The San Diego Watercolor Society International Exhibition 2001 will be held October 1-30. Juror: Louise Cadillac, MA, AWS, NWS. For a prospectus, send a #10 SASE to: L. Blinco, 739 Snapdragon St., Encinitas, CA 92024; or go to www.sdws.org. Deadline: June 11.

The United Pastelists of America/Oil Pastel Association will hold an open juried Pastel Exhibition at the Edward Hopper House Art Center in Upper Nyack, NY, from October 4-28. Juror: Brooke Kamin Rapaport. Call 973.697.6773. www.allart.com/exh.htm. Deadline: July 1.

Creative Paradise -- Part 1

Imagine uninterrupted time to create art, experiment and work on series pieces, while the energy and flow are still electric within your psyche. Now imagine not having to stop even to prepare your meals or answer the telephone. Or perhaps your interest is simply to be around other artists, to see their work, and to meet and talk to them about their techniques and skill. Artists' retreats and colonies for all levels of creative exploration are located throughout the country. Following is a bird's-eye view of four of them:

Laguna Beach Art Colony

This is not a formal retreat location but is a great place to see art, meet and talk with artists, see their work spaces and generally enjoy their talents in beautiful surroundings. Laguna Beach is a long-time location for rest and relaxation that is located on the California coast's famous Highway 1, just south of Los Angeles. Known for the fresh water lagoons and remarkable beauty, the area became a haven for artists, notably Norman St. Claire and Edgar Payne. Payne is credited with opening a gallery that is still open today and represents the oldest art museum in the state of California.

Artists and writers flocked to the area beginning in the early 1900s, but eventually they were joined by many of Hollywood's elite. Movie stars maintained homes in the area during the 1930s and '40s. Laguna Beach is still a haven for creativity and boasts dozens of galleries and studios to explore, making it a wonderful destination for any art lover. Many festivals and events crowd the calendar for this area, known for its quality art and diverse artisan population.

Tons of information on Laguna Beach can be found on the web at www.laguna-beach.ca, by calling 949.494.1018 (Ext. 1), or by writing the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, 357 Glenneyre, Laguna Beach, CA. 92651.

Graphic Chemical & Ink Co. Printmaking, etching, blockprinting litho supplies. Silkscreen Trade Names: Perfection, Easy Wipe, Graphic, Sureset, Universal, Graphinx.

Millay Colony for the Arts

Artists from across the United States and around the world have come to Millay Colony to work. "Colonists" include award winning writers (screen plays to Pulitzer Prize winning novelists), distinguished composers and dozens of world famous artists. There is no single profile of the creative talent that comes to this retreat. What most artists have in common, in addition to their talent, is the desire to exist in what is called Millay's "unbounded time" where privacy to work is paramount.

There are no obligations on the artists' time, other than those generated by their art. Accommodations for painters, collagists, sculptors, photographers, novelists, poets, nonfiction writers, playwrights, performance artists and composers are designed for unlimited potential. Private studio spaces appropriate to the medium and private living quarters combine to nurture the artist and provide every opportunity for serious work. More important, perhaps, than what is offered is what is taken away: telephones, errands, meetings, presentations - all those things that interrupt the creative process.

Millay Colony for the Arts is located at the home site of Edna St. Vincent Millay in Austerlitz, N.Y. Information can be obtained at www.millaycolony.org or by writing P.O. Box 3, Austerlitz, NY, 12017 or call 518.392.3103.

The MacDowell Colony

Located in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in an area described to be "a bit of Paris in New England," this artists' retreat was founded in 1907 and has welcomed over 4,500 creative artists during its history. It concentrates its purpose around private, individualized work time and space. Visual artists, writers, composers, photographers, printmakers, filmmakers and architects go to the MacDowell Colony from across the United States and from many foreign countries. The uninterrupted time and seclusion are what draw in a community of gifted artists. Colonists have the opportunity to be in an atmosphere where work is of paramount importance and has changed their lives. Collaborative projects involving more than one artist are also welcomed. Financial assistance can be available through the registration process.

Contact The MacDowell Colony at website www.macdowellcolony.org or by calling 603.924.3886. Contact the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce for information at 603.924.7234.

Vermont Studio Center

The purpose of a Vermont Studio Center Residency is to pursue independent work. However, residents are also invited to participate in informal interaction with a large and varied community of creative people. While residencies are usually limited to two weeks per artist, up to 52 artists and writers each month are offered the use of the facilities at Vermont. Studio space is open 24 hours a day year-round, affording all artists a schedule and work ethic suited to their needs. Workspace and accommodations are assigned appropriate to the medium.

Presentations by visiting painters and sculptors are part of the community interaction and offer residents conversation and mentor encounters with these professionals. What is mentioned most often about Vermont Studio Center by past residents is the creative opportunities that are offered, the extreme natural beauty and the solitude to explore and experiment in one's chosen area of artistic expression.

Contact Vermont Studio Center at www.vermontstudiocenter.com about fees and fellowship opportunities. Write them at P. O. Box 613, Johnson, Vermont 05656 or call 802.635.2727.

NOTE: The Alliance of Artists' Communities: Directory of Residencies in the United States has just been published, and it catalogs 79 opportunities. Contact them at: www.artistcommunities.org or write The Alliance of Artists' Communities, 2311 E. Burnside, Portland, OR 97274.

New ArtEmboss Colors and Tracing Patterns from AMACO

American Art Clay Co., Inc., recently introduced four new ArtEmboss Tracing Patterns and six bright new ArtEmboss Soft Metal Sheet colors.

The pre-printed Tracing Patterns are used to create beautiful designs on ArtEmboss soft metal sheets. Printed on durable plastic for longer life and multiple uses, each design can be traced in minutes using a stylus tool. Even beginners and non-artists can create beautiful embossed works of art--from greeting cards to fine art sculptures to memory crafting and more. The easy-to-use Tracing Patterns include Alphabet, Animals, Decorative Borders, Decorative Designs, Flowers, Vines & Ivy, Frame Corners, Fruit, Kids Crafts, Monograms, Numerical Designs, Frame Corners 2, Celtic Design 1, Fun & Easy 1, and Holiday Cheer.

ArtEmboss Soft Metal Sheets are now available in Bright Red, Violet, Sea Green, Bright Gold, Mint Green, and Cerulean Blue. Because of a special state-of-the-art manufacturing process, ArtEmboss is soft and pliable, and design patterns can be easily transferred onto the metal. A three-piece wooden Stylus Tool Set is also available. www.amaco.com.

New Spray Guns from Iwata-Medea

Iwata-Medea, Inc., is proud to announce the release of two new miniature gravity/side feed spray guns: LPH-50 Spray Gun and RG-3 Spray Gun.

The LPH-50 is a full-featured HVLP (high volume, low pressure) spray gun with spray characteristics similar to Iwata's RG-3 gun. Using only 1.8 cfm at 13 psi, this low air consumption gun will provide high atomization with a minimum of overspray and features an adjustable spray pattern from round to full fan shape. With a stainless steel nozzle, paint passage and heat-tempered needle, it reflects Iwata's trademark in long-lasting peak-performance spraying. The LPH-50 uses the reliable and easily serviceable "Air Valve" and "Air Valve Packing" cartridge sets, which can be serviced outside the gun and easily replaced back into the gun body.

The RG-3 miniature spray gun is the new version of the popular RG-2 gun. With the spray pattern being the same as the RG-2, the major difference is noticed in the integrated "Air Valve" and Air Valve Packing" cartridges, making the RG-3 more reliable and maintenance-free. The RG-3 comes standard with a Round Cap, which is better for painting and graphics, or an optional Fan Pattern Cap for varnishes, coatings, and backgrounds.

Both the LPH-50 and RG-3 spray guns produce remarkable atomization with precise control of the spray pattern from 1/8" to 2-1/2". Their 4 oz. (110ml) stainless steel gravity cup is side mounted and rotates, allowing for spraying horizontal, vertical or underneath surfaces. Unlike siphon feed guns, this gravity feed cup will work with small amounts of paint without spitting.

Both miniature guns are ideal for illustration background spraying, large studio work and murals, touch-up or custom automotive and motorcycle painting. www.iwata-airbrush.com; E-mail: info@iwata-medea.com.

New Film, Template, and Cutting Mats from ARTOOL

Artool Products Company is pleased to announce the acquisition and availability of FRISKFILM, the addition of their new line of Cutting Mats, and the long-awaited release of their newest Freehand Airbrush Template: MATCH MAKERS FH-11SP, by Michael Cacy.

FRISKFILM is the very same one that has set the standard in excellence with airbrush artists and all creative fields requiring controlled color application for over 30 years. It is available as a gloss or matte film in rolls and pads and has a translucent backing sheet for easy handling. Art studios and design agencies have relied on the high transparency and low tack adhesion of FRISKFILM as a temporary overlay to protect presentation artwork from finger marks, while the crystal-clear film permits perfect vision of the work surface. FRISKFILM is compatible with nearly all art boards, papers and films.

The Artool Cutting Mats are constructed from a new 3-ply polymer composite material that makes them the most flexible and durable mats available. They feature a self-healing surface for maximum longevity and toughness with repeated use, whether using art and mat knives or rotary cutters. If one of these mats should ever become distorted because of improper storage, simply place it in sunlight or hot water until it becomes pliable, and then lay the mat perfectly flat again.

An added feature of the Artool Cutting Mats is that the black and green mats are two cutting mats in one; simply flip it over! The translucent mats are perfect for light tables and cutting situations where a colored mat is not suitable. Other features include non-marring and non-glare surface, non-slipping for added safety on worktables, calibrated grid lines for accuracy, and a perfect surface for writing and drawing. Artool Cutting Mats are the ideal choice for artists, designers, photographers, illustrators, calligraphers, hobbyists and model makers.

Artool's new MATCH MAKERS Freehand Airbrush Template by Michael Cacy makes it easier than ever to create professional 3-D airbrush effects for hair, smoke, foliage and flames and is actually four Artool Freehand Templates in one! Each shape is precisely marked with corresponding numbers to the positive and negative matched curves, which provide desired alignment to achieve perfect 3-D. These templates are also solvent proof, and cleanup is a snap with either airbrush cleaner or the appropriate solvent. www.artoolproducts.com; E-mail: info@iwata-medea.com.

Painting Outdoors

For centuries artists have set up their easels, spread paint on their palettes and painted canvases "from life" at locations where subjects interest them. Anyone can do as those old masters did all those years ago and contemporary masters do today. Famous works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Manet, Gauguin and many more were painted at locations across the world. You can follow their lead by painting the world around you.

Perhaps, a group of friends could go together and create wonderful art as a group - outdoors. In "plein-air painting," there is security and camaraderie in groups of painters working together. Each will capture a different view or interpretation of the scene.

Painting outdoors, away from heating and air conditioning, telephones and TV, can be very different from painting inside. It also presents interesting challenges, but these are worth any extra effort required.

Create a checklist of materials you will want to take because, once you are at your painting location, it is not easy to obtain some things. On your list should be the basics: paints, brushes, palette, canvas or paper or illustration board, a pencil or charcoal to sketch with, a folding easel, a water container, and cloth towels or a roll of paper towels. Extras might include a folding chair or stool, a small folding table (TV tray) for the palette and water jar, a hat, a litterbag (leave any area as clean as you found it) and a bottle of drinking water. As you build experience, you will trim or add to this list and make your outing unique. After a couple of outings, you will feel like a pro.

Choice of locations is easy. Pick a place that has lots of shapes, colors, and subjects, such as the zoo or park, places where you will find dozens of ideas. If flowers interest you with their colors, shapes and textures, visit a botanical garden or perhaps your own back yard! A lot can be learned without even leaving home.

As the day evolves, don't forget to take the time to view what your friends are painting. Take a look at the scene from their angle; compare the lighting, the placement of the subject, and their interpretation. No two artists see a subject the same way. Learn from what others see and record. Remember to take a camera to record the event. At some time in the future you can remember the day through those photos.

TIP: Keep as many materials as possible in a box or kit ready to go. That way, when you are ready to paint outdoors, you won't have to gather tools. Just toss in your paints and brushes and away you go!

New Craft Kits from Jacquard

Kids over six can be artists in their own nail salons with Jacquard Products' three new Metallic Nail Art Kits: Diva Nails, Rocket Nails, and Fashion Nails. Included in each kit are six different colored Pearl-Ex Metallic Powders in resealable capsules (different color range per kit), clear nail polish, one compartment ring with sparkles (different ring per kit) and one detail brush. Each kit contains enough powder to do about ten sets of hands and feet with wacky designs or just plain shimmering, gorgeous metallic colors! See the Jacquard line of products at www.jacquardproducts.com.

New Exhibit at CMOM

Now at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, NYC, is "Hopes and Dreams! The Art of Ezra Jack Keats." Featured is a collection of original artwork from the beloved children's author/illustrator. Also participate in the Book of the Week program. Call 212.721.1234; online at www.cmom.org.

"Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard"

At the Saint Louis Museum of Art, through May 13, 2001, is a most exceptional exhibit. Interesting and new details are shared with the viewers. Van Gogh's work is combined with the work of ten other important painters of the late 19th century, offering heretofore unexplored comparisons and contrasts. A very specific time frame is emphasized - 1886 to 1892 (including two years past van Gogh's death in 1890).

Now famous and widely revered as leaders of this avant-garde movement, the group included Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Charles Angrand, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Louis Anquetin and Camille and Lucien Pissarro. They became what van Gogh was the first to call "the painters of the petite boulevard."

Shortly after van Gogh's arrival in Paris in 1886, he attended what became the last exhibit of impressionist painting. Introduced at this final exhibit were the works of these new artists of the time. This group of ten was determined to move beyond impressionism in search of new styles of painting.

George Seurat and Paul Signac represented the leaders in the neo-impressionist style and wanted to test their boundaries utilizing a more classic style. They had been at odds with Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard, who were considered "synthesis" painters. Gauguin's theory was that painters should assimilate realism into an abstracted style, never attempting to "capture" nature. Gauguin was already successful and felt very strongly about his theories. Van Gogh brought the two factions together along with a select group of other artists to form the petit boulevard.

Here all ten of the artists' works are exhibited in a way to illustrate that not only was van Gogh a brilliant painter, but also a strategist and theorist. The fact that they influenced the others' works, experimented with each others' styles and exhibited together is testimony to van Gogh's influence. Among other ideas that van Gogh presented was the formation of a society where each artist would paint a specific number of works that would become the property of the group. Sales would then be divided among all of the group, insuring no artist would fall on desperate times and each would be able to continue to work. This never became a reality.

The exhibit is organized around four themes--the urban landscape of Paris, entertainment and nightlife, portraiture, and landscape--and has several very special works. Among them are those by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec--large-scale works depicting the interior scenes of the night for which he is now known; two self-portraits of van Gogh; and stylized designs of Gauguin. Bernard, Seurat and Signac are dynamic. Seventy paintings and works on paper are included in this exhibition.

For ticket information, contact the Saint Louis Art Museum at www.slam.org or by calling 314-721-0072.

Airbrushing the Cast Shadow

For centuries artists have used the shadow as an element to develop spatial illusionism in their paintings. Along with foreshortening, the casting of shadows fixes the object being rendered in a particular space. No matter what type of look the shadow has (soft or hardedge, achromatic or colored), the airbrush is well suited for developing the desired effect. It has the ability to spray a soft blend of color that can trick the eye into believing that it is actually a shadow.

Any airbrush can be used to achieve this effect but, depending on the one used, different types of sprays are achieved, varying from coarse to a fine mist. External mix airbrushes, the least expensive on the market today, generally spray the coarsest, largest dots. And internal mix airbrushes, the most popular used in the arts, spray a fine mist. Choice is up to the artist.

All types of artist paints can be sprayed through all types of airbrushes, whether oils or acrylics, watercolors or inks. A thin consistency, similar to that of ink, is required, however; and the thinner the paint, the easier it is to spray. This, of course, results in greater transparency. The type of spray achieved is also determined by air pressure. Lower pressure, e.g., 5 psi, gives a coarser spray, while higher pressure, e.g., 30 psi, results in softer spray.

To develop shadows with an airbrush, you can work in various techniques: airbrushing in the shadows of objects yet to be painted (working from the background to the foreground) or covering up already painted objects with frisket film and airbrushing the shadows around them. In the first technique, the shadow can be sprayed in freehand around the object to be painted. Then the object can be painted with a paintbrush, thus cutting in the edge around the object casting the shadow. With this method, the result is a softer transitional edge between the object and the shadow. When painting the shadow around a shape that has already been rendered, the object must be covered with a mask. Once covered, you airbrush the shadow around the perimeter, capturing overspray on the stencil so it does not touch the previously painted work.

Impressionists such as Cézanne and Monet claimed that shadow has color. The airbrush enables you to spray any color in a mist, either transparent or opaque, to develop a shadow color. Most artists use cool colors (blues and greens), while others prefer to use warm colors (reds and oranges). Using the airbrush to glaze one color over another can create cool or warm grays as shadow colors.

Many artists utilize the airbrush to develop the illusion of cast shadows in works of art that are primarily completed with a paintbrush. The airbrush is a valuable tool for inclusion in an artist's repertoire.

Inquiry Expanded--The quintessential question "But is it art?" will be amended with insertion of the word "offensive" in New York City. Once again offended by a painting at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Mayor Giuliani has named a panel of 20 appointees to the Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, a "decency" panel to determine what is suitable art for publicly funded art museums. Artist Peter Max declined an invitation to serve on the panel, stating he does not wish to judge other's works.

Architects Named--Winners of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize for 2001 are Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Designers of London's new Tate Modern museum, the Swiss architects were awarded a $100,000 grant at Monticello in Virginia.

Art Sets Record--A world record was recently set for Asian art at Christie's auction house in New York. Over $9 million was bid for a 25" high bronze Chinese wine jar dating to the late Shang Dynasty.

Sculpture Expo Scheduled--SOFA 2001, the 4th Annual International Exposition of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art, will be held May 31 -- June 4 at the 7th Regiment Armory in NYC. Exhibitions, artist presentations, book signings, and a lecture series are planned, as well as an opening night Gala Preview to benefit the American Craft Museum. Call 800.563.7632 or go to www.sofaexpo.com.

Summer Arts Institute Planned--The Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY, has announced their 2001 Summer Arts Institute. Workshops in printmaking, papermaking, book arts, clay, photography and other media will be offered beginning June 30. Classes are kept to 4-8 students, so early registration is recommended. 845.658.9133; www.wsworkshop.org.

Exhibitions:

Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin -- O'Keeffe's O'Keeffes: The Artist's Collection is the first exhibition to showcase the artist's works from her own collection and to explore how her management of this collection shaped her public image. Featured are 73 works offering visitors an intimate portrait of O'Keeffe's life as an artist, collector and craftswoman of her own legacy. The exhibition coincides with the opening of the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion. May 4 -- August 19.

Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA -- Flat Works by Round Artists: Prints and Drawings by Contemporary Ceramists and Sculptors features two-dimensional work by American artists best known for working in the round, with drawings and prints of artists such as Robert Arneson, Richard Hunt, Louise Nevelson, and others. Through June 3.

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 11 No. 7 -- May 2001