NEWSLETTER

From the President

Hi everyone, Its the dog days of summer and I hope you are using this indoor time to create some new art work. Its hard to believe the summer is almost over and we will be beginning our new year. I am looking forward to a productive year filled with new ideas and events. We have several demos already signed up and are working on some workshop ideas. As we all know a successful organization takes all its members to help and participate. I want to thank Nancy Robbins for stepping up and taking on the Membership Committee and Debbie Anderson for being our new Webmaster. Also, thanks needs to be given to Terry Madison who has volunteered to be our Newsletter person. There are still several positions that need filling, so please consider taking on one of them. There are veterans in the club that can help you. Positions still not filled are: Publicity, Demos, Workshops, and Ways and Means. Keep painting and see you all on September 21. Barbara

Volume 1, Issue 1 August 2013

Sugar Land Area Artists Established 1983 Celebrating 30 Years of Art in Sugar Land
First Meeting of our New YearSeptember 21,
This will be the first meeting of our new year. The club was founded 30 years ago (1983) by Elaine Fuller, so we are starting our 30th year!!! We will be meeting at the University Branch of the Fort Bend Library System. It is located behind the Univ. of Houston building on that campus at University Blvd . (the one on the left as you drive in) The library opens at 10 AM so come and visit, the meeting will start at 10:30 AM. I

A.J. Schexnayder, Demo Artist

He will do a members paintings critique. You can bring one painting to the meeting for him to critique. All members who bring a painting will have their name put into a hat and names will be pulled out for the critique. Hopefully he will have enough time to critique everyones painting. A. J. has done this before for us several years ago and everyone learned a lot and had a great time. Members go to lunch after the meeting and the club treats the demo artist to lunch so plan enough time in your schedule to join us for lunch. The restaurant will be announced at the meeting. A. J. will be bringing his instructional DVDs for you to purchase but because we are meeting in the library no money can change hands there. They will be for sale at lunch so even if you cant stay for lunch you can drop by and make your purchase or find him after the meeting. A.J. Schexnayder is a Houston, Texas award winning artist. He is well known for his work in watercolor, however, he also produces etchings and works with pen and ink, pencil, egg tempera and acrylic. He portrays realistic images while expressing creative beauty in shapes, textures, and color in his paintings. He studied at the John McCrady Art School and the New Orleans Academy of Art.

Whats New
1. Tuesday Night at the Library
In addition to the meetings on Saturday the library has given us another time that we can meet in the same room. So, we will have additional time for getting together on the 4 th Tuesday evening of the month. We thought it would be nice to have an additional meeting time to do some small, free demonstrations or just get together and brainstorm painting problems. So far several club members have volunteered to demonstrate a technique or idea that they use successfully in their paintings. If you have something you would like to share, please let one of the officers know and we will work you into the schedule. This is what is scheduled so far:

Enjoy his colors and techniques...and POP CORN!!!!

September 24 @6:30 An Evening at the Movies ---Join us to watch Tim Deibler paint a landscape in oil for each season. We will be watching Capturing the Sea- sons in Oil Bring your notebook to take notes or just come and enjoy his colors and techniques and POP CORN!!! Cant go to the movies without Pop Corn! You may want to bring a soft drink!

October 22 @6:30 --Nancy Lee will be demonstrating her technique of painting rain drops on leaves and flower petals and realistic spider webs in oil. If you havent seen this you will be amazed---you do not want to miss this!!! Check out her website at www.nancyswebsite.com You can paint along if you wish but you will have to bring your own easel and something to cover the floor. (The library doesnt like paint on their floor!!) Also, you will need to have some flowers or leaves on your canvas so that you can paint on the rain drops and/or spider webs.

November and Decemberno meetings due to the holidays

January 28 @6:30--Martha Weaver will be doing a demo on photographymore information to follow

More info On these Dates later. February 25

March 25 April 22 May 27

Artwork by A.J. Schexnayder

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More on Whats New

2. Painting Challenge A painting challenge is when you are given a set of circumstances or an idea and you have to create a painting to express it. Stay tuned for more information and dates. 3. Plein Air Painting When the weather becomes more cooperative we will be announcing times and places that we will be going to in order to paint. Anyone can participate-all you will have to do is show up. 4. Field Trip We are planning some excursions to the Fine Art Museum, Houston galleries, Art Supply Stores, and other places of interest to artists in our area. More information to come later.

Welcome New Members

Debbie Anderson - debnj02003@yahoo.com

Lone Star Art Guild (LSAG)

Several new members have asked how SLAA and the LSAG are connected. May Bice - maybice84@comcast.net Over 50 years ago the LSAG was formed in order to give artists who have participated Jim Fuchs - jim_edda@yahoo.com in local art shows an opportunity to comSharon Haney - artfulsharon@gmail.com pete for ribbons with the best art from the local art shows and to exhibit their paintNancy Lee - nancydlee@earthlink.net ings. There are approximately 20 art clubs within a 200 mile radius of Houston that are Teri Madison - nosidam.t@comcast.net members of the LSAG. These clubs all have Alice Schrag - alice.schrag@gmail.com at least one show a year in which the participating artists can win a ribbon and be Lydia Steadham - lydiasteadham@comcast.net eligible for the LSAG convention. An artist can enter his/her local club or any of the Bina Verma - bina_v@hotmail.com other 20 clubs shows. Show dates are posted on the LSAG website on each clubs Dates To Remember page. In order to qualify to go to the conGeneral Meeting Dates: 3rd Saturday of the vention, the painting has to have won a 1st, month 2nd, 3rd , or 1st honorable mention ribbon at one of these shows. SLAAs LSAG show will September 21A.J. Schexnayder will conduct a be in the spring . SLAA pays $1.00 for each painting critique member to be a member of the LSAG. October 19Fahmi KhanLoosen Up and Draw December 14Christmas party and painting exchange January 18J.Z.Selewach Mixed Media/ Collage April 22Ann HoffpauirWatercolor June 21End of Year Luncheon
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Color mixing is something beginners often shy away from. Dont, rather learn the few fundamentals, embrace the challenge and get mixing. At worst youll produce mud col- ors; if you dont want to waste the paint by throwing it away, use it with some white to do a tonal exercise, or under painting. Here are some tips to help you with color mixing. Color Mixing Tip No 1: Add Dark to Light It takes only a little of a dark color to change a light color, but it takes considerably more of a light color to change a dark one. So, for example, always add blue to white to darken it, rather than trying to lighten the blue by adding white. Color Mixing Tip No 2: Add Opaque to Transparent The same applies when mixing an opaque color and a transparent one. Add a little of the opaque color to the transparent one, rather than the other way round. The opaque color has a far greater strength or influence than a transparent color. Color Mixing Tip No 3: Stick to Single Pigments For the brightest, most intense results, check that the two colors you are mixing are each made from one pigment only, youre mixing only two pigments. Artists quality paints normally list the pigment(s) in a color on the tube's label. Color Mixing Tip No 4: Mixing the Perfect Browns and Grays Mix ideal browns and grays that harmo- nize with a painting by creating them from complementary colors (red/green; yellow/ purple; blue/orange) in the palette youve used in that painting, rather than colors you havent used. Varying the proportions of each color will create quite a range. Color Mixing Tip No 5: Dont Over Mix If, when you mix two colors together on a palette, you dont mix and mix until theyre totally, utterly, definitely com- bined, but stop a little bit beforehand, you get a far more interesting result when you put the mixed color down on paper or canvas. The result is a color thats intriguing, varies slightly across the area youve ap- plied it, not flat and consistent.

F.Y.I. Tips and Techniques --Color Mixing

Officers for 2013-14

President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Past President Acting Past President Barbara Hawkins Betty Pimm Geetha Prakash Lynette McQueen Brenda Kirwin Fahmi Khan barbarahawkins@windstream.net bjfineart@yahoo.com geethaprakash67@yahoo.com bmcqueen12@comcast.net
art@brendakirwin.com

fahmikhan@hotmail.com

Committees: Membership- Nancy Robbins Webmaster-Debbie Anderson NewsletterTeri Madison

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