With our new website we will be addressing some requests from our customers. One has been, “Where are the past Art Insiders?”. As we check our newsletter archives, we will be posting our old issues known as the Art Insider within our new posts. For our past readers, we will just repost the highlights and not the product announcements.
First up is April, 2011. The darker text are the modern information for 2015. The grey texts are the 2011 posts. This past newsletter was short and sweet for this April, 2011 edition, volume II
We sponsored the chalk for Prescott’s Chalk It Up festival since its beginning, we still do. Did you keep it in mind this year?
- A FREE event every year for you to make your mark. Psssst its coming up fast this year….the weekend of April 18th, 2015 at the National Bank parking lot in Prescott.This is what Art Store alum Ryan Liebe did for the Art Store in 2011:
Boogie Boogie Boogie!
Come on by on Chalk It Up weekend to see the locals compete! Click the image above for the 2015 details.
The Art Store by the Frame and I will represent at the annual National Art Materials Trade Association Convention (NAMTA)! – 2011
Keith and Ida are excited to be attending the National Art Materials Trade Convention in Phoenix the second week of April! Every year NAMTA hosts this convention to show off new art materials, inform and enlighten art material retailers about the proper use of art materials, latest art-making trends, and product safety regulations. Hundreds of vendors come together for a giant art supply trade show, and we’ll be snagging some free samples for sure! We’ll be bringing back lots of new products and ideas, and can’t wait to share them with you!
Questions about NAMTA? Questions for art materials manufacturers? Please contact us here.
This year we are attending this great event in Denver. Have a question for a manufacturer? Let us know, we will be directly in front of them next week. Click the logo above to view the details of the convention we attend annually.
Direct your questions by emailing us at contact@artstore.frameandi.com.
We will forward them to the correct manufacturers and get back to you in an Art Insider post or directly. Stay tuned to our posts and we will answering many common FAQ as the event is happening. Ida and I will also be posting the behind the scenes new products and info that we find interesting.
@NAMTA
There are many reasons to attend NAMTA, one of them is to place new orders with the manufacturers directly. We will be adding Holbein Watercolors to our sales floor this year. Wonderful watercolor to work with that is brilliant in color as well as having a more defined edge.
Another is to let them know how they are doing. How their new product is being received. I like to let them know when they are also not doing so well……
Art Classes and Workshops – 2011
The Art Store by the Frame & I / The Frame and I
Come take a class at The Art Store to get your creative juices flowing! We have classes in all media, for all experience levels and ages. Stay subscribed to this newsletter, and we’ll let you know every month about our class schedule, new classes, demos, events and workshops.
April Workshop Spotlight – 2015
View the event on our website for more details by clicking the image above. This workshop is this month on the 29th & 30th of April. At the time of this post, there were still spaces available.
Nancy Reyner’s Demo in May is now FULL.
2011 – BASIC MAT CUTTING for ARTISTS and DIY’ers – 2011
Ever wanted to know how to cut your own mats? Learn mat-cutting from the pros at our hands-on workshop for artists and Do-It-Yourselfers (Plus, take home a shiny new white mat for one of your artworks or prints 11×14 or smaller!). Francine will be covering the basics of measuring, mat cutting, hinging, and backing. Workshop will be held at the Frame and I, 229 W. Gurley St.; call us at (928)445-5073 or send questions to Ida at idakendall@frameandi.com for more information or to sign up.
- minimum 5, maximum 12 students, Sign up early! This is sure to be a popular class.
- 2 hours long.
- When: Saturday June 4th, 2-4 pm.
- call the Frame and I at (928)445-5073 or email idakendall@frameandi to sign-up.
- bring your art or print, 11×14 or smaller, and take home a new white mat for it that you cut yourself.
- Cost of workshop is $25.00 per person.
- Pay in advance to reserve your space; only pre-paid reservations will have a space in the workshop.
2011 – Interested in learning how to stretch your own canvas? – 2011
Email or call us at the Art Store at (928)-443-0749 to let us know! We would love to gather up a few brave souls to learn how to stretch your own canvases. Once we have enough interest we will set a date and cost, and post details in this newsletter, on our website and on Facebook.
Upcoming Workshops – 2015
The above workshops were offered in 2011. Are you still interested now? The Frame & I and the Art Store could put one together for a few people if you are really nice in asking for them. Email us and let them know that you wish to learn from the best.
Stretching is the basics for any working artist or student. There are some tricks to this so maybe a Sunday sampler is in need. Let us know as well by emailing us your desire to have tight canvases as well as understand why you should stretch with keyed corners, not glued ones.
Where do you find Art in your world? – 2011
Street Art by Phlegm
Where do you find Art in 2015?
The NYPD Is Investigating This Giant Bust Of Edward Snowden Erected In A Brooklyn Park
The New York City police department says its Intelligence Division is investigating a giant sculpture of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden that was installed in a Brooklyn park early Monday morning sometime in April.
Click the image above to read more about this National Art happening.
How do those artists do it? Well……
A Loco – l Art Happening – 2015
Time to wet your bristle?
How to see tone – advice for artists – 2015
Where’s is your darkest area? Your lightest areas? Your midtones?
Did you see the difference?
Colour matching is often second nature to artists but judging tone can be far more difficult. Siân Dudley offers some great ways to understand tone and stop your paintings looking flat.
Due to the vagaries of the English language, ‘tone’ is an often misunderstood word, especially when used by artists, yet its meaning is very straightforward.
Tone simply refers to how light or dark a colour appears to be. The importance of using the correct tonal qualities in a painting should not be underestimated.
Get it wrong and your painting will appear to be flat and lifeless; get it right and your work will sing! In representational painting, tone is essential in creating the illusion of form, space and depth; in more abstract paintings, tonal variations can be used very effectively to lead the eye around the work, creating movement and excitement.
Yet the simplicity of the meaning of the word belies the difficulties artists can experience in evaluating the tonal qualities of their subject matter. To accurately assess tone, one must temporarily ignore texture, shape, detail and even colour. This is much more easily said than done – thankfully, there are ways of making the job simpler.
Letting go of what we ‘know’ to be there is equally as important in evaluating tone as it is in drawing. Due to the phenomenon known as perceptual constancy, we can have difficulty in seeing what is actually in front of us. For example, in a room in which all the walls are painted the same colour we are aware that walls in shadow appear to be darker in colour than walls in bright sunlight.
However, because we know that the paint on the walls is all the same colour we have a tendency to under-estimate the difference. In addition, there are certain colours we perceive to be either dark (e.g. black, brown or purple) or light (e.g. white, pink or yellow).
Be certain that you are not confusing colour and tone. In certain light, a dark colour may need to be rendered as almost white in your painting; consider the shine on a conker. Similarly, the petal of a white flower may need to be rendered a very dark grey when seen in shadow. Our perception is so strong that even when you have discerned the need to use these tones, it can take courage to apply them to the painting.
Compare this colour photograph of the telephone box with the black and white version below. Notice how the bright red box stands out here, yet actually appears to have a very similar tonal value to the brick wall when we see it in black and white
Artists need to overcome this if they are to use the correct tone in their painting. So, how do we learn to see what is there, rather than what we know to be there?
What follows are a few tips for learning to evaluate the tonal variation within your subject, some of which may be familiar to you.
• Try squinting through your eyelashes. This will effectively reduce the mid-tones, leaving only the darks and lights. I use this method to assess where the very brightest brights and the darkest darks are, but I’m not a great fan of looking at things with my eyes shut. I find it OK as a method of giving myself an overview, but it hinders my ability to define the subtleties of the mid-tones.
• A digital camera can be a very useful tool Firstly, look to see if it has an option to view the LCD screen in black and white. If so, set the camera to this option when viewing your subject. This is a particularly easy way of viewing your subject in terms of tonal values, removing the confusing issue of colour. By adjusting the exposure on your camera (EV compensation) you can alter the difference between the light and dark areas. While this may not give you a great reference photo, comparing the camera’s settings can raise your awareness of tonal variations.
• Take a black and white photo of your subject While I would not advocate using a photo instead of observational sketches, used alongside each other they can be extremely useful. If your camera does not have an option to take black and white photos, simply print in greyscale or photocopy it.
• Compare colour with black and white You may find you have some surprises in that what you perceived to be a dark colour may actually have a high tonal value. Using a photograph for this avoids having to battle with changing light conditions.
If your painting is still looking flat, the chances are that the tonal values are incorrect. Try any of the above methods to view your picture in monotone. It will quickly become obvious where you need to lighten or darken your picture. Do this as your painting progresses, giving yourself plenty of opportunity to make adjustments. When using a camera and photographs like this, do not forget to keep looking back and comparing what you see through the camera with what is in front of you. Over time, you will learn to see the tonal values without the aid of the camera.
The Author
Siân Dudley
Respect & Honor This Home – 2015
It may be all you really enjoy!
Arteide with Estrela Cadente
Mâna Grijulie – Elveția
Paint with Passion!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Time to Blow our Horn!
We hope you all enjoy our community chalk event being offered in Prescott on the weekend of the 18th & 19th of April. The Frame & I and the Art Store donated all the chalk for the event.
