Our Workshop

After the demo last Thursday we had a full complement of attendees ready to start Stan's workshop on Friday morning at Ponte Vedra.

The workshop consisted of two days in the studio and one day of plein air.

And also included more opportunities of getting to see Stan at work!

The weather was outstanding, and for the plein air day the venue was at the Environmental Center at Guana. This is a wonder place at just about any time of year.

However this past weekend it was especially lovely. However there was also a roofed area, so we were prepared in case of rain, but we were luckily and it was sunny and clear and crisp.

Students all lined up their work from the morning as Stand reviewed them.

There was a lot of information covered, both in the studio days, and during the plein air session as well. Some quotes from workshop attendees:

Many thanks to Stan Sperlak for a "thrilling" workshop! My Terry Ludwig's got a work-out. 

Fun and informative now to translate it to my work!!

Stan Sperlak gives a workshop that is valuabe in knowledge, and individually uplifting. "Fab" teacher. Thank you Stan

 Best workshop ever!!!!

Our workshop - demo

This past weekend the FCPS hosted a wonderful workshop with Stan Sperlak.  We could not have asked for nicer weather to show our visiting instructor. The workshop was full, but those of us who didn't have the time or the money for the full workshop still got a treat as, on the eve of the workshop, Stan did a demo open to all.

We got to see Stan's pastels set up for the demo, lots of Terry Ludwigs!

We had a great turnout as well. Those who were in the workshop got into the demo for free, but others were more than happy to pay a modest fee to watch Stan at work.

Stan started with a grisaille underpainting and said that he always starts out with the darkest darks.

 It was fascinating to watch the painting take shape, and Stan was happy to explain and answer questions as he worked.

When he reached this point he said that he would probably stop right there and just crop the painting.

After a break Stan came back to a darkened room and asked us all to hold questions unto the end, while he painted to music.

His second piece was amazing too, and Stan stressed how important it is to feel joy as you create your art. We certainly got that attitude from Stan. Both of his demo paintings were offered for sale and easily found takers.

Looking ahead to January

I wanted to give everyone a heads up to have time to prepare for our January meeting. We had our first official meeting in January 2012, so this upcoming meeting will be our 5th anniversary. What fun that will be to celebrate, and we plan to have a cake.  However we have one other event planned which is what I need to give everyone advance warning on.

Those of you who were members back in the beginning may remember this from our first year. Here is the quote from the blog entry of the time:

To close out our meeting we did something that was a lot of fun, and I hope we can repeat in the future. We had a painting exchange. Ten members brought in wrapped paintings [5x7] which were each assigned a number, and we then drew numbers from a basket to see whose painting we would go home with.  

Luckily no one drew their own painting, LOL. And we all got mementos of small artwork from other FCPS members. I hope we can do an exchange again like this.

Well after five years we have decided that the time to do it again is *NOW*. So for the January meeting we are asking each participant to bring in:

One small, 5x7 , FRAMED painting, WRAPPED. Once again we will have a painting exchange where you will come home with a painting by one of your fellow pastelists. 

We have such a wonderful group of artists in the FCPS. I look forward to the 5th anniversary meeting, and the painting exchange. It was lots of fun when we did it the last  time.

Holiday Party

What:    FCPS Annual Holiday Party, buffet brunch
When:   Saturday, Dec. 10, 10 AM to 12 noon
Where:  Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach

More details soon about the exciting workshop some of our members are enjoying right now, but in the meantime let's all get ready for next week! It's our 5th annual FCPS holiday party and brunch. Everyone should bring some food to share in fellowship with your fellow pastel artists.

This year we are doing something different. We have always had still-life setups to work from at previous holiday parties, and they were always fun. But this year we are going to work with a *live model*(clothed).  This will be a big change of pace from anything we have done before so I hope it will be an exciting departure for many of us. I really look forward to it.

We have something even more exciting coming up in January which I'll post about very soon. Keep in mind  that we first met in January 2012, so this January meeting will be our 5th anniversary.

Stan Sperlak demo

What: Demonstration by Stan Sperlak, PSA
When: Thursday, Dec. 1, 6:30-8:30 PM
Where: Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach

Those who are signed up for the Stan Sperlak workshop have a treat coming up this weekend, but the rest of us can have a taste of it too.

Mark your calendars !

A Demo by International Pastel Artist, Stan Sperlak. Sperlak has favored pastel as his medium because of the primal nature of using one’s hands, the sensual experience of touch, and the serendipitous marks that are caused by the unusual shapes of the sticks. Over the years, Stan has most often worked on smaller pieces “plein air” or on location from life, but now has begun to experiment with very large works from these studies in the studio.

If you've never had the opportunity to see Stan at work, I can guarantee that this will be a treat!

Cost for FCPS members and their spouses is $10
Workshop students are free, $10 for spouses
General public, $20

November meeting

It was a wonderful Saturday morning to get together with our fellow pastelists, and to hear President Cindy Pierson talk about things that have been going on, and things upcoming (stay tuned to this blog for some exciting details).

We had 27 in attendance today, members and guests. After sharing news and hearing about upcoming events we took and break and then came back to see our own Kevin Arthur do a portrait demo for us.

Our founder and former President, Lyn Asselta, was Kevin's guest model, nicely color coordinated with the fabric backdrop.

Kevin worked steadily but was very open to questions from the audience as he worked. Lyn was a great model, held very steady until Kevin gave her breaks. Kevin worked on Strathmore paper using his NuPastels.

After break one.

After break two.

At the end of our allotted time.

Afterwards everyone was eager to come up and get a close-up.

Those of us who stayed for the board meeting afterwards also had an additional treat of seeing the Blue Angels getting ready to kick off the big Sea and Sky air show.

Coming up:
1) Demo and Workshop with Stan Sperlak.
2) Annual holiday pot luck brunch, with a live model to paint from
3) January 5th anniversary meeting! Cake, tips and treasures, and a very special painting exchange.

More details to follow, check the blog and check your email!

November Meeting and demo

What:   FCPS meeting
Where: Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach
When:  Saturday, November 5, 10 AM to 12 noon

What a month it has been since our last plein air event! It was only a week after our wonderful paint-out that Hurricane Matthew came roaring through, right over the area where we painted among other areas, There was lots of flooding and storm surge. Sadly, some of our members suffered damage from the storm.

A month has gone by though, and we hope folks are getting cleaned up, and that they are ready to be involved with other options in their lives, as we have a wonderful program this month. There was a lot of damage at Ponte Vedra Beach but our Cultural Center is fine and we will be meeting there on Saturday.

Our presenter is new member Kevin Arthur. Kevin is a wonderful portrait artist and teacher, and taught a well-received workshop on pastel portraiture this past summer at UNF.  You won't want to miss this demo.

I look forward to seeing a great turn-out on Saturday!

Plein Air Butler

We had perfect weather and a great turn-out this morning for the first plein air of the fall season at Frank Butler Park West.  There were about 13-14 members who turned up to paint, new folks and old, and even a guest who painted a lovely oil.

We got to see our FCPS mascot, Maggie, though were saddened to learn that her owner, Steve, has moved many hours away from us now. However Steve will now be able to really concentrate on his art and we wish him lots of luck with that!

It was great to see folks and get to hear some stories about summer adventures.

It was a clear sunny day. The sun was a bit warm, but a light breeze, low humidity, and no bugs all made  for a good morning. There were enough sand spurs that we had to watch our footing though! Some folks braved sunny locations but many folks found shady spots to paint from.

As we usually do we broke in late morning, and shared lunch and snacks, and a show-and-tell. Here are some examples of the morning in various states of completion.

And don't forget our exciting demo with Kevin Arthur at our upcoming November meeting!