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Paint with me this spring!

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Exploring Oil Painting
Mondays, 1-4:00 p.m., March 5 – April 9, 2018 (no class April 2)
Your Home Public Library

$15 one-time fee for supplies, for five 3-hour sessions
Enrollment limited to 10 students.
WP_20171113_14_02_06_ProExplore the fundamentals of oil painting in a fun and informative setting with artist/instructor Glenda Blake. Together we’ll paint from a still life in the classroom, learning as we go about composition, under-painting, light, shadow, and color mixing. If you’ve always wanted to paint in oils, now is the time! If you have painting experience already, come to learn new techniques and paint with others. If you have a portable standing-height floor easel you like, feel free to bring it — sitting-height easels are provided by the instructor. Please wear a work apron, and/or older clothing to paint in.

You MUST attend the first session, and all sessions thereafter if possible. Lessons are sequential; each builds on the previous session. To sign up, stop by the circulation desk at Your Home Public Library, 107 Main Street, Johnson City, NY or contact Natassia Enright at YHPL, 607 797-4816 / jc.natassia@4cls.org.

PLEASE NOTE: The second-floor class space is beautiful, but due to the historic nature of the building there is no elevator.

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Call for Artists and Fine Crafters – HOLIDAY SHOW AND SALE!

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HolidayShownewsl

Dear Art Friend,

Now is the time to join Cooperative Gallery 213 – or to renew your membership – and show/sell your work at the all-members annual Holiday Show and Sale!

Supporting Membership is only $35 per year, payable when you bring in your artwork on Sunday or Monday, November 26 or 27.

Show opens with an Artists’ Reception Gala, Thursday, November 30, and runs through December 23, 2017.

CALENDAR

Notification of intent

Art/Crafts Drop-Off

  • Sunday, November 26, 10 am – 2 pm, Monday, November 27, 4 – 7 pm, or by appointment
  • All work must be labeled and ready for hanging/display. Save time by completing your inventory and membership forms and bringing them to the gallery with your work. See Requirements below.

Artists’ Reception Gala

  • Thursday, November 30, 6 – 8 pm

Art/Crafts Pick-up

  • Saturday, December 23, 4 – 6 pm (AFTER 4 pm show closing)
  • Thursday, December 28, 10 am – 2 pm
  • or by appointment

 

REQUIREMENTS: Labels, inventory

all works: (jewelry, ornaments, cards, miniature paintings, etc.): tag each item with price and an inventory number. Submit a Holiday Show inventory form including corresponding inventory numbers, media, description, and price: download forms at http://www.cooperativegallery,com, or pick up a participant kit at the Gallery during open hours.

wall-hung works: Limit 3 pieces 16 x 20 in. and above, or 5-6 pieces smaller, with two labels attached. Label 1 will be left on the work, and Label 2 will be displayed with the work. Use 14-pt. Arial or Helvetica font, appx. 2 x 3.5” label, listing Title, Medium, Artist Name, and Price.

Cost

  • $35 annual Supporting Membership (if not already a member)
  • plus 20% commission on sales

Download Forms Here, and bring to the gallery with your work

We’re looking forward to seeing you this winter holiday season at Cooperative Gallery 213!

 

Exploring Oil Painting

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I’ve got another painting course scheduled – this one is at Your Home Public Library in Johnson City, in October-November. It’s similar to the previous course, but we paint from a still life in the classroom, and get a little further into the whys and wherefores of oil painting.

Information is below, and you can always check the Classes and Workshops page of my website at https://glendablake.com/welcome/classes-and-workshops/

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Exploring Oil Painting
Mondays, 1-4:00 p.m., October 30 – November 27, 2017
Your Home Public Library

$15 one-time fee for supplies, for five 3-hour sessions
Enrollment limited to 10 students.
015Explore the fundamentals of oil painting in a fun and informative setting with artist/instructor Glenda Blake. Together we’ll paint from a still life in the classroom, learning as we go about composition, under-painting, light, shadow, and color mixing. If you’ve always wanted to paint in oils, now is the time! If you have painting experience already, come to learn new techniques and paint with others. If you have a portable standing-height floor easel you like, feel free to bring it — sitting-height easels are provided by the instructor. Please wear a work apron, and/or older clothing to paint in.

You MUST attend the first session, and all sessions thereafter if possible. Lessons are sequential; each builds on the previous session. To sign up, stop by the circulation desk at Your Home Public Library, 107 Main Street, Johnson City, NY or contact Natassia Enright at YHPL, 607 797-4816 / jc.natassia@4cls.org.

Feel free to contact me for information about class content.

PLEASE NOTE: The second-floor class space is beautiful, but due to the historic nature of the building there is no elevator.

Rescheduled! Oil Painting from Altered Photos

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AltPhotos_graphic2notype-062316

It’s been a long haul, but I’m finally well – my apologies again to those who signed up for my cancelled May-June Broome County Library painting course.

That course – Painting in Oils from Altered Photos – is now rescheduled!

I expect to schedule more courses as well, at both the Broome County and the Johnson City libraries, in the next week or so — if you’re on my email list, keep an eye on your Inbox for further developments. Or you can check the Classes and Workshops page here, at https://glendablake.com/welcome/classes-and-workshops/

(If you’d like to join my email list, you can do that from the same page.)

Painting in Oils from Altered Photographs –
Thursdays, 5-8:00 p.m., September 21 – October 19, 2017
Broome County Public Library

Five 3-hour sessions
Enrollment limited to 10 students.

Learn about composition and oil painting in a fun and informative setting with artist/instructor Glenda Blake. We’ll explore different ways of altering photos to make suitable references for painting, and then paint from the results, learning as we go about composition, under-painting, light, shadow, and color mixing. Students at all levels of experience are welcome. If you have a portable standing-height floor easel you like, feel free to bring it — sitting-height easels are provided by the instructor. Please wear a work apron, and/or older clothing.

You must attend the first session, and all sessions thereafter if possible. Lessons are sequential; each builds on the previous.

To sign up, contact Sherry Kowalski at the Broome County Public Library — 607-778-6451 / skowalski@co.broome.ny.us

Or contact me with questions or for information about class content.

The Library provides painting supplies;  in addition, please bring the following materials to the first session: Materials to bring

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“Forces of Nature” a Success, I think

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Forces of Nature
Forces of Nature, at Cooperative Gallery 213

“Forces of Nature,” my show at Cooperative Gallery 213 with Chuck Haupt, closed on April 29, after a successful run. I have to extend great thanks to Chuck for designing the show card and the back wall, aiming the lights, and being generally proactive and supportive while I was distracted by my mother’s recent death and the need to finish the last two paintings for my half of the show. (Valley Watcher was still a bit wet when I hung it…)

HauptBlake
Chuck Haupt, me… mocking photographer/artist Jean Luongo

 

Prior to the opening, Chuck and I went through two TV interviews and a radio interview. I’m learning how to do those, I think — ask for questions in advance, mentally prepare answers, and make sure the camera angle is flattering — be physically demonstrative, too — but it’s a process.

The Thursday opening was lovely, despite yucky weather — so many old friends and new! My dad came, with a family friend, and I so enjoyed introducing him to various artist friends. My sweetie did his usual splendid job with the food. On the following night, Binghamton’s

My "star" tag
My “star” tag

First Friday Art Walk/Event, a Facebook artist friend, the talented Robert Hoover (who I’d met only once before in person), showed up early with a special starburst nametag for me to wear… and then wept openly in front of River Watcher.

I’ve left the palm tree I bought for the show for the next Cooperative Gallery 213 exhibitors — Bill Gorman and Geof Gould — to use in their show, which promises to be great.

Demeter Study – oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in.
City Watcher – oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.
Woods Watcher: oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in.
River Watcher: oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in.
Kwan Yin and Chrysanthemums – oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in.
Winter Solstice – oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in.
Valley Watcher (after Rinehart) – oil on canvas, 48 x 30 in.
Owl and Stone Goddess – 24 x 24 in., colored pencil on painted hardboard
Moon Watcher – 30 x 40 in., oil on canvas
Night Watcher – 40 x 30 in., oil on canvas

 

“Forces of Nature” Opens at Cooperative Gallery 213

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River Watcher
River Watcher: oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

On Thursday, April 6, and First Friday, April 7, 2017, Cooperative Gallery 213 will open “Forces of Nature,” a dual exhibit by Glenda Blake and Chuck Haupt. The exhibit, running through April 30, includes photos of nature across two continents by Chuck Haupt, and paintings / drawings by Glenda Blake of allegorical figures in natural settings. An opening reception at the gallery, public welcome, is planned for Thursday, April 6, 6-9:00 p.m.

Blake says: “My part of this exhibit is made up largely of pieces from my ongoing “Watchers” series. It’s a concept I picked up somewhere in my youthful reading — ancient religious or allegorical symbols or minor deities, observing us as we pass unknowing along their hidden paths. Humanoid objects in incongruous settings often strike me as dispassionate observers of the joys and disasters of our world. There is something in them that is positive — neither hopeful nor despairing, but also not clinging to outcomes, and open to whatever comes. I don’t normally explain my work. I can only let whatever is in me manifest itself, with little or no conscious input from me. After many years as a rational planner and designer of publications, I find this a difficult but rewarding lesson. I’m dedicating this show to the memory of my mother, Beatrice Knoeller Blake, who died on February 22, at the age of 88.” Blake is an award-winning and juried artist who has shown her work throughout the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic regions. She also shows her work at the Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD.

Haupt says: “Photographing nature has become my passion after spending 36 years as a photojournalist, telling people’s stories visually. Photography is just an extension of my personality. I look for moments happening in front of me that resonate for me. Photography freezes moments in time, forever. The camera alone does not make the picture; I make it, using my eyes, emotions and heart.”

On photographing in black and white: “I like being able to strip away the colors, which I feel enables the viewer to more easily get to the heart of the image — to not be distracted by the colors we all see in everyday life.”

Haupt and Blake have both been exhibiting members of Cooperative Gallery 213 since 2015

Cooperative Gallery 213, a popular stop on the First Friday Art Walk, is located on Artists’ Row / State of the Art, at 213 State Street in Binghamton. The gallery is open on First Fridays 3-9:00 p.m. and regularly on Fridays 3-6:00 p.m., and Saturdays noon – 4:00 p.m. Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter on our website at www.cooperativegallery.com or on our Facebook page, Cooperative Gallery 213.

 

Random thoughts on a death in the family

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So, to be blunt, my mother is dead. She died a week ago, in Florida, where she and my dad spent their winters from December to April. My three brothers and I flew down to be with her and Dad, all hoping she’d pull out of it again, as she had in several previous crises, but I think mother-ovalwe all knew otherwise. She was 88.

We flew down on Sunday, and early Wednesday morning she died. In between times, she was so delighted that we were all there, as was my dad. We sang to her in four-part harmony, as she died. Yesterday was the funeral and burial, here in upstate New York.

Fortunately for us, she and Dad had made prior arrangements with a funeral director close to home, who took charge of getting Mother’s body back to New York State, and all the logistical stuff we might have had to stumble through. She’s been a great source of advice and comfort. There were only a few decisions to be made.

I’m having some trouble shaking off the numbness– I still haven’t wept whole-heartedly. I’m weary and sad and scatter-brained. My youngest brother and I are keeping Dad company in turn, but he also cherishes his alone time. He heads back to Florida in a couple of weeks, to meet my nephew and clean out the double-wide mobile home “unit” he and Mother owned in Florida.

I’m beginning to miss her. I hated the make-up job the undertaker did on her. We had a few good years together, just enjoying one another’s company. She would not have approved of the funeral service starting late, but that was due to the number of people who came to pay their respects. The church was filled. She was widely loved and respected.

Upcoming Drawing and Painting Classes at local libraries

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libraries

I’ve got some classes scheduled at both Your Home Public Library, Johnson City NY (YHPL), and Broome County Public Library, Binghamton NY (BCPL).

All courses consist of five 3-hour weekly sessions, and attendance is required at the first session of each. Find details and registration information on all on my Classes and Workshops page.

NEW – Fundamentals of Drawing: How to See Like an Artist, at BCPL. Based on ideas and exercises from “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards, “The Zen of Seeing” by Frederick Franck, and my own experience, this course will help you with rendering 3-D objects in 2-D by learning to SEE like an artist, to draw what you actually see rather than what you think you see. It can also help you with the two painting courses below. Thursdays, 5-8:00 p.m., January 12 through February 9, 2017 – no cost.

Exploring Oil Painting, at YHPL. Using methods and techniques from my own experience and “Still Life Painting Atelier” by Michael Friel, this course guides you through the process of making a studio-based still life painting from life, from composition and underpainting through finishing touches. By request, the still life this time will consist of all glass objects: a fun challenge! Mondays, 1-4:00 p.m., March 20 – April 17, 2017 — $15 supply fee covers all five sessions.

Oil Painting from Altered Photographs, at BCPL. Learn to see your photos differently, how to make them more suitable for oil painting references, and how to enlarge the resulting composition onto your canvas panel using the grid method. Then paint your composition, from underpainting through finishing touches. I utilize methods from “Creative Painting from Photographs,” by Rudy de Reyna, and my own work to illustrate and guide you in using your own photos. Painting materials are supplied at no cost; participants bring a list of low-cost items from a list supplied at registration (also at my Classes and Workshops page as part of the course description). Thursdays, 5-8:00 p.m., May 18 – June 15, 2017

I love teaching these classes — we have a lot of fun. Kudos to both libraries for offering them to the public. Hope you’ll join me!

Beethoven Oaks in “Strokes of Genius,” at the Maryland Federation of Art

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Unlikely Dance: Beethoven Oaks - 30 x 48 in., oils on canvas
Unlikely Dance: Beethoven Oaks – 30 x 48 in., oils on canvas

Sweetie and I shipped off this 30 x 48 in. painting today, via UPS and bound for the Maryland Federation of Art’s Circle Gallery in Annapolis, Maryland. Sweetie designed and built the 40-pound crate, and it was perfect — made to UPS and Circle Gallery specifications, puncture-proof, and designed to keep the painting from moving or directly contacting the crate. The shipping cost was surprisingly low.

If my hard drive hadn’t gone belly-up a month ago, I could quote from the acceptance email that said how many hundreds of artists submitted work for this show, but it was several hundred and Beethoven Oaks was one of 68 selected, so I’m thrilled. We have friends and family in the DC area, so we’ll make a pleasure trip around the opening reception in November. Funny thing, though — someone sent Sweetie a link to the show’s Call for Artists, to pass on to me… and we can’t remember who it was. Some messenger of the gods…

And while we were at UPS, we met a re-emerging artist, the woman behind the counter in the shipping office, who’d like to take my painting class. You just never know.