Books! - In No Particular Order (the remainder)

As promised, here are the remaining books that were recommended by our members at the March meeting.

 Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often To Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist
- Carol Marine

"A unique system for jump-starting artistic creativity, encouraging experimentation and growth, and increasing sales for artists of all levels, from novices to professionals."

 Painter's Guide to Color
- Stephen Quiller

"Opening with an analysis of the painter's ideal palette and how it is organized with primary, secondary, and intermediate hues, the guide then explores value and intensity, complementary and analogous colors, the ways in which color can be used to evoke moods, express atmospheric conditions, and other essentials relating to color choice and usage."

 Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
- Austin Kleon

"A groundbreaking exploration of the science of productivity, that can help anyone learn to succeed with less stress and struggle, and to get more done without sacrificing what we care about most."

 Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered
- Austin Kleon

"Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It’s about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time “networking.” It’s not self-promotion, it’s self-discovery―let others into your process, then let them steal from you."

 Painting Brilliant Skies & Water in Pastel: Secrets to Bringing Light and Life to Your Landscapes
- Liz Haywood-Sullivan

"No two elements of the landscape bring the artist greater inspiration--or greater challenge--than sky and water. Liz Haywood-Sullivan shares her secrets for getting them both right, every time."

 Pastel Pointers: Top 100 Secrets for Beautiful Paintings
- Richard McKinley

"This book covers everything from the fundamentals to get you going (how to lay out your palette, create an underpainting, evoke luminous effects) to inspirations that will keep you growing (plein air painting, working in a series, keeping a painting journal)."

 Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
- David Bayles and Ted Orland

"This is a book about making art. Ordinary art. Ordinary art means something like: all art not made by Mozart. After all, art is rarely made by Mozart-like people; essentially—statistically speaking—there aren't any people like that."

 The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
- Steven Pressfield

"A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul."

 Finding Your Style In Pastel 
- Jean Hirons

"As pastel artists, we have even more choices. We can use a wide variety of pastels, strokes, surfaces, and techniques to create many different looks. The choices we make form the framework of our individual style, our signature as artists. Any subscriber to The Pastel Journal realizes how varied the medium of pastel can be."

 Painting the Landscape in Pastel
- Albert Handell

"Known for his use of luminous color, Albert Handell, whose lush landscapes light up these pages, provides lucid instructions to help first-time pastelists achieve impressive results as soon as they begin working with the medium."

 A Day in the Country: Impression and the French Landscape
-  Andrea P. A. Belloli (Editor), Richard R. Brettell (Contributor), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Corporate Author), Art Institute of Chicago (Corporate Author)

"A Day in the Country was an exhibit mounted in the early '80's, using the theme that the Impressionist style of painting revolved around the dynamic of Parisian artists portraying the landscapes nearby their city. The book built around the exhibit takes an understanding of Impressionism much deeper, involving not only personalities and landscapes, but also the international political dynamics as well."

 The Complete Guide To Painting Water
- Bert N. Petri

"This book teaches techniques for painting based on the nature of water itself (how it reflects and refracts light, how it moves, how waves are born and more), making it a comprehensive and valuable reference for artists working in any style or medium."

Pastel Painting Atelier: Essential Lessons in Techniques, Practices, and Materials
- Ellen Eagle

" In this comprehensive yet intimate guide, Eagle explores pastel’s rich but relatively unexamined past, reveals her own personal influences and approaches, and guides you toward the discovery and mastery of your own vision."

Other suggested resources from the meeting:
- Pastel Journal magazine
- Plein Air magazine
- the blog of Karen Margulis
- the blog of Stapleton Kearns
- Wetcanvas Spotlight 101

Books! - In No Particular Order (the first dozen)

As promised, here are the books recommended by members at the March meeeting. I love books so this was one of my favorite meetings yet. We had all sorts of books: how-to books, books on the philosophy of being an artist, books on the business of art. I didn't have a hope of catching all the things folks said about the books they chose, but in no particular order here are the books. This is the first dozen, more will follow in the next blog post.

Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision

- Ian Roberts

"Serious working artists are the intended audience of this collection of short essays that clarify common expressive and personal problems that many artists encounter, including the fear of being clichéd, the desire to convey truth in art, and the frustration behind trying to find an authentic voice."

Composition of Outdoor Painting

- Edgar Alwin Payne

" A must-have for art collectors, dealers, teachers and artists."

Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

-John F. Carlson

"Through his profound understanding of the physical nature of landscapes and his highly developed artistic sense, John Carlson is able to explain both the whys and the hows of the various aspects of landscape painting."

The Art Spirit

- Robert Henri (author) and Marjorie Ryerson (compiler)

"Henri was an inspired artist and teacher who believed that everyone is vitally concerned in the happiness and wisdom to be found through the arts."

 Pastel Step by Step
- Marla Baggetta

"Explore the colorful art of painting in pastel with this compelling how-to guide. Pastel Step by Step provides all the information beginning artists will need to start working with hard pastel, soft pastel, and pastel pencil to create realistic, expressive works of art."

 The Private Lives of the Impressionists
-Sue Roe

"Sue Roe's colorful, lively, poignant, and superbly researched biography, The Private Lives of the Impressionists, follows an extraordinary group of artists into their Paris studios, down the rural lanes of Montmartre, and into the rowdy riverside bars of a city undergoing monumental change."

 The Letters of Vincent van Gogh
-  Vincent Van Gogh (Author), Ronald de Leeuw (Editor),  Arnold J. Pomerans (Translator)

"If ever there was any doubt that Van Gogh's letters belong beside those great classics of artistic self-revelation, Cellini's autobiography and Delacroix's journal, this excellent edition dispels it." 

 Painting Trees (North Light Pocket Guide to)
- Patricia Seligman

"color tips and painting techniques for displaying trees in art"

Painting Skies (North Light Pocket Guide to)
- Patricia Seligman

"color tips and painting techniques that show you how to capture the drama of skies and clouds in all mediums" 

 The Pastel Book
- Bill Creevy

"Absolutely the most thorough guide to pastel materials and techniques ever assembled in a single volume, this is the book for anyone working with pastels, from beginners to experienced artists looking to develop more professional skills."

 Fuller Understanding of the Paintings at Orsay
-  Francoise Bayle

"A great collection of painters, their works and short history in the d'Orsay collection."

Landscape Painting in Watercolor

- Zoltan Szabo

"Zoltan Szabo discusses color, texture, and other characteristics of watercolor, as well as the materials and equipment needed to complete a watercolor master-piece."

 And that rounds out the first dozen. It's late and I've had a busy and tiring day, so more books later! Meanwhile you can check these out.

An excellent meeting

Co-President Lyn Asselta welcomed a full twenty seven people to our fantastic March meeting. It was great to welcome old friends, but also wonderful to see a number of new faces.

Not only did we see new faces, but we had four new people join FCPS! Welcome to all the new members who joined us, and we look forward to seeing you at upcoming events.

Members had a chance to socialize beforehand, and even take peeks at some of the books other members had brought to share with the group. It was great to see so many books.

After the business meeting we went around the room and everyone had a chance to share a book or books that were important to them. Surprisingly we had few duplicates although there were a few. The books covered a wide range of subject material too. Not only "how to" books, but also books on what it means to be an artist.

In the next blog post I'll share with you all of the books and other materials recommended by our members. Also think ahead to April when we will have our next plein air adventure at Dutton Island Preserve.

March Meeting

What: March Member Meeting 
When: Saturday, March 4, 10 AM to 12 noon 
Where: Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach, 50 Executive Way, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 

Just a reminder that Saturday March 5 is our next meeting at the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center.  We are asking everyone to bring/recommend an art book that they have found helpful in some way.  The book could be by or about an artist that influenced your work or one that you found useful in helpful in developing your skills.

These meetings where we share with each other are always informative, and we all come away with new ideas and motivation.

Keep in mind that if you have any books or DVD’s that you are not using, they can be donated to the Society’s lending library.


We will be looking forward to seeing you on March 6 at 10:00 with a book you are excited about sharing with the group. To get you thinking already here is one recommendation emailed to me by a member who won't make the meeting on Saturday:

" Creative Authenticity" - 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision 

by Ian Roberts .

Hardy Souls at Walter Jones Historical Park

One thing about this time of year is that you can never be sure what to expect from the weather. Earlier this week we had a couple warm sunny days, and the temperature hit 80. Yet only a little over a week before that we had a hard frost and snow flurries! It was hard to know what to expect for our plein air day at Walter Jones. Mid-50's were the temperatures forecast but when we arrived at the park there were hints of blue sky, and the sun was trying to break out. It felt very comfortable standing in the sunlight.

Those of who made it there had to dress warmly when we first showed up, but we still had hopes at that point of the sun making it a more pleasant day to be outdoors.

We had a mighty small turn-out though, I think it's about the smallest we have ever had for a plein air day, though it was nice to see our numbers augmented by a guest. She is a neighbor of Rick's and has just recently begun taking pastel lessons with our own Cindy Pierson. Rick invited her to come and she did, though she chose not to paint this morning, but just to meet people and look on. We hope to see her at upcoming meetings.

Other than our guest there were just five hardy members of the FCPS who actually showed up today, It was a shame as, while the weather was not perfect, it was certainly a lovely little park to be at.

Of the five members who attended only four of us had enough time there to try a painting on site.

But the promised sun never materialized, and in fact the cloud cover grew heavier as the morning went on, and the updated forecast promised rain later on. It's raining quite hard now as I type this at home, but at least there was no rain while we were at the park, though the raw air did start to seep into our bones after a while. At late morning we broke for a show and tell, and a quick bite for some. But then Richard, Carron and I took off to Panera for some nice warming soup.

At our show and tell it developed that trees were the primary focus of the morning, though very different representations of them!

  

Walter Jones plein air

What: FCPS plein air event

When: Saturday, Feb. 6, 9 AM to 1 PM

Where: Walter Jones Historical Park, 11964 Mandarin Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32223

Please come join us for our first plein air event of 2016. Let's hope for somewhat warmer weather than we had this past weekend! We will be meeting at Walter Jones Historical Park, a 10-acre park located on the east bank of the beautiful St. Johns River in Mandarin. The park includes the farmhouse, barn, outbuildings, sawmill, nature trail along a riverfront boardwalk, picnic area and restrooms. The park and farmhouse are handicapped accessible.

The park is varied enough to offer different sorts of plein air opportunities, and yet small enough to feel "cozy" so we can all be fairly close together as we paint.

For the water lovers we have that available, as well as woods, paths, and buildings. There should be something for everyone.

Even possible wildlife! I'm looking forward to it and hope to see lots of you there. As usual, please feel free to bring a picnic lunch. We enjoy eating together after we paint, and having a show and tell for those who would like to share their work from the morning. 

Happy Anniversary to us

Wow, can you believe it was 4 years ago this month that we held our first meeting as a Society? Look how far we have come in four years - amazing workshops, great juried shows with fantastic judges, member shows open to all at various venues, and of course a growing membership.

We had 21 people gather for food and fellowship and a great presentation this morning, which included two guests, both of whom joined the FCPS by the end of the meeting!

This morning we were pleased to welcome Tom Carney from Multimedia Art Board, a family-owned company based out of Buford, GA, founded by Tom's mother back in the 80's.

Their product line has grown over the years and now includes surfaces especially for pastels.

Tom brought various items for sale, and a whole bunch of small pieces of his pastel surfaces that we were free to play with and experiment on.

Among their new products are their pastel surfaces on bright background colors, and Tom says these have been popular sellers since introduced earlier in 2015. The surfaces come as 320 or 500 grit, though Tom had only the 320 for us to sample, but a nice fine surface which held pastels well and took layers

Most of us tried a sample or two out. Here is a little 5-minute quickie done on one of the bright yellow surfaces for example. So FCPS members, check your email for a special offer available to us for this coming week only. The site is: http://www.multimediaartboard.com/

Stay tuned for our first plein air of 2016 in February. More details to follow, Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather.