Impressions Newsletter

April 2009

Greetings and welcome to our April Newsletter. With Easter and Anzac Day around the corner, the long days and warmth of summer are sadly behind us. However, the cooler days make for a good excuse to bundle up in a warm room with paintbrush or drawing media at the ready.

Have you heard about the women’s exhibition Distorted Reality which is coming up? Information is included further on in this newsletter. I imagine there are a lot of women artists beavering away creating their own interpretations of the theme. It’s nice to see an initiative like this taking place and I hope it will be well supported.

Judging by the amount of paint we have sold over the past month, there’s a whole lot of creativity going on. With the constant talk of recession, our art is a wonderful way to take time out from the negativity and do something positive with our energies and imaginations.

This last month I visited the Motueka Art Group which is clearly a very busy group of artists. It is always a pleasure to meet with and participate in the meetings of such nice people. They have a busy schedule of workshops for members up and running so it is clearly a vibrant group.

Products New in This Month

Crescent Illustration Board, Hot Press smooth, bright white surface, medium weight, suitable also as an airbrush board. 20” x 30” $12.65 each

Hint

Gluing in Mixed Media Works

Any work that uses more than one medium can be defined as mixed media. Thus any artwork which combines drawing media with paint, inks or gold leaf, or incorporates collage for instance would be labelled mixed media.The desire to incorporate texture into works often draws artists to search for a suitable adhesive for gluing paper, or found objects into their work. In the case of acrylic paints, it is useful to remember that acrylic paint is comprised of colour and glue (binder) and hence the paint can also be used as glue. For instance it is simple to add marble dust or crushed dried eggshell into paint which can then be applied with a painting knife to add texture.

If however, you wish to stick paper, tissue, leather, canvas or fabric to your work, craft glues such as PVA or Mod Podge (available in matt and gloss) may be the glues of choice. However, again, Binder Medium aka Acrylic Painting Medium is the ideal collage glue.

Wettable gummed tape (as used to stretch watercolour paper) can be used to incorporate brown paper – as it only requires moistening the back with water, it saves you needing to add glue.

When you want to glue more substantial items such as shells or pebbles into a work, you need glue which will not only adhere but also imbed the item onto your canvas. This is where impasto medium (alias modelling compound or texture paste) comes into its own. Impasto medium not only contains binder medium to glue, but can also be built-up into a thick substance into which you can press the item to be added. I would caution against using hot glue for 3D items, as over time the glue fails which could be a disaster for your artwork (a problem we see from time-to-time when customers bring in framed artwork where glued items have come loose).  Silicone glue can be another viable option for 3D gluing as well.

 Always read the instructions on the label before using any product.When composing an artwork, do consider the archival properties of the items you are attaching as well as the glue being used. Opt for materials which will not degrade quickly, when you want your work to last the test of time. Remember that real artist materials have been developed by chemists for artists, so can be relied upon to perform well.

Impressions Art Club Members Special during April

Get into Collage This Month

Save 20% on:

Tips to Make Your Dollars Go Further

With many product prices having risen sharply since the New Year, it is timely to consider how we can make our dollars go further. The following are ideas that I have gleaned from personal experience and from other people over the past few years.

  1. To get the last ounce of paint from a tube, cut the tube along the crimped end and scoop out the last of the paint onto your palette.
  2. Use paint saver jars (very small clear plastic containers) to save any unused paint on your palette. (We carry sets of 12 jars for just $4.80.I have saved and used again watercolour washes, oils and acrylics. As long as the lid is securely fitted, the paint will last a long time. When you empty the jar just wash it ready to use again. As the jars are clear, there's no need to label as you can see the colour inside.
  3. Mix acrylic and oil paints with 2 palette knives – this enable you to scrape the excess off one blade, with the other knife. Mixing with a brush tends to force paint up into the ferrule of the brush causing damage to the brush. But also you then need to constantly clean the brush so that you end up with the correct colour mix, further wasting paint that could have been used on your painting.
  4. Economise on your use of artist turpentine by not washing your brushes completely using turps. Firstly, turps is hard on brushes, so they wear out more quickly. Second, be kind to the environment by not throwing away lots of dirty turps. Rather, put some turps into a glass jar with a firmly fitted lid. When you need to clean your brush, take out the excess paint by wiping the bristles with a tissue (old telephone directories are good), then dip the brush into the turps jar and give a it a swirl to simply loosen the paint. Put the lid back on the jar, wipe the loosened paint from the brush on another tissue (telephone book page), then complete the cleaning of the brush using a brush soap – which will not only clean the brush, but also condition it so prolonging its life. Finally, re-shape the brush head with your fingers, lay the brush on a tissue to dry, and only stand it in your brush jar once it has dried. The used turps can be used many, many times as the paint sludge will fall to the bottom of the jar. When there's too much sludge to handle, strain through a paper towel and discard the strained sludge, top up the jar with fresh spirits, and continue to use.
  5. Pastellists often complain about the amount of crumbs which end up on the easel tray when painting. These can be brushed into a container, and used by applying with a brush or your finger to an area in which a scumble effect is desired. 

If you have any other tips, I would welcome you sending them to me impressions@actrix.co.nz to include in future newsletters.

Art Tuition

Watercolour Workshops with Edwin Rudd at Aspects Gallery, 137 McShane Rd, RD 1, Richmond 7081.

1.      4-5th April, 9am-3pm, Fee $120. (Up to 12 students.)All levels of abilities are welcome.

2.      18-19th April 9am – 3pm, Fee $200. (Up to 6 students.)This more concentrated workshop is intended for those who wish to extend their skills further.

Enquiries to Susan Creedy, Ph 544 2244 (gallery) or 544 1715 (Home) or email susan.creedy@clear.net.nz 

 See our website for further information about the tutor.

Still looking for an art tutor? –

You’re not too late. See the Art Tuition Directory on our website www.impressionsnelson.co.nz

Exhibition Opportunity

Art@203 formally opened their exhibition space in March. They are still on the lookout for other contributors to the gallery, so if you are an artist, an art collector, a potter or anything remotely artistic, and want to get your work in front of potential purchasers, you should get in touch. Although painting exhibitions are fully booked for the rest of the year, other options are available (& booking for 2010 is fine). The group is committed to encouraging local art & they’d be happy to talk over any possible promotion of works you have or know about. Just call the gallery Ph 5483961 during working hours or visit the gallery & have a chat with one of the partners.

Distorted Reality – a Women’s Exhibition at the Refinery Artspace April 30 – May 23rd – Entries are invited - please consider the title when producing work for this exhibition – surreal, quirky, humorous, fantasy – something to make people think; something to make people smile. All visual media accepted. One entry per artist in 2D and one in 3D so you are permitted to enter two works in total if entering each category. Entry forms available in-store at Impressions.

Exhibitions

“Best Before” by Bridget Sanders and Katherine Wilkin-Slaney  at Refinery Artspace, 3 Halifax St, Nelson until Saturday 4 April.

Art Competitions

The Peters Doig Marlborough Art Awards 2009 – entry forms available in-store. Deadline for entries is 25th April.

Arts Council Nelson Impressions Regional Art Awards – as soon as the entry forms are ready the details will be posted on our website – www.impressionsnelson.co.nz

April promises to be a busy month. We’ve been busy taking framing orders, so even when the shop is quiet, we’re all beavering away out the back putting artwork into frames. Enjoy your Easter break – we will be closed for the Public Holidays, so remember to check your painting supplies before the weekend, although we will be open on Easter Saturday from 9am – 1pm as usual.

Best wishes for a really good month.

Glenys and the Team at Impressions