South African Society of Artists - Blog

Happenings

2011-12-07T07:45:00.004+02:00

These last months have been hectic at the Society.

Wallace Hulley

Mel Eliott

After the excitement of the Annual Exhibition, at the end of September Wallace Hulley, renowned acrylic painter and watercolourist, gave us a demonstration. He painted 3 pictures in the evening! including one of his famous donkeys. Thank you Wallace. And then in October we hosted Mel Elliott at our monthly meeting. Mel is an artist and son of well known artist Dale Elliott. They hail from Villiersdorp, so a special thank you to Mel for making the trip and giving us the benefit of your marketing expertise.

Also in October we had our very first Children's Exhibition at the Cape Town City Library. This exhibition was part of our Outreach programme and children from 3 venues took part. We were very fortunate to have Cape Town City Councillor, Beverley Cortje-Alcock, Mayoral Committee Member for Social and Early Childhood Development, open the exhibition. The new library in Cape Town is a treat, so do pay it a visit. And of course, accolades must go to all the children who took part.

Councillor Beverley Cortje-Alcock with prize winner, Nikita America
whose painting she purchased.

1st Prize for his painting in the "My Cape Town" category
Bertin Kolombo (top painting)

And our final meeting in November was our end of year function, combined with the Eleanor Palmer competition. Eleanor Palmer was a long-standing member of th society and while President, presented a cup to be awarded in an open painting category. The Italian Artshop very generously donated the prizes, and although he didn't get his own prize back, Gus Kennedy was elected the Winner for 2011.

Viewing the Seine - 2011 Eleanor Palmer Winner
Gus Kennedy

Eleanor Palmer evening

105th Annual Exhibition

2011-10-12T08:46:00.001+02:00

If August was hectic, September certainly was filled with constant activity.

And the culmination of our September 2011 was the Annual Exhibition which was opened by our Patron and acclaimed artist, Conrad Theys. The highlight of the evening was the induction of three new Fellows to the Society - Penny Steynor, Laura Wenman and Solly Gutman.

To achieve this honour, artists need to achieve a total of 90 out of 120 points over three out of four Annual Exhibitions. Not an easy task, so as you can imagine, the work of our three new Fellows is exceptional. Well done!

From left: Conrad Theys (SASA Patron), Lorna Jakins (SASA President), Laura Wenman, Solly Gutman and Penny Steynor
Photo courtesy of Karen Watkins of the Constantiberg Bulletin

This was our 105th Annual Exhibition and was superb. Well done to all the artists who took part. To those who didn't get their work in, as Conrad said, you weren't rejected, just not accepted by the judges of this year's selection day. So keep going.

A Busy August

2011-09-15T06:15:00.000+02:00

The month went by in a flash!

All the activity included preparations for selection day (actually it took a whole weekend), our landscape and life competition - congratulations to our winners

Lynn Brown - Life drawing/painting section

Grazyna Janik - Landscape/seascape section

Then there were the winter workshops. First was Cherry Nichols watercolour/mixed media workshop for experienced watercolourists (see previous post) and then we were honoured to have Natalie Hirschman give us a workshop in oils. An incredible experience from a master of the medium.

And then our own SASA member and Fellow, Di Ackerman, gave us a workshop on drawing in ink and finishing in acrylics.

A big thank you to all three wonderful artists for sharing their years of wisdom and experience with us.

A Presidential Opening

2011-08-04T20:07:00.001+02:00

The second Members' Exhibition took a few days to before sales started coming in and although not fabulous, definitely made the advent of Members' 2 worthwhile - we hope you thought so too.

Opened by current President, Lorna Jakins, with the help of Di Segal and Mary Serrurier memories, we had a great turnout at the opening, including a whole host of ex-SASA presidents. Here are some of them.

2011-07-19T20:08:00.002+02:00

With the advent of SELECTION DAY and the Annual Exhibition coming up in August and September respectively, this article taken from FineArtViews* newsletter seemed quite pertinent.

Thisarticle is by Carolyn Henderson, the managing halfof Steve Henderson Fine Art. She is a Regular contributing writer forFineArtViews and her freelance writing appears in regional newspapers,online magazines, and her humor blog, Middle-Aged Plague.

Let's start on the right foot by eliminating the word "should" fromour vocabulary.
Nasty word, "should."
Generally, it's used by others, either directly or indirectly, to impose theirwill or agenda on someone who isn't in line with the program.

My favorite example of this is the finger waggling children's ditty:"Everybody ought to (read 'should') go to Sunday School . . ," butthere are plenty of other examples:

"Even if you are unemployed, you should put away 25% of your net incomeevery month to a retirement savings account. Groceries are not as important asyou think."

"You should read to your child 45 minutes a day, beginning prior toconception. They should be able to read by themselves at age 4."

"You should eat edamame for breakfast and lunch. Top it with a tastycoating of powdered fermented kelp."

Some shoulds are not necessarily bad advice. But even good advice isn't alwaysapplicable to your situation.

"You should enter art shows. This is the best and only way to further yourcareer as an artist."

Or, conversely,

"You shouldn't bother with entering art shows. This traditional route isoutdated and a waste of money."

What is it about us as humans that we classify and categorize complexsituations into one-sentence, one-size-fits-all dictums?

Can we move toward freeing ourselves from this self-imposed tyranny?

Let's start.

First of all, the options we have before us number greater than two, that is,we are not limited to the choice of entering hundreds of shows per year or noneat all. We can enter as many competitions – local, regional, statewide,national, international – that 1) we can afford and 2) we feel like we have agood opportunity at getting into because the quality of our work matches thequality demanded by the show, and the type of work we do is in line with thebody of the show.

The first year we seriously marketed the Norwegian Artist's work, we spent morethan $800 entering shows. Dollar-wise, that sounds like a lot, but believe me,at $15 to $80 entry fee per show, it’s like buying chocolate by the pound atthe seashore: it doesn’t take long to rack up a bill.

But there’s a limit to how much fine chocolate fits into the budget, and everyyear, we review the choices and determine what is worth the fee and what isn’t,always remembering that, just because we write out the check for the juryingprocess doesn’t mean that we will be juried in.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic of not being juried in, please remember that arejection notice is not the same thing as a painting not being good enough toqualify for the show. Depending upon the jurying panel, which sometimesconsists of one person, a painting can be rejected for many reasons that havenothing to do with ability and skill.

This last statement is easily confirmed by reviewing the catalog of the show,if it is big enough to support one, or simply attending the show, if it issmaller and more local. Across the spectrum, indifferent or even bad art getsinto these events, and it’s your guess as much as mine as to how it gets there.I imagine it follows the same path as the business world, where incompetentpeople are promoted as managers over better workers, or the educationestablishment, where instructors of less than stellar teaching abilities areadvanced to administrative posts.
If the quality control level is too scruffy, I give the show a pass, but if theoverall synopsis is high, it’s worth a shot.

*FineArtViews Newsletter is an American daily letter mailed to subscribers. It has interesting information about the artworld. If you want to subscribe, click on the address http://www.fineartviews.com and follow the prompts.

Workshop Fever

2011-07-10T07:39:00.000+02:00

Cherry Nichols gave an awesome watercolour workshop forSASA members on Tuesday 21 June. All participants had to changethe poppy drawing they were sent to use at the workshop. Cherry started off by showing them how to remove parts of the painting that were no longerwanted, using oil pastels and turps. The oil pastels were also used to darkenthe areas in between the poppies and then taking the colour into the flowers.This technique was also used to form the background of the painting.

Participants were shown how to do introduce gelmedium over the wet paint and when slightly dry, how to 'scratch out' thestamens, leaves, buds, etc using a toothpick. She went on to show us how to put the differentcolours into the flowers, how to complete the vase section of the painting,showing the water levels and how to finish off the painting.

The results? Have a look.

Members' Exhibition Number 1 for 2011

2011-06-23T08:43:00.002+02:00

As Lorna said in her letter (see newsletter of June 2011) - Whew! A lot of work by some very dedicated helpers made the first Members' Exhibition for this year such a success. But mostly it was the Artists. Incredible artwork made the show, so take a big bow all of you who took part.

And now we're getting ready to start the process all over again for the 2nd Members' Exhibition. This is the first time we are having two open exhibitions, a trend we hope to follow from now on.

A few fun photos of some of the super efficient helpers on the day.

2011-06-09T08:49:00.000+02:00

Well, Members' Exhibition 1 is behind us and despite the weather, we had quite a few people through the doors.

The evening before the opening of the exhibition, we were treated to Judy Moolenschot talking about modern art specifically relating to South Africa. What a mine if information Judy is and what amazing work we were treated to. Judy is passionate about her subject and swept us along with her enthusiasm. Thank you Judy.

Wyn Rossouw in April

2011-05-09T17:24:00.000+02:00

Incredible artist, Wyn Rossouw was our demonstrator at the last monthly meeting and if you missed it, you missed an amazing demonstration of her oil painting techniques.

Wyn brought in canvases at various stages of completion and showed us how she went from the drawing stage right through to the final finished work. Have a look -

The first stage - the drawing of the jug and garlic

Stage 2 and the introduction of all those lovely darks

And then the lights

The final painting!

Thank you Wyn - you are an inspiration.

A Deserving Cause

2011-05-02T15:41:00.000+02:00

Dear friends,

Beloved artist Ai Weiwei has been disappeared by the Chinese government. Chinese elites are major art buyers and highly sensitive to the international art community. Let's build a massive appeal for top galleries and artists to stop exhibiting in China until Ai Weiwei is released:

World-famous and beloved Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been "disappeared" by China's state security forces. Every trace of Ai's life and art has been erased from the Chinese internet, and his only hope may be a global outcry for his release.

Fearful of the pro-democracy protests sweeping the world, the government has cracked down on hundreds of free-thinking Chinese artists, intellectuals, students and citizens. But across the world, artists and art-lovers have begun to speak out in solidarity with Ai.

Chinese elites are major buyers of contemporary art, and are now planning a huge art fair in Beijing. If international galleries and artists stay away from China until Ai is freed, they'll send shockwaves through the regime. Let's build a massive global wave of support for top gallerists and artists to stop exhibiting in China until Ai Weiwei is released. We’ll deliver it at the upcoming Venice Biennale exhibition:

http://www2.avaaz.org/en/artists_for_ai_weiwei/?vl

Dozens of galleries and artists from over 15 countries are now gearing up for the Beijing International Art Expo and other shows. We’ll present our petition to all the prominent galleries and artists, and log their responses on our website, mobilizing the art world to take a strong stand on behalf of Ai and all the free-thinking citizens who have been jailed.

China sometimes seems immune to international pressure, but art-activism could work. When sports stars stayed away from South Africa they got the attention of the brutal apartheid regime, hastening Nelson Mandela’s release. Together with international artists and dealers we may now be able to achieve the same effect.

Ai Weiwei's crime has been to speak out against corruption and injustice in China. He resigned on principle from the team designing the 'Bird's Nest' Olympic stadium, criticized corruption behind poorly built schools that killed children in the Sichuan earthquake, and expressed hope the democratic revolutions in the Middle East might lead to change in China. Now noone knows where he is being held or why. Let's call on artists and galleries to come together to free Ai Wei Wei:

http://www2.avaaz.org/en/artists_for_ai_weiwei/?vl

Ai Wei Wei's parents spent 16 years in a prison labour camp for their principles. At that time China was isolated from the world, but now times have changed. Our voices count -- let's use them now for Ai and China's free-thinking artists, and the new China they're striving to create.

With hope,

Alex, Ricken, Maria Paz, Morgan and the whole Avaaz team

SOURCES

BBC -- Chinese Artist Held for Economic Crimes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12994785

NYTimes -- China Takes Dissident Artist Into Custody
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/world/asia/04china.html

The Guardian -- Cultural Revolutionary
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jul/06/art.china

CNN -- A Dangerous mix of art and politics
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/26/chiu.aiweiwei.arrest/

The Atlantic -- The Art of Bubbles: How Southeby's Predicts the World Economy
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/the-art-of-bubbles-how-sothebys-predicts-the-world-economy/236852/

Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.

Life Drawing

2011-04-14T14:21:00.002+02:00

Picasso - The Blue Nude

An early start this year - so dust off your pencils and sketchbooks if you haven't been using them and take advantage of the Autumn weather and our first nude model. Khadija has been selected for our first session and you can see her photo in the Artist Models section of this blog. She is a total professional (as are all our selected models) and will be posing on the 30th April from 9.30 am until 12.30.

Until the weather cools in June/July, we will be selecting nude models; clothes will be the order of the day in the depths of winter.

The cost remains the same - R60 per session which includes a cup of tea and biscuits. Please contact Jinty on 021 762 2426 - email jinty@cybersmart.co.za or Lawrie on 021 438 9512 - email leve@kingsley.co.za. Make sure you book your place as space is limited!

Schedule: April 30, May 7 and 14, June 11 and 18
Where: The Portuguese Club in Rugby

Gus Kennedy tallk

2011-04-04T04:08:00.000+02:00

Gus at the Podium

At our monthly Thursday meeting, Gus Kennedy, owner of the Italian Art Shop in Rondebosch, gave us a really insightful talk on "Paint - what is it?"

He talked about the properties of the various paint qualities, the importance of quality canvases and what makes a good canvas, brushes and how they're made and a host of information that we never knew and can make a difference in our painting lives.

An amazing prize to win

And to top it all, Skye had put together a wonderful give-away package to one lucky member, and that was Paul Webb. Lucky man Paul! Enjoy.

Paul Webb and his goodies

2011-03-11T22:43:00.002+02:00

Margie Johnson is the latest of our intrepid travellers to la Belle France! She has been in Paris for a month now and this is an extract from her latest letter home. Hubby Rob has just been on a visit and daughter Kate is going to be visiting from Denmark.

It is 5am and Rob has just left to catch the plane home....... a lonely figure walking down the Seine as the trains only start later !!! He arrived here amidst curious stares dressed in bright red baggy hippy pants and crocs which soon got relegated to the bottom of his case .....not Parisian style !! It has been wonderful having him here to share the sights and it also gave me the chance to show off my local knowledge. Now its back to being a student again.

Where to start ? On our first outing we were passing Hotel de Ville .. the town hall..... and all the roads were closed off and a magnificent row of mounted horses lined the street.......large fancy cars began to arrive so i asked one of the soldiers what was going on ....can you believe it it was Zuma and his entourage visiting Sarkozy I felt unbelievably proud seeing our flags on the cars and hanging high on the buildings but as Rob said it was a bitter sweet moment when one saw the opulence and thought of all the hungry people at home ....do they have to send sooooo many people .....we saw Zuma and who knows how many others !!!

We spent a couple of days fossiking around the neighbourhood.. down the winding foodfilled streets in the Latin Quarter...up to Republic square and down St Martins canal where people live in fabulous houseboats...stocked up with fresh fresh fruit from the market and popped in to all the churches which never fail to amaze one.. Every evening there are vespers sung at Notre Dame ...the insence clouding out from the alter and exquisite voices filling every corner of this ancient cathedral.....what an honour it must be to sing there....despite there being 100s of people it is surprisingly quiet and peaceful. We have been many times. A good place to rest ones weary legs after a days walking.

TheSacre Ceur stands magesticly above Momarte dressed in her pink marble.. in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the red light area of Pigalle down below. This must be the holiest church Ive been in.After climbing endless steps up ...up...up...and having watched the artists plying their trade ...some of them really excellant . we stood and gazed over a hazy Paris ..I think one needs a year here to take it all in !! We caught the tail end of a service and then listened to a group of incredibly well behaved schoolboys who sang a couple of prayers....a very special memory'.

After weeks of cold and grey we have been blessed with many warmer (but still chilly ) sunny days Spring is sprunging and daffodils flowering , the willow trees that were bare when I arrived have turned from yellowy orange to bright green in a matter of a week....the leaf buds on the trees are fat with the anticipation of summer !!! The days are much longer too . Time passes fast at the change of season.....Been thinking of you all in the heat and can't believe I'll be home in Autumn.

Rob's sister and brother in law came last weekend and spoilt us taking us to dinner ....you dont want to eat out in Paris...R150 for a glass of wine !!!.but it was very nice wine....but ouch or eish !!!.... and a wonderful day on the river boat down the Seine you can get on and off so stopped at the Sunday antique market at Ponte de Concorde....could not believe the astronomic prices !!! About 5 to 10 x what we would pay at home !!!! So didn't buy an old anything !!! Being me I stood at the bow of the boat and woops a wave of icy dirty Seine water plopped right into my boots !! That I think was the start of a goodly cold and earache!! But it will pass.

Highlight highlight !!!!! It was our 40th wedding anniversary and Rob booked for the Moulin Rouge woweeeee what a spectacular evening ...a once in a lifetime extravaganza... one brilliant act after another..even a glass swimming pool rising out of the floor filled with pythons and a dancer swimming with them.....dancers ...little horses ....acrobats....jugglers and so it went on and on just superb... not to forget the can can girls who really can can can. Sat there like lady muck with champagne gawking !! No photos allowed unfortunately and you have to hand in coats & cameras for the little sum of 4 euros ! Back home on the metro with the steet people settling in for the night sleeping on the platforms.. what a contrast of different worlds.

Having not been out of Paris it was a real pleasure to catch the train to Chartres a beautiful village or should I say city ,as it has the magestic Chartres cathedral...again I had learnt the floor plan in history of art....13 th century.. its 2 different spires one romanesque and the other gothic ..stunning stained glass the blues irredescent ...the flagstone floors sloping and undulating .with the passing of time. We meandered through the cobbled streets that are lined with buckled old buildings ..the town square with kids riding on the carousel with its twinkling lights.... and then back to gay Paree through forests and famland ..through the more modern residential areas ....the houses look like monopoly houses ! Suddenly its industrial like any western city and out we pop at the gorgeous Ile de le Cite back to the old centre of town.

The old part of Paris isn't very spread out, it's very densly populated, one can walk everywhere but I was happy to catch the bus to the Eiffel tower which is further than our legs wanted to carry us ! Rob went up to the top but yours truly has a fear of heights and sat and drew surrounded by endlessly persistant hawkers and deaf and dumb money collectors ( whom I saw having a briefing from their "boss" and they were all chatting away !!!! ) I didnt feel very safe here unlike the rest of Paris and hung onto the backpack. We did a whole loop on the bus home and saw Stade de France the stadium built for the Olympics......no wonder they wanted to run ours as its a far more attractive structure...ok I know theirs has amazing facilities but it is a concrete jungle.

To date the french have been nothing but helpful and charming except for the very rude lady at the memorial for the some 160 000 people from Paris who were killed in the Holocaust t . We were at the front of the queue ( there were only 2 others ) and she totally ignored us chatted to her friends and it was only when the other 2started to walk away after standing for about 15 mins that she begrudgingly scratched through my bag ..gave us the rules like a gustapo general ..and eventually lifted the barrier and let us down the steps to this very moving memorial. So simple ..a long thin crypt like structure behind metal bars lined with thousands of what looked like pebbles , each representing a person so mercilessly killed and at the end a single bare lightbulb....shooo a lot said with so little. A sad experience but I am glad we didn't miss it. Perhaps she thought we were German or English !! A bit of PR needed here !

The Jewish Quarter is right here and one of my favourite shops is the jewish shop which is filled to capacity from floor to ceiling with every conceivable comodity.. one drools at the sacks of nuts, glaced fruits and delicious looking goodies but at one heck of a price ! A tiny tiny jar of Marmite for 4 euros ! Jenny bought some pistacios there and ate them one rand at a time ! the owners are so sweet and dont seem to mind one just looking.

Rob has arrived at the airport ..yay.. was worried that he may be late but alls well as I hope it is with all of you ....only 2 more weeks and Kate & co come next weekend so its down to some serious art now. So from me to you all lots of love.

Margie

SASA President, Lynn Brown steps down

2011-02-28T16:35:00.003+02:00

Lynn Brown

On Thursday 24^th February, at our Annual GeneralMeeting, we said goodbye to both Lynn Brown and her daughter Jessica as theyleft the SASA Council.

Lynn has completed her 3 years of presidency and stepped down in accordance with our constitution - no 30 year reign by a despoticdictator for us even though we are in Africa! - while Jessica returns toUCT to study for her Masters Degree in Art. We are greatly saddened that they both have to leave and they will besorely missed.

Lynn and Jessica both joined SASA in June 2005, probably forthe fun of being part of nice social group. Lynn went on to Council in April 2007 and clearly her leadership skillswere immediately recognised since she was voted in as President in March 2008,a mere 11 months later. And that was theend the fun part for her . .

What an inspirational leader she has been! Her goal has been to raise the standard ofthe Society and to elevate its standing in the art world; in her own words “A personal crusade taken up by the council during myterm has been to raise the professional image of the society and for SASA to beseen as one of the leading art groups in the country”

She has dragged us – yes, sometimes kicking and screaming! –to greater heights of professionalism. That has been her aim in many of the initiatives she has led, throughimproving rules & standards in our competitions & exhibitions, inencouraging members to take their ownart seriously, and inamending our Constitution regarding the fight against plagiarism.

Through her leadership we have succeeded in attractingyounger members and professional artists, and have focussed on invitingspeakers and judges of high standing in the art community. She encouraged greater social interactionand a 'sense of community' by tempting members to linger and discuss the topicafter our monthly meetings.

I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that she hasadmirably achieved her goals.

I called Lynn ‘brave’ in my opening line for this is exactlywhat she is - a fearless leader. She isnot afraid of meeting a problem head-on, of telling a person exactly how it really is, and of standing firm when sheknows she’s right. To see her ‘persuading’the Athenaeum committee regarding protecting SASA’s interests was a joy!

Lynn has always given 110% of herself to SASA; she has beenthe only person on Council with a full-time job - as a nursing sister - and hashad to take a day’s leave for each of our committee meetings and hangingdays. All of us who can remember ourworking days know that to give up one’s precious leave for anything other thanleisure and pleasure is a huge sacrifice and this demonstrates her incrediblededication to her role.

We are going to miss Lynn’s strong yet gentle leadership, herhumour and her joyful enthusiasm ... but ...

most of all we’ll miss her chocolate Brownies!

Lynn,we salute you. Every one of us is goingto miss you but we hope you will now have the time to get back to your art as we've also missed your beautiful, delicate paintings in our exhibitions.

(Extract from Lorna Jakins speech on 24th Feb)

2011 Drawing Competition

2011-02-26T22:38:00.001+02:00

The official end-of-year AGM is always celebrated with a drawing competition, and what incredible artwork our members produce, year after year. And this year we had a theme which was a bit perplexing but an amazing array of interpretations of "One Fell Swoop" were put forward.

And walking away with top honours - as he did last year! was Paul Webb with his drawing entitled 1st July 1916. Well done Paul!

In second place was Fiona Gawronsky with 'One Fowl Swoop', and 3rd prize went to Eugene Schuddinh with his interpretation, 'In one Fell Swoop'.

Paul Webb

2011-02-16T09:02:00.003+02:00

With the new year up and running and exhibitions and competitions looming, you can buy all your precious art supplies from a number of sources.

One of them is Deckle Edge with whom we've had a long standing agreement that they give our members a 10% discount on presentation of their current membership card.

Go to any branch of Deckle Edge, choose your items and present them along with your card to the cashier, and 10% comes off!

And we have very kindly been given a 10% discount on all art items from a charming art shop in the Gardens Centre, Blanc Canvas - also only on presentation of your membership card. They are at Shop 18, Upper level in the Gardens Centre.

Also remember that Village Art and Canvas in the Belvedere Shopping Centre will give you a 10% discount on accumulation of purchase items. Ask them for a card, and collect the points!

Happy shopping, but please remember your card!

The Merit Exhibition 2011

2011-02-10T09:02:00.000+02:00

Our first evening opening at Kirstenbosch! Wow!

Dale Elliot opened the exhibition entertaining us with anecdotes and tales of his career in art and the evening was set off perfectly with a great jazz group keeping our feet tapping.

And the accolades for the artists exhibiting were well deserved. What a great show.

Dale Elliot

Desmond Colborne Evening

2011-02-05T08:49:00.002+02:00

Thursday, 27th January was our first 2011 meeting and we were treated to a marvellous talk by Desmond Colborne on the Seine and the how this magnificent "River of Light" influenced so many of the Impressionists.

France has been a second home for Desmond for most of his life working as a tour escort, teacher and for 30 years as the Paris director of the business leadership organisation, the South Africa Foundation. He has lived and lectured on France in SA for many years, at the UCT Summer school and elsewhere, and is an author of a book on South Africa.

Thank you Desmond for starting our year off so magnificently. We certainly maxed out on the seating space!

A gargoyle on the Chartres Cathedral watches over the Seine

Making Your Art Work

2011-01-22T09:36:00.007+02:00

Ann Gadd is the author of Making Your Art Work, a book written about how to make a living from art in South Africa. Ann is best known for her very successful 'sheep' painting series.

Making Your Art Work – A guide to making an income from your art in South Africa, creates a link between creativity and commercialism, which is essential if one is to not only survive, but thrive in the art world.

There have been many 'guide' books written by our overseas counterparts, but Making Your Art Work, is, the first book of its kind written for the South African market by an artist based on personal experience. A book truly worth investing in.

Ann has very generously donated a copy of her book to the SASA library and this will be available to take out from the February 2011 meeting.

The book will be available in most major bookstores and some art shops over the following few months,
Order online at: http://artforewe.co.za/other-products/. Or email ann@anngadd.co.za or call 021 5541235.

2011-01-18T08:56:00.005+02:00

Article taken from the newsletter sent out by FineArtViews. Subscribe by clicking on their name.

Recharge by Disconnecting

by Keith Bond on 1/17/2011 10:32:57 AM
This article is by Keith Bond, a Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.

Technology is an amazing thing. I sit at my computer in Colorado typing this article as I listen to my mp3 player. When done, I will email the article to Carrie (the editor of Fine Art Views) who spends a few days doing what she does so well. Then, the article is sent out to thousands of people around the world. Some of you are reading this on your phone, some on your iPad, and others of you are reading this on a laptop or even a regular old pc. With a click of a button, this message is sent to every quarter of the globe.

But that isn’t the half of it. There are games, digital books, music, and movies at the touch of a button. There are satellite phones, instant messaging, conference callings, text messages, photo messages, chats, social media, apps, and the list goes on and on.

Many of my teenage daughter’s friends receive several thousand texts a month. That is mind boggling to me. Look around you, virtually everywhere there are people connected. We live in a time of instant gratification. We live in a time of constant entertainment at your fingertips. Gone are the days of driving several miles to a store to rent a video. Now you can watch instantly.

Call me old fashioned, but this drives me nuts.

Don’t get me wrong. Yes, I like my music, I like movies. I have my cell phone on me constantly. I use email, social media (a bit), etc. I even text some (not much). I like the benefits of technology. But I don’t like it all the time. I need down time. I need time to think. I need time to act, not be acted upon. I need to explore my own thoughts, not the thoughts fed to me by the media.

Especially when I am searching for ways to add meaning to my art, I disconnect from technology. I need the time to look deeper into myself without distraction. When I do, I am more likely to find deeper meaning to inspire in my artwork.

Though it has some drawbacks, I do not keep a computer in my studio. My computer is at home. I find that the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience. If my computer was more accessible during my painting time, I would paint less.

When I am plein air painting, I never have my mp3 player with me. Yes, I listen to music in the studio – that is important to me. But when I am in nature, I listen to the sounds of nature. I seek the whisperings of my muse who is there in the babble of a brook or in the quaking of the aspen leaves.

There are a bazillion ways to find deeper meaning – that which inspires your art. But I would suggest that turning off technology from time to time is one of the critical ways. Some of you may argue that music or other media is your muse and that you imbue energy into your work by listening to it. Don’t get me wrong, I do too. But, sometimes you need time to meditate or ponder deeper things. At least I do.

Don’t neglect the power of the quiet. Don’t neglect the power of reflection. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to find those deeper thoughts, feelings, and emotions which are too often suppressed by the bombardment of outside noise. Just as the batteries to all of your gadgets need to be recharged from time to time, so, too, does your spirit need recharging.

But your spirit recharges by disconnecting. As you recharge, you will hear your muse speak more clearly. You will find more meaning for your work.

Keith currently lives north of Ft. Collins in rural Wellington, Colorado with his wife and six children.

2010-12-31T08:17:00.000+02:00

To all our members and our blog readers, thank you for your support in 2010. Our blog achieved over 2 300 hits during the year and we hope that you go on to contribute your thoughts and ideas to help make this blog a roaring success.

We look forward to seeing you all again in 2011 and hope that the next year will be the best year ever.

Happy Painting!

2010-12-14T07:43:00.000+02:00

‘THE MYSTIQUE AND MYSTERY OF FINE ART’ John Smith asks the question this month - WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE MYSTERY? Read what he has to say - click on Interesting Articles at the top of this page. He echoes many of our beliefs.

Eleanor Palmer Evening

2010-11-27T09:19:00.000+02:00

Our last meeting of the year combines a get together with our annual Eleanor Palmer competition.

A total of 51 artists brought work to be voted for by their fellow artists and members. It was a festive evening with lots of wine and even more eats, and the art on display was of an incredible standard which made the voting process even harder! But in the end, a winner can always be found, and this year Grazyna Janik won first honours with her superb painting, Winter Calm.

Runner up was Laura Wenman with 'Renee' and in third place, Peter Nicolle with 'Christelle'.

Well done to everyone who took part.

Our 1st prize Winner - Grazyna Janik

Designer Easels

2010-11-27T09:08:00.002+02:00

Cabinetmaker Antoni Michael brought his hand made easels to our last meeting. Superb craftsmanship, these easels are really affordable and come in all sizes, from standing to table easels.

Contact Antoni on Cape Town 021 448 6482 or 082 662 5795.

Large floor standing easel - R1 600

A special member

2010-11-05T08:34:00.001+02:00

Ivanonia Keet, or Iva Roworth as she's known in the art world, is one of our oldest members and continues to paint up a storm! She sold her latest painting at our recent Annual Exhibition.

Iva has been painting her all life and her paintings are in collections all over the world. So it was especially nice when Lynn Brown received this email from the United Kingdom from the wife of one of South Africa's greatest cricketers!

Dear Ms Brown

A little story for you!

I was married to Eddie Barlow, the late springbok cricketer and we lived in South Africa before moving to Wales after he had a stroke.

I loved attending auctions which Eddie had not done before and on a visit to Wynberg in 1995, I spotted a lovely painting of cottages in Elim, Somerset West. I told him I thought the picture was quite divine and was going to bid for it. He asked how much I was going to bid and I said "Well, I really do like it so I will bid up to R1000". He said if it went for R500 he would buy it for me. I got the picture for R350 much to my amazement because I was going to bid more than my R1000 if I had to! On a surf on the internet today I found that one of Ivanonia Roworth's pictures fetched over £3,000!!

I could photograph my picture if you would like to see it.

Kind regards

Cally Barlow

THOUGHTS FROM MY STUDIO

2010-10-05T09:33:00.001+02:00

John Smith, our Kwa-Zulu Natal "correspondent's" latest Thoughts.. published under "Interesting Articles" makes for very interesting reading this month. It concerns plagiarism generally and painting over giclees in particular - or as he has titled it Prostitutes and Pimps? - Is the Fine Art Industry becoming a Brothel? John's articles are now also being published by SA Art Times.

A Demo with a Difference

2010-10-05T09:25:00.000+02:00

The Society has been treated to some wonderful demos and talks this past year, and Liesl Hartmann was no exception!

The Principal of the Frank Joubert Art School, Liesl has a long history with the arts. It was a pleasure seeing her demo her particular style of acrylic abstract painting. And she continually emphasised that Art is a Passion and comes straight from the soul and the heart.

Thank you Liesl, from all who attended your enthralling demo.

Liesl Hartmann

Selection Day!

2010-09-24T02:52:00.003+02:00

Congratulations to every single member who submitted work for our Annual Exhibition Selection Day. Even if you didn't have any works selected, take heart! Our three judges, Dr Hans Fransen, Accredited Heritage consultant, Architectural and Art Historian; Andrew Lamprecht, Lecturer at Michaelis School of Fine Art, Artist, Critic, Curator and Writer; and Charles Shields, Director of the Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town all complimented us on our judging process and the exceptionally high standard of work submitted.

Lynn Brown, SASA President, was specifically asked to convey their compliments to you, the members. A huge congratulations to all those prize winners.

The cut-off point was high - a mark of 8 or above out of 12 was needed to qualify for the Annual - and this was done purely for space reasons. The Sanlam Hall at Kirstenbosch can only accommodate a certain amount of art work. So if you didn't make it, it doesn't mean your work was any good and as Lynn said in her letter "Do be encouraged by this process to carry on creating art with more enthusiasm and determination and most of all, enjoyment, than ever before!"

And the Cherry on the Top? Bill Brown has now entered the ranks as a Fellow of the Society. His point accumulation over three years qualified him for this distinction and is richly deserved. Well done Bill!

And just to show you what the judges were faced with, this is a selection of the work that was submitted.

THOUGHTS FROM MY STUDIO

2010-09-07T12:05:00.004+02:00

John Smith, a Durban based artist writes a letter every second month entitled "Thoughts from my Studio". The current July/August letter can be read under the "Interesting Articles" header at the top of the page.

This is John's preamble to his Thoughts in which he has acknowledged SASA and Lynn Brown in particular. This is what he writes:

Dear Friends,

I was extremely pleased that my ‘Thoughts from my Studio’ article on “Are We Taking Our Artists Seriously?” was published in the S.A Art Times (business section) in their July edition. This means that many people who do not normally subscribe to my articles got to read it.

This is a wonderful tabloid edited by Gabriel Clark-Brown and can be found at www.arttimes.co.za or you can subscribe to it at subs@arttimes.co.za

Again, thanks to all my regular readers for subscribing to ‘Thoughts’ and for your letters and opinions. They are much appreciated.

My last article on ‘What Has Happened to the Men in Art’, this current article on ‘What is Fine Art and what is Not,’ and the one following this one which asks if the arts is becoming a brothel with some of the galleries and others acting as the pimps, are really probing and asking deep and important questions, and I although I have tried to answer some of these questions there are too many that remain unanswered. Perhaps you have some of those answers or even questions of your own? Let us hear them! You can write to me at johnsart@artslink.co.za

When last I wrote we were in the midst of hosting the World Cup Football. Many thought that all the visitors would amount to a huge windfall for our artists but from the information that has reached me it was nothing more than a damp squib. Perhaps we can learn a lesson here? My experience as far as Fine Art goes is that holidays or similar events seldom if ever amount to improved sales of art. I think that art, not being an essentially a commodity, means that it cannot be seen or marketed as a commodity, and so we need to employ a slow and consistent/persistent marketing strategy that grows the numbers of arts buyers and supporters rather than looking for the big bang!

In recent months I have been following some very interesting art and marketing debates on a site called FineArtViews and recently became involved myself by writing in to their blog. I found it extremely interesting and was delighted to find artists in the USA were very much like us with pretty much the same problems, aspirations and solutions. Please do have a look at this site at www.fineartviews.com There is a host of information, debates and art competitions. I’m sure you will enjoy it as I have done and can learn a great deal.

A second recommended site is Robert Genn’s twice a week letter. Robert is a Canadian artist who covers a variety of interesting arts topics. Find his site at www.robertgenn@paintingkeysccsend.com

While on the matter of websites and links please do visit my website at www.artistjohnsmith.co.za

For those who do not want to receive my ‘Thoughts from my Studio’ articles please let me know by e-mailing me at johnsart@artslink.co.za and I will remove your name instantly, but if however you have friends or know of people who would like to be added to the mailing list please let them contact me on the same e-mail address. They will be more than welcome.

I started with a vote of confidence and want to end with a huge thank-you to the President of the South African Society of Artists Lynn Brown who used my article on ‘Societies and Groups’ as an introduction to her August President’s letter. Thanks also for carrying my articles on the SASA Blogsite Lynn.

The South African Society of Artists (SASA) is one of the oldest ( 1902), largest and most successful Societies in South Africa and you can find a lot of information and learn a great deal by visiting them at www.sasa-artists.co.za

Once again thanks to all the many societies, groups, art shops and galleries who have, and still do carry my articles in their newsletters and on their websites.

I hope that you find the current article interesting and thought provoking. If it causes you to think and question then I have done my job.

Till we meet again next month

John

With love from Paris - Wyn Rossouw

2010-08-28T09:39:00.005+02:00

CHAPTER 2: FINDING MY FEET

It is a very warm evening and it has been a hot day here in Paris. It feels like it is about 35 degrees C and rather humid as well. It is 11.30pm and I can’t sleep. Most of the young residents at the Cité are chattering outside in the courtyard, enjoying the balmy evening. So, a good time to perhaps catch up on correspondence.

I spent a wonderful few days in the country last week, but those experiences will have to wait until my next exciting chapter! Let me first catch up with the week before …………………….

Colonne de Juillet at Place de la Bastille

During my first 2 weeks in Paris, one thing I have done to excess, in spite of carrying a Navigo ticket everywhere with me (that and a map), is walk. I have trekked from Place de la Bastille, down the aptly named boulevard Beaumarche and boulevard des Filles du Calvaire. Central to Bastille is an imposing column, the Colonne de Juillet. From his mighty perch, a winged, very gilded Juillet looks down on humanity (he just can’t be missed - talk about over the top). Seriously though, la colonne is a monument to the fallen. It is beneath this column that the victims of the 1830 and 1848 revolutions are buried. Apparently, due to some mix up at the Louvre, where the victims were lying in state before their burial, they were joined by two Egyptian mummies, who were also buried with full military honours! And of course the area is the place where the infamous Bastille once stood. What I never realised was that when crowds stormed and destroyed the Bastille on 14^th July 1789, there were only 7 inmates.

Apartments down ave Beaumarchais

The first time I walked down boulevard Beaumarchais and boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, I marvelled at all the beautiful old doors. Most parts of Paris have, I’ve since discovered, hundreds of them and every one different. Some are elaborately carved, some are wrought iron with gilded decorations, some are painted bright red or blue, some are quite dilapidated and others are in very good repair. I am fascinated by them. I also love the wrought iron balconies adorning the apartment windows, all opening inwards to accommodate the shutters. And so many flower boxes adding a bright splash of geranium red to elaborate facades.

Hôtel de Sens

I have walked the streets of the Marais, especially the quaint Village of St Paul, right on the door step of the Cité and admired the medieval gem, Hôtel de Sens, which has an intriguing history. Apparently it was built at the end of the 15^th century for the Archbishop of Sens. Here Henry lV banished his first wife, Marguerite de Valois, when he objected to her promiscuity. Marguerite happily continued her rather questionable lifestyle, but in a dramatic twist to the sorry tale, a jealous ex-lover murdered her current beau and so she promptly had him beheaded outside the house. Mon dieu!

Back of St Paul

Red door and florist on rue de Rivoli

I have traversed both sides of the Seine for miles; I have walked down avenue des Champs-Elysees, along avenue Winston Churchill, past le Grand Palais and le Petit Palais, over the beautiful Pont Alexandre lll and then on down to the Hôtel des Invalides. I have been lost many times and once found myself at the architecturally grandiose Opéra and imposing église de la Madeleine, which that day had the grand front steps almost entirely covered in red and white flowers – stunning!

Galeries LafayBalconies and part of
stained glass cupola inette

I happened upon Boulevard Haussmann and stumbled into Galeries Lafayette. Now that was a mistake – and I thought the streets were busy. I was immediately engulfed by a tidal wave – no, tsunami, of thousands of people and couldn’t get spat out of there quick enough. Not before I managed a photograph of the beautiful circular domed cupola though.

I have walked down rue St Antoine and rue de Rivoli (full of very expensive shops) to the sumptuous Hôtel de Ville. The rue St. Antoine, a wide straight road, was once a site for jousting tournaments. In 1574 Henri ll was knocked off his horse by his Scottish Captain of the Guard, Montgomery. He suffered a severe blow to his eye and in a drastic bid to save his life, Henri’s physician ordered the immediate decapitation of every prisoner on death row so that he could experiment on their heads. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t succeed and Henri died 10 days later. Montgomery also lost his head!

From Hôtel de Ville I walked to the famous Louvre (again, hugely impressive buildings, amazing fountains and Peϊ’s spectacular, iconic glass pyramid) and the Arc de Triomphe du Carousel, a really quite beautiful pink and green marble arch, topped with a massive bronze statue of horses accompanied by gleaming gold attendants or gods of some sort!

Jardin des Tuileries

From there, I ambled through Jardins des Tuileries to Place de la Concorde, central to which is an elaborate fountain (as I said, so much in Paris is over the top) and the Luxor Obelisk, with its impossibly sharp gilded tip.

I have strolled across Pont Marie (our nearest bridge) to île St Louis, and then on to île de la Cité, staring in awe at the exquisite Notre Dame, warmed by the setting sun.

I have explored the charming Latin Quarter, seen the Sorbonne and Panthéon and been amused by the name of a little café – Le Chat Huant. I thought it might mean the haunt of the cat or something. Anyway, there is a giant wrought iron flea perched on the wall outside! I will have to find out more.

Walking aside, I have also used the metro and bus to get around. I prefer the bus, since it is more scenic and one really does get more of a sense of place. It is slower, but then, I do have the luxury of time! I have travelled to the Tour Eiffel and Place du Trocadero, St Cloud and Montmartre, all places I need to visit again and explore. Thus far a fleeting visit to these places has had to suffice.

I have also had the pleasure of visiting many parks and gardens. In fact, Paris is full of parks and little gardens, which you suddenly happen upon, all beautifully manicured, flower beds ablaze (all colour co-ordinated of course) and always decorated with beautiful statues. Surprisingly, these are not often defaced with graffiti! I find these havens a delightful refuge from the bustle of life on the street. It is in these pools of calm that I have often sat and quietly sketched and had time to think and just ‘be’. A rare luxury.

Statue of Louis XIII at Place des Vosges

Some I have visited include Place des Voges, a charming square on which Victor Hugo lived from 1832 until 1848. Four lovely fountains surround an impressive central statue of Louis XIII. It also happens to be one of the few park where one is actually allowed to walk on the grass!

I discovered Parc Montsouris, situated on the south east of Paris, right near the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. This is a large undulating park with plenty of trees and a lake. Apparently on the day the park opened, the lake suddenly drained and the engineer subsequently committed suicide. I however, spent a lovely afternoon there, languishing in the gentle sunlight.

During my first two weeks in Paris I also visited the famous Jardin des Tuileries and admired the lovely statues situated around the gardens, including a Rodin (le Baiser) and a Moore (Reclining Figure).

Flower beds in Jardin du Luxembourg

And of course, I loved the Jardin du Luxembourg. The flower beds are exquisite and the many beautiful statues are quite something. I was particularly struck by the statues of the queens of France. Around the central pool children rush about with long sticks, trying to push and prod their little sail boats into action.

Statue of a queen of France,
looking down from the terrace

Pumpkin in the garden at the Cité

Right on our doorstep is a small but charming garden at the Hôtel de Sens, and the Cité also has a pleasant garden, sporting not only flowers, but herbs, fruit trees (apple and pear) and vegetables like pumpkins, chillies and even corn! And the little sparrows are everywhere.

Flowers in the garden and the Cité
building in the distance

Jardin de Reuilly, off Promenade Plantée

An interesting park was Promenade Plante, a raised park which runs almost the entire length of the 12^th arrondissement. Leading off this are smaller parks and a shady forested area, where I managed a sketch or two.

Lit tunnel in forested area of Promenade Plantée,
below street level

Square Charles-Péguy, off Promenade Plantée

Whilst walking along Promenade Plantée, I suddenly noticed a bit of activity in the street below. From my bird’s eye view I spied a fire engine and police and pompiers rushing about. Now you must understand that the pompiers are revered as heros here. And not without due regard either. These brave young men are called to fight fires, help trapped people, administer first aid and save cats from trees! One evening as I was strolling along the Seine, I came across a pompier station, opposite the Square De Vert-Galant. I was treated to the sight of delightfully muscled young pompiers undergoing strenuous training. They were pulling themselves up onto platforms bolted high into the wall along the river – no mean feat! Where was my sketchbook! Anyway, I’m becoming distracted.

Pompiers to the rescue!

Back to Promenade Plantée, where the action was in full swing. Traffic was stopped as far as I could see, in both directions, outside Gare de Lyon. Busy at the best of times, but this was Saturday morning. I couldn’t see smoke and wondered where the fire was. Then through the trees, I spied a car with the hood up. It appears that it had started smoking and in two ticks and much pulling out of hoses and bustling about, disaster was averted!

Disaster averted!

Garden at Port de l’Arsenal

There is also a pretty park alongside the Port de Paris-Arsenal, situated just below Bastille. A place where yachts and houseboats are moored, so plenty of interest to sketch.

‘

But the most magical for me, was the little Square du Vert-Galant, a triangular park, right on the tip of the île de la Cité. A very good place to watch the sun set over the Seine.

Sunset from Square du Vert-Galant

A lovely interlude on my first Saturday in Paris, was a piano concert at église St Merry. Whilst wandering around the Place Georges Pompidou, admiring the great mechanical fountains, I heard applause. Upon investigation, I discovered a concert, free to the public. What an unexpected pleasure to listen to Chopin, Debussy and Liszt played so beautifully in the quiet coolness of the high domed church.

Wow –all too much. I haven’t even begun to relate museum and gallery visits during my first two weeks in Paris. Now I’m really tired and must get to bed.

Au revoir till next time.

2010-08-27T08:55:00.003+02:00

Watercolour Workshop

2010-08-24T08:57:00.001+02:00

On Thursday, August 12th, Marion Langton, renowned watercolourist and teacher, held a workshop at the Portuguese Hall for SASA members.

We had a maximum 12 members taking part in what was an incredibly exciting and informative day. All the participants were given two projects, a landscape with cottages and a vase of flowers. Marion took the class through every process step-by-step and some incredible work was produced.

Thank you Marion, for all your hard work, and for your generosity.

Marion Langton: Landscape with Cottages

Farewell

2010-08-21T09:57:00.003+02:00

A sad notice today.

Neil Hendricks, the well known framer who had a workshop in Lansdowne Road, died on Thursday evening after a long battle with cancer.

Neil has been a friend to many artists and was always so incredibly helpful with our framing needs. Our thoughts go out to his family.

We'll miss you Neil.

From Paris ... with love ... from Wyn Rossouw

2010-08-17T10:32:00.000+02:00

Today the weather has stopped me in my tracks. I awoke to grey skies and gentle, but heavy rain for the first time since I have been here and so, also for the first time, I am contemplating spending the day at home dans mon atelier. I am thinking that perhaps I will begin some oil painting today ……….. so I guess the honeymoon is over!

Entrance to the Cite

Paris is an amazing city of huge contrast and I have had the most incredible two weeks here. From ugly graffiti to the splendour of the great buildings, from stinky pavements, to scented gardens, from very visible expensive addresses, to the quiet, forgotten back streets, from the homeless sleeping on the streets and digging in bins, to the perfectly coutured, cioffeured and headily scented madames et monsieurs walking their snooty little dogs.

I am still getting used to the idea that my time is my own – that I am free to do with it what I want, when I want to. So, if I feel like eating cherries for supper at Place de Voges and then taking a stroll home in time to watch the sun set over the Seine and Notre Dame, from Pont de la Tournelle, then I simply do!

The summer evenings here have been warm and festive, with la Plage in full swing, right on our doorstep. This is when certain areas alongside the Seine are closed to traffic and a wonderful recreational area is set up, complete with sand, deck chairs, brollies, swimming pools (offering aqua-aerobics), live entertainment (besides the latter!) and restaurants etc. A ‘beach’ resort in the heart of the city. Of course, it has nothing of the breathtaking beauty of our exquisite Cape beaches, and I’m sure you would all be most amused to see this attempt at a ‘beach’, but I suppose it does console those locals who couldn’t get away for what seems to be the obligatory vacation month of August. Many shops are firmly closed and shuttered up at present. With Paris swimming in tourists, I would have thought it would be a good time for business, but apparently not??

Place des Voges

I have quickly adapted to the local lifestyle of starting the day late and ending it even later! When I first arrived, I thought it odd that so many businesses were only open between 10am (or even later in the afternoon at 2 or 3 pm), until 9pm. Now I understand and after a typically very late night, happily wake at 8.30am (at the earliest) to start my day, without any responsibilities, other than the minimal goal I set myself, of at least one sketch a day – sheer decadence!

Memories of my first two weeks here are fleeting. Everything seems a blur. What I do recall, especially from the first week, is desperately rushing around all day long, trying to see as much of this beautiful city, in the shortest possible time. I quickly learnt to negotiate the metro and the very efficient bus service. And of course, my walking legs were well utilised, blistered feet and all!

I feverishly sought out art shops for supplies, Ros having told me about BHV (Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville) and Rogier & Ple and discovered the charming and olde worlde Sennelier shop on Quai Voltaire as well, where I spent a disgraceful amount of money. I couldn’t resist finally buying myself the watercolour paintbox I always wanted. Apparently this shop has been operating since 1887. Unfortunately I have since discovered, in my wanderings, an even more alluring art shop, Dubois, on rue Soufflot, right near the Panthéon, which, like Sennelier (but on a bigger scale), is a treasure trove of old wooden cabinets with antique silver handled drawers, home to countless gem like pastel sticks, every imaginable drawing pen, crayon or pencil and rows and rows of glittering tubes of paint, not forgetting the trays of aquarelles, wrapped up like so many tiny sweets. All to just die for! Aladdin’s cave has nothing on this! Thus, it is now definitely baguette, cheese and fruit for supper for a few weeks. Not that this presents too much of a problem ……….

With the help of a wonderful South African friend who lives nearby, I have discovered charming local haunts and a wonderful market which is set up at Bastille along the very aptly named Boulevard Beaumarchais, every Thursday and Sunday morning. Here one sees fresh produce beautifully displayed and the friendly stall holders carry on an amiable banter as they cajole customers into buying their wares, which are generally very reasonably priced. All such a feast for the eye and of course the picture book perfect onions, garlic cloves, lemons and peaches etc., made me immediately want to capture it all in a thousand still life paintings!

Room with a View

It is here that I discovered the most delicious fruit, la pêche plat which indeed is just that - flat peach, and tastes like a mixture of a peach and an apple. I also happened upon the best fromage à l’emmental. Les Boulangerie et Pâtisseries are (unfortunately) just about on every street corner and are deadly! Of course, at the first opportunity, I had to try un croque monsieur (a toasted ham with melted cheese on top – very yum!) et aussi des macarons, light as air – vanille, chocolat, citron et pistachio. Les glaces are also delicious and so refreshing on a hot summer’s day, but expensive at the price of €2.50 for one impossibly tiny scoop. Incidently, one can also pick up une bonne bouteille du vin blanc for €4, which means that a glass of wine is cheaper than an ice-cream!

But la baguette is the staple and I prefer mine traditionale, which is made from less refined wheat. Yoghourt, butter and milk is rich and creamy and the French do pride themselves on their cheeses. You will find low fat or processed dairy products with extreme difficulty. Not that one wants to buy that insipid stuff anyway! My friend has informed me that if you ask for it the shopkeeper will look disparagingly at you and inform you very vehemently that that is only for babies and people on diet – d’accord!

I have made friends with Leonie Louw, a fellow South African, who lives across the hall and who hails from Limpopo. Leonie is a lovely warm, friendly person, with whom I can practice my Afrikaans, and we have been on a few outings together. So now I can say I am ‘drie-taalig’. Well, after a fashion. My French is coming along slowly and I am encouraged by the fact that I now understand a little better, what is said to me. I have had to speak French quite often – when ordering or buying food, or trying to get my phone card and Navigo ticket (for bus or metro access) sorted out, or simply ask for directions. It has gone well enough and I do enjoy hearing the language spoken. I have found the local people are quite helpful if they realise you are trying, but I’m afraid there have been plenty of occasions when there was definitely much that was ‘lost in translation’! Like the time I lost my glasses in Jardins des Tuileries and couldn’t read my metro map. I asked a lady at an information booth if she could help me and only after she had very indignantly shooed me away, did it dawn on me that I had perhaps asked for her glasses and not just for help with reading the map! So now I have learnt to always carry 2 pairs of glasses in my bag, with the all important map and Navigo ticket!

So far, I have used the excuse of good weather, to be out and about every day for as long as possible, just drinking in the sights and sounds – all that makes this such a beautiful city. Just as well, now that the weather has turned.

Sunset on the Seine

I have done so much and there is so much to tell, but that will have to wait. Tomorrow I leave for a few days in the country, Néré to be exact. Carol and Bill Ross have very kindly offered me their hospitality and I am looking forward to a change of scene. I’m not packed yet, but have time to throw a few things into an overnight bag tomorrow morning, not forgetting my paints and sketch books!

Au revoir until next time!

2010-08-08T08:46:00.002+02:00

WINTER LIFE DRAWING WORKSHOP

Thank you all you SASA members and your friends who supported the Life Drawing classes held at the Portuguese Hall. I was surprised and delighted to see the great number of you who turned up on these cold winter mornings- that’s what I call dedication to one’s Art! Frankly I wasn’t too sure of how many to expect but, in the event, you surpassed expectation and made the classes a success and pleasure. It was good to meet SASA members who I didn’t know, and their friends, who I hope will consider becoming members.

I think that we had extremely nice, experienced models who each contributed their individual repertoire of poses. We were fortunate as we had quite a small list to contact, a number being unavailable thanks to FIFA and school holidays. At this point I want to ask all members of SASA to please communicate the names and details of interesting and experienced models that they come across to Liz Pearson so that she can put them on the SASA blog . Her email is; lizp@iafrica.com

Thank you, too, for your experienced assistance and input of information, and also your patience when things didn’t go so smoothly. Kokava Kalmi you were an angel when the electricity went down- thank you. My gratitude to all of you who moved furniture into place and back to its original place at the end of the class; to those who helped with the tea and washing dishes and lugging stuff up and downstairs. They include non-SASA members too. Penny Steynor, thank you for bringing your light each week and for lighting the models. The council members, Barbara, Liz, Glenda, and Fiona and others,Carol.Christine(who consoled me when I broke the handle of the urn),Lyn, Irina and the Brawny Men of course and many others- forgive my failing memory. I extend my gratitude to every single one of you.

Jinty

Penny Steynor's Pastel Workshop

2010-07-25T19:31:00.001+02:00

On Saturday 24th, 19 people arrived for Penny's workshop.

With so many people, space was at a premium, but a spot was found for everyone, and Penny treated us to an incredible amount of information as well as a display of how versatile a medium pastel is.

Here are Penny's notes:

Pastel is a very exciting and versatile medium. It is a drawing or painting medium and is a Direct medium to use offering wide range of techniques and approaches with Drawing - convenient - direct - quick and expressive with no elaborate preparation with painting - prepare paper and layer pastel in washes. It can also be used over watercolour, acrylic or mixed media to great effect, or work with "Pastel marks" (John Blockley) - people are recognized by their marks!

Pastels are made from gum tracanthas, a binder and Kaolin and pigment. Home made pastels are harder as more binder is used. They are PERMANENT and do not fade as sophisticated pigments are used in their manufacture.

HOW TO USE THEM
Which side of the paper? Usually the rougher side is used.
Never use graphite pencil as the oil repels the pastel. Always draw with charcoal - you can even incorporate the charcoal into the pastel. Oil pastels are different - we are dealing here with chalk pastels. There are both hard and soft varieties. Harder pastels are usually used for the drawing technique. In painting use the hard pastels first and end with soft.

Work from dark to light, as in oils. No water or cleaning agents except soap and water, towels, wet wipes and old clothes! But unlike oils you cannot mix pastels on a palette like paint - you can mix to a certain extent on paper.
In order to ascertain a colour, you have to test it or use it - if it is wrong or racts in a way you don't want it to, stop immediately and remove with a stiff brush. YOU CANNOT CORRECT MISTAKES BY OVERLAYING WITH PASTEL. You will end up with a muddy, tired looking painting.

MUD! In my experience, mud is caused by using opposite sides of the colour wheel (what would normally cause grey in watercolour and may be beautiful can cause mud in pastel). Also adding too much white content too soon. Adjacent colours are best for blending.

DUST! Do not blow. Turn over your pastel and tap. You can also put a piece of wide masking tape, sticky side up, on the bottom edge of your paper, catching dust that way. Semolina makes a good cleaning agent.

TO SUMMARISE:

Use genuine turps or water to soften your pastel wash - or scrape pastel onto your board and wipe with a soft cloth to give a "wash effect"
Work from dark to light

Watermedia Showcase

2010-07-21T09:28:00.000+02:00

Watermedia Showcase sponsored by Watercolor Artist

PRIZES

Best of Show: $500

2^nd Place: $250

3rd Place: $100

4^th Place: $50

Award Winners will be published and Honorable Mentions’ names will be listed in the February 2011 issue of Watercolor Artist. All Winners and Honorable Mentions will receive a certificate suitable for framing.

Deadline: August 2, 2010

PROSPECTUS

ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to artists anywhere in the world. All works must be original. Compositions based on published material or other artists' work are NOT considered original and are not eligible. Paintings executed in a workshop under another artist's supervision or paintings based on another person's photograph (even if copyright-free) are NOT eligible. Mixed-media entries are accepted, but the primary medium must be watermedia. Employees of F+W Media, Inc., and their immediate families, are not eligible. Watercolor Artistreserves the right to reject work deemed unsuitable for publication or that does not meet above criteria. Work previously published at the time of submission to this contest in a national publication or receiving an award at a national-level exhibition is not eligible.

PREPARING YOUR ENTRY
You may enter online or you may mail all your entries in on one CD. All entries must be digital files. You may enter work in any and all categories; there is no limit to the number of images you may enter. If entering via regular mail you must inlclude an Entry Form. Please also include a separate sheet that gives the title and dimensions of each image. The titles of the images on the CD must match the titles on the sheet. Image files cannot exceed 2MG. The file must be saved as a JPEG in RGB color mode (not CMYK). If your work is selected as a winner, we may contact you about sending a high-res replacement. Incomplete entry forms and information sheets, and improperly named image files will be disqualified.

Fees and Payment: All entries are $15 per image. A credit card number and signature or a check or money order for the required jury fee (in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank) must accompany your entry. There will be a $10 charge for all returned checks or declined credit cards. Credit cards will be charged within 90 days of contest deadline. Charges will appear as "F+W contests."

Materials: CDs will not be returned (so have a duplicate made for your own files). Watercolor Artist will not be responsible for the loss, damage or return of any CDs submitted to the competition.

DEADLINE
Entries must be submitted online or postmarked no later than August 2, 2010.

JUDGING
Entries will be prejudged and then finalists will be chosen by the magazine staff. All properly prepared entries will be viewed and judged. The decision of the jurors is final.

NOTIFICATION
All winners will be notified by November 1, 2010. The results will not otherwise be made public until they are published in Watercolor Artist. Non-winning entrants will not be individually notified of the results. Your cancelled check or credit-card charge will be notification for receipt of your entry.

Click here to enter online

2010-07-08T11:02:00.000+02:00

Check out JOHN SMITH's latest newsletter on "Where have all the Men Gone?". Click on the heading above - 'Interesting Articles". You can leave your comments on this, and any other article - go to the word 'comments' at the end of the article, click on it, and leave your message.

2010-07-08T10:54:00.003+02:00

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE CITÉ French letter 6 from Fula Paxinos

My studio on the 1^st floor had floor to ceiling windows and I placed my work table in front of them and was able to watch a never-ending passing show of traffic (including hundreds of Renaults just like mine) cyclists, motorcyclists, streams of pedestrians, school children, rollerbladers and huge tour buses disgorging groups of tourists,.

The leaves on the tall trees along the pavement outside the building have all changed into glorious autumn colours and have started falling in earnest. Pretty soon I will have a perfect view of the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral.

A couple of nights ago, I heard an eerie swishing noise, almost like a very long gust of wind. To my surprise a river of rollerbladers , hundreds of men, women and children, with a police escort were cruising past. Nobody at the Cité had any idea who they were or where they came from.

The swans on the river, the many tourists boats and the Bateaux mouches, whose rows of search lights illuminate the river banks at night add to the constant activity- which I love.

There also seem to be thousands of little Smart Cars on the road. They are all very brightly coloured and patterned and from my window they look like Dinky toys.

Across the road on the pavement above the river bank are the Seine book sellers stretching all the way to Pont Neuf and beyond. The vendor directly opposite my windows intrigued me. He had a guitar, and when not talking to a possible customer or friend, he strolled and danced up and down the pavement, strumming and singing. A dark haired woman often came to visit him and brought lunch and a bottle of wine. They would sit on the bench nearby and spend a couple of hours eating and chatting. That stopped and soon a blonde woman took her place and visited every day. They were far more amoureux, she was either snuggled up on his lap with her arms around him, or cuddled up next to him. Then she stopped coming and he went back to playing his guitar. Who were the women? Why did the blonde stop coming? Did her husband find out? An interesting video art installation could have been created based on Monsieur le Bookseller’s shenanigans!

The President's Guard

Several times during my stay I heard the clip-clopping of horses hooves along the road. From my window I was able to watch the President's Guard riding by. About 100 splendid horsemen in scarlet and black regalia on their richly caparisoned horses. What a splendid sight! Luckily I was able to capture it on video.

Along the block in front of the Cite the road is called rue de l'Hotel de Ville. Beyond that the pavement is very wide and accommodates a cycle track and benches surrounded by low hedges. The benches were very often occupied by couples wrapped around each other, and homeless people who made their beds there every night. Beyond the broad pavement is the road that runs along the top level of the Seine. What impressed me very much was how frequently the pavements were cleaned. The weather was getting colder and the trees had started shedding their leaves. Almost every day a strange looking vehicle would come along and the operator would blow all the leaves into piles, another weird vehicle would come along and vacuum them, and others would thoroughly wash down the pavement. Frequently, I'd wake up to the noise of electric tools being used to neatly trim the hedges. What impressed me most was how meticulously the workers did their jobs.

Just before the end of each month there was a spate of Open Studios in the Cité . Sometimes 2 on the same night. Then it was dead quiet till the new intake arrived and started producing work. Any kind of work, including video installations and musical stuff- Pedro Morales from

Mexico

, picked up bits and pieces in the streets, old pots, buckets, even a bed base with springs, and scraps of bicycles, connected them to his computer and somehow they vibrated and produced the strangest sounds. He entertained us to a ‘musical’ evening at his open studio.

A tiny, cute, smiling, bowing, Japanese girl called Midori exhibited her very tiny, cute illustrations. I had invited my friends Desmond and Marianne Colbourne to join me and visit an open studio. Midori could not speak one word of English and her interpreter managed very little English. They were overjoyed when Desmond spoke to them in Japanese. Marianne chatted in Swedish to a Swedish sculptor at the party, Carla a photographer from Pretoria spoke fluent French to several other guests and we were all able to speak Afrikaans to a Dutch couple. What a fruit salad! The party continued with more snacks and drinks chez moi afterwards, and Desmond gave me lots more information about where to go and what to see.

Metka the little woman standing in the centre had an Open Studio to show her paintings on her round hand-made papier mache supports. Only 2 of the 10 artists in the picture have the same nationality.

Although I had done a 6 month course at the Alliance Francaise in Cape Town and done all my homework, and tried hard in class, not very much stayed in my memory from one lesson to the next. Horrific grammar and verbs, almost as difficult as Greek. I had acquired a set of language CD’s which I found easier and also decided to go to French lessons at the Cite. It was recommended as a good place to meet people. I went to one lesson only. The teacher only spoke French and I daresay that after about 100 lessons, I might have learned to speak French, but I felt my CD’s were easier, and I did meet ‘friends’ at that lesson.

Current Friends, their Nationalities and the languages they spoke.

Ahmad	Palestinian	Arabic, English
Larissa	Palestinian (Christian)	English, French, Arabic, Russian, Danish
Sabrina	German	German, English French, Dutch
Christian	German	German, English, French
Valentina	Mexican	English, French, Spanish
Sarah	American	English
Jeremy	American	English, French
Christina	Greek Cypriot	Greek, English, French, Italian
Ferudin	Turkish Cypriot	Turkish, English, French – having an exhibition in Paris
Max	South African	English, French, Afrikaans
Carla	South African	English, French, Afrikaans
Nurit	Israeli	Arabic, English, French, Hebrew
Dorothea	Iceland	English, French, Swedish/Danish
Joe	African American	English, French – living in Paris

Alice Goldin from Cape Town who had been to the Cité 6 or 7 times, and her grandson Max arrived there shortly after I did and were the most wonderful friends. It was a blessing having their company. Alice is a Gold mine of information, her memory is phenomenal and she advised me on what to see, where to go and how to get there. We had dinner together several times, my famous salmon pasta and my omelettes and Max’s excellent soups. Alice put me to shame by starting painting as soon as she unpacked and Max too was very busy drawing his illustrations. Max took good care of his gran and it was a treat to see them both working diligently on their individual projects and swapping crits. Carla, the photographer did a lovely portrait of Alice in her studio. Apart from her long friendships with the personnel at the Cité, Alice also had friends in Paris and despite problems with her hip; she gamely managed to get out and about. However, she had to leave Paris earlier than planned and I had a little farewell dinner for her in my studio.

Portrait of Alice Goldin by courtesy of photographer Carla Crafford

Although I hadn’t put brush to canvas yet, I did put up large photocopies of my wax paintings and picture boards with photos of glorious sunsets taken from my balcony at home and photos taken from the end of my road, of Clifton and Camps Bay beaches. My visitors were all absolument fascinated!

Fula Paxinos

Adolpho McQue Workshops

2010-07-02T10:07:00.006+02:00

Landscape artist, Adolpho McQue will be holding two, 3-morning LANDSCAPE OIL PAINTING WORKSHOPS on

JULY: Wed 28, Thurs. 29 and Fri. 30 - 9.30 to 12.30 am.

AUGUST: Wed 4, Thurs. 5 and Fri.6 - 9.30 to 12.30 am.

VENUE: STAG STUDIO next to Simonstown Library.

The fee will be R600.00 per person for 3 morning workshop, maximum 10 Artists per workshop, so book early.

The aim is to learn to SEE shape, design, tone, colour and to apply oil paint and have a lot of fun doing it, we'll aim to complete one small landscape painting during the workshop, beginners are welcome.

In booking you will receive material requirements and in depth course info.

PHONE TO BOOK

Jane de Haas 083 3057846

Adolfo McQue 076 7449855

Visit the web site for more of Adolpho's work www.adolfomcque.co.za

Lambert Kriedemann

2010-06-25T09:31:00.000+02:00

Our end of June meeting members were treated to a demonstration by Lambert Kriedemann, an internationally acclaimed Cape Town artist who has the distinction of having commissioned paintings hanging in hotels and corporate offices all round South Africa, as well as private commissions from overseas art investors.

Lambert showed us how he went about starting his work, from charcoal drawing through to the finished article where he puts the final touches until he is satisfied with the end result. No alla prima painter, Lambert can take up to 2 years to complete a commission with an eye to the fine detail of the work.

Here he is with the final canvas he worked on.

2010-06-18T16:14:00.003+02:00

PASTEL MADNESS

at THE ITALIAN ARTSHOP

On Wednesday the 30th June and Thursday the 1st July The Italian Artshop will be holding the pastel sale of the year!! (No need to phone first)

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO STOCK UP ON UNISON PASTELS, arguably the best brand of pastels in the world! UNISON PASTELS WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE IN THIS COUNTRY!!

Unison hand made soft pastels are second to none. In their subtlety and intensity of colour, their fluency and responsiveness to touch and in their delicacy and robustness, Unison Colour Soft Pastels aspire to perfection.
Also on sale: Sennelier pastels, pastel fixative, charcoal.

To view a colour chart click

here

To view a map of where to find us, click on

Map

THE SALE OF ALL SALES!!!

THE ITALIAN ARTSHOP
Tel 021-6851877info@italianartshop.co.za3 Weltevreden Ave, Rondebosch, Cape Townwww.italianartshop.co.za

The Members Exhibition 2010

2010-06-09T11:49:00.001+02:00

What an incredible number of talented artists we have in our Society.

The standard of work at the Members Exhibition was exceptionally high - well done to all of you who put a painting up and congratulations to those who sold. The comments from the public were fantastic!

Sales were on the low side, but we put this down to the time of year. In fact, there were hardly any overseas visitors through Kirstenbosch last week. Maybe they're all up in Johannesburg for the start of the World Cup. And because the World Cup is almost upon us, I thought this painting could have pride of place in this blog post!

Keep painting! Remember Selection Day for our prestigious Annual Exhibition is coming up in September. Watch your newsletters for more details and check the web site for more info.

Enjoy the World Cup!

MUSEUMS AND MASTERPIECES. French Letter 5 by Fula Paxinos

2010-05-18T15:53:00.007+02:00

One of the many excellent advantages of living in the Cité is its close proximity to so many great museums and galleries, many within walking distance. The George Pompidou Centre, the Carnavalet, the Louvre, the Cluny, the Picasso (which was closed) and many more. Having been to the Louvre at the beginning of my stay, I ticked it off my list, which grew longer and longer each time I met residents who recommended more must-see wonders.

When residents arrive at the Cité they are given a Museum pass and a list of museums at which the holder is entitled to free access.

What can I say? The French do their exhibitions magnificently-

The ‘Renoir au XXe siécle ‘ Exhibition at Le Grande Palais was beautifully staged, featuring a large collection of his luscious paintings and many old photographs of himself and his family and friends. Monochrome wallpaper had been printed of his paintings and used to paper the walls of the staircases to the exhibition. Impossible to believe that in his later years, despite his hands being crippled and grossly deformed by arthritis and being confined to a wheel chair; he continued to paint and even started sculpture. He died at the age of 79.

What a pleasure it was to walk straight to the entrance of the Grande Palais, show my museum pass, et voila go right in and not have to stand in line.

(photography was not allowed in the exhibition, but I snuck this one on the staircase)

The Lady and the Unicorn

On the left bank is the Hotel de Cluny which houses the Musée National de Moyen Age, one of the world’s finest collections of medieval art. It is a flamboyant 15^th century manor built on top of 2^nd century ruins. The magnificent stained glass windows were breathtaking as were the six woven masterpieces- ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ La Dame a la Licorne depicting the five senses, plus love. They were woven c. 1500 in Flanders.

Amongst all this serious religious art, next to the historic excavations, there was an exhibition celebrating the comic “Asterix” 50^th anniversary. Intéresser et amusant!

Large metal posters were displayed at intervals along the outer wall surrounding the Cluny, each one featuring a famous classical painting. Next to each painting there was a reproduction of the same painting, featuring Asterix characters. Eugene Delacroix’s ‘La Liberte guedant le Peuple’, Breuglel l’ancien’s La repas de noces’, which was particularly funny; and Rembrandt’s ‘La le cor d’anatomie du Prof Tulp’ (except that in the Asterix version, they were examining a fish); were some of the many art works featured. To further celebrate the event, there were installations in various public areas of the city depicting Asterix’ adventures, such as piles of dented, bashed up Roman helmets, huge menhirs that Obelix carries with him, sign posts indicating the towns that Asterix and the Romans inhabited, etc. amazed me that so much effort and planning went into that event.

As I said before, the French do their exhibitions in grand style.

I revisited the George Pompidou Centre especially to see the exhibition of work done by Women Artists. Apparently only a small percentage of work by women is featured in museums and the complaint is that more often than not women have to be naked to be in a museum. There were some beautiful paintings, some rather controversial and some very disturbing installations and videos. Alas, I could not decipher all the labels pertaining to the art works so couldn’t satisfy my curiosity

One of the video installations featured a naked woman on the beach, arms in the air, gyrating with a hula hoop. All very well, except that the hoop was made of barbed wire. Yep, a length of barbed wire, twisted to form a hoop that ripped her skin repeatedly as it went round and round. Pour quo? I cannot begin to imagine! And the woman never flinched! Trés bizarre, non? I couldn’t resist video-ing the video.

The Steak Dress There was an installation featuring a mannequin wearing a dress made of steak. Yep, ces’t vrais, slabs of raw meat! The meat was fresh when it was put together and draped on the model, by the time I saw it, it had dried out. What a way to make biltong! That style in a peachy mushroom-pleated silk chiffon would have looked quite fetching, n’est-ce pas?

Another picture featured the nether-regions of a couple- naked! in the act! Yes, in the act I tell you! The explanation was that the woman in the picture commissioned the artist because she wanted to know what they looked like from that angle. Ja well o fine! I was very curious to know how the teachers who were herding a large group of small childre around the museum and explaining various art works handled that one. Ooh-la-la!

Onse Marlene had two pictures on the exhibition, on one she had drawn a scratchy- looking tree with foetuses hanging on the branches called- what else? ‘The Foetus tree’. The other one was even worse, but don’t let me start on that topic!

There were many of my favourite Impressionist paintings in other areas of the huge Pompidou centre as well as a special exhibition of work by Pierre Soulages on the top level. At 15 Euros entrance fee, I decided to give it a miss, but enjoyed the panoramic cityscape from the roof. I later saw a lot of his work at other exhibitions and was glad I had not spent 15 Euros. Google him and see his work.

Another of the very beautiful buildings which houses a museum is the Musée D’Orsay. It was originally the Palais D’Orsay which was burned to the ground by the Communards in 1871. It was an eyesore across the Seine directly opposite the Tuileries gardens and the Palais du Louvre for many years and in 1898 Victor Lalou was selected to build a railway station in time for the World Fair of 1900. The design of the building with its high vaulted roof was borrowed for New York’s Grand Central Station, the Pensylvannia Station and Union Station in Washington. DC. By 1939, all long distance train travel ceased and the great space was all but abandoned.

In 1970 plans to demolish the gare were thwarted by an uprising, a peaceable one on the part of the Parisians, who refused to allow another architectural prize to disappear and it was duly entered into the register of historic monuments. ‘ The museum retains the station’s grandeur and offers a unique portrait of the rich and complex period when art- and the world- became modern.’ It is best known and loved for its works by the Impressionists and Post-impressionists and much, much more.

I took this picture of the Sacre Coeur on Montmartre through one of the two huge clocks that face outward towards the river. I thought it was quite original?

Pourquoi did I go to Paris? Oh yes, to paint. So far, only my nails!

One of the many beautiful paintings at the Musée D’Orsay. Quite strange, though!

To see a larger version of the posted pictures, just click on the photo.

Cherry Nichols

2010-05-02T08:24:00.000+02:00

The Society was treated to a wonderful demo by Cherry Nichols, a watercolourist of note!

Cherry is an adventurer. She experiments and bends a lot of those entrenched watercolour 'rules' and it was an absolute treat to see her work and how she produces those special effects.

Despite the vagaries of the video system, it turned into an intimate evening with lots of questions and oohs and aahs.

Thank you Cherry.

Cherry is a watercolour teacher and also runs workshops on her techniques. If you would like to contact her, you can email her on cherryn@telkomsa.net.

2010-04-27T09:03:00.004+02:00

With Autumn already here, our Winter Workshops will be on us before we know! Life Drawing is also a feature of our Winter calendar.

To whet your appetite for these workshops, here is an extract of the April 20th letter from Robert Genn, a respected artist and teacher in Canada.

Receive his twice weekly newsletter just by clicking on his name on the side bar on the right

"Should I go to an art school, should I take a workshop, or should I just work on my own?" Questions like this come in here every day and they're often tough to answer. Needless to say, I always appreciate a few photos to help me with a properly considered opinion. Sometimes my answer is, "Take a workshop."

But that's when the fun begins. Sometimes it's difficult to find the right one. While students often choose courses that take them in new and uncharted directions, it's also valuable to invest in instructors with a somewhat similar vision to yours. If you don't know her work personally, it's a good idea to thoroughly check
out the website. Some instructors are whiz-bangs at plein air, others excel in colour theory or drawing, still others can be counted on for foundation basics. For folks who are not sure what they want--but just feel the urge to get going--a week in a church basement with an enthusiastic pro can really charge up your lithium-ions.

Fact is, many part-time workshop instructors are simply dynamite at hands-on awakening and enabling. "The supreme art of the teacher," said Albert Einstein, "is to awaken joy." Working artists tend to know a bit about joy.

Here are a few thoughts: First-time students need not fear the prospect of judgment and comparison. Individual boundaries are respected. Most instructors I know are fully loaded with humility and empathy. The greatest teachers are perennial students themselves. "Every professional was first an amateur," said Ralph Waldo Emerson. That quote, widely repeated, helps.

One of the most effective types of workshop is where two or more instructors or mentors alternate between different groups on different days. Students positively buzz with excitement as they vacuum up a bit here and a bit there.

Then there's location. The idea is to get your brush around new places. North American painters lug their stuff over to Brittany and Provence--and European painters hang out with cowboys in New Mexico. Go figure. Notwithstanding volcanic eruptions, the world's your canvas.

These days, many who take workshops are already top-notch painters. New challenges and the benefits of group dynamics are the main reasons these folks join in. Just another reason why workshops are so enriching. Great places to make buddies for life.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." (Mark Van Doren)

Robert Genn was born in Victoria, B.C. Canada in 1936. His formal training included the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia and the Art Center School in Los Angeles, California.

Recognized as one of Canada's most accomplished painters, his work is well known internationally. While his subjects are universal (he has painted in many countries), he excels in portraying Canada. He is perhaps best known for his work on the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountains.

Visit his web site on http://www.robertgenn.com/

Space Saver

2010-04-26T10:53:00.001+02:00

A novel idea from a fellow artist in KZN. Maureen Lesser is a member of the North Coast Art Group and has come up with an idea for all those canvases that get stacked against the walls in ever growing numbers.

Contact Maureen direct on 031 568-1957 and talk to her about her other innovative ideas.

Mindblowing Paris (French Letter 4)

2010-04-10T15:26:00.014+02:00

I love browsing over maps, so I armed myself with a bus map and a Métro map as soon as I arrived. A word of advice, always ask for the No. 2 Métro map which is more detailed and shows the street names as well. Nevertheless, I figured that a couple of days spent on an open-top bus, with commentary would help me get my bearings quicker. So on the first clear day, I started the tour. The tour includes 4 different routes including all the usual tourist attractions in the city. I was able to hop on and off whenever I wanted to spend more time in an interesting spot. The commentary was very useful and gave lots of information about the places visited and the history of Paris. A trés trés belle Paris. The staggeringly beautiful monuments and mindlowing architecture aesthetically embellished with magestic sculptures. How could such a beautiful city have had such a turbulent and violent history? I have to admit that I was quite appalled. Mon dieu So many uprisings, revolutions, wars, sieges and the Commune. Not to mention the devastating Black Plague which wiped out more than a third of the City’s population. It really was horribly gruesome and at times I preferred to listen instead to the other tourists’ conversations around me.

In one group of Australians the men begged their wives at every stop, to get off the bus and have a couple’ a biers. I enjoyed the tours but felt that walking and taking public buses would be almost as good. And trés cheaper!

On the next sunny Saturday morning I set off for the Rue Mouffetarde street market. Mostly food and bistros and a few clothing sellers so didn’t spend much time there. I then walked to the Pantheon, one of Paris’s most impressive buildings, and from there found my way to the Jardins de Luxembourg.

Straight ahead amongst the trees which were every shade of autumn was a lovely old Victorian style bandstand. The musicians were setting up their instruments and a large crowd gathered. I found a seat and spent the most blissful afternoon, pleasantly warm, enjoying the scene and listening to the coolest jazz. C’est une image très agréable, non? How I wished my son-the-musician was with me. When the concert ended, I walked through the gardens, admiring the large pond with its fountains sparkling in the late afternoon sun, and the elegant statuary. There were crowds of people enjoying the sunshine and many couples embracing, lip-locked and oblivious to passers-by, in the gardens and anywhere and everywhere. C'est Paris? Sans doute!

Sunday morning was also very pleasant and I set off for a long walk along the Seine. The roads along the banks of the Seine are closed to traffic on Sundays and the inhabitants take full advantage. People fishing, children playing and riding bicycles, families picnicking, lots of dogs running around with their owners, families of swans and ducks gliding along, and the ubiquitous couples snogging. I saw an elderly woman with a strange looking black ‘dog’ on a leash. It was walking ahead of her, lifting its feet very delicately at every step and had its tail straight up in the air. Then I realised why the dog looked so strange- it was a cat!

Another large woman in a very colourful flamboyant dress had a parakeet on her shoulder and she was dancing along to a tune in her head, with the parakeet squawking and hanging on for dear life. Barges, and boats full of tourists floated by, artists were painting the lovely scenes- the multicoloured trees along the banks in every shade from rust, through red to darkest maroon.

Another magnificent ‘automne d’or’ day.

While walking, I was able to take a closer look at the large abstract pictures that looked as if they were painted on the sides of the bridges and along the walls on the banks of that stretch of the river. I could not figure out what they were only that they were in shades of grey to black and featured large intense eyes. I found them rather disturbing and couldn’t believe that so much graffiti had been allowed. Till I found out that all those pictures had been painted by an artist who does that sort of installation art world wide. The pictures were printed on large sheets of paper and were pasted in place. This particular exhibition was meant to honour women that he had met who were living in difficult situations and appalling conditions. He had been extremely impressed by the strength of the women and felt that their eyes told their stories. What an amazing tribute.

I made my way back along Blvd St Michel and eventually found the ‘Shakespeare and Company’ book shop. It was opened by an American- Sylvia Beach in 1920 and despite several changes over the years, it still exists. It was famous for its Sunday afternoon tea parties. The upstairs area is a reading room with large armchairs and couches and has sometimes been home to students far from home. As I stumbled up the narrow staircase I saw a book displayed on a music stand at the top of the stairs. It was by Ronald Searle, one of my all time favourite cartoonists since my schooldays and the St Trinian stories. I was overjoyed to find one of his books that I had not read. I settled down in the least dilapidated chair I could find and enjoyed his wickedly funny cartoons. When I left I stopped off at a Greek food stall to buy a snack and was able to HAVE A CONVERSATION with someone. What a pleasure, not very in-depth, but nevertheless, a conversation.

Later that evening on my way to mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral on Ile de la Cité I crossed Pont Marie at just the moment of le crépuscule. I stopped dead in my tracks and was stunned by the view of the river. The exquisite opalescent pink light that exists only in that magical time between day and night was reflected on the water and highlighted the roof of a boat that was cruising towards Pont Louis Philippe. It was a scene begging to be painted and which would be over in minutes. I whipped out my ever-ready camera and snapped away as a gold wash briefly brightened the pink which then darkened through cerise into the velvety purple colours of night. I was spellbound, even more so later while listening to the soaring angelic voices of the choir in Notre Dame Cathedral. So much beauty to see and hear. Absolument magnifique! Did I mention in a previous letter what a privilege it was to be there? Well I’ll say it again; it was indeed a great privilege to be there!

I planned to start painting when the weather got really miserable. So far it hadn’t - so I didn’t!

Fula Paxinos

The 2010 Merit Exhibition

2010-04-02T22:04:00.012+02:00

An amazing array of paintings by some of the most talented artists amongst us. The Merit Exhibition was an undeniable success, from both an exceptional visual experience, to a fantastic sales record! Here are just a few of some of the awesome works that we were treated to.

From top to bottom: Di Ackerman, Charles van der Merwe, Karen Burns, Margie Johnson, Jenny Merritt, Marion Cross, Wyn Rossouw and Ros Walters.

A letter of Appeal

2010-03-26T08:47:00.001+02:00

Dear Linda,

I hope this email finds you well. I got your email address from Lesley Charnock. I work for an NGO, Partners with After School Care Projects, PASCaP Trust. We run an after school care programme at Hout Bay High and Heathfield High Schools, where learners spend two hours with us each day after school. In the first hour they do homework supervised by the facilitator and in the second hour they do various enrichment programmes such as choir, dance, photography and self defence. These workshops are offered by volunteers for an hour once a week. The learners at the Heathfield High After School Care Programme are very interested in learning to draw and paint. Lesley suggested that I email you to ask if there are members of the society who are willing to volunteer an hour a week to teach the learners basic drawing and painting classes. We would provide the art materials, but the volunteer would need to give us a list of what is needed.

We are also looking for a volunteer who would be willing to come and do three two-hour workshops during our holiday programme at Hout Bay High School on Monday June 29, Tuesday June 30 or Friday July 3.

I look forward to hearing from you

Best wishes

Toni

Toni Stuart

After School Care Facilitator

Hout Bay High School

PASCaP Trust

021 713 0754

072 656 2013

Please contact Toni direct at one of the above numbers.

The Merit Exhibition March 20th

2010-03-16T09:44:00.000+02:00

The prestigious Merit Exhibition opens this Saturday, March 20th at Kirstenbosch Sanlam Hall.

In qualifying for the Merit, these artists had to achieve a minimum of 25 points for their three paintings submitted to the Annual Exhibition Selection Day. With a total of 6 judges making the call, this was not easy, but here is the list of those who made the cut! Well done to all of you.

Bill Brown, Margie Johnson, June Hofmeyr, Nola Muller-Viotti, Marion Langton, Margarida Baptista, Ros Walters, Penny Steynor, Ann Mingay, Di Ackerman, Colleen Ross, Ray Potter, Mandy McKay, Ginny Hickling, Eileen Bass, Judy Wheeler, Laura Wenman, Charles vd Merwe, Claudia Treagus, Helene Swart, Klaus Schilling, Wyn Rossouw, John Robert, Barbara Lewis, Jeanne le Roux, Fanie le Roux, Patricia Fraser, Marion Cross, Karen Burns, Geoff Price, Valda Preen, Albert Lastovica, Viv King, Sue Joyce, Brian Johnson, Jeanette Hablutzel, Solly Gutman, Judy Fish, Sylvia de Villiers, Paul Birchall.

St James Beach Sea Gazer by Bill Brown

Best Acrylic

Interesting Articles

2010-03-13T09:56:00.000+02:00

We have added a new page to our blog - on the right hand side at the top, click on 'Interesting Articles' and you can read some very pertinent, thought provoking and hard hitting articles by KZN based artist and writer, John Smith. We will be publishing his monthly 'Thoughts from my Studio' under this heading, so keep your eyes open.

The Perfect Canvas - check this out!

2010-03-10T08:31:00.003+02:00

We have received the following notification from SANAVA - maybe yours could be the one chosen by Woolies!

‘The Perfect Canvas’ by Woolworths - Please remind all members of the project which Woolworths is running in partnership with SANAVA, in terms of which artists who are members of the Association are encouraged to submit images of colourful work which Woolworths may decide to display on their eco-friendly shopping bags.   Please refer to Woolworths’

http://www.woolworths.co.za/caissa.asp?Page=ITB4_RHContext&Post=CO-Community_Initiatives_Canvas.

Woolworths drew our attention to the fact that participants often tend to ignore the conditions relating to the exact sizes of images that are to be submitted as entries for consideration.   The final printed size of the picture on the bag should be strictly respected.   This should be 430mm (horizontal) by 300mm (vertical).   Odd sizes may have to be cropped.   Any medium (oils, pastels, watercolours, photography, etc) may be used.   Slides are not acceptable.   Important also: the works must be ‘happy’.   No sad subjects, sombre colours or identifiable items, places, etc!

Charles Reid's 5 Tips for Painting Water

2010-03-07T07:50:00.001+02:00

There is a wonderful site for watercolourists called 'The Watercolor Artist', an American site that sends you all sorts of useful tips and information - all you have to do is subscribe. It is an electronic newsletter devoted exclusively to watermedia and designed especially for you, the watermedia artist. Email them on Watercolor Artist [watercolor-newsletter@fwpubs.com] and they'll send you their weekly newsletter.

In their February 25th letter, they published this piece by Charles Reid which we thought we would pass on to you - both from an informative point of view, as well as to see they type of article they publish.

Charles Reid's 5 Tips for Painting Water

Here's a little gem we plucked from our archives: Charles Reid's best tips for painting water:

1. Water should be painted with hard edges between the light from the sky and the reflections from trees, buildings or boats.
2. Paint wet-in-wet within the reflections but rarely where the reflection meets the sunlight.
3. For distant water on the horizon, try moist Antwerp blue or peacock blue (Holbein). Sometimes I use ultramarine violet if the horizon line of the sea seems very dark.
4. In shallow water, use diluted Antwerp blue, peacock blue or Winsor blue. These are all transparent blues that retain their color identity when diluted.
5. Sometimes water near the shore can turn a delicate turquoise green. You can add turquoise green to your palette, or simply mix diluted cadmium yellow pale or lemon yellow with one of the diluted blues to achieve the same color.

Accessing Information

2010-03-05T17:20:00.006+02:00

We have added pages to the blog.

Look at the top and you will see the words

Home
Exhibitions
Workshops
Art Teachers
Artist Models

If you want to know anything about any of these, just click on the word at the top of the page and it will take you to the right place.

Please remember that this blog is interactive and feedback from all of you out there would be appreciated. Go to the bottom of the post where the words 'comments' appears, click on that, and the rest is easy.

AGM and Drawings

2010-02-27T09:48:00.000+02:00

On Thursday SASA had both the AGM and a Drawing Competition.

Our President, Lynn Brown, brought back memories from a year gone past with stories and pics of paintings exhibited at all our exhibitions. Not your usual AGM - full of info and positives for the Society already in its second centenary! Well done Lynn and all the members for making 2009 so successful.

And to crown it off, the standard at the drawing competition was tremendous. All the members present had a vote for their choice of 1st, 2nd and 3rd and Paul Webb came up trumps with his drawing titled 'Kelp'. Solly Gutman's 'Seaweed' and Fiona Nichols with 'Kalk Bay' were 2nd and 3rd respectively.

This is the winning drawing.

Dream Easels!

2010-02-22T09:32:00.000+02:00

As artists we are always looking for a 'good buy'.

Now this is an EXCELLENT buy! Normally we would not promote the sale of equipment and materials, but if you are in the market for a hand made easel, look no further. Made from meranti, these easels are extra large and are on wheels. Have a look.

Walkabout

2010-02-21T09:54:00.005+02:00

Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows

Please join us

on Sunday 28^thFebruary at 11:00 for a walkabout

of this important exhibition.

Karel Nel of Wits University, who curated the exhibition,

will conduct this tour of the exhibition. He will be sharing his ideas

and discoveries about the work of this major South African artist.

As this walkabout is open to the public there will be no charge,

however donations to Friends' projects would be welcome!

IZIKO SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL GALLERY

Preller was a major South African artist, whose unconventional form of expression was impossible to classify in terms of the mainstream art movements of his time. Despite his art's elusive quality, his richly coloured paintings and distinctive, poetic vision earned him widespread critical acclaim and a host of loyal admirers.

Preller studied in London and Paris in the 1930s, where he absorbed the language of Western modernism to the extent that a critic, who had seen his work on a 1937 group exhibition in Johannesburg, called him "

South Africa

's Gauguin". He was also influenced by Van Gogh and later by the frescoes of Piero della Francesca, the Renaissance artist.

The exhibition is accompanied by Alexis Preller, art historian Esmé Berman and artist Karel Nel's comprehensive monograph on the artist, which consists of two volumes: an extensive biography of Preller and a collection of his works. Although the catalogue is not available for sale, orders may be placed for it. A form detailing the methods of payment and delivery is available in the Gallery Shop.

The February Meeting

2010-02-16T15:26:00.003+02:00

Don't forget that next week we'll be holding both our AGM - AND our drawing competition.

The rules and regs are in the latest newsletter, but a re-cap on the basic information -

The theme is Flotsam and Jetsam - so hope you've been picking up bits and pieces from the beach during your holidays!

You can only vote for your favourite piece if you are there

Please mount your work otherwise it flops around and will probably get lost or torn

Because it's a Drawing Competition, only monochrome images are allowed - so if you fancy green, the whole drawing must be done in green! But no paint, no solvents, only drawing materials

And this one is serious - you must own or have written permission to use any pictorial reference material. Copyright infringement is an offence.

Even if you don't participate in the drawing competition, please make an effort to attend this very important, once-a-year, Annual General Meeting.

See you there.

Advice from Wet Canvas

2010-02-14T08:46:00.004+02:00

Every week, Wet Canvas send out a newsletter promoting their facilities and giving hints and tips to aid the artist with his or her work. This is the kind of article that they publish and we would encourage you to subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Email them on

WetCanvas.com [wetcanvas-newsletter@fwpubs.com]

to be added to their mailing list.

On the side bar (under Web Sites of Note) there is a link to their web site, so you can access them through there.

The Control of Water in Watercolor

Welcome to your WetCanvas Weekly Tips Newsletter! This week we are talking about controlling the water in your watercolor. WetCanvas member Arnold Lowrey wrote a terrific article about how to do this. You can see the article in it's entirety by subscribing to the newsletter. Here's what Arnold suggests:

Most watercolors fail because too much water is used and the results are a wishy- washy mess. So, let's come to grips with this important subject.

So here are the five most important ways of water control. -Dry on Dry
-Wet on Dry
-Wet on Wet
-Dry on Wet
-The Half-loaded Brush

Dry on Dry

This is where the paper is dry and all the water is squeezed out of your brush, so that when you pick up paint and paint it on the paper, virtually no water is involved and the result is a scumbling mark.

(No water on the paper and virtually no water in the brush.)

Wet on Dry

If you load you brush with wet paint and paint on dry paper, an area is produced which is soft and flowing in the middle but with hard edges.
(No water on the paper and water in the brush)

Wet on Wet
When the paper is wet and the brush is fully loaded with wet paint, the result is two lots of water on the paper. Consequently, the paper can't handle this amount and the paint pigment flows on the surface. Tipping the paper will allow the pigment to flow around creating a lot of interesting shapes but accurate control is missing. Useful for backgrounds but you are relying on "happy accidents" to produce any meaningful shapes.

Ryno Swart Exhibition in Italy

2010-02-11T09:42:00.001+02:00

You are invited to the opening
on Sunday 14th February, 2010
at the Bar al Fontego,
3426 Campo Santa Margherita, at 7 p.m.
of an exhibition of paintings
by Ryno Swart
La bellezza resista
Beauty fights back

The paintings on this exhibition
can be seen at http://artistvision.org/bellezza.html

Contact Ryno at ryno@artistvision.org

A 3rd French Letter

2010-01-28T07:53:00.008+02:00

Fula Paxinos, our intrepid traveller and writer (as well as great artist) kept us entertained a few months back with her exploits in Paris. Due to some computer glitch, the letters stopped after 2, but luckily she has decided to keep us 'in the loop' - here is the 3rd French Letter.

2 Months and a lot of aggravation later, yet another French letter.

But first---I must clear up a few misconceptions in letter 2 Firstly the ‘their’s’ should have been ‘there’ Blame the damned foreign computers. Secondly I wrote ‘just about everyone speaks French, a leetle’. Not everyone understood that I meant that most of the residents in the international cite can speak une peau francaise and many Parisians can speak ‘a leetle English’ (Happy Linda?)

Location, location, location! The long blue roof in the centre foreground, facing the river Seine, between Pont Marie and Pont Louis Philipe, is the main building of the Cité. My studio was on the 1^st floor facing the river Seine. Not shabby, hey? Top centre is Notre Dame Cathedral.

“The Cité Internationale des Arts is intended to provide short or long stays (2 months to 1 year) for professional artists who want to develop an artistic work in France.The Cité Internationale des Arts is a foundation directed to the public benefit since 1957. The Cité Internationale des Arts is intended to Provide short or long stays (2 months to 1 year) for professional artists who want to Develop an artistic work in France. The Cité Internationale des Arts is a foundation directed to benefit the public since 1957.

It is related to a vast network of partners and associates. It is related to a vast network of partners and associates. Its founders include a large number of States, schools, institutes, universities and ministries from close to 50 countries all across the world. Its founders include a large number of States, schools, institutes, universities and ministries from close to 50 countries all across the world. Three of its historic founders and key partners are the City of Paris, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Three of its historic founders and key partners are the City of Paris, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The facilities of the Cité are divided between two locations in Paris : The facilities of the City are divided between two locations in Paris:

- The site located at 18 rue de l'Hôtel de Ville includes 270 individual workshops in the heart of the Marais district, a dynamic quarter swarming with art galleries and a favourite destination for Parisians. - The site located at 18 rue de l'Hotel de Ville includes 270 individual workshops in the heart of the Marais district, a dynamic quarter swarming with art galleries and a favorite destination for Parisians.

- The site located at 24 rue Norvins is composed of several buildings in a large garden in Montmartre and has 30 individual workshops. - The site located at 24 rue Norvins is composed of several buildings in a large garden in Montmartre and has 30 individual workshops. Montmartre was for many years a focal point for artists over the world. Montmartre was for many years a focal point for artists the world over. “

Life in the Cité des Internationale des Arts.

The residents come from all over the planet and express their talents in a great variety of disciplines. Many musicians, who seem to stay here the longest, as long as 2 years; conductors, composers, visual artists, photographers, video installation artists, sculptors, writers, art historians, singers and songwriters, some husbands/wives/babies/lovers and some here just for inspiration.

Apart from the concerts in the auditorium, the visual artists can host an ‘Open Studio’ when they have produced some work to show. They put invitations in all the residents’ pigeon holes, put a poster on the notice board stating their Studio no. date and time, buy some snacks and wine, and welcome all comers. An excellent way to meet people and to see what they do- some fantastic art, some not.

A young Japanese artist Katsutoshi Yuasa produced woodcuts and prints 1.5 m’s wide x 1m at his Open Studio. Unbelievably intricate and beautiful weeping willows and water scenes. One of the guests muttered to me that Katsutoshi had copied Monet’s Japanese bridge. Ja well nou fine!

A Canadian/Australian woman was tracing ancestors through DNA. and wanted all the visitors to her Open studio to fill in details on a hand drawn map of the world where their families originated. Despite a very long, intense explanation, I still could not understand the connection with the paper mache stuff that was part of her exhibition.
Maybe the high octane drinks her husband was dispensing had something to do with it. C’est possible

A tiny doll-like Chinese artist showed a very poignant video installation about the earthquake in Sichuan Province. At the end of her six month stay her huge blonde Norwegian husband came to spend a few days with her and take her back home to Norway.

My charming young Moroccan neighbour, Rahimah had a jolly Open Studio and showed large paintings of black daisies and brown tulips painted with a 4” brush. She then went back to Tangier for a few days to visit her cat and her parents.   When she came back she showed me a picture of her hamster which she sadly announced was morte. I made appropriate sympathetic gestures. When she showed me a picture of her cat, she tickled the picture and made squeaky baby noises at it. Great! She was crazy! She was one of us!   Rahimah couldn’t speak a word of English so I racked my brains and asked her “avez vous voir le magazin pour achete les animaux petit?”

I hoped I’d asked her if she had seen the pet shops, she understood, shook her head and smiled so I took her to the row of pet and garden shops further along the Seine. Needless to say she was enchanted and gurgled and cooed and made squeaky noises at all the adorable baby animals. Puppies- +-3000 Euros! (R36,000!!!!) and kittens +-1800 euros! (R21,600!!!!) I had to drag her out of there, fortunately sans any petit animaux!.

5 Artists from bits of the former Yugoslavia got together and had an Open Studio exhibition called L’Art Nous Unis (Art unites us) Some beautiful and eclectic and also some very weird things like bits of dismembered dolls nailed to the wall.   We became good friends and went out together. Most of them were leaving at the end of Oct. and I gave them a little farewell party in my studio. The common language was English, but not too much of it.

My friends, their nationalities and the languages they spoke were:-

Metka - Female - Slovenian - plus Italian, Serbian, Croat, English

Sasa - Male - Montenegran - plus English, Serbian, Italian, un peau francais

Mirsad - Male - “           plus   English Serbian, Italian, Greek
Mirca - Female - Czechoslovakian - plus English,Serbian, German, Russian, Polish
Joe - Male - American - plus French, German
Ahmad - Male - Palestinian - plus Arabic

Moi   - Female - S African - plus Afrikaans, Greek, a leetle Turkish, un peau francais’

Vedrana was pregnant, did not feel well so left earlier and returned to Serbia with her husband.
(I had to add in the Turkish bit so as not to appear dof in front of all those multilingual people!)
Shortly after I arrived in Paris, my school-friend Joan and another friend came over on the Eurostar from London to spend the day with me. It was great having their company and site-seeing together. But when they left I felt lonelier than ever. I’m so glad that I hung in there and had the opportunity and the privilege to get to know such talented artists from such diverse countries and cultures; to listen to their stories and hear about their lives.

Next episode- Mindblowing Paris
Amiètes

Fula

Veronica Reid and Geoff Price Exhibition

2010-01-27T14:47:00.001+02:00

2010-01-27T09:29:00.004+02:00

PATRICIA FRASER

Open House - a viewing of recent work

30 Orchard Heights Newlands

Saturday 6, Sunday 7, Monday 8 February: 10 am – 4 pm

Or by appointment

021 6832387 • 083 2367933 • pfraser@iafrica.com

Directions: Turn into Rhodes Avenue from the M3. First Right up the mountain into Orchard Street, second left into Orchard Heights, last house on the right, at the end of the Cul De Sac. Please be considerate of peoples’ driveways ; do not block any thoroughfares.

Exhibitions

2010-01-23T09:21:00.002+02:00

If you have some free time, take a trip to Mainstream Shopping Centre in Hout Bay where a number of our members have paintings on exhibition.

Sue Kidd, Pauline Fine, Irinia Riabtseva, Sheena Baissac, Dawn Cairs, Fula Paxinos and Helen Estcourt have put together this exhibition which has been on show since the beginning of January. This is the last week as it ends on the 30th.

From the 9th to 17th February, Art Portfolio is having an exhibition of paintings at the Sanlam Hall in Kirstenbosch Gardens. The line up of artists is quite formidable -

Bill Brown

Sarah Campbell

Lesley Charnock

Nici Clarke

Marion Cross

Margaret Gibbs

June Hyman

Liz Jones

Sue Joyce

Suzie Kidd

Ros Molteno

Cherry Nichols

Elva Palombo

Ray Potter

Christel Read

John Robert

Wyn Rossouw

Penny Steynor

Dianne Johnson-Ackerman

Christine Cherry-Jones

Elaine van Hoffen
Maggie Best

You are all invited.

ROBERT GROGAN PLEIN AIR WORKSHOP

2010-01-11T12:50:00.006+02:00

Plein air painter Robert Grogan offers a one week long workshop in outdoor landscape oil painting in Franschhoek March 15-19, 2010. The course is Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., and participation is limited to 15 students to ensure maximum individual instruction. All levels of painters, from beginners to more advanced students wanting to learn techniques of plein air painting, are welcome. The location of the workshop is on the beautiful grounds of Grande Provence Wine Estate, just minutes away from the village of Franschhoek. Cost for the weeks class is R2200. Accommodations and meals are not included in the cost.

For more details about the course and to receive an outline of daily activities, subjects covered, and a supply list, please call Lee Grogan at 076 270 4994 or email lelagrogan@mac.com

Robert and Lee Grogan

Post Net Suite #13

Private Bag X19

Franschhoek 7690 South Africa

27 (0)76-270-4994

www.robertgrogan.com

robertgrogan@cox.net

lelagrogan@mac.com

Commercialism and Integrity

2009-12-24T14:01:00.002+02:00

In the December issue, editor, Dr Sally Bulgin, has written her editorial welcome which may be of interest to our members.

She has kindly given us permission to quote her editorial.

"My recent visit to Tate Modern's Pop Life: Art in a Material World (on show until January 17), combined with popping next door to view the Royal Watercolour Society's Autumn Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery, was definitely a jarring experience. It emphasised the worlds-apart difference between artists whose passion is for painting as an end in itself, and who quietly dedicate themselves to honing their visual and creative skills, compared to those such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin who appear to have taken Andy Warhol's mantra that 'good business is the best art' as a starting point for creating their own media 'brands'.

I guess it can be argued that the achievement of these heirs of the Pop Art legacy is in the way in which they have engaged with the mass media, and encouraged their status as celebrities, so reaching out beyond the art world and into the broader world of culture and commerce. Consequently, the majority of people with no other interest in art, will nevertheless have heard of Damien Hirst or Tracey Emin, purely on the strength of their personas as media brands. This strength, and Damien Hirst's subsequent wealth and entrepreneurial talents, have enabled him to cover the entire cost of putting on an exhibition of the dubious results of his return to old-fashioned painting, at the esteemed Wallace Collection (London W1, until January 24). I haven't seen this exhibition yet, but by all accounts the paintings are dreadful, completely lacking in painterly skill, and by Hirst's own admission his own children would appear to be better at painting than he is ('Back to the drawing board but "my kids are better than me", The Times, October 14). The irony here is that in spite of producing 'shockingly bad' paintings, Hirst's 'brand' is strong enough to enable him to stage such an exhibition, which will probably generate a higher number of visitors, and purchases, than the undoubtedly much better paintings at the Bankside Gallery.

How sad it is that the culture of celebrity damages the real achievers in that their work is less noticed and appreciated, whilst the more empty and often unedifying output of some of our most commercially successful artists, who have made themselves into media-brands, enjoy more gallery space, air time, screen time, and column inches in national newspapers.

In complete contrast, I find myself even more appreciative of the quiet integrity of the work of artists such as Judi Whitton, for example, whose paintings offer a visual antidote to the 'jump off the wall', 'look at me' shock-factor work on display in Pop Life. In her feature .... she suggests some simple ideas on how to engage the viewer more with a work by concentrating on subtlety - not a characteristic that will find much empathy amongst our Pop Art heirs."

Your comments on this article would be very interesting.

The Artist is a British magazine and you can subscribe by contacting them through their web on

www.painters-online.co.uk

Making a Mark

2009-12-10T07:46:00.001+02:00

Artist and author Katherine Tyrrell draws and writes about art for artists and art lovers. Topics include: artists, art exhibitions, art blogs; art history; art techniques and tips; art business and marketing; art economy and making a mark with pastels, coloured pencils and pen and ink.

Although she concentrates on blogs and those artists who have blogs, her site is definitely worth a look. Check the side bar under Helpful Sites

The Eleanor Palmer Evening and Social

2009-11-23T18:19:00.004+02:00

Thursday 26^th November at 7.00pm: Eleanor Palmer Competition and Social Evening.

The late Eleanor Palmer was a long-standing member and prolific artist. While President of SASA, she presented a cup to the Society to be awarded annually to a member whose work was voted the best at an annual event at the Athenaeum. This competition is great fun and this wonderful social evening marks the end of the SASA year.

This is the first time we are combining our end of year social event with the Eleanor Palmer competition and the turnout should be great.

So, all you SASA members out there, bring in your artwork (anything except class work or work overseen by a teacher), and enjoy the evening with us.

Members and non-members are welcome, but remember, only members can vote on the night.

See you there!

Original Painting By SA Artist Pieter Le Roux 1957

2009-11-18T14:29:00.002+02:00

This painting was painted by a South African Artist, Pieter le Roux. Boabab Tree, painted in 1957. The owner is thinking of selling it and would like to know what its estimated value is. Does anyone out there have any idea?

You can leave a comment which will be picked up by us or email Ivan Myburgh at mailto:ivanmyburgh36@gmail.com

Another French Letter from Fula

2009-11-14T08:05:00.002+02:00

The weather is getting colder by the minute. But the sun shines and not much rain. I love the winter fashions here, anything goes, colours, styles, black tights worn with short skirts or short shorts. I brought the black tights, pity I forgot the shorts. Eish!

I discovered BHV, a massive dept. store with the most incredible art dept. Forget Pearl paint in China Town New York . I went to the basement to buy batteries, the biggest hardware and tool dept I have ever seen an amazing selection of tools for any and everything. Batteries , dozens of them, all shapes and sizes and long queues of shoppers at every pay point. On Sat a.m I was walking to the Pompidou Centre and passed a morning market on a square next to one of the many ornate buildings in the area. There were rose petals all over the ground, the name of the building had Mairie in it, a group of smartly dressed people were standing around, some with boutonierres. It didn't take me long to figure out there must be a wedding happening. BUT could not spot the bride. Then a group gathered on the steps for a picture, 3 nice looking young men and a large elderly woman. Then the 2 guys in the middle had a big smooch. Quel surprise, legal in Catholic France?

On my way again I passed the BHV pet supplies store. What a treat pour moi. Lots of dogs with their owners. Sweet playful puppies getting their leashes tangled up, older dogs looking bored especially one which was being fitted by his very serious owner for a raincoat. And another fluffy dog whose owner and an exasperated assistant were trying out gprgepud harnesses that would not tangle his hair. I could just imagine Sparky in that situation, giving me his sidesways dirty look, grumbling and growling. The racks of clothes were seriously high fashion, couturier quality _ embroidered, zipped, jewelled, in an amazing variety of fabrics, even camouflage prints, (No Angie, I will not buy one for u know who!) in all shapes and styles, even jackets with hoods bordered with fur! nogal! The variety of toys and accoutrements was just as amazing.

On my way back from the Pompidou, I went into one of the many huge churches. Just in time to hear the wonderful choir, sounding like angels, so I sat and listened. I sat near the middle and 2 girls aged about 10ish came in, and sat on the edge of a platform right in front of me. They quickly whipped out 2 packs of cards and with a dexterity gained from long practice, shuffled, dealt and started their game. They saw me watching them, smiled, and I smiled back, they were very cute. ! Mon Dieu! In a church, during a service! I felt that I should move away in case a lightning bolt struck them!.

Paris is sure full of surprises. Just about everyone speaks French, a leetle, and is quite friendly except for the men who work in reception at the Cite, the miserable sods. I am managing to communicate. With lots of si’l vous plaits and mercies and smiley, smiley and occasional flash backs to what I learned at the Alliance Francaise, (Vocabulary 5 out of 10, grammar 0) Hopefully I will improve.

A bientot

Fula

Two new items for the weekend starting Friday

2009-11-12T23:40:00.002+02:00

MEET THE ARTIST - FRANCES GOODMAN

Goodman Gallery Cape

3^rd Floor Fairweather House

176 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock

Friday 13^th November at 11:00

Members and Non-Members R20

Historically seen as criminal, or sinful, the idea of dependency as an illness is a recent one. Frances Goodman’s exhibition Morbid Appetites takes its name from an antiquated term for addictions. In keeping with her long-running interest in obsessions, this exhibition is an objective study in sound, text and sculpture of what happens to the human condition when a psychological line is crossed. On their most basic level, Goodman’s pieces are a detailed examination of how contemporary society is able to transform harmless activities like eating, shopping and taking medicine into deadly vices. More critically, her works

comment on the economic and cultural conditions that accelerate this perversion.

WALKABOUT OF SUBTLE THRESHOLDS

BY FRITHA LANGERMAN

Iziko South African Museum

Saturday 14^th November at 15:00

Members R40, Non-Members R60, Students R20

Subtle Thresholds is primarily concerned with the visual representation of infectious disease, focusing particularly on its position as ‘different’, ‘outside’ and ‘other’, and noting that classifications and representations of disease are culturally as well as medically coded. Combing elements of science, art and social history, Langerman presents a collaboration between disciplines that is rarely seen in South Africa. She embraces a range of media: using projection, sculptural and drawn elements, text and digital images as well as objects from museum collections. Because Subtle Thresholds is concerned with the means through which images are seen (or not) and understood (or misunderstood), the exhibition makes use of devices that heighten vision: scopes, light, shadow and projections.

Subtle Thresholds manages to show potentially fearful items as objects of interest and beauty. “Infectious diseases are caused by organisms which are as deserving of visual attention as any other species. The exhibition suggests that within an extremely complex biological system, humans represent a very small unit,” says Langerman. She teaches printmaking and drawing at UCT and has curated and exhibited nationally and internationally.

Lizzie O'Hanlon
Secretary/Treasurer
Friends of the S A National Gallery
P O Box 2420
Cape Town
8000
Tel No: 021 467 4662
Fax No: 021 467 4680
Email: sangfriends@iziko.org.za
http://www.iziko.or.za

9th World Art Print Annual 2010 Exhibition

2009-11-12T19:32:00.001+02:00

Linda received the following e mail. This is an Art Exhibition for anyone interested ...............just follow the links.

Dear Friend of Art / Printmaker

Please visit our gallery on the web presenting this international art event

http://www.lessedra.com/annual.php

If you would like to be a part of the upcoming 9th World Art Print Annual 2010

with one year presentation on the web
3 months exhibition
and printed full colour catalogue

http://www.lessedra.com/catalogues.php

then please have a look at the conditions for participation

http://www.lessedra.com/entry.php?d=conditions

and prepare your works in the next 3-4 months...Any comments, suggestions and questions are very welcome.

Yours Georgi
Lessedra.

www.lessedra.com

Please pass this message on to anyone you think will be interested.
Thank you very much!

The Good Shepherd Church Fund Raising

2009-11-10T20:18:00.001+02:00

SASA's painter's outing this past month took place at the Good Shepherd Church below the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The church is in poor condition and needs extensive renovations, which will require a considerable sum of money.

A few of the artists who completed their drawings and paintings donated these to the Church. David Beatty, a SASA member, very kindly donated mounting boards. Together David and Patricia Fraser mounted and framed paintings or covered the drawings in cellophane ready for auction. These were then presented to Mr Andrew Wilson who is in charge of the fundraising. He was very pleased with the donation and plans to auction them to get the best possible prices.

Andrew would welcome further works, which may be donated or, as was done with one piece, the artist may prefer to donate a percentage of the sale price to the Church.

Anyone wishing to assist in this worthy cause is welcome to contact Andrew Wilson on 021 762-2464.

Some of the art works from the outing.