June 23, 2012

Welcome everyone! Things are really happening around here—extra-curricular activities and good fellowship abound.

Ken's opening last weekend was a huge success, both socially and professionally. He sold a number of paintings and a good time was had by all. What more can anyone ask? If you're wondering what's next for Ken, scroll down to see the new (old) direction he's moving in. We're all excited!

We're also excited about tomorrow's Summer Solstice Sketching party where we'll all be exploring new media and stretching our drawing muscles. Thanks, Vivian! What a wonderful idea.

Finally, speaking of expanding horizons and stretching our skill sets, we'll be adding a new feature. While it's all about the art (and always has been), we've gotten good feedback about our attempts to delve a little deeper. So, going forward, at end of the post we'll highlight something in our world of art. It could be a technique we're trying, a new material or tool, the story behind one of our paintings, an exhibition we've seen or participated in.....it can be anything so long as it's about our wonderful world of art. Keep scrolling all the way through—you don't want to miss a single thing!

 

While you were scrolling though, did you notice the two girls walking? We're adding another copy below for easy reference. Very charming, very sweet. Did you also notice the technique? It's pen-and-wash—a classic watercolor technique where the emphasis is on line. The art is drawn with pen (preferably non-water-soluble ink so it doesn't bleed when it gets wet) and a watercolor wash is then added to highlight the drawing. This requires a skilled artist with fine drawing ability. Because it's ink, there's only one chance to get it right. Then, the wash part requires fine artistic sensibility to get just the perfect balance. This is a fine example of this technique, used beautifully. But here's something else you should notice. The painting is exquisitely tiny. The girls are no more than 2 inches tall, max! Imagine getting everything so perfectly right at such a tiny size?! Worth another look, don't you think?