Sketching Callaway Workshop- April 24 & 25, 2009

I will be leading another Sketching Callaway Workshop in beautiful Callaway Gardens this spring. This is the perfect time to come and enjoy drawing and painting in the Gardens. In this workshop, I will demonstrate techniques for drawing plants and flowers with water soluble pencils as well as graphite, charcoal, and ink. We will use our sketchbooks to record a nature journal as we explore the area with our horticulturist. No drawing experience is necessary. You can get all the supplies you need from me or you can bring your own. Class size is limited, so if you are interested, please register with education@callawaygardens.org. A supply list will be furnished upon registration. Included with your registration, will be entrance fees to the Gardens and a discount at the Gardens' inns. There are camping areas nearby too.

I am looking forward to being back at Callaway Gardens and sharing this experience with you!

Durinda

Durinda@Durinda.com

Callaway Workshop opportunities

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Taking Your Photography to the Next Level: Creative Photography Beyond the Auto Mode – Raptor ShootSaturday, September 15, 2007
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This course is for the beginner or experienced digital photographer interested in moving into the world of creative photography. Learn the fundamentals of photography and explore many of your camera’s features. Practice these skills in a Birds of Prey photo shoot.
Fee: $60.00*; includes lunch and syllabus.

Mastering Exposure: Intermediate Topics in Digital Photography – Raptor Shoot
Saturday, October 6
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This workshop is designed for the experienced digital photographer interested in using the camera’s advanced features to get perfect exposures in every shooting situation.
Fee: $60.00; includes lunch and syllabus.
Bring your digital camera, owner’s manual, plenty of charged batteries, and storage media. Dress casually in layers for the weather and wear comfortable shoes.

Mastering Flash Photography: A Limited Enrollment Workshop in Advanced DSLR Photography
Saturday: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. November 10 – 11, 2007
This two-day workshop is designed for the experienced DSLR photographer interested in mastering flash photography. We’ll cover the equipment, concepts, and theory of flash photography and present a number of flash techniques. Finally, there will be a demonstration of digital post-processing techniques using PhotoShop CS2 to enhance and prepare portraits for printing.
Fee: $110.00 includes syllabus & Sat. lunch.
No refunds unless your slot can be filled.

Bring your DSLR camera, external flash, camera & flash owner’s manuals, tripod (optional), laptop computer (optional) and plenty of charged batteries.

Chinese Brush Painting Series
Chinese brush painting emphasizes the beauty of simplicity, flowing brush strokes and graceful designs and reflects the time-honored principles of Chinese philosophy and culture. Learn to work with bamboo brushes, using water color on rice paper. No previous art training required.
Instructor: Tehwan Tso has been teaching Chinese brush painting for over 20 years.

Classes are open to all ages. Students under 9 should sign up with a parent. The 2nd family member receives a 20% discount on class fee. All tools and supplies are available for purchase. The beginner’s set ($30) includes 2 large bamboo brushes, 1 small bamboo brush, 1 brush rest, 1 color mixing plate, 4 tubes of Chinese water color, 20 sheets of 11”x14” rice paper, and 1 portfolio. Returning students may bring their own supplies and pay $5 consumable fee.

Hydrangea Blossom
August 25, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Composed of many little flowerets, orchestrating the abundance, hydrangea is very attainable by any beginners. Let it be the sneak preview of the plum blossom. Indulge yourself with this elegant simplicity.
Fee: $60 plus materials

Romancing the Roses
Saturday, September 22, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Decorate our life with moments of romance. Remind ourselves to stop and smell the roses. Let our heart be awakened by their fragrance. Entrust our feelings to the roses as we paint.
Fee: $60 plus materials
Brilliant Sunflowers Brush Painting
Saturday, October 20, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Let’s paint the brilliant sunflowers to our heart’s content. Grow them on paper from the buds to the full bloom under the command of our brushes. Watch them sway in the wind.
Fee: $60 plus materials

Plum, Peach and Cherry
Saturday, November 10, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Flowers on the branches, with or without budding leaves, cherry stems hold them out, the same flowers in different trees. Capture the earliest blossoms in the spring, heralding many blooms.
Fee: $60 plus materials

Art and Garden Workshop Series

Mosaic Garden Art
Saturday – Sunday, September 15- 16, 2007
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. both days
Keep color in your garden all year long! Learn a quick and easy technique to create a unique mosaic turtle or frog sculpture. Participants take home a garden ornament and the skills and knowledge to make more mosaics. No experience necessary.
Instructor: Joel Landsberg,“The Glass Bichon” Folk Art and Garden Mosaics
Fee: $45.00

Pine Needle Baskets
Saturday – Sunday, October 6- 7, 2007
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. both days
Learn how to use pine needles from longleaf pines to make baskets and various other items using coil basketry techniques. This beginner’s class will cover the basic skills needed to make a pine needle basket. When your project is complete, you will have a basket reflecting your own taste and design. Minimum: 4; Maximum: 12
Instructor: Talitha Norris, Opelika, AL
Fee: $65 all supplies included


Fall Watercolor Landscapes
Saturday, October 13, 2007
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Join artist Ralph Taylor as he shares the secrets of fast flowing landscape painting. You will complete at least three paintings in the “wet on wet” method and learn methods of using more pigment and color in your paintings. Open to all skill levels. Supply list will be sent with registration confirmation.
Instructor: Ralph Taylor, Phenix City, AL
Fee: $65

Gourd Bird Houses
Saturday, October 20, 2007
10:00 a.m. -12:00 noon OR 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Register for one session only.
Invite a flying, pest-eradicating fleet to your garden with the addition of a gourd bird house. Purple martins happily nest in dried gourds and feed on insects. You will create and decorate a gourd-eous bird house and learn more about gourd art.
Instructor: Billie Strickland, Claxton, GA
Fee: $40 all materials included

Create your own Dream Catcher
Saturday, October 27, 2007
9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams. The dream catcher catches dreams as they flow by. Good dreams pass through, sliding gently down the soft feathers. Bad dreams get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of a new day. Construct your own dream catcher to take home.
Instructor: Tauna Pierce, Environmental Education Callaway Gardens’ Birds of Prey
Fee: $35 all materials included

Rubber Stamping 101
Saturday, November 17, 2007
9:30 a.m.-12:00 noon.
Stamping is a popular, relaxing hobby and is great for making scrapbook pages more original. Learn basic stamping techniques using My Acrylix™ stamps. You’ll take home lots of products to work with, as well as some great artwork. Completed projects include all-occasion and Christmas cards. All supplies provided and you will take home a Paper Sampler, inkpad, acrylic stamp with block and a marker.
Instructor: Barbara Hudson, Close To My Heart® Consultant, LaGrange, GA
Fee: $45.00

Cool Season Flower Box
Saturday, November 17, 2007
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Winter truly is the “cool season” for gardening - less weeding, watering, and insect problems; more time to take in the beauty! Learn about layering bulbs and annuals to have a symphony of color to carry you through the grey days of winter. You will create a flower box to take home!
Instructor: Katie Cook, Interpretive Horticulturist, Education Department
Fee: $35 all materials included

Holiday Wreath-making Workshop
Saturday, December 1, 2007
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon Immerse yourself in the holiday spirit by rolling up your sleeves and creating your own wreath from fresh greenery. Our experienced staff will help you with the design and mechanics. Join us to make as many wreaths as your jolly fingers can handle! Make one for your home or make two, one to keep and as a gift. Bring pruners!
Instructors: Patricia Collins and Katie Cook, Callaway Gardens’ Education Department
Fee: $40.00 per wreath

Christmas Centerpiece Workshop
Saturday, December 8, 2007
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Create an evergreen holiday arrangement for a tabletop or mantle. We’ll adorn a form with sprigs of fresh pine, juniper and cedar that will last through the holiday season. Berries, seeds and fruits will complete the design to bring holiday cheer to any home. Bring pruners!
Instructors: Patricia Collins and Katie Cook, Callaway Gardens’ Education Department
Fee: $40.00






Take a Hike!
Hiking and walking trails have a natural, uneven surface and are not wheelchair accessible. Wear hiking boots or sturdy walking shoes and bring drinking water to carry. In case of inclement weather, hikes and walks may be canceled.

Autumn Twilight Walk in the Gardens
Saturday, September 29
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Bring a flashlight!
Age limit: 8 years and older
Meet: Overlook Pavilion
Length: 2 miles; easy
Fee: Free with Gardens Admission
Registration is not required.

Columbus Day Fall Color Hike
Monday, October 8
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Age limit: 10 years and older
Length: 2.5 miles; moderately strenuous
Fee: $5 for members; $6 for nonmembers
Registration required; directions sent with confirmation letter.

Full Moon Night Walk in the Gardens
Saturday, October 27
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Bring a flashlight!
Age limit: 8 years and older
Meet: Overlook Pavilion
Length: 2 miles; easy
Fee: Free with Gardens Admission
Registration is not required.

Veterans’ Day Springhead Hike
Saturday, November 10
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Pack a light lunch for the trail.
Age limit: 10 years and older
Length: 5.5 miles; moderately strenuous
Fee: $7 for members; $8 for nonmembers
Registration required; directions sent with confirmation letter.

Far from the Malls Hike
Saturday, December 1
10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Pack a light lunch for the trail.
Age limit: 10 years and older
Length: 5.5 miles, moderately strenuous
Fee: $7 for members; $8 for nonmembers
Registration required; directions sent with confirmation letter.

22nd Southern Gardening Symposium
Friday, January 18 – Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Southern Gardening Symposium brings professional speakers, a complete one-stop gardening marketplace, exciting optional workshops, and the delight of rubbing elbows with knowledgeable garden enthusiasts to Callaway Gardens!
No matter your expertise – novice or professional – you’ll have fun and learn loads from the likes of bulb guru Brent Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs; nurserywoman and garden designer Jane Bath; rare plant aficionado Scott McMahan; container gardening guru Lisa Bartlett; landscape designer Garry Menendez; free-lance garden writer Jo Kellum; Arkansas Extension Horticulture Specialist and radio personality Janet Carson; and rock garden enthusiast and author Bobby Ward. Space is limited so register early to ensure your spot. Call 1-800-225-5292 (ext. 5153) for more information.
Fee: $257 per person (based on double occupancy for two nights). For reservations call 1-800-CALLAWAY (225-5292).

For more detailed information about our Education Workshops and Hikes, visit callawaygardens.org and click on Education


Pine Mountain, Georgia
1-800-CALLAWAY (225-5292)
www.callawaygardens.org

Confidence with painting

One thing I think we all have struggled with from time to time is having brush confidence. In Craig Nelson’s book 60 minutes to better painting he talks about developing the feel of the brush in your hand as well as developing the touch to canvas or paper. What we have to do is get ourselves on first name basis with our brushes and the support we are working from. For those that use pastel, it would be how the sticks are held in the hand and the different papers that can be used.

Quoting from Nelson: “Confidence in anything comes from repetition, and repetition leads to comfort and the mastery necessary to excel. Painting more quickly will lead to truly using the brush as a painting tool, not just an instrument for filling in between the lines.”

Here is what I find happens to me. I have confidence more in the studio than I do when I am working outside. I’m not sure why this is but a couple of things come to mind that I continue to work out.

1. Getting overwhelmed by the shear volume of things to paint outside. An example would be me in the middle of the Overlook Garden when all the azaleas are in bloom. Solution: Use my camera viewfinder to narrow my focus.
2. Moving shadows. Solution: Do a quick thumbnail of the shadow patterns and take a photograph to back up the thumbnail. Tape the thumbnail sketch to my easel and use it like a road map while I continue to paint the scene.
3. Getting too much paint on my canvas too quickly. Solution: Use some acrylic paint in the beginning to get the canvas covered and make the composition solid. Then if I want to finish up the painting with my oil paints I can do that and can rest assured that I’m painting over dry paint.
4. Rushing to get finished. When I paint outside I realize that I only have 2 to 2.5 hours to get the painting finished with the same lighting unless I want to come back to the same spot under the same conditions and paint some more. I think I need to reconsider why I am painting outside and remember that I don’t have to paint a finished work of art ready to sell. I can work outside to accomplish studies that I can then take back to the studio where I am more comfortable and have time to make other decisions, create larger works and certainly have a more polished work. There is nothing wrong with doing studies and using them this way. In the end, the people I sell my work to really don’t care if they can be called plein air works or not. They just want the scene captured so they can enjoy it over and over just like I do.

What are some of your confidence blockers? What confidence builders have you found? One confidence builder for sure is just painting and painting and painting like Nelson said. I still haven’t done the exercise we talked about using the minute timer. Maybe it’s because it reminded me of how rushed I always feel when painting outside. Maybe that's one of the reasons painting outside is such a great teacher when it comes to learning to paint.

Today’s photograph is an old one from 2004 taken at the Discovery Center after painting all day. See anyone you recognize?

Left to right: Chris Hagebak, Barbara Robinson, Phyllis Franklin, Jo Adang, Bea Dallas, Cyn Kuffle, Durinda Cheek, Sandra Babb and kneeling, Bambi Setzer.

Better paintings

How do you start a painting? I guess there are as many methods as there are people, but one sure thing is that all of us are faced with a blank canvas to start with. In reading a book called 60 Minutes to better painting by Craig Nelson he asks that we make quick studies to help boost our skills. Here are a few quick paraphrased thoughts from Nelson.

1. Painting quick studies will help you break inhibitions you face when faced with a blank canvas. 2. Get rid of that by learning not to be afraid of making mistakes. It's in making the mistakes that we learn the most.

3. Learn the differences between line and mass. From our earliest memories we have all drawn with pencil, crayon or pen. Generally, when we draw anything, we start with lines. This, however, s not how we see. We see mass and forum; therefore, mass and form is how we must paint. Lines are a shorthand for painting.

4. Your brushwork is often like handwriting - very distinctive. The way in which a painter uses his brush is much the beauty of a painting. 5. Learn how to see.

A painter must learn how to see in stages. They must not see the detail first, but see the larger more basic images before studying the smaller and often more interesting areas. It is important to train your eye to see in the proper order so your subject can be approached as if it were a painting.

6. Don't procrastinate... what is the sports slogan? Just Do It. If you concentrate on just creating a study rather than thinking you have to complete a painting or else, you will free your creative mind and then you can go on to a more refine painting if you like.



Photo: Spring at the Gardens Restaurant, Callaway Gardens. You are welcome to use this photo as a painting reference, Phyllis Franklin.

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Jan Heberger

My heart has been heavy today thinking about an email I received telling me of the death of another member of Callaway Painters Jan Heberger.

Jan passed away Monday for what was thought to be an aneurysm. Carolyn Molder and Jan Heberger have been coming to paint the azaleas at Callaway for the last several years and I've really enjoyed seeing and painting with them. Both are from North Carolina and we met thru another yahoo discussion group about pastels. I was shocked that Jan died. She was not ill. It's never easy to give up someone you love and Jan was certainly loved.

I've shared this photography before, but thought you might like to see it again. Here is a picture of us this past spring. Jan has on red.

From left to right, Phyllis Franklin, Durinda Cheek, Sandra Babb, Jan Heberger, Carolyn Molder.



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Triadic color scheme

Triadic color schemes are based on three colors spaces more or less evenly around the color wheel. The colors you choose could be high-croma colors like cadmium yellow, cadmium red medium and cobalt blue or it might be colors that are more muted like burnt sienna, yellow ochre and ultramarine blue. You might think that for a painting to fall in this category the colors you would select would have to be primary colors, but that's not so, they could be three secondary colors.

In using a color scheme like this, be careful not to use equal amounts of the colors because you will lose your dominant color factor.

In looking for a painting that would fit this category I ran across a delightful painting by Callaway Painter member BJ Wright. While I haven't seen this painting in person, it looks like she has used a triactic secondary color scheme to set this painting up by using orange and green and violet as her color notes. She uses the dark violets under the trees to confirm depth and the cool of the forest, and the dominate green we all have in the south during summer, then she uses red-orange in the foreground to draw attention to the Queen's Anne's lace that was her inspiration for this painting.


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10" x 8" oil on canvas covered hardboard - painted en plein air, alla prima "Queen Anne's Lacy Meadow" B.J. Wright See more of B.J.'s work by visiting
http://beejw.blogspot.com/
Paying close attention to the colors we use will help us all learn more and more about what makes some of our paintings successful and some not. I painted at the Callaway butterfly center Saturday morning for about 2.5 hours until the air started to heat up and never could get the roof angle right, so I’ll try again, or maybe I'll take the advice that has been given to me many times and just simplfy what I'm painting and not try to paint EVERYTHING. :) With a few minor value changes back in the studio, I might be able to save the right side of this painting. Thank goodness for saws. :) Or, I might take this back to the butterfly center and work on this a bit more. Whatever I decide to do, the value of painting outside with lessons learn can not be replaced.

Painting the same scene

Artist Andre Nobrega 11x14 oil - "Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia"

For the last several years Andre Nobrega has made a special effort to come to Callaway Gardens to paint the azaleas and other points of interest at Callaway. Andre lived in Atlanta and Callaway was a quick day trip from his home but he enjoys camping out, so he and his wife Jessica camped out close to Callaway, which is another fun outdoor thing to do. Andre and Jessica now live in California and he is painting California but does visit Georgia often and, of course, still wants to come to Callaway Gardens. You can keep up with Andre by visiting his web site at www.andrenobrega.com

When a group of artists get together to paint many times they end up painting the same view. It’s always fun to see the view expressed from another artist’s perspective. It’s even more fun when you haven’t seen it in person but run across it while surfing the net, or checking up on what your artist friends have been painting lately. This happened to me recently and I immediately said, “I’ve painted that same scene!” Sure, you’ve seen paintings of the chapel, and paintings of the walk bridge going up from the Garden’s restaurant to Overlook Garden, but take a look at this! Can you tell where we were? I had no idea that Andre had painted this, and I bet he has no idea I also painted the same path just a little beyond where he stood. I wonder if it was the same year? Did you also paint the same scene? Send it to me phyllisfranklin@hotmail and I’ll put it up on the blog for all to see.


Artist Phyllis Franklin 8x10 oil - "Sliding down Callaway"

The doors of opportunity are marked “Push” and “Pull.” ~ Ethel Watts Mumford


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Analogous Color Scheme

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Last Spring some of you may have met Callaway Painter member Jim Carpenter who came up from Florida to paint the azaleas and spend some time with his brother who lives in Columbus. Just like so many of us, Jim said he was overwhelmed by the mass and color of all the azaleas at Overlook Garden and the Brother's Azalea Bowl. Even so, Jim painted for days and managed to take some photographs to use later as reference.

Jim will be showing his work at the Melrose Bay Gallery in Florida during the month of September. Take a look at the gallery http://www.mbagallery.smugmug.com/. While you are surfing around, take a look at Jim's elegant web site, http://www.carppaints.com

Looking at Jim's painting of the azaleas at Overlook Gardens, Callaway, I am immediately taken back to spring and the wonderful weather we had then. Jim's painting takes advantage of another of the Five Great Color Schemes that most successful paintings are based on, which is an Analogous color scheme.

Analogous means "nearly the same, or similar." In theory, this color-scheme utilizes colors beginning with a primary and moving about three or four intervals in either direction on the wheel. In practice, it often begins anywhere and might stretch as many as five or six intervals.

Jim's painting is a perfect example of using an Analogous color scheme. Painting the masses of azaleas at Overlook is interesting and fun to tackle the problem of getting a full-value painting knowing your painting is going to be mostly analogous colors. Jim shows us how using a variety of reds, yellows, and greens which are all adjacent to each other on the wheel. Notice what colors Jim has used in his background to show depth and air space. It's not blue sky! In this piece, Jim keeps his analogous color scheme going right up to the background air space between the trees.

One thing I am working on is to be careful not to paint the azaleas as little muffin puffs. Jim again shows us how to capture the true nature of the azalea branches and does a good job of keeping his dark passages and light passages connected to each other so no one passage is left like a little island with no friends around.

Good job Jim and thanks for send it in! Wishing you the best of gallery sales in September, Phyllis

Complementary Colors

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Callaway Painter Betty McLendon has been busy in her studio working from plein air studies and photographs taken this past Spring at Callaway Gardens. Yesterday she mailed me a butterfly and peony painting that's on her easel now. This is an acrylic painting on 16x20 panel. While looking at it, it occurred to me that this is a great example of using complementary colors, which is one of the five great color schemes that most successful paintings are based on.


Complementary colors are directly opposite each other on the wheel. Color contrast is at a maximum. This painting plays up the red-orange tones of the peony against the blue greens of the trees and lake.

In a complementary scheme, as in any color scheme, there has to be dominant and subordinate colors, just the same as with masses and values. In Betty's painting she has placed the peony and butterfly in the foreground so the predominance of green-blue in the background will make the red-orange peony stand out. If she had chosen a different color for the peony she would have lost some of the pop this painting has. This painting is also a good example of using warm and cool colors to play against each other.

To make the trees go back even more all Betty has to do is make some value changes to go lighter and use softer edges with the background greens and blues creating the allusion of air space or distance. Using this same palette Betty can make a variety of greens which is another thing that is fun to experiment with and something I’ve been working on with my paintings this year.

Good job Betty.

Callaway paintings

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I'll be painting at Callaway again this Friday if anyone wants to join me. 706-975-6419

8x10, oil on panel
Sliding down Callaway

Callaway 2007 Paint Out Awards

Many of you have been waiting to hear who the winners of the awards for our paint out are and I'm proud to announce I have the answer today!


This year our sponsors were Garrett Moulding out of Carrollton, Georgia and Callaway Gardens. Thank you Garrett Moulding and Callaway for supporting us in such a generous way.

We have three awards to give and three paintings to show. If you were able to attend any of the days for the Spring Festival, you will recognize these locations.


First Place Award - Rebecca Kissel , Columbus, Georgia

Second Place Award - Sandra Babb, Ringgold, Georgia

Third Place Award - Phyllis Franklin, Thomaston, Georgia ...that's me!


I have the awards at my home and will get these to you the next time we are together. Also, Garrett Moulding sent a special frame for your art work. Hope you enjoy these gifts from them and consider them the next time you need frames. I know I will. http://www.garrettmoulding.com/


Congratulations everyone. I know everyone had a great time and are looking forward to the next time we are able to get together as a group.

If any of you would like to plan an painting adventure, just post a message and tell us the when and where along with your contact information.



Phyllis Franklin, Third Place, 2007 Callaway Paint Out Award

Sandra Babb, Second Place, 2007 Callaway Paint Out Award


Rebbeca Kissel, First place, 2007 Callaway Paint Out Award


Hope you have a great plein air day.