You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Environmental Nature Center’ tag.
by Leslie Walker
Come to this informative class to learn an important skill needed by all good botanical artists. Plant material will be provided, but if you have a subject that is presenting you with a problem, bring it with you so Lee can help you solve it.
Dates: Saturday, June 21 and Sunday June 22
Times: 9:30 am − 3:30 pm
Cost: $210 for BAGSC members, $235 for non-members
Bring your lunch
Send your check to Leslie Walker. Please include your preferred email address with your check, so Leslie can email you the materials list. The materials list will be emailed upon receipt of your payment. Registration is limited, based on receipt of payment.
Questions? Email Leslie.
The workshop will be held in Newport Beach at the Environmental Nature Center (The ENC). The ENC is located at 1601 East 16th Street, Newport Beach, CA 92663. (Click on the address for directions.) There is ample, easy parking at the ENC, and the classroom space and surroundings are beautiful. Hopefully, the butterfly house still will be open at that time too!
by Deb Shaw
The Environmental Nature Center (ENC) in Newport Beach is having their Spring Faire and Butterfly House Opening on
May 4, 2014; 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
1601 E. 16th Street, Newport Beach, CA 92663
Come and join the fun at the 9th Annual Spring Faire and Butterfly House Opening! View the Children’s Art Show, “Wildlife of the OC”. Enjoy delicious food from local restaurants in the “Taste of OC”. Visit Orange County’s only butterfly house, purchase native plants and attract butterflies and birds to your own yard. Play nature games, or purchase a re-usable ENC canvas bag for $5 — your “ticket” to make awesome crafts! Decorate your body with face paint or henna. Get a massage from the nice folks from Greet the Day!
Hang out at the Fire Circle Stage for a live performance by the Youth Singers of Orange County, “Story Time” presented by Community Roots Academy, see a live Bird of Prey presentation from the OC Bird of Prey Center, and watch a presentation with real wolves from Wolf Totem Ambassadors.
by Deb Shaw
Lee McCaffree will be returning to Southern California on Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22 to teach a workshop on foreshortening — a subject we could all study in perpetuity.
The workshop will be held in Newport Beach at the Environmental Nature Center (The ENC). The Environmental Nature Center is located at 1601 East 16th Street, Newport Beach, CA 92663. (Click on the address for directions.) There is ample, easy parking at the ENC, and the classroom space and surroundings are beautiful.
Watch for more details about times, costs and how to sign up, coming out soon. In the meantime, mark your calendars!
Hope to see you there!
by Patricia Van Osterhoudt
(left to right) Lori Fields, Arillyn Moran-Lawrence, Cristina Baltayian, and Gayle Uyehara gather around Lee McCaffree (seated) while she demonstrates a masking fluid technique. Photo by Clara Josephs, © 2013.
Hairs, dots, indentations! It’s enough to make the hairs on your neck stand up and salute! Who can count the hairs on a lime green Icelandic Poppy stem or the odd shaped rectangles on a peanut shell, and more importantly, why would one want to? This is the question all botanical artists wrestle with in the process of drawing and painting from nature, and it is one Lee McCaffree skillfully guided fourteen artists through in a two-day workshop on November 9 – 10, 2013 at the Environmental Nature Center (ENC) in Newport Beach. The classroom is in a LEED Platinum building at the ENC; the space is light and airy, perfect for botanical painting.
Through Lee’s expertise as an artist and teacher, we were encouraged to experiment with several specimens including peanuts, dry grasses, pussy willows, and various types of bumpy leaves. We began with careful observations and then did tracings for form, shape, and texture. From these we did graphite drawings as a reference point to come back to often during the actual painting. Lee continually stressed the importance of an accurate drawing for a successful painting. In the painting process we mixed color and did washes staying within the lines of the pencil lead, which all built up to texture. Many of the artists used color pencils as well. Most importantly, Lee encouraged everyone to move along rather than dally over any one particular part so we could “get the feel” for various types of texture. That nudge kept us all going!
Throughout the workshop, Lee consistently demonstrated the techniques she wished us to attempt. During the demos, she made comments such as the “importance of letting each layer of paint dry so that after several layers the light from other colors could shine through.” Later as we painted and drew, she consistently came around to each student giving constructive and creative comments that helped us move to a new and improved place. As she circled back to see our progress, she made very encouraging comments such as, “Great, see how much better that shading looks now!” As we worked side-by-side with our attention focused completely on the subject at hand (peanuts in the shell), Cristina Baltayian looked up and quietly stated, “We are the Peanut Gallery!”
In our final critique, as each artist laid her many paintings and drawings on the end of each table, Lee asked, “What did you like and not like about creating your art?” Overall, we had a general feeling that we were encouraged to try new and more challenging subjects having learned the techniques for how to get there. I always think of the botanical workshops as “a booster shot,” and I certainly got that from Lee!
A special thank you goes out to Leslie Walker, Deb Shaw, Clara Josephs, and Diane Daly for organizing this fantastic workshop!!
BAGSC News 