Trending Articles

Friends of SOAR

For great posts about the business of art, check out The Artsy Shark HERE!
ArtistsBillofRights.org reviews competitions and appeals seeking creative content, listing those that respect your copyrights and highlighting those that don't. Art Matters! publishes calls to artists, and not all of them may be compliant with ABoR's standards. Visit their site to learn more.
We support the Embedded Metadata Manifesto.  Metadata is information such as copyright notice and contact info you can embed in your images to protect your intellectual property, save time when uploading to social sites and promote your art. Click to visit the site and learn more.

Truth Teller Tribe Returns

During my 40 some years of being an artist and teacher, Tribes of Truth Tellers have manifested themselves in many ways.

I taught Sculpture for many years in public schools and tall, cylindrical sculptural forms showed up in paper maché and clay forms. It was so fascinating to see the variety of expressions that resulted when a challenge was put forth to 30 students and they found 30 ways to express it. I worked along with them in order to teach technique. As always happens, we all inspired each other to make our sculptures unique.

The Tribe has also shown up in layered textural acrylic paintings and in collaged, cut, and layered painted paper forms. These two new ones are acrylics painted on paper with a forest in mind. However, the Tribe inserted itself into my consciousness, so I cut them free from each other and re-assembled them on painted wooden panels. I also cut a tree from another painting to add to the mystery.

There they were in all their glory, telling me Truths I hadn’t known before. As it turns out, the story they tell each viewer is specifically tailored to each individual.

Oh, So Many Choices

Oh, So Many Choices

I have used collage as a technique in some of my paintings for many years. I also keep every scrap of paper left over in case I need it later on in another painting. Needless to say, I have hundreds, maybe thousands of colorful scraps in my flat files.

It struck me that I actually could never need to paint on another clean white sheet of paper again.  Of course, that is an impossible thought because I love those clean white sheets and watching the images appear in the layers of color and texture applied. But I did decide to dive into an exploration of only using already existing scraps to collage together new creations.

With three different sizes of cradle board surfaces to collage onto which gave me some structure as well as variety. I started by letting my intuition guide me to select scraps as anchors or focal points to build onto.

This is where the plot thickens. Every piece I added affected every other decision and the possibilities were so immense that my mind boggled. Since pieces were still loose, I took photos so when it was time to glue, I’d have a map. Well, there was still so much fluidity that the glued results were never exactly according to plan.  

The Home Planet

Being used to following circuitous threads, I am pleased with the results.

North West Watercolor Acceptance

Congratulations Eve!

80th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL OPEN EXHBITION

We are thrilled to inform you that your painting has been accepted into the Northwest Watercolor Society’s 80th Annual International Open Exhibition! Our first ever online International Open Exhibition has been extremely successful with 324 entrants submitting 674 total paintings, from 38 states and 12 countries. Juror Ron Stocke has selected your painting as one of 75 to be featured in this prestigious exhibition. Well done!

Fire and Ice
Fire and Ice
22″ X 30″ Mixed water media on paper
$1200

Zoom Inspired !

My friend and fellow Artist, Pam Hounschild and I have been teaching a Water Media Textures Workshop via Zoom. Pam is a more linear thinker than I am which was essential in pulling this off. Our first online class was through the Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, CA. We will teach the class again  October  5,8,12,15 with them also. . In the meantime we are also teaching September 14,17,21, and 24.through the Emerald Art Center in Springfield OR.

Its a quite different experience for all of us to not be in the same space but we are finding our way and everyone had fun and produced some great pieces.

Leading up to this new zoom life, I had decided I was tired of cutting mats, handling heavy glass and framing my work: too labor intensive and the glass made it difficult  to view the work because of the glare. So I have been working smaller and experimenting with adhering images on paper to wood substrates and layering on acrylic medium to seal them and applying a final couple of layers  of UV varnish to make them lightfast. I really like the immediacy of images and the detail preserved.  

Here are some examples of the current works.

More Tangents, More Fun

These three Paintings are part of a series exploring a new painting surface as well as new ways to use the layered painting process . They are on wrapped canvas instead of watercolor paper which alters the way of the interactions of surface and paint. It also nudged me to follow the process with exciting new curiosity and awe; keeping the excitement fresh.

Lichen-12×24

To Be Clear -12×24

Heavy Metal 18×18

Various Tangents

These 3 images are part of an experimental tangent of the serendipitous  following of random threads layered onto paper: layered onto underpainting or by creating a new and vibrant base for further exploration.

 

Thicketed Moon 24×30

Fog in Sunrise- 6×9

Cracked Foundation- 6×9

New Small Works

These images are just completed. I’m attempting to move away from cutting mats, dealing with heavy glass and framing my work. I’m too old to deal with it. These are lightweight! I like the immediacy of the images. All are acrylic on paper adhered to wood panels.They are sealed and UV treated for easy care. I’m all for easy these days and am loving the exploration.

New Small Works

“Earth Protectors” 15″X11″

New Small Works

“Red Flash” 15″X11″

New Small Works

“Coral Reef” 15″x11″

New small works

“Eb and Flow” 15″X1″

Online Painting Workshop

http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/Summer20/Haunschild-Withrow2.html

Please join us for our First online painting workshop Titled “Expressive Watermedia Textures.” This will surely be a fun adventure!

Shift to the Left

Shift to the Left

My creative life has taken a much needed turn to the left. For the last 15 years I have had the delight of playing a major role in grand-mothering. That girl is now in high school and although we are still very close, she is busy finding her way exploring her new life.

All of this time I have had my Artwork in Art & Soul Gallery in Ashland Or. and for 7years was one of the owners with 3 other women. It was fun to be a part of it all on that level but kept me busy enough that I struggled with getting and staying in my creative groove and following the threads which is the reason to do it. It kept me in my right brain which is not my home. A little more than a year ago, we sold the gallery. I still show there and it’s a lot less stress.

Now, I am finally focusing again on my teaching and creating. The shift has opened up new directions in my expressions. I’ve always been a texture freak but right now I am using physical instead of just visual. It creates an entirely new puzzle to solve and I’m having a blast following the new threads.

My biggest challenge now is with the technical expertise it takes to get the images and information out there. I’ve always referred to it as my “button impairment” but I think it is mostly being two generations too old and being dominantly left brained. So with focused attention and the grace of friends, I’ll function more comfortably soon.

I’ve recently joined forces with a wonderful Artist friend Pam Haunschild to teach workshops in other locations. Our theme is “Using textures to create Expressive Water-media paintings”. We will be teaching at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield OR (Eugene) May 9th and 10th.
Contact them at EmeraldArtCenter.org
We will be at the Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, CA June 20th and 21st. Follow this link for full information: http://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/Summer20/Haunschild-Withrow
The information is also on my website and posted on our Facebook pages at, Eve Margo Withrow and Pamela Haunschild .I’ll also be teaching more often here in my home studio so stay tuned.

Mendocino Art Center Workshop in June!

Mendocino Art Center Workshop

EXPRESSIVE WATERMEDIA TEXTURES

Full Moon Sky mixed media painting by Eve Margo Withrow

Full Moon Sky by Eve Margo Withrow
Mixed water media on paper

Instructors: Pam Haunschild and Eve Margo Withrow
June 20–21, 2020 (Saturday–Sunday, 9:30am–4:30pm)
All levels

Register Online Now
Or call the Mendocino Art Center Registrar:
707 937-5818, ext. 10 or toll-free 800 653-3328, ext. 10

CLASS DESCRIPTION

In this fun and exciting workshop, we will create textured, complex watermedia (acrylic/watercolor) backgrounds and then work on turning them into harmonious, successfully finished paintings. You have your choice of working in acrylics and/or watercolors along with a gesso mixture (provided).

Texture makes your painting feel more dynamic, creates a sense of depth, and helps viewers emotionally connect with a painting. Texture is sometimes visual (on the surface) and sometimes dimensional (raised above the surface). We will work with both types of texture in this workshop.

Mossed in the Forest, painting by eve margo withrow

Mossed in the Forest
Eve Margo Withrow

Eve specializes in the visual (surface) textures by layering and manipulating watermedia. Interesting patterns and images emerge from her process. She uses tissue paper, plastic wrap, salts, bleach, and other materials to create layers; following threads and surprises and imaginative pathways to create her uniquely powerful images. She then uses windowing and design techniques and sometimes collage to turn textural starts into finished paintings.

Pam specializes in creating dimensional texture through the use of gesso with various texturing materials. Using a gesso underlayer allows a great deal of flexibility in subsequent layers, which can be either watercolor or acrylic. Pam will provide you with a pre-gessoed paper and demonstrate not only the various ways gesso texture can be applied, but how to finish these painting using value contrast and negative painting techniques.

These texturing processes will produce uniquely interesting and creative paintings. Bring a sense of adventure and spontaneity and you will be amazed at what can result. The class is appropriate for anyone – beginners will have no trouble with the methods used and more advanced painters will be able to add complex texturing processes to their repertoire. You will leave with at least twelve painting starts, and one or two completed paintings.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

PAM HAUNSCHILD is a watermedia artist who devotes her time to capturing the beauty of nature in the American West. She is a retired college professor who now lives in Ashland, Oregon, and paints full time. She has been and artist-in-residence at three national parks and continues to be inspired by her time there. Her work is in galleries in Ashland, Seaside, and Bandon, Oregon, and is held by many individual and corporate collectors, including the National Park Service. She has done many commissions, most recently designing and painting a poster and playbill cover for the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon, and a large native plant mural at Southern Oregon University.

Pam has taught many watermedia workshops in Oregon and Northern California, including at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology and Coos Art Museum and enjoys helping all students discover new methods of painting while using (or developing) their own unique artistic style.

Read more about Pam
Rogue Valley Messenger, Blurring the Lines with Color: Southern Oregon Artist Pam Haunschild

Watchful eyes, painting by Eve Margo Withrow

Watchful Eyes
Painting by Eve Margo Withrow

EVE MARGO WITHROW is an international award-winning professional artist. She uses mixed watermedia (acrylics and watercolor) and frequently layers and collages her materials. Her paintings are magical impressions that reflect feelings of a particular experience or place. She is always curious to explore what lies outside the box. “I play and adventure with my textures, layers and colors, following threads here and there, thus entering the flow of my creative process.”

Eve has a master’s degree in art education from the University of Wyoming. With over 40 years experience in teaching art classes and workshops, Eve masterfully guides and encourages participants to awaken to their innate creativity by experiencing the joy of self-expression. Eve is a previous owner of Art & Soul gallery in Ashland, Oregon, and is currently showing her work there, along with Rogue Gallery in Medford. She has taught many workshops across the western United States.

TUITION & FEES

Current MAC Members: $216
Non-members: $240 plus a $45 non-member registration fee

There is a registration fee of $45 for each class for non-members. Current Mendocino Art Center members do not pay a registration fee and may take 10% off each class registration. The discount is reflected in the prices above. Not a member yet? You may sign up below.
View our membership benefits

REFUNDS & CANCELLATIONS

Cancellations must be made in writing, either by mail or email. If you notify us at least 21 days prior to the first class meeting, you will receive a refund of tuition less a $45 cancellation fee. No refunds will be made after that date for any reason due to our contractual obligations and material acquisitions. If the Art Center is compelled to cancel a class you will receive a full tuition refund. Memberships are non-refundable as they are considered a donation to the Art Center.

Instructor materials fee: $10. We will be providing gesso mixture, containers, an assortment of texturing materials, one pre-gessoed piece of paper, and an extra squeeze or two of paint so you don’t have to buy a whole tube of something you want to try.

Materials List

Register Online Now
Or call the Mendocino Art Center Registrar:
707 937-5818, ext. 10 or toll-free 800 653-3328, ext. 10