Art Store’s Art Insider November Edition: Customer Appreciation Day, Artist: Anne Roberts, Mars Black Weekend

---

November Edition

~Mars Black Weekend is near

~ Classes suspended until January

~Local Artist Spotlight – Anne Roberts Remembrance

~Daniel Smith’s Serpentine mined Down Under!

~Creative father shows us what his son is really seeing

~Customer Appreciation Day

~Smooth Surface Painting: Samantha Williams-Chapelsky

~Art Therapy: How to stop the voices for one arist….

~James Castle’s art supplies found

---

Mars Black Weekend is almost here!

The Art Store has never had a Thanksgiving Day Sale nor have we ever offered a one-day holiday sale. We have however offered a low-key weekend that starts on the first day after Thanksgiving. This way our staff and customers can always give thanks with their friends and family.

Our Mars Black Weekend has not just a few items on sale but the entire store is on sale. Your entire receipt will be 25% off the MSRP of all items throughout the weekend. Even discounted items such as Art Store Pre-stretched Canvas, clearance brushes, clearance Winsor Newton professional oils & Richeson’s Premier Sanded Paper will be discounted an additional 25% off. The discounts will be applied at the sales counter.

Shop Small on the 26th of November. To view more details on how to work with American Express for great deals just click the image below:

---

Smooth Surface 2-pack Sampler – New to the Art Store!

This month we are happy to feature our Smooth Surface Holiday Bundle! This collection features a 9×12, 3/4″ cradled Claybord and a 9×12, 7/8″ cradled Artist Panel Primed Smooth and includes two FREE bottles of Golden High Flow Acrylic Paints – Indigo and Green Gold. If you haven’t had a chance to try these paints yet, this is a great opportunity to do so! When used with either one of our smooth surface panels, you will experience a pairing that is sure to inspire and delight!

---

Ampersand asked a few of their favorite artists who regularly use their panels and Golden High Flow to create some pieces and give us a little insight into their process to give you a little inspiration!

Their first Artist is Samantha Williams-Chapelsky from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Born paintbrush in-hand, at the ripe age of five Samantha won an Emily Carr young artist award for her work, ‘The House’. Since then – through her extensive education, experience and years spent studying Italian art in Tuscany – she has emerged as an internationally exhibited painter and sculptor. Currently a visual art instructor, Samantha teaches painting and sculpting methods in all mediums. From India to Italy, Scotland to New York, numerous galleries and more than 55 exhibitions have featured her vibrant collections.

Samantha has created a couple of wonderful pieces shown in the image above and has created the following step by step tutorial to show you how they were created.

The Supplies

• Ampersand Claybord
• Golden High Flow Indigo
• Golden High Flow Green Gold
• Golden Heavy Body Titanium White
• Golden Heavy Body Nickel Azo Yellow
• Golden Heavy Body Quinacridone Magenta
• Golden Polymer Medium Gloss
• Golden Fluid Bone Black
• Page protector sheet
• Assorted Brushes
• Fine line Applicator
• Lace Stencil 6” x 6”
• Empty Spray Bottle
• Water

The Steps

• Add 1 part water to 3 parts Golden High Flow Indigo and pour into a spray bottle.
• Place the stencil on Ampersand Claybord panel and spray the Golden High Flow mixture onto the panel to create a pattern.
• Fill the Fine Line applicator with Golden Fluid Bone Black paint.
• Using the sheet projector and a printed image, trace the image with the Fine Line pen.
• Let this image dry.
• Once the Fine Line drawing is dry, use Golden Heavy Body Titanium White, Golden Heavy Body Nickel Azo Yellow and Golden Heavy Body Quinacridone Magenta to colour in the image. This colour will create part of the skin and does not need to just be painted in the lines.
• Allow this to dry completely.
• Once image is completely dry, apply Golden Polymer Medium Gloss to create a skin on page protector sheet
• Allow the skin to dry completely
• To adhere the skin to the board support, apply a thin layer of Golden Polymer Medium Gloss
• Create a mixture of Golden High Flow Green Gold and Golden Heavy Body Titanium White and add highlights and details around the floral skin.
• Allow to dry

---

New to the Art Store

Golden Open Landscape  Set

OPEN Acrylics are a slow-drying paint with a slightly softer consistency than our Heavy Body paints. The increased working time of these colors expands their range to include more traditional techniques once only possible with oils. Thick applications can dry extremely slowly, so we recommend artists only use OPEN Colors thinly (< 1 mm). Drying time can also be accelerated by mixing OPEN with faster-drying acrylics like our Fluid and Heavy Body colors. The slow-drying capability of OPEN Acrylics also makes the suitable for some printmaking techniques.

Because OPEN Acrylics dry slowly, painters who cover their palettes or use sealed containers have been able to use the same colors for weeks, reducing the amount of paint wasted and preserving color mixtures for future use.

---

Upcoming Art Store Promotions

For November, the Art Store is offering a customer appreciation day on the 29th of November. On this day, we are lifting our one-per-day coupon usage of our register printed coupons*.

We are also offering a free pastel demo given by Don Rantz. This demo will be occurring in the morning of the 29th of November (Tuesday, 10am – 1pm). To register for this free demo, please email, call (443-0749) or stop by the store.

On the afternoon of the 29th of November, we are also offering to any registered student for November’s Pastel Class on Tuesdays to extend the usual four sessions in November to receive a free 5th session by attending this time slot (November 29th, 2:00pm – 5:00pm). The space is limited so please check in with us at the front counter or call us to register for this space.  You must be attending the November Pastel Class to register for this bonus time slot.

 

To view our entire schedule of classes and promotions for November, December & January, click the button below:

---

December Class Schedule

The studio space will be turned into an art material wonderland for the entire month of December. This event will be discontinuing classes and workshops during this month only. Classes and workshops will continue in the month of January.

---

Local Artist Spotlight – Anne Roberts

In Memory of

Anne Catherine Roberts

August 15, 1969 – November 9, 2016 (Age 47)

Anne Catherine Roberts, 47 of Cottonwood, passed away at home on November 9, 2016. She was born on August 15, 1969 in Fairfield, CA to Paul F. and Edith A. Woll. Anne attended Prescott High School and Yavapai College.

She worked for the Cottonwood Library, DDB Elementary Library, Healing Arts Therapist, Lions Eye Bank and as a picture framer. She did art and comic shows and obtained grants for Cottonwood Library. Anne loved being an organizer of arts and libraries. She was one of the founders of the 1st Annual Cottonwood Comicon. If you have enjoyed the illustrations in Cottonwood Public Library, many of these were done by Anne.

Anne belonged to Immaculate Conception Parish. Anne was a loving spouse, mother, hostess, artist, equestrian, retrouvaille, civil air patrol and a rough rider re-enactor. Anne is survived by her husband of 14 years, Daniel; sons Daniel-Paul Roberts of Cottonwood, Levi Robert of Ridgecrest, CA and Joshua Roberts of Prescott; daughter Kayley Roberts of Prescott; sister Ida Kendall (Keith) of Prescott and parents Paul and Edith Woll of Cottonwood.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, November 20 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm with Rosary at 7:00pm at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cottonwood. Mass will be held on Monday, November 21 at 10:00am also at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Cottonwood.

Contributions may be made to the Immaculate Conception Catholic School Library Fund, 700 N. Bill Gray Road, Cottonwood, AZ 86326. Soon to be renamed the Anne Roberts Memorial Library.

An online guestbook is available to sign at www.westcottfuneralhome.com

Anne Roberts was not only an artist but a teacher of the good arts. An avid reader she shared this passion with her library attendees. She used art, stories and history to teach others the best ways to live. She also tried her best to see the good in people everyday. Her family misses her very much but they will have a lot of good memories and art to remember her by.  – Keith K.

 

---

Tran’s Pencil Cases – A necessity for any artist

Why did you decide to go to the region to see where serpentine is mined?
“Just like artists, I have a curious nature. Over the years I have spoken to Bruce, my mineralogist, about mines, but I had never visited a serpentine mine. I have been to mines all over the world and find them and the miners that work in them fascinating. Miners have such a great knowledge of the earth and a passion that is contagious.”

Where is the serpentine mine you visited?
“The mine was located near Zeehan in the heart of Tasmania’s mineral belt on the Tasmanian West Coast.”  [Note: Tasmania is an Australian Island State, and the most southern part of Australia.]

What was the weather and the terrain like?
“We started off from Hobart on a very wet and cloudy day. The day became wetter by the hour until we were about one hour from Queenstown upon which it began to pour and didn’t stop until early the next day. The nights are very dark along the mountain roads we took and we missed some of the beautiful landscapes only to be recognized on our drive back from the mines to Hobart.”

Who are the people with you in the photo?
“Mike and Eleanor are the owners of the mines and two of about five people that remain in this once active town – now a ghost town.”

How long have they been there?
“They have been there quite a while. The town population was once 1300 people and now has about 5. There are train tracks and switching stations without trains – they were driven away when the mine closed. Eleanor has a museum where she puts items she finds around her home and the old (ghost) town. These dolls, toy cars and toys can be seen – all items from past inhabitants.”

Do they mine just for serpentine, or are there other minerals that are mined there too?
“They mine serpentine for the most part. Green serpentine with beautiful purple stichtite intrusions.”

Was it hard to get to the mine?
“Yes, it would tear apart most of the modern vehicles today. It was fascinating to watch Mike’s unique method of parking when he got out of the vehicle to open the gates. Mike would embed the front wheels of his truck deep into the ruts, try that with a non-military vehicle.”

Surface mine or underground?
“Surface mine.”

What was it like to be at the mine?
“Awesome. The serpentine mine is a large slab-vein that Mike follows. Mike uses excavators to uncover the debris left after dynamiting, which exposes the mineral. Some of the boulders weigh 1000’s of pounds. It was so interesting to be surrounded by a sea of green mineral.”

At the mine, what sizes of serpentine did you see?
“Washing machine size down to the size of dime. The size is dictated by the weight the vehicles can bring out, not by the size that can potentially be created in the mining process.”

Was the mineral mixed with other minerals or mostly pure serpentine?
“Serpentine is or can be mixed with stichtite or said to be stichtite on green serpentine. The stichtite gives the reddish cast.”

Did you pick up any of the serpentine mineral and look at it, what was that like?
“It looked very green. Some of the material was so dark it looked almost black.”

Did you show Mike and Eleanor a tube of Serpentine Genuine Watercolor?
“Yes, I did. I wanted them to see the beauty that is created from that mineral. They then showed me the carved pieces that they created from the serpentine.”

Did you show them what serpentine mineral looks like as paint?
“Yes, they thought it was very interesting that I create a paint from it.”

Did you take some serpentine back with you to DANIEL SMITH?
“Yes, several pieces.”

Any final thoughts about your visit to the mine that you would like to share with artists?
“It is a great feeling to challenge one’s self. Going to new places or trying new things, and this one was truly an Indiana Jones worthy adventure.”

 

---

Yavapai Genuine in watercolor and Sedona Red in Watercolor & Oil – New to the Art Store

Sedona Product Watercolor Description – For millennia, Sedona has ignited the imagination of every creative spirit fortunate enough to feel its dazzle. Tufts of sagebrush punctuate the ancient sea of sand in quiet counterpoint to the soaring red rock sentinels. With color purity cast from a desert crucible, red spires burst on a field of pure cerulean sky, humbling the observer in absolute wonder. This ethereal red connects us to the people who were first mesmerized by the region 11,000 years ago.

After our latest trip to the Southwest, we knew we had to create paint from Sedona’s rocks. Made with authentic rock from the Arizona desert, this timeless color-lightfast, richly pigmented and absolutely permanent-ties your work to the work of countless generations of southwestern artisans in a way that demands to be experienced. We went straight to the source for our newest, yet oldest, mineral pigment. We can now share the enchantment of the stone with you. Capture the awe, the intensity and the magic of Sedona.

• ASTM Lightfastness Rating: Excellent
• Transparency: Semi-transparent
• Granulating: Yes
• Staining: Non-staining

Apache legend speaks of a single dove that left the edge of the original well and saw the world. When the great floods came, this dove led the first woman to the safety of the Yavapai. Today, the enfolding security of the Yavapai stone provides a sentimental glimpse through time. The endurance of the stone symbolizes the endurance of the human spirit. The mellow color remains unchanged.

Made from Arizona rock, Yavapai Genuine is semi-transparent, with a surprisingly smooth texture in washes. This legendary pigment can link your palette to the indomitable past and the bright possibilities of the future. We’ve captured the strength of the Yavapai in an historic mineral pigment that exemplifies the perpetual energy of art.

• ASTM Lightfastness Rating: Excellent
• Transparency: Transparent
• Granulating: Yes
• Staining: Non-staining

---

 New to the Art Store – Easy Marble from Marabu

Create striking marble effects in just seconds with Marabu Easy Marble.

Designed to cover everything from plastic to wood, Easy Marble paints are lightfast and quick-drying. They work particularly well on 3-D objects, including candles and decorative eggs. Simply drip the colors into water, dip your item, and you’re done! You’ll get a new, surprising marble design every time.

Use Marabu Easy Marble Paint to create colorful marbling on glass, wood, candles, papier mâché, polystyrene, plastic, metal, paper, eggs, and more. Easy Marble also works on many fabrics (for decorative purposes only). The high-quality, weatherproof paints are made in Germany with organic solvents.

 

---

 

---

Exhibit Explores the Art Beneath the Painting

The Unvarnished Truth art exhibition has revealed materials used in famous paintings.

THUNDER BAY, ON: A group of researchers are analyzing materials used in famous works of art.

A team of nearly 10 researchers have brought together unique discoveries after analyzing the artwork of nine historical paintings from the collection of the McMaster Museum of Art.

Drawing on a range of expertise, The Unvarnished Truth art exhibition focuses on themes such as painting techniques, materials, attribution, connoisseurship and issues of object condition and stability.

Research Associate Brandi Lee MacDonald said the team got together as a group, and decided to undertake some analysis of some paintings using nondestructive techniques in radiation physics.

“We learned a lot of different things that goes into each individual painting,” Macdonald said.

“When you come into the gallery and see the works that have been selected they were chosen for different reasons.”

MacDonald added that the research was based on different historical art questions related to the paintings, which included questions regarding attribution, authenticity, condition and stabilization.

Some of the research involved learning about the painting’s pigment composition, which would allow for repairs on the paintings in the future.

She said the gallery will give people an opportunity to see the paintings that were analyzed along with information on the different types of analysis.

“We found it important to emphasize on the process, the scientific process behind how we actually came to know these things about the paintings,” MacDonald said.

“One really interesting example you will see in the gallery is the use of infrared imaging to look at underdrawings of paintings to be able to see for the first time in hundreds of years how some of these paintings looked as original drawings.”

This technique shows the artist’s technique, and how the artist originated the design of the painting.

The paintings selected for the project span across more than 50 years of European art history.

MacDonald said they discovered some differences throughout the paintings particularly in the pigments as the pigment chemistry changes over time as they get manufactured, and refined.

The artist’s materials have changed over hundreds of years, and that was one of the most apparent differences between some of the earlier and later paintings analyzed by the researchers.

MacDonald said the exhibition’s idea come from the Vincent von Gogh painting.

“I was working with students who were learning how to take X-rays in medicine, and I thought to bring over a painting and see if we could see a painting underneath,” she said.

“There are some things that you can see, and if you come into the gallery you’ll get a glimpse of what we were able to discover.”

MacDonald said the most difficult part of the process was picking what to include in the exhibition.

The researchers chose paintings based on how they highlighted the different techniques that were used and how the different techniques were able to answer specific historical art questions. tbnewswatch

 

---

Why Art? Why Not!

Arts improve healthcare. Nearly one-half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and even staff. 78 percent deliver these programs because of their healing benefits to patients- shorter hospital stays, better pain management, and less medication. From americansforthearts.org

---

Art Therapy Has Helped Me Defeat the Voices
That Tell Me I’m Not Good Enough To Be Alive

When I was young enough to cold-shoulder the world’s opinions of me, I was a pint-sized, self-proclaimed artiste. I white-knuckled my briefcase art set wherever I went. My mom knew better than to try stopping me from finger painting the underside of every countertop in the house. My class notes were peppered with curly q’s and gel pen scribbles and ambling doodles. But then the colors dulled, the brushstrokes faded, and I walked away from the proverbial easel for over a decade.

My delusions of artistic grandeur were dashed when I was rejected from an honors art class in elementary school. I’d spent weeks poring over a portfolio of horse sketches and landscape paintings and mixed media collages, all to be spurned from the exclusive club I most desperately wanted to be part of. Delivering the final emotional haymaker was a ruthless “queen bee,” who marched up to me, freshly shunned and teary eyed, to sneer, “I’m glad you didn’t make it into the program.”

I retreated home crestfallen and gathered all my art supplies – bold pastels, shards of charcoal, acrylic paints, oil crayons — and hurled them in the curbside trashcan. My latent insecurities regarding my worthiness, my talent, and my purpose had invaded my waking life, so black-and-white it would be.

The world was no longer my blank canvas — it was barely mine at all.

Let’s flash forward a dozen years. I’m 23 years old, succumbing to regular panic attacks and nose-diving into depression I had briefly wielded off with overworking and hard partying. I attend weekly talk therapy sessions and my primary care physician begins a conversation about unbalanced brain chemistry and fear of an impending breakdown. As a Hail Mary to avoid the prescription pad, he suggests that I channel my various strains of trauma through a creative outlet. And so begins my foray into art therapy.

Thanks to me not dozing off in AP Psychology and a few mental health advocate Instagram friends, I was casually familiar with art therapy and knew it had become a burgeoning phenomenon in its own sect of academia. Psychology Today has devoted an entire corner of its website to the benefits and literature supporting art therapy, and National Geographic delved into how art therapy helps life during wartime. The late, great Oliver Sacks, a famed neurologist and essayist, devoted an entire book to the therapeutic qualities of music. Art saves people, and I was willing to put my heart — and my work — at the altar for another chance at piecing my life back together. YAHOO!

 

---

Dad Turns His 6-Year-Old Son’s Drawings Into Reality And The Results Are Both Creepy And Hilarious

 

---

 

 

 

---

Where do you see art in your world?

 

---

---

 

---

Speedball Calligraphy Fountain Pens and Sets – New to the Art Store

 

---

After 70 years of Helping Paint the Town, Askew-Taylor is Closing

RALEIGH, NC: Askew-Taylor Paints, a family-owned business that has provided paint and art supplies to generations of customers who considered the Glenwood South store a Raleigh institution, is going out of business.

Kirk Taylor, the 74-year-old owner whose grandfather and father founded the store on Glenwood Avenue 70 years ago, said he’ll miss interacting with customers – especially the students full of fresh ideas – but it’s time for him to retire……..

As a small business owner, I can only stress that you have to support your local wanted services and stores. Without your support will just fade away. – Keith K

 

---

New to the Art Store – Milan’s Battery Operated Eraser w/ink eraser refills

An electric eraser of ergonomic design. Contents: 1 electric eraser, 7 graphite erasers, 4 ink erasers and 2 batteries AAA 1,5V. How to use: push the button, press lightly with the eraser on the area to be erased (an excessive pressure will stop the rotation of the eraser).

Colored pencil can be removed with the white erasers mostly. For resistant staining colors, you need to use the ink erasers as to sand the paper off slightly. These are sold in refills in aseparate pack as shown above. – Keith K.

 

---

Time for Hern Blowin’

Yavapai Big Brother – Big Sister received a donation of art materials from the Art Store for their annual auction event. See event details below & click on the poster if you are interested in attending: