SKETCHING WORKSHOP WITH DON GETZ

So, just before the kids came for their summer visit from D.C., and also just before Choochokam, I saw a little notice in a Cheap Joe's newsletter about sketching workshops with artist Don Getz on his "Odessey Sketching Tour USA". Here is a nice little video on Don and the tour. 

I spotted a stop on the schedule in July at Pacific Northwest Art School in Coupeville, just up the road. I knew it would be great fun and, even though it was more expensive than I could afford, I registered for it. Then, in all the confusion of the following two weeks, I sort of forgot about it.

When I got a reminder email from Lisa at PNWAS I was stunned to realize the workshop started the day after Choochokam! And there would only three of us. I had totally expected it to be A. full, and B. full of other Whidbey Island Sketchers! Not so. Just me and Kate, a Seattle Urban Sketcher from Tukwilla and Gary, a retired designer/builder from LaConner. And, of course Don, an artist from Ohio, by way of Boone, North Carolina.

Don, 78, is a sweet man whose career began in commercial art. He has been associated with Joe Miller (of Cheap Joe's Art Stuff) for many years, as well as many, many other very well known artists (his stories are excellent!!) The loss of his beloved wife drove him to think about where his life was headed and the best direction to take to share his artistic knowledge. He approached Joe for sponsorship and the around-the-USA tour of workshops was born.

Don is an amazing draftsman possessed of a gorgeous sense of color. His work is stunning. He showed us some of his sketchbooks from the tour (Maine, Florida, California) and sketches from his most recent sketching journal (book 10). You can see great examples of his work here and here. We were inspired to produce beautiful journal sketches from the get-go.

We all hit it off quite well, I think, at our first meeting to see Don's work. After lunch at Mosquito Fleet Chili

 we were off to a location Don had scouted - the parking lot of a church in overlooking some rooftops with Penn Cove in the distance. We watched him deftly and quickly produce a wonderful sketch of the scene using his methods and "Don's Amazing Enlarging Tool" (coming soon to Cheap Joe's Art Stuff!) Then were were set to the task. Here is my first effort. Lesson learned - using a new tool is hard but rewarding.

On our second day we headed for Ebey's Landing. I had an audiologist's appointment I'd forgotten (for TWO new hearing aids!) and was late getting there, so I had to do the impossible (for me!) - produce a good sketch in a short amount of time. Lesson learned - quick is good, less is more.

After a very long lunch at a local bistro (an insecure server in training and a restaurant filled with a jury from the nearby courthouse) we adjourned to sit on the porch of the Masonic Temple and sketch Kate's lodgings, a local landmark B&B. Lesson here - 
1. learn how to draw, and 2. draw what you see, not what you think you see.

On our (and sadly, last) morning we met at the school to decide were we should go to sketch. Don had been given a couple of leads, but I could tell he hadn't been steered to the best spot of all. At my suggestion we all headed out to the nearby Captain Whidbey Inn. From the looks on their faces as they stepped out of their cars, I knew I had led them to the Sketching Mother Lode. After a quick tour of the many, many spots from which to choose we settled on a view of the front of the building (best shadows) and sketched until lunch.

Bikes on the Porch

Years ago when I made one of my first trips to Coupeville as a tourist with friend Trudy, we'd asked one of the local merchants where THEY ate (pretty sure it was not in one of the expensive, trendy cafes). Sure enough, he replied "We eat up at the Tyee hotel. Good food. Cheap." That was good information then, and it was good advice for Don's class, too. We had a great lunch and came back to the Captain full, happy and ready to sketch. 

I loved the spot I picked out back - a view of the old building used as a conference center, and the road winding back to the cabins. Unfortunately, in sketching, you can do a good drawing, then ruin it with bad painting. Sadly, this is the case here. 
Oh well, you can't win them all. 
Darnit, where was dear Don last night when I really needed him??!

The end of our last day together came WAY too soon. This was an artistic experience I will never forget, with new friends and a fantastic teacher. I would do it all again in a heartbeat!!!!!

Don Getz Odyssey Tour Watercolor Journaling Class, July 2013, Coupeville, Whidbey Island, WA
Judi, Gary, Kate and Don

Don and his sketch 

Gary

Kate

THE EVOLUTION OF "A DANCE FOR JOY AMONG THE STARS"

I am so pleased to have my painting chosen to be the "face" of CHOOCHOKAM 2013, the Langley Festival of the Arts. Here is a step-by-step of the process:

It started with just the roughest sketch of an idea. I knew what I wanted, I could see all the colors in my mind's eye. All I had to do was get in down on paper.

Step one - lay out the main shapes and apply masking, then put down the washes of color. New for me - color straight from the tube. New Gamboge, Cobalt Teal, Ultramarine, Cobalt. Laid down very wet on wet, and used a spritzer to get movement.

A BIG change-up here -- no pen and ink-work, at all. Instead, I re-discovered a treasured paintbrush - my #6 Dragon's Tongue. Such a sharp point, it almost works like a pen. I used it and a combination of Ultramarine and Purple to get my deep "blacks" and to do my line work. It worked great!

Choochokam is a Hopi, First People's, word which means "A Gathering of Stars". 

Here the Heron, Eagle and Crow, iconic Langley characters and symbols, dance for joy along the edge of the sea, among the gathering stars.

 I am hoping that the plans for all the "swag" at Choochokam pan out because they are all great. This is the proposed small graphic for the front of the t-shirts, with the full color graphic on the back.

I hope that's the way it works out. I hope, I hope. 

I got totally impatient waiting for the graphics people to come up with and show me their lettering layout for the poster, so I made my own. This is what I would have done if it had been left to me. Now all I have to do is wait to see what the professionals do. We'll see how close they come to my vision!

Evolution of "CROW STEALS THE EYE OF THE GOD"

The Artists of South Whidbey group is having their Annual Art show and sale at the Fiargrounds next month and for it tomorrow I have to have a painting to put in the Silent Auction. As of Friday morning it was only a glimmer of an idea in my imagination. I didn't work on it on Friday because I was at Sketcher Barbara's house have a grand time at our First Annual Sleepover Pajama Party. 
And I didn't work on it Saturday night because I went with Sketcher Susan to "Star Trek - into Darkness" and for pizza. 

I'm glad I had all that fun before, because Saturday night I came down with my yearly spring head cold and was down for the count. Sunday I climbed into my ratty old bathrobe with a box of Kleenex and two bags of cough drops and started to bring the painting out of my head and onto paper. I began at 7AM and finished at 11PM, with a couple of breaks, a meeting with the new yard crew and the Tony Awards in there somewhere. Finishing touches and a new box of Kleenex this morning, and it is ready to go (or at least as ready as it is going to get).

Here is the evolution of the painting.

 Rough Draft, layout.

 The crow masked out with Peabo.

 The wet into wet wash of the pebbles.

 Starting the painting of the negative spaces around the pebbles.

 Laying in the first wash layers on the crow. I under-painted the iridescent areas with New Gamboge, then a layer of cobalt Teal, then a layer of Opera Pink. Sounds crazy, but that's how you get the glow. 

Added the marble, after agonizing about what color it should be. I finally settled on electric green for contrast with the pebbles. 

Here is the final (I think) result, after tweaking. I think it is done, but I could be wrong. It is now a multi-media piece because I picked out areas of highlight on the pebbles with watercolor pencils. No black or brown ink though!

"CROW STEALS THE EYE OF THE GOD" - image size 7 x 10, mat 11 x 14, 

mixed media original

It will be for sale at the Artists of South Whidbey sale auction, July 26-28. Minimum bid $35, final bid 1:00 PM, July 28