k o o b h c t e k S THE SOUTHERN ARIZONA WATERCOLOR GUILD February 2017 www. southernazwatercolorguild.com NEXT GENERAL MEETING MONDAY, FEB. 13TH SOCIAL - 6:30pm SCOTTISH RITE TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1 WORKSHOP NEWS PAGE 2 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE SHOW NEWS PAGE 3 UPCOMING SHOW NEWS!! e r o l a G s Workshop This coming month, we are looking forward to hosting Jean Haines, an internationally acclaimed artist, who will teach two 2-day workshops. Both of these workshops filled up within 2 hours of opening registration for the season, with a waiting list over 20 artists! And, for the last workshop of our 2016-17 season, Carole Hillsbery is coming in March to inspire every artist to loosen up and fully enjoy the mixing of water and color to please the eye and evoke emotion in their paintings. Visit her website at www.carolehillsbery.com to view her art, and then sign up online to join the fun! PAGE 4 ALL MEM RECEPTION ORGAINIZING ART PAGE 5 MINI WORKSHOP NEWS PAGE 6 SCHOLARSHIP NEWS MEMBERSHIP NEWS PAINT OUTS PAGE 7 WORKSHOP NEWS PAGE 8-9 SURVEY RESULTS p Signauy! Tod 2016-17 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 2017 JEAN HAINES MARCH 2017 CAROLE HILLSBERY Suzanna Winton Portrait Workshop Workshop participants gave an overwhelming thumbs-up to artist Suzanna Winton during the 4 day portrait workshop. Suzanna charmed us all with her talent, encouragement, cheerfulness, and humor. She patiently and thoroughly explained her unique style of building layers, then laying down warm crevasse flesh toned shadows first, and later going over them with cooler crevasse shadow colors to bring out contours and depth in the subject. Oft repeated reminders included, Look for color, strengthen values, and save the highlights. It was amazing what we could do with 3-4 colors. Participants expressed their satisfaction with comments like, She is the Salminen of faces, I learned color and watercolor techniques as well as portraits, Informative, step by step instruction, easy to follow, She was concerned that each student learn and grow, and a chorus of Bring her back! continued on page 7 (Workshops)
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Let me take you back about 50 years. President Johnson signed into law the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Joan Baez and others like her were singing protests for the Vietnam War. The Beatles were climbing every known music chart there ever was. And Gerry Peirce, a nationally known Tucson watercolorist held classes for his ten students and encouraged them to form a Tucson chapter of the Southwestern Watercolor Society of Dallas, Texas. From 10 members to 80 members by 1971, the group decided to form their own organization and Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild (SAWG) was born. Since that humble beginning, SAWG has grown to a respected organization that has introduced members to nationally and internationally known artists for its workshops, inspired members through its mini-workshops, nurtured young artists through our scholarship for high school seniors program and reached out to the community in many ways encouraging new members and new friends. Our membership is strong and looking towards our next 50 years. So here is my challenge for you What would you like to see as part of our celebration for this year? Should we have one event, or many? Should we celebrate each month or concentrate on a special event to show Tucson what we are about? Tell me what you recommend for our 50th anniversary celebration. I look forward to your thoughts and recommendations. Remember, this is just the beginning. Paint a beautiful celebration for SAWG. Sincerely, Nancy Remember - To submit any articles for the Sketchbook to Debra Irons at d_irons@cox.net. Deadline is always the 15th of each month. UPCOMING... SHOW NEWS 49th Annual Show With submissions closed for the 49th Annual Show the first juried point show for 2017 -- we are thrilled to announce that we received 96 entries! Our juror Jean Haines, an internationally renowned artist, will have the challenging task of selecting up to 67 of these really great pieces for the show. At this time we want to express our thanks to all our members who submitted entries. This show will be on view at our gallery from February 7 through March 5. The reception for what promises to be a remarkable event will be Thursday February 16. Please come, bring your family and friends and meet out juror Jean who will announce show awards and talk a bit about her jurying process. Show chairs Judy Constantine and Ashley Coll. Jean is also conducting the exciting 2-day World of Watercolor workshop February 14/15 and again on February 15/16. Her work can be seen by visiting her website at www.jeanhaines.com. Fiesta Sonora Get ready for the FIESTA SONORA show opening March 7. Show chairs Blythe Strong and Karen Guss are waiting expectantly for your final entries by the Friday, February 10 deadline. Please remember that the subject matter for this show is restricted to anything pertaining to the Sonoran Desert. Please refer to the Defining the Sonoran Desert Region page under Shows on the SAWG website (right under the entry form) for what areas are included and excluded. Another great reference is desertmuseum.org/desert/sonora.php We hope to see your many unique versions of the beautiful region we call home in this show. Viva la Fiesta Sonora! SHOW DEADLINES... FIESTA SONORA (*** Point Show) Show Dates: Mar 7- Apr 2, 2017 Entry Deadline: Fri, Feb 10, (form & jpg due) Juror and Awards Judge: Carole Hillsbery See You there! 2017 Meeting Schedule Feb 13 Mar 13 April 10 May 8 EXPERIMENTAL SHOW Show Dates: April 4 Apr 30, 2017 Entry Deadline: Fri, Mar 24, (form & jpg due) Awards Judge: Ben Johnson General Meeting - Jean Haines demo General Meeting - Carole Hillsbery demo General Meeting - Scholarship - at the gallery General Meeting
SHOW NEWS All Members Show All Members Show Gets it On The gallery walls are swooning with over 60 fabulous paintings representing our ambitious and ever more accomplished SAWG membership! The opening reception was held Thursday, Jan. 12th and brought together an appreciative crowd to enjoy the camaraderie and refreshments, meet the juror, and honor those who received one of the many awards bestowed that evening. This show s juror was our talented January workshop instructor, Suzanna Winton, who had her work cut out for her in selecting the recipients for all the awards. The show continues through Feb. 5th, and you are all encouraged to bring a friend along to the gallery before it ends to enjoy the paintings and vote for your favorite painting for the People s Choice Award. Following are the awards presented, and highlights from the comments Suzanna Winton gave for each: Best of Show (Jack Richeson gift certificate plus SAWG cash award) Cone Flower by Mary Bubla I love everything about this painting, it s different! It has everything a painting should have... color, design, a resting place. the pieces of the painting fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Del Sutton Memorial Award of Excellence (Del Sutton Memorial Award) Guadalupe by Sherry Matlack A very harmonious painting showing off complementary colors, technical ability, great composition, texture, and lost and found edges. A fgreat painting should have all sorts of edge quality to it. Award of Merit (Jack Richeson gift certificate plus SAWG cash award) Sunlit Agave by Renee Pearson Great composition with a complimentry color scheme. The design and focal point are dead on. Juror s Award of Merit (Jack Richeson Gift Certificate) Does He See Me? By Karen Brungardt I love the way the painting goes out of the edges unexpectedly. This is a bold painting in contrast, design, and technique. Honorable Mention (Cheap Joe s Art Stuff gift certificate and apron) Me and Mom by Sandy Walker I love the fresh (not overworked) color, playfulness, and fun personality of this piece, and the suggestion of a third giraffe. Honorable Mention (Sarnoff s Artist Materials gift certificate) Days Old by Carolyn Streed Nice use of a limited palette and complementary color scheme, wonderful lights and shadows! Honorable Mention (American Frame gift certificate) Sonoran Monsoon by Teresa Wertheimer Love, love, love the sky. The sky is magical! Fabulous texture and atmosphere. Emerging Artist Award (Cash prize from Anonymous SAWG donor) Patches and Sapphire by Dianne Lewis I like the unusual angle of the dogs and the freshness of it. This was a great idea for a painting. I wish I had done it. Emerging Artist Award (Cash prize from Anonymous SAWG donor) Barrio Study #1 by Daniel Thomas A nice perspective with great lost and found edges and great use of negative and positive shapes. Emerging Artist Award (Subscription to Watercolor Artist Magazine and a set of 3 M.Graham Watercolors) Bird of Paradise by Cathy Lynch Technically done well with great use of color variations and bold, strong darks.
2017 All Members Reception Organizing your ART in the New Year! A friend recently suggested that one of my New Year s resolutions might be to better organize my paintings. This suggestion came after I had been scrambling to find the folder that contained current paintings for entry in an upcoming Annual show. I ve been doing some rearranging on a different level so I was willing to give myself a pass on this one. But I really thought it made sense to get organized and then I remembered something I had tucked away from the past. One of my favorite instructors, Jann Lawrence Pollard taught in California for years and now lives in North Carolina. During one of her international trips, she gave her students a sample of her painting log which worked well for her and I adapted to my own use. It s functional and more or less information can be added depending on how much an individual wants. You can elaborate or minimize your comments. Taylor it to your needs. Voila, you are on your way to being organized! submitted by, Nancy Holmberg
MINI WORKSHOP NEWS Sign up Today! There are THREE Mini-workshops scheduled for the month of February and into March in the Gallery workshop space, one on Collage taught by Marti White, one for Beginners taught by Karen Brungardt and one on Painting Skies taught by Loisanne Keller (see details below). This is an opportunity for artists to learn new skills, and brush up on rusty ones in classes taught by our members. Take advantage of these classes which are usually of one-three days duration. Let me know of classes you would like to see taught in our Gallery, or if you would like to teach a class. Loisanne Keller, Gallery Mini-workshop manager A Collage Workshop with Marti White is scheduled for Thursdays February 9,16 & 23, 1-4PM at the SAWG Gallery Workshop area. Marti will teach how to make a collage on watercolor paper, and other interesting techniques using old papers, abstract designs, stamps and more. For more information, or to register, contact Marti White at martiaz@ simplybits.net or phone: 520 760 7223 A Beginner s Workshop, taught by Karen Brungardt Thursdays, February 9,16, 23, 8:30-11:30 In this Beginner Watercolor course, you will learn from the absolute basics and up. Starting with how to use the different brushes, why type of paper is important, what the other supplies are all about and learn various painting techniques, building our way up to a finished painting by the third class. No drawing skills are required for this class! Come learn what is so much fun and beautiful about painting with watercolor! For more information and to register, contact: Karen Brungardt, dockie@q.com, 520, 825 1845 Painting Skies with the Wet on Wet Technique with Loisanne Keller We ll be doing monochromatic washes, colorful washes, and complex washes inspired by Tucson skies. Only requirement: a willingness to paint and have fun doing it! This class is for all levels of experience. Taught by Loisanne Keller at the SAWG Gallery, Tuesday, February 28 and Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 9:30-12:30 Cost: $65 for both days Contact: Loisanne Keller, loisannek@gmail.com or 520 445 4774 for more information or to register. GALLERY NEWS THE NUMBERS ARE IN!!! December was a great month in sales at the SAWG Gallery. Art Sales totaled $4090. That figure is within $500 of our 2014 December sales at the gallery on River Road when items included jewelry, crafts and scarves during the same period! We also greatly improved on the December 2015 sales at Williams Centre that totaled $2725. Thank you to Sue Rumsey, gallery manager for the monthly figures and updates. Thank you SAWG members for the 75 pounds of food that you donated during the Community Food Bank drive. It has been delivered! Stop by the gallery and invite your friends on a regular basis. There are 3 more outstanding shows this spring after the All Member Show ends on Feb. 5th. Workshop Gallery Exhibit Have you ever wanted to show a painting a second time? Our Workshop Gallery, in the back room, offers members an opportunity to show work that has been previously shown in a SAWG show. The next Workshop Gallery opportunity will run concurrently with the Fiesta Sonora Show, Mar. 7 Apr. 2, but is not part of that show nor eligible for show awards. However guidelines for this space are relaxed. Although we prefer water media, other 2D media is accepted, colored mats are okay, there is no time limit on when the painting was finished, and sold work may be replaced. Other SAWG guidelines apply. Options include hanging one or two pieces ($20, $30 respectively) or renting the whole wall for a one or mulit-person show. Maximum size is 20 X 28. Final determinations will be made by the VP of Shows. For individual pieces, see the website entry form under Fiesta Sonora. For more wallspace information, please contact carolyn@lensview.net
SCHOLARSHIP NEWS SCHOLARSHIP NEWS! RAFFLE! Two paintings are being raffled for our Scholarship Fund. These are either a green or yellow ticket. These paintings are viewable in the Workshop area at the gallery. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20, such a deal, and are sold at general meetings and at the gallery. The drawing will be in April when we give our scholarship awards. Winners will be called. PAINT OUTS Plein Air Outings Please contact Martha Pancratz for more information: Martha Pankratz is at marthalouise1@icloud.com. MEMBERSHIP NEWS MEMBERSHIP NEWS! REMINDER Member News goes in the Seat Announcements NEW MEMBERS Natalie Fruciano Gary Swimmer NEW JURIED MEMBER, Karen Richert Please remember to turn in your form once you reach a new status. We ll help when needed, but it s up to you to track your point shows. For more details, please refer to page 5 in your directory or on line under Membership. EVERYONE WELCOME! As of: DEC 7, 2016 Bank Balances: SAWG Wells Fargo Bank: General Fund Checking...$27,141 General Fund Savings...$38,761 Total...$65,901 Restricted Accounts: Scholarship Checking...$6,576 Western Fed...$11,687 Hollander Scholarship...$13,585 Total... $31,848 WHAT TO BRING: Sun hat, sunscreen, and bug repellant along with your painting gear, paint stool, water for painting and drinking, and a sack lunch.
WORKSHOP NEWS A NEW YEAR OF WORKSHOPS! UPDATE! There are still plenty of openings for the Carole Hillsbery workshop, so you have time to think about signing up for it. Our SAWG workshops are a wonderful way for artists to have an opportunity to learn from expert, reknowned painters, so we hope you can join us for one or more this season! Judy Constantine & Robbie Summers February 14 & 15 AND 16 & 17, 2017 - JEAN HAINES - www.jean- March 14-17, 2017 - CAROLE HILLSBERY- www.carolehillsbery.com Workshop Brochure NOW available at the Gallery, On the Website and at Meetings The 2017-2018 Workshop Schedule! November 14-17, 2017 - Birgit O'Connor January 9-12, 2018 - Carl Purcell February 13-16, 2018 - Andy Evansen March 13-16, 2018 - Iain Stewart Western Fed. April 30-May 5 - Ted Nuttall November 13-16, 2018 - Pat Weaver haines.com Suzanna Winton, cont. The portrait workshop with nationally-known artist Suzanna Winton was challenging and rewarding! Twenty-one of us watched in awe as faces started to grow in volume and seem to lift right off the page during her demos, and then we returned to our work areas to apply what we learned and try to duplicate the magic!
RE: Entering Shows The consolidated information provided is the same summary that was provided to the SAWG Board. For purposes of sharing and transparency, the Board wanted the membership to be able to see the diversity of responses including concerns expressed by those responding to the Survey Monkey. Some noteworthy comments to ponder Survey #1 I enter mostly every show even when not thrilled about my entries. I do it mostly to support the Gallery since there is very little expectation that they will be sold. Unable because of health and family responsibilities to docent twice each show. Paying someone else to docent is great, but $25 twice plus the entry fee makes me think twice about entering. Insufficient advertising leads to poor response and pitiful purchase rate of paintings. Year round residents carry the burden of maintaining shows and gallery for about 5 months each year. This doesn t apply to me, but I have friends who have stopped submitting to shows. We need to find out why and see if there is something we should do differently. Unless artists are selling paintings, they are losing money on shows. I enter all the point shows I can. I enter when I can, but it s getting very expensive and also it s hard for me to docent. I typically enter juried shows. RE: If not why not Long distance drive to Gallery Cumulative costs of framing, matting, entry fees aren t worth it to me. Rules keep changing and are inconsistently applied. I have friends who have stopped submitting to shows. We need to find out why and see if there is something we should do differently. Management of most shows is undesirable you are never made to feel welcome, so why bother. Lack of advertising/lack of sales. Unless artists are selling paintings, they are losing money on shows. RE: Motivation to show work Visitors to the Gallery often have questions about watermedia and art in general. I like that we are potentially an education avenue for the public that just drops in. I like having my art surrounded by the work of other artists. It makes me feel part of a community. I do not expect to really sell, but being juried into a show legitimizes my work. I learn new ideas from other artists. Having people in Tucson see my work. Trying to support the organization and enjoy the membership. I would like to become a Signature Member. I like to support the Gallery and know that entry fees are a big part of its income. For me, it s the acknowledgement that I ve FINISHED something WORTHY of Hanging (or even signing!) It s the culmination/reward of education and effort to be able to put something on the wall and show my family I did it! More...next page
RE: Awards Awards are seriously important. Every artist appreciates having his/her work acknowledged. It would be great to honor every painting that achieves something notable instead of just the most notable. Focus on quality and calling it out when it shows up. I think non-juried shows are important to recognize as it will encourage non-juried members to keep entering shows. Everyone likes recognition for a job well done! But I worry about reducing the incentive to enter non-juried shows. It says above that entry fees are the backbone of gallery income. Please, let s not degrade these shows and discour age entries. Non-juried shows are no competition. There could be awards but not the same amount or kind as the juried shows. I think we need to sustain the awards. It s important for everyone to have a nice carrot out there to strive towards. Reducing awards would lead to fewer entries. I approve of the way things are now. Since I don t paint to sell, awards are recognition of merit in one s work. Awards are great. It seems that the awards are donated and not coming out of our budget. Don t cut them out of the reception experience. RE: All Members Show participation Send an email or make a phone call to encourage participation especially new members. Add a section to recognize artists who teach in addition to the three categories to honor those who help the rest of us. Maybe institute a purchase award and donate the painting to an exhibit that rotates through schools or libraries or increases awareness of art in Tucson in some way. People need to get the experience of others seeing their work to feel comfortable with entering other shows. Require a panel to give positive and encouraging feedback. Since this is a non-juried show, why not give three first prizes of equal value one in each category. Then Honorable mentions in each category with merchandise awards. I did not and do not find much support for new members/painters. I am both. Shows come on so fast and many wait to enter point shows. Even though there are awards for the all member show, they don t seem significant since jurying isn t a requirement. RE: If you could change one thing The most frequent responses had to do with docenting frustration/difficulty, the need to increase traffic, ramping up sales, and the location of the Gallery. Also mentioned several times the desire for more Gallery events/activities, classes at the Gallery. Additionally, a number of unique and interesting suggestions were offered. Observations: We have a lot to think about here. The number of responses and personal comments from our membership displays a keen interest in the health of the Gallery. In my view, we need to look toward creative ways to increase show entries by ameliorating any and all deterrents. NSH 1/6/17