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Welcome to the February issue of
Off the Easel
A warm welcome to new subscribers, and thanks to everyone for your continued interest and support of my work. I hope you enjoy this issue of Off the Easel.
My downtown studio will be open during this Friday's Gallery Hop. To really impress that special someone on Valentine’s Day, original fine art makes the perfect gift! Please stop by; I'll be conducting The Magic of Color demonstrations periodically through the evening. Further details are in the Gallery Hop article below.
Like The Magic of Color? Be sure to sign up for my upcoming workshop Mastering Color. This workshop will held at my studio in March; further details are below.
Read on to see my new pastel piece, to learn about my recent blog posts, and more!
All the best,
Amy
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Recent Blog Posts
I have published two recent posts on my blog site, Drinking from the Well of Inspiration. It's never too late to consider making a New Year's Resolution to sing like a bird. Then read the long-awaited tale about The Day We Left Orkney. Part I: You *Can* Get There From Here. In this two-part blog post, I share how, when trying to leave Orkney after our ferry was cancelled, we discovered the best artist you have probably never heard of, unless you have also been to these fabulous islands north of the Scottish mainland. Be sure to subscribe to the blog to receive immediate notice when Part II and other future posts are published!
Thank you to those who have recently visited my blog, and a special thanks to those of you who have recently subscribed.
Above: The Watchstone
digital photograph
© 2012 Amy Funderburk, All Rights Reserved
Near the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney
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Thank you, Twitter!
As of this writing, I am delighted to say that my January newsletter link received a whopping 1,130 clicks on Twitter! If you are reading this via Twitter, thank you very much for your interest, and I hope you like what you see. Why wait to find my future newsletters on Twitter when you can subscribe? Click here to subscribe to my mailing list today!
If you are a newsletter subscriber and you are on Twitter, remember that you can follow me here: @AFunderburkArt. My husband, photographer James C. Williams, can be found @JCWilliamsphoto.
Above: Bluebird
© 2014 Amy Funderburk, All Rights Reserved
Greensboro Science Center
Greensboro, NC USA |
Upcoming Workshop
Mastering Color: Join me on Saturday March 28, 11 AM - 6 PM, and Sunday March 29, 1 - 4 PM for my first ever Artists On Liberty studio workshop! Open to all skill levels and media. Class size is limited to allow for plenty of on-on-one instruction time, so please reserve your place today! Registration deadline: Saturday, March 21st.
Course Description. Does your heart sing when you see an array of new pigments in every color of the rainbow? Do you get overwhelmed by the choices, or stumped when it comes to using them effectively? Whether you are just getting your feet wet with your media, or if you are a seasoned professional who wants more information about the nuances of that most emotionally evocative of elements, this is the perfect workshop experience for you! Learn how colors affect each other as well as the viewer's perception. Train your eye to discern subtle differences in hue, and learn to evoke whatever emotional response you wish through your compositional color choices. If you have taken my workshop Exploring Color in the past, with Mastering Color you'll find exciting, newly updated information. Participants may work in any media in which they feel well versed. We will begin the first day with a lecture component and an exploration of art history, followed by hands-on exercises and projects tailored to your experience level.
You will be given a Suggested Materials List and emailed a set of handouts upon registration. Participants using any media are welcome, including photographers with laptops and photo editing software.
To Register. Contact me for further details and to register by Saturday, March 21st. Accepted payment methods include cash, check or credit card (Visa, Master Card, Discover, or American Express). Pay in advance and get the special inaugural studio workshop rate of only $100! For registered participants paying after March 21st, the cost is $125.
Want an appetizer before you decide on the entree? Be sure to come by this Friday's Gallery Hop on February 6th for my demonstration, The Magic of Color. For more information, please refer to the February Gallery Hop article.
Above: Mastering Color - the three primaries
© 2015 Amy Funderburk, All Rights Reserved
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A Reminder to Artists:
Make 2015 the year you realize your dreams of either starting on a creative path, or getting your career back on track! I offer private lessons, critiques, and art career and marketing consultations customized for artists at any point in their career, from beginners to professionals. For those needing assistance with arts writing, including Artist's Statements, grant narrative editing, press releases, and articles, I also offer this service. Email me for more information and rates, or to schedule an appointment. In-person appointments as well as long distance consultations are available.
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On the Easel
The Welcoming. My new pastel, The Welcoming, is nearly completed! Pictured above, this is the first visionary-themed piece I have executed in that media. It has been interesting to determine the best way to create similar visionary effects with pastel that I am accustomed to doing with oil glazes. The subject matter is the entrance to Uffington castle in England, a large early Iron Age hill fort that sits above the famed White Horse, also thought to date to the Iron Age. As you can see, I should have this piece completed quite soon, so stay tuned!
For a detail shot of the lower right corner still in progress, please see the photograph below. This will give you an indication of how I layer the pastels to build color relationships and textures.
Found Aged Cedar Triptych. For those of you who saw the cedar triptych in the January newsletter, I am in the process of making my own experimental black walnut stain to try in certain areas of the wood by soaking black walnuts in water. It looks a bit scuzzy at the moment, so we'll see how it goes! After all, what is the full art experience if not occasionally experimental? If this is successful, however, I'll be adding a few drops of filtered water from the St Fechin's holy well at Fore, the Republic of Ireland, before using the stain on the triptych. You may recall from the January newsletter that the tree in the holy well at Fore was in jeopardy at the time of our visit because of the tradition of inserting coins into the bark of the tree. This practice was the source of inspiration for this particular work, so it seemed fitting to somehow incorporate these waters. In making this stain, please note that I must not try to boil it after adding the St Fechin's water. Not only can these waters not be boiled, but it is very bad luck to even make the attempt!
Above: The Welcoming, in progress
pastel on sanded paper mounted on board
9” x 12”
© 2014-15 Amy Funderburk, All Rights Reserved
Uffington Castle, Whitehorse Hill, Oxfordshire, England
photo by James C. Williams
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February
Gallery Hop: The Magic of Color Demo
While you are shopping for your Valentine, please visit my studio at the Artists On Liberty Building during the upcoming Downtown Art District Association's First Friday Gallery Hop on Friday, February 6th, from 7-10 PM, in Winston-Salem, NC. During the Gallery Hop, come experience The Magic of Color! I will be conducting periodic color demonstrations in my studio throughout the evening.
Not able to make the Hop this month? I am available for studio visits by appointment.
The Artists On Liberty building is located at 521 North Liberty Street in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, between 6th and 5th Streets -- please refer to the photograph above. Starting at 7:00 PM the day of the Hop, Liberty Street will close between 6th and 5th Streets, but parking is available nearby at the Liberty Street parking deck between 5th and 4th, as well as on Main Street just behind the Artists On Liberty building. Look for a sidewalk sign out front featuring our poster and balloons on the night of the Gallery Hop. We look forward to seeing you!
More is Hopping on Liberty! This month, I am delighted that as of this Gallery Hop, another Liberty Street neighbor, Yodi International Salon, will start featuring artwork on their walls. The art scene on Liberty is growing! Yodi International is located just a few doors down at 513 N. Liberty Street.
Above: The Artists On Liberty Building
521 North Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, NC
Look for our new sign and balloons out front during First Friday Gallery Hop nights!
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Quotes of the Month
"There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad." - Salvador Dali
"I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process." - Vincent Van Gogh
"The secret of life is in art." - Oscar Wilde
Artists on color:
"Our entire being is nourished by color." - Hans Hoffman
"The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color. Our entire being is nourished by it. This mystic quality of color should likewise find expression in a work of art." - Hans Hofmann
"I found I could say things with colors that I could not say in any other way, things for which I had no words." - Georgia O'Keeffe
"You put down one color and it calls for an answer. You have to look at it like a melody." - Romare Bearden
"All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites." - Marc Chagall
"Color is all. When color is right, form is right. Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is vibration." - Marc Chagall
Above: Detail, The Welcoming - in progress
pastel on sanded paper mounted on board
9” x 12”
© 2014-15 Amy Funderburk, All Rights Reserved
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