The Saint Louis Watercolor Society was honored to be invited by the Missouri Botanical Garden to have up to 20 of their members participate in their June 18th Members Tuesday Nights program which focused on art. The evening finally arrived, the rain held off, live music drifted through the air and many garden members stopped to talk to our artists about their paintings. Our volunteers were identified with a STLWS sign. Garden members interested in watercolor were given one of our new STLWS brochures and encouraged to check us out.
Here are some candid photos of our artists in the Ridgeway Center near the close of the event, sharing their artwork with each other.
As you may or may not know, the local group known as Urban Sketchers St. Louis recently formed an official chapter of the international Urban Sketchers (http://www.urbansketchers.org/) and invited the St. Louis Watercolor Society Urban Sketchers to merge with them. Given this would consolidate the two local groups and be an official chapter of the international Urban Sketchers, the merger was considered advantageous and approved. Michele Perrin, Linda Thompson and Carla Baron Giller are the administrators of the new combined group. Urban Sketchers St. Louis is the surviving name of the group along with their Facebook page. St. Louis Watercolor Society Urban Sketchers will close their Facebook page. Carla Baron Giller will continue to coordinate the group’s events and the Saint Louis Watercolor Society will continue to send out announcements of events to their members and post photos of the events on their website.
Here are some helpful addresses for you to use to follow Urban Sketchers St. Louis:
Instagram: #uskstlouis,
Facebrook group: Urban Sketchers St. Louis,
Blog: UrbanSketchersStLouis.blogspot.com
Email:
QUEENY PARK, JUNE 14th
Here are some photos the group shared of their outing to Queeny Park near the Mason Road entrance on Friday, June 14th. It was a beautiful day weather wise and the spot offered many lovely things to sketch.
And now for some close ups.
Even a humble gas meter is a work of art through the eyes of an artist.
If you’ve been painting for a while
and still have trouble grasping the concept of negative painting, this
watercolor workshop is for you! You will not be painting flowers and leaves or
any “thing,” instead you will learn to paint the space around the
flowers and leaves, creating glowing blooms, foliage and layers of depth
through multiple glazes. As you develop the skill of negative painting, you
will practice seeing “shapes” instead of “things,” learn to save your whites
and lights without using masking fluid, and be able to create a full range of
values in your paintings without resulting in “muddy” darks.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Class fee: $200 (two full
days)
When: Wednesday
and Thursday, August 7-8, 2019, from 9 am – 4 pm each day.
Where: This
comprehensive two-day workshop will be held at the beautiful Stone Soup
Galleries in Chesterfield Mall (Cheesecake Factory entrance).
DAY 1: Negative painting is a
difficult concept to master in that it is contrary to the way we naturally see
things. You will learn exactly what negative painting is (and why it’s a good
skill to have) through explanations, examples, demonstrations and practice.
DAY 2: The emphasis will be on
skill development with more demonstrations and lots of painting practice with
one-on-one assistance. Negative painting is a layered technique which requires
drying time between glazes, so you may work on two or more paintings at once if
desired. Paper will be provided. Upon registration, Janine will contact you
with payment information as well a supply list.
*Some experience in watercolor is required. **Class size limited to 12 students, with a minimum of 6 students needed to hold the class.
Downy Fun by Janine Helton
BACKGROUNDS AND BIRDS
with Janine Helton
In this all-day watercolor workshop,
Janine will show you her method of painting and capturing the essence of birds
as well as how she creates interesting, complementary backgrounds.
Janine will begin the day with
examples and explanations of her process, followed by a demonstration of a
planned background/underpainting. One-on-one assistance will follow as you work
on your own composition, transferring your images to the paper and then
“playing” with color and water to create a colorful foundation for your
subject.
Once the backgrounds are
established, Janine will demonstrate her method of painting birds while
providing explanations regarding value, color mixing, edges, control of water
and pigment, positive and negative painting, lifting color, and so much more!
During the remainder of the
afternoon you will have plenty of painting time with assistance as needed. You
will be encouraged to slow down and enjoy the process as some concepts may be
new to you. Upon registration, Janine will contact you with further information
as well as a supply list.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Class fee: $100
When: Monday, August 26 or
31, 2019, from 9 am – 4 pm
Where: This comprehensive full-day
workshop will be held at the beautiful Stone Soup Galleries in Chesterfield
Mall (Cheesecake Factory entrance).
*Some experience in watercolor is required.**Class size limited to 12 students, with a minimum of 6 students needed to hold the class.
To register for any of these workshops, contact Janine at
Spencer Meagher is being featured in the latest edition of American Watercolor Weekly with his article “Strong Paintings Start with Good Bones, by Kelly Kane.” Click here for the article.
On a sad note, the e-newsletter also has an article, “Saying Goodbuy to a Master,” by Kelly Kane, that honors Charles Reid who passed away on June 1, 2019. Click here for the article.
In
this 4 session workshop we will take the fear out of Urban Sketching by
learning the basics in a small group. (maximum: 4 students) I know the fears
that many of us have when starting to sketch in public. I understand fully the fear of not knowing
where to start a sketch and feeling overwhelmed by the subjects in front of
you. I also know only too well that
feeling of ‘I’m not a good artist; I can’t do this; this is going to be bad!’
I’ve
been there; I’ve done that. But there is
another way . . . .
GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP:
~ Learning how to observe
~ Learning how to look for major shapes
and edges
~ Learning how to use minimal measured setup points to sketch in ink
~ Learning how to draw without feeling compelled to get the perspective ‘right.’
~ Learning how to feel comfortable
sketching in public
DATES & TIME: 4 Saturday mornings, 9:00 am to 11:30 am
June
8 MO Botanical Garden
June
15 Lafayette Square
June
22, Maypop Coffee & Garden Shop
(Webster Groves)
June
29 The Daily Bread (indoors) (Town
& Country)
SUPPLY LIST:
A
(5.5”x8.5” or larger) sketchbook for mixed media (for wet & dry media), 2B
pencil, ink pen & brush pen (if you like to draw with them), a small
watercolor set, a couple of watercolor brushes, a small container for water, a
few folded paper towel sheets for blotting your brush, and a small folding
stool or sheet of plastic to sit on.
