| Spring is in the Air and CAL has lots of news. Our new President, Nora Koerber outlines upcoming events like the upcoming ENTRY Deadline for our Spring Exhibition, Change and other important items:
| | | 1) We are closing in on the deadline for our Spring exhibition, “ Change”. The deadline to enter is fast approaching: 03/01/2020, midnight. For convenience, here is the link to apply: https://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/Default.aspx?OJSID=43162 2) Don’t forget, along with our Best, First, Second, Third prizes ($300, $200, $100, $50 respective awards), we have our sponsor, Carter Sexton Art Supplies, who will be donating a Merchandise award, so don’t miss out! Pass the word to your artist colleagues, as well!
3) Autry Museum, “Masters of the American West” Exhibit : We will have a docent show us a few highlights of the show, so The sculpture is fantastic, I hear. The date for this outing is Wednesday, March 18th, 10:00 a.m. Watch your email for any updated info. 4) Descanso Gardens paint/ sculpt out: We’re hoping to get a model along with this paint out. We’re shooting for March 22nd, Saturday, at 9:30 a.m. An email blast will go out to that effect, so do watch for details on that event 5) Members’ Articles: If you would like to write an article on anything “art-wise”, or on your own work, please send to president, Nora Koerber, by the 15th of the month. An article with some of your lovely works of art would be great PR for you! 6) Where are you showing? Members, please “show off” a little! Send us info of exhibitsyou’re in, an art outing you went on that inspired you to do your art; anything of interest to our community of artists, please chime in! Get these newsy items to Nora Koerber, at norakgroups@gmail.com, by the 15th of any month.
7) Our first Plein Air Paint-Out was at Balboa Park, Feb. 22nd: Last minute, rain was forecast. A few brave souls made it out to beautiful Balboa Park. The clouds put on an air show; the waterfowl serenaded us, and in particular, a strange, loud whistle arose from the ducks right before the thunderstorm occurred. We painted our full 3 hours’ worth right before the thunderclaps and the downpour! A beautiful day and a fun morning we had! 8) Support our Sponsors: Our Spring Exhibit Sponsor is: Carter Sexton Art Supplies https://www.cartersexton.com/
9) Any ideas for events/ outings, suggestions for speakers whom you’d like to see, please don’t hesitate to let us know! Nora Koerber, President, CAL, 2020 | | | Deadline approaching March 1st! CALL FOR ENTRY Change
| CAL’s 2020 International Open Spring Exhibit ENTER TODAY! https://www.onlinejuriedshows.com/Default.aspx?OJSID=43162
SHOW DATES Tuesday April 2 - Saturday April 27 JUROR - Preston Craig Preston, who is a published artist, writer, educator and voice over actor, earned an M.F.A. in Illustration from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and a B.A. in Applied Arts from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Involved with social issues and an avid artist rights advocate, he has been recognized by the Los Angeles City Council for his volunteer work and contribution to the growth of the arts in L.A. In 2013 and 2014, respectively, one of his paintings was published in North Light Books’ - Acrylic Works: Best of Acrylic Competition and Acrylic Artist magazine and one of his portraits was selected for inclusion in the International Society of Acrylic Painters Best of Acrylic International Competition. His illustration work got an award from the Adobe Design Achievement Awards in 2011 and he received an award of recognition from the Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society and the National Scholars Honors Society in 2007. In addition, he was honored twice with the Artistic Director Award for Set Design/Scenic Art from the Valley Theatre League for productions of the Road Theater Co. and he was an Artist-in-Residence for the A.I.E.A.C. His mural work can be seen in projects on Hollywood Blvd. and at CBS Studios. Some of his scenic work can be seen at Venus Fort in Tokyo, the Paris Casino in Las Vegas and additional venues around L.A.
He has found success as an artist creating book and magazine illustrations, digital graphics (DTP), fine art (portraits, landscapes, fantasy) and scenic art/murals. He has traveled extensively, living & working at times in Norway, England, Italy and Japan. SELECTIONS OF AWARDS
Acceptance into the exhibit and awards for “Change” will be juried by Preston Craig. If his schedule allows, he will select the awards in person after artwork has been delivered. AWARDS Awards and prizes will be presented at the reception: BEST OF SHOW $300 First Place $200 Second Place $100 Third Place $50 Various Merchandise Awards Various Awards of Distinction IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE “CHANGE” EXHIBIT” Prospectus release and open for entries: December 31, 2019 Entry Deadline: March 1, 2020, midnight Artists notified if accepted: March 9, 2020 Take In: Monday, March 30, 2019, 10:00 AM to noon. Hanging follows from noon to 3:00 PM. Artist’s Reception: Saturday, April 4, 2020, 5:00 to 7:00 Take down: Saturday, April 25, 2020, 5:00 to 7:00 CALL FOR ENTRIES – OPENS December 31, 2019 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: Midnight, March 1, 2020
| | | On Doing a Series and Working SmallBy Nora Koerber One day of painting a small plein air work of camelias and I was relatively happy with the result. The second day, I returned to Descanso Gardens, but to paint the cherry blossoms instead. The blossoms were too wispy and too sparsely interspersed. It was too early to paint them. Back to the camelias, I found another cluster to paint. It occurred to me that in my struggle to find my
subject, I just might have a purpose. If I painted a number paintings of the same subject, the rhythm of painting might develop consistency. I realized there would be several benefits of doing a series, besides obtaining brush mileage. A series has consistency of something, whether that may be: subject, color, technique, value, size, pattern, etc. Any or some of these aspects can help provide a means of comparison and potentially afford a sense of identifiable style. I also thought that by working upon small, 8”x10”
panels, that comparison to tell me what worked in one and not the other, would be evident. Descanso Gardens has a “Camelia Forest” of large and smaller “camelia trees” that grow in proliferation. It’s a beautiful, inspirational place to paint. But due to the myriad tall branches and the movement of the sun, the light spots were tough to catch… they kept changing! Nevertheless, I was up for the challenge, as painting flowers en plein air has an air of romance about it, almost as if one is back in the time of early Impressionists. (Hey; if an idea appeals, it’s worth painting!) I also liked the idea of catching the differences between various camelias, and that they are annual. One has only so much time to catch their beauty while they’re in bloom. The aspect of limited time is appealing in that beauty, in its ephemeral nature, is fleeting. I chose to do closeups of flower clusters to better observe different types over time. I started with medium-dark masses of leaves and medium light shapes of flowers. This established the basic design. Darks were reinforced, then I worked up the value scale to the last: the lights. Most of the time, the actual light had shifted on the flowers, often. “Success” was partly
deciding upon where the lights should go, and part serendipity as to where they finally were. Despite any frustration, I kept telling myself, “these paintings do not have to be masterpieces; I’m just discovering what works and what doesn’t”. Yeah, right. Truth be told, I always wanted a masterpiece to unfold. There were a couple moments when I felt a painting had promise or might even be… “good”, dare I say. But none were masterpieces. Recently, I saw an exhibit on Manet at the Getty Center. At the end of the exhibit was a series of florals in vases, done at the end of his life. They were everything that was beautiful about his work: elegant, direct, unfettered, honest, loose and luscious. While I was painting my small series, I tried to keep these aspects in mind. “Cut to the chase” is the idea; certainly something
one must do when painting outdoors in fleeting light. After the first couple days, when I put two camelia paintings side by side, each one looked more or less, better. It appeared that a style was forming. I think I’ll keep at this. Small is achievable. Maybe one day, I’ll spit out a masterpiece. ‘Til then, I’ll persevere for the purpose of discovery.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CAL Member Happenings
| | | | | An Artist Progression in Sculpture by Ken Ronney Our new president has asked me to put together a few photos of some of my sculpture. I’m going to put them in, in the order I’ve created them, just to show how my ideas have evolved over the past several yearsl…from static free forms to kinetic, both motorized and hand-operated. | | | 2007 - Square Knot, 18" High, Marble
| | | | | | | 2008 - Ellie, 18" High, Marble
| | | | | 2012 - Silver Lady, 10' High, Peter Casting
| | | | | 2013 - Almost a Foot, 18" High, Urethane, Resin and Wood
| | | | | 2008 - Epicyclic, 36" High, Granite, Brass, Motors, etc.
| | | | | 2018 - Standing Wave (motorized kinetic), 52" High, Urethane, Wood, Motors
| | | | | 2012 - Tennis Anyone?, motorized, Marble, Steel, Aluminum, Brass
| | | Member Artist Happenings
| CAL Member Artist, Carl Shubs I’m back from Japan and the 19th Japan International Art Exchange Exhibition at The National Art Center of Tokyo, which is one of Japan's major museums, larger than LACMA. I'm delighted to have had 10 photographs in the exhibit, November 27-December 9. It was a wonderful exhibit, and I am thrilled to have received two awards: the Golden Award, which is the highest award given, for “Self Portrait 7,” and the Award for Excellence for "Modeling." Carl Shubs Photography
www.CarlShubsPhotography.com
www.facebook.com/CarlShubsPhotography
www.instagram.com/carlshubsphotography | | | | | | | | | CALLING for Newsletter Contributions
If you would like to be featured in the Members Section of the Newsletter, please send text and images to Marie Massey at mm@mariemassey.com with CAL N L input in the subject line. Thanks!!
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