OSBA General Meeting

Hello members of OSBA. This is to notify you that our Annual General Meeting is coming up fast! It will be held this coming Monday, November 9th, at the Nepean Visual Arts Centre, located at the Nepean Sportsplex. The address is 1701 Woodroffe Avenue.  The NVAC is located at the back at entrance 3. 

For this meeting only it will be held in the room next to our usual meeting room

Meeting time is from 1:00 to approximately 4:00 pm.

Coffee, tea and treats will be served prior to the official start to the meeting, and there will be time to socialize. As usual we hope some members will bring along some delicious goodies.

MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE DUE. Cash or cheque will be accepted by Treasurer Sue Quinn

We will be having a sale and swap of art supplies, books, DVD's etc. So please bring along any art related items you do not need. A table will be available to for set up and viewing.

After our president's welcome there will be the opportunity to form small groups to discuss ideas and options on how you would like to see OSBA progress. This is an ideal opportunity for every member to voice their vision for OSBA, what you like, what you don't. 

Following this ELECTIONS will be held for the positions of President, Publicity coordinator, Sketching coordinator, and Treasurer. We hope to see enthusiastic members come forward to lend some time to help OSBA be a successful, dynamic group that fulfills it's members needs.

We hope to see as many as possible of our members attend this important meeting!

OSBA Meeting

JUST A REMINDER of our next members meeting this coming Monday, September 14th at the Nepean Visual Arts Centre – located at the Nepean Sportsplex.

The address is 1701 Woodroffe Avenue.  The NVAC is located at the back at entrance 3. (For those who have taken classes with Kerri – the meeting is in the same room.)

Meeting time is from 1:00 to approximately 3:30 pm.

Our guest speaker this time is Susan Ashbrook on "Michael Wilcox Colour Theory"

Susan Ashbrook has spent a lifetime working in the visual arts sector, as a commercial artist, a display artist, a parade float designer, a fine artist and as an art teacher. During this time colour mixing was one of those testing experiences based on trial and error, until a friend gave her a colour mixing video by Michael Wilcox. Suddenly it all started making sense. 

What Susan discovered was that she, for some unknown reason, had been using the correct colours but did not know how to mix them to her advantage. She started to take a more in depth look at Michael's colour theory and was so impressed that she took the teacher's exam and became a certified School of Colour instructor.

As she became more proficient as an instructor she was invited by Michael Wilcox to become more involved in the school and is now the Canadian Rep for the School of Colour.  In that capacity she loves spreading the knowledge and helping others learn how to make colour mixing second nature.

She says, "It's not difficult once you understand the theory, and I can teach you that in a short period of time".  I'm looking forward to showing you!

Please bring in your latest projects or new books.  We will set up an area for displaying these items.

Fall Art Classes - Continued

In this listing of art courses you will find options that are not strictly botanical. You may be interested in trying a new media like print making, coloured pencils, pen and ink or improving your drawing and painting technique. Instructors like Deidre Hierlihy, Anne Armitage, Crystal Beshara or attending workshops that will be at the Ottawa Art School Fair in October. Please visit the website links below for further details and to register.

Deidre Hierlihy

Print Making Workshop

www.deidrehierlihy.com.

Linocut Printing Workshop

Location TBA: (Nepean Creative Arts Centre or Nepean Visual Arts Centre)

Monday, October 5, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Cost: $90, includes materials and equipment (on loan from instructor)

Maximum Registration: 12 students

Immerse yourself in the delight of lino cut printing.  Using a drawing or photograph as a starting point, play with pattern to transform the image into an effective lino cut design.  Develop expressive mark while cutting the block.  Print the relief using rollers in black and in colour, experimenting on a variety of papers. Contact Deidre for further details and to register at www.deidrehierlihy.com.

Ottawa Art School Fair – October 31 and November 1

Workshops, Demos, Lectures, and Shopping

http://www.artschoolfair.com/faq/

Don’t miss the Ottawa Art School Fair, Saturday, October 31, and Sunday, November 1, at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre, 1315 Prince of Wales Drive.  This event will include workshops, demos, lectures and shopping!  Here are just a few of the many events that may interest our members:

·         Everything you Wanted to Know About Paper by Ed Brickler ($30)

·         Watercolour Markers and Sticks demo by Winsor Newton ($30)

·         Daniel Smith Watercolours – An Intimate Conversation with owner John Cogley ($30)

·         Colour Mixing Workshop with Susan Ashbrook ($65)

Anne Armitage

Coloured Pencil Classes

http://www.pictureperfectpets.ca.

Pencil Painting for Beginners:   Learn basic art principles of composition and colour with a medium that is inexpensive, uncomplicated, clean to use and easy to store.  This is a five-week course and each student has a completed pencil-painting ready for framing at the end of week five.  Lesson 1: materials. Lesson 2: pencil application and techniques. Lesson 3: composition theory. Lesson 4: colour theory. Lesson 5: completion of the project.  This class is available through the Ottawa Catholic School Boards continuing education program beginning the last week of September. There are classes available Wednesday afternoons in Kanata and Thursday and Saturday mornings at Saint Nicholas (Carling and Merivale).  To find out about registration and to view Anne’s work go to http://www.pictureperfectpets.ca. 

Crystal Beshara

Watercolour and Drawing Classes

http://crystalbeshara.com/art-classes/

Crystal Beshara offers classes in a variety of media including watercolour, and pen and ink.  They are they very popular and fill up quickly. The following classes still have room for more students:

Watercolour: The Magic of the Mediterranean, September 30 to December 2, Wednesday, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm

Watercolour: Wanderlust Greece II, September 30 to December 2, 2015, Wednesday, 12:45 pm to 3:15 pm

Pencil & Conte: Portraiture, October 1 – December 3, 2015, Thursday, 12:45 pm to 3:15 pm
Classes run for 10 weeks, each class is 2.5 hours in duration
Prices start at $215 CAD and now includes the cost of reference images
Exact class location will be sent to you upon registration, free parking

DON'T FORGET TO LOOK AT OUR PREVIOUS POSTING ON COURSES

Fall Art Classes in Ottawa

It’s back to school time – art school that is. 

Autumn is a wonderful time of year to take an art class so we have prepared a list of our members’ recommended instructors.  If you are new to botanical art, or want to further develop your skills, there is no better place to start than with Kerri Weller’s classes.  Students in Ottawa’s East End will be pleased to know that Kerri is also teaching classes at the Orleans campus of the Ottawa School of Art. 

Kerri Weller

Botanical Art – Drawing and Painting Classes

(www.kerriweller.com)

Watercolour Basics at Nepean Visual Arts Centre (City of Ottawa)

September 30 to December 9, Wednesday 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (No class on October 14)

Course Barcode: 972444, Cost: $250.25

This course introduces materials and techniques to create realistic paintings of our plant world. Autumn provides the inspiration and subject matter for exercises, colour mixing and watercolour practice. Painting from live plants, not photos, is a wonderful way to acquire strong art skills. Step by step instructions and demos allow students who have never painted to try their hand at watercolour. Botanical Art: Drawing recommended.     

Leaves ~ Colour, Pattern & Composition at Nepean Visual Arts Centre (City of Ottawa)

September 30 to December 9, Wednesday 9:30 am to 12:30 pm (No class on October 14) 

Course Barcode: 990381, Cost: $250.25

Join an artistic exploration of leaves as they change through the season! Create small paintings as you master a variety of watercolour techniques and composition projects. Demos and individual instruction ensure strong progress. Intermediate to advanced botanical art students. 

Simply Cyclamens at Ottawa School of Art, Orleans Campus

November 7 to 28, Saturday 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, Cost: $255

Long lasting flowers, gorgeous colours and sculptural forms make cyclamens a winter favourite for artists. Join Kerri as she guides you through practical exercises, composition and individual instruction designed to ensure steady progress. Painting from live flowers allows for skills in observation, colour accuracy and techniques to be explored in watercolour studies and paintings. A cyclamen plant is included in the course fee. Botanical Art: Watercolour Basics recommended. 

Drawing the Fall Harvest at City of Ottawa, Landsdowne Park Horticultural Building

October 25 to November 15, Sunday, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm 

Course Barcode: 999020, Cost: $164

Fall's bounty provides an intriguing array of subjects, perfect for mastering fundamental arts skills. Drawing directly from fruits and vegetables selected from the farmer's market, students develop their techniques and ability to draw with realism. Practical exercises and individual instruction ensure steady progress. Suitable for all levels.

MORE COURSE IDEAS COMING SHORTLY

OSBA Sketching Group - 2015

By Inga Legere

It’s been a very hot summer but three of us finally got together to sketch at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden on a beautiful sunny August morning!  The temperature was perfect, not too hot and not too cool!  The garden had changed so much since our last outing there in early summer. It was interesting to see the seeds maturing on the Jack-in-the-pulpit, the height of the Canada lily, the new fern garden and the colourful patches of phlox.

As usual, there was lots of action at the birdfeeder, and red, grey, black squirrels and chipmunks were busy running through the garden.

It was a wonderful morning and we wish to thank Isabelle Nicol, Backyard Garden Manager at FWG for her help and making us feel so welcome!

How I Frame Artwork for an Exhibition

By Cecilia Martin

A “Gallery Frame” is usually a simple L shaped frame in either wood or metal. Many art exhibition criteria call for artwork to be framed in this kind of frame.  Here I am talking about the wood frame that we chose to use for our 2015 Botanical Art Exhibition at Artistic Landscape Designs.

I lay an old towel on my table and place my frame on that first to avoid any damage to the frame when working on it.  Once a gallery frame has been selected the first thing I do is drill a very small hole approximately 1/3 of the distance down, on both sides of the frame back, and attach D rings as shown. I attach a length of picture wire between D rings, threading a small 2” length of shrink wrap (available at electronics stores such as Active Electronics) onto the wire before twisting the wire through the D ring. The wire should be pulled fairly tight. Once the wire has been twisted around itself slip these shrink wrap lengths over the twisted wire. This prevents walls getting scratched as well as looking neat. Remove backing board.

Cut a piece of acid free Foamcore board for your backing the same size as your mounted artwork and frame.

Remove the lightweight plastic that came with the frame and replace with 3mil acrylic (plexiglass) cut to size. I prefer to use the plexi for shows, as it looks as good as glass and does not break as easily. Many shows (such as the ASBA) will not accept glass. I am told that good quality acrylic provides UV protection, and the price is comparable to glass. I have kept artwork under this acrylic for about 7 years now and find no change in the look of it, or damage to my artwork. However I don’t know how it would look 50 years from now! If you are planning on keeping your artwork in the “Gallery” frame once you have found a permanent home for it, by all means change it to regular glass with UV protection Remove the blue plastic film from either side of the acrylic.

I then like to give the frame and plexi a good cleaning. For this I use a regular glass cleaner. There are special anti static plexi cleaners, but these do sometimes leave a film on the plexi which could damage your artwork. Make sure there are no streaks left. Hold it up to the light to check.

I also use a can of “Dust Off” to blow away any small pieces of dust left behind.

Insert your matted piece of artwork behind the plexi, and check again for any specks of dust on the plexi or artwork.

Now insert your foamcore. The thickness of the plexi and foamcore may be more than the original plastic and backing. If it’s the same just go ahead and use your original backing with its’ own attachments. However if there is too much thickness for that, I use glazing points to secure this foamcore for the backing. The important thing is to get an acid free backing behind your artwork. 

Voila!! You’re done. 

You have saved a lot of money in framing costs, and your artwork is well protected. There is an initial investment in a cutting board, sharp knife, straight edge, and a few other tools if you don’t already have them, but once your artwork is framed this way it is acceptable for most shows. If you want a special piece of artwork in a first class frame to go on your living room wall, then you have the option of getting a professional framer to do it, and spend some of the money you saved on doing your own framing for shows!

Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists

General Meeting

Monday, June 8, 2015

Time: 1:00 to 3:30

Please join us on Monday afternoon for our meeting, guest lecture 

and social get-together

Bring your latest artwork for display to your colleagues.

Presentation

"Print Making" by Deidre Hierlihy 

Deidre will discuss the basics of printmaking with particular emphasis on making prints at home without the large equipment.  She will also be showing samples of her artwork that have a botanical theme.

deidrehierlihy.com

BIO - Deidre Hierlihy graduated from Queen’s University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Fine Art. Upon graduation, she won the Graff Grant, which enabled her to continue her research and work in printmaking for 12 months at Graff, Centre de Conception Graphique in Montréal.  In 1984 – 85, she attended Queen’s again in the Artist in the Community program and obtained her Bachelor of Education.  She has been teaching art to children, youth and adults in schools and community settings ever since.  Deidre lived and worked in Japan for 18 months (1987 – 88). During this time she taught ESL and studied Japanese wood-cut printing. She has had solo shows in Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston and Bancroft, and has also exhibited in Ottawa, Montréal and Japan.

Memberships

New members welcome! Sign up at our meeting. $25 member fee annually. 

Location

Nepean Visual Arts Centre – Located at the Nepean Sportsplex

1701 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario  

The NVAC is located at the back at entrance 3. 

(For those who have taken classes with Kerri – the meeting is in the same room.)

OSBA Exhibition at Artistic Landscape Designs

For information on hours for Artistic Landscape Designs 

 please see the link below.

http://www.artisticlandscape.on.ca/contact.aspx

Note that the hours for the boutique are different from the garden centre

OSBA General Meeting

Ottawa Society of Botanical Artists
General Meeting

Monday, April 13, 2015
Time: 1:00 to 3:30

Please join us on Monday afternoon for our meeting, guest lecture 

and social get-together

Bring your latest artwork for display to your colleagues.

Presentation

"Working with Coloured Pencils" by Anne Armitage B.F.A.

Professional teacher and artist

Supporter of Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind

http://www.pictureperfectpets.ca/

http://colouredpencilcanada.ca/

Memberships

New members welcome! Sign up at our meeting. $25 member fee annually. 

Location

Nepean Visual Arts Centre – Located at the Nepean Sportsplex

1701 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario  

The NVAC is located at the back at entrance 3. 

(For those who have taken classes with Kerri – the meeting is in the same room.)

Trying to Draw an Active Tulip

By Claudia Burns

I forced 5 of the lovely tulips as part of the kind gift of spring flowering bulbs given to me last fall by my art class after the death of my brother.  I had never done this before so wanted to try it out. 

I planted the bulbs in a pot and kept them in the garage until about a month ago when I brought them in as they were starting to sprout.  They have grown well and bloomed beautifully and I will replant the bulbs in the garden this spring.

Photo 1

My plan was to draw and paint one of the tulips but as I was doing other art projects for our recent classes, the tulips did not get drawn.  They opened more and more widely each day in a sunny but cool window and then closed at night.  Yesterday I decided to get at it and because the blooms were already fully open with petals increasingly opening towards horizontal rather than vertical.  I decided I would draw the inner parts, the pistil, stamens, and the attachments of the petals inside.  For reference, I took several photos of the flower in direct sunshine without a flash.  As you can see in Photo 1, the petals are quite open and the internal structures easily visible.

Photo 2

Photo 2 was done with a flash and macro lens to focus on the stamens and pistils (what I planned on drawing). 

Photo 3

I moved the pot to my art room upstairs where the light was much less intense, bright but not sunny.  Low and behold, the flowers, including my chosen bloom, started gradually closing (photo 3).  This was about 20 minutes after photos 1 and 2.  

Over the next hour, the bloom kept closing to its final resting position (Photos 4 then 5).  

In one of the other blooms, which was also, closing I directly observed the actual movement of the petals.  

Photo 4

I wound up sketching the flower in positions 4 and 5 (from life, not photos).  My original plans were stymied by the tulip itself, which had its own intentions.  Certainly makes life difficult for the aspiring artist. 

Photo 5

I was quite amazed at how rapidly this closing occurred.  The fact that the light levels in my art room were not at all dark but obviously a great deal darker than the sunny window that the plants were in originally.