Art Associations – FANtastic Friday

A brag about my local art association. I am a member of the Bartlesville Art Association. Since becoming a member a five years ago, I have learned so much about art and the promotion of art. Not only that, these people get me! You know how sometimes your family just don’t understand why you do what you do? Well, these like-minded fellow artist do. Not only have I learned to get out of my shell and think outside of the box, I have made many lasting friendships as well. These artists are a wonderful source of inspiration.

The Bartlesville Art Association hosts many events that allow artists to showcase and sell their work. I have had the opportunity to sell work this way. It is a great way to meet collectors. So far this year, they have had a spring art show and several workshops. In June, they will be exhibiting artwork at the historic Dewey Hotel Museum from June 1-30. Also in June, they will participate in the OK Mozart Festival from June 11-19. This event allows association members to showcase their work. People from all over the nation participate in music festival. In July, they will exhibit artwork at one of the local retirement homes, Green Country Village. The first weekend in November, they will be hosting their Fall Fling. Holiday shoppers enjoy this opportunity to purchase unique gifts for Christmas.

They have monthly meetings. Members and non-members are invited to their monthly meetings that provide people with information and/or demonstrations from artists. These meetings are well-attended and very inspiring.

They host workshops. In August, I will be teaching a 2-day workshop on how to make Christmas Cards. In October, Todd Williams will be giving a workshop on “7 Keys to Unlocking a Great Painting”.

If you are from the Bartlesville area, please contact me for membership information about the Bartlesville Art Association at valmj2u@yahoo.com.

Your local area doesn’t have an art association or group? Try looking online. Wetcanvas.com is a wonderful online resource for artists of all types. Scribbletalk.com is another great resource for artists who enjoy working with colored pencil and graphite. There are others out there. Is there an online group that you are a member of that I don’t have listed? I’d love to hear about it so I can become a fan too.

I just finished an online class about blogging. This class was hosted by Alyson Stanfiield from Art Biz Coach and Cynthia Morris from Original Impulse. I received wonderful advice from these two ladies plus met a wonderful group of bloggers. These people will be my source of blogging inspiration for many months to come.

Become part of a group. Don't just stay in the studio. Get out and mingle. Be inspired. It will help sell the work you create while in the studio.

Acrylic Paint – Wacky Wednesday

“Orange Gerber Daisy”

Work in Progress, Acrylic on 8” x 8” Canvas

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

The Bartlesville Art Association is getting ready to have its members sell their work at the OK MOZART Festival in June. As a member, I am working on some artwork for the event.

I primarily work in pencil. Pencil takes awhile to complete and need to get some pieces done quickly. So, I purchased some Golden Fluid Acrylics. They are wonderful for the art that I am creating. Me? Not so wonderful with the brush. My hand was shaky. Was it from too much coffee or the excitement of trying something new? hmmm…I’ll never quite know for sure. Don’t worry, the shaky line will be gone before I’m finished with the piece.

One thing to note…Don’t buy your full color palette online. Unless you already know what the color really looks like in real life, our computer screens can show colors differently. I found that out with the yellow, reds, and orange I purchased.

Happy painting!

The Drawing Board

“Macy’s Joy”

Graphite on Strathmore 500 Series Plate

10” x 8”

Copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

 

Welcome to The Drawing Board where we discuss everything that pertains to drawing. 

Today, we are going to talk about paper.  Your drawing surface is just as important as the subject you are drawing.

I always have my graphite students draw on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Smooth paper.  This allows a smooth texture to be created for the drawing.  This is a student grade paper, so it isn’t the best quality paper out on the market.

When I do a drawing for commission, I put it on Strathmore 500 Series Bristol Board Plate 4-ply.  It lets you create the smoothest texture, plus gives you breathing room for erasing mistakes and re-applying graphite without smudging.  The 300 Series will sometimes create smudges or darker areas around what has been erased. 

I encourage you to try different papers.  Sometimes your subject will need to have texture and some drawing papers have enough tooth to allow wonderful textures to be created.

If you have a favorite paper you use for drawing, I would love to hear what it is and how it works for you. I enjoy experimenting with different papers!

Shortcake’s Story

“Shortcake”

Colored Pencil artwork

copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

 

The 2010 Verdigris Valley Art Exhibit ended today in Independence, Kansas.  I had 3 pieces of artwork on display for the event.  “Shortcake” was one of the pieces.  The original photograph was taken of her while she was catching some Vitamin D rays on the living room floor one afternoon.  It was a picture perfect moment, with the light shining behind her.  So, not one to let the moment pass me by, I took her picture.  It turned out to be one of the cat’s better photogenic opportunities.  (You should see her on her “bad hair days”).   A dear lady bought this picture at the exhibit.  I can’t wait to hear what spoke to her about this piece.  Does this picture remind her of a cat she once had?  Does she have a family member in love with cats?  As an artist, it’s always inspirational those stories.  What do others find fascinating about the artwork you create?

Wacky Wednesday

“Wacky Wednesday” has to do about wacky things I do for art.  These posts will be randomly placed on Wednesdays. 

copyright 2010

Valerie Jones

Okay, so I went to the store.  I went to the store for canvas and brushes.  The store didn’t have the size of canvas I need for a project.  I decided to go to the clearance isle for some brushes I’d seen there last week.  When I get to the clearance, all I see are beads.  I was upset because I bought these same beads for work and they weren’t on clearance!  Then, I got to thinking I could make birthday and Mother’s Day gifts with these wonderful beads that are on clearance.  I picked some out and then found the brushes I needed.  Oh, and then I remembered that the beading wire was on sale.  So, back to the regular beading isle for the wire.  But while there, the other bright and colorful beads were calling, “Valerie, Valerie, please come and look at me.”  So, I looked and looked for an HOUR AND A HALF!  I was only going to be in the store for 30 minutes.  Did I mention that these beads were half price?  Yes, indeed.  They were cheaper than the beads on clearance.  So, I finally decided on the beads I could use.  This was after my husband called to see where I was.  I had to embarrassingly admit that I’d been there for an hour already.  I took the beads that were on clearance back to their place and purchased the pretty new beads that were half price.   I should have never stumbled upon those beads.  Now I have a new addiction besides fine art.  I blame this new addiction to beading on my job and a friend who showed me how to bead.  It’s not self-inflicted, honest. 

copyright 2010

Valerie Jones

Blogs of Envy

“Macy’s Joy”

copyright 2010 Valerie Jones

We all have those blogs we envy. You know, those blogs that make us drool and make a green cloud of envy come over us.

I have one of those such blogs. The Pioneer Woman . Even though her blog isn’t about fine art, I still drool. The reasons I like her blog are numerous. The first reason is her humor. She is able to find humor in normal day to day activities. (I can take a lesson from her on this.) Secondly, she cooks. I love to cook and she has easy recipes that I grew up with. Thirdly, her recipes are in color and step-by-step! I love step-by-step with photos. Did I mention she has a cookbook? And that she lives up the road from me about 30 miles? Fourthly, she is not afraid to confess little tid-bits (sometimes embarrassing moments) about her life. Fifth, she gives neat things away. Oh, there’s even more, but I’ll leave you with one more. She takes photos and turns them into true works of art with Photoshop. I’ll be taking online lessons with her about Photoshop. I need all the help I can get in that area.

What are some of the blogs you envy? I’d love to be introduced to them.

Valerie Jones Art

To keep current on my artwork and blog, please go to my website.

Valerie Jones Art

See you there!