Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukah/Happy New Year. Whatever holiday you celebrate, FOA wishes you peace and creativity this winter.

Our winter project will be creating four 4’ X 5’ canvas panels for Webster House.  We have 6 artists committed for this project.  If you are interested in painting, please contact our treasurer, Linda Feinberg, for design guidelines. LHFeinberg@yahoo.com Initial sketches are due January 15th.

When the canvases are finished, we will need help mounting and hanging the panels. If you are not a painter, perhaps you would like to help with that. If you are a photographer and would like to see your photo as a painting, please contact Linda for guidelines. If you have materials (or cash) you can donate for creating the panels, that would be appreciated too.

Take a moment to enjoy this beautiful prayer. Deep Peace video with Judy Collins and Richard Stoltzman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRejYkJOYJM

Guest Blogger-Author Joe Smiga

In late October 2005, my wife and I discussed what I might do when I retired.  To make a long story short, she suggested that I write. “I can’t write was my response.”  She reminded me that I wrote a column for the Parable magazine every other month on interfaith issues.  She also told me of all the topics I wrote for the The Jewish Reporter in the past.

She had me, how could I say no.  So at her suggestion I took an English Composition Course at Manchester Community College.  At first it seemed funny being sixty-four and sitting in a class of all young twenties.   By the time I completed my first writing assignment those feelings of awkwardness left me.  I started to enjoy writing.  It took six assignments to complete the course. Getting an A made me realize maybe I can write.

Joining the NH Writers Project I took a workshop on writing short stories.  Near the end of the period the instructor had us create a scene in five minutes, a man and a woman had to be in the scene.  We could use any of the topics she had written on the board during our two hours.

I chose to write a clandestine spy scene between a man and a woman in a booth in the dark shadows of a bar. At the end of five minutes, she told us to stop and asked for volunteers to read their scenes. Two women promptly volunteered.  They were given great comments about their work.

Since no one else volunteered I said to myself, ‘Oh, what the hell, I’ll read mine.’ The instructor’s first reaction to what I wrote was, “Wow!”  Then she gave me some good suggestions and also asked me to stay when class ended.

She told me I have the ability to create good writing skills.  She suggested I continue to write and see where it leads me. Arriving at home, my wife asked how the class went.  I told her and she asked to read the piece I wrote. Upon reading it, she asked, “You wrote this in five minutes?” I replied, “Yes,” to me it was no big deal.

Her next statement was, “No short stories for you.  You need to start that novel you’ve been talking about.”

“Behind the Lies,” was published in May of 2009.  John Clayton of the Manchester Union Leader read the book and printed a review of it in the October 19th paper of 2009.  He gave the book an excellent review and to shorten it for you said the book is worthy of Tom Clancy’s writing.

All I could say was “wow” myself.  Today, I am retired and currently have seven books published. I also do motivational speaking and management consulting.


Joe Smiga    Author-Writer
511 Pickering Street
Manchester NH 03104-2747
603-645-6762
www.joesmiga.com  (Hosts all of my books where you can obtain an autographed copy.)
www.smigawritesabout.blogspot.com (Joe’s Blog)
www.Xlibris.com/JoeSmiga.html  (Publisher’s Site where you can order e-books)

Bluebird - Painting from a Nature Photograph

Painting from a Nature Photograph

If you are choosing to paint from a photograph, there are some points to keep in mind. Shoot the photographs with the image of the painting you want to create. Capture all the details as a reference for your artwork. If it’s not the “perfect” photo, you can still take whatever you want from it. You’re the artist!

When photographing outside early morning or afternoon is the best time to capture your subject.

The example I’m showing today is a photograph of a bluebird on its nest at the Massabesic Audubon Center. With patience and a telephoto lens, I was able to capture this beautiful bird on its nest as the main focus for my painting. I left the background without “clutter” so it wouldn’t detract from my subject.

If you are photographing flowers, be sure to include the stems, leaves, buds as flowers as well as the back of the flowers for color and lighting references.

I hope you enjoy my work and look forward to continuing to blog more photographic tips to capture animals, people, etc.

Until the next time,

Shirley Perry

Blog note: Thank you Shirley for the guest post.  Shirley is an experienced photographer and a new painter. She is enjoying her painting lessons with Anthony Williams at Hobby Lobby.

Building Layers in a composition

Photos and guest blog by Stephanie Byrd, water mixable oil paints on canvas.

If you have wanted to work with oil paint, but were leery because of fumes or extra clean-up, you may want to try water-based oils.

These paints give the feeling of working with oils, are very creamy, blend well, and have vibrant color.  They remain wet a long time like oils, so you have time to go back and blend, remove color, add layers, or other techniques.

Friends of Art Manchester vice president Anthony Williams taught a class at Hobby Lobby on South Willow and provided a canvas with flowers already sketched as well as the paint. He showed me how to keep the paint wet while working using a spray bottle of water as you would with watercolors, and gave ideas on thickening the paint using oil mediums. I liked the flexibility of both types of paint in one.

As you will see in the photos, just like most paintings, start with the background ( photo 1). This is where you begin the color story and think about how the subject will pop when complete. I knew I wanted the eye to be drawn to a red flower at the end, so I chose a muted background with sage and ochre colors.

More detail and blending was added (photo 2) and an effect to make it look a bit like rice paper. 

Background detail and blending

I then began building layers of colors for the secondary yellow flowers (photo 3) and worked on the stems. 

Building layers on flowers

Finally, I added layering, highlights, shadows, and details in the petals,  stamen, and pollen elements (photo 4). 

I liked that I knew I could go back and play with the painting the next day if I didn't like parts of it. Clean-up was easy. All in all, a very enjoyable experience I highly recommend! 

Highlights, shadows and details

Notes:

There are many brands of water soluble oils.  A good reference book is by Sean Dye, Painting with Water Soluble Oils. This is available at the city library, 2nd floor, Art & Music Room. ART 751.42 DYE. Local stores in Manchester usually carry the Winsor & Newton Artisan brand. Brushes and palette knives can be used with this medium.

November shows

Several of our artists will have their artwork in this show this month.  Last month, Rollande Rousselle, Judy Gelinas and Bea Bearden were included in the "Artist of the Month" group at Manchester Artists Association (photo below).

Linda Feinberg and Joe Smiga will be at Table 53b in the gym at the Memorial High School Craft Fair on Saturday.

Presentation

 www.PaintingsbyAline.com and www.EastColony.com

Presentation counts when you are trying to attract customers.  These beautiful paintings are by Aline Lotter. Notice the frames when you go to a gallery, art show or museum.  These are oil paintings and do not need glass.

http://www.lindafeinberg.com and http://avisiblevoice.blogspot.com/

Another example of frames. The two large paintings at the top are on "float" or "floater" frames. These are acrylic paintings by Linda Feinberg. Framing stretched canvases in this type of frame is easily accomplished with screws, a screwdriver and wire.  If you have been painting for a while, you know how expensive it is to frame your works (photography too).  There are courses available on framing and they are a worthwhile investment of your time and money.

Other frames in the example above are one with a linen type liner (the white looks a little like a mat) and a standard frame from a local store.

Watercolor and pastel paintings require a bit more work to frame, but look beautiful with a mat and glass. Even a simple pencil or pen sketch will become "professional" looking with a frame and more so with a mat and frame.  You can test this out easily by using a program like Photoshop (or even Microsoft Word) by adding a frame to your image.

Please submit your suggestions for future postings to our blogger. We are looking for guest bloggers too. Thank you.

Copying Tips for Artists

Methods for getting your initial drawing onto your paper or canvas.

Tracing methods:

You can use graphite pencil on the back of your paper, then place your paper on the canvas or paper and trace over the lines.  This will not work well if your background paper or canvas is a dark color. You can purchase “Saral” brand wax free transfer paper at a crafts store. Locally this is available at AC Moore in the Mall of NH.  They have rolls with gray, but also a small paper sampler pack with 1 each of white, graphite (gray), yellow, blue and red.  I tested out the white this week on a dark green background I had on my canvas and it worked well.  If you need to buy a full roll, these color papers are available online. I found this easily at www.dickblick.com. The direct link: http://www.dickblick.com/products/saral-wax-free-transfer-paper/

As you can see from the photo below, the regular graphite (gray) does not show up well on a colored background.

As mentioned in the arttutor.com blog, https://www.arttutor.com/blog/201407/copying-reference-photo, your photo or original needs to be the same size as your canvas for this to work.  To increase or decrease the size, you still need to prepare a grid.  It is easiest if you use a 1” to 2” ratio, or 1” to 3”.  Many of these prepared grids are available at art stores.  To make an unusual size, say ¾” to 1” or 2”, you will need to draw your own grid.  This is actually quite easy, but tedious.  You can prepare a grid with a marker pen on tracing paper, place it over your photo or drawing. Then mark off your canvas in the correct ratio and draw onto it. If your initial photo or drawing is larger than the standard size paper, you will probably have to tape two sheets together to make a larger grid. If you plan on using this grid several times, you might want to buy a heavier grade of tracing paper.

I would suggest not following the exact pattern unless you are trying to be very realistic. Use your own artistic vision and just get the basic shapes on the canvas with grid or tracing paper. Fill in the shapes with your own technique and make the image your own.

For a free tool on how to use the grid method:  http://www.griddrawingtool.com/

Thanks to Eileen Belanger, we have sold three of the boxes that were painted by our artists for our fall fundraiser.  I will be picking up the rest next week and they will be available for purchase at my studio.  I will also have them at my table when I do craft fairs in November and December.  Please feel free to contact me if you would like to purchase a box. lhfeinberg@myfairpoint.net

Linda Feinberg, Treasurer, Artist and Blogger