Something Fishy Is Going On in Apollo Beach!

What?  GYOTAKU.

What is "gyotaku"?  It is Japanese for "fish rubbing."  Japanese fishermen used fish rubbing to record the size and number of their catch.  Gyotaku has become one type of nature printing.

The direct method calls for ink or paint to be applied directly to the fish.  Fabric, watercolor paper, or Japanese paper is then pressed onto the painted fish to make a print.  Messy?  Yes!  Fun?  Absolutely!

When and where can you get a "taste" (pun intended)?  SouthShore artist Grace McKee will be the instructor for the following events:

Thursday, January 27, 10 am to noon --The Art Studio at Arianna's (across Hwy 41 from MiraBay in Apollo Beach behind the M & I Bank) will host a Gyotaku session . Stop by Arianna's Rugs and Decor by January 24 to sign up. Art supplies and one piece of fabric furnished. $35

Saturday, February 26--MiraBay residents* will be rubbing fish at the clubhouse at 10 am.  Hurry and sign up as the class will fill quickly!  Residents can have a non-resident friend sign up with them on a space-available basis.  Art supplies and one piece of fabric furnished.  $35 

*Residents should sign up by February 22.  Non-residents will be admitted after that.

Hope to see you there!

ART SUPPLIES TIPS

I’ve been asked where I order my art supplies. Here are a few tips:

I prefer Golden’s Heavy Body Artists Acrylics, especially because they have a hand-painted sample at the top of each tube showing how transparent, transluscent, or opaque the color is.
Golden’s Paints controls their prices so they are the same everywhere. They do allow a 40% off sale by each distributor once or twice a year. Always look for these sales. (Dick Blick and Cheap Joe’s are both having this sale right now.) Golden’s has a special going right now; when you order six tubes of their paint, you will get a 5-oz. tube of Titanium White for FREE!

(No, I do not work for Golden Paints, but I would love to. lol)

I usually order online at http://www.dickblick.com. They carry the Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics that I love. Their store is in Atlanta (Roswell) and I’ve been there often. Their staff is very helpful online, on the phone, and in person.

You can order a Dick Blick catalog; I think this will give you a 10% discount.

Another site is http://www.cheapjoes.com. Prices for the Golden paints are the same as I have said. You should compare prices on other items.

I also buy supplies at Keeton’s in Bradenton. They carry Golden’s. In my opinion, their website is not too user friendly.

I avoid AOE in Tampa because they refused to replace defective canvas one time. The only way to send the message that a business has displeased you is to NOT give them money. (My personal little boycott.  I'm sure they haven't felt my absence, but it makes me feel better. lol)  They have somewhat of a captive audience with the university students nearby and seem a bit complacent to me.

Michael’s in Brandon carries some Golden products, but no way near the full line. I feel that they cater more to craft people than to artists.

Hope this helps.

Grace

09.20.2010

DRINK 'n' DRAW--First Event

A group of ladies in MiraBay asked that I do an instructor-led drawing event. 

This is the plan for a FUN evening:

The group organizer invited friends and collected the fees.  Fees included drawing materials and instruction.

I created a grayscale drawing that I thought this group would especially appreciate.  Also, I created a graphic reminder for her to send out by email or print.  I am blanking out her name; you can see the picture we will be drawing.

Each lady was asked by their hostess to bring either a bottle of wine or an appetizer.  Upon arrival at her home, they will have time to enjoy each other's company and indulge in a bit of "liquid courage" before the creative time.

My goal is that the ladies have a lot of FUN and actually learn some drawing techniques.  Each lady will take home her drawing plus her art supplies and another sheet of paper on which to create another piece of artwork.

I'll let you know how things go....

Redo of Painting "Outrunning the Storm"

ne wonderful aspect of acrylic painting is if you don't like something, paint over it.  Just wait until the first version is dry.  This is essentially the same composition, but color, simplicity and subtlety make it quite different.  And negative painting has improved the shapes.

1. Softening the overall painting makes the scene more tranquil, emphasizing the ensuing storm.
2. Enlarging the boat and heading it more to shore better communicates "outrunning the storm."
3. The simplification of the sky puts more emphasis on the focal point.
4. Reworking the palm tree also softens the scene.  The trunk is smooth and gray; the leaves no longer form a lollypop tree.
5. The lightening of the hammock's color and the reshaping are more indicative of an empty hammock indicating the person who had been there is also outrunning the storm.
6. The shadows are more interesting shapes and point to the focal point as do the hammock and rope.
7. Removal of the seagrapes on the water's edge allow the soft laciness of the waves on the sand.

I like it a lot better.  Do you?  Click on Comments and let me know.

Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts

Thanks to all who came by my booth at the Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts this past weekend.  Here's a photo of my booth if you were unable to attend.

Stop by my Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts Booth

Now that our daughter's engagement party is over (WHEW!), I can get back to my art.

Next weekend, March 13 and 14, I will be showing my work at the Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts.  Please stop by and say hello.

Hillsborough Community College SouthShore Art Exhibit to End Soon

Just want to let you know that my art exhibit at Hillsborough Community College SouthShore will be ending this weekend.  So...if you want to visit but haven't as yet, please do so soon.  Hours are as follows:

• Monday through Thursday, 8 am - 8 pm
• Friday, 8 am - 2 pm
• Closed Saturday and Sunday

So Friday will be the last chance.

I will be exhibiting at the Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts, March 13 and 14.  Come by and say, "Hello."  Be sure to mention that you saw this info on my blog.

In the meantime, my giclees and notecards are available at Arianna's Rugs and Decor across from MiraBay.

Grace

Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts

Today I received notification that my work has been accepted into the Apollo Beach Manatee Festival of the Arts.  Hope to see you all there on March 13 - 14!

Birds in and of Paradise

Both of these paintings were done from photos I took around MiraBay where we live.  It is a beautiful place.  I look at the bridges every time we enter or exit our home.  And the bird of paradise was in bloom just at the main entrance.  I walk to the bird of paradise and rest; then I walk home passed the bridge.

They are both painted around the edges so no frame is necessary even though they, of course, can be framed.  The colors are the same and they are the same size so they can be hung as a dyptic.

I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed painting them.

Grace

Over Coffee

Penny Fletcher writes "Over Coffee" that appears in The Observer News, The SCC Observer, and The Riverview Current newspapers.  She visited with Cynthia Atkins and me on November 19 to see what The Artist's Corner at Arianna's Rugs and Decor is all about.  Be sure to pick up one of these papers later this week. 

Out of town?  You can access these newspapers online at http://observernews.net/.  Just click on one of the banners at the top of the home page.  You can actually "turn the pages" of the papers!  Fun!