Food for Thought: Frank Lloyd Wright

"Colors - in pastel or crayon - or pencils - always a thrill! To this day I love to hold a handful of many colored pencils and open my hand to see them lying loose upon my palm in the light."

Frank Lloyd Wright (American architect)

Announcement: American Frame Alliance Code

The Alliance Code # for the Colored Pencil Society of America Chapter 219 is A479. Thank you for also including your current membership List. I will begin typing your new Code # into all members accounts. We thank you for joining this program and hope you and your Society will find it beneficial.

Best Regards,
Lisa Zook
Alliance Program diretcor
www.AmericanFrame.com
www.AmericanFrame.BlogSpot.com

LINK: Interesting Article on Miniatures

What is a miniature painting?
GUIDE-LINES TOWARD A DEFINITION OF A MINIATURE PAINTING
(click on image to link)
from www.art-in-miniature.org

Also, a side-by-side comparison PDF of 'miniature' vs. 'small-artwork'

LINK: Interesting Article on Improving Your Artwork

How Do You Improve Your Artwork? posted 30 Nov 2009 - by Karyn
(click on image to link)

…another interesting link: at the end of this article is a link to answer the question, "how do you improve your own artwork," when you click it sends you to a Free ebook about how to draw people from photos ( something lots of us do). The trade off is you need to sign up for the "Artist Daily" message, but that's pretty painless…

betty lehnus

SPECIAL MEETING: Tuesday, Nov. 3rd

Chapter 219 CPSA:
We are having a special meeting Tuesday night, Nov. 3, 6:15 p.m. at the Cherry Hills Library, 6901 Barstow NE. The library is at the corner of Barstow and Harper, 1 block east of the intersection of San Antonio and Wyoming.

At the meeting Shelley Minnis, southwest area representative for Prismacolor, will present new products and other information from Prismacolor. She will also take any feedback we may have for Prismacolor. (There will be door prizes.)

DEMO: New Video from PanPastel

New Video from PanPastel with Deborah Secor
Panpastel recently filmed a new video with Deborah Secor. Deborah paints a vibrant New Mexico landscape with PanPastel on Pastelmat paper. Deborah teaches in a very approachable and inspirational manner. The free video is available on PanPastel.com at the end of October.


*Link shared with us by Betty Lehnus, Thanks Betty!

MEETING 10/24/09: Working on Black Paper

SATURDAY, 12:00pm to 3:00 pm,
Room 5, BEAR CANYON SR. CNTR. (directions below).

Hello CPSA Chapter 219 members! Are you ready to another fabulous colored pencil meeting & program? Joan Catacosinos will be joining us to advise us on the technique of working with colored pencil on black. Chapter member Barbara Nahler will be assisting Joan in the presentation. Bring some of your pencils for practice and experimentation, a variety of black paper will be provided. Also, if you have some, bring WHITE WATERCOLOR or GOUACHE for another variation of the technique. Mark your calendars now and we hope to see you all there!



DIRECTIONS:
From Eubank and Montgomery: Go NORTH on Eubank to first street on right (Lagrima de Oro).
Turn EAST (right, toward the Sandias).
Watch for BROWN SIGN (SeniorCenter) Turn Left on PITT ST.
Enter parking lot on your LEFT.

DOWNLOAD: 12th Annual Masterworks Fine Art Show

Here's all the information you need for entering the upcoming Masterworks minitures in the colored pencil category. Remember - we need 20 accepted entries to maintain our category, so get creating!

DOWNLOAD: Nature Journaling Info from Margy O'Brien

As a follow-up to our last meeting, here is a helpful list of nature journaling sources and resources from Margy O'Brien. Thanks for the wonderful presentation Margy!

EVENT: Go Arts Festival, Downtown ABQ

Attention Chapter 219! This coming weekend is the Go! Arts Festival in downtown Albuquerque and for the second year in a row we will have a booth to promote our work and our group. However, we do plan to do things a little differently this year. Instead of collecting artworks from as many members as possible and setting-up everyday, we will have one or two tables with a selection of 2-3 member pieces on display and a good supply of our brochures to hand out to interested artists. We will also be selling prints and note cards - if anyone would like to submit these items, please contact Midge. We woud like to have at least one 'information' person and one person demonstrating at the booth at all times - alternates are welcome. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Midge ASAP as we need to get all arrangements finalized before Friday.

Schedule:
Friday, September 25 11am-9pm
Saturday, September 26 11am-8pm (booth will close during meeting time)
Sunday, September 27 11am-5pm

Additional information can be found at the link included above.

Thanks so much!
-melinda-

MEETING 9/29/09: New Season, Great Program

--Hi-- After our summer time hiatus of programmed meetings, we're ready to launch into our ELEVENTH year!! Our meeting is this SATURDAY, at Noon to 3:00 pm, room 5, BEAR CANYON SR. CNTR. (directions below). Our program is a bang-up beginning. We're fortunate to welcome Margy O'Brien, an award-winning Albuquerque artist who has a reputation in drawing, painting and tile work. She is famous for her nature/wild life journals and has published in the Albuquerque Journal and the Wildlife Magazine. She has illustrated three books. She has won top awards in MasterWorks, both in watermedia and in MINIATURES (2nd place in the International Miniature Art Show in Florida. WOW!!)
Bring a sketch book or pad and some of your pencils. Mark your calendars NOW and please come.

--Ben Nurry--

DIRECTIONS:
From Eubank and Montgomery: Go NORTH on Eubank to first street on right (Lagrima de Oro).
Turn EAST (right, toward the Sandias).
Watch for BROWN SIGN (SeniorCenter) Turn Left on PITT ST.
Enter parking lot on your LEFT.

Member Suggestion: American Artist Download

Member Betty Lehnus has found another great internet gem for us, a three page pdf from the American Artist website. The document is titled "Faster, Richer Effects with Colored Pencil" and can be downloaded here.

MEETING 8/22/09: CANCELLED (Paint-In)

FIRST: Bear Canyon Sr. Center is closed this Sat. for cleaning. So our meeting has been cancelled, no paint-in. Sorry.

SECOND: We're submitting a request for a show at the SOUTH BROADWAY CULTURAL CENTER (It's a GREAT venue) and we need to submit some examples of your artwork to their committee. Deadline is end-of-this-month!
PLEASE send me THREE (3) pictures of your best stuff. ASAP (by TUESDAY - Aug 25)
If you don't have three, send whatever you can. These need not be what you might plan to enter but merely representative of your best. You did such a FANTASTIC job of contributing to our Wooden Cow show. I repeat, PLEASE send your best! I've made arrangements for you to drop off your stuff where I live. (It's very close to Bear Canyon S.C.)

DIRECTIONS:
From Montgomery and Morris ( Morris is one light W. of Juat Tabo, one light E. of Eubank)
Go North on MORRIS TO LAGRIMA DE ORO.
Turn RIGHT (EAST) on Lagroma de Oro.
Turn LEFT at entrance to La Vida Llena.
Drive up to main entrance. You can leave the car right there,if you just drop your stuff off inside. Leave your photos EITHER at desk to your right or at the window to the left. They're expecting them. Just tell them they're for Ben Nurry.
Any questions? Call me at 291-5871 or lbnurry@comcast.net. And thanx.

THIRD: Here is our slate of officers, etc. for next year:

President: Betty Lehnus
Vice President: Jeff Stephenson
Secretary: Melinda Beavers
Treasurer: Les Lemkin
Program Chair/Venues: Mike Austin.
(He needs a Co-Chair, so please - we need someone to help him fill this all-important job)

FOURTH: We are participating in The Santa Fee Art Materials Fair on SEPT. 17-21. We already have 5 of our members demoing at the Caron D'ache booth during the fair but we need two more: one to spell off Mike on Friday 18 and one to spell off Ben Nurry on Thurs. 18 and/or Sat. 20 . A great chance to promote colored pencil!! (and there may be some opportunity for samples!)
Call me for details or to volunteer: 291-5871

Ben

Member Suggestion: Colored Pencil Newsletter Wet Canvas

Detail from Green by Elen

Hello Chapter 219!
Bettey Lehnus as shared another great link with us from Wet Canvas: Online Living for Artists. They sent out a nice email newsletter focusing on colored pencils, take a look at this link.

Member Suggestion: American Artist

Betty Lehnus has found another informational gem for CPSA Chapter 219; Inside the new issues of American Artist is an article on new papers. Download the full PDF here.

Special Offer: Prismacolor

Take advantage of this special rebate offer from Prismacolor! Save $10.00 off a $50 purchase of Prismacolor products between 7/1/09 and 10/15/09.

Suggested by Betty Lehnus

MEETING 7/25/09: Paint-In

Hello, please come to our chapter's first summer Paint-In on Saturday, July 25, 1:00pm until 3:00pm at Bear Canyon Senior Center.
Bring a colored pencil project you'e working on and we can visit with our fellow colored pencil artists while we work on our ongoing artworks, discuss our processes and techniques, and ask about any questions we may have. This is our time to get to know each other better. And don't forget to bring a Show 'n' Tell piece, if you have one.
Please come, we can't wait to what you've been working on!

-Ben-
Ben Nurry
Secretary, CPSA Ch. 219

Member Suggestion: Colored Pencil Demo

Melody of Fallen Leaves (colored pencil, 12½ x 9½) by Alyona Nickelsen

Click here for an article called Colored Pencil Demo: Alyona Nickelson (from the Artists' Magazine online).

Suggested by CPSA 219 Member, Betty Lehnus.
Thanks Betty!

Announcement: New Mexico State Fair

Well, it's time to get your stuff ready for ExpoNM State Fair.

Please visit their website for more details.
On subsequent menus click on
>Competitions
->Premium Book
-->Arts logo
--->Fine Arts - which is Division 14.
---->Traditional (236)
----->Class 6 (Drawing).


I have no idea why there is no Class for Drawing under Contemporary. You can hand deliver up to 3 artworks on:
July 30 and 31 from 9am-5pm and on
Aug 1 from 9am-2pm.

Pickup for non-accepted stuff on Aug 15.
Good Luck!.

-Ben-
p.s. Don't forget to start working on miniatures for next April.

Member Art: from of scanning session

Just wanted to share these two beautiful pieces that were scanned during our scanning demonstration.

Waterfall, from Nicholas Ng.
















And Pears, from Corrine Armijo-Vialpando.

Discussion: Making Your Art More Salable

An article titled 8 Ideas to Help Sell Paintings from the blog of M. Steven Doherty, was suggest by chapter member Betty Lehnus:

These ideas on how to make paintings more salable are surely open to debate . . . but worth thinking about . . . Betty

The comments section is open - let's make an effort for each member to leave an opinion!!

MEETING 6/27/09 Scanning & Digitally Processing Your Artwork

Hello CPSA Members!
Get ready for our meeting this Saturday by selecting a piece of artwork you would like to have scanned!
Chapter member, Melinda Beavers, will be running though the scanning process and also touch on some basic digital editing processes. Bring your sketchbooks and pencils as well, after the overview presentation, Melinda will invite members with artwork to scan to go through the process individually - other members will be welcome to watch or draw on their own during that time.

*Please note: If you are bringing a piece of artwork to scan, it must be smaller than 8.5 x 11".
Also, due to time constrictions, we cannot garuntee that every person who brings a piece of artwork will have the to opportunity to have it scanned. If you have a small portable USB hard drive or a blank data CD-R, please bring it along to receive your scanned artwork file immediately, otherwise delivery will depend on email - and not all mailboxes can receive large digital files (3MB or larger).

Melinda will be demonstrating with the VueScan program, software that is available for both Mac and Windows platforms and for various consumer scanners. The software is available for online purchase/download here.

EVENT: Artists' Materials Expo: Santa Fe

Artists' Materials Expo: Creative Expression 2009 - Sept 17, 18, 19, 20
Here's a link for a interesting event in Santa Fe in September: Artists' Materials Expo . . . looks terrific, thought people might want to put it on their calendar!

-Betty Lehnus

SHOW UPDATE: Wooden Cow Pick-up

Just a reminder for everyone:
Pick up anytime between 9am and 5pm on Sunday the 31st.
Or the preceeding Wed, Thurs, Fri before 7pm.
They're closed Mon. & Tues. But if that's the only time that works, call first: (505) 999-1280
Someone may be there.

BEN-O-GRAM: May '09

Yahoo! Well, you did it! You flooded the Wooden Cow Gallery with 120, yes 120 pieces of colored pencil stuff. And the gallery was able to hang 73 and everyone who submitted had at least one juried in. Congratulations!

So, let's celebrate by coming to our next meeting THIS SATURDAY AT NOON, Bear Canyon Sr. Cntr. Our program will feature David Chavez, a fantastic and award-winning artist (as well as a dancer and choreographer).

**Please bring a medium-sized sketch pad to sketch and take notes.

It will be informartive and interesting.

Be There!
-Ben

MEETING 4/25/09 Yupo Process

Hello everyone!
We had a fabulous meeting on Saturday - and we have images of the event to share.
Chapter Member Betty Lehnus did a demonstration of the watercolor pencil & Yupo paper technique - what fun!
She also brought enough samples for everyone to experiment with - we all got to draw, play, and share the process as a group. Please see the images below for an overview of the supplies and process, examples of Betty's finished works and contact Betty for an questions you might have. :)



Don't forget you can click on the images for a larger view.

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT: from Betty Lehnus

Hello chapter members!

I'd like to ask everbody who will be at our next meeting to bring their pencils -- especially any water-color pencils they may have -- I'll be doing a demo of how the Yupo paper+color+plastic wrap works and you'll be able to experiment with small samples I will have prepared.

-Betty-

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Member: Betty Lehnus

Betty Lehnus recently contacted CPSA Founder, Vera Curnow, to discuss some of her thoughts about working with colored pencils. At her request, here is that discussion to share with our group:

Betty Lehnus to Vera Curnow:

I've just finished realing Alyona Nickelsen's Colored Pencil Painting Bible. It's filled with solid advice and information, esp. about how to make good use of digital tools. But, as with almost every publication about colored pencil, the working assumption is that a very tight, nearly photo-real approach is what we are all looking for. I'd love to see an exploration of abstract, semi-abstract or simply "loose" cp techniques and work in To the Point. Surely as artists we don't want to limit our work/goals to one approach!

Betty Lehnus
CPSA Chapter 219
Albuquerque New Mexico

-----

Vera's Response:

I'm with you, Betty. This has been one of my contentions since the conception of CPSA. I'll be on the look out for the types of work you suggested for inclusion in TTP. I'll look to find something/someone to publish for this Fall issue.

As for books more open to the edgy, creative side of colored pencil, I'm afraid publishers like North Light and Watson-Guptil are looking for universally appealing works & techniques that will interest the masses. They have pigeon-holed our medium. (Deep Sigh.)

Thanks for writing, Betty. We are kindred spirits. I'm glad you "rattled my cage" on this subject.

Best regards,
Vera
Vera Curnow, Founder
Colored Pencil Society of America

SPECIAL BEN-O-GRAM: APRIL '09

Hi members! We have more details about our next show. We hope you're already working on some new pieces because we need YOU to contribute to our success! The show will run from May 13 through May 31. The opening reception will be on Friday, May 15 from 5 -8 pm. (You betta be there!)

• The Wooden Cow Gallery is in the Mossman Center at 7400 Montgomery Blvd.
• Drop off entries from -- Wed to Sat: May 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th -- between 11am and 7pm.
• Artwork must be framed, matted and ready to hang by wire.
• Inventory sheet and release form to be filled out when you drop work off.

There is no theme except it be colored pencil and there is no limit to number of pieces.
(My concern is not that there will be too much but too few. Make me wrong!)

The gallery reserves the right to reject any piece for any reason.
All work should be for sale, but a few pieces NFS will be allowed.
Commission is only 25% (THIS IS A BARGAIN!)
You can pick up postcard adversivements at the gallery after this week. Call at 505-999-1280 to be sure.
Check out the gallery at www.woodencow.com
Work must be picked up after the show, but before June 13. (?)

Many, many thanks to Wendell Unzicker for offering us this opportunity.

So, please, don't let us down!
--Ben--

MEETING 3/28/09: Color Theory & Colored Pencils

Our meeting for this month brought members Ben & Lee Nurry in to present and demonstrate several experiments in color theory using specific colors (Yellow, Blue, & Magenta) to achieve some dramatic effects such as Mixing colors on the color wheel and mixing colors for shading (using compliments). Lee & Ben came prepared with some great handouts for everyone to experiment with. The extra hour really helped out too - plenty of time to play and talk!

First we started to create our own color wheels, using the blue, magenta and yellow to mix secondary colors (and tertiary, if we had time!). I highly recommend this for everyone that loves working in colored pencils, as it gives you a real understanding of how to layer and mix your colors while working on your paintings. It can be a tedious exercise, but as you work through it, you develop a method that works for you and your individual style and will quickly become second nature in your creative process.

We also worked at creating new colors using only the three primaries with a simple punched paper technique to help us really focus in on the target color (Brown in the example).

Finally, discussed the best ways to achieve shading without using blacks or grays - which is to say, using complimentary colors. As an example, Ben provided us with a still life reference of oranges and encouraged us to recreate one of the oranges using just an orange pencil, and it's compliment, blue. I confess, I used the orange pencil and all three primaries - Magenta, Yellow & Blue - along with a little white to complete my experiment (pictured).





On a side note, back in college, I took a color theory class and my instructor, Edie Fisner, went on to publish a book on her course. Thanks to her I got some great 'basic training' when I was first starting to use colored pencil to complete my various works - it gave me a great foundation for future projects, and I realize now, just how much I've taken it for granted. Edie used student work to illustrate many concepts in her book - and two pieces from my class work were included, which were executed in colored pencil.

Commercial Sharpeners: A Comparison

I recently decided to test a few commercial sharpeners which were all perchased through Dick Blick Artist Materials online.
Pictures below are the three I started with:

Dahle Chubby Pencil Sharpener $2.83
Helix Hand-Held Pencil Sharpener $1.29
Prismacolor Colored Pencil Sharpener $2.68

•As you can see, the Prismacolor Sharpener created the best point. The other two left the left lead with ridges and or cracks. I haven't fully tested any of the over time, so so far I am impressed with the Prima Color - and I was skeptical.














•As for functionality and shape, while the Prismacolor is a sleek space age shape, which great for travel/portability - I feel the fact that both ends 'pop' open could lead to a potential mess if you accidentally open the wrong end without paying attention or it bumps up against something.
•The Helix is pretty standard, and on the large side so you won't have to empty it as often. The twist top guarantees that the top won't accidentally pop off.
•The Dahle Chubby is also on the larger side, but is probably the least practical for portability given it's bulbous shape.

Hope this helps!
from DC219 member, melinda beavers

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Miniatures

We HOPE, HOPE, HOPE that you’re already working on some miniatures for MasterWorks. This is the ONLY MAJOR art show in Albuquerque where colored pencil has its very own category. Because we have been successful in getting a minimum of 20 entries juried in (23 in ’06,32 in ’07, 36 in ’08), we can qualify for our own cash awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd, H.M.) Don’t let CPSA 219 down! In the mail, I’m sending each member a prospectus for miniatures. If you don’t get one (or have any questions) call me at 291-5871 of lbnurry@comcast.net.

There is also going to be a miniature workshop during the show. Those of us who’ve taken it have found it quite valuable. Look for it in the prospectus. It’s 3 days for $150 or 1 day for $50 and you MUST signup for Margy O’Brien (Apr. 16). She’s a International-Award-Winning miniaturist who works in Colored Pencil. You’ll get a lot from her!

BEN-O-GRAM: February '09

Hi Folks! We have a GREAT meeting coming!
WHEN: SATURDAY, Feb. 28 at 1:00 PM(after this, we start at NOON).
WHERE: Room 5, Bear Canyon Senior Center.
We’ll be viewing the colored pencil pictures from the last National CPSA Show. What a great opportunity to get ideas for you next artwork. This has always been a highlight program.
*And, if you’ve finished any art trading cards, we have time for some swapping.

KUDOS: Our supermember, Barbara Nahler, is currently showing at The First Unitarian Church, Commanche and Carlisle. She’s one in the two-artist show.
If you’ve not seen her unique work, you just gotta go there! Call the church at 884-1801 for the best times to visit.

LOOKING AHEAD: Start thinking about (and hopefully, working on) what you are going to enter in our upcoming show at The Art Center at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos in NOVEMBER (not very far away).

See you at the meeting!
Ben Nurry

Accepted: EXPLORE THIS! 5

"The victory of socialism is well worth millions of atomic victims."
Ernesto "Che" Guevara, November, 1962

Local DC 219 member, Rex Barron, was accepted into the CPSA's Explore This! 5 show. Rex had this to say his piece,

"...this was certainly the least colorful of the two I submitted, but maybe the subject rang true with the latest headlines."

Congratulations, Rex! To see more of Rex's work, check out his website.

And CPSA now has a blog too! Read all about Explore this! 5 and other news & events here.

A complete list of the accepted artists is also available on the CPSA's website.

Member Suggestion: More ATC News

Here's a link for a FREE 25-page online sample issue of ATCQuarterly magazine --- lots of goodies about Artists Trading Cards and nice examples ...

from member, betty johnson

MEETING: 1/24/09 Artist Trading Cards

A few images from our latest meeting. Enjoy!

Project: Artist Trading Cards

Artist Trading Cards (ATC's) are all the rage!

At this month's CPSA 219 meeting, member Barabara Nahler introduced us all the this phenomenon and generously passed out various types of blank Strathmore ATC's for our members to create on. Our job is to complete as many trading cards as we'd like or can, to bring to the next meeting to trade with each other. Fun!

For more information, visit Strathmore's Website
Also, search Yahoo groups to find out about various groups online trading cards!

Ben-O-Gram for 1/24/09

Hi there!
Happy New Year!! How about some Colored Pencil Resolutions?

#1. Vow to come to more of your CPSA meetings this year, Like our first one of the new year on SATURDAY JAN. 24 at the BEAR CANYON SENIOR CENTER. Please note that the meetings this year will start one hour earlier--at 12:00 NOON.
We'll be doing something NEW and EXCITING for the program. We'll be making Colored Pencil TRADING CARDS!! To find out more, please come.

#2. Please pay your annual dues ($15) if you haven't already. Send check to
Audrey Minard, PO BOX 2541, Tijeras, NM 87059.

#3. NOW is the time to get started on your MINIATURES for entry into the MasterWorks show in APRIL. For each of the last several years we have filled more than one panel at the show with our successful entries. Don't let us down this year. There will be more information at the meeting. Or contact me at 505-291-5871.

Directions to Bear Canyon Sr. Cntr: Start at Montgomery and Eubank. Turn North and then East on Lagrima de Oro (the very first street) Look for a brown sign. Turn North on Pitt St. Parking lot is on your left near the end oif the block.

See you There!
p.s. don't forget to bring a batch of colored pencils to the meeting!

.