and discussed the evolution of several of the paintings.
Cynthia is a member of the North Bank Artists Community Project. More examples of her work can be seen at http://northbankartistsgallery.com/
The June 15, 2011 program was a demo by Roberta Babcock from Beaverton,Oregon. Roberta has been involved in art since childhood. However in the past 5 years she has become interested in sculpture. She creates her sculptures using fiberclay, steel armatures, and Raku firing. Her work is influenced by classical training, observation, extensive travel, and a love for contemporary art. Her most current work is a series depicting elongate Raku fired figures of early cowboys and horses.
The April 20, 2011 program was a demo by well-known Oregon landscape oil-painter Michael Orwick. Michael showed us how to capture the "atmosphere" or mood of a time and place. He began with a partially completed painting that had the basic composition and values he wanted. He uses a limited palette of warm and cool primary colors ( Quinacridone Red, Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Lemon Yellow, Manganese Blue, French Ultramarine Blue) plus Titanium White and for "fun" Indian Yellow. Using this limited palette he premixes harmonizing colors to use for foreground, middle ground, lower sky and upper sky. These premixed colors become a base which he fine tunes for value and chroma as he works. His technique involves adding paint and then smearing and selectively wiping off the paints to bring out the mood and atmosphere of the scene.
For more information about Michael and more examples of his work visit his website http://www.MichaelOrwick.com
The March 16, 2011 program was presented by internationally known oil painter Craig Srebnik. Craig is one of the best painters of human anatomy living today. His paintings have been accepted into numerous juried shows, won multiple awards, been published in magazines and displayed in museums and galleries internationally. Craig's presentation was both informative and entertaining. His approach is to teach concepts, principles and techniques so that students will have the tools to go in whatever direction they choose. Craig discussed his supplies from his simple palette of lightfast colors (black, white, earthtones, and a few bright colors for accent) to his brush choice (long-handled, long-haired, flat, boar-bristle) to his use of safflower oil and ordorless turpentine. Craig painted a portrait for his demonstration. He explained skin tones - warm, cool, neutral --- and the complex form of the face --- many broad planes and subplanes. He discussed how light, shadow, and atmosphere affect colors on these planes.
For more examples of Craig's work and demos, student guides and information about supplies visit his website http://www.csfineart.com
The February 16, 2011 program was presented by Mary McCarty. Mary is a prize-winning graphic artist (mostly detailed pencil botanicals) and was a commercial artist before becoming a full-time fine artist. Mary brought examples of her artwork and discussed her materials and techniques. She works from real life (although she does take reference photos of details like hairs on leaves or how a leaf connects to the stem). She places her model on a turntable so she can easily change views and considers both positive and negative space in developing her compositions. Her initial drawing is done on tracing paper which is easily erasable. Once happy with the composition she inks the outlines of the drawing. Using a lightbox she lightly traces the drawing to a smooth paper - Bristol smooth, Bristol velum or hotpress watercolor paper. She then establishes a light direction and begins drawing the details. Mary wears a glove (made from a sock) on her drawing hand to keep the paper from absorbing body oils. She works in multiple layers using only a few pencils (usually H, HB, 2H, and 2B). She does not use the really soft pencils and she only blends when rendering clouds. Mary is a member of the North Clackamas Arts Guild, Canby Art Association, Oregon Society of Artists, and the Three Rivers Artist Guild. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon. For more examples of Mary's artwork go to http://marymccarty.wordpress.com/
The program for January 2011 was "Artist's Tips" presented by Diana Thewlis Marianne Stokes, and Ann Amies.
Marianne showed us a reasonable priced Dick Blick paper she uses for watercolor sketching and a very very light-weight easel. She also suggested we use inexpensive chalk for layout work.
Anne talked about her process for deciding what to draw and when to stop or change thing. She also discussed uses for watercolor pencils. Since there was some time left several suggestions and tips were share by other members.
Oregon City artist Pat Averill gave a delightful and informative program at our November 17, 2010 meeting. She discussed her supplies and techniques, brought examples of her work, and did demos of various techniques using colored pencils, crayolas, and watercolor pencils. Pat is a charter and signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA). She is known for her colored pencil landscapes although she does paint other subjects and use other media. Her work has been accepted into juried shows, won numerous awards and earned her the CPSA 15-year merit award. She has been featured in national and international art magazines and has contributed to several books on colored pencils. Pat teaches classes and workshops around the country, including local classes out of her Oregon City home. For more information and examples of her work, check her website http://pataverill.com
The October 20th program was presented by Kristen Larson. Kristen brought several examples of her art and enthusiastically told us about her life and artistic journeys. Originally from Montana, Kristen has had her paintings shown in cafes, restaurants, and galleries around New York City and Boston.
Ann shows at several galleries in California, Washington, and Oregon and is one of September's featured artists at the Avalon Art Gallery & Studio in Battle Ground, WA http://avalongalleryandstudio.com . She is a member of the Battle Ground Art Alliance. For more examples of her art see her webpage http://www.anncavanaugh.com .
Brush Prairie artist Sid Sutherland presented a fascinating program at the June 16, 2010 meeting. Sid is a retired contractor and a member of the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers. He developed an art form using wood as the medium. He digitizes a photo into little squares and using software assigns colors to each square. He collects various woods for their colors -- dying some of the lighter wood to complete his palette. He cuts this wood into small bocks (3/16" x 3/16" x 2") and bonds them together using a slow-setting epoxy. Each "painting" takes 10-13,000 pieces of wood. When the "painting" is complete it is 2" thick, allowing him to slice it into thinner slabs for multiple originals. The photos below show a finished piece and closer views, including an enlargement of the upper left arm and shoulder of the child.
Dorothy Fitzgerald was the presenter at the May 19, 2010 meeting. Dorothy is an oil painter who teaches portraits, landscapes and still life at the Oregon Society of Artists. Dorothy judged one of our show a few years ago. She currently exhibits her work at several galleries. Dorothy did a still life demo for us. As she set up the still life and began sketching it on her canvas she reminded us that a good painting has to have a good beginning - you should make sure that you have a light source to establish volume and that every object occupies its own space in the painting. She brought several partially finished versions of the same still life so she could show the entire process. As the painting progressed she shared many tips and and ideas with us.
The April 21, 2010 program was presented by Gamblin Oil Paints representative Scott Gellatly. Gamblin Oil Paints have been around for 25 years and are manufactured in Portland, Oregon. Scott's presentation was interesting even for those artists who don't usually paint with oils. He spent most the time discussing color theory and the differences between mineral and modern colors, and mixing colors to demonsrate hue, value, and chroma.
Check out Gamblin's website at http://gamblincolors.com The website is packed full of information about painting techniques and color theory as well as information on Gamblin Paints' history and products.
On March 17, 2010 Kellee Beaudry presented a delightful program. She brought several examples of her work and demonstrated her style and technique with a dog portrait. She also enlightened us with tips on how she keeps painting, particularly commission work, fun and stress free. Kellee paints in acrylic on canvas. Her style is painterly with vivid color and bold brush strokes. She specializes in unique and personal pet portraits. For more information and samples of her work see her website http://4muddypawsart.com .
The February 17, 2010 program was presented by Lake Oswego artist
The January 20, 2010 program was an oil portrait demonstration by Oregon artist Aimee Erickson. Aimee works from dark to light and from general to specific. As she painted she gave us tips and ideas and reminded us to always keep in mind shape, value, and edge transition.
The December 16, 2009 program was presented by Cortney Erskine.
"Artist of the Month" for October was new member Larisa Aksenova. Larisa has been painting about a year. She paints a variety of subject matter and styles. She does not like to get bogged down in details and works quickly. She commented that even acrylics seem to dry too slow for her.
The "Artist of the Month" for June was new member Al Tjaden. When Al started sketching with pens he had no formal training (other than landscape architecture). Eventually he took lessons and his instructor suggested he switch from black and white pen work to watercolors. He began experimenting with watercolors of rocks and shadows, then sunsets and water, and finally wildlife. When developing his compositions he works directly from photos of the wildlife but makes up the backgrounds. Al brought numerous examples of his work to the June meeting -- from early black and white pen work to current watercolors, some still in progress.
The "Artist of the Month" for May was SWA member Ray Baxter. Ray is also president of the Northwest Oil Painters Guild (NOPG). Ray began taking painting classes in Pennsylvania. He later moved to Australia where he continued to paint and take classes. A few years ago he moved to the Pacific Northwest. Ray paints variety of subjects mostly in oil, but sometimes in acrylics. He brought many examples of his oils, oils under glass, and acrylics to share with the group.
Visit Ray's webpage in the Members Gallery on the NOPG website. http://www.oilpaintersguild.com/MembersWorks/BaxterRArt/BaxterRweb.htm
Dennis Cavanagh, a recent new member, was the Artist of the Month for December 2010. Dennis shared about two dozen of his watercolors with us. Besides being an SWA member, he is an active Freemodel member and attends Mature Learning watercolor classes at Clark College.
June's "Artist of the Month" was Bobbie Myers. Bobbie has been a member of the SWA for 25 years. Bobbie usually works in Pen & Ink, watercolor, and colored pencil. She does both fine art and scientific illustrations, including painting several animated sequences for film. She also works with clay and glazes.
April's "Artist of the Month" was SWA watercolorist Cathy Cameron. Cathy brought numerous examples of her work to the April meeting and shared a
February's "Artist of the Month" was SWA member Louise Allyn Beckman. At the February meeting Louise shared her art made from cloth and thread. She brought many examples including dolls and quilted pieces. Her most current work is a large quilted wall hanging which she designed and hopes to enter in both national and local shows.
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Most of Daniel's paintings use a fish-eye or curved perspective and begin with a black gesso underpainting. His work is bold and colorfull. He uses photos for reference, interpreting and developing the subject rather than painting just what he sees.
Diane showed us a reducing glass which helps you to "step back" from your art and get a broader perspective while you are working upclose. She gave us insights into why we should buy quality paints and how to get every last drop of paint from the tube. She also talked about using and selecting pen nibs. 
The September 15, 2010 program was presented by glass artist Ann Cavanaugh. Ann has been working in glass since 1980 and in fused glass since 2004. Ann discussed the materials she uses and showed us samples of both materials and finished products for her "warm glass" art -- slumped glass, cast glass, and fused glass. She then explained the steps involved in her fused-glass art, showing examples at several stages. The art starts "cold" with a glass tray which she layers with glass strips, chips, pieces, and powders depending on the design. These are secured to the tray with glue or hair spray. Once she is happy with the layout the piece is loaded into a kiln and heated up to about 1400 degrees. At that temperature the glass melt enough to fuse together. The annealing process is started by cooling the kiln to 900 degrees and then 700 degrees. Once the kiln has cooled to room temperature the piece is removed and inspected. Sometimes more layers of glass are added and the heating and cooling process is repeated. Once she is happy with the results she finishes it by either fire polishing or "cold working" (grinding) to smooth and finish the edges. 
Sonja brought numerous large and small paintings to share with us. She discussed her approach to composition and told us where/how she finds material that inspires her. She also demonstrated the initial stages of getting it on canvas. For more information and samples of her work see her website 
The October 21 program was 
"Artist of the Month" for November was Wanda Brewster. Wanda started taking classes in Cincinnatti in 2003. She began with simple drawing but soon became interested in Colored Pencils. She uses both graphitint and prismacolor pencils and works in multiple layers -- often scrubbing in the backgroud layers with a stiff brush. She also uses turpenoid on some of her pieces. See the 
"Artist of the Month" for February 2011 was SWA member Shirley McConnell. Shirley brought many examples of her artwork to the February meeting. Shirley is a watercolor artist and has been painting 5 years. She loves to experiment with papers and backgrounds -- she sprays, pours, stamps, uses liquid starch, saran wrap, plastic garbage bags, etc.
The "Artist of the Month" for October was new member Ginger Bryant. Ginger graduated from Portland State with a degree in art. She has many years experience in client-oriented graphic design and advertising. She brought examples of her graphic works including business cards, brochures, and CD covers. She also gave us numerous tips on framing. Recently Ginger has switched to fine art for the freedom. 
