SKB Legacy News Sea of Cortez-David J
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INSIDE LEGACY From the Director From the Editor FEATURED ARTICLE BLOSSOM~ART OF FLOWERS PREPARING THE FUTURE-SKB GRANT PROGRAM FEATURED ARTIST MARK A. KELSO Members in the News Bev Abbott, Andrew Denman, Wes and Rachelle Siegrist A Success Story-Nathanael Grey Birds in Art-Mort Solberg Sr. Book Review-Thomas Moran Pastel Notes-Things to Know When Working in Pastel-Part 2-Carol Santora Traveling and Painting BIG Art Plein Air-Stapleton Kearns SKB Legacy News Sea of Cortez-David J. Wagner Ph.D. ISSUE 17-SPRING-2011 Members in the News-Jeannie Breeding FROM THE DIRECTOR-PAM DEAN CABLE With spring comes a welcome sense of renewal. Time to dust off the outdoor paraphernalia and head outside to receive the abundant bounty Nature has provided. Enjoy the spring while your artistic muse goes wild with the possibilities. In this issue we are proud to present, now on the national stage, the first two premieres of Blossom II ~ Art of Flowers. Buckeyes are now going for the florals! Read what the folks in Darke County, OH, an SKB training area, are up to. Whenever SKB becomes a part of an artist’s inspiration and growth we all applaud, so enjoy this amazing journey of young artist, Nathanael Grey. You’ll enjoy a little expose’ on the life and times of our teen workshops instructor and all around great guy, Mark Kelso. Expand your artistic horizon with Carol Santora who teaches us more about the art of using pastel, while we stretch – and I mean really stretch - what we know about plein air with Stapleton Kearns. As though we haven’t been enjoying ourselves enough, we trekked off to the Sea of Cortez recently to paint its beautiful flora and fauna for a major exhibit and tour of resulting works. The buzz about this trip is still high-octane. Come along and enjoy the adventures. pdc FROM THE EDITOR-NANCY FOUREMAN NEW E-mail: [email protected] Amazing projects for SKB Foundation artists are available. Many who attend the fall workshop/seminar in Dubois WY are finding meaningful and successful venues for their creative pursuits. Success seems to bred success; inspiration comes from contacts that are experiencing real progress in the field of fine art. Often an idea will inspire another idea and give an artist a new look at what can be accomplished. “They can’t buy it if they don’t see it.” Hummmm-advice from a relative. Are you finding the best place to exhibit your work? Explore new avenues to create and exhibit your work. Let us know about your accomplishments. 17"ht, 14" dia. FEATURED ARTICLE BLOSSOM~ART OF FLOWERS Pam Dean Cable The only thing that could possibly distract us from the beautiful environs of Naples, FL was the Feb 9, 2011 Grand Premiere and Awards Event for Blossom ~ Art of Flowers. The exhibit featuring 101 finalists of 2300 entries had been newly hung by the prestigious Naples Museum of Art and our panel of jurors had sharpened pencils in hand. The excitement was palatable, dare I say, even giddy with anticipation. After 1 ! years of development, the moment would soon be upon us. $65,000 in award money would be announced in the museum’s performing arts theater that evening. More than half the finalists were on hand to be part of the celebration, with one artist, Vesna Grundler and her interpreter, traveling all the way from Croatia. BEST OF SHOW Delft Blue with Oleanders, 12x12 Oil A hush fell over the assembly as head juror, Stephen Doherty, took the podium. As the awards were announced, a large screen behind him displayed the selected image. When the award winning artist was in attendance it was a special moment for recognition and much applause. We were hoping the Best of Show winner would be there, but alas, we had to rely on technology to bring her surprised reaction to the whole audience. Being very poetic in her response and obviously a bit overwhelmed, Berry Fritz of McAllen, TX was awarded $25,000 and a resounding round of applause and cheers from our Naples’ audience. Capping off the evening, we all headed to Buco di Beppos for a grand Italian party in honor of the artists. Here was a chance finally to enjoy one another’s company over a glass of wine, pasta and pizza. CONTINUED- BLOSSOM~ART OF FLOWERS Next stopWe forare artists...Blossom was the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum, a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum, botanical garden, and art institute, located in Tucson. Our Blossom exhibitiona fine fit rightart photographer, in with the emphasis here on conservation and nature. The museum grounds feature 300 animal species and 1200 kinds of plants living in their natural desert settings. The birders ina weaver our group and werepainter. absolutely gleeful as they ticked off additional species on their bird watch list and cameras clicked in a steady cadence on a guided SKB tour. In the graceful elegance of a black and white photograph, in the colors and flow of artistic baskets and sculptures,Thank you we Susan share Fisher, with you Director our perceptions of the Art Instituteof the world for this around rare us.opportunity. The Blossom premiere, May 7, 2011 was yet another very special event as artists, collectors and well-wishers gathered in honor of the talent displayed in the museum’s Baldwin Art Education Building . Live background music selections featured songs with floral titles, a further compliment to the occasion, along with festive culinary delights. Blossom will be available for the next two months to the public before continuing its journey around the country. Blossom will be permanently displayed in our on-line virtual museum, both finalists and honorable mentions. Watch for our big premiere announcement of this event, coming soon! To see the award winning images go to: www.blossomartcompetition.com BEST OF SHOW WINNER $24,000 CASH AWARD BERRY FRITZ McAllen TX th I am often inspired by the 17 Century Dutch still-life painters and frequently use dark shadowy backgrounds for my paintings. For this painting, however, I decided to lighten up. I was aiming for a balanced composition that served to showcase the Delftware ceramics and at the same time celebrate the flowers. All the objects in the painting have an inherent delicacy, especially the flowers, so I thought they would be best served by a subtly neutral color scheme. PREPARING THE FUTURE ART-RAGEOUS EXPERIENCE-Ohio Children’s SKB Grant Program The Susan K. Black Foundation is preparing our future artist in the discipline of floral painting. The foundation’s grant in Darke County enables young artists to further their knowledge of several mediums and subjects. Floral painting has become part of that instruction. Children participate in this program during the school year and into the summer. Parents or a guardian attend the classes with the students, widening the program to family bonding where the adult becomes involved with the activities of the participating young artist. These students may be our future participants in the growing popularity of Blossom~Art of Flowers. Daisy Finished Painting FEATURED YOUNG ARTIST-ABBIGAIL VAN HOOSE Patie ntly working on this acrylic painting, Abbigail finishes the details of the flower center with color. There is a rhythm to the pedals that attract the eye and bring the viewer into the image of this flower. An outstanding ability to execute the medium of acrylic while expressing her interest in the beauty and gracefulness of her subject. Abbigail has been chosen for the Gifted Art Program: submitting five works of art for review, she was the only perfect score of all children kindergarten through 8th grade on judged criteria in the program. Abby is a student at the …a visual arts program for children and ART-RAGEOUS EXPERIENCE parents : Darke County Ohio SKB grant program. The program offers an opportunity for children and their families to develop an art language and an artistic way to express themselves. Empowering and transforming young lives with an innovative and artistic learning environment. Program Director: Debby Brayfield Executive Director: Shirley Hathaway FEATURED ARTIST MARK A. KELSO Once in awhile someone comes along that makes you proud to be an Driftwoodartist. Pe Althoughrc hI no longer think of Mark as shy and quiet, he is often not visible in a crowd. Most often because he is too busy helping, American Kestrel painting, and lending a hand where needed. He is a supportive member 20 x 14.5 inches of the teen workshop with Wanda Mumm at the SKB workshops in Watercolor Dubois WY each fall. We have watched his amazing agility; entertaining all with flips and twists during the auction at Headwaters Arts and Conference Center to MARK KELSO boost the bidding. Mark participates in the Quick Draw with speed and precision and reminds us what professional artists are all about. Enjoy the following story about Mark. Throughout his early years, Mark studied intensively in dance, voice, theatre, the martial arts, and competitive baton twirling. He won over 700 awards for modeling, dance, and baton competitions, including more than thirty world championship titles. From this unusual background Mark chose the visual arts for his career. He majored in painting at John Herron School of Art in the United States and began doing social, philosophical, and environmentall y oriented work in his senior year. This nature/civilization content in his work was translated to wildlife and landscape subjects the following year. They remained his primary subject matter until 2006, where he began to revisit his early inspirations in the genre of Fantasy Art.