Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Tomorrow night The Boys of Summer: Art Meets Baseball opens at The Tech Garden in Syracuse.
And once again I find myself unable to attend an art reception due to another art commitment. But such is the life of a working artist. No offer to teach, or demonstrate my art form goes ignored if I can help it. Especially when much of my subject matter and sales revolve around summer along the woodlands and waterways of  Northern New York. The summer and tourist season here is roughly 10 weeks and I cram everything I can into that short time.

And when the season is over I'm back to teaching, marketing and preparing for the next summer.

So what does that have to do with "The Painter's Glove"? Well baseball is a big part of summer. But that's not why I chose this subject matter. Two reasons determined this choice: the baseball show (mentioned above) and I needed something different from my usual subject matter to use with my painting students at the Y Arts Studio. I was scheduled to teach an acrylic painting class in Spring 2015. I wanted to paint something from life, something I could set up in the studio at the Y and even drag back and forth to my home studio if I needed to. So the glove was just lying around in the garage and I thought why not give it a moment of glory!

Finding the Color

As a landscape painter I naturally gravitate toward specific subject matter: land, sky, water. But as a teacher I must approach many different types of subject matter and styles of painting and try to merge them with my own particular style.

For me, color, pure joyful color, is paramount. When working with students I try to encourage them to use color in an expressive mode, rather than being bound to reproducing an exact replica of the color of the object in front of them. Light, shadow, form and shape are defined by color values (lights, darks, neutrals) rather than mixing various shades of the local color.

So, with the baseball glove being primarily brown, brown and brown (hmmm sounds like a law firm) the joy in painting is in finding the values within the browns and painting them with colors which have the same value, not necessarily the same color.

Start With An Underpainting

When I work with acrylic paint I always start with an underpainting using complementary colors. Complements are colors which are opposite each other on the color wheel. Complements add a nice sense of depth when used underneath a color. They also lend a bit of dramatic surface tension when bits of the complement are visible under the local color.

It can be tricky trying to determine the complement for brown. I usually think of brown as being a darker version of orange and so go to blue as its opposite.

For the baseball glove underpainting I mixed 3 or 4 shades of blue in values ranging from dark to light. As the paint mixed on the canvas, more colors were created. The glove was painted roughly, with very little detail in the values of blue which corresponded to the light, medium and dark areas of the glove.

I also used a palette knife to add some thick rough textures in the paint to play up the beaten up quality of the glove.

When the local color was added by using various shades of orange, yellow, brown, purple and blue, I let the rough texture pick up bits of the colors as they hit the high spots within the roughness. I also used large brushes to keep me from getting too detailed.

When I was satisfied with the overall look of the glove I added the details of the laces with smaller brushes.

Finding a Title

How did I come up with the title? The glove had been my husband's when he was a kid. Each one of our three kids used the glove for short periods of time until they graduated to a new, better glove.

Since I have a small hand the glove fits me very well. For many years I used the glove when I would throw (badly) the baseball to my kids as they were learning to play America's Greatest Pastime. Evidently it didn't make much of an impression because they moved on to soccer, lacrosse and Irish Dance. The glove still sits in the garage and comes out to play ball (badly) once in a while.

 

And it's root, root, root for the Home Team

And...back to the baseball show-
I hope this show hits a home run and the opening reception is a success. I wish I could be there along with my painting.

But I'll be demonstrating watercolor in Alexandria Bay (not a bad gig).
Subject matter: Boldt Castle-of course!

 

 

Lessons Learned at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park

What's Art Camp?

Every year that I teach YMCA Art Camp at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park I start with the same intention. To fill the half-day camp with art projects, games and a daily hike along the art trails, followed by snack and more art! We walk into the woods, over to the ponds, to the Secret Garden and to the place where it all started, the home of Bob and Dorothy Reister.

Each year I tell the kids the story of Bob and Dorothy and I can't believe how enchanted they are by it. They start taking notice of which sculptures are Dorothy's and ask if Bob was an artist too. And I answer, no he was not an artist but I think he built the house, and the A-frame studio and the barn (which we call the Art Barn).

The Art Barn

Then they start to notice the other names on the sculptures around the Art Park: Rodger Mack, David Harper. And the amazing thing is that they remember them! And tell their parents!

Many times at the Camp Art Show, parents comment on how they had been coming to the park for years with their kids, but didn't know much about the place.  But now after attending art camp the kids seem to feel a sense of ownership. They are the ones giving the tours to their parents and telling them the story of the Art Park. And where to find "Stacks", how to get to the Secret Garden, and the Spaceship in the woods, and which pond has the biggest frogs.

Owls and Snakes

Somehow without really planning it, a sense of stewardship comes into place. The Art Campers care about the art installed in the park and also about the park's natural resources. They become conservationists, explaining the composting toilets to their families and telling their siblings why they shouldn't pick the flowers, or leave the water running in the sink. One day several of the kids tried to work out a plan to send some of our excess rain to California. (By train, in milk tank cars.) I really hope someone can put that plan into action.

More Owls!

So every year, we start with art, but end with so much more. And every year the teacher learns just as much as the students.
Thanks Art Campers!

The Fenner Wind Farm

Watercolor Class at the Thousand Islands Arts Center August 10 and 12

Watercolor: the Basics

The best way to learn the beautiful luminous technique of transparent watercolor is to begin with the basics.

In my upcoming class at the Thousand Islands Arts Center in Clayton, you will learn the properties of watercolor, color mixing, wet-on-wet technique, dry brush and creating texture.

After experimenting with each of these techniques you will have the opportunity to create 2 - 3 simple watercolors. All supplies are included in the class fee: $72 for TIAC members and $80 for non-members. The class will be held on August 10 and 12 from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm.

We still have a few openings left in class, so why not join us? Call the Thousand Islands Arts Center 315 686-4123 to register.

Polymer Clay Jewelry Class at the Thousand Islands Arts Center, August 12

Why Not Try Something New???

I will be teaching at Polymer Clay jewelry class at the Thousand Islands Arts Center in Clayton on Thursday August 12, 2:00 - 4:00. 

Polymer Clay is easy, colorful and the possibilities are endless. Pendants, earrings, pins and more can be created in just a few minutes, baked in the Polymer Clay oven and be ready to wear when you leave. Or maybe later for a casual dockside dinner ;)

All supplies are included in the fee: $36 for TIAC members and $40 for non-members. You can call the TI Arts Center to register. 315 686-4123.

I hope to see you there!

Joan Applebaum's Woodlands and Waterways at the Sackets Harbor Arts Center

Coming into the Home Stretch

Not much time for blogging now as I finish last minute details for Woodlands and Waterways and also prepare for a week of teaching art camp for the YMCA.

I'm really excited to be showing in the Sackets Harbor Arts Center.  I've been in a few shows there, but never as featured artist. The space is gorgeous: lots of white walls, an easy hanging system and good lighting.

And the building is a historic structure situated in a quaint historic town, with a cool ice cream stand, views of the harbor, and lots of good eateries and fun shopping. Who wouldn't want to be in Sackets!!!!

And to top it off there will be a War of 1812 Battle Re-enactment down in the park (walking distance from the gallery).

So it looks like there is something for everyone in Sackets Harbor next weekend and I do hope to see you at my artist reception 1:00 - 4:00. There will be food and WINE! N/A drinks too.

And you can check out my Pinterest page (Joan Applebaum) for some previews of paintings that just might be in the show, and I have a few of the local restaurants listed as well.

So c'mon out to the show!

I Get to Teach in the Coolest Places!!!! Thousand Islands Arts Center and Stone Quarry Hill Art Park

Same Class, Two Locations!

I will be teaching a Pan Pastels Class in 2 locations this summer: the Thousand Islands Arts Center in Clayton and a YMCA class on location at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia.

Both locations are fabulous. With the beautiful St.Lawrence River as a backdrop, the TI Arts Center presents opportunities to capture the effects of light on the water, and billowing clouds scooting across the sky. 

From atop the hill, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia offers majestic vistas of the valley and dramatic skyscapes, not to mention sculptures and installations along the trails and on the hill.

Below is a description of the class
Pan Pastels have all the beauty and vibrant color of traditional pastels, but are a lot less messy! These soft, highly-pigmented colors are blended, layered and applied like paint. You will love the subtle way the colors blend as you capture light effects on the water and billowing clouds sweeping through the sky. There will be ample time to experiment with color blending techniques before you begin your painting. Pastels, paper or amper- sand board, applicators, and other pastel supplies will be provided.

Thousand Islands Arts Center July 20, 21—10am-1pm. Call the TI Arts Center at 315 686-4123 for registration information.$ 76.50 TIAC members; $85. non-members

YMCA at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park August 4, 5 and 6 11:30 am - 1:30 pm. Call the East Area Family YMCA at 315 637-2025 ext 216 for registration information.  $72. YMCA or SQHAP members; $144. non-members.

Summer is a great time to try something new, so maybe I will see you in class!

Gimme Shelter!

Yes, It's Another Scene From the Lake!

This recently finished painting is based on one of my favorite boat shelters on the lake. Wait a minute, I think it's the only boat shelter on the lake! Everyone else just has a dock or they drag their boats up on the shore. 

I took some photo references for this when it was still early in the Spring. One of the boats is still tied up to the side of the shelter. The other boat is either inside or behind it hidden from view.

It was late in the day when I paddled by in my kayak. The stones at the base of the cliff are taking on their usual rosy evening glow. Even the wooden sides of the shelter and the roof are a warm orange-y hue. My kayak has stirred up a few ripples in the water, creating wavering lines which break up what would have been a mirror image in the water.

Loon calls in the distance. Time to paddle home to a campfire and s'mores.

Another night on the lake.

Woodlands and Waterways

This painting will be part of my Woodlands and Waterways show at the Sackets Harbor Arts Center August 1 - September 6. 

Opening reception August 1, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm.   Of course you're invited!