Fall 2009 Brochure

Somerset Art Association's

Fall 2009 Brochure

is now available

 www.somersetart.org

to download a copy

or 

Call SAA at (908) 234-2345 for hard copy

 

Instructor Gary Godbee

 

Fall bus tours by SAA

Interested in checking out some of the great museums in the area, but no one ever wants to visit them with you? Want to expand your art repertoire and have fun with other cool people?

SAA is pleased to announce the 2009 Fall Bus Tours!

What: Bus tours that leave from SAA and visit museums in NYC and NJ

When: Four tours are included - Sept. 23, Oct. 21, Nov. 11, and Dec. 2. All buses will leave SAA at 9am and depart museums at 3pm

Who: Anyone! 

How much: $170 members and $210 non-members

Register today! Registration begin August 11 at 10am for members and August 12 at 10am for non-members.

Call SAA - 908.234.2345 or visit the website: www.somersetart.org for more information. 

New class at SAA!

Have children that are going crazy with summer boredom? Looking for something fun, exciting, AND educational for them to do? Look no further!

Art Studio 101 is a drawing and painting class for children ages 8-12. 

The week-long class will emphasize drawing techniques.  Students will learn perspective, shading, line and composition, while keeping a sketchbook for practice.  A new media will be explored each day such as pencil, charcoal, ink, watercolor and acrylic paint.

August 3-7

12 - 2pm

Cost: $160 members/$185 guests

ACT NOW!!! Register by July 24th and receive 10% off of your fee when you mention this blog.

Call SAA - 908.234.2345 to register

Francis Bacon Retrospective at the Met

This past weekend I got the chance to see the retrospective of Francis Bacon at the Met in NYC. 

There were many museum visitors who had the same idea and the space was busy. It's always interesting to me to just walk around an art museum and listen to others as they take in the artworks around them. Kind of an audio voyeur. The comments usually range from the sophisticated - those who seem to have some sort of artistic background, to the average layperson whose comments usually fall in the realm of "This is art? I could do this!", to the absorbers - those who appreciate art, but don't understand it and choose to read the bios and synopses on the walls and process internally.

The visitors to the Bacon exhibit ran this entire gamut.

I had a slim understanding of Bacon, his life and his work, but was eager to learn more through the exhibition. 

His paintings hung is several mid-sized rooms. His content, if you haven't been exposed to his works, is quite graphic, so I'm sure the placements were intentional as seeing these large paintings in smaller rooms added to their somewhat overwhelming intensity.

The descriptions of Bacon's life and work were informative and his history was fleshed out through a room devoted to writings, a full wall photo of his studio, and photos of those near and dear to him. 

I left the exhibit with a greater understanding of Bacon's art and appreciation for the humanity of the artist (the majority of his paintings, arguably all of them, were devoted to birth, sex, and death as he regarded those as the great triumvirate of society).

I highly recommend the show and encourage those who have not yet seen it to take a day out of your weekend to view it.

Creativity Explored

Creativity Explored is a non-profit based in San Francisco devoted to helping individuals with developmental disabilities create, exhibit and sell their art.

Watercolor and ink on matte

Created by Peter Cordova

"Creativity Explored enables adults with developmental disabilities to express themselves artistically in a way that is personally rewarding and appreciated by others. We work to enrich the community by increasing awareness of the value and diversity of artistic expression."

To donate, purchase art, or just learn more about Creativity Explored visit their website: www.creativityexplored.org

New at SAA!

For all those who like to plan ahead, here's a look at a couple great workshops that will be featured this fall at the Somerset Art Association!

KATIE LEE 

4-day Botanical Watercolor Workshop

SEPTEMBER 8, 9, 10, 11 • 10 t o 3 

Fee: $475/425 members 

Please read the cancellation policy before you register.

(There is a non- refundable fee of $50 included in registration) 

 

The passion for flowers is in all of us who nurture plants in our gardens or kitchen window sill, or have a passion for nature. This workshop will introduce students to the fundamentals needed to render this beauty accurately in graphite pencil and watercolor or gouache. Through a series of simple exercises students will learn how to look closely, understand floral structure, and most importantly learn a variety of techniques created to remove the mystery of how to depict botanical subjects realistically. Additionally ever yone will be encouraged to keep a ‘seasonal nature journal’. All levels. 

Katie Lee is a renowned botanical and wildlife ar tist and instructor. A graduate of the New York Botanical Garden Botanical Illustration program, Katie has been an instructor at that institution for the past 16 years. Ms. Lee teaches drawing, watercolor, gouache and illustration courses at various programs worldwide. 

Her uniquely realistic botanical and zoological paintings have been successfully exhibited in one-person shows in the United States and abroad. Her work can be found in many private collections. Her paintings have been accepted into the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Ar t Museum’s Birds in Ar t, 2002 and 2003. Ms. Lee has illustrated a number of books published by Sound Prints, Norwalk, CT, as part of their Smithsonian Wild Heritage Collection.

CAROL WAX 

1-day Glazing With Pencils Workshop 

How to Create Mixed Media Drawings using pencils and water-based paints 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 • 10 t o 3 

Fee: $125/99 members 

Please read the cancellation policy before you register.

(There is a non- refundable fee of $10 included in registration) 

 Using textured, toned or color papers, par ticipants will learn how to create 

black & white underpaintings that will then be glazed over with color and 

graphite pencils. This method can be used to create black and white drawings 

with enhanced chiaroscuro lighting effects, deeper and more lustrous color 

drawings or as a technique for making quick sketches. 

Carol Wax is an internatiomally recognized ar tist whose paintings 

and mezzotint prints have been widely exhibited. Her work is included in the 

collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The National Museum of 

American Art. In addition to teaching workshops and lecturing throughout the country she has 

taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and New York University.