Biking and Painting in Portugal

OK, so the main motivation for this trip was a one week bike tour of the medieval villages of Portugal. We had two wonderful guides, Jose and Cristina. This Portuguese couple made our experience in Portugal so special. They love their country and it shows! Here are the intrepid bikers:

From left to right: Cindi, Cat, Helen, Bill, Karen, Jacqueline (all from Central Oregon)

We rode during the day, and stayed in wonderful inns, restored convents, or B&Bs at night. Jacqueline Newbold and I worked on our journals nearly every day, even on the bike trip. I love travelling with Jacqueline. She doesn't ever feel self-conscious about sitting down in public and painting, and she is never too tired before turning in to work on her journal.

We enjoyed painting a stylized map of our trip in our journals:

I tried to portray our trip in images:  Beginning in the upper right in Marvao, 

we biked to Castelo de Vide, Elvas, Redondo, Arraiolo and finally to Evora.

Our guides with Portugal Bike took us on an interesting tour of an archeological site where we got to see beautiful pottery and evidence of an ancient civilization.

There is a journal page for that:

This 8 x 8 painting is in the Tumalo Art Company's holiday show starting December 2.

In my next post, I'll elaborate on this show. But for now, I'd like to publicly thank Portugal Bike and hope others will consider signing up for their incredible tours.

Thanks for reading,

Helen Brown

...and the Piles continue!

Helen Brown again. If you missed my last post, go back and read about this "Pile Series" in my little sketchbook from the prior post. Today I am going to talk about the technique used in these paintings.  I'll use a pile of candy as my demo:

This is a spread from my folding sketchbook depicting a pile of sweets.

Instead of drawing out this whole painting first, I start by drawing just three shapes with no overlapping lines:

Three shapes drawn in pencil on the white paper

I paint a colorful wash over the entire painting. (If I wanted to save any whites, say for dew droplets, I might use masking fluid. Here I just painted around the sparkles I wanted to save.)

In the next wash, I use a darker value of the same colors and paint around the three shapes.

While adding detail to the three shapes, I pencil in more candy shapes. I am careful not to draw over the existing shapes so that it looks like the new candies are below the first three.

Then I paint around the new shapes. I am only adding washes to the negative shapes, that is, around the candy shapes.

As I paint "deeper and deeper" into the painting, I am using darker, more neutral-colored paint to push the newer pieces back. I pencil in more and more candy shapes underneath those I have already painted. I can continue in this way until there are only a few very small, dark shapes left. Of course, I have to add detail to each candy piece. I love pattern, so that is a fun step for me.

OK now I need your help!

I have seven double pages in this sketchbook. I need ideas to finish it.  Here are the next two pages that I've filled in this manner.

Shells from the beach

Flip flops

I have ONE page left and can't decide what kind of pile it should be. Please email me or comment below to give me your suggestion!   hbrownart@aol.com 

Here is my accordian-fold sketchbook almost completed. 

(Note: If you are a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon, you can catch a short workshop session with my sister, Mary Burgess, and make one of these wonderful sketchbooks yourself. She taught me to make them. It is so fun! That'll be in Hermiston in October. 

Thanks for reading to the end of this blog! And happy painting!

Helen Brown

Sunriver, OR

www.hbrownart.com

Here's a book you might like!

Interesting Art read!

The book "The Art Forger" a novel by B.A. Shapiro was recommended to me by a friend. I just started it and am enjoying it very much. It is about a young artist in Boston who makes her meager living by reproducing the masters in oil and sells them as copies (so it is legal). Her hunger for a solo show in a reputable gallery tempts her to paint reproductions as forgeries (so it is NOT legal). I won't ruin it for you...and I haven't finished, so I really can't ruin it too much...but I am finding it very interesting as she struggles with things that all artists struggle with.  She gets rejected from shows, she worries how her art is perceived, she laps up praise and agonizes over which pieces to show to the gallery owner. I will blog again after I have finished it, but I'm guessing my critique will be positive!

Helen Brown
High Desert Art League

Twelve Local Artists...

Work by Vivian Olsen
at Alleda Real Estate

Who, Where and When.The twelve members of Central Oregon’s High Desert Art League (HDAL) are an ambitious group with a schedule to back it up. In May alone the group is opening three new exhibits in addition to the galleries where they have individual ongoing shows.

On May 1st Vivian Olsen, known for her wildlife art in oil, watercolor, and pastels, opens a show at Alleda Real Estate on NW Minnesota Ave. in Bend.  Alleda is a great stop during the First Friday Art Walk on May 2nd and a perfect chance to explore Vivian’s unique use of color, technique and abstract backgrounds in her realistic animal portraits. The show runs through the end of May.

Work by Cameron Kaseberg at Broken Top

Work by Janice Rhodes at Broken Top

Cameron Kaseberg and Janice Rhodes present a two-person exhibit at Bend’s Broken Top Club, which runs May 14th through July 15th.  Janice Rhodes is a pastel artist with a fondness for Encaustics. Each of her works is an adventure in design and intuition. Cameron Kaseberg is known for his work in solvent transfer images and was recently featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s television series, Oregon Art Beat. Broken Top Club hosts their Third Thursday Art Walk, Jazz Night, and Wine Tasting May 15th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. If you get to Broken Top before May 14, you can still catch the exhibit of Richard Frederick, Vivian Olsen and Shelly Wierzba.

Work by Helen Brown at The North Rim

The North Rim residential clubhouse is host to Helen Brown’s watercolors through June. Visitors to the clubhouse on weekdays from 1-5pm will find six of Helen’s works with subjects ranging from architecture to dancing figures. The Clubhouse is on Wild Rye Street off of Mt. Washington Drive.

In addition to the three exhibits listed above, the High Desert Art League members are busy with their ongoing gallery shows. Jacqueline Newbold, Janice Rhodes, Shelly Wierzba and Joren Traveller show their work at the Red Chair Gallery in downtown Bend. Helen Brown and David Kinker’s work can be found at the Tumalo Art Company in Bend’s Old Mill District, along with Barbara Slater’s oils at Desperado. Cameron Kaseberg shows at the Artists’ Gallery, Sunriver Village. You can view Cindy Briggs’ work at Bend Your Imagination, Bend, OR 2014.

All twelve members of the High Desert Art League will come together for a group show in July at Sage Custom Framing in downtown Bend.

Helen Brown • Watercolor Batik • Getting on with it!

In my last blogpost (Nov. 3^rd), I showed the supplies and set up needed for batiking with watercolor. Now I’ll show you how I proceed with the actual painting. I’m working on some small works for the Tumalo Art Company’s holiday show. This is a little painting of a Barrows Goldeneye. It’s only about 4” x 6”, but the process is the same for large pieces.

First I draw on the smooth side of the rice paper with a black ballpoint pen. Just make sure the ink in the pen is not water soluble or it will smudge. Then I paint a very light wash of different colors, not being concerned about staying with my lines at all. This photo shows the next step after my first light wash has dried. I paint with molten wax onto the areas I want to remain almost white. Here I waxed the mark on his face, some of his body and some horizontal lines in the water. Notice the black construction paper I keep handy to slip under the wax paper so I can see where I'm painting the wax.

The wax hardens almost instantly so I don’t have to wait to continue to the next step: PAINTING! Because I have protected areas with the wax, I do not have to paint very carefully around the light spots. You can see in the photo below where the blue paint is being resisted by the wax. 

At this point in each layer, you must allow the paper to dry completely. I usually tape it from my painting table as in the photo below.

Continue waxing each consecutive area of light, and then painting in the darks until you are satisfied that the painting is finished. Allow to dry one last time before covering the entire surface with the wax, using a larger brush. REMEMBER that the wax will ruin your paintbrushes, so use inexpensive ones.

In my next post, I’ll show how to get rid of all the wax, and how to mount your painting for framing.

Where can you see examples of my work using this method?

• Tumalo Art Company in Bend's Old Mill District

• Broken Top Clubhouse has an exhibit of the High Desert Art League until November 20.

• COCC's Rotunda Gallery in the library has a High Desert Art League show until December 6.

• My website: Hbrownart.com

Helen Brown • Watercolor Batik - preparing to paint

This month, I have been assigned to blog on the High Desert Art League blogspot site. I thought I’d share about my painting process for watercolor batiking. Starting with supplies:

• Here’s the paper I use:

It is rice paper. Any kind of rice paper will work, but I like Ginwashi Rice paper. It has little stick-like flecks in it. The paper is amazingly strong for how fragile it looks! As you can see by the photo, you can see through it.

• I buy regular old paraffin at the grocery store and melt it in my little crock pot (see photo). I bought this crockpot at Goodwill for $5. I use regular wax paper and IMPORTANT: I only use inexpensive brushes with the wax. Between the heat and the wax, the brush is ruined in a couple of paintings.

• Then I set up my paper like this photo below. I tape a piece of white paper to my board (unless the board is already white). On top of that, I tape a piece of wax paper. I then work with my rice paper on top of that. If I can’t see where I’ve put the wax, I slip a piece of black construction paper under the wax paper because the wax will show up better over the black.

Now I am ready to draw on the rice paper and begin my painting!

Watch this site for my next steps...

To see some of my finished work, go to the Tumalo Art Company in Bend, Oregon's Old Mill District, three stores down from REI.  I am one of the featured artists there during the month of November (2013).

Helen's website

Helen Brown, November Featured Artist

I will be the featured artist In November at the Tumalo Art Co. in the Old Mill District. The show is called “Sisterhood” because I am showing with my sister Mary Burgess from Lake Oswego, Oregon and with twins Lisa and Lori Lubbesmeyer.

This is one of the Bend scenes I will have in the show. It is a watercolor using my batik style on rice paper.  I will describe this technique in a future High Desert Art League blog.

The reception is Friday, November 1, from 5pm - 9pm.

"Tower Theatre" Watercolor Painting by Helen Brown 

It's First Friday: High Desert Art League Events!

It's Friday, April 5th. Get out and enjoy Bend, Oregon's First Friday with members of the High Desert Art League.

Helen Brown and David Kinker are exhibiting in the "Art About the Earth" show at the Tumalo Art Co. in Bend's Old Mill District, 450 SW Powerhouse Dr., #407, 541-385-9144, www.tumaloartco.com. The exhibit is a group show by gallery artists using all painting mediums, glass, photography, sculpture and ceramics the gallery will celebrate all things earthly...flora and fauna, animals and elements. First Friday reception is 5:00 to 9:00pm.

Pat Clark of Atelier 6000  hosts "Hidden Agendas" through May. National, international, regional and local artists are represented in the very first presentation of an exhibition devoted to the Artists’ Book. The handcrafted book may tell a story or expose hidden layers; reveal emotions or make you laugh as artists explore a wide interpretation of the theme Hidden Agendas. Who would have thought that books could be used for something other than, well, reading? Turn a page on the notion of ‘the book’ and look at it as a vehicle for art. Atelier 6000 is located at 389 SW Scalehouse Ct., Suite 120, 541-330-8759, www.atelier6000.com.

Pam Jersey Bird is a featured artist at North Sole located at 800 Wall Street. Pam's work originates in observation, yet she paints from imagination. As an intuitive painter she wants to take her work beyond realistic portrayal, from what is perceived to what is experienced. She loves working in this gestural style with many layers, painting very fast laying down marks and strokes. She then begins layering over with more glaze, letting lower layers peek through giving a sense of depth. Be sure to include this as a must see on your art walk!

A showing of animal paintings and sculptures by Vivian Olsen and Joren Traveller can be seen at Alleda Real Estate (25 Minnesota Ave., Bend). Two local wildlife artists present Wild and Tame, a combination of paintings and sculptures depicting a variety of media and animal subjects in an exhibit devoted to the animals they love. Both artists are members of the High Desert Art League.

Desperado Contemporary & Nostalgic Western Store at 330 SW Powerhouse in Bend features High Desert Art League member Barbara Slater who is inspired by the “out west” way of life and cowboy culture with a touch of city glitz. Painting oils with energy and spirit, this artist’s pigmentation is rich and succulent, while her brushwork is bold and responsive. Barbara continues her studies with different genres, painting still-lifes, florals, landscapes and animals. Animals are her present focus with images of vibrant roosters, horses, cows and other barnyard residents. Painting these rural inhabitants with love and respect, Barbara gives each animal an attitude and personality. www.barbaraslater.com.

For more information on the High Desert Art League visit http://www.highdesertartleague.com/http://www.highdesertartleague.com/ or join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/highdesertartleague.

High Desert Artists, Helen Brown, David Kinker and Jacqueline Newbold in February Shows

Helen Brown's Watercolor

Jacqueline Newbold's Mixed Media Painting

Helen Brown, and David Kinker will be featured in the "Colors of Central Oregon" show at the Tumalo Art Gallery.   Jacqueline Newbold is a featured artist at the Red Chair Gallery in the "Power of Color" Show.  Both of the shows open with the Bend, Oregon's First Friday Art Walk and will continue through the month of February.  

Helen Brown at Franklin Crossing in Bend, March 2011

Please join HDAL member Helen Brown, along with Mary Marquiss and Mary Rollins at the Franklin Crossing Atrium in Bend, Oregon on First Friday, March 4th between 5pm and 8pm for the opening reception. We'll have paintings depicting nature; figurative and floral, water and rocks. A bit of everything. We hope you'll stop by!

March 4th, 5 - 8 p.m.
Franklin Crossing is located at the corner of Franklin and Bond in the heart of Downtown Bend, Oregon.