Pastelist - Tucson Pastel Society

The Tucson
Pastelist
Tucson Pastel Society
Monthly Newsletter
DECEMBER 2015
JOIN US AT OUR ANNUAL
HOLIDAY PARTY
A POTLUCK LUNCHEON
WEDNESDAY
DEC. 16 – 1 to 4pm
2447 N. Los Altos Ave.
See Page 3 for details
x
NEXT GENERAL MEETING
WEDNESDAY
JAN. 20 – 2 to 4pm
2447 N. Los Altos Ave.
PROGRAM & DEMO:
PIECE BY PIECE:
GROWING AN ORGANIC
PAINTING
Presented By
Artist Linda Poverman
Art Critiques after the meeting
(Bring your art for a critique)
x
NEXT BOARD MEETING
Friday, Dec. 11 – 1-3 p.m.
2447 N. Los Altos Ave.
All members are welcome
www.TucsonPastelSociety.org
Photographing Your Art
Whether you want to make prints of your paintings, share your work online or
simply keep a record of a painting before you sell it, it is important to know
how to take a good photograph of a painting. You can have a professional
photographer take the photo, or you can do it yourself. Here are some DIY
tips for taking good photos:
• Take artwork out of the frame and from behind any glass before
photographing.
• Use a digital SLR camera rather than a small point and click model or
your phone. If you can’t afford one, then borrow or rent one. Any
quality brand like Canon, Minolta, Pentax or Nikon will do a good job
for you.
• Take your artwork outside to photograph in natural light.
• Watch for any shadows or glare.
• Adjust the white balance, if your camera has that option, so the whites
are a light grey tone and the white does not appear to glow.
Continued on Page 8
IT’S TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!
Thank You Everyone! Thank you for being a member of our group, for
helping us grow, and for supporting our many events and activities this year.
Our ability to provide you with so many great demos at our meetings, and all
of our fun activities is made possible by your membership dues. So please
renew your membership for next year – we want our ripple to become a
stream! Annual membership dues are $35, and must be paid before Feb. 19.
RENEWAL DUES CAN BE PAID ON THE “JOIN” PAGE ON OUR
WEBSITE – www.tucsonpastelsociety.org/join/html - click on the PAY
NOW button. You can also renew and pay by check at our December
Holiday Party, or at our January meeting.
Tucson Pastel Society
DECEMBER 2015
Meet Our Member...
Becky Neideffer
Becky Neideffer has worked in all art mediums, but
prefers soft pastels and colored pencils. Her art is
realistic with an emphasis on light. She paints
predominately landscapes but also does still life,
animals, figurative and floral subjects. A self-taught
artist, she has studied basic design, anatomy,
landscape, charcoal, watercolor, pen and ink, conté, pastel and oil with professional
artists, including Richard McKinley, Maggie Price, Doug Dawson, Stephanie Birdsall,
Albert Handell, Phil Starke, Lee McVey, Ned Mueller, Larry Charles, Linda Lucas
Hardy, Pat Averill, Ann Kullberg and Cecile Baird.
Her paintings have been exhibited at many places in the Tucson area. She received
the 2010 Honorable Mention Award in the Still Life and Floral division of the Pastel
Journal magazine’s 100 Competition. Other awards include Honorable Mention in the
St. Philip’s 75th Anniversary Juried Show, Merit Awards at the Pima
County Fair, 1st Place in the Southwestern League of Fine Arts Ranch
House Gallery Juried Show, 2nd Place in the CPSA District #212 Desert
Foothills Lutheran Church Gallery in Scottsdale, and People’s Choice at
the Tucson Colored Pencil Botanical Gardens Show.
Three Kings
She is the founder and current president of the Tucson Pastel Society,
which has grown from a few friends in 2010 sharing a passion for pastels,
to more than 70 members in 2015. Becky also is a member of the Tucson
Plein Air Painter’s Society, the Tucson Colored Pencil Artists Association
and the Colored Pencil Society of America.
Indiana was her home until 1993 when her husband retired and they moved
to Arizona. They have five children, eleven grandchildren and one greatgrandchild. For 10 years, Becky owned The Cake Pan, using her art to
design and create novelty and wedding cakes. After serving two elected terms as
Clerk of Courts, she was a Computer Support Specialist for court systems in the
United States. She received her Associate Degree in Computer Analyst and Programming
from Pima Community College. From 2002 to 2007, she was the production manager for
Programs for the Arts and a part time receptionist for Sonoran Gardens, Inc.
Cowboy Up!
Artist Statement
Becky Neideffer
www.bneideffer.com
I cannot remember not drawing. As a child, I was left handed, dyslexic and attended a
school with four grades in the same room where individual creative expression was not
encouraged. I was often in trouble for drawing or “doodling” on my school papers. While
still in grade school, my sister gave me a Jon Gnagy art kit that contained small tubes of
oils and watercolors, drawing supplies and small sticks of pastel along with a book on how
to draw by using lines and cross-hatching for shading and modeling. I still have the book
and some of the pieces of that kit. It opened the world of art for me.
I have a strong connection with the landscape so I feel compelled to paint in the outdoors
or “en plein air” using pastel because of the vibrancy of the color and I don’t have to wait
for pastels to dry. The result of my painting is immediate. My subjects are often chosen by
the play of light and shadow and the patterns created on the landscape. During an “en plein air”
session in that particular moment of time, I respond and react to what I am seeing. An emotional
response to the scene will come through in my painting.
Bear Paw Pond
Even though I consider myself a realist, pastel gives me a creative freedom to use loose strokes and leave interpretation to the
imagination of the viewer. Drawing in the studio with colored pencils satisfies my love of detail. I am drawn to Southwest
region because I love the environment and the culture. The people, the animals, the flora, the fauna, mountains, boulders and
vast blue skies, they all inspire me to paint.
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DECEMBER 2015
Tucson Pastel Society
JOIN US!
MEMBER NEWS
DECEMBER
OPEN STUDIOS
SUSAN WOODARD – won 2nd Place in the Associates category at the 2015
Tucson Plein Air Painters show for her oil painting, “Rose Canyon Lake.”
Susan has three paintings in the show, which opened on Nov. 20 at Premiere
Pianos in Plaza Palomino (at Swan and Glenn in Tucson), and runs through
Jan. 5, 2016.
LOCATION:
2447 N. Los Altos Ave.
(West of 1st Ave. and north of
Grant Rd., behind Fry’s).
Parking is available in the
rear of the building.
W
COSTUMED
FIGURE
SATURDAY, DEC. 12
9:30am to 12:30pm
Monitor: Lee Ackerman
Model: Lynn Gregson
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STILL LIFE
SATURDAY, DEC. 26
9:30am to 12:30pm
Monitor: Meredith Milstead
Open Studio sessions offer a place
for artists of every level to practice
and improve their craft while they
collaborate, share ideas and learn
from each other in a fun and
creatively encouraging environment.
Tables and chairs are provided.
Bring your own art supplies, and
easels. All media is okay – pastels,
oils, watercolors, graphite, colored
pencils, pen & ink, etc.
Everyone is welcome to attend –
members and non-members alike –
so come, and invite a
friend to join you!
Fee:
$10 per person per session
(Goes toward our building fund)
EMELY McCONKEY – is currently showing her artwork in the “Desert
Schemes” show at Desert Artisans Gallery, 6536 E. Tanque Verde Road in
Tucson. Open Mon-Sat from 10-5, and Sundays from 10-1:30, the show runs
through Feb. 7, 2016.
CATHERINE HARVEY – was juried into the 2015 Pastel Society of New
Jersey’s (PSNJ) Annual Art Show for her painting, "Berkshire View.” The
show ran through Nov. 30 at Cranes Mill in West Caldwell, NJ. Cathy also
was accepted as a Signature Member of PSNJ.
ELLEN CHOLSKI and SHERIDAN SHIMP – attended a Liz HaywoodSullivan workshop in October.
LOUISE SACKETT – invites all TPS members to stay warm this winter and
keep up with her on her blog: http://pleinspeaking.blogspot.com/ Louise lives
atop a wind-driven hill in chilly New Mexico!
CONGRATULATIONS to the award winners in our Tohono Chul Park
show: 1st Place – MEREDITH MILSTEAD for Bignotti Road; 2nd Place –
MEREDITH MILSTEAD for Cholla Sunrise; 3rd Place – DIANE SHELBY
for Catalina Rocks; Honorable Mentions – FRAN ODUM for Tiny
Treasurers, KEITH SHALLCROSS for The Gleaners and SHERIDAN
SHIMP for Early Morning. See their paintings on Page 5 (Members Gallery)
and on the website www.tucsonpastelsociety.org/shows.
NEWS FROM OUR BOARD
ALL MEMBERS are invited to our Annual HOLIDAY PARTY – A
Potluck Luncheon: Bring your favorite food and beverage – and bring your
spouse, significant other or a friend. Coffee and table service will be provided
– but please bring enough food of one category (main dish, side dish, salad or
dessert) to serve 6-8 people. Join us from 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 16, as
we celebrate together at our new building, 2447 N. Los Altos Ave. (1 block
west of 1st Ave. and ½ block north of Grant Road in Tucson.) This annual
party takes the place of our General Meeting in December. Please contact and
R.S.V.P. to Cheryl Bullard at [email protected] or Adrianna Hewings at
[email protected].
MEMBERSHIP DUES – for renewal are due now. (See Page 1)
KATHY WILLIS, JANET HORTON and SARA VASQUEZ – were
guests at our November general meeting. Welcome! And we hope to see you
again. LEE ACKERMAN won the 50/50 Raffle and PEGGY MARLATT
won a gift certificate from Arizona Art Supply at our November General
Meeting.
A BIG THANK YOU TO PAUL DANIELS and GEORGE SHEPARD –
for helping spruce up our new building. Paul (Dian Moore’s husband)
winterized our swamp coolers, and George (Jet Sheprard’s husband) filled in
the driveway potholes.
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Tucson Pastel Society
From the Board Members
Annette Grantham
Shows Committee
Dear Members,
There are many exciting things happening in the
Tucson Pastel Society.
We have a new building, which is kind of like
adopting a baby I would think: lots of doting
family members. But with all this going on, I
wanted to make sure that some other important
events don’t get lost along the way. TPS is
providing its membership with opportunities for
growth constantly. This time of year is show season and you have either entered
our shows or missed these opportunities.
If you aren't participating this year, perhaps I can help you understand the
benefits to you, the wonderful artist you are, so that you will be prepared to
participate in the future. Our Annual Holiday & Charity Show fulfills our
obligation as a nonprofit organization by donating to a local charity or other nonprofit organization. For you, it means your donation of a small piece of framed
art is your “entry fee” to this show and also it helps support the Tucson Arts
Brigade. Your two other entries are displayed in the show without having to go
through a judging (or juried) process.
Other reasons for entering are that you can get your feet wet by showing your art,
others can see the exciting things you are doing, and you can see what the
process is like to enter a show. You are probably your own harshest critic, but I
can assure you that once you have entered a show you will be glad you did.
Some years we offer additional venues that are not adjudicated and have no entry
fees. But this year our other two show opportunities involved a juried process:
the Tohono Chul Show and the Mesch, Clark and Rothschild Show. If you have
never attempted to enter a juried show you may be a little apprehensive. I know I
was when I entered one last year. My first experience entering a juried show was
the Empire Ranch Show. In this case, it helped to know the nature of the
foundation that sponsors the show. The Empire Ranch is a working ranch and
Western themed art is at its heart. I had gone out to one of their events and had
some photo references that I used to create the painting I entered. I managed to
photograph the painting myself, and my tech-savvy son helped me adjust the
photo image on my computer to fit the Empire Ranch’s specifications and send it
in. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Even if you don't have family-tech people, our
pastel group is full of knowledgeable people.
For me, the whole process was about a goal I had set for myself. I know that
setting one art-related goal each year keeps me from being lazy. Yes, I tend to be
kind of laid back and it is not healthy for me to fall into that pattern too often.
The experience was invaluable, and now I know that it’s not that difficult to enter
a show, and I can look forward to many more opportunities in the future.
Whatever may be holding you back, I hope you will take the plunge when the
next show entry opportunity presents itself to you. The Tucson Pastel Society is
an organization that places an emphasis on education and growth – and we
celebrate when you shine!
~ Annette
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DECEMBER 2015
NEWS ABOUT OUR SHOWS
HOLIDAY & CHARITY SHOW –
Remember to deliver your art for this
show on SATURDAY, DEC. 5 from 8
to 9 a.m at the Murphey Gallery, St.
Philip’s Episcopal Church, 4440 N.
Campbell Ave. at River Road. Please
remember to invite all your friends
and bring finger food or wine to the
reception on SUNDAY, DEC. 6,
from 12-noon to 2:30 p.m. Punch will
be provided.
TOHONO CHUL PARK SHOW –
For those who juried into this show,
remember to deliver your art to
Tohono Chul Park Gallery on
MONDAY, Dec. 7, between 10 a.m.
and 1 p.m. This show opens on Dec.
18. (The reception is on February 19,
2016.)
MESCH CLARK ROTHSCHILD
SHOW –This show opens on
Tuesday, Jan. 12, and the reception
will be held that day from 5:30-7:30
p.m. IF YOU JURIED IN, please
deliver your art to the MCR Law firm
at 259 N. Meyer Ave. downtown
Tucson, on SATURDAY, JAN. 2
between 9 and 10 a.m.
Congratulations to these members
who were juried into the MCR show:
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Lee Ackerman
Suzanne Bowles
Cheryl Bullard
Dave Burns
Ellen Cholski
Charles Garule
Annette Grantham
Adrianna Hewings
Peggy Marlatt
Emely McConkey
Meredith Milstead
Becky Neideffer
Fran Odum
Mikaela Quinn
Gay Scheibl
Diane Shelby
Jet Shepard
Sheridan Shimp
Karyn Vampotic
Katrina West
Susan Woodward
DECEMBER 2015
December
Tucson Pastel Society
MEMBERS GALLERY
Southwest Inspirations
Show Award Winners
en plein air
Paintouts
WEDNESDAY
Dec. 9
1st PLACE
Bignotti Road
by Meredith Milstead
Merced River View
by Annette Grantham
9 a.m. – 12 noon
DeGrazia Gallery
6300 N. Swan Road.
Meet in the parking lot.
2nd PLACE
Cholla Sunrise
by Meredith Milstead
Sunset Explosion
by Ellen Cholski
3rd PLACE
Catalina Rock
by Diane Shelby
WEDNESDAY
DEC. 23
9 a.m. – 12 noon
HONEY BEE
CANYON
Honorable Mention
Tiny Treasures
by Fran Odum
Pope Francis
by Charlie Garule
13880 N. Rancho Vistoso
Blvd., Oro Valley
Go east on Tangerine to N. Rancho
Vistoso Blvd. Turn left on N. Rancho
Vistoso Blvd. Honey Bee Canyon
Park is about 1.5 miles on the right.
For maps and more details, see
our website (click on Activities
and then on Paint Outs):
www.tucsonpastelsociety.org
Honorable Mention
The Gleaners
by Keith Shallcross
Rose Canyon Lake
by Susan Woodward
Honorable
Mention
Early Morning
by Sheridan Shimp
Berkshire View
by Cathy Harvey
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Tucson Pastel Society
DECEMBER 2015
Piece by Piece:
How to grow an organic painting
Linda Poverman
will give the demo at our January
20 general meeting and show us
how she uses collage and pastels to
create unique abstracted paintings.
Linda has spent her life in the
arts. Following a studio degree, she
was a photographer for the
University of Arizona and then
worked for the UA Center for
Creative Photography. At some
point in her own art, she needed
more handwork than straight
photography provided, so she
started making her own lightsensitive emulsions, exposing them
to get an image, which she then
drew and painted on. Lately, she has been inclined to cut out things that she
has drawn and use them as stencils, both positive and negative – the piece
itself and what is left over after cutting it out. Initially, and maybe because of
her photo background, Linda worked in black and white using graphite sticks
and pencils but now uses color and makes her marks with pastels.
Be An Angel Next Year
The Tucson Pastel Society had an exciting year, with many good things
happening! Many of you already know that we have acquired a building at
2447 N. Los Altos Ave. It is a nice building with a lot of space and much
potential for meetings, open studios, workshops and future rental to other
groups. And, although we have been using it for our meetings and activities,
there are still some updating and renovations that need to be done – like
upgrading the lighting, the bathrooms, and heating and cooling systems.
Many of our members have donated their time to help us clean and paint the
walls, and we have done a lot of cosmetic work inside the building. But our
organization has limited funds to complete further renovations and to fulfill
our needs to make the building rentable. The money we bring in from our
Open Studio sessions and renting out the space will be applied to paying our
utilities, taxes and insurance on the building. We are hoping that our
members will be angels and help fund
some of the future improvements by
donating to our building needs – we
will have a special area set up at the
Holiday Potluck Party for your
donations. Please consider being an
angel and donate to our building fund!
~ Submitted by Cheryl Bullard
6
Thanks to Arizona Art Supply and
all of these vendors
for their generosity in providing
discounts and gift certificates
to our members.
Show your TPS membership card and
get a special discount when you
shop with these vendors.
American Frame – online at
www.americanframe.com
Arizona Art Supply
4343 N. Oracle Road
www.arizonaartsupply.com
Arizona Picture & Frame Gallery
4523 E. Speedway
www.azpictureandframe.com
BD Matboard
4175 S. Fremont Ave.
www.BDmatboard.com
Framed to Perfection
7925 N. Oracle Road, Suite 125
www.framedtoperfection.com/
Frame 56
1542 W. Sage Brook Court
www.frame56.com
Posner’s Art Store
944 E. University Blvd.
www.posnersartstoretucson.com
Professional Art/Design Supplies &
Copies (SUVA Bookstore)
2538 N. Country Club Road
www.suva.edu/studentlife.php
Sarnoff Art & Writing Materials
2504 N. Campbell
www.sarnoffart.com
The Poster Warehouse
2900 E. Broadway
www.posterwarehousegallery.com
TPS Vendor Liaison:
Karyn Vampotic
Visit our website for details.
http://www.tucsonpastelsociety.
org/meet-our-vendors.html
DECEMBER 2015
Tucson Pastel Society
Financial Report – Tucson Pastel Society
October 23 – November 23, 2015
Beginning Balance
Income
Membership Payments
Pay Pal - Membership
Pay Pal Workshop
50/50 Raffle
Show Fee
Open Studio
Donations
Cash/Checks
Total Income
Expenses
Review Form 1023
Workshop 11/14/15
Mtg. Program
Handouts for Program
Advertising
Printing
Miscellaneous
Building - Driveway
Building - 1st Half
Taxes
Building - Ace
Hardware
Building - TEP
Building - SW Gas
Building - City of
Tucson
Total Expenses
General
$1,293.24
Workshops
$2,492.10
Advertising
$1,400.46
Building
-$1,354.76
Total
$3,831.04
$881.50
$35.00
$67.36
$3,395.50
$31.50
$390.00
$50.00
$881.50
$881.50
$4,850.86
$15.00
$600.00
$150.00
$75.00
$4.50
$68.00
$42.16
$850.00
$15.00
$1,260.80
$1,260.80
Pima County Treasurer
$85.64
$128.71
$85.64
$128.71
$39.85
$39.85
$73.47
$3,393.13
LED Bulbs Light
Dep + Electric Usage
Ser Est Fee + Gas
Usage
Water/Sewer/Trash/Act.
Fee
$5,288.77
$35.00
$67.36
$3,395.50
$31.50
$390.00
$50.00
$523.86
$3,445.50
$1,400.46
$600.00
$150.00
$75.00
$4.50
$68.00
$42.16
$850.00
$1,529.50
$150.00
$110.16
$73.47
-$1,603.47
$287.60
$5,787.60
$1,290.30
-$2,076.73
Board Officers
Notes
Tohono Chul Entry Fee
10-24 & 11-7-15
5 Members Donations
Beach Fleischman PC
Deborah Steinberg
10/21/2015 P Mohr
10/21/15
Ad Desert Leaf
Book Marker
IRS Form 1023
Rock for Repairs
Committee Chairs
Building: Dave Burns
President:
Becky Neideffer
Vice President:
Melinda Garrahan
Secretary:
Mimi VanBallenberghe
Treasurer:
Cheryl Bullard
Membership: Lee Ackerman
Plein Air Paintouts: Becky Neideffer
Programs: Meredith Milstead
Publicity: (vacant position – please volunteer)
Shows: Jet Shepard
Workshops: Diane Shelby
[email protected]
Committee Chairs
Building: Dave Burns
7
PHOTOGRAPHY: Continued from Page 1
• Make sure the camera is set to the appropriate
lighting condition - sun or shade - to have
accurate color rendering.
• Place your artwork on a wall so that it stands
upright. You can shoot art flat on the floor of a
patio or deck, or even a flat place in the yard,
provided you keep the artwork squarely in the
view finder and avoid any cast shadows on the
piece.
• Use a tripod or a box to keep your camera steady.
• Position the camera so there is no tilting and the
artwork appears dead center on your camera lens;
make sure the front of the camera body is parallel
to the face of the artwork and the edges of the
artwork are parallel to the edges of the view
finder, or use perspective control if you have that
option in your camera’s menu.
• To avoid the artwork from “swelling up” move
the camera back and zoom in; zoom to above
50mm – anything less than that will distort the
edges of your artwork.
• Clean the lens of your camera using a microfiber
cloth.
• For sharper images, use a camera with less glass
such as a 50mm lens (as opposed to a compound
zoom lens).
Set the ISO to its lowest setting – around 100 –
to make the picture sharp and keep it from
getting grainy.
• Turn off the flash.
• Set the timer to at least two seconds so you will
have time to remove your hand from the camera
to keep the camera stable.
• Take multiple shots of the artwork so you can
choose the best one.
• Don’t pack up your gear until you’ve reviewed
the pictures in your camera and computer.
There may be mistakes in the pictures that
require you to reshoot the artwork.
• Crop the file (to remove any white space or
background around the image of only your
painting) by using an image-editing program
such as Photoshop Elements.
• Save the cropped image of your artwork as PSD
(for PhotoShop Document) or TIFF to retain the
image quality before saving it to a file in your
computer.
• Save file as JPG and set image size and quality
as needed, but keep the original TIFF file.
Source: Dallas Arts Revue http://www.dallasartsrevue.com/resources/How
-to-Photo-Art.shtml
•
Tucson Pastel Society Monthly Newsletter
DECEMBER 2015
OUR MISSION
The Tucson Pastel Society unites artists working in
the soft pastel medium, promotes enjoyable art activities,
nurtures artistic growth, and creates awareness of the versatility
and value of pastel fine art among its members, the public, gallery
owners and art collectors by offering events and programs.
Tucson Pastel Society
2447 N. Los Altos Ave., Tucson, Arizona 85705
520-237-6386
[email protected]
http://www.tucsonpastelsociety.org
** NEWSLETTER DEADLINE **
Please email your items for the JANUARY 2016 newsletter by
DECEMBER 20 to Becky Neideffer at [email protected]