SCWS July 2014 Newsletter

Botanical Art in Watercolor – Maria Cecilia Freeeman (NEW)

In this workshop you’ll learn a practical, traditional approach to drawing and painting a botanical subject – from study to finished work. Botanical art involves both accuracy and artistic technique, but you don’t need to be a botanist, and beginners as well as experienced artists are welcome. We’ll go through a process of observation, drawing, composing, color mixing, and techniques of watercolor brushwork particular to botanical art. You’ll get individual attention as you draw and paint. We’ll work with fall colors in live plant specimens (to be provided): leaves, rose hips, a flower of the

season.Bring lunch. Bring a bag lunch. Offered: Nov.. 15 & 16, 9am-3:30pm. Level: All Fee: $150 / $130 Members. Instructor: Maria Cecilia Freeman is a professional artist with 20 years of experience bridging scientific illustration and botanical fine art. Her award-winning drawings and paintings have appeared in solo and juried exhibitions across the U.S. and at Kew Gardens, London. You can see her work at her website: mcf-art.com.

Foundations of Watercolor #2- JoNeal Boic

It is true, possibly…that watercolor requires more knowledge of the paints than other media. However, I believe it’s a fallacy that it is the most difficult medium! Come and learn the basics with a seasoned teacher of 40 years (wow! am I really that old?). We will review color theory and how it applies to watercolor. You will practice the techniques of wet into wet, washes, glazing, creating hard and soft edges. You will learn the most important tools for watercolor and you will see for yourself that most errors are repairable. At the end you will have 3 or 4 small finished projects to mat and frame, not to mention and have had a whole lot of fun. Oh yes, I am ALL about painting and fun!! Bring a lunch. Offered: Dec.13 & 14. Time: 9:00 – 3:30, Fee: $150 / $130 Members. Level: Beginner. Instructor: Jo-Neal Boic: Jo-Neal comes to us with 40 years of teaching experience, more than 20 of them working for Santa Cruz City Schools. She began painting in watercolor 25 years ago, then returned to school so that she could teach painting and art at the secondary level. During that years leave she studied fresco painting and restoration, serigraphy and oils in Florence, Italy. Her first love will always be watercolor but recently she has been painting in oils, acrylics, pastels, as well as on silk, which she also marbles.

Drybrush Watercolor Class

Curtis Mothershed: (Best of Show in 84th Statewide Exhibit)

Watercolor is the medium. The technique is (drybrush) My subjects are landscapes & seascapes. I take field color sketches and reference photos to have for the correct lighting and details of the area. Then I complete the painting in my studio. I enjoy drybrush watercolor because the effects are unique and can’t be achieved by other methods. It allows you to bring realistic details, textures and patterns to the trees, rocks, water and buildings. It takes patience to learn the techniques. You use very little water on the brush to apply the paint using crosshatching and scrubbing.The technique that can expand your love for watercolor painting.Bring a photo of your favorite landscape to work from. You may have it sketched out on watercolor paper or board to save drawing time. Offered: September 20 & 21. 9:00 -3:30. Level: Intermediate Fee: $150/$130 Members. Bring a lunch!!

Instructor: Curtis Mothershed is a watercolor artist and illustrator with over 35 years of experience in the field of traditional art and conceptual illustration & design. Open Studio Artist, Art/Graphic Design/Illustration coursework – AA/BAUniversity of the Pacific, Stockton, CA • Delta College, Stockton, CA • Cabrillo College

See Curtis’s work at:www.curtismothershed-illustrations-fineart.com

 At the MAH (Museum of At and History) Santa Cruz:

Crossing Cultures: Belle Yang, A Story of Immigration: June 6-August 24, 2014

2nd Floor Solari Gallery-2-up-on-granddaddy-hill-by-Up on Granddaddy Hill, 1998. Chinese ink and watercolor

Imagine a map of your life. Where are you going, and where have you been?

Belle Yang traces her path through vibrant paintings, illustrations and graphic novels about her experience as a Chinese American immigrant in Santa Cruz County.

With charming depictions, Yang narrates the story of her family’s journey from China to America with insight, wit and humor. Seminal Chinese-American author, Amy Tan, remarked that Yang “writes in English and thinks in Chinese,” endowing her works with a unique combination of accessibility and intimacy.

Born in Taiwan, Yang spent part of her childhood in Japan before immigrating with her family to the US at the age of seven. In an effort to reconnect with her parents’ mainland Chinese roots, and escape an abusive romantic relationship, Yang studied at the Beijing Academy of Traditional Chinese Painting, where she developed an appreciation and respect for traditional ink paintings and folk art. Her acquired fluency in Mandarin allowed her to unlock a colorful wealth of stories springing from her father and his ancestors. After witnessing the horrors of the Tiananmen Massacre, Yang returned to the US determined to not waste her freedom of expression, and to serve as a voice of justice for immigrants. Exhibitions of her work have been presented at museums and cultural centers such as the National Steinbeck Center, Monterey Museum of Art, San Francisco Main Public Library, Pacific Asia Museum, Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, and the Boston Public Library. In Crossing Cultures, Yang—whose Chinese first name, Xuan, means “Forget Sorrow”—shares her inspirational journey through enchanting depictions of family stories and childhood memories.

Crossing Cultures: Belle Yang, A Story of Immigration was developed by the Bakersfield Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, California, and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.

Join us for exhibition-related events:

Free First Friday: Belle Yang Artist Talk- Friday, June 6 | 5:30PM-Belle Yang discusses her background, artistic process, and recent projects.

3rd Friday: Art that Moves-Friday, June 20 | 5-8PM-Cid Pearlman, our current Participatory Performing Artist in Residence, creates a participatory movement experience inspired by the exhibition. Join Cid in physical reflection on what we leave behind and what we carry with us as we travel through our lives.

Free First Friday: Immigration Stories-Friday, August 1st | 5:30PM-Community members share personal and historic stories about immigrating to Santa Cruz County.

3rd Friday: Games and Folklore-Friday, August 15th | 5-8PM-This event explores playful traditions from many cultures. Learn more about Chinese folklore and folk art in hands-on workshops.