The Keyhole Sessions 'Sneak Peek' Show 2010

This year has been a whirlwind in so many ways. I wasn't even thinking of getting involved with any shows because I'm working on a new series and REALLY wanted to focus. However, when The Keyhole Sessions sent out word about this upcoming group show, I was very interested. I've very much enjoyed their Tues night Life Drawing sessions the past year, and I had a few pieces that were finished....so I submitted 4, and 2 were accepted. 1 of those 2 was unfortunately already sold, but it was beautiful and I wanted to show it in a gallery space.
The owner agreed.

The other was very recent, and so tickled me pink to have the chance to show it off. It was titled 'Space Girl' and the support was this amazing copper panel from Duho (I've posted my love for them before)! Duho Panels are premium, exquisitely crafted works of art on their own. The panel was only 8"x8" but weighed a substantial amount. So why would anyone use an expensive metal panel only to cover it with paint? The metallic surface is reflective, and many painters are interested in the light that reflects through all the layers of paint, creating a very unique luminosity. It's more common for (portrait) oil painters to use metal panels as the adhesion is very good. Using acrylic paint means you have to use thin layers, and/or roughen the surface with a sand paper or abrasive marks for the paint to have something to grab onto. With this piece, I had a lot of fun experimenting with Tri-Art's most expensive acrylic paint, Liquid Mirror. It's exactly like painting with liquid metal! It's highly reflective, used alone or as a base (for the same reason you might use a metal panel) or mixed with other colours. I used it as a main colour which sorta took over, so in the end it might seem a bit odd that I changed a copper surface into a silver one, but that's just how it worked out with the materials I had and what I felt suited the subject best. And no doubt it worked out perfectly... 'Space Girl' sold by the end of the show. ♥

*NEW* Tri-Art Acrylics Facebook Page!

 

 

Connect to pure, colourful inspiration -
Tri-Art now has a page up on facebook. 

Join and contribute to Tri-Art's 
acrylic revolution!

Acrylic grounds for mixed media

It's really easy for me to fall in love with materials. These past few years I've been dating acrylics. First, it was Tri-Art's gorgeous Artist Acrylic colours that won me over, then their innovative recycled paint Sludge...then I fell madly in love with Dry Media Ground, and now I just can't get enough of Nepheline Gels (the following artwork is graphite, charcoal and pastel on Nepheline Gel Coarse, and it's published in the New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook: Materials, Techniques, and Contemporary Applications for Today's Artist mixed media chapter). Just as I'm known for charcoal, acrylics have now become synonymous with my mixed media works, blurring the line between drawing and painting. Acrylic grounds allow me to create a textured surface that is very exciting and different than just working on common surfaces. And just like paper, I can soften dry media (graphite, charcoal, pastel) to a velvet finish with a brush, and also leave crisp edges, intense with colour or value.

Dry Media Ground is simply perfect, and will always be my true love! When you apply it to a surface, the result is like a very fine sandpaper. If you have ever used a pastel paper or board, that's what I'm talking about - it's the same thing, only it's much more cost effective to buy the Dry Media Ground in a jar and then you can create your own surfaces the way you want them. You can add colour to it or even apply it on top of layers of acrylic paint, creating a new surface of possibilities! On the other hand, Nepheline Gels have a unique granular texture and appearance. It's available in a fine (which is not as fine as dry media ground), a coarse and extra coarse. Just like Dry Media Ground, Nepheline Gel can be mixed with colour or used on it's own, glazed over top of and anything else you can think of....and it's a brilliant surface for graphite, charcoal, pastel and other drawing materials.

Gesso is a common ground for sealing surfaces for painting preparation. I love drawing on Gesso with graphite or charcoal. Gesso is a very dense White, but it is also avail in Black, Burnt Umber or Canvas colours, and even better, Tri-Art recently came out with a Clear Gesso and it's absolutely fabulous for tinting.  I also find it particularly useful when I have a beautiful piece of birch that I want to prepare and yet incorporate the natural wood surface into the art itself. I use to draw right onto wood and yet have found that over time the wood gets oily and stained and dirty, and I can already see that my newer pieces will last longer simply because the wood is primed. On that note, though I am an experimental art materials pixie, I've learned that there are some rules you should follow...there will always be plenty of rules you can still break! A few rules I recommend for all artists: always use good quality materials, take the time to experiment and get to know your materials, and prepare, finish and safely store your art. 

A few secrets to relieve any fear of acrylics and mixed media:

• all acrylics and mediums are ok to mix. it's recommended to mix artist quality with artist quality/student quality with student quality and so on, but that aside don't hesitate to try new brands. Company's often has a signature colour or product, such as Tri-Art's new Artist Acrylic colour 'Golden Orange' and it's good to step out of your comfort zone even in regards to your favorite brand of paint!
• acrylics are the most versatile medium out there, and can be used on a variety of surfaces and combined with any dry or water-soluble medium....and you can really open up new worlds by exploring collage and sculptural materials. 
• Rheni Tauchid's book New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook: Materials, Techniques, and Contemporary Applications for Today's Artist will inspire and is a handy reference with detailed charts on how to prepare your surfaces, using acrylics with other mediums, media and materials.
• it's ok to fall in love with your materials ...the paint, the canvas, the brushes, the tools... and the play, the journey, the creative process ♥
  
   

 MY FAVORITE QUOTE TODAY!

Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play. ~Henri Matisse

December 2009 Feature Artist

Check out Occhuzzie Paint Company's website www.occhuzziepaintcompany.com (direct link here) to see my feature artist spot this month!


I discovered Occhuzzie earlier this year, and ordered 3 jars of their oil paint - Charcoal, Graphite and Zinc white (which was a free promo!). They are a small company that has stayed in touch with me, and Lance and Brandi were amazing and helpful in getting my order to me across the border. I havnt been using oils much this year, but got into the Charcoal and Zinc White oil paint on a recent self-portrait. The paint was smooth and very nice to use. I especially liked the jar it was in - I could use a palette knife to access and put back any unused paint. (no waste, love that!). I've started using the Graphite oil + Zinc White as a base, and I'm in love with the colour, cool, steel-blue! Both the Charcoal and the Graphite oil paints have a beautiful matte and dark translucent quality about them, and are great for toning colours. Occhuzzie's main point about the dry media pigment already being fused with oil, creating a more stable ground for underpainting makes a world of sense.  And it really makes sense for me personally, as I'm a mixed media artist whose always used charcoal worked into oil paint! So to end, I think both the Charcoal and Graphite oil paints by Occhuzzie are innovative and practical for both the modern and traditional artist.

Tri-Art and the Environment

Tri-Art's Green Initiatives in production and product development:

• Water Filtration System - reuse & recycle
  
• Sludge - recycled paint
  
• Tri-Art Palette - The last palette you will ever need
• Solucryl - Green paint for the classroom
  
• New Product Packaging - "Our quality is clear"
  
• Raw Materials - support local & Canadian
  

Zero-waste is just good business. Tri-Art = honest, good people ❤
for more information visit http://www.tri-art.ca/en/whatsnew/environment/

New Acrylics Books: FIRST REVIEW!

Here's Rheni Tauchid's first review of her second book, released today! Please take a moment to read it, it's a 5-star review and says it all ~ I will just add that the book itself (tech info, writing, focus) rocks soooooo much, I truly am honored that 3 of my personal artworks were featured in the mixed media chapter!

Click here to read the New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook by Rhéni Tauchid: FIRST REVIEW!
by Marion Boddy-Evans, About.com Guide to Painting since 2002

Tri-Art and The New Acrylics books by Rhéni Tauchid

CALLING ALL ARTISTS! Have you been loving Rhéni's first book 'The New Acrylics'? Check out her call for reviews and testimonials here:
New Acrylics Books: Reviews, Testimonials...Bring it on!

I just got back from Kingston, ON where I was invited for a tour and to train at the Tri-Art paint factory, and with my enriched acrylic knowledge I'm now teaching for their Acrylic Educational Program along with Donna DeVries Buchan, who works at North Art Supplies in Huntsville. And well I just adore those that are cranking the wheels behind the scenes of Tri-Art Manfacturing :: Owner and operator Steve Ginsberg is most adorable in his life-long passion and respect for paint. Rhéni Tauchid, Artist and Author, is smart, gorgeous, so cool and down-to-earth...and the biggest paint geek I know next to Steve...and they are incredibly perfect for each other ♥. Connie Morris, Artist and the Co-Ordinator of Tri-Art's Acrylic Educational Program, has super powers (I'm sure of it!) with the sweetest personality and a smile that could melt the arctic. (more about Tri-Art here). Working with these wonderful and genuine people have reminded me of many happy moments in my life...thinking all the way back to my sunshiny days in Ottawa working with John Wallack and crew at Wallack's Art Store.
So this is an amazing opportunity for me that has added an extra sparkle or two (or three) in my eyes!!! I'm so excited, and working on class/workshop concepts as we speak - I'll post details soon....

For more news and musings relating to The New Acrylics books (noting the highly anticipated release of the second one!) published by Watson-Guptill/Random House and written by Rhéni Tauchid
visit www.newacrylicsbooks.blogspot.com

New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook

Rheni Tauchid’s bestseller The New Acrylics was an overview of modern acrylics. Her New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook is a more in-depth resource for today’s working acrylic artist.

Her new book, (release date : July 14 2009) New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook’s main focus is on the vast array of paints and paint mediums that are available today. It places special emphasis on documenting a variety of paint and medium combinations, showing in side-by-side comparisons how such “recipes” can alter and affect the final result. Because acrylic paints are available in so many formulas, ranging in consistency from liquid to high viscosity, the range of effects and painting styles is virtually infinite. The choice in mediums is even greater, and can be used to create glazes, build texture, and work as gluing agents for collage. Through the author’s own artwork and that of leading acrylic artists, each effect is gorgeously illustrated.

Why am I excited for this book release?
Rheni steps it up a notch by offering serious technical information for all artists, and in a way she challenges us all to be involved in what is happening now...the history of acylics in the making. Let's be curious, experiment and document our work for future generations. Learn, specialize and share our discoveries!
I've submitted art work to this book as well, and worked specifically with Rheni to create new work that supported her discussion of dry media on acrylic grounds. Look out for my contribution in that chapter :)

About the Author
RHENI TAUCHID is the head of product development at Tri-Art, a manufacturer of acrylic artist paints and mediums. An accomplished artist, she conducts workshops and lectures on acrylics throughout the United States and Canada.