Welcome to Reports of the Art Guild's Recent Events!

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We met on Nancy Cagle's shady driveway, where Nancy had set up tables for items to be bought or traded. The Letzler Scholarship Fund benefited from some sales. After a while, President Charleen Isbell called the meeting to order and welcomed Ingrid Erickson, one of our newest members. After the usual reports and announcements, there was discussion of several future possibilities, with the following outcomes:

     1. Nancy Cagle will check with Waco Charter School about finishing our mural, and holding meetings there.
     2. Awarding ribbons for Show and Tell will resume.
     3. The Art Guild will not meet in July or August. The next general meeting will be on September 12, but the location is uncertain.
     4. Several venues for displaying and selling paintings were suggested, without any consensus or commitment to explore them.
     5. Myrl Luper offered to take members in her RV to an RV park in Whitney where she has a membership.
     6. The Letzler scholarship committee was encouraged to meet soon to work out the details for next year's contest, so that schools can be notified in August and get it on their calendars.
     7. Bobbee Watts showed us her beautiful painting of aspens.
Then the meeting was adjourned, and Nancy and Charleen treated us to cold drinks, crackers and cheese dip, which we enjoyed as we visited in air-conditioned comfort inside.

The reception on May 16 was attended by many Art Guild members and quite a few others. There were 38 paintings by 20 artists on display, including very nice work by several new members. The paintings are below, beginning to the right of the entrance door and continuing to the right around the room. They are much better seen at close range than in the images shown here, however. The arboretum is open 9-5 weekdays and 10-2 Saturday, but access to the exhibit is limited, since many functions take place there. To see the exhibit in person, it's best to call first (399-9204).

                                 Ingrid Erickson                                                                        Bill Franklin

 

          Judy Franklin                        Carol McClinton                                 Bill Franklin

 

                                           Hilda Giles                                                               Gloria Meadows

 

                                 Larry Garza                                                      Charleen Isbell

 

        Kay Lamb Shannon                           Bobbee Watts                                                Nancy Cagle

 

    

Linda Green/Charleen Isbell    Nancy Cagle/Bobbee Watts                             Pam Eggebrecht

 

                Pam Eggebrecht                                                    Julie Cash

 

             Sandy Overcast                                Christine Niekamp                                           Julie Cash

 

                                       Larry Garza

 

 Gloria Meadows/Bobbie Lee      Bobbie Lee/Donna Pacheco

 

                    Jason Sorley                                                            Christine Niekamp

 

              David Leifeste                                        Donna Pacheco/David Leifeste

 

The following honors in the Frank Letzler Art Awards program were determined by vote of the Art Guild of Central Texas members on April 11:
1st Place ($100): Morgan Warren, South Bosque Elementary School
2nd Place ($50): Brian Llescas, Lake Air Intermediate School
3rd Place ($25): Katie Barbur, Montessori Christian Academy
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):
Joshua Barbur, Brazos Valley Co-operative
Molly Martinsen, Waco Baptist Academy
Samantha Newman, Oglesby Elementary School

 

The exhibit will be on display at the Waco Central Library, 1717 Austin Ave., through April 30. On May 1, exhibitors will pick up their paintings, and be awarded certificates and checks.

 

 

 Jeanne Lubey demonstrated shadow box painting using a still life called "Onions and Garlic in a Ceramic Bowl." She got her inspiration from a course she took from Carol Marine, who had exhibited her kitchen-themed shadow box paintings. She began with a slide show of her approach, showing her box (which she also showed us "live"), how she arranged and lighted her objects, her palette and brushes, and how she drew her charcoal sketch, which she protected with hairspray.

Her oil paints were Gamblin earth red and perline red; and Windsor Newton titanium white, brown ocher, yellow ocher, ultramarine blue, alizerin crimson, and ultramarine violet. She looks at her painting through a red film to check its values. She likes to sit while she works, and uses a reducing glass to get a distance view of the work, as Julie Cash is shown doing at the left. She used Babywipes for wiping her hands, and Viva paper towels and wipe rages to keep her workplace free of wet paint. She emphasized that one should look at the subject more than the canvas while working, and that a good drawing is essential.
 

Beginning with a strong charcoal sketch, she quickly painted a dark background, using ultraviolet blue and violet, alizarin crimson, and earth red. She painted into the composition to avoid a "halo" around the painting. She added brown ocher for the plate. She painted the shadows very dark next to the object, and lighter as she moved out.

 

In lieu of waiting for the background to dry, she switched to a partially completed painting to work on the foreground. She painted in the lighter colors first, then added the darks. Yellow ocher and perline red were added to the onions. She varied the values and let the colors mix on the canvas rather than on the palette.
 

Jeanne added highlights to the shallots, using perline red and yellow ocher. She painted the dark areas on the white garlic. She added light areas and shadows, and painted darks on the bowl. She used a soft dry mop brush to blend colors and shadows to get softness where needed. She kept her brush clean and dry. She said that Murphy's Oil Soap was good for cleaning brushes. Jeanne will let the painting sit a few days, then look at it anew, and often making changes, before considering it done.

Jeanne was an excellent instructor, and her technique of working with a shadow box with a strong light will be very useful in creating dramatic and vibrant still lifes. Our thanks to her, to Kathe Tipton, Gloria Meadows, Karin Laws, and Nancy Cagle for refreshments, and to those who brought paintings for show and tell. Deanie Chastain is show at the right telling us about some of her paintings. Those brought for the Arboretum post card vote, which Julie Cash won, are shown below.

                                   

                Nancy Cagle            Julie Cash          Jack Fortenberry 

 

                               

Judy Franklin        Charleen Isbell       Rose Jacobson       David Leifeste

 

                                 

           Gloria Meadows    Christine Niekamp     Bobbie Watts

The Exhibit at MCC is very nice, much invigorated by several new members. Altogether there are 25 paintings by 11 members. Long time members are encouraged to look for the new members and their works. The exhibited works are shown below, but of course you can see them much better up close. Visit the Ball Performing Arts Center to do so. It shows up best at night, so come to one or more of the performances (all at 7:30) and enjoy both the performances and the art. Dates of interest are:

April 6          CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) Concert

April 12        Country Band Concert

April 14-17   the play "Shipwrecked! An Entertainment"

April 19        Chorale Concert

April 23        Vocal Tech Concert

April 26        Wind Symphony Concert

April 29        Spotlight Concert (Broadway tunes)

May 4          Waco Community Band Concert

 

                                                                                          Bill Franklin

 

                                                                                     Nancy Cagle

 

                                             Nell Godby

 

                                                   David Leifeste

 

                                              Pam Eggebrecht

 

              Ingrid Erickson

 

                                                              Martha McKinney

 

                                                                          Judy Franklin

 

                                                             Christine Niekamp

 

                                                                           Charleen Isbell

 

                                                        Debra Duke

The Hunting prize contest is appealing in several ways. Submitting an entry is easy and free. You just email a photo of a work (only one) within the time frame (in the fall). After the jury has made its decisions, you are notified whether your entry was accepted. If so, you need to ship or deliver your entry around April 1. You are also invited to the Gala around May 1, after which you can pick up your entry or have it shipped back to you. Your only cost is shipping (or travel, if you deliver and pick it up yourself). If it sells, you get to keep the entire sales price, and you don't have to worry about picking it up.

 

Less appealing is the fact that there is only one prize, $50,000. Your chances of winning that are slim, and there are no other awards for the almost as good entries, except that your piece might sell. Bill Franklin's "Reflection" (shown at the right) was one of 134 entries accepted this year from over 1400 submissions. It didn't sell and it didn't win the prize, but he and Judy enjoyed the gala, where there was gobs of delicious food and beautiful flowers. There were also many chances to discuss art with the other artists and invited guests.

 

The 2010 winner was Houston artist Lane Hagood. His painting, "Books I Have Possessed," consisted of over a hundred small paintings of book jackets on a canvas about three feet square. The Franklins were not impressed, but apparently the judge was. There's no guessing what a judge might like, so you just have to submit something that you are happy with, and hope for the best. Considering the odds, holding your breath is not recomended.

 

Hagood is among the youngest artists to earn the Prize. A 2008 graduate of the University of Houston, his works have been exhibited at BiRDHOUSE Gallery, which supports eclectic and emerging artists; the Joanna in Houston; and Domy Books in Houston and Austin. He was also featured in Pen To Paper, a book published in Berlin, Germany, by Pictoplasma, and in March 2010 was part of an exhibition at San Antonio’s LoneStar Studios that showcased the Houston art scene.

The Letzler Awards will be judged by our members on April 11, 1:30-2:00. First through third place winners will receive $100, $50 and $25, respectively. The exhibit is on the first floor to the left of the entrance from the parking lot. A photo of the entries appears below, but they are best seen in person.

 

Left to right, then down, the artists are Brian Llescas, Lake Air Intermediate; Molly Martinsen, Waco Baptist Academy; Samantha Newman, Oglesby Elementary; Katie Barbur, Montessori Christian Academy; Joshua Barbur, Brazos Valley Co-operative; and Morgan Warren, South Bosque Elementary. We salute the artists and their teachers, and we thank Myrl Luper for making arrangements, and Bill and Judy Franklin and David Leifeste for hanging the exhibit.

 

We got a start May 30, and made more progress on June 7, 11 and 24. Work has continued on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, beginning at 10 am. To get in on the fun, check with Nancy Cagle (754-4416). The photos here were taken on or before June 11.

 

                             

The suspension bridge being sketched by Don Magid, painted by Bill Franklin (painting was also done by Nancy Cagle), and more or less complete

 

                             

Pat Blackwell, Judy Franklin, and Nancy Cagle sketching, and the ALICO building nearly done. Sketches of the Dr. Pepper building and the Mammoth were done on paper pending approval of their placement by Mr. Glinski.

 

     

Additional photos taken June 29, courtesy of Bill Foster and the Waco Citizen, show Ellen Foster and Robert Glinski with the bridge, and Ellen with the Dr. Pepper Museum. Not shown are photos that appeared in the Waco Tribune-Herald on July 6, including one of Gloria Meadows painting the mammoth.

                       

Additional photos by Myrl Luper and Gloria Meadows show Don Magid and Bobbee Watts sketching, Myrl Luper and Robert Glinski drawing a grid, the Mayborn Museum, the Texas Ranger Museum and The Cameron Park Zoo.

                 

Also, the McLennan County Courthouse, the Waco Suspension Bridge, the Mammoth, and Baylor statue and bear. Although she is not shown, Gloria Meadows has done a lot of the animal painting.

 

The mural is still unfinished, but we hope to finish it eventually.

Exhibit News

A number of exhibits are scheduled for this year and next.  Reports of them will appear here after they are hung.  For the schedule, see the Upcoming Events page.