Critique and Demo and Oregon Society of Artists

Friday, March 19, 2010
Last night I attended a demo by Paul Missal at Oregon Society of Artists. He did a pencil drawing of a nude model using two graphite pencils in both hands. It was magical to see how the drawing came together as he rapidly orchestrated the pencils over the paper. That's what his movements reminded me of - a conductor waving his "wands" and creating a tone, a tempo, a balance of lines from which to choose as he refined the drawing. At one point, he put his pencils down and picked up a simple Pink Pearl eraser and skillfully (but with some abandon) scrubbed in all directions over the pencil lines. I had never seen anyone work this way and I felt his sense of confidence and freedom as he created a rather traditional image, with a rather non-traditional approach. It was a great demo.

Earlier in the evening, Steve Keiser critiqued members' paintings that had been brought to the meeting for that purpose. I submitted the two plein air images above, which I did last year at a Cannon Beach workshop with Mitch Baird. Steve liked the composition of the bottom image and my use of cool blue hues in the shadows of the large rock formation. He suggested the composition in the top image created a problem because there was nothing on the left side to balance the imagery on the right. What do you think of these two paintings?

Tomorrow is our third Saturday morning "Breakfast in the Gallery" event. Brenda Boylan will be sharing her mastery of pastel painting and I will demo basic watercolor techniques. Free coffee and pastries from Beaverton Bakery will be on hand for you to enjoy as you browse the gallery and observe the demonstrations. This event takes place each Saturday during March from 9-11 a.m. at Amato's Fine Art Gallery, 12320 1st Street, Beaverton (503.601.3300).

Amato's is open weekdays from 9 to 5, and Saturdays 9 to 4. It exhibits artwork by sixteen award-winning local artists. Hope you can stop by.

The sun is shining - hope you have a great day!