LGAA Meetings

May 12:

Bonni will demonstrate her lively approach to drawing, assigning values to shapes, and enthusiastic paint application.

Studying watercolor in Provence, France during 1996 with artist, Barbara Nechis proved to be a life-changing event providing Bonni with a rich portfolio of work.

She currently teaches art in Watsonville/Aptos, has exhibited in many juried shows and has numerous paintings in private collections worldwide.

April - no meeting scheduled

March 10:

Learn about Wayne's acrylic glazing and layering techniques creating rich tones with a limited color palette.

Wayne Jiang is a realist painter based in Northern California. Combining the aesthetic of 17th century Baroque paintings and the composition of modern documentary photography, his works have been described as the contemporary interpretations of Van Eyck, Vermeer, and Hopper.

His work has been widely exhibited in museums and galleries including the Triton Museum, Sanchez Art Center, History San José, and Solomon Dubnick Gallery.

February 11:

Donna demonstrated the techniques she uses to create monotypes by applying layers of acrylic paint and incorporating the use of soft pastels, oil pastels, watercolor and other drawing materials.

The meeting was well-attended despite the change of venue precipitated by the Los Gatos Library opening celebration.

Many attendees responded to the request to bring snacks - they were well-received!

Artists of the Month for February:

1st - Karen Loomis - "Winter Pears"
2nd - Bobbie Frederickson - "At Rest"
3rd - Patty Montgomery - "Bike"

January 14, 2012:

Mark shared with us his secrets for creating his wonderful atmospheric landscape paintings.

The 7 Steps he demonstrated were: 1-find your view; 2-make a thumbnail sketch; 3-prepare the surface; 4-sketch; 5-mass-in the shapes; 6-develop the details; 7-finish.

This was Bonnie Rokas first meeting as President and she introduced John Agg and Mary Ellen Comport, who spoke briefly about the Los Gatos Museum and their desire for LGAA members to participate.

Artists of the Month for January:

1st - Leslie Jones - "What's Your Story"
2nd (tie) - Vernon Dittenbir - "Tenderness"
2nd (tie) - Bobbie Frederickson - "L G Theater"
3rd - Patty Montgomery - "A Short Part of a Day"

December 10:

Well-attended - and a good time was had by all! Lots of good food, a barrel of toys for the Toys for Tots drive.

Thanks to Patty Montgomery and all the volunteers who coordinated the event.

A round of applause appreciating the work of Karen Bemis (retiring after 3 years as President) and Judi Snyder (departing Recording Secretary).

Bonnie Rokas was introduced as the President pro-tem and Susan Koga the new Recording Secretary.

2011 Artists of the Year:

1st - Michael Rogan
2nd - Rebecca Lillis White

November 12:

David presented an engaging demonstration and shared a wealth of information with style and humor, from a long career in illustration and portraiture.

Artists of the Month for November:

1st - Rebecca Lillis White - "White Reflection"
2nd - Donna Gemma - "Coffe House"
3rd - Jan Fitzgerald - "Venice"

October - no meeting scheduled

September 10:

Ann McMillan demonstrated her enriched-color palette knife technique in oil, painting from a still-life set up.

She shared with us: the steps to paint cleanliness, how to avoid both chalky and muddy paint, the value of quick compositions, the importance of strong value structure, and the rewards of painting directly from life.

Artists of the Month for September:

1st - Peggy Kent - "Old Tree"
2nd - Nina Bricker - "Jack and the Puppy"
3rd - Michael Rogan - "Yellow Choir"

August 13:

Mark was kind enough to reschedule his demo for our January meeting.

July - no meeting scheduled

June 11:

Judy demonstrated how to extend paint to save money, mix paints with gels to create unique textural surfaces, techniques for using iridescent and metallic paints, and how to use products to make surfaces for watercolors, graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, oil and soft pastels.

She also covered lightfastness of pigments and health and safety concerns.

A packet of literature and free samples of paint and gels was provided for all attendees.

Artists of the Month for June:

1st - Rebecca White - "San Juan Batista"
2nd (tie) - Wendell Fiock - "Jack and the Puppy"
2nd (tie) - Jeff Owen - "Palm Desert Beauty"
3rd - Laurie Barna - "When She was 17"

May 14:

Will's program topic question was answered immediately with: "Look at the Darks". Example paintings showed how the dark shapes define the imagery, starting with small thumbnail sketches in charcoal.

Using value gauges to understand different parts of the scene, he emphasized the importance of seeing the actual values isolated from clutter.

Will has graciously allowed us to provide a pdf of his Painting Decisions and Reference Checks handout.

Artists of the Month for May:

1st - Michael Rogan - "Breaker"
2nd - Donna Genna - "Take Five"
3rd - Bob Newick - "Fruitful Is Barn"

March 12:

Susanne showed us some beautiful photographs she made on trips to Mexico's Colonial Heartland and Copper Canyon.

Although she talked about "Travel Photography", her pictures were more about color, shapes, shadows and composition.

The smooth colors of the walls in her pictures were a stark contrast to the highly-detailed doors and windows.

Artists of the Month for March:

1st - Wendell Fiock - "Jonathan's Best"
2nd - Bonnie Rokas - "Peggy's Cove"
3rd - Raja Guha Thakurta - "Inner Light"

February 12:

Steve brought a large collection of filled sketchbooks to share with us, emphasizing blind contour drawing with pen and ink.

His watercolor demo over a light pencil sketch, was done in fast color washes building up to a Sargent-like looseness with rich texture and color.

Artists of the Month for February:

1st - Nancy Cheadle - "Sailing the Bay"
2nd - Bonnie Rokas - "Winter afternoon at Fire Creek"
3rd - Vernon Dittenbir - "Mr. Grizzly"

January 8, 2011:

Ray drew a portrait for us from a live model, demonstrating how he makes decisions regarding composition, perspective, proportion, value, pattern and the use of light and shadow - key considerations for achieving a good likeness.

Artists of the Month for January:

1st - Michael Rogan - "Valley of San Jose"
2nd - Raja Guha Thakurta - "The Monk"
3rd - Bonnie Rokas - "Deep Winter"