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“Fortitude” juried into the 2019 Beaverton Arts Mix!
“Fortitude” has been accepted into the Beaverton Art Mix! show. So glad to be included into it once again!
Beaverton Arts Mix! will be held October 3-6, 2019 in the Beaverton City Library (12375 SW 5th Street, Beaverton) (map) .
BAM! artists will be honored at an artist reception on Thursday, October 3.
A free Quick Draw event on Saturday, October 5 will be open to artists (BAM! and non-BAM!) of all disciplines and media.
Hope to see you there!
Updated on September 7, 2019
The artist reception will be on Thursday, October 3, 7 pm – 8:30 pm.
I will also be volunteering that day 1:30 pm – 7 pm. Stop by whenever your schedule permits, it’s going to be a good show.
Updated on September 25, 2019
Dropped my “Fortitude” along with matted prints and greeting cards for the Beaverton Arts Mix! yesterday. It was so well organized that I was in and out in no time. Much appreciation goes to organizers and volunteers!
Updated on October 6, 2019
Picked up my remaining items from the Beaverton Art Mix! show today. I was on the fence about bringing so many of my horse drawings, not knowing how well they would be received there, but to my surprise most of them have been sold. Thank you, horse-loving people! Thank you everyone who came to see the show, to the Beaverton Arts Program people who organized the show so well, to all the volunteers who helped them! I would love to be a part of it next year.
Daydreaming at the Salem Salon “100” show
Brought “Daydreaming” to the Bush Barn Art Center for the Salem Salon “100” art show yesterday.
The show features emerging and established artists in Salem and neighboring communities within a 75-mile radius of Salem. It coincides with the Salem Art Association’s Centennial Year and the annual Salem Art Fair & Festival, so there is a lot to see for you.
I was enjoying this art show for a couple of years as a visitor and am now thrilled to be a part of it!
Salem Salon “100” runs from July 5 till August 24, 2019.
Reception is on July 5, 5:30 – 7:30 pm. I hope to see some of you there!
The Bush Barn Art Center is located at 600 Mission St. SE Salem, OR 97302 and is open Tuesday – Friday, from 10:00 am till 5:00 pm, and Saturday – Sunday from 12:00 till 5:00 pm.
Updated July 5th, 2019
Relations II and IV sold
Relations II and IV are on their way a new happy home in Silicon Valley, CA. Thank you, Vickie! Both are 8″ x 8″ mixed media on stretched canvas.
Both are 8″ x 8″ pen and ink drawings of Japanese maples in spring, with young leaves not fully unfolded yet. Each drawing sits on top of a paper collage secured on a stretched canvas.
“Relations I” at Around Oregon Annual 2019
Very happy to announce that my 8″ x 8″ mixed media piece on canvas has been juried into the Around Oregon Annual 2019 show.
“Relations I” is a part of the “Relations” series of four drawings that were originally created for the Four Eights show benefiting the Sherwood Center for the Arts. I’ve documented the creative process for it here.
Around Oregon Annual 2019 show will be held at The Arts Center, 700 SW Madison Ave, Corvallis, OR 97333 (map) from June 20 till August 9, 2019.
The Arts Center hours are: Tues – Sat, from 12 pm till 5 pm.
I will be at the opening reception on Thursday, June 20 as soon as I can get there after finishing my shift at the Three Rivers Gallery and Gifts.
The reception is from 5:30 pm till 7:30 pm and is a part of the Corvallis Art Walk.
Please come if you can!
Updated May 2, 2019
See the full list of participating artist below:
Updated June 20th, 2019
Damascus Open Studios Tour 2019
I will be participating in the Damascus Open Studios Tour May 17, 18, and 19, from 10 am till 5 pm each day.
Local artists and their guests will show awesome and diverse art in 6 studios in and around Damascus. You can find the map of the entire tour with all details here: https://damascusopenstudios.com/studio-map/. This is a wonderful opportunity to see how art is being created and talk to the artists.
Talented clay artist Brenda Scott will host me and a fine jewelry designer, Cheri Bosserman, at the studio #6 (25251 SE Bohna Park Rd, Damascus, OR 97089).
Stop by to see my original drawings, giclee prints, and greeting cards!
Updated May 20, 2019
A big thank you to to everyone who came to see my art and beautiful creations of my fellow artists Brenda Scott and Cheri Bosserman this past weekend. The Damascus Open Studios were great. Wonderful company, lots of good talks, and many sales. Could not ask for more!
Pause
Got notified that my card for Twitter Art Exhibit 2019 safely arrived at Edinburgh, UK. Phew! I was so unbelievably late this year that I was not even sure it would make it in time for the opening night on May 11.
For my artist friends who would like to participate next year, here is the TAE website: http://twitterartexhibit.org. This year they support an Edinburgh based charity, Art in Healthcare, that organizes workshop programs for patients.
Updated May 15, 2019
Just got notified that my card has been sold! Yay!
The live Twitter Art Exhibit is over, but their fundraising for Art in Healthcare continues at https://www.artinhealthcare.org.uk/tae19.php
@YelenaArt Congrats your #TAE19 card has been sold https://t.co/3HhiMtyDBE Fantabulous news and thanks again for supporting #twitterartexhibit fundraising for @artinhealthcare
— Twitrartexhibit 🌏 (@twitrartexhibit) May 15, 2019
Updated May 16, 2019
Updated May 26, 2019
My little Jay that got sold at #TAE19 looks all pretty in its new happy home. Thank you for sharing the photo, Sharon! Great choice of frame!
“Improbable Dreams of a Tree” goes to the HIP 2B Square show
Delivered my latest drawing to the Sequoia Gallery today. It is for the HIP 2B Square show that benefits this nice and cozy cooperative gallery and its artist studios. The show opens on April 2nd with a reception and award announcements and runs through May 3.
Sequoia Gallery is located at 136 SE 3rd Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97123. Hours: Tuesday – Saturday from 10 am – 5 pm.
The gallery provided an option of a 12″ x 12″ Blick canvas or primed and cradled wood panel, and I chose the panel.
After the fiasco with an Ampersand panel it was interesting to try something different. To my delight, the texture of the gessoed wooden surface was strong but pretty even and was almost as easy to work with as good textured paper. I will do more with it, just maybe without cradles. Not a big fan of working edges of those things.
Updated on April 4, 2019
All That Remains ~ charcoal pencil sketch, 4″ x 6″
One of my very favorite things to draw after horses are dead trees in different stages of returning back to elements. This one still holds up pretty well, a final testament to how high and wide it managed to reach in its lifetime.
Silent auction for the Oregon City Chamber of Commerce
“Changing Colors” is going to the silent auction at the Oregon City Chamber of Commerce annual celebration night on February 23 at the Pioneer Community Center. The auction is going to help support the Chamber. OCCC is very supportive of arts in the local community, of TRAG where I am a member, and of events that TRAG organizes. It’s a pleasure to help them a little too.
Beaverton – Your Art Moment series 2019
Two of my drawings, Newborn and Sun Kissed, have been accepted into the first quarter of this new year-long, daily series showcasing artworks via social media to inspire the community to take a moment to reflect and appreciate art and artists. I love the idea and am pretty happy to be a part of this program.
One artwork will be posted per day and artists will be credited using the artist’s name, title of work, year created and mediums. All posts will carry the #YourArtMoment hashtag. Watch for it for your daily moment of local art!
Updated on March 12, 2019
And here is the first of selected images shown by the City of Beaverton on Instagram:
Updated om May 7, 2019
My little foal featured by the City of Beaverton!
Tsunago: the pencil sharpener that creates a never-ending pencil
The biggest problem with pencils is that you can never use all of them. There are always leftover stubs that become too small for your hand and must be thrown out. It may be not a big deal with graphite, but what about colored pencils that can be quite expensive?
I learned to split the stumps and either crush leads from them for backgrounds or use them whole in a clutch pencil. But apparently there is a better way to fight stump waste: a Tsunago sharpener that actually creates a never-ending pencil. I need to try it!
Before the light ~ sketch done with black Faber-Castell PITT and white Gelli Roll pens on Strathmore toned gray paper, 6″ x 4″ [SOLD]
Finished this during last weekend’s Holiday Art Show. It’s my first experience with the Strathmore gray toned paper, and because art shows tend to be busy, I chose a subject that allowed me to work in short spurts without losing focus. Loved small darker fibers in the paper, they add to the look of the finished sketch.
Before the light ~ black Faber-Castell PITT and white Gelli Roll pens on Strathmore toned gray paper, 6″ x 4″ [SOLD]
Holiday Art Show & Sale 2018
For the second year, I will have a booth at this wonderful show. Come if you can, meet amazing local artists and enjoy their creations!
Dec. 1 from 9 am till 4 pm
December 2 from 10 am till 4 pm
Pioneer Community Center, 615 5th St, Oregon City
Experiment with colored pencil on a gesso board
This is take two. Take one happened two weeks ago and went so wrong that the piece could not be saved. I started with darker colors thinking I would lighten distant ridges later. But apparently at a certain number of layers pigment clings to the surface for dear life and refuses to be lifted with any kind of eraser. So I am going with a much lighter hand now, and it seems to be better that way. The surface is not as smooth as it looks. I am glad it’s mountains and not some young face.
Updated: May 17, 2018
I am working on this between other things, but here is what I’ve learned so far. Darks are more work on a gesso board than on paper. Even canvas is more agreeable. It’s not that the board doesn’t accept dark pigments. It does, but the wavy texture lines on it that go vaguely vertical keep some narrow areas persistently lighter than the rest and require ongoing touchups. But I like the sturdiness of a gesso board very much. I am starting to wonder if maybe graphite or charcoal would be easier, but that’s for the next test or two. Also need to look up other brands in case some have a really even texture.
Updated: July 23, 2018
What I thought would be a quick experiment turned into a long argument with the gesso surface. Mountains changed their look at least 4 times, and I am not touching them again. The future sunset sky is all mapped, and the gesso texture that gives me so many headaches is showing in its full glory right now.
Updated: September 29, 2018
Well… I am going to admit the defeat. This is not working. The texture of the surface is too weird for colored pencils, and I am tired of fighting it. It will not cooperate no matter what I do. Time to move on!
horse in a cave silhouette sketch
Gave Faber-Castell PITT pens one more try. A few years ago they seemed not to be dark enough, but things change with time, right? Not these ones, though… Ok, no big deal, I will stick with Derwent Graphik.
Silent auction at the Oregon City Festival of the Arts
This was the first time I participated at the silent auction at the event organized by the Three Rivers Artist Guild of which I am a happy mamber. All proceeds from the auction go to support the guild. Guess I missed the memo before, I do that regularly.
This year I gave this one to the auction:
Glad to help TRAG a little bit.
2018 Landscapes Art Competition
I’ve entered several drawings into the Landscapes Art Competition at the Light, Space, and Time Online Gallery and quite pleased with the results. “Truckee River” received a Special Recognition award, “River Of Light” got a Honorable Mention.
Character for TAE 2018 – colored pencil, 12 x 16 cm
Finally mailed my postcard art to the Twitter Art Exhibit (TAE) today. I blame Creatacolor pencils for the delay. It was my first time trying oil-based colored pencils, and as a Prismacolor/Derwent girl I found their behavior way too different.
This year TAE helps an Australian charity, Pegasus Riding For The Disabled of ACT Inc., http://www.pegasusact.com.au/. All proceeds from postcard art sales go to the charity. If you feel like helping out, the deadline for submissions is March 19, 2018: http://twitterartexhibit.org/call-for-artists/
Updated on February 12, 2019
Here is how “Character” came to be.
Copying Other People’s Art Can Boost Creativity, Study Finds
Creativity and copying appear to be the opposites. Therefore, it seems unlikely then that there would be a link between copying another artist’s work and being able to create fresh, original work of your own. However, Kentaro Ishibashi and Takeshi Okada, an architect and a professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan respectively, have been researching this topic for several years, and they found that copying may help facilitate artistic creativity.
The increased creativity is not really a product of the copying itself, Okada says. Instead, it’s about being pushed beyond the familiar, being exposed to other possibilities, questioning the other artist’s choices and thoughts.
Pottery Is the New Pilates, and Macramé Takes Away the Crazy
… creative work can alter the brain’s neural pathways, and how working with your hands can produce changes in multiple brain regions, which can alleviate depression and improve one’s ability to problem-solve.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/style/anxiety-crafts-pottery-embroidery.html
Relations I – work in progress
Updated: October 9th, 2017
And this is how the whole piece looks. Layer one – an ink drawing on tracing paper. Layer two – a tissue paper collage with grated pastel. Layer three – a canvas.
I need to remember to never, ever use a gel pen of any sort on tracing paper except for small details. The gel stops flowing rather quickly, and after the first time it keeps happening more and more often. No amount of cleaning the ballpoint helps. My next white ink of choice is going to be Derwent Graphik Line Painter.
Updated: October 6th, 2017
Freshly mounted on the canvas.
Updated: September 28th, 2017
White gel is done too, I think. The bright orange paper will not be a part of the final piece, it’s just there to help me see what I am doing with white areas.
Updated: September 26th, 2017
Black ink all done.
Original post
I am starting on the first piece for the upcoming show at the Sherwood Center for the Arts, Four Eights.
Last year taught me that square canvases are not really all that square, so this time I am making each piece of tracing paper for an ink part to match its designated canvas. No more odd paper edges, or so I hope.
And another change I am making concerns the preliminary sketch for the ink drawing. It is now rough and loose, just a general idea of the composition. I used to make a precise sketch and then map it on the tracing paper with sparse ink marks, but it is quite time consuming, so this time I am doing the final ink drawing on top of the rough sketch using it as a general guide.
If the experiment goes well, I will try it on an animal portrait that would be more demanding than branches, leaves and flowers.
My new mixed media pieces at Four Eights 2017
I will have four new 8″ x 8″ mixed media pieces in the Four Eights Artist Challenge II exhibit and art sale at the Center for the Arts.
This exhibit will showcase artworks created during the Four Eights an Artists Challenge II that tasked participating artists with creating original artwork around a singular theme on four square canvases, each canvas being 8″ x 8″. All artwork will be for sale and priced between $30 and $100.
My theme this year is “relations” expressed through flowers, leaves, and branches that make a bush or a tree, all different yet inseparable. See how the first canvas came to life.
An opening reception for Four Eights will be on Thursday, October 12, from 6:30 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. Stop by to meet the artists, curators and other art lovers, enjoy refreshments and live acoustic music.
Show location
Sherwood Center for the Arts – 22689 SW Pine Street, Sherwood, OR 97140
Map
Open
Art Exhibit & Sale – October 12 – December 12
Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Beaverton Arts Mix! 2017
Two of my drawings were juried into the Beaverton Arts Mix! show and sale. The show will open on October 5 and run through October 8 at the Beaverton City Library. Reception will take place on October 6, 7:00 – 8:30 pm. If you will be in the area stop by to enjoy more than 100 juried artworks by Oregon artists!
Show lacation
Beaverton City Library, 12375 SW 5th Street, Beaverton, OR
Open
Thu – Sun | Oct 5 – 8 Art Show & Sale
Open during regular library hours
More information about the show can be found on the city’s website
“Fortitude” and “Sun Kissed” earned the Special Merit Award at the 7th Annual “Botanicals” Art Exhibition
My colored pencil drawings “Fortitude” and “Sun Kissed” have received the Special Merit Category of the 7th Annual “Botanicals” Art Exhibition held by Art Space & Time Online Art Gallery.
I am still browsing through images of artists recognized in different categories and admiring the talent and vision of so many.
The show will be featured on the Light Space & Time website for the month of August 2017 and then will remain online in the Light Space & Time archives.
Stress-related hormone cortisol lowers significantly after just 45 minutes of art creation
Whether you’re Van Gogh or a stick-figure sketcher, a new Drexel University study found that making art can significantly reduce stress-related hormones in your body.
Although the researchers from Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professions believed that past experience in creating art might amplify the activity’s stress-reducing effects, their study found that everyone seems to benefit equally.
A sketch a day: conflicting needs of those with no hands ~ graphite pencil, 4″ x 6″
It’s a tough life for a horse when she needs to munch and scratch an itching knee but has only one set of teeth for everything.
A sketch a day: mountains ~ charcoal, pen and ink
The blacks are ink, all shades of gray are charcoal including grays over blacks. I hoped for a different result, but it’s just a small sketch, so not a big deal. I will get where I want with the next version.
A sketch a day: running horse ~ pen and ink, colored pencil
The Artistic Cycle
Originally posted by Raymond McCarthy Bergeron at Spunky Dog
Looks as an accurate observation to me.