Standing Room Only

"An inconvenience is an

adventure wrongly considered."

~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

It was a rough start to the first in a series of painting demonstrations in New York City yesterday. After our train died somewhere south of Newark, NJ, we eventually had to be rescued by another Amtrak Train which put us over an hour and a half off schedule. There was mostly standing room only as the train we embarked was already 3/4 full. I was pleasantly surprised though about how well most people handled the situation.

So after leaving my house and making reservations with plenty of time to spare, I arrived at the art store over an hour late and proceeded to demonstrate at full throttle. If nothing else, I learned most people handle inconvenience with grace. I also realized that I was taking way too much stuff! I spent the afternoon seriously reorganizing, downsizing and streamlining my YIPPEE 4 YUPO presentation and I am good to go again!

Part of my demo captured on iPhone
by Page from Legion Paper.

Tomorrow  is Number Two of 

Five Spring Demonstrations in New York City

at Dick Blick Art Stores
Sponsored by Legion Paper!

Yesterday's Demo ~ Blooming Cherry Tree
6.5 x 8.8" Watercolor on Translucent Yupo paper

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

As always, your friendship and comments

are most appreciated.

X ♥  O

 

Highlights From New York City

"Take risks:  if you win, you will be happy;

if you lose, you will be wise."

The artist is one who must have the courage to fail. To challenge ourselves, to be brave and to experience different things is the only way we grow and stay fresh. If our work is not exciting to ourselves, how can we expect it to be so for others? Nobody likes to fail and look like a fool, but the only way to evolve is by experimenting, stepping outside of our comfort zone and leaving behind the safety of what is already known. The habit of learning from new experiences and from our mistakes keeps life and painting exciting. 

My painting demonstration at the grand opening of the new Dick Blick store in New York City on August 22nd was a huge success. 

"Of all the people I have ever known,

those who have pursued their dreams and failed

have lived a much more fulfilling life than those

who have put their dreams on a shelf for fear of failure."

After two months of planning, everything fell into place ...
I packed all my paintings and cards in this Pissaro Portfolio that I got ages ago. I never used before and it was the perfect case for what I needed.

I LOVE this watercolor bag! It's a Debbie Rankin Design and I've used the heck out of it for years. The bottom pocket is for your palette so it stays flat and everything else you need (and everything I'm packing here), always fits neatly inside. Great for every watercolor situation. I strongly recommend it!

The whole New York City experience went so well and WAS SO MUCH FUN! The crowd was so engaged and encouraging. They really were some of the nicest folks I've ever met!! 

I completed four paintings on Yupo paper.  Here I am doing my first one, rainbow feathers. It was a hit! Notice how I pre-mix all of my colors and each one has it's own brush, eliminating time wasting washing and mixing. Watercolor sits on the surface of Yupo paper, so you don't lose 30% of the brightness like you do on regular rag watercolor paper. At one point, I dropped my brush and got purple pigment all over the place. It was a perfect opportunity to show how forgiving Yupo is. I just calmly wiped the mistake back to clean bright white paper to everyone's amazement. 

"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions.  All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make, the better.  What if they are a little course, and you may get your coat soiled or torn?  What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice.  Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jackie, the lady here in the hat, was my self-appointed, volunteer promoter. She spent the whole time giving out cards and samples and signing up people for a giveaway. She talked to everyone who passed by and encouraged people to stop and take a look at what I was doing. She came up with countless great slogans about working on Yupo. I wish I could remember some now.

This lady, Ingrid, used my little camera throughout the demos and took lots and lots of pictures! 

Here's the second demo I did. There were lots of Ewws and Ahhs on this one too. (It was music to my ears).

The subject of the third painting I demonstrated was Fuschia flowers.

Here I talked about experimenting with values, composition, color mixing

and complimentary colors.

The final painting I demonstrated was the wet-in-wet background

on this Bird of Paradise.

Are you in the mood for something different?

Ready to experiment and take a risk?

Why not give Yupo paper a try?

Because the watercolor pigment can always be wiped back to clean paper, I think it's the most forgiving, the most exciting and the most stress free way to work in watercolor!

12 Tips for Painting in Watercolor on Yupo Paper

Fear of the unknown and of failure or embarrassment could have kept me from embarking on this New York City adventure. I am really happy I took the leap of faith and I am so much richer in so many ways from the whole experience.

"This nation was built by people who took risks -

pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness,

business men who were not afraid of failure,

scientists who were not afraid of the truth,

thinkers who were not afraid of progress,

dreamers who were not afraid of action."

~ Brooks Atkinson

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know you did!!

As always, your comments are most appreciated!

X ♥  O

Yippee For Yupo!

"The reason most people do not recognize

an opportunity when they meet it is because

it usually goes around wearing overalls,

looking like Hard Work."

~ Author Unknown

Yupo paper's been very good to me, yippee! Only two days to go and I'll be doing my painting demonstration at the Grand Opening Event at the Dick Blick Store in New York City. I'll admit I am a little nervous, but I am well prepared and really looking forward to it too. I get into the NYC train station at 12:15 and should be at the store between 12:30 - 12:45, in plenty of time to set-up. I am planning on bringing some finished Yupo pieces to display and I am all ready to go with four different paintings that are in various stages and I may still do a 5th.

I just sent out my newsletter today highlighting my current events. If you would like to subscribe, you can do it here.

Mr. & Mrs. Red

5.5" x 7.5" hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper

A.F. Double Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 8" x 10"

Signed and certified by the artist

Sold

Fall is in the air here in New Jersey. The hummingbirds are frantically fattening up for their upcoming migration and the Sweet Gum trees are already starting to change color. The cooler weather has once again turned my thoughts to outside activities and trail riding with the horses.

Sweet Gum tree - 8-20-13

Well, wish me luck in my New York City Adventure.

You know I'll tell you all about it in my next blog post!

Have a great day and as always thanks so much for stopping by!

X ♥  O

Sizzling HOT-HOT-HOT Painting Demonstration On Yupo Paper

"Don't be too proud to repeat yourself."

~ Robert Levers

For the past two days I've been practicing the subjects that I'll be painting at my sizzling hot painting demo this Thursday, August 15th at 7pm at the Hammonton Arts Center. 

The theme is HOT- HOT- HOT and HAC will host a "Salsa Tasting Contest"! Bring a sample of your favorite homemade salsa … hot, spicy, savory or sweet. Visitors will taste and vote for the "Golden Chip" award. To register call Carm at 609-457-7601. Don't miss out on all the fun and excitement!!

My nice new Robert Wood palette with new Utrecht brushes and paints,
sent to me by Legion Paper as part of next week's NYC demo compensation.
(Utrecht is now one in the same as Dick Blick.) I was VERY impressed with
their watercolor pigments. They are so thick, smooth and creamy! And
the best part is they are made in Cranberry NJ, USA, not far from here!

Last week I uploaded my files to Next Day Flyers for a new card with

YUPO PAINTING TIPS to give out at my demos and classes.

Here's a copy of it for anyone interested in giving Yupo paper a try.

Get Your Free Download Of The 12 Tips Here.

HOT HOT HOT !

5.5" x 7.5" hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper

A.F. Double Mat w/ Backing in sleeve - 8" x 10"
Signed and certified by the artist 
• Sold

One of my favorite affirmations ...
"Repetition is the key to mastery."

Thanks for stopping by.

Your comments and emails are most appreciated.

X ♥  O

Hello New York City!

On Wednesday, I took an Amtrak Train from Trenton NJ into New York City to meet with the folks who are sponsoring my painting demonstration on Yupo paper in Chelsea next month. It was quite an exciting ART ADVENTURE! The BIG APPLE has changed quite a bit in the past fifteen years since my last visit to the David Letterman Show. I took my point and shoot so I could share some snaps with you.

Coming out of Penn Station,
I stepped into a dreamlike alien world.

Honking cabs, whistles blowing, heavy traffic,
people shouting, commotion and noise
from every direction.

From inside the cab, everything seemed
to be in fast motion, except the traffic of course.

Looking for something familiar,
I was momentarily comforted by this sign.

The conference room at Legion Paper in the
impressive 11 Madison Ave. building housed
many displays of the art and specialty papers
they represent and distribute.

I met with the VP of Marketing,
Marc Shotland, and was given
the Legion Paper grand tour.

Corey Ginsburg, Marc Shotland
and Jon Kaufman
escorted me by foot to the new
Dick Blick Store at 6th Ave. & 20th St..

The store looks small from the outside,
but is awesome and ginormous downstairs.
It's an artist's Mecca - every art supply
you can possibly imagine and then some.

We met with Steven Shutler, the store
manager. I gave him plenty of my new
postcards and business cards to hand
out and two of my framed Yupo paintings
to use in the store window display.

We picked out the supplies I will use for my
demonstration on Thursday, August 22nd. I
am looking forward to trying out the Dick Blick
Watercolors. I have used their acrylics in the past
which were of very high quality.

After being treated to a wonderful lunch,
I strolled around the Chelsea area on my own,
just taking in the sites. I liked this shiny new
cute pair of scooters.

 

And of course I had to stop by the doggie day
care window. I guess these guys were having
a time out. The whippet was being bad and was
chewing on the fence.

These two looked like seasoned veterans and
seemed rather bored with the whole day care scene.

It started to get hot and my feet

were getting tired, so I headed

back to the train station a bit early

to wait in air conditioning.

All in all, it was a really great trip. The guys at Legion Paper treated me so well, I felt like a celebrity.The trial run proved to be so beneficial before my big day next month. After all my fear of the unknown anxiety, it really was A PIECE OF CAKE!

So if anyone reading this is in the NYC area, come see my Yupo painting demonstration at 650 6th Ave. NY, NY, 10011 on Thursday, August 22nd, from 2 - 4pm. It's the new Dick Blick Store's Grand Opening Event and there will be lots of great deals and giveaways! Yippee for Yupo! (pronounced You-Poe) It's an exciting, looser, more forgiving way to work with watercolor!

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great weekend!

X ♥  O