The Featured Artist: V O L U M E 1 4, I S S U E 1 RGAA MEETING J A N U A R Y, 2 0 1 3 Saturday, January 19th 10:00 AM Presbyterian Church (Academy & Moon) Potluck & Bring Paintings to Share Congratulations to Michael Meyer, recipient of the People's Choice Award for his painting, "Harding Creek" in the 2012 Encantada! show. A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT Hope the holidays were full of blessings, family, and friends. I want to thank the membership for selecting me as president for 2013. I plan to be readily available to hear any comments and suggestions. Please feel free to e-mail or call me with any input. Contact info is on the back page of this newsletter. Board meetings this year will be held prior to our meetings on the third Saturday of the month. If you have items for the board to address, please contact me about a week prior to the meetings. We have great people filling most of the board positions. Volunteers are always needed for various activities, however, so let me know if you wish to get more involved! January is of course the month for entries into the large works division of MasterWorks. The prospectus is online and the deadline is January 25 th. Hope you consider entering. John Meister is the file master; contact him with any entry questions. The miniature entries allow for more time to paint and are due March 16 th. Lyle Brown is the workshop chairman. Contact him if you are interested in Frank Lalumia s workshop, April 8-10. The fee is $300 for members. Sample portrait from Michael Meyer Demo, November Membership meeting. May this be a very productive year for all of us, Diane Buster
Page 2 The PALETTE Rio Grande Art Association Michael Meyer Portrait Demonstration by Diane Buster Mike Meyer left the corporate world of Chicago and moved to New Mexico about three years ago. One of his goals is to pursue his passion for painting. He paints landscapes and portraits in both watercolor and oil. He particularly likes the challenge of painting portraits. He is largely self-taught, though he did study several years with Richard Halstead. Mike said artists should work from live models and should have excellent drawing skills. Photographs can help as a backup for details, but you must realize how photographs lie. Learn how to measure and get the proportions correct.. Mike s palette was titanium white, cad yellow deep, yellow ochre, cad yellow light cad red medium, Venetian red, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, raw sienna, perm green, burnt umber, ultramarine violet, ultramarine blue, and black. He likes Old Holland paints the best. Typical mid-tones for Caucasian models are yellow ochre, burnt sienna, white and a little blue. This mix can be adjusted by adding other colors depending on skin tones. Typical highlights can use cad yellow light, Venetian red and white. Shadows should be established first with raw sienna and blue. Mix in midtone colors and/or alizarin crimson. Watch values, the lightest shadow area is always darker than the darkest light area. Mike also stressed looking for the blues and greens in the model s flesh tones as temperature changes are very important. Mike started the demonstration drawing with vine charcoal on canvas toned with burnt umber and ultramarine blue. The tone, Mike explained, helps him see the flesh colors properly as they would tend to look muddy on a white canvas. He marked the top and bottom of where he wanted to place the head. He started with the eyes which are typically at the center of the vertical line that bisects the head. Typically the eyes are one eye width apart. Mike worked from the eyes out, measuring the rest of the features in relation to them. For example, he used the eye distance to measure how far down does the nose go and at what angle. Mike bloted the drawing before starting to paint to remove excess charcoal. Mike use sable brushes for portrait painting as it aids in blending. He tries to start with a big brush, admitting that when he switches to a smaller brush he tends to stick with it. For this painting he started with a #10 filbert. He said using a mirror helps to check for accuracy. His medium is ½ refined linseed oil and ½ turpentine. Mike explained that the difficulty with painting the mouth is to make it seem part of the structure of the face by blending edges. The top lip is darker than the bottom. Details like how the tip of the nose turns into the nostrils and the shapes of shadows cast by the eyebrows are drawing elements that help make a likeness accurate. Attempt to get the overall values correct from the start. Reflected light and highlight shapes come later. Mike explained that oil paint allows for corrections as you work. Watercolor is less forgiving. Though the general rule is warm light and cool shadows, Mike stressed looking for cools in the light and warms in the shadows too. After the mouth shapes please him, Mike defines the shape of the chin. He works the background and hair at the same time for soft edges. Mike s demonstration represented the initial stages of a portrait painting. This stage is to capture the likeness and basic flesh tones. To finish, he would work a great deal on refining this start including another session with the model. He also explained that for commissioned work he seeks to design the pose to fit the personality of the sitter. Fully dry paintings, he seals with damar varnish.
Masterworks Three Day Workshop Sponsored by RGAA, 2013 The Workshop will be taught by Frank LaLumia and will take place on April 8, 9 and 10, 2012. Both Acrylics and Oils can be used. Frank is especially skilled at teaching Plein Air workshops, which this will be, pending weather. This is a chance to be taught by a Master Teacher and a chance to really advance your skills. Frank has a unique approach to art education, one that is observation driven and will put the student on a path that is self-sustaining. Frank is a nationally known oil and watercolor artist. He has been giving workshops all over the USA for many years and has received praises on his workshops. He is able to instruct students at many different levels. Numerous students have praised his special one-on-one teaching, saying his workshop is the best they ever attended. Born in Chicago (now living in Trinidad CO) and educated at Bradley University and the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Frank is a Signature member of the American Plein Air Painters of America and the American Watercolor Society. He is listed in Whoʼs Who in American Art and has work in the Permanent Collection of the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe. His work is found in both private and corporate collections worldwide. Frank is the winner of numerous national and regional awards over the past twenty years. He is also the author of the excellent book: PLEIN AIR PAINTING IN WATERCOLOR AND OIL. He has been published in Americana Artist Magazine, North Light Publications, Enchanted Isle- A History of Plein Air Painting in Santa Catalina Island, Southwest Art Magazine, Art of the West Magazine, and various other Watercolor magazines. The workshop is $300 for members and $325 for non-members. To sign up, contact Lyle Brown at 505-867- 2133 or e-mail: lhbrownart@msn.com. Space is limited so sign up early. After January 1st it will be open to non-members and Frank will be advertising it on his website. For more further information now, you can check out Frankʼs website: www.lalumia.com. Shark Harbor OIL Frank LaLumia Autumn on the Grand River 400 OIL Frank LaLumia
Ming Franz Frolicking in the Forest, watercolor/ink, 24x36 My style of painting is called splash ink with watercolor. It is a blending of Asian black ink and primary watercolors poured onto layers of mulberry rice paper, adding finishing touches from both eastern and western traditions. FROLICKING IN THE FOREST is a large painting, with predominantly black ink and only small areas of lighter colors. I used a Chinese brush and created the hills, reflections, trees, and flowered branches. But I felt the painting was missing a focal point. One day I was looking through a book, saw a group of birds, and immediately had the idea to add five birds to the painting, and the painting came alive. Representation Watermelon Gallery, Cedar Crest, NM; New Mexico Art League, Albuquerque, NM; Silicon Valley Asian Art Center, Santa Clara, NM.
New Mexico Art League Page 5 www.newmexicoartleague.org. 505-823-5034 Ming Franz Splash Ink with Watercolor Workshop (WS113)March 23 24, 2013; 9:00am-4:00 pm Tuition: Members $160, Non -Members $180, Materials fee of $35 Birgit O Connor, Dramatic Florals workshop (WS114) April 22 26, 2013; 9:00am-4:00 pm. Tuition: Members $495, Non-Members $515 Ming Franz 2014 Hawaii Cruise workshop, 1-18-2014 2-1-2014 on board the Carnival Miracle Sail round trip from San Pedro, CA to Hawaii Islands. Details: www.mingfranzstudio.com at events section or Contact Ming at : mingfranz11@yahoo.com Phone: 505-281-4956 The Gallery ABQ in Hoffmantown Shopping Center (Wyoming & Menaul) has Guest Artist Space available for rent. Perfect for one person or small group shows. The Gallery ABQ is a full-service gallery, open Monday-Saturday. Please contact Jean Porter for additional information: jpthepainter@comcast.net or 505-877-3141
Rio Grande Art Association The PALETTE Page 6 RGAA 2012 Officers and Committee President Diane Buster 505-281-3600 Diane_buster_1@msn.com Vice-President Bonnie Buckley 505-480-7020 bbuckley@cblegacynm.com ABOUT RGAA Co-Secretary Magda Burger 505-821-2171 The Rio Grande Art Association Magda43@q.com is a not for profit organization dedicated to Co-Secretary the education and promotion of New Mexico artists working in oil, Treasurer V Ann Peterson vaprio2009@yahoo.com 505-559-4939 acrylic, and mixed media not normally shown under glass. Programs MasterWorks Rex Barron rexbarron@q.com John Meister & Lyle Brown Meister1@comcast.net & lhbrownart@msn.com 505-822-9962 265-5218 & 867-2133 Rio Grande Art Association P.O. Box 53307 Albuquerque, NM 87153 President, Diane Buster PHONE: (505) 281-3600 Encantada Email: Diane_buster_1@msn.com Exhibits & Publicity Membership Toni Black 505-980-6990 toni6b@yahoo.com Historian Magda Burger 505-821-2171 Magda43@q.com Refreshments Newsletter: Editor Nora Sanders Curran Currannora@gmail.com Assoc. Editor Websites www.rgaanm.org On the Trail of Don Quixote by: Frank LaLumia www.masterworksnm.org