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

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Don began with a painting of the remaining entrance arch of the Sanger Ave Grade School. He started with an underpainting that had the major shapes drawn in and the colors and values established in a general way, i. e., the face of the arch was light and fairly neutral, its inside was dark and purplish, the far scene visible through the arch was light and greenish, and the surrounding were a greenish mid tone (top right). He told us that art was exploratory play, as all learning should be. He proceeded to illustrate this by overpainting to develop the image. Just for fun, he decided to use some new colors. He began with some bold slashes of carmine (left), which he spread and softened using a medium composed of equal parts of Damar varnish, linseed oil, and turpoline (lower right).

He added manganese blue to carmine to get a dark color that he used to enhance the lines of the arch and steps and to draw shrub branches beyond both sides of the arch. He used a green, made by mixing yellow and manganese blue, to add greenery to the shrubs and background, as well as white to lighten the arch face and leaves on the shrubs (right). Throughout this process, the image remained very fluid, responding to adjustments in values, colors and definition, as Don played with it. He invited us to become more childlike in imagining and in playing with our materials to achieve what we imagine. At left is the still unfinished painting at the end of this part of the demo.

After a break for Show and Tell, Don turned to a second painting, a portrait of a young girl. The underpainting was pretty well developed, and was on a pale purple background (right). He explained that every stage in the process of building up the image was an overpainting of the previous underpainting and an underpainting for the next overpainting. In this case, the underpainting was quite dry, so he could apply relatively thin layers of medium plus pigments to brighten or darken, or to shift the color, without washing out his previous work. He had mixed a skin color from red, yellow and blue. He mixed this with medium and used it to darken some areas, scrumbling it to smooth out edges. Adding white, he used it to lighten other areas. The contrast was increased this way to create more of a 3D sense of roundness (left).

He added yellow and white to the hair to give it a blonde sheen. He also used a dark, purplish color for the shadow areas in the hair to better define the curls and to make the light areas seem brighter (right). He also darkened shadows in the neck area and around the hands to make the image seem to stand out of the painting surface (left). Don was making the point that we could make such adjustments and keep them if we liked them, or wipe them away if we didn't. We shouldn't be afraid of ruining our painting. Fear of losing what we already have often inhibits people from trying for something better, and it shouldn't.

We thank Don for his continued encouragement to paint loose and play with the images we create. We also thank the many people who brought refreshments and those who brought works for show and tell. Examples of the latter are show below. In particular, Christine Niekamp brought the finished painting that she used to demonstrate textures in oil painting last November.

 

Show and Tell

                             

 Julie Cash           Nancy Cagle        Judy Franklin        Larry Garza

 

                     

Linda Green                  Christine Niekamp                 John Perdichi

We met at the Lake Brazos Bar & Grill at 11:00. After we ordered our meals, President Charleen Isbell called the meeting to order and thanked everyone for their service to the Art Guild this past year. She was presented with a plant arrangement with our thanks for her service as President. After reports of minutes and finances, we elected the following officers:

President: Gloria Meadows, Recording Secretary: Nancy Cagle, Corresponding Secretary: Kathe Tipton, and Treasurer: Charleen Isbell. Some names were considered for Vice President and Program Chair. Subsequent to the meeting, Myrl Luper and Pat Blackwell agreed to share these responsibilities.

The following people also agreed to head committees:

Exhibits: Frank Gutierrez, Membership: Linda Green, Hospitality: Gloria Meadows and Charleen Isbell, Greeting: Christine Niekamp, and Website: Bill Franklin.

Don Magid offered to present the meeting program for January 8, and Karen Groman offered to do a program on crafts art on February 12.

Gloria Meadows brought delicious pecan tarts for dessert.

Most of the attendees appear in the photos below.

         

The Art Guild had a booth at the Apple Tree Bazaar again this year. Members working and exhibiting their works were Nancy Cagle, Judy and Bill Franklin, Linda Green, Karen Groman and Gloria Meadows (some shown top left). Sales were a bit slim, but we also gained a new member. The big sellers were once again Gloria's painted rocks (top right). Other members with booths were Sue Young (below left) and Pat Blackwell (Below right).

 

Christine, a native Wacoan,  earned a B.A. degree in Art/Education from Baylor University.  During, and following a long career in advertising, she always painted realistic scenes in oil.  She continues to paint scenery, animals, still life, and portraits, which are her favorites. This month we were fortunate to have the chance to see her create the textures we have long admired in her paintings. You can enlarge them to see the textures better by clicking on them.

 

Christine began by showing several of the paintings she had done and explained the artistic changes she had made as she transferred the image referenced in the photo to her canvas. She explained how she painted fur on animals - with an underpainting to give the illusion of softness and fullness, then with individual strokes with a very fine brush to show detail. She had painted a portrait of her granddaughter holding a Russian doll, and Christine explained her decisions to paint contrasts and details.

She shared several "tricks of the trade" which helped to give her the effect she wanted. She used colored pencil over dried oil paint for very small details. She wore a latex glove with the fingers cut out to use as a mini-palette. For the tiny decorations on the doll and for fur details, she uses a # 0 to #3 brush and picks up a small amount of paint on her glove. She uses foil on a plate for her palette, which she can put in the freezer to preserve the paint when she's not using it. Her palette consisted of the following Winston oils: yellow ochre, burnt sienna, VanDyke brown, alizerin crimson, sap green, cobalt blue, and cerulean blue.

The painting for her demonstration was of a cat sitting on a table next to a rose in a vase. The cat's body was facing away from the viewer and its head was turned to look at the viewer. Christine had done an underpainting of the black and white cat, its green eyes, the table and vase, and background colors of dark burnt umber, yellow ochre, and black. (See right photo in the paragraph above and the head at right.) She started putting finishing touches on the fur of the cat's ears and head with her tiny brush (at left).

 

She emphasized that fur looks more realistic if the brush strokes are made in the direction of the growth of the fur. She worked very slowly at first, and as she worked on the fur strokes of the cat's body and tail she painted more quickly (right and left). She worked on the flowers last, leaving the finishing touches on the background for another time. The photo in the paragraph below shows the painting at the end of the demo. Christine promised to bring the completed painting to a future meeting.

 

We thank Christine for a very helpful demo that may give more of us the courage to try animals. We also thank those who brought refreshments and those who brought their work for show and tell, which are shown below.

 

Show and Tell:

 

                   

Nancy Cagle          Bill Franklin            Judy Franklin  Kathy Haberman Charleen Isbell

Where have all the artists gone? Thanks to four stalwarts and two new members, we had enough for a decent show, but the 14 paintings received are stretched pretty thin. The space can accommodate about twice that many. We need better participation if we are going to continue having exhibits. Below are photos of the exhibit, from left to right. They show up much better at night, so come to some of the performances and view the exhibit while there. The musical performances are free, and the play is inexpensive. All are at 7:30 in the Ball Performing Arts Center.

 

Tue Nov  15  Contemporary Christian Ensemble Concert

Thu Nov 17 "Equivocation" $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students

Mon Nov 21 Wind Ensemble & Corale Concert

Mon Nov 28 Guitar Ensemble Concert

Tue Nov 29 Vocal Ensemble Concert

Mon Dec 5 Waco Jazz Orchestra Concert

Tue Dec 6 Waco Community Band Holiday Celebration Concert

 

                        David Leifeste

 

                                                                               Bill Franklin

 

                                                                                                                           Nancy Cagle

 

                                                                                          Carol McClinton

 

                                                                                                                    Judy Franklin

 

                                                                                      Frank Gutierrez

 

Don began by saying that playing is very important in learning to paint, and in enjoying it. He believes the process is trial and error, and that there are no failures because we can learn from mistakes. He used a video camera, whose image was projected on a large screen, to show his work. He discussed 1 point, 2 point and 3 point perspective, and passed out copies to everyone of illustrations of them (at the right). He said our basic learning is done with straight and curved lines. He stressed that if we are going to paint, we need to see.

He displayed a painting of a street scene that was done by one of his students several years ago (right). His demo was to be a similar scene, but using the broken-color style. He had already prepared a canvas before the demo with an all-over wash of a pale lilac shade, and had sketched in the basic outlines of the buildings, street, sidewalk and sky (left). On the larger areas, such as the street, he used a medium which was made of equal parts of Damar varnish, linseed oil and turpentine. Smaller areas do not need it.

The only colors of paint he used were yellow, red, white and blue (palette at the right). For example, to get stucco color he used more yellow, but still used all of the others to get an appropriate hue and tone. He mixed a large quantity of the stucco color on a mixing surface and separated it into three piles, so that he could add extra yellow, red and blue into them to get the related colors that would be placed near one another in the painting.

Don proceeded to fill in areas of the painting using the three related colors in small patches so that the overall effect was the average color, but the surface was vibrant, rather than dull. He said that everything he does is an experiment. He suggested that if you don't know what to do, just do something. If it doesn't work, you can always paint over it. He said we make no mistakes in painting, only learning opportunities.

 

Thanks to Don for a challenging demo, to those who brought refreshments, to Linda Green and Charleen Isbell, who provided the photos and notes for this report, and to those who brought works for Show and Tell, examples of which are shown below.

 

Show and Tell:

                                 
  Julie Cash            Deanie Chastain         Frank Gutierrez  Gloria Meadows  Christine Niekamp

The Executive Board decided last summer to give Frank Letzler Art Awards to students of the Waco Charter School, which has been gracious enough to open the school for us on Sundays for our regular monthly meetings for the last several years. We also conducted art lessons after school during the spring semester. Charleen Isbell, Gloria Meadows, Nancy Cagle, Karen Groman, and Bill and Judy Franklin presented lessons to grades 2 through 5. Some of the school's teachers also engaged their students in art, especially in the first grade.

Student art was displayed in the halls in May, and judged by Charleen Isbell, Gloria Meadows, Linda Green, and Bill and Judy Franklin on May 25. Charleen and Gloria presented certificates and cash awards to excited students on May 31 at a school assembly. Cash awards were $20 for 1st, $10 for 2nd and $5 for 3rd in grades 3-5, and $10 for 1st, $5 for 2nd and $3 for 3rd in grades 1-2. The winners are listed below, and the 1st and 2nd place art is shown.

1st grade:
First: Keila Donato (left)
Second: Noe Campos (middle)
Third: Ashley Morones-Elias (right)
HM: Omar Moreno

 

 

2nd grade:
First: Adizhawn Johnson (left)
Second: Andrea Flores (middle)
Third: Ariyanna Jaimes (right)
HM: Hekay'a Harris

 

 

 

3rd grade:
First: Alma Martinez (left)
Second: Maira Peck (middle)
Third: Jesus Perez (right)
HM: Lana Rodriguez

 

 

 

4th grade:
First: Angel Gayton (left)
Second: Uzziel Loredo (middle)
Third: Carlos Perez (right)
HM: Yessica Gonzalez

 

5th grade:
First: Maribel Maldonado (left)
Second: Demi Augolo (middle)
Third: Esmereda Castelan (right)
HM: Esme Marilla

Frankye is an accomplished watercolorist and a member of the Central Texas Watercolor Society. She attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, and had a career in fashion drawing. She has won many awards in local and regional exhibits, and will have a solo exhibit at the Arboretum in July. She shared several quotes from artists that inspired her. Among them was this one from Ted Nuttall: "There is no better place to be than in the middle of a painting."

Frankye began her demo with a drawing of a young girl drinking from a teacup already drawn on a quarter sheet of 300 lb hot press watercolor paper. She had transferred the image from a photo by rubbing some pencil graphite on the back of the photo and tracing over the major lines. She then completed the drawing, referring to the photo, and lightened it with a kneaded eraser. (Darkened here to show up better.)

 

She painted with a Rafael 8404 Kalinsky sable brush (which she had found online at a bargain price of $200!), as well as a smaller sable brush. Her palette consisted of the following paints: Cad orange by American Journey (Cheap Joe's); Cad red light and mineral violet by Holbein; and cad yellow, alizerin crimson, scarlet lake, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, Hooker's green, sap green, raw sienna, burnt sienna, raw umber, burnt umber, and yellow ochre by Windsor Newton. For her working palette she used a smooth plastic tray with a lip. She mixed a skin color from cad red, raw sienna and a little cad yellow. She started by applying the lightest flesh tones to the dry paper with a dilute mixture of the skin color.

 

She added shading while the paint dried using a darker hue of the same flesh tones. For the hair, she used cad yellow and raw sienna in a very wet wash, putting down the lightest color first, then darkening the shaded areas with the same color and some raw sienna. She then went back to the flesh tones, adding darker tones to define areas, but keeping soft light tones throughout the painting since the subject was a young child. She emphasized thinking about the form of the face as a sculptor would, paying attention to which features come forward, and which recede. She created soft edges for shadows on the form of the subject, and harder edges for cast shadows. She worked on the blue eyes of the subject, emphasizing them through shading and judicious use of color.

Frankye continued to develop the shading while we took a break for Show and Tell, further defining the hair, eyes, and facial features. For the teacup, she used very light shades of ultramarine and cobalt blue to suggest the roundness and smoothness of the cup. For the background she used the same mixture of blues, applied somewhat diagonally across the page in an irregular pattern, with the darkest hue providing a contrast to lighten the yellow hair. She used cad orange to gray the blue background so it would blend better with the painting as a whole. After it dried, she painted green stripes on the dress as a contrast to the blues and yellows used earlier. Frankye will finish the painting at home and share the final version with us to use here.

 

Many thanks to Frankye for a great demo. Thanks also to Gloria Meadows, Karen Groman, Charleen Isbell, Linda Green, Judy Franklin, and Deanie Chastain for bringing refreshments, and to all those who brought works for Show and Tell, some of which are shown below. Also, Gloria Meadows showed us photographs of her new homey chicken coop.

 

Show and Tell:

 

                                       

Nancy Cagle     Deanie Chastain     Judy Franklin       Karen Groman   Christine Niekamp

A much-anticipated demonstration by Angie Banta Brown was cancelled on short notice due to her surgery and subsequent complications. We hope that she will recover fully and quickly. Perhaps we will have another opportunity to see her presentation in the future.

 

Fortunately, the Martin Museum at Baylor was open that Sunday, a day when it is usually closed. The exhibit was a display of faculty art and student art which had been judged by Dallas-area sculptor Sherry Owens. Some of our members attended and were pleased to find much talent among the entries.

Judy and Bill did a lesson for about 20 2nd graders each day. Bill scrounged among the wood working scraps he foolishly keeps and found a number of small circles, triangles, squares and rectangles, as well some more complex shapes. These were scattered around on the tables, and the students immediately began making things with them. Judy got their attention and introduced Bill and herself and had the students introduce themselves.

 

Then Bill asked the students to find and hold up each of the basic shapes and also one that was some other shape. Then he demonstrated what the activity would be. Using colorful cardboard cut-out shapes, he placed them on a sheet of manila paper using sticky dots to form a rough approximation of a bird, moving the shapes around to improve the resemblance.  Using markers, he traced around the whole shape and used colors to make it come to life. Students were encouraged to play with the blocks, pushing them around until the assemblage resembled something - an object, a person or an animal - and then to trace around them and color within the outline to create a picture of something.

 

The students enjoyed doing this, and were proud of their products, clamoring to have their photo taken with their work, some of which are shown here. This way of creating a picture helped them to see the shapes of things and forced them to make their drawings large, which isn't always easy for young children. Judy and Bill enjoyed the interaction, and were delighted to see how well many of the students visualized things.

 

Students were allowed to take their pictures home, but were encouraged to bring some back for the exhibit and awards in May. Join the fun.  As you can see from the photos here, the children are a delight, and they really appreciate the opportunity to create art. We still need lessons for kindergarten and first grade, and could use additional lessons for the other grades, although 2nd through 5th have all had at least one lesson already. To participate, call Pat Blackwell at 756-3854.

Pat has painted on many three-dimensional objects, such as mailboxes, shovels, saws, and saw blades. For her demonstration she painted a Texas bluebonnet scene on a large milk can provided by Nancy Cagle. Pat had previously washed the can and applied a gray sandable primer, so her acrylic paint would stick to the metal. She placed the milk can on a turntable, turning as she worked from top to bottom. Her palette consisted of ultramarine blue, cad red light, cad yellow light, yellow ocher light, cerulean blue, titanium white, burnt umber, and alizarin crimson. She used a "49 cent" brush. She used a palette box with a damp sponge in the bottom, and sprayed water on her paints occasionally to keep them from drying out.

She mixed a very light blue for the sky at the top of the milk can and partially down the sides. She dipped the brush in the paint and stippled it on, creating texture and adding blue or white to vary the color. She kept working around the can as she rotated the turntable for complete coverage. When she had painted enough sky, she marked a line of mountains. She stippled in mountains and vegetation in the distance, varying the shapes and colors with yellow, white and alizarin crimson. She varied her lights and darks creating good values.

 

Using her stippling technique she painted a large tree on one side, shown at the left. After the break for refreshments and Show and Tell, she dipped her brush in medium blue, with one tip of her brush in white and another tip in ultramarine blue, and stippled bluebonnets on the milk can (upper right). She interspersed them with Indian paintbrush, using cad red light, and cad yellow (lower right). After completing her stippling work, she went back into the painting, defining certain areas with strokes.

 

On one side she added a barn and a road leading from it. The photo at the upper left shows her starting this by painting right over the previously laid in vegetation. At the top right she has completed the barn and added the road, which was later partially hidden by trees. Then she added a windmill, show at the lower left, using browns, yellow, and white. She then stippled in more vegetation and added some accent white to the clouds (lower right). After the paint dries she will spray five coats of clear sealer to preserve it. She worked fast and made it look easy! We thank Pat for a fine performance of well practiced skill and speed. It was a great lesson for those of us who fuss too much over details. We also thank Kathe Tipton, Gloria Meadows, Charleen Isbell, and Deanie Chastain for bringing refreshments; and all those who brought works for Show and Tell, some of which are shown below. In the voting for favorites, Tomas Godby, Karen Groman, and Deanie Chastain were 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

 

Show and Tell

                             

  Nancy Cagle               Julie Cash             Deanie Chastain          Judy Franklin

 

                             

Thomas Godby          Karen Groman         Gloria Meadows            Violet Piper

Only nine Artists entered paintings in the exhibit, but that was enough for a good show. Many thanks to those who brought entries. We hope to have more of you participating next time. Be sure to see the exhibit, in the evening if possible, as the lighting is better then. The photos below give some idea of the exhibit, but they were taken in the afternoon when glare on the glass and glazed surfaces is a problem. Besides, if you come to one of the performances, you will enjoy great entertainment as well as a look at the exhibit. Performance dates scheduled at this point are below. All are at 7:30 and all musical performances are free! The Drama productions are $12, $10 for seniors and students. Take advantage of this great opportunity. You'll be surprised at how well the MCC students perform, and the Waco Community Band is wonderful!

 

Mar 22 MCC Jazz concert

Mar 31 Orpheus in the Underworld

Apr 4 MCC Tartan Singers concert

Apr 12 MCC Country Band concert

Apr 14 To Kill a Mockingbird

Apr 18 MCC Chorale concert

Apr 19 MCC Rock Band concert

Apr 25 MCC Wind Symphony concert

Apr 26 MCC Guitar Ensemble concert

Apr 27 MCC Vocal Tech. concert

May 2 MCC Spotlight (Broadway) concert

May 3 Waco Community Band concert

May 9 Waco Jazz concert

 

                                                                                                     Charleen Isbell

 

                                                                                                  Bill Franklin

 

                                         David Leifeste

 

                                                                                   Christine Neikamp

 

                                                                  Ingrid Erickson

 

                                 Martha McKinney

 

                                                                                                       Judy Franklin

 

                                                                                                   Harley Johnson

 

                                                                            Nancy Cagle

 

Pat and Nancy showed about 15 Waco Charter School 5th graders a variety of their art projects to see what struck them as interesting. They then had them do a paper collage. They came early and stayed late, spending nearly two hours. The students wanted more, so Pat and Nancy returned the following week and helped the students paint an acrylic landscape, shown at the lower left. Only 3 primary colors white and black were provided, so the students had to learn to mix these to obtain colors such as green and brown. The students were pleased with their work, and Pat and Nancy enjoyed the experience as well.

 

 Get in on the fun. While you are welcome to extend your lesson, as some have, we really only anticipated providing about an hour, so you can come anytime after 3:30 and can stay until almost 5:30 (when they close), but any hour within that period is enough. Be sure to call Marla Hoffman at the school (754-8169) a few days in advance to tell her which grade you want to work with, when you are coming, and what materials you need (crayons, scissors, etc.).  In future weeks, we still need to do something for the K, 1st and 2nd grades. To be part of this, call Bill Franklin at 741-0960 or email him at physicsnerd@yahoo.com.

Judy and Bill Franklin gave a lesson to third graders on February 10. They arrived about 3:45 intending to start at 4:15, but were immediately given the requested materials (crayons and markers, and ten students. The students were asked to make a pencil sketch one of their shoes, and then flesh it out with crayons and/or markers. Then they were encouraged to morph the shoe into something else. Bill showed his made into a face (at right). The students made various things, including a house and a submarine. Several left before the lesson was over, and the lesson ended when only one was left, about 5:00. The students were receptive and well behaved, all had a pleasant experience.

Gloria Meadows and Charleen Isbell Met with third grade students three times in January to complete a acrylic painting project. The students were led through a series of steps from preparing the "canvas" (paper in this case) to the final image. First, they painted the entire page a light green. Then the students painted a tree with limbs and leaves on one side. Then the shape of a rabbit was outlined. Portions of it were painted brown or white, and some details were added. The children were allowed to take their finished product home to show their parents. They may also enter them in a year-end exhibit from which Letzler Award winners will be selected. Other members will present lessons in February and the rest of the school year. To be part of this, call Bill Franklin at 741-0960 or email him at physicsnerd@yahoo.com.

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.