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by Jude Wiesenfeld and Lee McCaffree, posted by Deb Shaw
BAGSC will be sponsoring a one-day Leaf Detail workshop with Lee McCaffree, on:
Saturday, May 6, 2017
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, Botanical Education Center
Cost, BAGSC Members: $100
Non-Members: $120
Maximum Registration: 16 students
Roger’s Red Grape, watercolor by Lee McCaffree, © 2017.
Leaves form the background for most botanical paintings. It is important to spend the time to make them accurate. We will work to make the veins and margins realistic in their finishing touches while following the form and texture of several leaves. This workshop will cover leaf-painting techniques using dry brush work, masking fluid, lifting and leaving the white paper.
For more information about the workshop, sign-up, and the materials list, please see the BAGSC website “Classes” and “Class Details” page.
About the Instructor
Lee McCaffree is a botanical illustrator in watercolor. She shares the coordination and implementation of the Filoli Botanical Art Certificate Program and is a primary instructor. She served on the Board of Directors of The American Society of Botanical Artists. She gives regular private classes in the Bay area and instructed at the ASBA Annual meetings and the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. She supports botanical artists by participating in coordinating teams for art exhibits and jurying.
Lee McCaffree
She began her career in London, England studying under Christabel King of Kew Gardens. She received Medals for showing her “Pinus” series and “Plants in Peril” series at the Royal Horticultural Society exhibitions in London. Her works are in the permanent collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew Collection, London, the Filoli Florilegium and Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation; Lee won Best of Show at the Northwest ASBA Exhibition in Portland, OR. Her showings include juried exhibitions at Contemporary Art Center, MOMA-New York; Longwood Gardens; Hunt Institute, Pittsburgh; Seattle Science Center; Flinn Gallery Greenwich, CT; Horticultural Society of New York; Missouri, Chicago, Denver and UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens; Strybing Arboretum, CA; Arizona Desert Museum, New York State Museum; Johnson & Johnson Headquarters; Oakland Museum; Loveland Museum (Colorado); Filoli exhibits and Florilegium; Northern California Society of Botanical Artist’s Alcatraz Florilegium and other venues. She created the poster for the California Native Plant Sale for the East Bay for ten years. Her work is published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, England and Today’s Botanical Artist. Her work was included in “Losing Paradise”, an exhibit of endangered species illustrations which traveled throughout the U.S and to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens, London. Currently, she is exhibiting in the Weird, Wild and Wonderful Traveling Exhibit from the New York Botanical Gardens.
Lee’s work concentrates on native plants which she hopes will increase their visibility and use in public and private landscaping. Her skill as a botanical artist allows her to focus her creativity on the finest details of each plant she paints. Her enthusiasm inspires her students to develop their own skills and enjoy the creative process.
by Gilly Shaeffer, posted by Deb Shaw
Save-the-date postcard, designed by Jan and Chas Clouse, featuring Gilly Shaeffer’s watercolor of a California native walnut, © 2017.
The Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC) is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year. Mark your calendars–on August 26, 2017, the Guild will be having a gala celebration in honor of our Anniversary.
Since its inception in 1997, our group has grown, changed and keeps getting better. So, we have good reason to celebrate. Members continue to develop their botanical art skills through classes and workshops, and, as a result of this dedication and hard work, we have more and more opportunities to show our art. Through outreach, exhibition and educational activities, BAGSC has increased southern Californian’s awareness and appreciation for this art form.
We have many activities planned in honor of our 20-year milestone.
The Los Angeles Arboretum Library, one of our earliest supporters, will be hosting a BAGSC exhibition, entitled “Illustrating the Urban Forest: 20 Years of Botanical Art”. The exhibition will feature trees that grow in Mediterranean climates. Opening in early July, 2017, the exhibition will run until the end of September.
On August 26 we will hold a 20th Anniversary Celebration at the Los Angeles Arboretum:
4:00 – Artists will lead a tour of the exhibition and discuss the art.
5:00 – A special presentation will be given by Matt Ritter, author of A Californian’s Guide to Trees Among Us. Matt is a professor at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, a tree expert and a photographer. This promises to be a delightful and informative presentation.
6:00 – The Anniversary Dinner will be held at the Peacock Café Patio at sunset. Olga Eysymontt, long time botanical art instructor, will share memories of BAGSC beginnings and how botanical art got started in Los Angeles. And there will be opportunities for all to connect with old friends and meet new ones.
Invitations to this special event will be available soon. The suggested donation for attending is $60.
Keep your eyes open for invitations and more information. Entries for the exhibition at the LA Arboretum Library, “Illustrating the Urban Forest: 20 Years of Botanical Art” are due May 12, 2017. The “Call for Entries” can be found on the BAGSC website Exhibitions page and in the Members Only section. Questions on the exhibition? Please contact Janice Sharp. Questions about the 20th Anniversary Celebration? Please contact Gilly Shaeffer.
We are looking forward to sharing a beautiful afternoon and evening with members, friends, family, special guests from the Los Angeles botanical gardens community and more. We hope all will join us for this magical anniversary celebration.
by Estelle DeRidder and Deb Shaw
Invitation for Estelle DeRidder’s Madrona Marsh Nature Center Exhibition, © 2016, Estelle DeRidder.
In 2012, BAGSC member Estelle DeRidder was awarded an education grant from the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) to use in creating reusable plant identification cards featuring California native plant illustrations from the Madrona Marsh Preserve in Torrence, California.
Information about Estelle’s project was presented at the ASBA Annual Meeting and Conference in Denver, Colorado during the ASBA Grant Presentations, October 17, 2014.
Estelle is now exhibiting the complete project at the Madrona Marsh Nature Center. Titled The Flashcard Project: Flora of the Madrona Marsh III, the exhibition runs from December 6, 2016 through January 20, 2017. There will be an opening reception Sunday, December 18, 2016
1:00 – 4:00 pm.
The public is invited and welcome.
The Nature Center at the Madrona Marsh Preserve is located at: 3201 Plaza del Amo, Torrance, CA 90505. Phone: (310) 32-MARSH. The Madrona March is open Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm.
If you are interested in applying for an ASBA grant, please apply by August 1, 2017 (open to ASBA members only). Information and the application can be found on the ASBA’s Grant page on their website.
by Melanie Campbell-Carter, posted by Deb Shaw
John Pastoriza-Piñol demonstrating ellipses. Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter, © 2016.
The renowned Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens provided fourteen BAGSC members with a three-day Master Class with John Pastoriza-Pinol on November 8 – 10, 2016. The Huntington offered us exquisite Paphiopedilum specimens from the Conservatory and greenhouses for our subjects. Kudos to Melanie Thorpe of The Huntington, and BAGSC Education Chair Jude Wiesenfeld, for flawless organization on this long-anticipated workshop.
Quoting participant Arillyn Moran-Lawrence, “We learned so many new techniques:
- Using ellipses to find the proper placement of a plant on the paper.
- Using abundant masking fluid to keep the areas between washes pristine.
- Using many layers of pale colors to build to unique darker colors.
- Using brushes like blenders, spotters and a Neef comb to complete the painting.”
Reactions to the experience by participating artists included,
Using abundant masking fluid. Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter, © 2016.
“Combing is my new favorite thing!” Cynthia Jackson
“Watching John develop the orchid painting was truly an inspiration.” Gilly Shaeffer
“(John) will rewet six or seven times before he starts dry brush work and a total of maybe 30 layers to the final work. I am so happy to have learned about his methods.” Leslie Walker
“I never named my orchid but after all those pastel washes I named my painting…my pretty pony!” Beth Stone
John Pastoriza-Piñol demonstrating to class participants. Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter, © 2016.
The students coordinated a “paint share” for John’s materials list, courtesy of BAGSC member/artist Beth Stone. As an unexpected bonus, Robert Hori of The Huntington graciously shared several prints from the Estate of Rory McEwen with the class. BAGSC member/artist Mitsuko Schultz shared several books, including the new publication, Flora Japonica, from the current exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery at the Kew Gardens, which she attended two months ago.
John is currently enjoying an extended stay in the US on a grant from the Australian Arts Council, and will be in New York City through the end of the year in an association with the Horticultural Society of New York. Seeing the American national election process through his eyes was an interesting experience! We are gratified that he so enjoyed his time at The Huntington that he expressed a heartfelt wish to return soon.
A few of the participants in John’s class. (L to R:) Teri Kuwahara, Gilly Shaeffer, Jude Wiesenfeld, John Pastoriza-Piñol, Gayle Uyehara, Sydney Tanner, Cynthia Jackson, Leslie Walker, and Kat Powell. Photo by Melanie Campbell-Carter, © 2016.
by Jude Wiesenfeld and Deb Shaw
Kathie Miranda, Strelitzia spp., Bird of Paradise, colored pencil on film. © 2016.
Kathie Miranda had been slated to give a workshop at the Weird, Wild & Wonderful Symposium at The Huntington, but unfortunately couldn’t make it due to a sudden family emergency. BAGSC is pleased to announce that Kathie will be coming to Southern California to teach Colored Pencil on Film at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in January, 2017:
Tuesday, January 24 – Thursday, January 26, 2017
9:30 am – 3:30 pm each day
Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Bamboo Room and Oak Room
Maximum Registration: 16 students
Cost, BAGSC Members: $300
Non-Members: $330
BAGSC Special Discount: receive 10% off
BAGSC is offering a special discount for Kathie’s workshop:
- New BAGSC members receive a 10% discount for a total cost of $270
- Current BAGSC members registering for the workshop BEFORE December 12, 2016 receive a 10% discount for a total cost of $270
Mylar is a wonderful media for colored pencil, and allows the artist to work on both sides of the film. Visit the new BAGSC website to view the full workshop description, costs, directions, and information, and to download a PDF materials list: http://bagsc.org/index.php/classes/kathie-miranda
Kathie’s Weird, Wild & Wonderful Symposium workshop filled immediately, so don’t delay on this opportunity to learn Kathie’s techniques and to receive a substantial discount!
About the Instructor
Kathie Miranda is an award-winning artist, juror and educator of botanical art. She teaches at The Art Students League, NYC and the New York Botanical Garden. She is an active member of the Connecticut Watercolor Society and the Colored Pencil Society of America.
by Jennifer Lazar, 101 San Diego; and Lisa Reynolds, San Diego Botanic Garden; posted by Deb Shaw
BAGSC’s exhibition “Cornucopia” at the San Diego Botanic Garden is on the home page of San Diego Media Marketing’s website. The link has more information about the exhibition and a coupon for $2 off admission to the Garden.
San Diego Media Marketing has promoted BAGSC’s exhibition Cornucopia at the San Diego Botanic Garden in their 101 Things To Do in San Diego update.
Cornucopia: A Botanical Art Exhibit at San Diego Botanic Garden is one of the “Featured Slides” on their home website from October 31 – November 6, 2016. They have also scheduled Facebook and Twitter posts for November 2!
Clicking the link from the home page calls up a page with more information about the San Diego Botanic Garden and the Cornucopia exhibition. The page also includes a coupon for a $2 discount on adult admission to the Garden, limit of four (4) adults. The coupon is good through December 31, 2016.
by Susan Eubank, posted by Deb Shaw
Peacock! Plant! The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden is hosting an Open Art Exhibits Call at an:
Artists’ Open House at the Gallery in the Arboretum Library
Saturday, January 14, 2016, 1-4 p.m., and
Saturday, January 28, 2016, 1-4 p.m.
Logo for the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden.
There’s a new art space in town and the Arboretum Library is looking for artists. This open house is to encourage artists of all media to view the newly renovated Arboretum Library exhibit space and the Arboretum grounds for inspiration. Details of exhibit requirements will be discussed at the open house.
The first exhibition will run March 1 – June 30, 2017 and will use the word “Peacock” as the inspirational word for the exhibition. All media will be considered.
The second exhibition will be from October 1 – December 30, 2017 and will use plants as the theme. All media will be considered.
Deadline for art submissions for both shows is February 11, 2017. Proposals to exhibit should include at least three (3) digital scans or images of the proposed art, no larger than a total of 9 MB, submitted via email to Susan Eubank. A jury of art and plant professionals will choose the exhibiting artists and artworks. Artists will be notified by February 15, 2017. Solo shows or collaborative groups will be preferred.
Past exhibits in the Arboretum Library include: Karen Hochman Brown’s Kaleidoscopes, the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California, and a Multicultural Weaving Exhibit. The Library contains a comprehensive collection of resources on gardening, botany, California native plants, and environmental issues as these subjects relate to the plants native to and planted in Southern California. This includes books, e-books, magazines, government documents, pamphlets, and audio-visual materials.
Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP to the Arboretum Librarian, Susan Eubank, by email, or by calling 626-821-3213 to attend the open house or to ask questions about this open exhibit call. BAGSC members may contact Janice Sharp with questions or comments; Janice is BAGSC’s liaison with the LA Arboretum.
The LA Arboretum is located at: 301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007, 626.821.3222.
by Jude Wiesenfeld and Janice Sharp
Last April Alexander Viazmensky (Sasha) and his students held their first Botanical Art Exhibition in St. Petersburg, Russia (see the article on page 9 of The Botanical Artist, the journal of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) for June 2016, Volume 22, Issue 2, ISSN 1523-5165*).
Sasha Viazmensky demonstrating initial watercolor technique for painting a mushroom.
This October 19 – 21, 2016, Sasha came to teach a workshop about painting mushrooms for BAGSC artists. Held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, California, Sasha brought with him a wealth of knowledge on his speciality. His technique is largely wet on wet. He reiterated often that we should get ready to put the paint on the paper, then STOP and think about where we will place the paint before proceeding.
One thing we learned to observe is how many more gills appear at the edge of the mushroom that are thinner and closer together than the ones near the stem.
Sasha was an excellent and affable teacher. Each day we watched him demonstrate the techniques for different types of mushrooms. He spent a great deal of his time individually guiding each of us.
* The Botanical Artist is a quarterly publication for members of ASBA. Back publications are available to members for purchase. View a sample of The Botanical Artist.
Sasha demonstration of a Polypore Mushroom (fungi that grow on tree trunks).
Those in attendance were (from left to right):
Beth Stone, Gilly Shaeffer, Olga Eysymontt, Sasha, Cynthia Jackson, Janice Sharp and Bonnie Ash (missing from the photo are Pat Mark, Kathy Morgan and Jude Wiesenfeld).
These are examples of our work!
by Deb Shaw
Hylocereus undatus pitahayas, Pitaya or Dragon Fruit, watercolor by Diane Nelson Daly, © 2016. The dragon fruit is the fruit of a cactus species indigenous to the Americas. The fruit is sweet and crunchy with a flavor that is a cross between kiwi and pear.
Cornucopia, a botanical art exhibition of all things edible by the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC) will open Friday, September 23 in the Ecke Building at the San Diego Botanic Garden (SDBG). The exhibit runs from September 23 – November 18, and includes 47 artworks by 21 BAGSC artists, illustrating the diverse plants that people use all over the world for food, drink and flavorings. The paintings are accompanied by descriptions, stories or recipes written by the artists.
Broccoli, watercolor by Asuka Hishiki, © 2016.
The opening reception will be Friday, September 23, from 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm. The public is invited; the exhibition is free with paid admission or membership.
Artists in the exhibition include: Bonnie Born Ash, Nancy Beckham, Jan Clouse, Diane Nelson Daly, Estelle DeRidder, Asuka Hishiki, Cynthia Jackson, Susan Jackson, Clara Josephs, Teresa Kuwahara, Patricia A. Mark, Arillyn Moran-Lawrence, Kathy Morgan, Terri Munroe, Alyse Ochniak, Mitsuko Schultz, Janice Sharp, Deborah Shaw, Ellie Yun-Hui Tu, Leslie Walker, Jude Wiesenfeld.
Rosa californica, California Rose, watercolor by Estelle DeRidder, © 2016.
The San Diego Botanic Garden is located at 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, California 92024, 760.436.3036. Directions can be found on the SDBG website. Download the postcard invitation featuring a watercolor by Teresa Kuwahara: cornucopia-invitation-postcard.
by Clara Josephs, Beth Stone and Deb Shaw
BAGSC held an information-stuffed quarterly meeting on Sunday, September 11. Workshops were announced, the new BAGSC website was revealed (more about the website in a future article coming soon) and BAGSC member Kathy Morgan demonstrated carbon dust techniques on clayboard.
Kathy was first introduced to carbon dust in a class with Olga Eysymontt and was immediately hooked. Kathy has mastered this unique method of painting known for rich, dark values and flawless transitions.
A few of Kathy’s favorite materials: a pad of Dura-lar, Wolff’s carbon pencils in four grades of hardness and a stencil cutting kit. Photo by Beth Stone, © 2016.
Instead of using an X-acto blade to cut a stencil, Kathy prefers to use a heated stencil cutter on a sheet of Dura-lar, over a piece of tempered glass. She first places her tissue drawing under the glass, then uses a pen to carefully trace the outline(s) on the Duralar. Moving slowly, she then carefully cuts along all the outlines with the heated stencil cutter. She saves both the positive and negative parts of the stencil to use in different stages of her drawing.
Kathy usually adds some temporary registration marks to her drawing surface and her stencil, to make it easier to align the stencil again at a later stage.
Kathy Morgan prefers to use soft cosmetic brushes of various sizes for her carbon dust work. Photo by Beth Stone, © 2016.
She uses four different hardnesses of Wolff’s carbon pencils to get different tonal values, starting with the lightest tone and getting darker as the drawing progresses. She prefers to use cosmetic brushes, always working from the outside edges in. (If you work from the inside towards the outside, you run the risk of creating a hard, dark edge where the stencil begins.)
Kathy uses a metal emery file to create the carbon dust, adding each hardness of dust to its own empty plastic medicine vial. (Yet another use for those empty medicine containers!)
Kathy Morgan answers questions from BAGSC members Carmen Lindsay and Cristina Baltayian. Photo by Beth Stone, © 2016.
Details are added with a very sharp carbon pencil in the tonal value she needs. She sprays finished works with a workable fixative.
BAGSC members who could stay after the potluck lunch experimented with the technique with the assortment of fruits and vegetables that Kathy brought as subject matter. Thank you Kathy for a fun and informative presentation.
Kathy Morgan demonstrating drawing a pear. Photo by Clara Josephs, © 2016.
BAGSC members Carmen Lindsay and Bonnie Born Ash experiment with carbon dust. Photo by Clara Josephs, © 2016.
by Estelle De Ridder, posted by Deb Shaw
The California Islands Symposia have been held more or less, every five years since 1965, to share up-to-date information about the management, scientific research, work in all disciplines of natural and cultural science and general well-being of the California islands.
The 9th California Island Symposium for 2016 is being held at the Marriott Hotel, Ventura, California. One of the less scientific and more entertaining presentations of this symposium will be the Art Exhibit that has been advertised for more than six months. The three jurors worked hard and with diligence to put together a coherent show that will present the Channel Islands to the public in an inviting and interesting manner. After the symposium, the exhibit will be moved to the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens, where it will be on display for another three weeks.
The Channel Islands of California comprise eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast. Five of the islands and the surrounding waters are part of Channel Islands National Park and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
The Park is supported by many partners who share the protection of the history and prehistory, the cultural and biological diversity as well as protecting vital habitat for marine, terrestrial plant and animal species.
Public appreciation through education, interpretation and research is widely promoted.
Isolation over many thousands of years has developed unique animals, plants and archeological resources found ONLY on these islands and makes is possible for visitors to experience the western coast of the North America as it used to be.
Visitation has increased dramatically over the years, and with contracted concessionaires, the numbers show how the interest in the islands have grown:
1963 = 1,200
2014 = 342,000
Malva assurgentiflora, the Island Mallow, Mission Mallow, Royal Mallow, Island Tree Mallow. © 2016, Estelle De Ridder, all rights reserved. Watercolor and colored pencil on drafting film and paper.
Flora on the Channel Islands include a unique subspecies of pine, oak and island tree mallow.
Santa Rosa Island holds two groves of the endemic to the island, Torrey pine subspecies Pinus torreyana var. insularis. Torrey pines are the United States’ rarest pine species. The islands also house many rare and endangered species of plants, including the island barberry, the island rush rose, and the Santa Cruz Island lace pod. Giant kelp forests surround the islands and act as a source of nutrition and protection for other animals.
BAGSC members Estelle De Ridder, Mitsuko Schultz and Ellie Tu are participating in the exhibition.
Estelle has illustrated two species: Malva assurgentiflora and Heteromeles abtutifolia.
Malva assurgentiflora, the Island Mallow, Mission Mallow, Royal Mallow, Island Tree Mallow, Malva Rosa is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family. It grows into a strikingly architectural shrub/small tree with beautiful white bark.
It is endemic to California, where it is native only to the Channel Islands. It can also be found growing as an escapee from cultivation in coastal mainland California.
Estelle’s painting of Heteromeles abtutifolia was done on paper with watercolor and colored pencil. Heteromeles abtutifolia, Toyon berry, grows on the north-facing coastal bluffs of Santa Cruz Island. It grows on all the other islands, except Santa Barbara island, and was planted on San Nicolas.
Plantanus racemosa, California Sycamore, Watercolor by Mitsuko Schultz, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Mitsuko Schultz had her Platanus racemosa, California Sycamore accepted to the exhibition.
Ellie Tu has three pieces in the exhibition: Dudleya greenei, Coreopsis, and Leptosyne gigantea Kellogg.
Leptosyne gigantea Kellogg (formerly Coreopsis gigantea), Giant Coreopsis is a strikingly strange plant. It grows on dunes, rocky cliffs and exposed slopes, and has a fleshy trunk and branches. It can reach heights of eight feet with a five inch trunk. It is deciduous and dormant in the dry season, taking on an other worldly appearance when visitors hike through a large stand of them. In spring, however, masses of bright yellow blooms put on quite a show.
Ceanothus arboreus, Feltleaf Ceanothus, or Island Ceanothus. Watercolor, © 2016, Ellie Tu, all rights reserved.
Leptosyne gigantea Kellogg, (formerly Coreopsis gigantea), Giant Coreopsis, Ellie Tu, colored pencil, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Dudleya greenei, watercolor by Ellie Tu, © 2016, all rights reserved. This plant grows in the Channel Islands National Park.
by Clara Josephs, posted by Deb Shaw
Be sure it’s on your calendar: BAGSC’s general quarterly meeting is coming up in two weeks, on Sunday, September 11. As usual, BAGSC members will receive this meeting notification in an email blast with directions to the location, at the home of BAGSC’s President.
Join us to see the unveiling of BAGSC’s new website, hear plans for workshops and upcoming exhibitions, and see a demonstration of carbon dust. Coffee will be served at 9:30 a.m. and the business meeting will begin promptly at 10. Bring a lunch item to share. The carbon dust demonstration will follow our potluck lunch.
Carpooling is recommended. In addition to your lunch contribution, bring any painting you are working to show or to receive help from our members. Questions? Contact Pat Mark or Clara Josephs.
Looking forward to seeing you on September 11, at 9:30 a.m!
by John Pastoriza-Piñol, Jude Wiesenfeld and Deb Shaw
Tulipa x hybrida, watercolor by John Pastoriza-Piñol, © 2016.
BAGSC will be offering a Masterclass with Australian botanical artist John Pastoriza-Piñol in November, 2016. Students will learn the intricacies of achieving fine detail with watercolour masking fluid and NEEF ¼ Comb, invaluable tools for contemporary botanical artists. As a result, your paintings will be brought to a new level of realism and detail. Students should have skills in drawing and watercolor. Over three days, John will assist you with painting the chosen class subject. John will show how masking fluid can be used to achieve very fine detail and will instruct students how to use the NEEF ¼ Comb.
November 8, 9 and 10, 2016
9:30 am – 4:00pm each day
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Cost: BAGSC Members: $300; Non-Members: $330
Maximum Registration: 16 students
To register:
Send a check for your $50 non-refundable deposit fee (or payment in full), made out to BAGSC, to BAGSC Education Chair, Jude Wiesenfeld. Please write “JohnPP” on the memo line of the check. Payment in full is due by Monday, October 25, 2016.
Bring your lunch, or purchase lunch at The Huntington Cafes, at The Huntington.
Questions about the Workshop? Contact the BAGSC Education Chair.
Fragaria x ananassa, Strawberry, watercolor by John Pastoriza-Piñol, © 2016.
Learning Objectives:
Students who enroll in this workshop would have completed some level of introduction to Botanical Art and be at an intermediate to advanced level. The structure of the class involves a three-day painting project and the demonstrator assists each student with composition, painting techniques, colour theory which will be offered in class and assigned for homework.
Download a PDF of the materials list: John Pastoriza Pinol Materials list 2016
About the Instructor:
Rich luminous hues and gorgeously exotic and rare botanical specimens epitomize John’s work, however his are much more than mere flower paintings:closer inspection reveals a certain ambiguity of form and intent directing us towards a complex narrative.
John Pastoriza-Piñol, © 2016.
A master of his medium, his perfectly executed watercolours remain true to the accuracy that is vital to botanical illustration yet they have a fluidity and sensuality that stirs the viewer to experience more than a mere marveling of technique.
The artist suggestively urges us to look beyond the aesthetic and move into slightly more uneasy territory as his work inhabits a territory somewhere between scientific analysis and symbolic realism, prompting a reading that goes beyond the purely representational and literal. The artist intends for literal and subversive elements to coexist uneasily on the same plane, while the aesthetics will remain true to the fundamental principle of objective observation of the natural world.
Location:
The workshop will be held at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, in the Botanical Education Center. The Huntington is located at: 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108.
by Jude Wiesenfeld and Deb Shaw
“Forest Bouquet, Russian Choice,” watercolor by Alexander Viazmensky, © 2016, all rights reserved.
Alexander (Sasha) Viazmensky will be returning to Southern California from St. Petersburg, Russia to teach a three-day, BAGSC-sponsored workshop, Mushroom Portraits in Watercolor.
Wednesday, October 19 – Friday, October 21, 2016
9:30 am – 4:00 pm each day
Los Angeles County Arboretum, Oak Room
$300 for BAGSC members; $330 for non-members
Class limit: 16 students
Workshop Description:
Mushroom hunting is a passionate, national pastime in Russia, and Sasha’s paintings capture the spirit of the fungi and the forest. Painted life sized, he calls his paintings “Portraits of Mushrooms.” The class will consist of the following steps:
- Composition.
- How to properly place your subject: lights, shadows, reflections.
- Creating the shape from light to dark.
- Creating various textures with dry brush.
- Using white gouache.
- Final details.
Download the materials list: sashaMaterialsList
To Register:
Send a check for your $50 non-refundable deposit fee (or payment in full), made out to BAGSC, to BAGSC Education Chair Jude Wiesenfeld. Please write “Sasha” on the memo line of the check. Payment in full is due by Monday, October 3, 2016.
Bring your lunch, or purchase lunch at the Peacock Café, on the Arboretum grounds.
The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is located at: 301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007.
Alexander Viazmensky in the woods. © 2016.
About the Instructor:
Sasha Viazmensky was born and lives in St. Petersburg, Russia, and specializes in painting fungi. Although he has a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, he has devoted his life to painting, studying, and picking mushrooms. His work is included in the collections of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Shirley Sherwood Collection and the Komarov Botanical Institute in St. Petersburg, among others, and in private collections all over the world. You can read an article Sasha wrote about picking mushrooms in Russia, published in MUSHROOM, The Journal of Wild Mushrooming, here.
by Clara Josephs, posted by Deb Shaw
BAGSC’s Fall general quarterly meeting will be held on Sunday, September 11 at the home of BAGSC’s president. BAGSC members also will receive this meeting notification in an email blast with directions.
Coffee will be served at 9:30 a.m. and the business meeting will begin promptly at 10. A highlight of the meeting will be the official unveiling of our new BAGSC website. Come to the meeting, get a tour of the new site, and learn how your images can be part of our members’ gallery. We also have several new workshops to announce.
Bring a lunch item to share. Following our potluck lunch, Kathy Morgan will demonstrate the use of carbon dust to create stunning botanical portraits. After studying with Olga Eysymontt, Kathy has mastered this unique method of painting known for rich, dark values and flawless transitions. You will have an opportunity to try working with the materials and get feedback from Kathy.
As always, carpooling is recommended. In addition to your lunch contribution, bring any painting you are working to show or to receive help from our members. Questions? Contact Pat Mark or Clara Josephs.
Looking forward to seeing you on September 11, at 9:30 a.m!
BAGSC News 