The original pour

For anyone who's interested, I've taken the snowy forest painting and laid it next to the unused portion of my original "pour." So, in theory, I can one day do another painting from the remainder.

Acrylic + Watercolor on Yupo

This is the second painting I did in Sandy Maudlin's workshop. It's still a work in process, and I found this technique much more comfortable. Essentially, I poured acrylic paint on Yupo and let it run and bleed. That "pour" becomes as the middle values for the painting. The next step is to use rubbing alcohol to remove the paint to get light values. Finally, the darks and details are added with watercolor.

At this stage of the painting, there are very few darks. I'm living with this version for a while, and pondering just how much I want to add.

Update

It has been soooo long since I last posted, and soooo long since I produced anything substantial in my studio! I'm not even going to try to make excuses. When artist's block strikes, the solution is to either teach a class or take a class. So, I signed up for a five-day workshop taught by Sandy Maudlin and hosted by the Fairborn Art Association. Yesterday was the final day, and I'm reporting in to you, my patient followers.

We were working on Yupo (a plastic-like "paper") with watercolor and liquid acrylics. There's a heavy learning curve, and the process was incredibly frustrating. You should have heard us whine and groan! Here's the beginning of my first painting:

All the dark blue is painter's tape that masks the parts of the painting that should be white. The paint bleeds under the edges, which is part of the process, and you have to plan for that. After the whites are taped, the entire surface (including taped areas) is covered with the first layer of color. There is no controlling the paint as it puddles, bleeds, and streaks.

When this layer is completely dry, apply another layer of masking tape to protect the areas that should be light in color. Then, apply another layer of paint. Then another layer of tape to protect the mid-tones, followed by another layer of paint. Repeat as many times as you can stand.

The frustration comes from tearing all those itty-bitty pieces of tape and the fact that more and more of the painting is covered by layers of blue tape. After a couple of layers, it's impossible to tell what should be covered or painted next. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the stage after the tape came off. What you end up with does indeed look like a batik print, with paint that has bled through the "cracks" created by the tape.

If you did a good job with your planning and taping and layering, the painting will be close to completed when the tape comes off. Me, I ended up painting maybe 80%. At the end of the all the hours and hours of work, this is what I was left with:

Sandy was honest with her students. This technique is tedious, frustrating, scary, and extremely time-consuming. But the end product has a texture you can't get any other way.

Will I ever paint another painting using this technique? I seriously doubt it! I'm not that much of a masochist. For good examples of what can be achieved using masking tape batik, see Sandy's blog.

Tomorrow, I will show you my second painting, which uses an entirely different technique.

Starling Flight

"Starling Flight" watercolor 9"x6" (c) Susan Bertke

I'm in the process of setting up my gallery at Daily Paintworks (DPW). This may take a little time (a day or two), but it will enable me to actually sell my paintings online!

Like most artists, I have a terrible time pricing my work. Several artists have told me I'm pricing way too low. (If so, why aren't my paintings flying off the wall like hotcakes?) DPW offers an online auction as well as straight purchase, so in the beginning I may put some things up for auction to see what my "market will bear."

Also, any painting I post here on Blogger will automatically be picked up by DPW. So if you see something here, you can buy it there! That includes my "Starling Flight" shown above.

Wish me luck!

Melchior

I've been working on this commissioned piece for a while, and it's finally finished and delivered.

I know next to nothing about sailing ships, so that was a challenge. The transition from storm to dawn was a major part of the concept, and I found no reference as to what that might look like--so I studied lots of photos and just made it up. As you can imagine, this gave Inner Critic lots of material to torture me with; but then, she is never satisfied and can just shut up, thank you very much!  The client is thrilled with it, so I consider it a success.
Melchior, acrylic on canvas, 36"x24".

 One-Woman Show
by Susan Bertke

Sundays,1:00-4:00 PM
October 5, 12, 19 & 26, 2014

 

Fairborn Art Association Gallery  

In the rear of the
Fairborn Senior Apartment Building
221 North Central, Fairborn, OH

Map to FAA Gallery
 

Watercolors, Acrylics, Pastels, and Drawings representing over thirty years of art-making.

Demonstrations by the Artist!

Keep me company!

Tables will be available for anyone who wishes to bring their own supplies and draw or paint with me.

Meetup at Carriage Hill MetroPark July 12

I don't think I've specifically mentioned that I started a Meetup group called Draw, Pardners! for artists or wannabe artists in the Dayton area.We meet on the second Saturday of the month to draw, sketch, and/or paint at various locations. The painting of Cemex Reserve was done during a Draw, Pardners! Meetup. (See earlier post.)

This Saturday we're meeting at Carriage Hill MetroPark in Huber Heights, OH. If you are reading this post and want to join us, feel free. See the meetup site for information.

"Spring Rain" demo

Misuk Goltz recently asked me to do a demo for her Thursday Paint-In at the Fairborn Art Assn. "Twenty to twenty-five minutes," she said. And this is what I came up with.

The subject has been one of my favorites since my first watercolor class. I love the way the paint flows down the page to create the illusion of rain and wind. And I've loved painting small trees since that first instructor showed me the wonders of liner/rigger brushes and how the small branches grow out of the big branches wherever there is a convex curve.

The ivy growing up the left tree trunk was the result of an accident. My paper wasn't quite dry, and the paint bled when I painted the trunk. I couldn't clean it up without it being obvious, so I overpainted with some Terre Verte (a fairly opaque green), et voila! -- ivy.

Third Place in the En Plein Air Exhibition

My little watercolor took Third Place in the 2014 En Plein Air Juried Art Exhibition sponsored by the B-W Greenway Community Land Trust and Fairborn Art Association. The challenge this year was to paint on location at the Cemex Reserve in Fairborn. This is a restored wetlands, and I was continually serenaded by the many birds who have made a home there. 

"Merced Creek" won a ribbon!

"Merced Creek" won a Judge's Choice ribbon at the Fairborn Art Association Spring Show.

Fairborn Art Association Spring Fine Art Show

I have several paintings in the FAA Spring Fine Art Show at the
Fairborn Central Senior Apartment Building
221 North Central Avenue, Fairborn, OH 45324. 

Sundays, 1-4 PM, May 4 through May 18

How my show went...

"Orchard" SOLD!

February 2014 was the third coldest and snowiest February on record. I'm blaming this for the fact that only a few people braved the weather to come see my show the first three weeks. Mother Nature was kinder the last week, and I had a pretty good turnout on the 23rd.

"Host of Daffodils" SOLD!

I want to thank everyone who came to admire and (YES!) buy my work. I am particularly grateful to my friend Bev, who kept me company, learned a little about painting in watercolor, and helped me take down the show at the end. Now that's a true friend!

If you wanted to come and missed it, the good news is that I will be back at the FAA Gallery in October. So you'll have four more opportunities to see the show. At that time I plan to have prints and note cards of my most popular paintings available, in addition to the original works.

See you in October!

Come see my show at the Fairborn Art Association gallery!

A One-Woman Show
by Susan Bertke

Sunday, February 23, 2014
1:00-4:00 PM

Fairborn Art Association Gallery  

In the rear of the Fairborn Senior Apartment Building
221 North Central, Fairborn, OH

Map to FAA Gallery

Watercolors, Acrylics, Pastels, and Drawings representing thirty years of art-making.

Demonstrations by the Artist

Keep me company!

Tables will be available for anyone who wishes to bring their own supplies and draw or paint with me.

Come see my show in Xenia, Ohio

The Xenia Area Community Theater (X*ACT) asked me to be their visiting artist for the holiday season. I just got home from hanging fifteen of my favorite paintings. It will be up until January 2. I was half-way home before I realized that I forgot to photograph the display. I'll head back this weekend and shoot some pictures to show you.

Prize Winning Iris

Iris #2 (c) Susan Bertke

My watercolor painting "Iris #2" won an Honorable Mention in the Fairborn Art Association's Members' Choice contest at the May meeting. Given the quality of the paintings that were submitted by the members, this was a real ego boost for me.

Exploring Acrylics, Class #3

Rose of Sharon #1 (c) Susan Bertke 2013

Tuesday was #3 in my Exploring Acrylics class at Fairborn Art Association. We explored the use of acrylics as transparent watercolor. Most of my students had only minimal previous exposure to watercolors. The idea of dropping color into a wet background and letting it flow was definitely a new technique for them. They also got a taste of negative painting in the leafy area. 

The past couple of months have been really busy for me, art-wise!

One of the paintings I did in
Joe Fettingis' workshop

• I joined the Fairborn Art Association last year, and the members have been very helpful and encouraging. Through the FAA I signed up to do an acrylic demo on April 10 in Xenia, Ohio, at the Greene County Council On Aging Senior Creativity Expo. It was a great experience, and I hope to support them in future expos.
• Last week, I attended a 3-day workshop with Joe Fettingis, NWS, at the FAA gallery in Fairborn, Ohio. If you have an opportunity to go to one of his workshops, I heartily recommend it.
• I submitted three paintings to the FAA's annual members show. (Sadly, I didn't win any awards.)
• Starting next week I'll be teaching an 8-week class called "Exploring Acrylics" at the FAA gallery on Tuesday afternoons (May 21 thru July 9). So I've been preparing for that.
• AND I've been working on a large commissioned painting for a friend.

So if I haven't been keeping up with my blog, I hope you'll understand!

Exploring Acrylics

Acrylics over watercolor

I will be teaching an 8-week acrylics class on Tuesday afternoons (1:00-4:00 p.m.) from May 21 to July 9, 2013, at the Fairborn Art Association gallery located at the rear of Fairborn Senior Apartment Building, 221 N. Central Ave, Fairborn, Ohio. The cost of the 8-week class is $85.

The class will focus on the sheer versatility of acrylics, with each week exploring a different subject, application technique, and/or support. Just a few of the possibilities:

  

SUPPORTS: canvas, paper, cardboard, illustration or mat board…
 
TECHNIQUES: glazing, impasto, scumbling, drybrush, wet-in-wet, collage, blending, painting with a knife…

SUBJECTS: portraiture, animals, landscape, floral, still life, abstracts…

MULTIMEDIA TECHNIQUES:

• Acrylic as an under-painting for oils, pastels, pencils…
• Acrylic as an over-painting for watercolors or India Ink
• Collage...

Actual projects may be tailored to the previous experience and interests of the students.

See more of my artwork at:  http://www.fairbornart.com/content/bertke-susan 
http://www.facebook.com/susanbertke  

To receive a registration form or for more information, comment on this blog and leave your e-mail address.

A Face Only a Wife Could Love

"Horny B*stard" (c) Susan Bertke
graphite pencil on paper

   Shortly after we were married, I told my husband a joke. He returned from his next business trip with this little guy.

   The joke: There was an kindergarten teacher who was doing a lesson for her inner city kids about animals. She'd hold up a picture of an animal, and the kids would shout out the name of the animal. They identified cats, dogs, mice, pigeons, even horses. Then the teacher held up a picture of a white-tailed deer with a magnificent rack of antlers. That stumped them.
   "I'll give you a hint," she said. "Imagine your dad comes home from work, and he greets your mom with a big kiss. What does she call him?"
   Puzzled, one little boy looked at his friend and whispered, "Do you supposed that's a horny b*stard?"
  
   So now I have my very own blue-furred horny b*stard. Ugly or not, I love him.

Landscape Doodle

   This year I've spent a lot of time cooling my heels in doctors' waiting rooms, so I decided to make productive use of the time and took along a sketch book. Generally, I'm not confident drawing without a subject in front of me, so I started doodling landscape elements: rocks, grass, trees...and this is what I ended up with.
    This was done with a Pilot Precise V5 pen and a green Pilot Razor Point.