June 2013 Newsletter President s Message CALENDAR June 13, 2013 Luncheon Meeting 11:30 am Olympic Collection Welcome New WPW Members illustration by Louis Gadal ARTIST LICENSE PLATE FRAMES! Thank you for allowing me to lead all of you as your co-president. I have had the opportunity to get to know many of you a little better and have enjoyed your friendships. I have discovered that I really enjoy being in the limelight. I never knew that I could speak in front of an audience and I find that I actually enjoy doing so. Of course all of you have made that possible there would not be much use in talking to myself! My hope is that I have done a good job as your leader and that the new copresidents, Sherrill Kahn and Ellen Price, will be as satisfied as I have been in the role of leadership. I am confident that they will be great together and that you will be there for them. My thanks as well to Susan for getting me through these last two years. She has contributed to my success as a speaker by stepping back and allowing me to do it. She did so much to help Women Painters West run smoothly and, if not for her, I would not have taken on the leadership role. We made a great team and I look forward to our continuing friendship through the coming years. Together we can market the website and declare our place in the world! GET YOURS AT THE NEXT LUNCHEON Custom Frame $6.00 each Check or cash accepted To order by mail, send a check for $11.75 (includes postage) made out to Women Painters West for each frame to: Mara Thompson 734 Cedar Street, Apt A Santa Monica, CA 90405 And lastly I know I speak for Susan when I say that our Board gave us two wonderful years of support, help, enthusiasm and some fun as well. My thanks and appreciation go to all of you. Lynn Lynn Gadal & Susan Rosman, Co-presidents Lynn s email: lynngadal@gmail.com, Susan s email: surosman@gmail.com Great Thanks to our Staff Contributors Managing and layout editors: Mila Benedicto, Susan Rosman, Lynn Gadal; Members News: Nancy Goodman Lawrence; Feature Articles: Diane Karpel, Harriett Lahana, Laura Long, Rea Nagel, Bev Grossman, Betzi Stein Photos: Susanne Belcher, Kathy Sandel; Mailing: Mathilde Lombard 1 www.womenpainterswest.org
May Luncheon - Scholarship Winners Kyle Jordan was born in L.A. but spent many summers with his grandparents in Tennessee. He was quite the rock star there as it was assumed everyone from L.A. is a star! His grandmother was a very powerful force in his life. The medium Kyle enjoys most is oil which allows him to change the ground and figurative pieces he is working on. He likes the extended drying time and the viscosity and he uses acid as a means of cutting through the various layers of paint. His subject matter is derived from the urban environment; he loves abstraction and introduces figures into many of his works. His favorite artists is Gerhard Richter and we could see that in the abstract work he brought to our luncheon. Kyle plans to continue to show his work and wants to teach others to express themselves. He graduates this spring from Otis. 2 www.womenpainterswest.org Wendy Silva received a scholarship for the second year in a row. Her new work caught the eye of the jurors and was very well received by our luncheon group. She grew up in L.A. and started taking art classes at the age of 15. She works in all mediums, but currently favors the use of oil paints. Working with figures and abstract landscapes her philosophy is to go with the flow. Her work has been greatly influenced by Frida Kahlo. Wendy will receive the Academic Award for Excellence in Painting at graduation this year from Otis. She is applying for internships at the Hammer Museum, L.A. Current Exhibitions and LACMA with the goal of doing archival or curatorial work. She and two other artists who received our scholarships are looking for studio space to share. And her summer will be spent in New York taking Art in Context visiting galleries, studios, workshops and museums.
Scholarship Winners Continued Nikkolos Mohammed, twenty-one years old, talented and articulate, grew up in Venice CA and is the product of a local Catholic high school. He has completed his four year program and Otis and will enter the MFA degree program at UC San Diego. He feels very fortunate to be a world traveler, enjoying the benefits of his father being employed by one of the major airlines. Nikkolos usually paints portraits of people, portraying layered social connotations that may seem incompatible on the surface. The impressive full size portrait of his grandmother, who modeled for the piece, conveys the fervor of a powerful woman who is a total fan of Jesus and at the same time a loyal fan of the Raiders football team. Her epressive attitude is what informs the emotional impact of the painting. He often paints in a combination of gouache and oil, frequently experimenting with pure pigments and binders that include isopropyl alcohol and water. Nikkolos is inspired by the work of Alberto Giocometti and the palette of Swedish artist Anders Zorn. Artists Above: Nikkolos Mohammed, So Jung Jak Artists Below: Wendy Silva, Jose Guadalupe Sanchez III, Kyle Jordan Thanks to our wonderful interviewers: Diane Karpel: Harriett Lahana; Laura Long; Rea Nagel; Bev Grossman: Betzi Stein. His ultimate goal is to teach at the college level and, of course, to continue to paint whenever he can. As indeed he should. So Jung Jak arrived in L.A. from Korea 4 years ago speaking no English and having had no art classes in her Seoul high school. Her Korean studies focused on acting and her art adventures began when she enrolled at Otis. Like most of us she tried many different mediums: oil was wonderful but too slow drying for her fast paced thinking; she tried watercolors and was intimidated by the inability to cover errors easily; so she settled on acrylic paints and she prefers to work on canvas. She brought two very different paintings to the meeting; a self portrait focusing on her disattisfaction with her features, and a large impressionistic portrait with short, direct strokes of color that is very dynamic. Her ability to switch approaches and medium depending on the subject shows a very mature skill. She is the only student who is not a senior. Her teacher at Otis, Meg Cranston, has greatly influenced her and she would like to become as good a teacher when she returns to Korea as she is here on a student visa. Jose Guadalupe Sanchez III who works primarily in acrylic on watercolor paper was raised in Culver City and Inglewood. He tries to combine two ideologies in his paintings: he places figures referencing social realism into environments rendered in a cartoon-style landscape reminiscent of 50 s background sets of Roadrunner & Speedy Gonzales. Through investigating the relationship of these two differing issues, he hopes to start a dialogue about the ability human beings have to construct realities that surpass natural law. In his sill screens Jose explores his personal relationship to Mexican immigration, Chicanismo and gang culture in L.A. ASCO, a socio/political East Los Angeles Chicano art collective of the 1970s and 1980s has been an important influence on Jose s art and life. He hopes his future includes education and communityengaged public art. 3 www.womenpainterswest.org
NEW WPW ART JURY for May 2014 The Art Jury is as follows: Lynn Gadal - Chair Nancy Goodman Lawrence Mara Thompson Mathilde Lombard Ann Marie Ferreira Alternatives: 1st. Lore Eckelberry; 2nd. Vicky Daniel; 3rd. Debra Sokolow Welcome Our New Board Members! Here are the results of the recent board election: Sherrill Kahn, President Ellen Price, Co-President Andrea Kichaven, First Vice President Betzi Stein, Second Vice President/Programs Pat Salmons, Recording Secretary Susan Rosman, Treasurer Members News Nancy Lawrence Donna Geist Buch, Judy Dekel, Lore Eckelberry, Joan Foster, Susan Gesundheit, Sondra Jolles, J. Natasha Kostan, Nancy Goodman Lawrence, Rachelle Mark, Darlene Mellein, m. Rheuban, Erella Teitler and Mara Thompson are showing work in the Collage Artists of America exhibit, Wired, Studio Five08, Santa Monica. Nancy and Mara won the first and third place awards respectively. The exhibit will run though May 25 with a closing reception on that day from 3 to 7 pm. Selina Cheng s painting was juried into the 2013 All Member Exhibition of the National Watercolor Society, NWS Gallery, San Pedro. The exhibit runs from June 8 to Aug. 18 with a reception on Sat., June 8 from 1 to 5 pm. Pat Dispenziere s work will be exhibited in the following shows: Texas Watercolor Society, Bright Shawl Gallery, San Antonio, TX, through May 30; Front Porch Gallery Annual Exhibition, Carlsbad, CA from June 2 to July 14, with a reception on June 2 from noon to 2 pm; and The San Diego County Fair, Del Mar Fairgrounds, from June 8 to July 4. She also had three watercolors juried into the North County Society of Fine Arts Open show at Poway Performing Arts Center during the month of April. Erella Teitler s work is currently in the following shows: Collage Artists of America Wired to May 25, Studio Five08, closing reception Sat., May 25, from 3 to 7 pm; Pasadena Society of Artists Changes at Pasadena Central Library through May 31, and Studio Channel Islands Art Center, About Women through May 25. Mara Thompson will have several pieces at the Hale Arts Gallery, EDGEMAR Complex, Santa Monica, from May 17 to 29, with a reception on Fri., May 17 from 5:30 to 8 pm. Diane Karpel, Membership Chairpersons Susan Geshundheit, Membership Chairpersons Harriett Lahana, Membership Chairpersons Toby Salkin, Corresponding Secretary Annual Member s Dues Dear Members. This is just an early reminder that your annual dues of $50.00 for the 2013-2014 year will be due in July. You will be receiving that notice WITH the dues finder. I know that every year we request you complete the form if you have any changes to your personal information. It is really important in order for us to avoid mistakes in the annual directory. Even if you are not a dues-paying member because of your past services to the organization or your lifetime membership, we need you to return your dues renewal form with the information section completed. Thank you for your continued support. 4 www.womenpainterswest.org
Lynn Gadal 3648 Coolidge Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90066 Luncheon Meeting At: Program: Cost: Menu: Board Meeting: June 13, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. Olympic Collection 11301 Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064 Welcome New WPW Members $24 (to be paid when you check-in at the door) Buffet 10:00 a.m. Reservations must be received by 12 NOON on Friday, June 7, 2013 Please e-mail or call for reservations: Telephone: Mara Thompson (310) 399-7519 Please speak clearly E-mail to: lunch@womenpainterswest.org Please leave your name if you are bringing a guest(s) and please spell the name. Guest(s) Name(s) Memberʼs Name If you are unable to attend after making a reservation, please call Mara before the deadline, or you will be held financially responsible for the cost of the luncheon.