The Pastel Press

The Newsletter of the Oklahoma Pastel Society

January, 2008

 

 

The January meeting of the Oklahoma Pastel Society promises to be a real treat – Debby Cotter Kaspari is our guest artist!  Debby has traveled extensively in Central America, where she fell in love with the exotic, colorful wildlife and vegetation native to that part of the world.  She sketches on location and creates paintings of plants, animals and birds in acrylic and pastel.

 

Her work has been shown in museums from her home state of California across our country to New York.  A body of work inspired by her travels is scheduled to go on exhibit at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History sometime in 2008.  You can see Debby’s work, from sketchbook to fully-realized paintings, at www.debbykaspari.com.

 

Our meeting is on Monday, January 14th, at the Will Rogers Garden Center, 3400 N.W. 36th Street, in Oklahoma City and begins at 6:30 p.m.  If you need directions, please contact Sue Ann Rodgers at 330-5467 or sueann1022@cox.net.  Bring your beverage of choice; we’ll have snacks to share at the meeting.

 

And while it seems like months ago…hey, it was months ago…Kathy and Jim Benson, of The Great Frame Up, deserve many THANK YOU’s for not only hosting but also presenting the program for our November meeting.  Learning more about the various framing options for pastels as well as the different types of glass available to protect our paintings, types of fillets and liners and keying the framing materials to the colors in your paintings are always good things.  Thank you, Kathy and Jim!

 

Here’s a look ahead at some of our next meetings:  in February, OPS is fortunate to have Becky Way presenting the program; at another one of our spring meetings, we’ll have a front-row view, via a slideshow, of the artworks shown at the latest Pastel Society of America national show.  And we plan on having a well-known local artist, who is also much in demand as a show judge, tell us what judges expect to find in an award-winning painting at yet another meeting this spring.

 

 

The “Smaller and Teeny-Tiny Works” Show was seen by lots of interested art-lovers at both of the December 2007 Artwalks and the January 2008 First Friday Artwalk. The show was judged by Paseo artist Winnie Hawkins and the prizes were awarded at the first Artwalk of December.  Here are the winners:

          Best of Show – “Eggs, Stone & Art” by Phyllis Baker

          1st Place, Smaller Works – “Soft Glow” by Sheila Minnich

          2nd Place, Smaller Works – “Purcell” by Sherry Brown Hicks

          3rd Place, Smaller Works – “Late Summer Bloom” by Marie K. Weltzheimer

          1st Place, Teeny-Tiny Works – “Sunset” by Pam Brewer

          2nd Place, Teeny-Tiny Works – “Copper Pot” by Nancy Windsor

3rd Place, Teeny-Tiny Works – “Rio Grande Gorge near Taos” by Sylvia “Sue” Rogers

          People’s Choice – “Day is Done” by Sherry Brown Hicks

Congratulations to all the winners!  We’d also like to thank Ashley of AKA Gallery, as well as everyone who helped with any of the three  receptions (yep – one for each Artwalk!)

 

Our next show will be at the Paseo Art Space Gallery the first three weeks of May, 2008 – and we need a SHOW CHAIRPERSON!  Please consider volunteering.  Seriously, the location and the dates for the show are already taken care of.  Gather a small group of your OPS buddies, divide and conquer the show responsibilities, then sit back and bask in the admiration of your fellow members!  And any of us who have worked on past shows will share any expertise and knowledge we’ve gained from our experiences too.

 

If you’re wanting still more possibilities for exhibiting your artwork, the International Association of Pastel Societies  (IAPS) has two different options for you.  First is their 11th Juried Exhibition which will be held at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown Ohio.  Deadline for entries to be received:  MARCH 19, 2008.

 

Their second option is the IAPS 12th Exhibition/Web Show.  All entries for the Web Show must be received by August 8, 2008.  (This is also a juried show.)  To get more information about either, or both, shows, call IAPS at 703-536-0308 or go to their website, www.pastelinternational.com and click on “Exhibitions.”

 

Here’s something new in OKC:  HOLLYWOODLAND!  Recently opening at 2125 N. May Ave., Hollywoodland wants to add artworks by local artists to their display of classic, collectible movie posters.  In the last few months, Hollywoodland has been featured on several local TV stations and in various local papers.  They don’t charge a commission, just a flat, monthly fee; they handle all the advertising; and pay artists for their sold works on a regular schedule.  Call Cyndee at 405.949.2925 for more information.

 

Here’s something that is global – www.terminartors.com.  This is a new and “the first community-based, interactive art gallery in the world.”  TerminArtors is presented by a person or group or company based in Budapest, Hungary.   As they state in their introductory letter, they “would be most honoured to have you as one of our uploaders, new artists or just a visitor” to their site.  So, when you have a minute or three, check out their website.

 

 

Workshops – always something to look forward to!  Becky Way is teaching a couple of workshops in January.  First is one sponsored by the Mid-Del Art Guild, scheduled for January 11 & 12.  Sheila Minnich is the person to contact about any available openings or to get your name on a wait list; call her at 455-3777 or email her at samiam47@cox.net.

 

Becky’s second OKC-area workshop will be held in the Paseo district on January 25 and 26 (that’s the last Friday/Saturday of this month.)  Cost for this workshop is $150; contact Sylvia “Sue” Rogers at 946-2879 for all the details.  Also, go to www.beckyway.com for additional information.

 

If you’re interested in traveling outside of Oklahoma, Doug Dawson is teaching workshops all over the United States.  Go to his website, www.dougdawsonartist.com, where you can see a list of his scheduled 2008 workshops. Also you can email him at dougdawson8@aol.com or even give him a call at 303.421.4584.

 

Our workshop chairperson, Pam Brewer, is currently working on several workshops to be sponsored by OPS.  Colleen Brown will be teaching a workshop for us in the next few months; when the details are finalized, we’ll get that information to you ASAP!

 

Missouri artist Jerry Brown plans to teach a one or two day workshop after the Paseo Arts Festival (which is held on Memorial Day weekend.)   Then, later in the summer, Terry Ludwig will be back in Oklahoma City for another 3-day workshop – possibly a portrait workshop!

 

Make sure you take a look at the February 2008 issue of The Pastel Journal magazine.  There’s a really nice article about Clive Tyler, who demonstrated his approach to painting at an OPS meeting a while back.  And in the very last article of this issue, Lorenzo Chavez (one of our favorite workshop instructors) talks about that “first visual impression” that painting en plein air gives him.

 

 

Remember – Monday, January 14th, 6:30 p.m.

Will Rogers Garden Center

Demonstration by Debby Kaspari

 

See you there!