Dianne Reeves

Our friend and fellow pastelist has passed on.  Many of us know she had fought a long battle but her strength and determination are an inspiration to all of us.

Dianne, a Charter Member of the Texas Pastel Society,  shared her ideas and knowledge with fellow pastelists inspiring us with her beautiful pastel paintings.  Even though her health was deteriorating, she was ever ready to pick up new ideas, participating as much as she could in shows and paint outs.

Her ready smile and positive attitude will be missed.

Dianne at the TXPS Fall Art Show at Windcrest

Dianne at the Steven Napper Workshop

Having fun at the Napper workshop August 2009

The funeral service is set for Friday, December 31st at 10:30 a.m. at the Zoeller Funeral Home, 615 Landa in New Braunfels.  There will be a reception at the New Braunfels Art League in New Braunfels at 11:30 a.m.
According to Mary Johnson, a friend of many years, Dianne asked that instead of flowers donations could be made to the Hope Hospice or the New Braunfels Art League in New Braunfels.

The Texas Pastel Society wishes to extend our deepest sympathy to the family of our friend, Dianne.

Remembrances:
I went to the New Braunfels newspaper and from there read about her  beautiful and inspiring life on the Zoeller Funeral Home site. The arts really nourish so many of  our souls. Dianne and I were born in the same year.  I wish I'd gotten to know her.
Thanks for the info.  My thoughts are with her family. Kay Brooks

I remember Dianne's beautiful artwork and gentle ways.  I enjoyed sharing our past pastel painting event at the Steves Homestead and lunch at the Guenther House.  I last saw Dianne with Sheila Orr at the Buda Fine Art Festival in early October.  I will miss her, and I'd like to extend my sympathy to her family and friends.Cindy Morawski
I shared pastel portrait class with her and many workshops including the latest,kathleen cook's in october. She was always smiling, offering encouraging words to me about my art, and her art was always so wonderful. I will miss her. janette hastings

Dianne has been a constant example of how to live – getting the most joy out of each day & doing all one can to take care of oneself!  We traveled to New Mexico a couple years ago – it was a wonderful trip and she drove! We were good travel buddies-I have some health issues (not nearly as serious as hers) and we’d both wear out at about the same time.  She was such a smart, creative lady and my life is definitely richer for having known her!

Sheila Orr-New Braunfels

Let's get inspired and start 2011 with a bang!

TXPS has programmed two great activities during the first week of January to get our inspiration going!


January 4th Meeting, first Tuesday, at 5:30 p.m. at the Tobin Library, 4134 Harry Wurzbach, next to Garner Middle School, just a short distance from Loop 410. We won't want to miss the demo by Pauline Howard.  To see this very accomplished pastelist's work and bio, go to www.pmhoward.com and also the Hunt Gallery website, www.huntgallery.net/pauline_howard.htm.
We can also pay our dues, pick up the prospectus for the 4th Annual All Member Show and the Juried Regional Exhibition/Competition, and sign up/pay for the Libby Peters Portrait Mini-Workshop in February!

January 6th, first Thursday, at 5 p.m. at the McNay Art Museum to see the Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism Exhibit, www.mcnayart.org. We will have a docent if we have 6 or more.  The museum charge is just $5 instead of the regular price of $13.  RSVP  please if you plan on joining us.  We can also all go to dinner afterwards at La Fonda. Please  RSVP if this interests you so we can make reservations.  Please RSVP on the McNay visit and the dinner by Monday, January 3rd.  The show ends on January 16th, so it's a great opportunity to see it.

February 5, Saturday, at 10 a.m. Libby Peters Portrait Mini-workshop day. Libby will do a demo in the morning followed by the workshop at 12:30 p.m. She will provide a portrait reference photo which will also be projected on a screen. To see Libby's beautiful portraits, go to www.libbypeters.com   
Price: $40 for members, includes demo
$50 for non-members, includes demo
There is a $5 meeting fee for those NOT taking the workshop.
Meeting and workshop to be held at the New Braunfels Art League, upstairs classroom, New Braunfels, Tx.
Please send in your fee ASAP to hold your spot, to the Texas Pastel Society, P.O.Box 37066, San Antonio, Tx. 78237-9998,  Fee is non-refundable.  Maximum 14.

The next post will give you news on our 2011 art shows.

Shared Ideas=Inspiration!

The Year in Review - Flattmann Workshop, Mini-Workshops, and Shows

Welcome back!
 Highlights of our society year were the Alan Flattmann Cityscape Workshop, the mini-workshops and our two art shows.

Master Pastelist Alan Flattmann from Louisiana shared so much of his knowledge during the 3 day cityscape workshop in April.  We painted on the beautiful San Antonio Riverwalk and put into practice what we learned back at the studio.  We were surprised at his use of fixative but could see the beautiful results in his style of pastel painting. Alan was also the juror for our National Exhibition/Competition. 

Our National Juried Exhibition/Competition was a big endeavor and with Alan Flattmann's great selections, turned out to be a fabulous show! The month-long show was held at the New Braunfels Art League's Elaine Felder Gallery and had very positive feedback on the show.  Best of Show went to our fellow member Eunice Hundley.  All had a great time at the reception as we were privileged to have Alan back to do the final judging, present the awards and say words of encouragement to the artists. Our many volunteers helped make this show one of a kind.
                                                                         
In May, we held our 3rd Annual All Member Show at the Carver Theatre, a beautiful venue.  The month-long exhibition was seen by hundreds attending the wonderful shows at the Carver.  A great way to get  the word out into the community. Our All Member Show was given a lovely reception by the Carver.

We also had two great mini-workshops in 2010.  One was given by Jeannette Cuevas in February and the other by Jodie Taylor in October.  These were one day intense workshops which gave us new ideas and a boost of inspiration.  Jeannette had us working on watercolor paper with a watercolor underpainting and Jodie helped us paint loosely with lots of color and encouraged us to get away from the reference photo.

As you can see, we had an inspiring year and 2011 promises more of the same!  Members, let's not forget to send in our dues.  And if you're not a member yet, join us!  For a complete review of the National Juried Show, go to www.texaspastelsociety.com under Shows.
Stay tuned for 2011 news, the prospectus for the 4th Annual All Member Show and the Regional Juried Show will soon be up.  Happy painting!

Welcome!

The Texas Pastel Society's motto is "Shared Ideas = Inspiration".  Our new blog will help us stay inspired by sharing our art news with other members and all who visit us.  You will find the latest society news in its pages and you will be able to link to members.

We had many inspiring moments during the year, many great demos like how to paint clouds by Peggy Thompson, Jeannette Cuevas showed us how to do a watercolor underpainting, Master Pastelist Alan Flattmann from New Orleans uses fixative on his works, a framing demo by Laura Everett, Terry Smith's(PSA) use of an oil wash under her pastels, an academic drawing demo by Irene Taylor, a computer demo on how to work with digital images by Susan Tracy and a colorful landscape demo by Jodie Taylor. We even had a Night at the Movies with a Richard McKinley DVD.
Here are a few pics of our wonderful demos.  Enjoy~

We will continue with our Year in Review with the next blog which will cover the Alan Flattmann Workshop and the National Juried Show.  Links to some of our members are provided on this page.  For a complete list of artists and their websites, go to www.texaspastelsociety.com .