Meeting Mary Whyte

Mary Whyte’s exhibition “A Portrait of Us”  opened this past weekend at the Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando, Florida. Iwas beyond excited to see her work in person, since I’m a big admirer and have read most of her books, (see book reviews here),  but then to meet her during a gallery talk on Saturday was an incredible opportunity!

Mary is the nicest and most beautiful person as her paintings are stunning.  She shared a bit about her background and how she came to paint the Gullah womenon John’s Island in South Carolina, as well as a brief story and sometimes a bit of technical insight on every painting in the exhibition.  In addition her husbandSmith Coleman, Smitty, was there to discuss how he complements her work with the frames he hand makes, and the process that goes into carving and finishing the frames to enhance the paintings even farther. All of Mary's paintings were framed by frames made by Smitty.  The frames as well as the work were absolutely beautiful.

Mary Discussing the Model from the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus

Knowing the stories and the thought process that went into each work gave me an even bigger appreciation of what I was seeing. It was such a unique opportunity to experience the artists giving a narrative of every piece in the show!   I loved one thing Mary said when discussing her work and that was, “What do you want the piece to say, and then how can say more.”  Something to keep in the back of my head while composing and  painting my own work.

Mary talks about how she composed these two works and the stories behind them.

The show will be running from now until January 3, 2016.  I plan to go back again since I know I will have a different experience another time.  This show is not to be missed especially for artists who paint in watercolor!

---

From John Lasseter to Vivienne Westwood

This past weekend was the graduation for SCAD seniors and grad students and they had the lucky fortune to have John Lasseter from the Walt Disney Company and Pixar giving the commencement address.  And, it  was my good fortune to attend!  He gave a very heart warming speech looking back on his career getting his degree at Cal Arts, working at Disney early on, only to be fired for not "fitting in" at the time.  Then  meeting Ed Catmull, founding Pixar and working with Steve Jobs.  John is adamant about animation being for everyone!  He shared a story of a well-worn Woody doll being sent to him from the folks at Walt Disney World after it had been turned in at guest relations because the boy who owned it was getting a new one to replace the old one and felt the "old" Woody should retire at Walt Disney World.  John was clearly emotional realizing that a character and wonderfully told story can touch peoples lives in more ways than one can imagine.  Just because the media happens to be animation or as some would call them cartoons, it can be ever so meaningful to so many! Especially to the boy who would watch cartoons everyday after school, realize he could create them for a living then become the chief creative officer at Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Toon Studios and the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering!

Cirque du Soleil Performers and Confetti for the Grand Finale at the SCAD Graduation Ceremony

Then later in the afternoon I made a return visit to the SCAD Museum of Art to see the newly installed Vivienne Westwood exhibition, Dress Up Story-1990 Until Now  in conjunction with the annual SCAD Fashion Show 2015. The André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Westwood in recognition of her achievements and legacy in fashion.  Talley curated the exhibition.  Selections from SCAD Museum of Art’s  collection of British and American paintings hung salon-style creating a wonderful backdrop for  Westwood’s designs.

Since I am a knitter and also crochet I can appreciate the work that went into this!

This one too!

And the socks to go with it!

All hand done!

Thank you Dame Vivienne for such beautiful and inspiring designs!

---

The Florida Watercolor Society Convention & Myrna Wacknov Workshop

It’s been a busy few weeks!  We moved our daughter back to college and the day after I drove to South Florida for the Florida Watercolor Society Convention.  This three day event is one of the highlights of my whole year.  If you would like to know more about the convention you can read last year’s post here.  Aside from the wonderful demo’s, done by some of the most talented artists working in watercolor today, and the Trade Show where great deals on supplies are always to be had, which can be a bit dangerous, the highlight is always seeing friends and meeting new ones!

This year I also took a workshop with one of the two instructors that are invited to do a four day workshop prior to the convention.  One of the instructors is the judge for the annual exhibition, this years judge was Frank Webb.  He is a Dolphin Fellow of AWS, American Watercolor Society, and turned 90 last week!  The other instructor was Myrna Wacknov.  I have followed Myrna’s blog for a number of years and admire and appreciate her style and techniques, many of which are considered “out of the box” for traditional watercolorists.  That is what I love about her work, I like the “there are no rules” in watercolor approach.

Notan selfie created on my iPad

We started the week by learning about some apps that can be used on the iPad to manipulate photos, to use for reference photos for our paintings.  The main one was Photoshop Touch, which is essentially a scaled down version of Photoshop you can use on a digital device.  I often use Photoshop on the computer to design and compose paintings, which I then paintfrom on my iPad.  I like knowing now that I can do some things directly on the iPad.

We took selfies and the manipulated the photos in Photoshop Touch to create a Notan and some grey scale images which were used as the reference for the three paintings we did, focusing on shape, line, and value.

Collaging over painting done in life drawing session.  Sorry Stephanie!

Selfie over mid tone collage background.

The first painting was done by creating collage papers in a plethora of ways to use as a mid tone valued background for the selfie (self portrait) on top.  I could see where this collage paper making could become an addiction!  I don’t do much figurative work other than life drawing once a week.  So between that and all the other surfaces we created to paint on, I was way beyond my comfort level, but it was a blast!

Selfie on Yupo

The second painting was done on Yupo which is a synthetic paper.  I had never used this before and can take some getting used to.  I’m not a convert, but could see painting on this occasionally and experimenting with it a bit more.  I think artists that like hot press paper like this surface, the paint stays and sloshes around on the top and doesn’t really soak into the paper. I’m a cold press kinda gal.  A few artists that I feel are very successful with Yupo are Julie Ford Oliver, Helen Beacham, Taylor Ikin and Carol Ann Sherman.

Selfie done on textured gesso surface over ink drawing.

The third painting was done by creating a textured Gesso surface to paint on, and then using line by emphasizing the face with a line drawing with ink before painting.  It was funny with all the supplies I packed for this workshop, I felt I was bringingmost of my studio, I didn’t bring a quill pen or an oiler boiler (plastic bottle with a fine needle tip)  to draw with.  I improvised by using a black Prismacolor Pencil and dipped it into my ink bottle like a crow quill pen.  Thisone ended up being a sort of stylized version of me.

The two paintings aside from the Yupo were done on older watercolors, sketches from life drawings or dogs from the drawer.  With these techniques you would never throw away old paintings or paper, but would recycle them into new work! One of the many, take aways I got from this workshop.  With the limited amount of time to do so many things, I don’t feel these are quite finished but are good starts that still need some tweaking.  This was my first attempt at doing self portraiture so overall I’m pretty pleased with the likeness!  If you ever have a chance to take a workshop with Myrna don’t miss it.  She is a wonderful, engaging teacher and you learn things that go beyond the ordinary in watercolor that may take your work to a new level.

Myrna's demonstrations from the workshop:

---

Birth of Impressionism and the Musee Marmottan Monet in Paris

Ahhhh April in Paris!  What a better month to hold an art exhibition. On this day exactly one hundred and forty years ago was an exhibition that changed the art world forever.

On April 15, 1874 a small group of artists put together a small independent art show to buck the establishment of academic painters and salons.  This exhibition led by artists Claude Monet featured other works by, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Berthe Morisot.  They called themselves the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptures, etc.

It wasn’t untilfrench art critique Louis Leroy entitled his nasty, scathing critique in a french newspaper, “Exhibition of Impressionists”  for which one particular painting by Claude Monet inspired this title, that the group would eventually be coined the “Impressionists.”   It was his, Impression: Sunrise.

When I lived in Paris I was so fortunate to see this painting many times as well as other works by Monet, Renoir and Morisot at the Musée Mormottan Monet, which is in the 16th arrondissement only a few blocks from where I lived.  Originally a hunting lodge on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, it is a gem of a museum.  It has been bequeathed with many beautiful works of art over the years, most notably in 1966, Michel Monet’s collection of works inherited from his father.

What I love about Monet’scollection here is there are works that seem to be works in progress and those that weredone during his later years when he was afflicted with cataracts.  With these one can get a sense of his painting process. And the color palette from the cataract years is much warmer with golds and yellows,  not typically Monet but are gorgeous.

It wasn’t until the third exhibition by these plus other independent artists that they gave in and officially called them selves “Impressionists.”

Today on the birthday of this major art movement I wanted to pay homage to the “Artists Independent” who later became known as “Impressionists,”  the painting that coined the term, and the Museum where it currently residues!

A side note, Impression: Sunrise was stolen from the Musée Marmottan Monet in 1985, recovered in 1990 and has been back on display since 1991.

These are the artists that participated in the first Impressionist Exhibition:

• Zacharie Astruc

• Antoine-Ferdinand Attendu

• Édouard Béliard

• Eugène Boudin

• Félix Braquemond

• Édouard Brandon

• Pierre-Isidore Bureau

• Adolphe-Félix Cals

• Paul Cézanne

• Gustave Colin

• Louis Debras

• Edgar Degas

• Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin

• Louis LaTouche

• Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic

• Stanislas Lepine

• Jean-Baptiste-Léopold Levert

• Alfred Meyer

• Auguste De Molins

• Claude Monet

• Mademoiselle Berthe Morisot

• Mulot-Durivage

• Joseph DeNittis

• Auguste-Louis-Marie Ottin

• Léon-Auguste Ottin

• Camille Pissarro

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir

• Stanislas-Henri Rouart

• Léopold Robert

---

Art-O-Mat® in Savannah Georgia

In a recent post on Dustin Yellin’s Triptych at the SCAD Museum of Art. I mentioned I was going to blog about another art installation I came across that weekend I was in Savannah.  I had read about these off and on over the years but had never come across one in person until the day I was in Sylvester & Co., at 205 W. Broughton St., Savannah, Georgia.    What on earth am I talking about?  Art-O-Mat® of course.  You might ask what in the h#*$% is an Art-O-Mat®?

Art-O-Mat® is one of the most brilliant ideas for re-purposing I have ever come across.  They are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to dispense art instead of cancer sticks cigarettes.  This concept was created by artist Clark Whittington who built the first Art-O-Mat® for a solo show in 1997.  It was installed with his work mounted on blocks the size of a pack of cigarettes and sold for $1.00 each.

When the show was over, instead of dismantling the machine a group of artists formed the AIC Artists in Cellophane group, which is the sponsoring organization for the Art-O-Mats® today.  There are over 100 active machines in various locations across the county.

There are over 400 contributing artists from 10 different countries that supply the art for the machines.  Artwork can be in all different mediums, from ceramics to photography, painting, drawing, jewelry, etc.  When you walk up to the machine you can kind of get an idea of what you might get by peeking through the front display glass.  But some pieces are in boxes, rather than mounted on blocks.  So you know the name of the artist, and the media, or sometimes the subject matter of the work but that’s it.  Therefore, it’s akin to the prize in the Cracker Jack Box!

This is how it works, you buy a token magic coin for $5.00 at the establishment that has the Art-O-Mat® and you use the magic coin to get your art.  Put the coin in the machine, pull the handle and your masterpiece falls into the tray at the bottom.  It’s really fun when you do it with a group of people because you all have to see what everybody got.

I was very happy with mine.  I chose the work of ceramist Noelle Horsfield. It’s a cigarette box sized tile with a blue and brown glaze.  I can’t tell what the motif is but it reminds me of Japanese ceramics.  My daughter also chose a piece by Noelle and her tile had a tree of life motif.

I am so intrigued by the Art-O-Mat® , it will became an addiction (no pun intended) each time I see one.  If you haven’t clicked on the link already to visit the Art-O-Mat® web site you can click here.  It features photos of all the machines, gives the locations of where they all are across the country, and you can preview the work of the artists who participate.  There is also information on how you could become an Art-O-Mat® artist.

So go to the site and visit your nearest Art-O-Mat®.  Feel free to post a comment here or a photo of your treasure on my Facebook page.  And the best thing is…. it won’t come with a warning from the Surgeon General so you can have as many as you want!

---

Happy Birthday to.... My Blog and a Giclée Print Giveaway

A Giclée print of this painting can be yours!  Please enter the giveaway by leaving a comment on this blog post.

I honestly can’t believe it has been one year since I started my blog!  Where has the time gone? After many years of toying with the idea of starting a blog, I finally went for it a year ago this week.  I first discovered art blogs, that were mostly part of the daily painters movement right after I moved to Hong Kong in 2007.  Many artists I followed then are still blogging today, Belinda Del Pesco, Carol Marine, Karen Jurick, Katherine Tyrrell’s, Making a Mark, and Laura Frankstone of Laurelines to name a few.  I guess I was what you call a lurker, I didn’t comment very much but I was so grateful for that time with my morning tea to read what other artist were doing, and feel a connection to the US, living so far from home.  At that time Facebook wasn’t nearly what it is today, therefore following blogs was the only way to make connections with other artists.

One day while searching through blog roles, pre Facebook, I found a former Walt Disney Imagineering colleague, Marcelo Vignali and connected with him.  He told me, “You have to do a blog, it’s great! It’s a great chance to connect with and meet people.”  I’m somewhat of a shy private person, so it took me a while to finally relent and put myself out on the blogoshere. I told myself if I were to do one, I would commit to it and at least do one post a week and I’m happy to say I’ve fallen in somewhat of a routine of doing two when I can.  I didn’t want it to be a big pressure, so I post what ever I’m in the mood to show or say, with the general idea of featuring my work, talk about some of the processes, impart knowledge that will help other artists, and give those who like my work a chance to get to know me better.   I love movies, books, travel, museums, and to talk about artists whom I find inspiring. I’ve enjoyed the past year sharing my watercolor sketches from my travels.  So far that’s been the direction of my blog, but who knows what else is lurking around the corner.  As long as I enjoy doing the blog and there are people who enjoy reading it I will do it.

Now Facebook seems to be more prevalent than blogging.  Is blogging becoming a dying art?  I hope not.  I’d like to think there are still those that like to read and enjoy what other artists have to say rather than quickly scrolling through the news feed on Facebook.

I hope all that are following me on this blogging journey have enjoyed what I have shown and shared. It’s hard to really know how much of a following there is, but like many things, it takes time to incubate and grow!  If you know of others you feel would enjoy it please pass on the link!

To celebrate the one year anniversary of my blog, I am giving away a giclée print of my painting Poppies.  All you have to do is leave a comment on today’s post and you will be eligible!  I recently received in the mail a lovely giclée print from blogging friend, Julie Ford Oliver, from a giveaway she did recently to start off the new year!  I may follow her lead and let my husband, who is also a designer and artist, choose the winner from the comments, or do a random drawing.

A sincere thank you to all and hope you continue to enjoy and find some inspiration visiting my blog!!

---

Today is for The Birds and Good Fortune

I have been an admirer of fellow artist Julie Ford Oliver’s work for a while now.  Although we have never met in person, we are friends in the blog-o-sphere and on Facebook.  Recently she had a giveaway on her blog for one of her small original oils of a beautiful bird's nest and feather.  Last year she had show featuring many wonderfulworks in oils and watercolor with a birds nest theme. I wish I could have seen it in person.  Although, I didn’t win the original painting, I found out today that I did win a giclée print!  I’m so thrilled and can’t wait to receive it.

Owl in my neighbor's tree

I had a giveaway in December to thank all of my email and newsletter subscribers,  for any giclée print on my web site.  The winner for my giveaway happened to be one of my neighbors.  As I was delivering her print today, I heard the family of owls, living in my neighborhood,  communicating with each other. I usually only hear them at night.  The owl happened to be in the tree directly above where I was walking.  It is always a treat to see these beautiful creatures, especially in the day time!

So today seems to be about good fortune, birds and giclée prints.  The start of the new year has brought me many good fortunes so far. Right after the new year, I found out that two of my paintings, Lotus Nocturne and Bananas on Japanese Box had been juried in to the Third Annual Women Painters of the Southeast Exhibition. Last week, I was the lucky recipient of a drawing for a demo painting from friend andFlorida artist Dana Daydodge, at the Central Florida Watercolor Society meeting.  A day later I got an e-mail that I had won a free chair massage at our local Whole Foods!  Hmmmmm maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket!

---

"An Affair of the Art, 2013" to Benefit Ryman Arts

Hong Kong Happy Hour

$175.00

Price Includes Shipping

Limited Edition Archival Print Giclée Signed and Numbered, Edition of 300

Original Painting is SOLD.

Image Size:  12” x 18,” (30.5 cm x 46 cm)

Quantity:

Purchase

Available at "An Affair of the Art, 2013"

I was invited to be a participating artist in “An Affair of the Art 2013,” to benefit Ryman Arts,  which takes place this Saturday.  I attended this event every year when I worked at Walt Disney Imagineering.

www.kimminichiello.com

Available at "An Affair of the Art, 2013"

Named after Artist, Designer and Mentor,  Herbert D. Ryman, Ryman Arts teaches skills in art and life to teens in a nurturing studio environment.  High school students interested in pursuing a career in art can take classes and get guidance to help them prepare for college and a creative career in the arts.  The program is free to any student based on their ability and commitment, without regard to their families financial status.

Herbert D. Ryman or Herbie to those Imagineers who had the fortunate opportunity to know and work with him, created the first overall illustration of Disneyland, as Walt described it to him.  This illustration was used to pitch the concept to get funding for the construction of Disneyland.  Herbie worked on every Disney theme park until his death in 1989.

Hong Kong Gatekeeper, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 6" x 6"

Available at "An Affair of the Art, 2013"

The Affair of the Art, is hosted by two of the foundersof Ryman Arts, Leah and Marty Sklar in their home in Southern California, mid September 2013. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of all the art in the show, will go toward Ryman Arts.   Marty was head writer for Walt Disney, and was the head of Walt Disney Imagineering up until his recent retirement a few years ago.

 I'm extremely excited to be a part of this event and joining the company of many talented artists.  One other watercolor and print making artist, Belinda Del Pesco,  is also participating.  I am a great admirer of her work and have followed her blog since living in Hong Kong in 2007.Unfortunately I will now be attending but have many friends who will be my eyes and ears!  I hope the evening is a huge success to benefit this great organization!

For more information on Herb Ryman click here.

For more information on Ryman Arts click here.

For ticket information click here.

To preview the artwork in the show click here.

To preview silent auction items click here.

---

Artists That Inspire: R. Tom Gilleon

I have been wanting to do a new feature category on my blog, “Artists That Inspire.”  When I lived in Paris, I had the fortunate opportunity to visit many museums and special exhibits in France and throughout Europe.  I’ve been wanting to share some of those experiences as well as feature artists whose work I admire and inspire me that are working today.  So without further adieu.... today I am featuring a good friend R. Tom Gilleon.

I know Tom through working at Disney.  Tom was born in Florida, his grandmother was a full blood Cherokee Indian.  After playing baseball on a scholarship with the University of Florida and putting his dreams of becoming a professional base ball player aside, he worked as an illustrator for NASA’s Apollo Space Program.  Later he want freelance and eventually worked as an illustrator for Walt Disney World designing and doing conceptualsketches for the Florida theme parks.  This eventually led to his move to California to work with Walt Disney Imagineering, where he was involved with the planning and design of Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneylandand Disneyland Paris.

During the 1980’s he and his wife Laurie, also an accomplished artist, went to Montana for an outdoor painting workshop, fell in love with it and moved there. He has lived and worked in Montana ever since.   Tom’s work encompasses the West with landscapes, Native American imagery and his iconic Tee Pees, all with a freshness of color and innovative compositions.   His work appeals to many collectors.  Even though his subject matter is traditional, he represents these images with an almost contemporary feel with his use of color, composition and brush work.   I have admired his work for years and am proud to say I own a couple of his paintings.

Tom at his easel (image via Tom Gilleon's web site)

I am also honored to know this living artist who this year has had two one man museum retrospectives of his work.  Last year at the Booth Museum of Western Art in Cartersville, Georgia, and opening August 16, 2013 “Let Icons Be Icons” opening at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls Montana.  Way to go Tom!!

For more information on Tom and his work please visit his web site by clicking here.

P.S. For a good laugh check out the BS section on his site. :-)

---

Movie: Beauty is Embarrassing, The Wayne White Story

Working at Disney and living in southern California in the late 80’s, I didn’t know anyone who wasn’t intrigued by or didn’t watch Pee Wee’s Playhouse.  Personally I didn’t miss it.  Just the quirkiness and the design of the set alone had me hooked.  A lot of that had to do with the artist who is featured in the movie, Beauty is Embarrassing, The Wayne White Story.  Wayne is a multi talented artist, and won a number of Emmy’s for his design work and puppetry on Pee Wee’s Playhouse.

The film is a documentary if you will on Wayne, his background and his journey as an artist.  I found his sense of humor and kookiness hysterical and his work in different mediums inspiring; painting, puppetry, sculpture, often using cardboard, discarded, and found objects.  He seems like such a playful artist and just does what he feels like is the flavor of the day.

Wayne is also known for his word paintings.  Taking discardedor thrift store art and creating phrases in colorful letters with colorful messages that, well let’s just say aren’tvery politically correct.  If you are offended by the “f” bomb, don’t watch.  If you are intrigued on how this country boy from Tennessee ended up in New York, landing a job with Paul Reubens on Pee Wee’s Playhouse, then moving to LA to continue to work on the show, win three Emmys, plus come into his own as an artist, then give it a try.    If you have Netflix you can stream it from the documentary section or rent it from iTunes.

You can also check our Wayne’s book, edited by designer Todd Oldham, Wayne White: Maybe Now I’ll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve.

---