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Showing posts from March, 2014

Learning new techniques for painting silk

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I am having a blast (and a bit of frustration) learning new techniques for painting on silk! At the retreat ( see previous post ), I learned more about the MS (Magic Sizing) method created by master-silk-painter Karen Sistek (A WONDERFUL TEACHER - I highly recommend taking a class or two or three from her if you decide you want to learn to paint silk!).  And after much discussion with my retreat-mates, I am also going to experiment with Pro Print Paste as a resist (for the Serti method which I already am using). My latest paintings (also can be seen in my gallery ) include a landscape and a magnolia painting done with the Serti method (using Resistad), and a poppy using the MS technique.  My next project is going to be an Iris using the MS method and a friend's adorable dog.  I'll post the pictures when I'm done.  Thanks for looking, and if you're interested in purchasing any of the paintings in my gallery, please send me an email! A View From The Ferry V2

Silk Painting Retreat with Sharon Shankland, Karen Sistek, and other fabulous artists!

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The Lovely Ladies of the Spring 2014 Silk Painting Retreat I just got back from a 4 day Silk Painting Retreat held at Fort Worden State Park by Sharon Shankland and Karen Sistek .   We had a WONDERFUL time and highly recommend attending a future retreat if you get the chance!!  Fort Worden is just outside of Port Townsend which is just a short drive and a ferry-ride away from Seattle.  Yup, that's me - painting my poppy I spent the majority of my time working on my painting - but I also spent some time exploring and finding inspirations for future art pieces (or for sketching in my art journal).   My poppy (unfinished) I painted a pink poppy using Karen's MS technique.  Thanks also to Suzy for her advice and encouragement to try new techniques including using dyeset while still working on the painting.  Puget Sound & Foothills (unfinished) This scene was painted using tradition

Derwent Academy Online Classes - a fun (and rewarding!) opportunity!

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I don't know if you've had a chance to look at Derwent Academy's website - but it is chock-a-block full of information! Derwent is a company located in the United Kingdom (Great Britain to exact!).  They make WONDERFUL fine-art pencils including: sketching pencils, sketch-wash pencils, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, Inktense pencils (which are a special kind of watercolor pencil), and a variety of other items. I recently found out that Derwent has an online academy - and that they have a rather fabulous offer for anyone who's interested in learning more about drawing/art skills.  They currently offer a 6-lesson class to anyone who is interested.  If you complete all 6 lessons successfully, they will send you a 18-piece set of their wonderful pencils!  GOTTA LOVE THAT!! All that is required is that you follow the general directions given (and they usually give you a choice of what or how to draw).  And that you submit a photo or scanned-image of your work t