Impressions Newsletter
October 2009
Welcome to our October newsletter. Of course October is Nelson Arts Festival month (from 15 – 26th) and we will be some local displaying artists’ works in our window throughout the festival weeks to celebrate and highlight the visual arts sector.
I had a lovely visit to the Marlborough Art Society last month and was flattered to have such a great turn-out of their members on a week day. I talked with them about using products to add texture to their work as well as issues in aesthetic presentation and conservation of artwork through framing.
New Products
Tombow pens are back in stock.
We have introduced a small range of colours and will build the range with time. Our initial range has been selected to cover the needs of a number of local people completing an Australian design course. Next, I will add the life drawing colours such as sepia, sienna, and sanguine. For those who do not know the product, the pens are dual ended, with a brush-tip at one end. The ink is water-soluble, so can be readily incorporated in watercolours. They are ideal for quick sketches in the field and the addition of a wet brush will quickly dissolve the pigment and make a lovely wash.
Impressions Art Club
Member’s October Special
This month, members holding our discount card
Save 20%
on all stock sheets of
Arches, Saunders Waterford, Fabriano and Canson
Watercolour paper.
Hint
Choose your watercolour paper to suit your style and skill level in painting. The better the quality of paper, the better the results you will achieve.
The best watercolour papers are 100% cotton, and therefore lignin and acid free. Papers made from wood pulp, although buffered to make them pH neutral, will eventually form acids as the lignins contained in the paper break down.
Learners generally choose rough or Cold Pressed (Not) surfaces as it is easier to control the paint. Hot Pressed / Smooth paper required the hand of a skilled painter to control the flow of the washes.
The paper will cockle when you paint unless you have pre-stretched it. The addition of water to paper causes the paper to stretch – an effect which some artists love and others detest. If you want your paper to remain perfectly smooth when the painting is finished, you are best to pre-stretch the paper (just ask us how). Although paper can be flattened after painting, it is useful to understand that paper does have a “memory” and if subjected to humid conditions, may revert, to some degree to the original cockling even if framed. Although picture frames are closed with tape, this does not form a seal impervious to atmospheric moisture. In our climate in Nelson, we are not really too conscious about atmospheric humidity, but I have seen a picture in Auckland, which was apparently well taped, which held a lot of moisture on the inside of the glass. (This is a good reason why artwork should ideally never touch the inside of the glass in the frame.)
New Stock
I have just finished unpacking the Tasman Collection – a range of ready-made frames in sizes 6”x4”,
7”x5”, 8”x6”, 10”x8” and A4. There is a lovely range of mouldings to suit a wide range of photos.
Exhibition
“Animation Captivation by Jacqui Ewers and Wacky Houses by Chrissy Hunaban at the Independent Theatre, Church St, Nelson 11am till late, Monday to Saturday until 5th October.
“Awash with Colour”- an exhibition by 7 watercolourists at the McKee Room, Suter Art Gallery, until 11 October. Artists are Nanette Wilkins, Jill Brathwaite, Jill Hursthouse, Janet Marshall, Barbara Harte, Anne Willcox and Shirley McBurney.
Linda Richards is exhibiting a range of her works at Taylor’s Shoes, Trafalgar St, Nelson until 26 October. Linda tells me she also has a range of Kitchen Art comprising of inexpensive paintings for the kitchen incorporating recipes and whiteboards with a painting that you can write on.
“Locale” by Nic Foster at Catchment Gallery, 255 Hardy St from 6 – 31 October.
Lisa Antonelli, “Paint and Paper”, at Art @ 203, 203 Trafalgar St, Nelson until 17 October. This exhibition of mixed media and collage works moves between edgy and romantic.
“Let’s Get Plastered for Breast Cancer”
This is an initiative combining art with health promotion in Golden Bay. Organiser Billy Kerrisk has organised an exhibition of breast casts in support of the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation and Pink Ribbon Week. All women are invited to pick up a kit (Cost $10 – proceeds after costs go to the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation), create a cast of their breasts with a little help from a friend, and then deliver the dried cast for exhibition. Interested? Contact Billy Ph 03 5258045 or collect a casting kit from the Takaka Library. The exhibition will open on 23 October in The White Room, Lollokiki, Commercial St, Takaka. Casts for exhibition must be delivered to Billy between 15th and 22nd October. This project is supported by the Golden Bay Arts Council.
Art Classes
Life Drawing Class
Sunday 4 October sees another casual untutored life drawing session for you to practise your drawing skills. The class runs from 2pm to 4.30pm and costs just $20. Places are limited so enrol promptly by phoning the gallery at 03 548 3961 or Larisse Hall on 547 4929 or 027 358 2006.
Larisse Hall tutors and runs a variety of art classes at Art @ 203 for adults and children. See our website www.impressionsnelson.co.nz/directory.htm for details.
This brings me to the close of another newsletter. With Labour Weekend on the horizon, Lewis and I plan to have a couple of nights away, before the Christmas onslaught. I hope you have a great month and I look forward to seeing you in-store, at an exhibition, or just out and about!
Best wishes
Glenys and the Team