Texas Pastel at the Bijou

Still time to see the wonderful pastel art show at the Bijou Theatre Lobby.  It will run through May, invite family and friends.  If not planning on a movie, you may tell them that you just wish to see the art show, they will let you in.  Lots of great art!

The Bijou is located at Wonderland Mall(formerly Crossroads), corner 410 and Fredericksburg Rd.

Enjoy!

TXPS April Announcements

•  Our valued TXPS board member, friend, and artist~~Roger Snyder~~passed away Sunday, April 3, 2016.  He has been our excellent Secretary for several years.  The funeral arrangements are private.  If you'd like to send a card, here is the family address:  Sondra Snyder (wife),  2051 Belvedere Ct., New Braunfels, TX  78130.  Please also look for our posts about Roger and his artwork on our TXPS blogspot and on our Facebook page.  He will be remembered fondly.  Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family.  
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• Our April TXPS event is this Saturday, April 9th.  Here's the agenda:
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1. Framing Demonstration at 10 a.m. Harold's Framing, 2743 Roosevelt, San Antonio
2. Lunch at 11:30 a.m., Bobbie's Cafe, 6728 S. Flores, San Antonio
3. Plein Air Painting/Paint-out, Mission San Jose, 6701 San Jose Drive, San Antonio (off Roosevelt and Mission Roads), 1 to 3 p.m., bring along your art set-up and supplies and wear comfortable clothes and shoes

Please feel free to attend any or all of Saturday's activities.  Also, please don't forget that if you have signed up for the Bijou Members Art Show, we will be hanging on May 1st.  Hope to see you this Saturday!  ~~Cindy Morawski

Sad News from the Texas Pastel Society

With a heavy heart we must let you know that our friend and fellow artist, Roger Snyder has passed away.

We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife, Sondra and family.  He will be dearly missed by all.

Roger served as our secretary and did a fine job, always ready to help.

Further  information will be forthcoming.  Condolences may be sent to 2051 Belvedere Ct., New Braunfels, Texas 78130.


We also wish to extend our condolences to our fellow member, Angelita Ortega, whose mother passed away recently.

Your loved ones touched many and enriched us all.  What a wonderful legacy.

TXPS February Kick-Off Meeting!

Hi TXPS Members!

Happy 2016!  The Texas Pastel Society wants to kick off the New Year with a meeting, art demo, and lunch on the first Saturday, February 6, 2016, 10:30 to 1:00 p.m. at this year's home base--Coppini Academy of Fine Arts, 115 Melrose Pl., San Antonio.  Our general meeting will include our spring plans and art show.  The art demo features local master pastel artist, Jeannette Cuevas.  Two of her paintings are included below.  Meeting is free for all members and $3.00 for nonmembers. We'll also finish with a nearby café lunch.  Hope you'll join us.  

Two final things, please renew your 2016 membership with TXPS as soon as possible.  Membership renewals can be done at our February meeting or through the mail with membership chairwoman, Georgia Stok.  Thanks!  Members, please check out our Facebook page.  News and updates, plus artwork are available and current.  If you want something added to our Facebook page, just email or Facebook a message.  Cindy Morawski~~ cski02@sbcglobal.net. 

Happy Painting!

Cindy

See Jeannette's work at www.jeannettecuevas.com

TXPS 2015 Show Review

Hi Members!

Thanks go out to all the artists who participated in our Texas Treasures--Annual Show!  Beautiful artwork!  Thanks also to our current Board of Directors.  You are making a difference!

The attached photos were taken the reception and awards ceremony at Coppini Academy.  The 2015 Winners are listed below:

1st:  Neka Scarbrough-Jenkins, 2nd:  Denise Beard,  3rd:  Cindy McBride,  Honorable Mentions:  Jodie Taylor and Vicki Smith. 

Congratulations to this year's winners!  Way to go!   Please check out our Facebook page too.  Current news and photos are available.  Facebook Page:  Texas Pastel Society

Cindy

Left to right:  Neka, Denise, Cindy, Jodie, and Vicki

Left to right: Charles, Cindy, Jerry, Kay, Georgia and Roger

TXPS Dues are due!

Hi to all!

Yes, it's that time of year to renew our membership.  Please send your $30 check made out to Texas Pastel Society, c/o Georgia Stok, 122 Dawnview Ln, San Antonio, Tx. 78213.

Texas Pastel Society

Membership Form Shared Ideas=Inspiration

The Texas Pastel Society was formed in January 2008 to raise awareness of soft pastel art and provide group support for pastel artists in the south Texas area. Members meet several times a year to build on their pastel painting skills through demos, paint-outs, gallery/museum tours, local exhibitions, workshops, all-member shows, and juried competitions.

Requirements for membership are:
Annual Dues(Jan 1-Dec. 31): $30 for individuals no younger than 15, and volunteer on a committee when needed.

TXPS is a member of the International Association of Pastel Societies 
Please

Print
Name__________________________________Home phone_____________

Address_________________________________mobile #(optional)_________

City______________________________State___Zip code________ _
e-

mail_____________________________

Website___________________________

Please pick the committee(s) you would enjoy serving on. Thank you.
Phone committee__Refreshments__Computer__ Exhibitions__ mail-outs__Show helper__Publicity__

Signature______________________________________________________

Date:____________Ck#____________

Mail this form with your check made out to Texas Pastel Society , c/o Georgia Stok, 122 Dawnview Ln, San Antonio, Texas 78213

www.texaspastelsociety.blogspot.com

email: texaspastelsociety@yahoo.com

Texas Pastel Society 2015 "Texas Treasures" Members Show

You are cordially invited to the Gallery Show at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts, 115 Melrose Pl. San Antonio, Texas.

November 12-15 , 2015,  9-5 p.m.

Art Reception - Sunday, Nov. 15,  2-4 p.m.

Our Art Reception will include light refreshments and the juried awards presentation for our art competition.  Juror Gaye Sekula.

Member's artwork on display will also be for sale.

Hope you'll support our local pastel artists! 

Join us for our annual show!

Texas Treasures Drop off Reminder

For those participating in the Texas Treasures Show:

Hand Deliver:  9-12 noon, Wednesday, November 11th

Coppini Academy of Fine Arts
115 Melrose Pl.
San Antonio, Texas

Questions? Contact: Cindy Morawski, 210-522-0706 or cscki02@sbcglobal.net

September and October Meeting Notes

Texas Pastel Member meeting

October 5, 2015

The October Texas Pastel Society Meeting was held at the Coppini Art Academy. 16 members and 2 guests were in attendance.
Cindy started the meeting by introducing the Board and having each attendee introduce themselves. Jerry then introduced our demonstrator, Enid Wood. Enid has her studio in Bastrop.
“She studied still life and portrait painting at Westminster College in Salt Lake City with Don Doxey. Her subsequent career as a violin teacher took her to Berkeley, New Haven, London, Pittsburgh, and Bastrop, TX. Ten years ago, inspired by the beautiful paintings and places seen during her travels, she joined Albert Handell’s mentorship program in New Mexico and became a full time painter.  She has also studied pastel painting with Linda Wallen, Doug Dawson, Terri Ford, Duane Wakeham, Fred Somers, Dina Gregory, Rita Kirkman, Richard McKinley, Elizabeth Castonguay, Judy Mattei, Dawn Emerson, Clayton Beck, Mike Beeman, Sally Strand, and Suchitra Bhosle. “
Enid described the pastels she uses and how she began first using Pan Pastels. These first came in “stacks”, but someone invented a tray (like a shallow muffin tin) that would hold and protect the individual colors. In addition to standard colors, these pastels also come in metallic and pearlescent colors.
She normally uses stick pastels (of varying softness) on top of the Pan Pastels. She applies the pastels with a variety of soft foam tools made for this purpose, but often uses cheaper foam cosmetic sponges. She touches a color two or three times before applying the pastel to the surface. For the demonstration she used pre-mounted UART 400.
Enid normally does not start with a drawing, particularly when painting in Plein Aire. The pastels will work on a variety of surfaces, including Canson. The Pan Pastels go on really fast. In general soft pastels such as Terry Ludwig and Schminke will go on top of the Pan Pastels, but pastel pencils are problematic.
The Pan Pastels can be blended, hence there is no need to purchase different values of each color. This is accomplished by dabbing the sponge on several colors (such as blue and white to get a lower value of the blue). Enid demonstrated the use of two or three complementary colors to easily obtain the desired shade of New Mexico soil. She used paper towels to clean the surface of the Pan Pastels.
Edges can be achieved by using pencils or vine charcoal, or by using sponges with sharp corners. Plastic palette knives fitted with foam covers can also be used for details. She finished (at least 85%) the picture using Terry Ludwig pastels to add “pops of color”.
The meeting was adjourned for lunch. After lunch Enid conducted a workshop.











Texas Pastel Member meeting

September 12, 2015

The September Texas Pastel Society Meeting was held at the Coppini Art Academy. 19 members and 2 guests were in attendance.
Jerry Henkener started off the meeting circulating 3 sign up sheets for Kay Brooks. 1) the attendance list, 2) a sign up sheet for the October 3^rd Enid Wood workshop, and, 3) a sign up sheet for those interested in hanging their art in several San Antonio locales.
The meeting continued with an introduction of our officers and our guests. News from the floor included Cindy Morawski’s appointment as artist for the Mitchell Lake Audobon Center, Mary Lopez’s new classes at the San Antonio Jerry’s Artarama and Georgia Stok’s classes.

Upcoming events include the October 3^rd meeting (starting at 10:30) that will feature a demonstration of pan Pastels by Enid Wood. From 1:00 to 4:00 Enid will conduct a workshop. The demo is free to all members. The workshop will be $50 for members and $60.00 for non-members.

November will feature our all members show at the Coppini. Details are still being arranged. Gaye Sekula will judge the show. She is an oil painter and pastelist, teaching at the NBAL in both media. She is featured in a number of galleries in the southwest and was recently selected as ambassador to the various Texas portrait painting societies. There will be a reception and an entry fee to cover prizes.

Next meeting will be in February. Currently, Jeannette Cuevas is scheduled to be the demonstrator, showing her landscape painting techniques. For March, we are considering a paintout at one or more of the San Antonio Missions, an opportunity to paint San Antonio’s new world heritage site.

Our demonstration was by Libby Peters. She is a nationally recognized portrait artist whose work is included in the collections of legislators and families across America and England. She is a signature member of the pastel Society of America, the Pastel Society of the Southwest and a member of the Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, the Degas Pastel Society and Past President, Exhibition Chair and Webmaster of the Austin Pastel Society. She has been published in a number of journals and books and won numerous awards.

Libby demonstrated her techniques, painting from an iPad, using an Artist Grid app. She had prepared ahead of time several stages of her work, which allowed her to demonstrate what is a meticulous process. As she pointed out, a recognizable likeness requires getting tiny differences right.
She selected a fixed reference point (the most prominent feature) and a fixed reference measurement, typically the inside and outside of an eye. Everything is then carefully positioned and measured from this point. In order to accurately locate the portrait, especially if it is her preferred ¾ length, she will divide the paper into squares, with either the vertical or horizontal being in halves, in order to ensure fit.

Libby then concentrated on the reference point and proceeded to lay out the pupil and work her way out, layering pastel (or, as she called it, chipping away”) to correct the shape. She spends more time on the first eye than anything else, often taking 3 hours or more to get the effect she wants. She used pastel pencils (or sometimes a broken pastel to blend and get the small details.
She then turned the picture upside down and proceeded to correct any details that did not seem right. Then, still working upside down, proceeded to expand outward from the eye, working, blending and correcting as she went along. She indicated that she typically finishes the nose and mouth last, as these tend to move as the subject moves.

At one point, she added some background (in this case a dark green, since the background was shrubs), but no detail. She noted that this was necessary in order to assure that the correct values and colors were selected as the portrait proceeded. Turning the picture right side up, Libby began adding hair, using long brush like strokes and starting with the darker highlights.
Libby used a variety of pastels, harder Giraults for their ability to hold an edge, American, and other softer pastels with a lighter touch as the portrait progressed.

The meeting ended with a brief question and answer session and many thanks to Libby for presenting a very difficult subject an informative and entertaining manner.

Secretary

Roger W. Snyder

Thank you Libby!

September Meeting Update!

TXPS Reminder!  Mark your calendar for this Saturday, September 12th, 10:30 to 1:00.  The Texas Pastel Society will be meeting at Coppini Academy of Fine Art, 115 Melrose Pl., San Antonio.  Our Art Demo will feature Libby Peters, Portrait Artist.  We will also have a general meeting with updates about our TXPS Calendar of Events.  The meeting will be in a renovated space downstairs with plenty of room for us.  (No need to use the stairs or elevator.) Coppini is also expanding their parking lot this week.  That's good news for us too.  Street parking is also legal in that area if you can't get into the main lot.  Let's KICK-OFF FALL with Pastels and TXPS this Saturday! 

Cindy 

Cindy Morawski