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 Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Painting with Dancing With the Stars’ Jane Seymour
Posted by jessica
 Actor, author, artist and dancer with the stars Jane Seymour is now bringing her love of watercolor to the public, with the help of art materials manufacturer Savoir-Faire. The two art sets, Paint With Jane: Watercolor Starter Kit and Paint With Jane: Drawing Starter Kit include the painting/drawing basics, plus an instructional DVD and pre-printed cards of Seymour’s drawings. Both are $39.95 and, according to Savoir-Faire, are available at art supply retailers starting this month. As Seymour says on her website, she feels that “watercolor is closer to the artist's hand and heart than any other medium.” How can we not agree?
Overheard
10/17/2007 10:18:51 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Monday, October 15, 2007
Get Inspired AND See Your Creativity Workshop Activity in Watercolor Magic
Posted by sarah
 We debuted our new Creativity Workshop column a few months ago with a challenge from Nita Leland and since then we've been watching our mailbox for news from our readers. We've already published four paintings inspired by the first installation of the column on our website. And now we're sifting through the submissions inspired by Cathy Johnson's Creativity Workshop Activity (appearing in the December issue of the magazine). If you haven't already sent us your work, there's still plenty of time to get cracking. The deadline is December 20, 2007. Johnson challenges us to simplify, simplify with her activity:
Use Color as a ToolOne way to simplify your work is to let color do it for you. Just because your subject may contain all the colors of the rainbow in a dozen different variations, doesn’t mean you have to paint it that way. Decide which colors dominate the scene, and eliminate most of the others. Let color give your work punch; let it create a mood, whether festive or serene. Be creative with color and choose those that expresses your mood. Just remember to keep it simple. Choose a monochromatic color scheme, with tints and shades (lights and darks) of a single color; try an analogous color, with colors that are next to one another on the color wheel; or use the complements by letting them vibrate against one another, or by muting them through mixing.
Send
a slide, photograph or a disc containing a digital image of your
painting to Watercolor Magic, Creativity Workshop, Simplification
Activity, 4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati OH 45236. (Note: include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope if you’d like us to return your
submission.)
Cathy Johnson's Missouri Landscape, Fall is pictured above.
From the Magazine
10/15/2007 9:41:45 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, October 12, 2007
Steve Mumford Sketches the War in Iraq
Posted by Kelly
 New York artist Steve Mumford originally went to Baghdad in 2003, making four trips in all during that year and the next. Embedded with the U.S. military, he kept a journal and made countless drawings and watercolors of what he saw there. In early 2007 he returned to Iraq, where he worked at an army hospital for approximately a month. During his stay, he documented the heroic efforts of the doctors, nurses and medics to save lives, both U.S. and Iraqi. "The scenes from the 28 CSH [the 28th Combat Support Hospital] are some of the most moving I've experienced and tried to draw from all my trips to Iraq," says Mumford. "The deaths leave a deep impression, yet it's the soldiers who survive, and the staff who keep these lives from slipping away, that define the day-to-day experience here. But I feel that beneath the cheer in their sharp, young faces is a lingering sadness, an understanding that the scars of the survivors can never be erased. The scars of the hospital staff aren't visible but occasionally the hurt contributes, in their daily actions, to something like a state of grace." We were pleased to bring you Mumford's story of his first four trips to Iraq in our August issue. You can see his latest drawings and journal entries from the war zone on artnet.com. Image from artnet.com.
From the Magazine | Overheard
10/12/2007 11:09:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Into the Mind of van Gogh
Posted by jessica
 Sure, reading letters intended for someone other than oneself is voyeuristic, but when the letters are written by an artist legend, delving into them becomes a lesson in art history and criticism. " Painted With Words: Vincent van Gogh's Letters to Émile Bernard," on view at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City (through January 6), provides such an opportunity. The exhibition, which also has an accompanying book, features van Gogh’s notes, criticism and sketches to fellow artist Bernard between 1887 and 1889—during the time van Gogh was living in Arles and St. Rémy, in Provence—plus more than 20 watercolors, drawings and paintings by the two that reflect their shared ideas. Incidentally, it was during this period that van Gogh unlocked his artistic potential, according to the Morgan Library. For an online preview, check out the Morgan Library’s presentation of a few of the letters, with translation capabilities. Image from www.morganlibrary.org.
Overheard
10/10/2007 10:54:44 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, October 08, 2007
Milton Avery Still Lifes
Posted by sarah
 Those of you who share our affection for the work of Milton Avery will be pleased to hear about an upcoming show: Waddington Galleries has announced an exhibition of twenty-six still life paintings by Milton Avery that trace the artists development between 1927 and 1960. Paintings such as White Pitcher (shown here), which Avery painted at various intervals in his career, will be set in the context of the artist's developing style: In the earlier painting, the illusion of three-dimensional space is created by the contrast of light and dark, whereas in the later picture detail has been extracted and recognizable objects condensed into abstract shapes. The background or negative space begins to become part of a shallow picture plane of interconnecting silhouettes. The colours have been tonally heightened and harmonized through the addition of white paint, the flower petals given a lucid delineation by scratching through the pastel tone surface to reveal a dark green ground.
The show will take place October 31 through November 24, 2007. We reviewed Avery's work and life in the June issue of the magazine and had the distinct pleasure of publishing several images the artist created for an illustrated children's book, Paul, which only recently came into light. See some of these delightful paintings at The New York Public Library's website here.
Overheard
10/8/2007 1:25:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Rarely Seen Andrew Wyeth Works in Youngstown, Ohio
Posted by jessica
 The Butler Institute of American Art features Andrew Wyeth Watercolors and Drawings: Selections from the Marunuma Art Park Collection, Japan, 114 watercolors and drawings of landscapes, portraits and still lifes inspired by siblings Christina and Alvaro Olsen in Cushing, Maine (through December 16). Our staff had the honor of viewing the exhibition here in Cincinnati last February, where it made its debut at the Cincinnati Art Museum. (The Butler Institute is the third and final tour stop.) Guided through the private collection by the artist’s own granddaughter, Victoria Wyeth, we were fascinated to see in person exactly how the artist’s watercolors and drawings inform his finished temperas—evident especially in the 10 studies for Christina’s World. It was particularly interesting to learn what being a part of the Wyeth legacy entails. “To make the connection that the people sitting across the table and living next door to you are the people in the paintings—once that clicks, it’s the most amazing thing,” said Victoria. “He always says, ‘Vic, I’m painting my life.’ And he is painting his life, but he’s painting my life, too.” Image from www.butlerart.com.
Overheard
10/3/2007 10:30:31 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Edward Hopper Doumentary
Posted by Kelly
 Narrated by award-winning actor and avid art
collector Steve Martin, a new documentary film traces Edward Hopper’s
varied influences, from French impressionism to the gangster films of
the 1930s. Using archival photographs and old footage, as well as
current pictures of the locations Hopper painted in New York and New
England, the 30-minute film explores the iconic paintings and artistic
impact of the revered artist. Produced by the National Gallery of Art
to accompany the “Edward Hopper” exhibition on its rare tour, the
documentary also includes revealing interviews with scholars, curators
and artists Eric Fischl and Red Grooms, regarding Hopper’s influence on
their careers.
You can catch the “Edward Hopper” exhibit at The National Gallery of
Art, in Washington, DC, through January 21, 2008, and at The Art
Institute of Chicago February 16 through May 11, 2008. The film is
available for purchase in the Gallery Shops.
Watch a three-minute clip of the film here.
Then poke around a bit on the National Gallery of Art's website.
They've got some really cool interactive features related to the Hopper
exhibit, including a timeline of the artist's life and art, a closer
look at three of his most recognized paintings, and a visual essay
about the major themes in Hopper's work.
Photo from www.nga.gov.
Overheard
9/28/2007 1:18:16 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Reader Tip
Posted by jessica
 Here’s a suggestion from one of our readers: “Most watercolorists occasionally have one painting that can’t be saved. When all else fails, including cropping, I make book markers. I start with very durable, 140- or 300-lb. paper, and use a paper cutter to save interesting vignettes here and there—cutting strips about 2 inches wide and an appropriate length. Corners can be rounded with scissors or a corner cutter found at a hobby shop, and a paper punch makes a hole at the top center for a ribbon.
 "I write a quotation or message on the front or reverse side of the strip, or glue my business card on the back. These make very functional gifts, samples of my work, words to brighten someone’s day, free advertisement and a way to cause friends to think of me and my work each time they pick up a book—perhaps for years to come.”
—Marcus Miller, Pleasant Hill, Ohio
Bookmark and photo submitted by Marcus Miller.
Tips and Tools
9/26/2007 3:58:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, September 24, 2007
International Watercolor Exhibit
Posted by Sarah
 The Pennsylvania Watercolor Society has announced its 28th Annual International Exhibit, to take place September 15 through October 28, 2007 at the Lancaster Museum of Art in Lancaster, PA.
Jurors include John Salminen and Nancy Barch and first prize is a medal and an award in the amount of $1,200. Attendees will have the pleasure of viewing the work of watercolor artists around the world in beautiful Grubb Mansion, home of the Lancaster Museum of Art, which boasts an unusual oval staircase, cast iron fireplace and Egyptian marble mantel.
(Pictured: Divine Dhalia No. 1 (21x20) by Amy Pember, PWS member)
Overheard
9/24/2007 4:14:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 21, 2007
Jennifer Poon Exhibition
Posted by sarah
 In the August 2007 issue of the magazine, we featured watercolor artist Jennifer Poon, whose evocative portraits of young women are displayed unframed and sequin-pinned to gallery walls. At the time of the feature's writing, Poon was working on an installation at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The work, she said, was like nothing she'd ever done. Now, there's just one week left to see the show, which promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience: The
work of Bay Area painter Jennifer Poon comes to life in a new
exhibition that includes a rare first for the artist: a sculptural
installation echoing the fragility and sentiment of her delicate
watercolors. Using fabric, vellum, and stone, this monumental-scale
installation integrates seamlessly with the paintings and drawings also
on display. A massive tree branch sprouts from one wall, dripping long
strands of Chinese paper dolls, while a large kite flies overhead,
constructed of parchment and covered in the artistís drawings. The kite
is tethered to the earth by silken strings, whose opposing ends are
each wrapped around a different human organ sculpted from alabaster.
Precariously pinned to the wall and presiding over the entire
installation are thirty-five silkscreened portraits of the artist.
Taken as a whole, the installation reveals the artist's fleeting moment
of self-discovery, seducing the viewer in the process.
Overheard
9/21/2007 3:52:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Announcing the 2007 Ones to Watch
Posted by jessica
 Having just received a phone call from one of the artists featured in our December issue—a “One to Watch,” no less—I’m reminded that we haven’t yet announced the artists here. As in the past, we asked the country’s most popular watercolor instructors and competition jurors (back in March) to nominate those artists whose work was turning heads. We then contacted the nominees, asking them to submit images for consideration in the piece, and a month or so later we spent an entire day poring over the submissions. The WCM staff picked our 10 favorites, and voilà: the Ones to Watch. Congratulations to the 2007 artists: Sally H. Lambrecht
Peggy Morgan Stenmark
Suzann Marchin
Joyce “Kate” Stratton
Nancy Crawford
Jaimie Cordero
Robin Purcell (her painting, October Canyon (watercolor on paper, 21x14), is pictured) Zhong-Sheng Hao
Al Albrektson
Carol FryeLearn what caught the nominating instructors and competition jurors’ eye by clicking here. (The December issue is now on its way out to subscribers, and will be on newsstands in mid-October; non-subscribers can order by clicking here.)
From the Magazine | Overheard
9/19/2007 11:54:54 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, September 17, 2007
Look Forward to Moving On: The Art of Steve Hanks
Posted by Kelly
In our April  2007 issue, we brought you the gorgeous figure paintings of New Mexico artist Steve Hanks. Now he's working on a book of his watercolors to be published this November by the Greenwich Workshop Press. Deeply personal, the work in the book is informed by the emotional drama of the artist's own life, in particular his healing after a painful divorce and struggling to get on with his life. "I want my whole body of work to tell a story when I'm gone," he told us. "It will tell the story of my life emotionally." If you like Hanks' work, you won't be disappointed!
Reviews
9/17/2007 1:24:55 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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