Palette. Rio Grande Art Association. Volume 16 Issue 17 March The. PRESIDENT S Message

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1 The Rio Grande Art Association Palette Volume 16 Issue 17 March 2015 RGAA NEXT MEETING Saturday March 10.00am at Cumberland Presbyterian Church on Academy and Moon The Board meets at 8.45am Our speaker for March is Charlie Aldrich Details on page 2 This month s challenge is to create a painting using one s non-dominant hand. So right handed people will use their left hand and vice versa. Congratulations to Diane Buster See details on page 6 PRESIDENT S Message New Mexico offers such a variety of scenes to paint. From snow to sunshine. February went out like a lion providing us an abundance of white snow overnight. But one had to hurry to capture it whether on canvas or in photos; it did not last long. Be sure to mark your calendars for MasterWorks which is right around the corner. The opening reception is April 3rd, 5-8pm and runs through April 25th. Many accolades go out to all members accepted into the Standard Fine Artwork division of this years MasterWorks. There is still time to enter the Miniature Division. Entry forms for miniatures are due March 14th and the actual art piece delivered on March 21st. WOW we aim to please for those who want to show their work and are finding it difficult to get into juried exhibits with limited space. RGAA is planning a membership show from May 18th - August 14th at the Jewish Community Center on Wyoming. All the details and prospectus are inside this newsletter. RGAA s annual juried exhibition, ENCANTADA, is in the planning stages. More information will be available soon. There are lots of opportunities to keep your paint brushes busy just add your inspiration. The monthly challenge for March is to create a piece of art using your non-dominant hand. If you normally are right handed, use your left and vice versa. If you are ambidextrous, you will have to get really creative. Everyone try it and bring your results to our next meeting on the 21st of March. I would like to acknowledge Ray Tussing, a fairly new member, who volunteered to take over as Webmaster! You are much-loved!!! I still have a couple spots for the Bill Gallen Workshop call me on NB. Editor s Request: Deadlines for submission is the 4th of each month. All photo submissions must be in JPeg format and text in Times New Roman. No PDFs, please!!!! See you at the easels! Bonnie Buckley President

2 Our March Presenter is RGAA member Charlie Aldrich Charlie Aldrich will offer a presentation titled Beyond Overdone Problems are your friends. He will discuss his approach to the creative process, how mistakes can be the gateway to new areas of exploration, and how to come up with ideas. He will show a wide variety of his work and discuss their commonalities. He will do some quick demonstrations as well as some quick demolitions. He will also share some tried and tested tricks of the trade that he has found useful. Charlie s background includes painting murals, theatrical backdrops, theatre makeup, carved liturgical altarpieces and decorations. He has exhibited woodcuts and paintings and has been accused of cultural genocide (the jury is still out). Above: Stillness and Rotation by Charlie Aldrich Charlie Aldrich was born and raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He grew up with an appreciation for the southwest landscape, adobe churches and Hispanic Folk Art. His interest in liturgical art began as a child with collecting art books about the Italian Renaissance. With extensive course work through high school and college, Charlie developed an interest drawing the human form. Charlie s liturgical work ranges from woodcuts to hand carved stations of the cross and painted and carved alter pieces. He presently sells his work at the Monk s Corner in Santa Fe. Murals are another area of interest of Charlie s. He has done a variety ranging from pediatric exam rooms for doctors offices to a 160 ft. long depiction of the Apache Sitgraves Forest. Charlie s current work retains an interest in portraiture as well as exploring the possibilities of combining still life with areas of abstract textures. In his Artist s Statement Charlie says: Most of the recognizable imagery in my work comes from objects that I have grown attached to, often things that have been in my family for generations. The figures and portraits are usually from my imagination and come from a long love of drawing. I try to use my titles as a collage element in my paintings. They act, not always as a description, but as a discovered scrap added to the mix... Perhaps most interesting to me is how our visual and psychological fields intersect and bring forth unanticipated and compelling images. 2

3 RGAA Board Minutes for February 21, Meeting at Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church Attending: Charlie Aldrich; Bonnie Buckley; Nancy Davis; Allen Lowery; John Meister; Barbara Nahler; Carolyn Poole, Sheila Richmond; Nora Sanders; Wanda Portee Meeting called to order at 8:50 AM. Minutes of Jan 17 meeting accepted with a note that term limits may be discussed but do not need to be added to the By- Laws and we do not, presently have Policies and Procedures. Treasurer s report sent via , accepted. To save money we will no longer print the membership list for distribution, but will make it available on the web-site and via . We will print membership cards and distribute them at the meetings. MasterWorks: RGAA had 287 entries from 118 artists. Thirty-seven artists were chosen for 47 spots. There was some discussion about limiting acceptance to one painting per artist. There are still four spaces in the Bill Gallen workshop. There will be three miniature workshops. Paperwork for miniatures is due Mar 14, and paintings are to be delivered on Mar. 21. We determined that the Give Back Award presented at MasterWorks by RGAA be returned to $100. Members Show: Allen and Sheila have worked on a prospectus which was presented. It was decided to make it a simpler procedure, and the final prospectus will be ed. Dates are May 18 through June 30 and July 1 through August 14. Encantada: A change of venue was discussed and a proposal made that we change to the Hispanic Arts Building and hold the show in August. (Subsequently this was found not to be available, and a probable date of July in the Fine Arts Building will likely be the venue.) Awards of $1000, $500 and $300 will be offered for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, and 4th place eliminated. Nancy Davis asked for the help of the Board, especially as time will be very short to organize the show this year. Unfinished Business: We still need a Webmaster. Member Ray Tussing offered and will meet with Reebie to discuss how to take over. John Meister will continue to develop marketing pamphlets, bookmarks, etc. We need Policies and Procedures, not a re-writing of the By-Laws each time we have a question. Moved and seconded that Wanda and Sheila will look into this. Jeanne Weitz paintings may be used as an auction or fund raiser at the Members Show. Things are still missing from the storage space at Adair Peterson s, especially the Historian s material. Still discussing another place to store supplies. New Business: Wanda will be responsible for the April Newsletter, so send material to her rather than Nora. Adjourned 9:50 AM Respectfully submitted, Sheila Richmond

4 Treasurer s Report 4 INFLOWS MasterWorks Entry Fee 2015: 4, Membership Dues 2015: TOTAL INFLOWS: $5, RGAA CASH FLOW REPORT (Feb 2015 Meeting) Date 1/1/2015 through 2/19/2015 OUTFLOWS Cell Phone: PayAnywhere: PayPal Charges: Electronics & Software: Web Expenses: TOTAL OUTFLOWS: $ (Quicken Program) 1/18/2015 Checking Opening Balance (From transfer between Treasurers and recorded in Quicken) $1, /19/2015 Checking Current Balance $6, Paid Membership 1/1/2015 through 2/19/ NET TOTAL: $ Michael Norviel RGAA Presentation by Diane Buster A painter since childhood, Michael Norviel moved to New Mexico in 1964 to become the head of the medical illustration department for the UNM Medical School. He trained in commercial art at the Art Institute of Boston and then completed the Harvard Medical Illustration program. During his 36 years at UNM, he created illustrations for hundreds of books and monographs. He retired from UNM in Throughout this time, Mike privately pursued his own fine art painting showing his work in several local Albuquerque and Santa Fe galleries. In 2012 he was named as a Local Treasure. Michael will be featured at Sumner Dene Gallery in Albuquerque through March, opening night is March 6th. Michael began his presentation with examples of his medical illustrations. He showed drawings in pen and ink, scratchboard, and graphite. He explained how scratchboard techniques could create depth and shadows, how different strokes emphasized light and shadow in pen and ink, and how to create tonal effects with graphite. The illustrations showed incredible draftsmanship. With computers came the ease of duplicating and correcting work as well as combining illustrations with text. All work now is done with computer techniques. In his personal work, Michael shows his enjoyment of loosening up, playing with lots of color, and also implying a narrative. His drawings and paintings range from portraiture, to landscape, and to still life. His mediums range from charcoal drawings to paintings in acrylic and oils. He is inspired by the works of Matisse and loves to use primary, bold colors and to use devices like window frames and doorways to move the viewer through more visual space. He often includes a variety of New Mexico inspired patterns in the textiles and wall coverings in his images. He also always leaves a portion of the canvas unpainted. This is inspired by a Navajo weaving tradition of a spirit thread. The thought is that by leaving one thread out, the spirit of the weaving can come and go at will and therefore is happy. Michael likes this idea, and this is his way of creating a happy painting. Michael showed us a large and varied body of work. Some earlier pieces included a charcoal drawing of one of the Milagro Bean Fields character, a color study of Colorado rooftops, and a portrait of a girl whose eyes follow you everywhere showing some Fechin influence. He also hinted at some story lines in some of his images using items like half-finished wine glasses and empty shoes on the floor. Other images show his love not only of strong color, but arbitrary color. Blue fruit, why not! Red Sky, it is New Mexico after all. Michael also uses intriguing odd color shapes in and around areas of flat color to both direct the eye and enliven the painting.

5 Michael Norviel Presentation/continued 5 Michael warns about the dangers of the lower right hand corner of any image. Maybe because we read from left to right, the eye wanders to that corner then just as often moves on, right out of your painting! Therefore, Michael purposefully designs a block to keep the viewer in the work longer. Michael had several interiors with and without figures. One, an image of a couple in a Wine Bar, is now the image on one of the local winery Casa Rondena labels. Another which included several women in leotards was an acrylic painting Michael called The Dance of the Wickens and was one he just had to do. Michael s images span the country from local New Mexico scenes, to the Mardi Gras, to the center ring of the circus with 28 figures and an elephant!, and on to Key West and the Hemmingway House. One type of work not included in this large portfolio is plein air work. Michael says things just change too fast for him to want to tackle plein air. Michael s featured painting for the upcoming show at Sumner-Dene, is a large work, 50x44, titled The Rug Merchant s Table. This painting strongly portrays Michael s love and expert handling of color, pattern, texture, and whimsy! For more information, visit Michael s web page at: Editor s Note:Sumner and Dene show of Norviel s work opens this Friday 6 March. Details below: March 6, 5-8pm Lydia Piper Fused Glass Michael Norviel Table Tops and Landscapes exhibit runs thru 28 March Sumner & Dene, located Downtown Albuquerque at 517 Central Ave NW, is OPEN weekdays 10-6, Saturdays 10-5, Sundays 12-4 There are still a few places left for the Bill Gallen Workshop during Masterworks. Bill is a well known artist and an excellent teacher. His students speak very highly of him. This is how he describes his work: When I look at other people s paintings, the thing I look for is the presence of love. Love of subject, materials, facility of handling some evidence of joy, wonder of the ecstatic interchange between the artist and her subject the lover and the beloved. It is this that I am interested in for my own work. Not a painting per sé, but as Robert Henri has written: the object of painting is the attainment of a state of being. The painting becomes a trace, the footprint of the state. The Art Spirit. R. Henri For more of Bill s forthcoming workshops and to see his work visit his website: www. billgallen.com

6 More news of events and members activities 6 THE NEW MEXICO ART LEAGUE 3409 JUAN TABO BLVD, ABQ. NM NMAL The NEW MEXICO ART LEAGUE presents Black & White Preview: Black & White: an Exhibition of Drawings and Photography Saturday, March 7, 2015, 6 to 9 pm Fundraiser: TICKETS $60 each or two for $100 DRINKS AND HORS D OEUVRES black & white ATTIRE black & white SPECTACULAR RAFFLE ITEMS black & white Black &White: an exhibition of Drawings and Photography Saturday, March 7, 2015, 6-9pm. Purchase tickets now at newmexicoartleague.org or call Reservations only. No ticket sales at the door. Tickets are tax deductible and non-refundable. Tickets are tax deductible. No refunds. No Tickets at the door. Please call now or Give Back Award RGAA recognizes a member who has given above and beyond to our Association and to the local art community. Our Give Back Award Honoree has the happy challenge of selecting the winner of this prize from the large paintings in the MasterWorks Exhibition. This year our Honoree is Diane Buster. She has served in many leadership roles; most recently as President in She, graciously, takes the photos and writes-up the summary reports on the guest presenters which are published in the Newsletter. She has served as RGAA s representative for MasterWorks; has organized members exhibits in a local Gallery. She lends a helping hand when needed. This year we honor Diane for her contributions to RGAA and the community. Congratulations Diane! Bonnie Buckley

7 RGAA Summer Exhibitions All Members Shows-MAY 18-August 14, 2015 Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque 5520 Wyoming NE 7 This presents a wonderful opportunity for all RGAA members to show this summer. Two shows are open to every member working in oils, acrylic, encaustic any media shown on the wall and not under glass. We hope to hang more than 130 works during the two shows! Exhibition Dates: May 18 through June 30, and July 1 through August 14. Receptions: First show- Sunday, May 31, 2:30-4:30PM. Second show- (date and time to be decided) Submission Criteria: Each member of RGAA may submit UP TO three paintings, with a guarantee that at least one will be selected for the shows! All works must be original, framed and ready to hang with wire (no hooks.) Framed paintings may not exceed 48 in width nor be smaller than 12 in width. Signup deadline: April 18 th Sign-up sheets will be available at each RGAA meeting through April 18, 2015, or, you may your entries to Allen Lowery (spiritpath44@comcast.net)... include, name, phone, title, size, medium and price. Submission Process: Deliver work-monday, May 18, (9:00-10:30) to Albuquerque JCC, 5520 Wyoming NE. Hang- May 18 (12:00-2:00) Pick up extras- May 18 (3:00-4:00) Each submittal should be tagged on the back with name/phone, title, medium, size and price. Entries will be juried by a committee of the Board. Once paintings have been selected for the two shows, artists will be notified to retrieve paintings not selected by 4:00pm. A small fee of $10 per painting will be charged for those accepted to offset RGAA expenses. Sales: All work must be for sale. RGAA and the JCC will retain 30%. There will be no tax, and 70% will go to the artist. Unsold paintings from the first show must be retrieved on June 30, Entries accepted into the second show must be delivered on June 30, and retrieved on August 14, CALL FOR ENTRIES ARTIST: CONTACT INFO: Title 1) 2) 3) Medium 1) 2) 3) Size: 1) 2) 3) Price: 1) 2) 3)

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9 RGAA Officers and Chairs 2014 President: Bonnie Buckley Vice-President: Barbara Nahler Secretary: Sheila Richmond Treasurer: Wanda Portee Programs: Mary Julyan Encantada: Nancy Davis Masterworks Michael Meyer (File Master 2015) Bonnie Buckley (Workshops) Rio Grande Art Association The Rio Grande Art Association is a not for profit organization dedicated to the education and promotion of New Mexico Artists working in oil, acrylic and mixed media not normally shown under glass. Rio Grande Art Association P.O.Box Albuquerque, NM President: Bonnie Buckley Phone: bbuckley0870@gmail.com 10 Membership: Allen Lowery Spiritpath44@comcast.net Historian: Charlie Aldrich cdaldrich409@yahoo.com Refreshments: Carolyn Poole crpoole@comcast.net Newsletter: Nora Sanders thedancingbrush@gmail.com Assoc. Editor: Wanda Portee wportee4529@comcast.net Websites: Ray Tussing etussing@msn.com Exhibits & Publicity: Open Above: painting by Bill Gallen