HIATUS

I regret to announce that I am discontinuing the art classes.
My new job that began when school started a month ago is taking quite a bit of energy, and I can't do both AND want to do my best for the people I'm working for at the school and the library.
I'll certainly let you all know if I start up again.
Thanks for everyone for teaching me while I was teaching you!
Jacque

Portraits in Color this week

Last week we got slow...Concentrating on every nub and line while following the edges of the still life, following the contours of jars, brushes - 2 kinds - paint brushes and rabbit brush...a folded cloth. it was lovely
And I get so much out of class. While I'm telling you how to make your work better or to slow down or to try concentrating on just one part, I am internalizing all that into my own work. Not only do you students do an excellent job, I learn so much from you.
This week we're going to jump into some color, move back to studying the face and break it down, see the shadows, light areas and spaces the features create

Bring your paints or pastels. Be ready to create something fresh and new.
                            I look forward to seeing you

Art for Kids

Oh Boy!
The ad came out in the Wet Mountain Tribune today that announces "Coming Soon - ArtforKids."
                            Weeelllllllll, I don't have anything much to report on that other than I'm working on a good location and time to accommodate the most people...Sooooooooooooooo                          
                If anybody wants to chime in on that, please feel free to email me at                                 
                                                        jkellerart@hotmail.com                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                
                             I'll let you know as soon as I get it all nailed down                                               
        THANKS  THANKS   THANKS   THANKS   THANKS   THANKS   THANKS   THANKS  

We looked, we saw, we painted

          I actually really like what I painted on the back porch at Morgan's last week.       
                          I hope you all left with great ideas and feelings.
I promise to share with you what I did after I work on it a bit more, but as you all know, I've painted over this canvas - how many times? after I've demonstrated this or that.............
                              But I'm keeping this one - I love painting outside.          
                  WE'RE BACK IN THE LIBRARY COMMUNITY ROOM THIS WEEK                      
                                                                 I am tempted to switch things up and do contour drawing this coming week instead of what I had planned....                                                       
                                               I guess, it being my class and all, I am making an executive decision                                                                                                                                                                                   
                           This Saturday we'll work on countour drawing.

We will practice

          CONCENTRATION

                          with some blind studies.

                                                   

                                              All    

                                         minds

                                            on

                                         deck             ...

           Paper and Pen in hand...

                                                          SEE YOU THERE                                                                     

                                       We'll study "Portraits in Color" the following week, Saturday, Sept. 15                                               

Love Painting!!!

What a great class last week. The students didn't do a darn thing because I demonstrated one technique after another until we got to the point where they just said (as they like to do sometimes), "just keep showing us stuff, and we'll go try it at home."
We had great discussion about paint applications (pastels too) and brush stroke, values and how to creat movement in a painting. One gal is working on a tryptich - a big endeavor - and needed advice about that which fit right in with the days' discussion.
Sometimes it's trepidation and lack of confidence that holds us back.
If that is ever the case, just slap on some more paint and keep working!!!!
THIS WEEK WE ARE MEETING AT THE WEST END OF MAIN STREET AT MORGAN'S PARKING LOT TO STUDY FALL COLORS.
Bring whatever medium you want to work in. A chair or easel. (water, hat...if weather is funky we'll set up on the porch there).
       If you're unsure, just come. I always bring extra materials for pastels, colored pencils or watercolor. I might even work in acrylics my own self. (I say that and then chicken out and go for the ink and watercolor)
Looking forward to seeing you!

Let's Get Back to Painting

Last week we played with little squares of color...
We used Elmer's glue and toothpicks to manipulate the pieces of color...

Besides being fun and somewhat therapeutic,
I believe it will lead into this week's class
which is "movement"....

This Saturday we'll explore how to express feeling through movement in painting.

Be it water or brush strokes - bring your materials and be ready for this next class.

See you there!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S ALREADY FRIDAY AND TOMORROW IS MOSAICS!!!!

O.K., forgive me. It's been a crazy week.
                  But I really am excited for tomorrow's class...ever since we did the color wheel and I got all the cool color strips I have been wanting to play with little squares of all different colors in all different shades and dark and light values.                                                         
                                      
                  ...and I am bringing all the supplies for tomorrow. (Glues and paper)                             
Can't remember if I said this before, but I visited my family back east and we all sat around and cut up all the little squares. Can't wait to show them what we did.

o.k., just a few ideas...
See you tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

Power of the Pencil (or fifty shades of gray)

Hi All

With this new session I want to make sure viewers know how the art classes work.

                     Each class is individual, so no previous class is necessary.                  

               I like everyone to feel comfortable with whatever skill they bring.

        If you're already an accomplished artist, I hope to help hone your skills.

If you have never picked up a pencil, I hope to show you how to draw a really cool line!

Last week we created some drawings using 1 of 3 color schemes:             

                            monochromatic, analogous and complimentary.              

                   I am always pleased an amazed with what my students come up with.        

                                       I set out a variety of fruits and vegetables and they drew, painted and had fun with the colors of the foods using a variety of design and composition along with color.

                           One day, I'll remember to take pictures of their work!

                       

This week we will work with pencil and paper. Sounds simple, but I want to stretch the imagination with a practice using shading techniques. 50 shades of gray - power of the pencil.

                   Amazing what can be done using darks, lights and negative space.                                 

                                              I look forward to seeing you there!                                               

The Next 8 Weeks!

More with Color

Last week was Mosaics
However, attendance was zero
and the project is too cool to miss
so I'll repeat it in a couple weeks.
Summer being so busy, next week's project is called "More Fun with the Color Wheel" and it will be fun.
As always, I love playing with color schemes, so we'll explore complimentary colors in design, portraits and landscapes.
Purple background, yellow letters, for example.

Always remember composition, design and values.

Back to the Drawing Board

First off, I apologize if anybody showed up to paint at bluegrass, and I wasn't there. I hung around until 2:35. The weather was sort of rotten. quite breezy and threatening rain. bummer. Otherwise, I would have painted whether anybody showed up or not, but I am not a glutton for punishment and just like to enjoy. That was not enjoyable. so, sorry for the interruption in classes for nothing.


Giddy Up Kitty

                                                                                      So, here is what little I accomplished Thursday night at the festival. I took the grandkids. We sat down front, and I gave everybody paper and brushes and paints and water. What was I thinking? I guess with the, "grandma, I spilled my water," "She's touching me," etc., I am not too disappointed with this. But it was nuts. It poured rain and everybody! came into the tent and crowded around down front where we were. So that was that, and that's just how it goes. Going with the old flow. 
                                                  Out of my box. (Out of my mind!)


        Onward and back to basics.                      
This week we will study animals a bit more in depth.
            Simple pencil and paper work.     
       I look forward to seeing you!          

Plein Air Painting

Really just means painting outside.
We artists are going to kick it up a notch and paint the crowds at the bluegrass festival.
The plan is to meet at 2:30, regular class time, on Saturday at the south corner of the festival site outside the fence (the portopotty area) across from parking. Park behind the supermarket rather than the big parking to the north of the festival tent.
You may choose to simply experiment with outdoor landscape painting. Work on value sketches. There will be ample subject matter.
Bring a camp chair or camp stool and art supplies: a board for paper, clips or tape to hold the paper down. Generally small sized paper for these on the spot pieces but knock yourselves out with whatever size you care to work on.
For pencils, pens, pastels or charcoal (dry work) just paper and paper towels to stay clean. If you're feeling trepidatious, this is the way to go.
Heavier paper works well when outside. We'll be working on bolder quicker lines and building confidence.
For water media, bring a jar of water - or a plastic cup and a juice bottle full of water. I like my camp chair with the drink holder for my paint water (brush and paper towel holder). Same goes for oils and turpentine unless you are so wonderful to have a plein air easel with spots for all the stuff.
Bring a trash bag.
I generally work with my paints or pallet on the board to which my paper is attached. Two chairs also work (or 1 chair and 1 stool) on which to set the paints and materials and use as a side table or put the other chair right in front and have a work table.
Keep it simple.
Have fun.
It's an adventure!!!
Other supplies: hat, sunscreen, long sleeves, jacket, water to drink.
See you there.
Questions - call Jacque, 783-3706.
In case of rain, meet at the gallery.
Thursday admission to the Bluegrass Fest is just $10, and I plan on going to listen to the great music and paint. Anyone is free to join me should they care to. The venue is amazing. Combining artwork and the relaxed atmosphere of the music is pleasurable no matter what happens.

Quicky People Painting

Last week's class explored the world of painting people in quick gestures simply to capture the "essence" of the person.
I demonstrated sketching first in ink and filling in with watercolor.
The class then sketched the model (me) and filled in the details in watercolor. What brave souls working in watercolor. They sketched for about 5 or 10 minutes then began painting.
I pointed out the shapes and shadows. Not to worry about the details of the face but simply catching the basic feel of the turn of the head, lean of the body, folds in the clothing.
What remarkable work they did!
Painting real people (not from a photo) is so daunting (especially people you know). Not only did they get a human figure painted on their paper, but I saw an exploration of style begin to take shape. Use of color and composition came into play.

Here's a favorite of mine. This was done on site at the workshop stage at the High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival in Westcliffe, CO.
I probably had about 15 minutes of working time.
The first step is to sketch in the shape of the body. I do that in about 2 minutes and work directly in ink.
Then I can spend some time noticing the shadows and filling in a few details such as the strings on the guitar. I put in the back line of the room just for reference. There were actually windows behind him. He was there for about 45 minutes, and I did 2 paintings. I gave the other one to his family who was there.





Next week we'll try our hand at crowds.

Portraits

Hey all,

            Last Saturday after reviewing the features of the face, class particpants drew each other. We focused on such things as the distance between the center of the nose and corners of the eye, space between the top of the eyelid to the top of the eye socket to the eyebrow.
            We noticed how different each side of the face features are from the shape of each eye, nostrils, corners of the mouth. All amazing. So much fun. One person modeled while the other drew them. Then we switched. After that, everyone worked on their portraits.
          The best thing was how well everyone did. Truly.
Time allowed everyone to begin to shape and shadow around the eyes, under the nose, lips and chin and to add details to hair, ears, eyebrows.
                Portraits - capturing someone's image - is one difficult task. This past week's class got everyone on their way to understanding the basics. Don't worry, we'll continue to work on the subtle differences and nuances of the face.

Next week I'll teach drawing and painting people. Prior to this, we learned about human body proportions. This time I will demonstrate how to paint people using shapes and gestures while keeping in mind those proportions of the body. We'll use some basic shapes and quick gesture painting.

                        FYI - the wedding was beautiful and the cake awesomely delicious.                         

Techniques

As I prepare for this week's lesson, I am reminded that I have not done a recap of last week's lesson...
       my excuse is that my son is getting married and I've been making cake......
So,
last week, I demonstrated with the pallet knife, sponges and resists.
I "painted" rubber cement on water color paper, painted over it, rubbed it off.
"Painted" hot wax on cloth and painted over it. Sort of a batik. To get the wax out, you iron with newspaper to absorb the wax.
One thing I failed to mention, for texture, you can put the waxed cloth into the freezer and then crinkle it. when you paint, the paint will go into the cracks.
I painted with a sponge cut into different shapes.
I spread paint on the canvas with a knife - paying attention to the color wheel and the blending of the hues.

This week, we will focus on the face and draw  portraits.
Oh boy.

The next 8 Weeks

Illusions

What do we see? Is there a face in that tree or just a shadow? Horses in the snow.

We looked at artwork by Bev Doolittle and M.C. Escher.

                                                                                                                           Optical illusions

Shapes and shadows with trees and high contrast.

The assignment was to create an illusion be it realism or imaginary. Look only at the black shapes in the Che Guevera poster. See lines and space and shapes in everything.
I'm working on aspens in black and white with spherical fractures amidst the scene. Deadline for a juried show at Art Matters Gallery in Salida is July 7. I love deadlines.
Coming up next week: Tools and Techniques with watercolor, pastel and acrylic or oil. I'm bringing oils and acrylics if you want to try your hand at either. Please bring your own canvas or heavy paper. (I almost always bring watercolors and pastels if you want to try those.)
We'll play with the pallet knife, sponges and brushes using wetter and drier media and differents surfaces.
Fun.

Abstract Painting

 Such a wide and open subject, I could go on and on and on.
Jackson Pollock, Joan Miro.


The top piece, to give proper credit, is a fellow named Bruce Grey, just something I found on the internet.
 I wanted to demonstrate geometric shapes and maybe get ready for
 next week's class on Illusion.

In the center, White on White by Mondrian (since I mentioned it in class.)

I wanted to show some softness with the bottom piece.



Keep in mind what makes a piece interesting. What is the composition or color scheme? Movement. Emotion.

Sometimes, it doesn't seem to have either.


Sometimes it's just fun or mind bending.

I use it to get out of my box.

Sometimes it works. Mostly it provides some quietude.

Trees

We examined the nature of trees and some painting techniques such as dabbing or "scrubbing" the tip of the brush both wet and dry brush techniques. I also demonstrated some "swooshing" with the brush and using the thickness of the brush for the base of the trunk or branch while moving it up or out, lifting up for a narrower and lighter stroke.
I brought some branches from
 Pinon,




Juniper and






Ponderosa


I talked about how the branches of trees in general split and travel upward and with some trees, such as Firs or Willows hang downward


and it's pretty easy to depict trees in paintings.

There's also a lot of shadow amongst the branches, so whichever method one uses, lay out the darks or sketch in the shapes and move from light to dark adding layers with paint or pastel (or marker or pencil).

Notice the light. What color actually is the tree? Is it golden? Green? Blue?
Use a color scheme or stick with realism.

Have fun staring at trees, examining them and your imagination.

Flowers

     Flowers beautiful flowers. They may be painted in detail, as abstract, representational or realistically amongst a landscape. As always, composition is the first thing to think about.
     Last Saturday I demonstrated painting flowers with both watercolors and acrylics.
     First, a brief overview of the parts of a flower. After years of painting, I feel it helps to know what types of petals, leaves, stems and stamens I am dealing with. That way, even though I may not see everything, I know the basic shape to depict.
     I showed the class my favorite flower book, "Rocky Mountain Wildflowers," pocket guide by David Dahms. This great flower guide travels in my backpack on all hikes. I refer to it when painting. I also shared a handful of wildflower photos I have taken.
     I had prepared a canvas for the acrylics with varied background shades ranging from a neutral grey to a peachy-pink-orange. I started painting by blocking out shapes of some cut flowers I brought - pink carnations, blue-violet stock and white daisy mums. On the canvas, I sketched the outline of the flower bunches using a pastel pencil which will disappear as I paint over it. 
     On the watercolor paper, I sketched in pen.  Then I filled in the background with a complimentary or analogous color. Yellow for the purple stock and a grey green for the white mums.
     I quickly and briefly showed a couple brush techniques - one using acrylics, dipping one side of a flat brush in one color of paint and the other side in another color, then make a beautiful whoosh for a petal, leaving those delicate lines of depth and color. Kind of like frosting a cake using 2 colors of icing in the pastry bag.
     I also created highlights on the purple stock using a very very light yellowish tint. Again with the complimentary colors. How very useful.
     All depending on what the end result is to be.
for the whitel mums I painted with a light black (grey) wash and barely yellowish green tint.
     For a landscape, the colors can just be dabbed and dotted. For a close-up still life, details, light and shadows are key.

     An abstract can be an exaggeration of all of the above.
     Flowers are versatile and always pleasing. Get out the paints. Enjoy the creative process.

Landscapes

Last Saturday, May 12, we painted landscapes. I brought a number of photos I have on file for myself. I even suggested that someday in the future, we all pick the same photo and paint it to see how different the same scene can come out.
After looking at a number of landscapes by Van Gough, Picasso, Miro and others I talked about composition.
Don't feel like you have to paint exactly what's there. Move a tree if it makes a better composition.
Think about color schemes.

For example, this photo might make a nice monochromatic (green) color scheme painting.


I often use a backgound color that is
complimentary
and opposite in value to my
text color.

We will never be through experimenting with color, design or composition.

What we've done up until now...

So far in class we have explored and discovered and practiced shading techniques, values, light source. We worked for a number of weeks in black and white. Drew a still life. Worked with countour drawing. We learned about composition and design.

We made color wheels including color values. We looked at monochromatic, analogous and complimentary color schemes.

   

We also cut up color strips that you get in the paint section of your local hardware store and put different colors inside, around and next to each other. The cool thing about those is the color values are all numbered and in order.

Welcome

Hi

I'm Jacque Keller.

I'm a former teacher.

I continue to paint, mostly watercolors.

You Too Can Draw and Paint

is designed for anyone from beginners to accomplished artists.

We explore technique and style.
Continuing Classes

Saturdays

April 21: Matting and Framing;  April 28: Color Wheel;

May 5: Color Schemes;  May 12: Landscapes;  May 19: Flowers;  May 26: Trees;

June 2: Abstracts;  June 9: Illusions

3^rd St. Gallery

59000 N. Hwy. 69

2:30 to 4 p.m.

$10 per session

Come to any or all

No experience necessary

Private lessons available

 

 Call 783-3706 for more information