Firebird is my newest creation. I am really pleased the way the strongly embossed paper adds action and emotion to this original print. I intend to explore more embossing techniques in the future.
"Dot meets Dot " during first Saturday fun!
"Brushes with Nature" is the atrium exhibition at Studios on the Park this month. It features over 40 paintings by members of the San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment, an organization I have been fortunate to be part of for over 15 years.
All of the SLOPE painters share a personal passion for the Central Coast and our beautiful landscape. One of the greatest pleasures of being part of this talented group is the opportunity to visit our community's most stunning spaces. Painting the Irish Hills, the Chimineas Ranch, the Sedgwick Reserve in the Los Padres National Forest, and Pacific Wildlife Care among others has been a priviledge and a joy.
You can read more about "Brushes with Nature" in this week's Paso Robles Press. Writer Hayley Thomas perfectly captured the essence of what we do and her article is an excellent introduction to the show.
I'd like to personally invite you to the opening this Saturday, September 7 from 5 pm to 8 pm. My dear friend Elizabeth Tolley (co-founder of SLOPE) will be speaking and there will be a drawing for reproductions by some of the member artists.
I hope to see you this month and hear about your favorite places and spaces in our community.
The New Times has been good to us.
Check out the latest article featuring Studio artists, Neal Breton and Jeff Claassen, at New Times SLO or pick up a copy today at one of the many New Times stands scattered around the county.
Enjoy!
Hello All!!!
Jeff here. I'm one of the newbies at Studios On The Park. I'm sharing a studio with my buddy Neal and we're calling our studio "Fiasco Gallery" because...well, let's face it, it's been a fiasco getting everything set up. Don't let "gallery" throw you off though. We are just a couple of art nerds getting messy and flinging paint around our new studio. After spending the month of August getting our feet wet in this new environment we are now ready to announce that we are officially open and ready to meet you all.
For online stalkers feel free to check out my bio.
If you're not quite at stalker status (yet), but would like to get a feel for what I'm bringing to The Studios please check out my work here.
In the studio you will find a plethora of goodies ranging from original paintings and limited edition prints to handmade wallets and t-shirts to pocket mirrors and greeting cards.
Come by this Saturday September 7, 2013 from 6-9 for our "official" opening. All the studios will be open and there will be some live music to bob your head to. It's going to be awesome. And when I say "awesome" I mean AWESOME.
See you soon!
- Jeff
PS. Check out Fiasco Gallery on Facebook to see what Neal and I are up to. And if you're as addicted to Instagram as I am feel free to follow me @jeffclaassen.
PSS. Thanks for looking!
Do you like working in an artistic environment? Do you like interacting with creative people? If the answer is yes, an opportunity awaits you as a Sales Associate Volunteer for Studios on the Park. Studios is a nonprofit open studio art center, located in the heart of downtown Paso Robles, that houses eight separate studios with 21 working artists, two gallery studios, and two galleries.
Sales Associate Volunteers welcome guests and provide a brief overview of the organization. They also assist visitors in the facility’s two new gallery studios: Studio 9 Fine Craft and Studio 13 Ceramics & Sculpture. These spaces showcase mediums not found elsewhere in the building and generate funds to support the organization’s sponsorship of educational programs, special events, and overall financial stability.
Through knowledge of the center and excellent customer service, Sales Associate Volunteers enhance visitors’ experience by talking about works on display, selling a variety of gift items, and providing information and printed brochures about programs, exhibits and events. Additional volunteer responsibilities may develop as this opportunity evolves.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and able to:
• Commit to a three-hour shift once a week
• Work well with the public and coworkers
• Count back change to customers
• Learn the computer program
• Multi-task
For more information, please call the Volunteer Coordinator at 712-8612 or the Program Director at 238-9800 or email: info@studiosonthepark.org.
I have continuously kept a sketchbook ever since I started college in 1960. Some years I used it frequently other years less so. But, I always knew it was there to use and to record important events. To be honest, also to record trivial things. Musings, written or drawn.
Well, I have just begun a new sketchbook for 2013. My last one was filled in a year and a month. I'm posting the first drawing in this sketchbook. It was inspired by a Muybridge action photo. I like using his old photos because they are small with blurred detail but give a good gesture. So, I have to invent and understand the figure's action.
I am very fortunate to have been given the recent opportunity to do a private nighttime photo shoot of historic Chapel Hill in Shandon, California, courtesy of Pete Clark, son of William Clark, and fellow photographer Kevin L. Cole, who arranged the shoot. Chapel Hill is located about 15 miles east of Paso Robles off Highway 46 East, just off McMillan Canyon Road, and consists of a private church high on a vineyard-studded hill built by famous Shandon resident William P. Clark, Jr., former Deputy Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and United States Secretary of the Interior. The chapel was built specifically for Clark's daughter and is available for private ceremonies. Upon occasion, Catholic masses, concerts and special events are held at the church.
Armed with my new Nikon D800 and accompanied by friend and expert night photographer Kevin L. Cole and his wife Anne, we spent hours shooting stars and star trails and light painting the chapel. Until my recent purchase of a professional DSLR with a full-frame sensor, I did not have the capability to capture night shots of the stars due to noise issues and sensor overheating. To say this wonderful camera is an upgrade to my older Nikon with a cropped sensor is an understatement. With a full-frame sensor and 36MP to work with, it is a joy and I look forward to making very large prints for my studio. The detail and resolution of this camera are simply stunning.
This image is a single Camera RAW shot taken at ISO 200 with a 24mm lens at f4 with an exposure time of 150 seconds. There are both star points and star trails visible in the photograph. A bit of light painting was used on the chapel due to the foreground darkness. However, there was a waxing crescent moon directly behind us, which helped light the chapel until it turned orange and set over the surrounding hills. For you pixel peepers, the image was processed in Lightroom 4, Photoshop CS5, and with onOne Software's Perfect Effects 6.1.
For more information on Chapel Hill, see my prior post Chapel Hill. I am currently working on the timed sequence of shots I took using an intervalometer to capture circular star trails, which will require running a stacking script in Photoshop. I will post more images as I process them. We aimed our cameras at Polaris in order to render circular star trails, which occurs due to the earth's rotation around the North Star. A compass is essential when planning these excursions, as well as the wonderful app TPE – The Photographer's Ephemeris.
Jim is participating in the 2012 Open Studios Art Tour at 104 Ridge Drive in SLO on Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21 from 10 am to 5 pm.
More information about the Tour can be found on ARTS Obispo’s website.
Well, the work goes on between printmakers and potters. We all are focused on our deadlines to have lots of work ready for our opening on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 5pm. I am not usually comfortable with collaborating but we have all done very well together making this a fun (with pressure) project. This photo is of Earth and will also be a tile thanks to Michael and Peggy.
I am pleased to announce my joining the fine artists and many friends at Studios. My work represents over 40 years as a professional artist. Please visit and view original paintings of our Central Coast as well as original graphics inspired by my many trips to East Africa. Available also will be fine, limited edition reproductions of select paintings.
A good time to meet you would be Saturday October 6th for the First Saturday Art Walk. I will be in my new studio from 5 to 9 PM. or by appointment. I look forward to seeing you.
Dennis Curry
Greetings!
What a summer of changes! Starting this month I've joined with Studios on the Park in Paso Robles as a resident artist. Sheri and I have finished our move across town and are ready for you to see our new studios during the October Open Studios Tour. And I've just finished an art workshop in the North Carolina mountains which focused on figurative paintings in a loose, quick, colorful style.
Most boundaries in our lives are of our own making. This summer has been a big and frequently challenging reminder for me that we can change our own boundaries too.
Regards,
Jim
Click here to read more from my September Newsletter!
Doesn't it seem like everything happens at once? Even though I have been preparing for months for two closely timed events, I am wondering if I will get it all done. Tomorrow I leave for Yosemite for a week of teaching as an artist-in-residence for the Yosemite Art Center. It is a wonderful opportunity and I am so excited to go. BUT look at what I still have to make sence of the the show at Studios on the Park, opening on October 4th!! Come and see what I make from all this press time and all these collograph monoprints. We'll both be surprised!
Fall is a rich season for art & art fans in San Luis Obispo County.
With an extensive background in promoting American fine craft, guest speaker Lisa Stromsoe presents "Collecting Fine Craft on the Central Coast," Sunday, October 14, 11:00 pm at Bonestell Studios in Los Osos. Ms. Stromsoe has been a successful gallery owner, a national art juror and won top awards with internationally recognized silversmith husband, Randy Stromsoe, at the Smithsonian Craft Show, American Craft Council, Sausalito Arts Festival and locally at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art.
Guests at Bonestell Studios' gallery talk with Ms. Stromsoe will discover trends in local 3-dimensional fine craft, plus tips for putting together a personal collection. Afterward, visitors are invited to explore the newly expanded gallery and artspace for painter Jay Bonestell and mixed-media artist Ann Bonestell.
"Collecting Fine Craft on the Central Coast" is free and open to the public. Bonestell Studios is a long-time participant in ARTS Obispo's annual Open Studio Art Tour. Find Tour details and catalog information at www.ARTSObispo.org. Join Lisa Stromsoe Sunday, October 14, 11:00 pm at Bonestell Studios, 2008 Ferrell Avenue, Los Osos, 93402. QUESTIONS AND RSVP: 805.528.4265.
The two potters of EarthSea Pottery and the five printmakers of our Guild of Printmakers are collaborating to bring to you new, innovative and unique art artifacts.
Our blending of experience, "no fear" experimentation, and simpatico rapport across usually unrelated mediums has produced startling work in both art forms.
Water is the first linocut I've made from our collaboration. I also used the linocut to cast a plaster of paris stamp to make ceramic tiles. It is wonderful working with Peggy and Michael of EarthSea.
Printmakers just can't leave enough alone. It may take years to sell an edition, so two or three years later you may look at your image and say I don't like the way I did that or I think I'll make a little change of mood there.
If it is a very little change I'd keep the edition and state the same. If it a big change then I would call the print a new state or indicate that I've cancelled the first edition at a given number and rename the image.
Well, I've done just that with Jester Gesture-Fond Memories, now she is Jester Gesture-Heartbreaker. I've cancelled Fond Memories at an edition of 3 and altered it to Heartbreaker.
Now, have a little fun and spot the major alterations that changed the image.
Is plastic a part of your life? How would you like to make art out of those old unwanted plastic ID and credit cards? On Sunday, September 16 at 2:00 Rosey and Barbara will do a special presentation for the Allied Arts Association of Cambria. Learn about printmaking and make an original drypoint print. Fun, fun!
So if you read my last blog, now you know. For me, the sky became water. The patch of grass became a young, thick head of hair. It took several drawings to get the pose I wanted for my figure. It felt good to put someone in that cool, peaceful place, yet I may not have thought of it without Lillian's help. Happy summer! Barbara
