We were were lucky,unlike many in the state, not to be ravaged by Sandy. Sequestered by the storm,I finally got a chance to start working on this painting today before this gourd grows a fur coat of mold!
The gourd was grow at Gustafson's, a family farm located here in Watertown. I love these crazy botanical sculptures. (My students can vouch for this)! The gourd has a history of being one of the first plants to be domesticated. The hard shelled varieties have so many uses. They are used as vessels for storage and for a myriad of musical instruments, such as the sitar. The soft shelled varieties such as this one are grown expressly for decoration.
Still working on the first pass here.This subject is a true exercise in form modeling:)!
The Fearless, in the face the of Sandy, showed for this afternoon's "SketchJam" with "Live Muscians:)!
Many thanks to the artists, musicians, and all around brave of art :), who are making this a "Thang"! And Thank You Sue for your incredible edible! (I love when people make great art you can eat!!!)
This months "Featured Players" were Billy Cactus, raw and unplugged,and Wes Poole and Grant Lamphier of "Pollen".
Wes and Grant entertained us with a rare treat of an acoustic jam,
performing some of their originals and a couple of Blue grass tunes.
Grant Lamphier shredded a custom made cigarbox guitar.( Love that
thing!!!) The Tobacco luthier/visual artist, Rebecca Gleason was a participating sketcher at the jam!
Cactus Sketch
Rebecca, Dan, Jerry, and Shane
Image Above Right Rebecca, Dan, Jerry,and the always awesome Shane Image Below Left Wes Poole Image Below Right Grant Lamphier playing the Cigarbox Guitar
Grant Lamphier
Wes Poole
Wes and Grant
Image Left Wes Poole and Grant Lamphier of Pollen
Image Left Graphic Designer, Claudia Duhammel working on the classical approach.( Nobody said you had to draw the musicians)! Thank you Claudia and Bob!
The next thing you know I get an email
from him sharing his latest cartoon animation on his you tube site Goon
Cartoons!
Funny how things happen like that!
Graphite on Paper - B.Grady
Frank's an
accomplished artist, author and animator, a former resident of Watertown, and a
one-time inhabitant of our attic on the infamous 11 Roland Street. A portal of creative mayhem that temporarily manifested in the 90's.
Graphite on Paper - B.Grady
The Shine Album Cover- Frank Forte
Dwelling in the
rafters of that old house, Frank cranked out pages and pages of comics early in
his career. Parts of his cult classic
comic "Vampire Verses" were born there along with the locally legendary band the "Shine's" album cover.
I learned a lot from Frank of the underground genre of horror comics.Observing Frank's process from developing concepts to inking, I gained much respect for the ethic of hard work and dedication that these artists must possess in order to be successful in this field.
You can find Frank Forte's work on his website. He also has a blog where he shares his knowledge of story-boarding and concept development.You can find that HERE
It's a great resource for those interested in comics and cartoon animation.On it you'll find insight into the working processes of cartoon comic designers.
We've been pretty busy this month and it is looking like November will be the same! We have new classes,workshops, and free events on the schedule.
FREE EVENTS Our Hemingway Pond Paint Outs are continuing until the end of October!Held on Saturdays, they are free and open to the public! The coffee will be on from 12PM -5PM:)!
Images from September SketchJam!
SKETCH JAM! We are most delighted to announce the October version of our FREE monthly “Sketch Jam” event. It will be held on Sunday, October 28th from 3-5PM at 250 Porter Street, Watertown, Connecticut. As usual this event is free and open to the public.
This month’s musical act features Grant Lamphier and Wes Poole of the local band Pollen, performing an acoustic set. Guests will also be treated to the one of a kind musical stylings of Mr. Billy Cactus, of the Billy Cactus Band, as the opening act. Mr. Cactus (sic) will be accompanied on various instruments by Jay Foster of JFoster Music Studio.
NEW WORKSHOPS!
Robert Zeller
We are really excited to host two upcoming Guest Artists this November.
Robert Zeller of the Teaching Studios of Art, located in in Brooklyn and Oyster Bay,will be offering a Weekend Portrait Painting on November 10th & 11th.
New to our primarily Drawing and Painting program is a Stained Glass Workshop by Heidrun Morgan!
Heidrun Glass Creations
Glass
Artist Heidrun Morgan will be offering an introductory workshop on
Stained Glass, Copper Foil Method, Saturday November 3rd, 10AM-1PM.
Participants in this workshop
will learn how
to cut glass, use copper foil, flux, and solder to assemble a small star.
Copper Foil Star- Heidrun Morgan
Right in time for the Holidays!This is a great opportunity to work with this talented artist! Spaces are Limited!!! So register early!!
NEW CLASSES FOR YOUNG ARTISTS!
STOP MOTION ANIMATION
Jay Foster will teaching a series of Stop Motion Animation courses beginning in November of
this year. Stop Motion animation is a technique used in films such as “A Nightmare Before Christmas”, “Corpse Bride”,
and “Frankenweenie” by Tim Burton as well as “Chicken Run”, “Wallace and
Gromit”, and more recently “ParaNorman.”
AND
Blue Horse Arts Studio will be offering a new program for
children 10 to 13.
We would just like to remind everyone that we have made the Saturday "Hemingway Pond Paint Outs" a continuous event until the end of October. Artists, Photographers, and Nature Lovers are invited to come be inspired by the natural beauty right outside our studios! The studio will be open from 12PM-5PM.Bring your gear. Coffee will be on:)! No promises but maybe you'll catch a glimpse of this guy!
We are so excited to be able to bring a little of the New York Atelier experience to Litchfield County, Connecticut.
This November we will be hosting a workshop, with guest artistRobert Zeller here at Blue Horse Arts Studio!
This is a great opportunity to infuse some new life into your approach to portrait painting for those with experience, or get a great jump start if you are just beginning.
"Cecily",Oil on Canvas, Robert Zeller
Robert Zeller is the Founder of The Teaching Studios of Art located in Brooklyn and Oyster Bay Long Island.I met Rob about 6 years ago when I was doing research on drawing methodology. I had taken a class with him at the New York Academy of Art. So I can vouch from personal experience that he is a great instructor!
My interest, at the time, was in 19th century drawing and painting pedagogy and industrial design training. The former, 19th century
practice, being heavily based on observation and the later a process for
inventive drawing utilizing perspective. I was researching how those distinctly different approaches could be incorporated into contemporary drawing curriculum for my students at ADM. Much of the focus of art training in the 80's and 90's was on creative expression and art theory. Though obviously important, it unfortunately left many art school graduates without a comprehensive technical understanding to execute their conceptual ideas or highly dependent on copying from a photographic reference. So if you would like to explore what you might have been missing from your previous art education or even if you are just beginning and looking get a good solid start, I highly recommend this workshop!
Rob's course will be held Saturday and Sunday,10AM-5PM, on November 10th and 11th at Blue Horse Arts Studio,250 Porter Street, Watertown,CT.
SPACES ARE LIMITED SO SIGN UP EARLY!
( See below for registration information)
ROBERT ZELLER PORTRAIT PAINTING WORKSHOP
"In this 2 day workshop, students will learn to
execute a realistic portrait in oil paint. We will work, not by copying the
model, but instead building something new and original on canvas. The great
Realist painters in art history were not copyists, they were creators.
Students will first learn to block in the drawing
directly on to the canvas in paint, then slowly build up the paint while
establishing accurate values and color. Special attention will be paid to balancing
soft and hard edges. Through the process of painting, we will talk about the
under-lying structure of the skull and features of the face. We will discuss
surface variation such as glazing, scumbling and building up impasto paint in
the lights, while working up to a finished painting".
Tuition is 250.00 for the workshop. Blue Horse Arts Students and Artwell members will receive a 10% discount. To register for this course please contact us at 860-417-3243 or info@bluehorsearts.com. A non-refundable deposit will be required to hold your place in this this workshop.Full payment must be made prior to attendance.
