Art Lessons in Richmond & Surrey are Applelicious

This apple is painted quite fast with a wet on wet technique that will allow the different shades and tints and colours to blend into each other.

More adult watercolour classes have been added to my schedule at the Thompson Community Centre in Richmond. If you are looking for some beginner instruction in the tricky medium of watercolour come join our class this spring. Each session we will try different projects such as learning to do washes using simple subjects such as fruit and misty mountain ranges, playing with negative space between fence posts, and scratching out highlights on sparkling seas and snow.

There are 3 new sessions at the Thompson Community Centre. Phone 604-238-8422 for info and to register. We meet on Mondays from 1:00 to 2:30. The next session is March 2 – 23. Then the other two are April 13 – May 11 and May 25 – June 22. Hope to see you there!

This green apple is in oil pastel, which is a little tricky to blend. Start with light strokes in a variety of colours and build up the layers.

Here are some examples of the various apple studies I have taught in my watercolur, pastel, and pencil crayon classes for adults and children. I find that the apple lends itself well as a subject for beginners; it’s more interesting than just a circle and yet not so complex as to scare people away. The variety of colours found on apples are another plus as I always stress that a collection of colours is more interesting to the eye than a flat 1 colour subject (although that has its place too, such as in many poster designs and logos).

Soft, or chalk pastel was used on this apple and is much easier to blend than oil pastel.

Whether it is watercolour, pastel, or pencil crayon, build up a layer of different colours, focusing on your main one, like red, but highlighting with ones such as yellows, and darkening with colours such as blues and purples. Start light, and work up the layers until you just do the dark areas at the end. Have fun, and experiment. Paint and draw apples over and over again, as using the same subject will let you see your progress over time.

This apple had each layer of watercolour dry before the next layer or colour was painted on top and thus you can see some of the brush strokes and it doesn’t blend like the wet on wet apple shown above.

A study in value where you only use one pencil crayon. Can also be done with regular pencil. Try a 3 or 4B.

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12 Days of Christmas Art Challenge and Sale

My 12 Days of Christmas Art Challenge and Sale is on NOW! Inspired by the recent Black and White Photo Challenge on Facebook, I have set a goal to produce small affordable art pieces over the last half of November, hopefully one new painting or drawing every 2 days.

Orpheum Neon watercolour and ink miniature by Tiana Kaczor

Orpheum Neon is the first art piece. It is a watercolour and ink drawing of Vancouver’s Orpheum theatre sign. It is based on a photo I took a couple years ago while walking along Granville St.

Get your hands on some new original artworks for the price of a dinner out, and treat your friends, family, or yourself to a one of a kind gift!  All art will be available for sale in my Etsy store. Head over and take a look. Check back every couple of days for new additions.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/211430398/original-watercolour-and-ink-drawing?ref=shop_home_active_1

Tiana’s Etsy Store is Now Open

Now you can buy original and printed art by me on my Etsy store Tiana Kaczor Fine Arts. There’s still time before Christmas to pick up a hand printed photograph or a miniature watercolour. Or if you live near Vancouver, B.C. (so we don’t have to rely on mailing times) there’s even time to commission a watercolour or drawing based on a photo of your choice.
Visit my store here:  

I’m still learning about the wonderful word of Etsy, researching how other artists and craftspeople list their wares, so it’s been a little slow for getting some of my art up for sale, but you will find a few items there now.
I’m listing a variety of mediums and styles in hopes of getting some feedback from window shoppers and buyers about what they’re interested in getting.  Prices range from around $10 to $400.
I will be uploading more artworks for sale in the next few weeks, so keep checking back for new stock. Original watercolour postcards and vintage computer art prints are next on my list for stocking my shelves.

Come take a look at my Etsy store

Tiana’s Warrior donated to Richmond Public Library

My painted warrior has been donated to the Richmond Public Library by the Williams and Lomness Families in memory of their parents Yvette and Walter Beswick. An unveiling and tea was held early November at the Brighouse (Main) Branch and the rain did not deter us from going outside and seeing “Wu Chang” back in the same spot he was 2 summers ago.

The Williams and Lomness Families at Warrior unveiling at the Brighouse branch of the Richmond Public Library

 

My warrior was bought by the BC Lions Society at their auction in September 2012 in hopes that they would find a donor who would place it in a public space in Richmond. Stephen Miller connected with the Williams and Lomness Families who wanted to do something to remember their parents. During the tea, daughters Julie Williams and Susan Lomness spoke about how their parents, Yvette and Walter, loved coming to the library, and the family all contributed to make this donation happen.

Donation was made in memeory of Yvette and Walter Beswick

I’d like to thank the families for their generous donation. I am happy that my artwork is in a public place where it will be enjoyed by many people for many years. It is a library that I use often, so I will get to see my warrior regularly. (Many times artists make art and it is sold and you never see it again.) The staff of the Richmond Public Library are all excited about this unique addition to their institution, and I know they will take care of my “Mr. Wu”.

Beginners Watercolour Lesson – Value Sketch and Negative Space

Over the last couple of years I have been fine tuning my beginners watercolour classes for adults and children. I usually start off with the same lessons for all ages, just moving a little faster, and into more detail with the adults. After teaching the colour wheel and basic brush techniques there are several lessons I run through. I have found that my own watercolour skills are always improved every time I demonstrate these lessons, and therefore recommend beginners and seasoned watercolourists to run through these simple “warm ups” every once in awhile.

Maple seed value study in gray watercolour.

The Value Sketch teaches us to look at the values in real objects and paint from life instead of a photo. I bring to class some simple found objects like leaves or maple seeds. Sometimes I have the students use only one colour, like gray, and then all they worry about is the intensity of the colour and watering it down for the light areas. Other times I have students try to mix the actual colours on the found object. We mix puddles of the colours in our tray, and leave room to add water for lighter values. Once the colours are ready then we can start the painting.

Value color sketch of maple seeds and feather

We start with a light pencil sketch. For young children I may allow them to trace the object so they don’t get frustrated with the drawing. Then we apply 3 or 4 layers of paint, working from the lightest areas of the object to the darkest. These are small paintings, so very little paint should be on the brush. We don’t want the colours to run. Then wait a couple minutes for the wash to dry before painting the next layer of detail. The last layer is the darkest areas and then the shadow under the object is added to make it look like the leaf or seed is sitting on a table.

The Value Sketch is a quick lesson so I usually do a second lesson in the last half of the class. Since you rarely use white paint in watercolours, but instead leave the white paper free of paint, it’s good to have an exercise that helps students be more aware of the paper and leaving areas blank. Negative space drawings can be taught if time permits, or you can go directly into an exercise of painting a white fence.

Fence Negative Space Watercolour

We start by lightly drawing the posts and rails using only one line each in the middle. It’s nice to give a little perspective as the fence goes away from you and perhaps add a gate. Next we mix our paint colour puddles, which are the colours of the background of grass or bushes. When we’re ready we can start by prepping the paper with plain water in each negative space area, or we can just jump in and start painting. Try to load enough paint on the brush so that you can finish a whole rectangular space between the posts and rails. Be careful not to get too close to your pencil lines as then you’ll have a very skinny fence! When one negative space is done then load up your brush again and paint the next one. Dip in different colours to add more interest to your background. Be careful not to have each negative space a different colour as that wouldn’t look natural, but instead dip into a second colour halfway through painting one area and work fast so the colours blend on the paper. When dry you could add some detail of grass blades in front of your fence. Then make your white fence 3 dimensional by choosing a direction for the sunlight and painting shadows on one side of each rail and post. When the painting is totally dry lightly erase your pencil lines.

If you have any questions about these exercises please write to me in the comment section.  Some books I consulted while planning my lessons this past summer were: “Watercolour For Starters” by Paul Talbot-Greaves, and “Watercolour Challenge, Techniques in Practice” Channel 4 Books.

Transitions Community Public Art Project Show

It’s here! This is the public exhibition of the project I have been working on for 1 1/2 years. The City of Richmond paired me up with Vancouver Coastal Health’s Transitions program and we also added the Anne Vogel Clinic. 17 photographs are in the collection you can see for the whole month of June at the Richmond Art Centre. Please come to the opening this Friday, June 7 from 7 to 9pm for some nibblies, music, and of course the art.

Transitions exhibition poster by Lisa Ernst

Vancouver Coastal Health’s Transitions program, and the Anne Vogel Addictions/Primary Care Clinic, offer support for Richmond adults who are on their journey in recovery from mental illness, substance abuse, and/or addictions. The staff at these clinics hoped this project would help tell the hidden stories of people in our community and allow the participants to use the creative process of art making to enhance their physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Clients at the clinics told stories and created metaphors about their challenges in life. Clinic staff helped decide to use photography as the medium for the project as using a camera seems a less threatening way to create art for people who are not experienced artists. At the beginning participants came up with the idea for taking photographs of doorways, archways, and bridges, sometimes with an unidentifiable person walking through the frame. This is to represent a person moving from one part of their life to a new part.

Participants went out into the community with their own digital cameras, or disposable cameras provided to them, and recorded images of their lives. The goal of this process, and our group discussions, was to not only have fun with making art, but to hopefully help recovering individuals address personal issues, develop social skills, increase self-esteem and gain self-awareness.Once the photos were processed and hung on the walls at the clinics the smiles on the faces of the clients and the staff proved that these goals were reached. 4 of the selected photos are by Tiana using ideas from stories she heard from clients. 13 photos were chosen from the ones the clients submitted.

How to Draw from a Poor Photograph

“Riley and CJ” by Tiana Kaczor, Fall 2012, pastel and conte.     Click on images to view larger.

I had a commission that was a Christmas present, so could not post it online until after the holiday. I am now at liberty to share this work with you.

“Riley and CJ” posed a problem for me as I usually work from photographs that show enough detail so that I can create quite a realistic art piece. However the photo that was provided to me was very pixelated. I am not an artist who usually draws from my imagination, except in my private sketchbook, so I would not want to take artistic licence with this commission and just “make up” the details. Instead I decided to try a different style, working like the Impressionists with dots and dashes of colour, and a different medium, chosing pastels and conte. The client agreed to my style change and I set off to create a realistic drawing of a pixelated photo.

Tiana’s process of drawing Riley from photo and photocopy.

“Work with what you’ve got.” is a rule I follow a lot in my artmaking. Whether it’s taking whatever materials I can find to make an assemblage instead of buying special sculpture supplies, or using the qualities of a photograph to determine the detail and style of the image when put into a different medium like paint or pastel. Kind of a bit like that saying “When the world gives you lemons make lemonade,” isn’t it?

Tiana and Warriors on SHAW TVs go! Vancouver

Stephen Miller and I were interviewed for “go! Vancouver” the morning of the BC Lions Society’s Terracotta Warrior Banquet and Auction. You can find the segment at the 3:55 mark in the video, after the yoga studio segment. I’m always surprised how long it takes to shoot a TV show or film. In this case I was there for over an hour, getting wired up, walking through different shots, and answering the questions. Thank you to Mana Mansour and her videographer for making this a fun experience.

Viewing, Banquet and Auction of Terracotta Warriors

Hey, my terracotta warrior “Wu Chang” made it onto the auction poster! He’s the one on the left sporting a spiffy patchwork style costume which displays over 30 painted cloth patterns from over 2000 years of Chinese textile history. After a summer of showing off his cool duds outside the Richmond Cultural Centre he will be auctioned off on Thursday, September 27. If you have any questions about how I painted him send me a comment and I’ll be happy to respond. For more information on the BC Lions Society charity auction check out the poster below. There is a public viewing before the banquet.

Terracotta Warriors Online Charity Auction

The Terracotta Warrior sculptures for the BC Lions Society Project are now online at GoBid.ca –  http://www.gobid.ca/  and are open for bidding starting at $2,000.  You have the opportunity to bid until Wednesday, September 26th at noon, where the bids will close and the highest bidders will be contacted to have their bids moved over to the Live Auction at The Great Banquet and Auction on Thursday, September 27th, 2012.  You will be able to continue bidding by either attending the banquet or participating via telephone or absentee bid.

Tiana Kaczor’s “Wu Chang” is currently on the Richmond Cultural Centre’s steps.

For a direct link to my warrior, Wu Chang, #31,  on the auction site go here:  http://www.gobid.ca/cgi-bin/single_display.pl?item_id=1349776

The starting bids of $2000 are a steal. I can’t speak for other artists, but a blog post below explains it, and I’ll tell you again, that I spent more than 175 hours painting my warrior and thus a decent price would be over $5,000. Add on the cost of making the fibreglass sculpture and you can raise that price up to $10,000.  So, dig deep into your pocket books, have some fun at the auction, get a great piece of original art, and remember, this is for charity too!