NEXT MEETING:

Demo by Pat Undis

(NOTE SPECIAL DATE) Thursday, May 9, 2019, 7 p.m.
Roseville Skating Center 2661 Civic Center Drive, Roseville, MN

LAST MEETING:

Demo by Lisa Fertig: Landscape and Abstract

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Lisa demonstrated her approach to representational painting during the first half of the meeting. She begins a painting by first creating a black and white value study with prismacolor markers. Then she follows a three-step process working from light to dark, big shapes to small, background to foreground. Painting on 140 pound Arches paper with American Journey paints, she starts by painting a light wash, trying to match the local color of the scene. Continuing with middle values and thicker paint she created the subject – trees, water, and rocks. She created the texture of rocks by scraping with the side of a credit card.

Referring to her experience in workshops with nationally known artists including Frank Webb, Chen Khee Chee and Tony Couch, Lisa mentioned that these teachers all applied the principles of the renowned artist Edgar Whitney .

In the second half of the demonstration, Lisa showed her approach to non-objective painting. She explained that abstract art is taken from reality, but the subject is abstracted. Her non-objective painting relies totally on the elements and principles of design with no basis in reality, and can be either geometric or organic. She showed a variety of substrata – the surfaces she paints on, including aluminum, plexiglass, and masonite.

Using Golden fluid acrylic paints, Lisa poured the first application of color with no thought to design, then moved the color around with a squeegee and wedge, finding a color dominance. She uses a variety of stamping materials including foam core, corrugated cardboard, and carved linoleum blocks to create textures. She keeps pushing the design with hard and soft edges, “looks and ponders” until she knows the painting is finished. “I just feel it,” she said.