Colored Pencil Classes and Individual Expression.

I am always impressed by the enthusiasm and talent that my students show for colored pencil. We definitely work in a "representational" genre, as opposed to painting which more easily lends itself to abstract work.

Yet, I encourage my students to imprint their own style on their art. Making a photo-realistic representation of an image does not make it a superior colored pencil piece. I want each artist to find their own style, and express their vision of the world.

SafeHouse Calendar for 2010

I am very happy to be included in the 2010 SafeHouse Calendar. This is the first one published as a fundraising tool. "It celebrates the beauty and strength of women through the work of local artists. It is the product of volunteer efforts and donated services". Designed and produced by Wagner Designs of Ann Arbor.

My painting is featured on the month of August! One of my favorite months... I did this piece as an homage to Janet Fish, one of our great women painters of the 20th and 21st century. My painting was originally displayed as a banner in a public art project in Ann Arbor, Mi. These calendars make wonderful gifts. If you would like to purchase one to support the work of Safehouse Center, please contact Gwyn Hulswit at 734.973.0242 ext 277 or by email at gwyn@safehousecenter.org.

Famer's Market- A Locally Grown Still Life

I have been enjoying the bountiful selection of fresh veggies and fruits at our local farmers market! Here is a piece I am working on in my home studio. Using Cold Press Illustration Board and Prismacolor Pencils. The image size is 10" x 13"

Colored Pencil Classes

I am busy creating some new lessons for my classes and workshops.

This fall I will be offering colored pencil classes in three locations. Check these sites in September for registration information:

1. The Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson: A new series of 3 all day workshops
2. Brighton Community Education
3. Ann Arbor Community Education and Recreation

Colored pencil is becoming popular and accepted as a fine-art medium. I will be giving demonstrations of techniques and materials used to create beautiful colored pencil paintings. Questions are encouraged and individual attention is generously given.

Art Show at Whole Foods Market

(left to right, Barbara Goodsitt, Kath Frajbis,Vickie Peterson-Michalak and Barbara Anderson)


We had a great turn out at the first "Art That Is Local" show at Whole Foods on Washtenaw Ave. Vickie Peterson-Michalak organized this with Mary Ann from Whole Foods. They supplied us with endless trays of delicious roll-ups, chips, dips, desserts and Italian Sodas. Thank you to Whole Foods and our friends.

Ann Arbor Women Artists
has a new non-juried exhibition site at Whole Foods Market
3135 Washtenaw Ave in Ann Arbor.
Our first show runs July 14 - Oct 7
Whole Foods is sponsoring a reception for this group show
August 5, from 5-8 pm
I am very pleased to have some colored pencil pieces in this first show!

PET PORTRAITS

Look at that face!
This is a colored pencil dog portrait 11" x 14" on Stonehenge Paper.

The 4th of July is hard on my dog. He has developed a great big sound phobia because of all the firecrackers. Between the 4th, thunderstorms and all of the heat, his walks have been few and far between.

University of Wisconsin Art Professor Steven Feren showed a group of Wisconsin Alumni around the new Glass Lab and Metal Foundry in Madison, Wisconsin. I was priviledged to be part of the group. We were also accompanied by painting prof Derrick Buisch.


Professor Feren is a sculptor who now works primarily in glass. Among his public art work projects are some wonderful celebratory pieces leading to the front of the neighboring Kohl Center in Madison.




Inside the Kohl Center you can find some amazing glass art work by Dale Chihuly, also a Univerisity of Wisconsin art graduate.

I want to express a big thank you to our friends Herman Baumann and Kay Schwichtenberg for arranging this great tour.

This is my rendering of a colored pencil exercise that I taught in my colored pencil class this session. It is based on an exercise in a wonderful book by Anne Flood.

Quote:
There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill

This is my second pastel landscape painting. I really enjoyed the looseness of this medium. Quite different than colored pencil. I did this piece on Wallis Belgium Mist pastel paper.

I rented a small studio space in Dexter at the Broad Street Artists Collective. This is the first time I have had an art studio away from home. I am working on mosaics and pastels (a new interest) here. I feel free to be messy and leave the mess when I am done. That is kind of liberating! I am flitting around from media to media this summer, enjoying the variety of textures, colors and styles.

Circle of Art

I donated these horoscope Artist trading cards to the Circle of Art, a fundraiser for Food Gatherers in Ann Arbor.

Circle of Art 2009 - People joining together to turn art into food. Join us on Sunday, May 17th to see an amazing array of small artworks, meet artists and art lovers and raise money to help Food Gatherers fight hunger. Watch the entries as they come in and bid on your favorites (100% of your bid goes to Food Gatherers). Bidding online will continue through Saturday May 16th then the auction will finish at the Circle of Art party at Saline Picture Frame Co. from Noon to 5 pm.

Learning to draw a drop of water

One of my students' favorite lessons is learning to draw a drop of water.
This is actually not a very hard thing to learn to draw, and it gives a new colored pencil artist a great feeling of accomplishment. For those of us who like to do representational art, there is a great delight in successfully producing a very realistic drawing.

Broad Street Artists Collective

I am happy to announce that I am moving my home studio to the Broad Street Artists Collective in April.
This group of artists studios, housed on Broad Street in Dexter, Michigan, was established in the early 1990's .
Barb will be working on colored pencil, mosaics and painting, and will also be available to teach privately in her new studio. Look for our open house during the Ann Arbor Art Walk, and other events.

Artychoke

This is a new exercise for my colored pencil class. We used several methods to mix color when drawing this artichoke including complementary shading, local color, and also grisaille. This piece is done by laying down a tonal drawing in prismacolor black grape, and then applying the full color over that layer.
A friend told me to stop my drawing at this phase. She thought it would be more interesting than completing the artichoke.

Art Show at Sweetwaters Jan - March 2

Here are some photos of my art show at Sweetwaters on 123 West Washington Street in Ann Arbor. This show is sponsored by the Ann Arbor Women Artist organization. I am showing with Nicki Griffith (organic abstracts) and Judy Enright (Allegorical symbolism in oils). It was great fun putting it together.
It will run through March 2, 2009. See the review in the Ann Arbor News

More classes will begin starting January 20. Chelsea Center for the Arts will be offering my class on Tuesday evenings, and Ann Arbor Rec and Ed will offer it Wednesday evenings at Pioneer High and Friday afternoons at the Eberbach Cultural Arts Center at 1220 Forest Ave. in Ann Arbor.

Beginning students will be starting out with some basic exercises to develop skills in applying even coverage and shading techniques. We will then proceed to still lifes and other projects. Continuing students can repeat these beginning exercises or start on more advanced assignments, or work on something of their own creation.