You are currently browsing dbshaw’s articles.
Watercolor of Mesa Prickly Pear, Opuntia x vaseyi, by Julie Schneider Ljubenkov, © 2006
BAGSC Member Julie Schneider Ljubenkov is offering the following classes:
Eye on Nature, Beginning Watercolor Landscape Painting, 3 units (Adults)
January 20 to March 17th, 9 Thursday evenings, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
University of California San Diego, La Jolla. Extension. $275.00
Materials fee optional.
Mosaic Art, Mira Costa College Community Services (Adults)
7 Monday evenings, March 21 to May 2, 5:30 to 8:30. Non-credit
$109.00 to enroll. $35.00 materials fee.
Julie is also looking for three adults that would like to do a mosaic workshop with her in San Marcos. Email Julie if interested.
Introduction to Mosaic Art 1, 3 units. University of California San Diego (Adults) La Jolla, Extension. $275.00, 9 Tuesday evenings, 6:00 to 9:00 PM, April 5 to May 31st. Materials fee optional.
Watercolor Painting for Children, 4 Tuesday afternoons, 3:30 to 5:00, Feb. 1 to Feb. 22. City of Escondido, East Valley Community Center.
Gardening and Landscaping with California Native Plants at two locations:
1. 4 Tuesday evenings, 6:00 to 8:30, Feb. 1 to Feb. 22, City of Escondido
2. 3 Monday evenings, 5:30 to 8:30, May 9th to 23, Mira Costa College, Oceanside
There will be two Saturday morning field trips to a native plant nursery. The dates will be announced. You may go to either one, or both.
Please check dates, times, and prices on-line or in the schedule of classes. Signing up early insures the class will not get canceled due to low enrollment.
by Deborah Shaw
Chinese Brush Painting
Gloria Whea-Fun Teng will be teaching another session of Introduction to Chinese Brush Painting at the Arboretum:
4 Thursdays: January 6 – January 27;
4 Thursdays, February 3 – 24
12:30-2:30pm / Oak Room
$120 members / $130 non-members per session
In this introductory course the student will learn the difference between Chinese brush painting and other watercolor painting. The class will teach the beginning painter to use Chinese brushes and ink to create beautiful paintings on rice paper. At the end of this course, a completed painting will be ready to be framed and displayed. More experienced students will continue to refine their work and learn new techniques.
For Reservations or Information, please call (626) 821-4623 or email Jill Berry.
Exhibition invitation postcard
The opening reception for “Needles & Glass”, an exhibition of baskets by Janice Sharp and Jill Carlson and glass by Phillip Smith will be held Friday, February 4, 2011 from 7 pm to 9 pm.
The gallery, Creative Arts Group, is located at 108 North Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre, California 91024.
Congratulations Janice (and Jill)!
by Deborah Shaw
Chapman University Leatherby Libraries are promoting the BAGSC Exhibition, “A Brush with Nature” through press releases, invitations to their mailing lists, signage and campus communications.
Here are two links to campus sites where the exhibit is being promoted. The first — Happenings — is available on the university website and emailed to the campus community each week:
The second is the online Events Calendar posted on the Chapman website.
See you at the show!
by Deborah Shaw
Laying out tables of beautiful artwork to arrange for hanging.
A Brush with Nature, an exhibit of botanical art by The Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC) and presented by Chapman University Leatherby Libraries has been hung and is now open for viewing. Twenty-three BAGSC artists are exhibiting 75 works of art in watercolor, colored pencil, ink and graphite. (See list at the end of this article for participating artists.)
Exhibit dates are: Saturday, January 8 through Thursday, February 17, 2011
Doy and Dee Henley Reading Room and Clarke Gallery Wall
Leatherby Libraries, 2nd Floor
Chapman University
One University Drive, Orange, California 92866
For exhibit hours please visit the Chapman Leatherby Libraries website.
Leslie and Akiko working on the display case.
Visitor parking near the Leatherby Libraries is available for $2.00 – $3.00 and may be purchased from the permit dispenser.
For more detailed parking information, fees, maps and directions to Chapman University please visit the map on their website.
Information about the opening reception will be sent to all BAGSC members via email blast.
Participating artists:
Bonnie Born Ash • Cristina Baltayian • Margaret Best • Diane Daly • Akiko Enokido • Olga Eysymontt • Denise Genova • Irene Horiuchi • Barbara Jaynes • Clara Josephs • Morgan Kari • Joan Keesey • Suzanne Kuuskmae • Patricia Mark • Arillyn Moran-Lawrence • Norma Sarkin • Janice Sharp • Deborah Shaw • Mitsuko Schultz • Gilly Shaeffer • Gloria Whea-Fun Teng • Leslie Walker
The Leatherby Libraries staff were wonderful and professional on every level, greeting us with freshly painted walls, carts, levels and tape measures, hanging wires and labels. What a great team!
Stand with sign and price list.
One wall of the show.
by Jill Berry, Los Angeles Arboretum
In this introductory course the student will learn the difference between Chinese brush painting and other watercolor painting. The class will teach the beginning painter to use Chinese brushes and ink to create beautiful paintings on rice paper. At the end of this course, a completed painting will be ready to be framed and displayed. For more experienced students, you will continue to refine your work and learn new techniques. The instructor is a very talented artist who has taught a variety of courses over the years. She has also studied botanical illustration at Otis College of Art & Design.
4 Thursdays, January 6 – January 27
4 Thursdays, February 3 – 24
12:30-2:30pm / Oak Room
The Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
Gloria Whea-Fun Teng, instructor
$120 members per session/ $130 non-members per session
To register, contact Jill Berry, Education Manager via email, or call 626.821.4624. (Please call to pay by credit card.)
By Jill Berry, LA Arboretum and Olga Eysymontt
The schedule below is for Olga Eysymontt’s botanical illustration classes for January through June. Please call 626.821.4623 to register; pre-registration is required as her classes fill quickly and space is limited. You may also email Jill Berry and she can register you with a credit card. Happy Holidays to all!
Botanical Illustration with Olga Eysymontt
A Monthly Series on Tuesdays or Wednesdays at the Arboretum, 301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007
9:30am – 2:30pm
Fees: $160 members per month / $190 for non-members per month
Registration: Call 626.821.4623 or email Jill Berry.
Unlike previous years, the Spring Botanical Illustration classes will meet twice a month, with each class session being 4 hours, for a total of 8 hours per session. Tuesdays will be dedicated to Graphite Pencil and Wednesdays to Watercolor. Sign up for the Tuesday sessions OR the Wednesday sessions (or both!). The goal of these sessions is to practice and refine your preferred technique. Students should have some experience with their chosen medium. A finished piece is not expected. The cost of each monthly 8 hr session is $160 for Arboretum members and $190 for non-members.
TUESDAYS: WEDNESDAYS:
Graphite Watercolor
Jan. 11 & 25 Jan. 12 & 26
Quick Sketching skills: getting the right angle before I commit
Feb. 8 & 22 Feb. 9 & 23
Form: how dark or light should I make my specimen?
March 8 & 22 March 9 & 23
Overlap and Transition: making things look clear and precise in a 2 D world
April 5 & 19 April 6 & 20
Details: Oh that fuzz!
May 3 & 17 May 4 & 18
Composition: what is the focus and how do I get inspired to make a statement piece?
May 31 & June 14 June 1 & 15
Experimentation: being unpredictable and refreshing
Since 1997, Olga Eysymontt has taught Botanical Illustration classes for the Arboretum. She is a former instructor at Otis College of Art, and a Fine Arts graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology. Olga is passionate about teaching and the thrill of bringing out each student’s vision. Aside from Botanical Illustration, her current interests include landscape and macro photography.
by Deborah Shaw/Clara Josephs
The Chapman Leatherby Libraries Exhibition Committee (L to R: Deborah Shaw, Mitsuko Schulz, Leslie Walker, Akiko Enokido, Diane Daly, and Irene Horiuchi (crouching)) meet at Diane's house and review submissions.
The BAGSC committee organizing the Chapman Leatherby Libraries exhibition met on Friday, 3 December to finalize details for the show. It’s looking like a wonderful exhibition; 22 BAGSC artists with 77 artworks. Keep an eye open for announcements about the opening reception, artwork delivery, etc. If you have any questions, please contact committee chairs Clara Josephs or Diane Daly.
All members should have received an email blast with an invitation to please join us at Janice’s home to celebrate the holidays — BAGSC-style!
Date: December 11, 2010
Time: 5 pm – Whenever
Place: Janice’s
Significant others are welcome. We will celebrate in our BAGSC potluck fashion; please let Janice know what you will be bringing.
Everyone should also bring something they have made this year so we can have an impromptu BAGSC exhibit. It doesn’t need to be botanical art; we find our members are quite talented and produce all kinds of art, as well as crafts. Please bring something you have made that you would like to share.
We won’t be having a formal meeting, but we will share (in handout form) information about:
• What we’ve done this past year;
• The Treasurer’s report; and,
• What is in the planning stages for next year.
We will also have a suggestion box available. Please bring (or write on cards that will be provided), any suggestions you have that you would like to see implemented in the coming year. If you can’t attend, we’ll miss you, but please send your suggestions to Leslie.
Please join us in eating, drinking and merriment and have a wonderful holiday season!
by Deborah Shaw
Flyer for Basket Exhibition by Janice Sharp and Jill Carlson, © J Sharp 2010
BAGSC member Janice Sharp and BAGSC friend Jill Carlson of The Alta Collina Studio have an exhibition of their baskets at the Creative Arts Group Gallery, 108 N. Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre, California 91024. Their baskets are on display (and for sale) December 1, 2010 – January 31, 2011.
The Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and will be closed December 24 to January 3.
All proceeds from the sale of items in the Gallery go directly back to funding the programs offered by the Creative Arts Group, which reaches more than 2,000 adults and children each year.
Congrats to Janice and Jill!
by Deborah Shaw
Sue Kuuskmae won a first place award of $100 at the Palos Verdes Art Center Holiday Art Exhibition with her painting, “Dogwood in Fall”.
Sue Kuuskmae's award-winning painting, "Dogwood in Fall", © 2010, photo by Sue Kusskmae
Congratulations Sue!
by Leslie Walker
BAGSC sign at the entrance to the Secret Garden, © DB Shaw, 2010
On October 16, 2010, Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California members, Akiko Enokido, Clara Josephs, Janice Sharp, Deborah Shaw, Leslie Walker, Joan Keesey and her husband John spent the day at the Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens, meeting and greeting the attendees to a John Schoustra garden lecture, and hosting an Art Exhibit of members’ work, with botanical art demonstrations and sales by BAGSC.
BAGSC artists participating in the exhibition throughout the historic house were: Margaret Best, Akiko Enokido, Clara Josephs, Joan Keesey, Janice Sharp, Deborah Shaw, and Leslie Walker. Clara Josephs’ painting of a Rosa ‘Just Joey’, and Margaret Best’s painting of Hemerocallis thunbergii, Day Lily, were chosen by the Gardens to promote the event.
R to L: Clara Josephs, Akiko Enokido and Janice Sharp demonstrate in the Secret Garden, © DB Shaw 2010
The day was a bit blustery, but we were welcomed by the garden personnel with lunch, then tea and cookies as we began to get chilly in the afternoon. Akiko sold a framed print, and our cards were well-received too! The Rancho Los Alamitos Gardens are building a new classroom, etc., space where they would welcome us for classes. Located just off the 405 freeway in Long Beach we all felt it was a great location. Easy for all of us to get to and the place is lovely — worthy of a visit and support. As Clara Josephs emphatically stated, “it’s MY new FAVORITE place!”
Deb Shaw demonstrates on the Back Patio, © DB Shaw 2010
Joan's husband, John Keesey, joined us to demonstrate plein aire painting in watercolor, © DB Shaw 2010
Joan Keesey manning the BAGSC sales table, © DB Shaw 2010
Leslie Walker, bundled up against the drizzle, © DB Shaw 2010
by Deborah Shaw/Bonnie Born Ash
Last year Bonnie and Nicolas brought a fantastic Stilton and Walnut Pie to the BAGSC Holiday Party. This fabulous treat will be joining us at the 2010 BAGSC Holiday Party too! (Can’t wait.) Here’s the recipe:
Pastry for double 9” crust – your favorite recipe
For the filling –
2 eggs (or 3 if you glaze crust)
12 oz. cream cheese
Small bunch parsley, chopped
6 oz. Stilton, rind removed
6 oz. Walnuts, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
A little oil for frying
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Peel and finely chop the onion and sauté it in a little oil until just softened. Set aside to cool. Beat 2 eggs well, then mix in cream cheese, chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste, and blend until smooth. Add the sautéed onion, the grated or crumbled Stilton, and well-chopped walnuts and blend well.
Line a 9” pie or tart pan with half the pastry. Smooth the cheesy filling into this. Roll out remaining pastry to make a lid, and seal it with a little water around the edges. Any pastry trimmings can be made into leaves or shapes to decorate the top, and fix these in place with a little beaten egg. Brush the rest of the beaten egg over the top of the pie to give a nice glazed finish. Bake for 45 minutes, and allow to the pie to cool before lifting out of the pan.
by Deborah Shaw
Opening Reception at the Fine Arts Building
The Fine Arts Building, Los Angeles, hosted a wonderful opening reception for the BAGSC exhibit on Thursday, October 14, with catering from our good friends from Burger Continental. BAGSC members (along with their friends and family) at the opening included: Leslie Walker, Janice Sharp, Joan Keesey, Bonnie Born Ash, Veronica Raymond, Morgan Kari, and Deborah Shaw.
The show will be up into November. The building itself is worth the visit, and is an exceptional venue for displaying botanical art. Anyone interested in purchasing artwork will contact the artist directly via email. Leslie will let us know about when the show will come down once the schedule is finalized.
Thank you to all the artists who were able to step up to the plate on such short notice.
BAGSC Banner in the window of the Fine Arts Building
Left to right: John Keesey, Joan Keesey, Janice Sharp and Dane Hoiberg
BAGSC members at the start of the opening reception.
Janice was a whirling dervish during the show hanging on Wednesday, polishing the wood on the inside of all the cabinets.
Leslie hanging the wire system during the show set up on Wednesday.
by Deborah Shaw
Kathy Dunham at Watercolor West with her painting of day lilies, "A Love In Bloom"
Leslie Walker, Clara Josephs (and husband Jerry Josephs) were among the many attending the Opening Reception for Watercolor West, where Kathy Dunham exhibited her watercolor, “A Love in Bloom”. Congratulations, Kathy!
Kathy Dunham and Clara Josephs at the Opening Reception.
BAGSC News 