WONDER WHAT THEY'RE PAINTING NOW?

  

Here are some of the DEC/JAN paintings from Hidden Talent. This seems to be the year of the large painting. We will be preparing for the St. Albert Trade Show in early April as well as the mid May jury for the TU Gallery. This fall we will have our salute to St. Albert with our Mona Lisa Show. 

SPEED PAINTING!

We are getting the creative juices flowing with another Hidden Talent exclusive!

Starting in February there will be a 1/2 hour speed painting session at the beginning of every class.

Students may opt to do a ½ hour SPEED PAINTING at the beginning of each regular class in order to be able to paint faster, still be precise while developing their own brush strokes.

You may bring any paint colors that you wish but these are the suggested paints. Any brand acceptable. (A warm  and cool of each major color.)Titanium White, Ivory Black, Cadmium  yellow light, lemon yellow, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium red light, Viridian green, permanent green( light) Van Dyke ( or burnt umber) burnt sienna (or transparent earth red) 

      Canvas, canvas board or canvas paper no larger than 8x10 preferred size 5x7 or 6x8. These will be going home with you.

4.    Objects to paint: Simple, not a lot of pattern, not a lot of pieces Ex: one coffee cup. a paint tube, one cookie, Lego piece, one fruit.

GOALS:

 Quickly decide on a composition

Paint with more confidence

 Eliminate unnecessary detail

 Paint with more expressive brush strokes

Paint wet on wet

Mix colors on your canvas

Quality of brush strokes becomes more painterly and individual.

More experience with color and color combinations. 
Improvement of drawing and observation skills.

Global view of an object.

 Paint faster

Paint from life

Optional: If desired there will be a max. of 10 mins of feedback at ‘coffee break’

Action at the studio!

Our annual Christmas Art Exhibition was very well attended. Many thanks to all that came and for all the artists that hung their artistic efforts on the walls!
We enjoyed having JOHN from SNAPS ST. ALBERT at our function and photos of our event are available at their website:

We had a special surprise for PAPA NORMAN whose dedication to the orphans of Rwanda is so inspiring. Our own SYLVIE FERGUSSON painted a touching portrait of PAPA NORMAN hold the hands of the orphans during the many trips he and his family take to help build an orphanage. Read more at Sylvie's blog.
( links up soon)

My first youtube video!

Grab the popcorn! here is my mini art  movie ( under 2 mins)!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHQspPo-xNM

Some things aren't working in the blog ( including spellcheck) so I couldn't embed this video! I hope you will click on the link and enjoy a fast forward shot of me painting a monochromatic pear. Shawn, our very own computer/video wizard is putting together the whole thing including the color layer. We will be posting it in the 'artschoolsecrets' channel at youtube in the near future. You can subscribe to the artschoolsecrets channel now to make sure you get all of these educational and 'star quality' videos.

Sad News

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Shayne Page (Tues morning class) pass away on New Years Eve. We will remember his easy laugh, wonderful baking, garden tips and slips, and positive outlook. Shayne loved painting southern Alberta, particularily the old homestead. His latest painting was the view of the inside of an old front porch, We will miss him.

Our condolences go out to Cheryl Wilkes who recently lost her father- a wonderful and courageous man.  He was a shining light for many.

Happy New Year!

There is nothing like the fresh start of a new year. I have been anxiously waiting for classes to start, of course I missed you! (from the number of students who came one week early for classes, I think they missed painting too!) Our year will be a busy one. There seems to be many opportunies for HT artists to show and sell their works. Jan-Feb  
HT is finalizing a HSBC Art Show
A reminder there will be no adult, teen or children classes FEB 18-27
April
The annual St. Albert trade show will be held April 8,9,10
May-June OR Sept
Annual Mona Lisa show
Dec
Annual Studenr art showI am excited about classes starting and look forward tosee you!Laura

Hidden Talent - Tu Gallery Sucess story!

Congratulations to all Hidden Talent artists! Sales were great and we are invited back for a June exhibition 2011!
What advantage is there to be a Hidden Talent  TU Gallery artist?
1.Validation: A well known gallery has excepted the artworks and felt comfortable promoting our art as that of emerging and professional artists. We had a high number of sales and were one of the most sucessful shows at TU Gallery this year!
2. Exposure: We certainly have connected with very dynamic gallery owners ( Lorna and Alex Paterson) who promote, network and facilitate art experiences in the Arts District of Edmonton. When we add our mailing list to theirs we had an incredible response!
3. Education: We learned about contracts, gallery expectations about art and artists, pricing and marketing, sales expectations and how to talk about our art to strangers.
4. Growth; Perhaps the most amazing thing is that many of you bravely stepped out of your comfort zone and presented your art to the public.
Not all artists want to be gallery artists.That is perfectly acceptable and those that are not interested in gallery sales continue to produce exceptional work.   Those that do want to further their careers have gotten a small taste of what to expect as they continue to be part of  the Hidden Talent and Tu Gallery connection.

Gamblin Matte oil paints-WOW

Sample paintings  from Hidden Talent Fine Art School

For the last week I have been demo-ing Gamblin Fast Matte oil paints during our class break. Briana came to Edmonton in the summer and just recently Scott gave a product demo at Paint Spot ( thanks KIM!). I now have the 'recipe' for a great medium that works incredibly well with the new line- 1:1 Gamsol/ Galkyd. We all tried it out as well as the cold wax medium and I would highly recommend that they become part of your painting gear.
Hidden Talent  Fine Art School endorses the use of an underpainting technique and with the even finish and fast drying transparent pigments of the Fast Matte paint, alot of issues are resolved. The ease of varnishing with the Cold Wax Medium was a surprise to many students. I am predicting that we will see more matte finishes on our artworks in the future.
Just a reminder that Gamblin hosts the Torrit Grey Competition that selects winners that paint an underpainting in black, white and Torrit Grey....PERFECT for our style of painting! Visit www.gamblincolors.com 

Tu Gallery VIP Evening

Alex Paterson Owner TU Gallery

Jane Armstrong

kayla Nagazina

Jeannette Sommers

Tu Gallery VIP Evening- new artists

Lucille Friend

Some of the exceptional artists from the 'Hidden Talent; Show at TU Gallery.

Fay Avon

Sylvie Fergusson

jackie Kakoschke

Pearl Der

Artworks and Artists at the VIP Reception!

'Hidden Talent"
Thursday Oct 14ht, 2010 at TU Gallery
15 Artists

Heather Dundas

Bernadette Neumann

Wendy Pfeifer

Rana Sleiman

\

Tu Gallery VIP Evening

Pearl Der and Jeannette Sommers

What a great Opening!

Gerry Mazer

It was so crowded I was afraid something might be knocked to the floor! Wall to Wall art lovers, all coming to support the 15 artists that showed at TU Gallery this past weekend!

Thanks you so much! It turned an art reception into an event! ( or a 'happening' if you are in my generation). Alex Paterson was the gracious host and we lost count after 300 visitors and over 14 bottles of wine!

To say the 'first time' gallery artists were nervous and excited would honestly be an understatement. They were fantastic and talked to all the interested clients and friends. Congratulations to them all.



Joan Stang



 Our Show continues until Nov 6th.!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cairo by Rana Sleiman

There are so many things to be thankful for- family and friends, a great life with the joy of pursuing something you love! I am very fortunate to have a 'job' that is a vocation and a reason to celebrate life every day! Being an artists and art instructor is very rewarding , thanks to all of you!

This month there is well deserved recognition for all the learning and stretching that Hidden Talent student have done in the past year. Over 25 paintings  by 15 different artists were juried into Tu Gallery, a commercial gallery in nearby Edmonton. We were chosen as the art exhibition showing during the Annual Fall Gallery Walk- a great honor and opportunity for these student-artists. Many have never showed in a gallery outside of St. Albert and there was the usual questions about pricing, framing and contracts. Art is always a learning opportunity!

I am extending an invitation to all students of Hidden Talent ( from 6yrs. old to 90) and their families to attending the VIP Reception at TU Gallery on Thurs Oct 14th from 6:00-9:00. The artists will be in attendance so come and see how a big event like this works.

Tu Gallery is at 124St and 107 Ave in Edmonton.

The official Gallery Walk Opening Reception for the public will be Sat Oct 16th from noon to 4:00. Over 8oo art lovers are expected to participate in the Fall Gallery Walk and view the art we are exhibiting inTu Gallery!
Featured Artists are : Bernedette Neumann, Fay Avon, Gerry Mazer, Heather Dundass, Jackie Kakoschke, Jane Armstrong, Jeannette Sommers, Joan Stang, Kayla Nagazina, Laura Watmough, Lucille Friend, Pearl Der, Rana Sleiman, Sylvie Fergusson, and Wendy Pfeifer.

Welcome to Hidden Talent Fine Art School!

PORTRIT PAINTING

Welcome to all our new and returning students! I am very excited about our fall session- many new things are coming together!
Children's Art Academy
We are learning a new way to draw and the results are very impressive! These activities are important  in order to foster many of the skills that are used in the regular classroom. During our art classes I am emphasizing whole brain thinking, patterning, self evaluation and discovery, decision making and logical thinking skills.
The first half of lessons will focus on drawing and the last half will have painting skills and projects! If you have feedback from your child, please contact me. I am dedicated to making each child's art experience as positive as possible!

Young Rembrandt's
We have a great group of dedicated young artists that are learning the Old Masters Technique by painting the rose. I always said that the rose is an exam, not the diploma and it is only a learning tool! That said, there are many homes that I visit and see our famous rose hung proudly on a wall!
The second choice for the Young Rembrandt's is more contemporary and I would like to encourage our young artists to find simple photos that they would be interested in painting for the third painting. Please be aware that there are copyright laws that prevent us from painting someone elses photos without permission. For painting photos that can be used try http://www.flickr.com/ and search for commercial and creative commons subjects.

Adults
The seats are full and we are deep into finishing our artwork! Slow and accurate beats fast and ooops every time! Look for your own subjects and be ready for the third painting. Try and find a pattern of light that goes across the photo. Look for interesting colors and shadows that are not black. I hope you enjoyed our  impromptu drawing lesson last week!
A few reminders:
Please leave the easel area clean for the next student. When the 'snow' arrives there will be a mop to wipe the moisture off your shoes. I hope it will be early December before we have to use it!
If you have to make up a lesson please phone 780-419-2055 and tell me what class you will be attending. I will only phone you back if there is not any room available.
Canvas is available - $5   Sticky tack-$1  brush sets-$8 or $20
Please read the important announcements on right!

A Fun Art Weekend!

Laura Watmough
Capital Ex Gala

What a weekend!

Wednesday was the setup for Capital Ex. Sylvie Fergusson and I headed to the Agricom and helped Debbi Seymour with hanging the Northwest Originals Gallery while Pearl Der held down the fort and taught all the students who came for a drop in.

Four hours later Sylvie and I came back to the studio to find Pearl was doing a fantastic job and gunning for my job ( lol)!!

Sylvie Fergusson
Capital Ex Gala

Pearl Der
Capital Ex Gala

Thursday evening was the official Northwest Originals Gala and we had a overwhelming turn out of fans and friends. Our work was very well received, the lighting was a great improvement from last year, and the Mosaic Mural unvielling was impressive.

At Delta Art
Hot Dog Days

Saturday was the famous Delta Inventory Sale and I went hi tech (for me) this year and had a slide show on my laptop to show new students how we do things at Hidden Talent. There was lots of visiting and  I had some product info conversations with Jason from Golden and Briana from Gamblin - always a good thing to touch base with the experts. I saw lots of my students and many artist friends. It seems we reconnect every year and it is turning out to be a very social event complete with free burgers and pop. many thanks to John and his family and staff for another wonderful 'Hot Dog day' sale.

  

Bob and Linda Watt

                            

                                                               

On Location Gallery Demonstration

Pearl  Der and I had wonderful weather and a great location to paint plein air in the city on Saturday. We unpacked our gear in front of Tu Gallery, had the grid wall  and umbrella setup for us, hung our art and didn't have to wait long!

Pearl was busy putting the finishing touches on her Koi painting Hide and Seek and I took out the Shiraz and started to paint Okanagan scenery with my brush dipped in wine! Between the two of us, we were kept busy talking to the people strolling down 124 st. Most were making their way to the Dutchess, a fine french bakery just next door. This gave us a great opportunity to show and talk about our art.

Pearl Der Painting on 124 st.

Things to remember to bring:

1. Sunsceen and bugspray....ants like oil paint!

2. Promotional material

3. Join my email book/pen

4. Water and a hat...don't you LOVE the red one! Thanks Pearl!

5. A good fold up easel, a small table, a chair of some sort, an umbrella, paints, brushes, rags, clean up liquid, extra canvas, mirror ( to check if you have paint on your face!) or to look at your painting, a half done painting if you want to engage someone in conversation. Do not expect to paint very much.

6. Colorful paintings! Color is what attracts people first, then design. Variety of sizes and prices. Have a painting with RED in it.

7. Bring a buddy. It can get very busy and it is always nice to be able to take a break!

If the weather is not so nice....

Bring bungee cords, plastic sheets, weights for your easel, and park the car REAL CLOSE!

Showing in a Gallery!

Congratulations to the very talented artists/students at Hidden Talent!
Alex Paterson knows the art he wants in his gallery! He walked through and picked this one and that one and finally he had a room full of paintings. A few more go rounds and in relativly short time, Alex had finished jurying. Believe me it is hard to keep up to this man!
14 Artists and 24 paintings were selected
The talented artists that were selected for Tu Gallery are:
Wendy Pfeifer , Sylvie Fergusson, Jane Armstrong, Jeannette Sommers, Pearl Der, Bernadette Nuemann, Lucille Friend, Joan Stang, Gerry Mazer, Fay Avon, Rana Sleiman, Kayla Nagazina, Heather Dundas and Jackie Kakoschke.
With art work this good, this shouldn't be called a student show! So, for the summer and fall of this year the selected artists are now honorary members of the St. Albert Artists Colony and will be showing at TU gallery under that name!

More good news!
Alex asked if we would consider an Annual showing at TU Gallery! So, get those brushes ready and start snapping photos! You could be in the next Tu Gallery art exhibition!!!
Thanks to all the artists that brought in paintings for the jury. Alex thought that all the work was exceptional and is hoping to show more new artists in the next show!

What is a Juried Art Event?

We are pleased to have Alex Paterson from Tu Gallery jury the Hidden Talent Students artwork for an exhibition for the Edmonton Gallery Walk! The last day to deliver art is by 2:00 Sat June 19th.

Many of our students have never entered into a juried competition and I thought I would share what goes on behind the scenes.
Remember that not all artworks can be picked. If yours isn't it DOES NOT mean it is not worthy! There are 100's of other factors that come into play for the selection of a show. The art that is produced at Hidden Talent is far far above average...the jurors will have a heck of a time picking only a few! There is limited space on the gallery's walls and the gallery owner must select works with his clients in mind.

Your artwork is placed in an area where the juror or jurors can see them. Sometimes the names are covered over so that the judge is not influenced by who did the artwork instead of the artwork itself.

There are many ways for the jurors to pick their favorites. Sometimes each is given a list and they place their top 20 pieces on it.If there is total agreement the jurying is complete. You can imagine this rarely happens!


 Sometimes each juror is given a post-it note or something similar and then these are placed on the artwork. Those without a paper are removed, then the judges ween down their selections by talking about their selections and why they were chosen. There is alot of negotiating and thinking about things other than just the artwork. For example: will these pieces hang well together? Is there a theme? Is there enough or to much size differences? Are there enough subjects? Are these works that will sell to gallery clients? This is where the real WORK comes in. I have been a juror many times, and believe me it is real work. At times you must defend your choices, compromise or just disagree.


After the exhibition art is selected ( and this could be a LONG time), the artists will be notified . If there are any concerns about framimg, pricing or printing, the artist will receive a call from the gallery owner (or me!)

In Hidden Talent's case, all artwork can be picked up on Monday and taken home. Those paintings that are selected are 'saved' by the artist for the fall Gallery Walk to be delivered at a later date. If you need to giclee your original, make sure it is done before October. You will be required to fill out forms from the gallery, a contract and info page, then, at a later date supply Tu Gallery with a list of names for them to invite on your behalf.

Please note: give as many names as you can! Doctors, dentists, accountants, relatives, neighbours, friends, church people. Remember that who you invite does not necessarily need to love your art. There will be plenty of great art for them to look at! Besides, it is quite the honor  to be personally invited to attend an artists showing. A minimum mailing list for a gallery going to the expense of showing your art should include 50+ names. Sounds like alot? If you really think about it, must of us can come up with considerably more if we think who we interact with each day.

Next, as the exhibition gets closer, GET ON THE PHONE! SEND OUT EMAIL REMINDERS! Make sure 'your people' will be there! A good friend of mine and one smart artist, Sharon showed for the first time in a posh gallery. She will always be welcomed there because she presold her art before it even got hung up! She sold out her first show! Did the gallery owner do all the work? No, Sharon was on the phone and promoting herself where ever she could. She made sure that she had clients ready to come and talk with her at their opening. And it was impressive!

Maybe you don't have buyers yet, but your friend and family should be encouraged to bring along their friends. Every painting has an owner. We just have to make sure they meet!

I hope this is helpful! If you have any questions please leave a comment or call me at the studio.Good luck to everyone!! It's going to be very difficult to chose only a few when there are so many great paintings!
Laura

Portraits in Oil Techniques for Beginners

Jane has captured the bubbly personality of her daughter in this oil painting. Our usual colors for flesh are yellow ocher, a red- (cad red light , permanent rose or alizarin crimson, and whit)e...with lots of other colors as well.

Many of Hidden Talent students chose to paint portraits or figures . Melanie has just finished this portrait of her father. 

Janelle LOVES painting children and has put many of her nieces and nephews on canvas. Janelle has a really great technique for painting hair...it looks so life-like, but painterly at the same time. 

Racel painted this picture of her and her daddy as a surprise....of course he was emotional when he got it!!!!. Rachel is in grade 10 and has a great future as an artist. Don't I wish I had started that young!

Another teenager, Emily is painting a photo of her sister. She has already finished a great painting of her 'baby brother' and is working her way through the family! You can see her applying the color to the warm underpaintint in the hair. Almost finished!

Our Spring session is just about to start! Everyone starts the same way- with two required paintings to begin to learn the techniques. No, it is NOT a fast painting process, but it is a real education. It changes the way you see things and colors....and even how you take photographs from now on! So, don't be intimidated! Call 780-419-2055 if you are interested in joining us! We are also showing off our student's art at the trade show at Servus Place April 16,17, 18 in St. Albert, Alberta. You can visit and ask the student volunteers any questions you might have.

We will also have a 'MY ST.ALBERT" mural at the trade show...come help us paint it and see it in our gallery in May at the Mona Lisa Show! More info on classes is at my website.

Happy Easter to all!

Wildlife Art School!

Clare's Squirrel

Wildlife holds a deep fascination for all of us. I, for one, am not embarrassed to say I am a fan of Bateman, Seerey-Lester , Brenders and Banovich-all great realistic painters who breathe life into the animals they paint. They are popular because their art strikes a cord within. Unfortunately the ‘art world’ tends to dismiss those artists that resonate with the silent majority. I’ll get on my soap box in another post. Stay tuned!!

Clare was looking for help with the fur. Surprisingly, the more ’chunky’ the values are painted, the better the fur will look when the fine strands are place where they can be seen. She has captured the enviorment wonderfully. Her underpainting was in the warm tones-yellow ochre, light red and white.

Sylvie's KUDU

My good friends Marta and John experienced their dream of a lifetime-a Kenyan Safari! Marta brought back some great shots and is letting Hidden Talent students paint animals they might never see in the flesh.

Sylvie has finished an awesome tiger and is now painting a very large Kudu. It is such a royal animal; it deserves a lot of canvas. Her monochromatic is almost finish-she’ll be working on it during the break, I’m sure! It is so inspiring to see how excited she is every week when she comes to paint! She has found her calling-wild animals are definitely her style.

Sylvie lives on an acreage where there are lots of deer. This spring she had to rescue a new born fawn from a slippery wet area where it was born. She dried off the fawn, warmed it up and left it for mama deer to find. A happy reunion thanks to a kind heart!

Shawn's Panda

Shawn has travelled to the San Diego Zoo to observe the animals and take photos to base his paintings on. He became very interested in pandas and has dedicated his painting time to honour these fascinating animals. Shawn has also approached a gallery in another city who is excited to have his animal art on their walls!

We love having Shawn in class! This is an artist that researches methods and materials and SHARES his results! Shawn studies many techniques and artists and is the inventor of many 'artist friendly' gadgets. If there is a better or easier way to do something, Shawn will find it!