Meeting was held at Rolland Art Center at St. Francis College, Fort Wayne IN.
The members gathered starting about 6:00 for a bit of a social time and critiques before the formal meeting was called to order. Six members brought work for our show and tell session. Robert, a new member, showed an old pastel he had purchased and a current one he worked on in Hilarie’s workshop. This was his first figure work. Robert toned his surface a very dark color so the subject would pop, and it did.
Nikki showed her 1st portrait, also done in Hilarie’s workshop.
Nancy, brought her portrait and figurative painting also done in Hilarie’s workshop.
There was a nice landscape of Tybee Island, from Vickie Pope.
Diana showed her “Earth Goddess”, a haunting, alien woman that is coming out of the natural background. Diana wants her to stay a bit hidden and asked the group where her emphasis should be. This was a reworked piece.
Linda presented her 1st pastel painting, florals. She got some feedback from the group about color placement and having the eye travel through the painting.
Vicki Pope brought a video on Albert Handell and Mastering Pastels. We watched his “Thoughts on Painting”.
Albert is from NY and in the 1920’s was a member of the Arts Students League. He said at the time realism was dead! But that is what he wanted to paint. He did say that those doing realistic work either worked from life or photo, he chose life. He said his philosophy of painting was using Lost and Found Edges. The most important thing to do when using this technique is to stand back and look. He did express how difficult it is to capture the light and shadows while working from life because the light changes by the minute. At this point is is OK to take photos, so that light and dark can be saved to use later.
He aspired to be an illustrator, like Normal Rockwell, he said it was fun. He visited Europe in the mid 60’s, there making art and doing masters studies at the Louvre Museum. He said that he didn’t try to copy the master's works, he only wanted the essence of the painting.
In his definition of what it takes to be an artist, he said it takes DDD. Desire, Determination and Disgust. All 3 D’s must be working together in order to be successful, that and luck!
He lived in Woodstock NY where he became a naturalist and a landscape artist. He said in portrait work, measuring is important, but equally important in landscapes. During his time in Woodstock, he used oil paints and pastels and was one of the first to take both oils and pastels outside to use. He said pastel is much harder, it is not as flexible as oil paint. He got a Heilman Box for painters and it was much easier to do outside work using the box as transport. At the time he said there were only Grumbacher and Rembrandt pastels. He feels that pastel is a drawing/painting medium. Matt is the pastel and gloss is the oil paint. He also stressed that variety is the key to keeping artwork new and fresh, technical drawing and variations of the same thing drawn or painted again and again will help an artist improve. He believes in PRACTICE!
He gave us a bit of studio info, saying that North facing windows as high on the wall as possible is the most ideal for studio setup. If fluorescent lights are used, each should have its own on/off switch, this will help save the shadows.
PPSI Business:
*Currently we have 2070.90 in our account and 31 paid members.
*Please visit the website if you have not done so. Premierepastelsocietyofindiana.com, we can register for workshops (Avon’s is there)and print off our membership card along with other things. Please visit and post on our FB as well. The more we post to either of these, the more people will see our art.
*Discussion on doing Hybrid meetings, having live and zoom meetings every time. Currently we are using Lylanne’s zoom, so PPSI would need to purchase our own. The cost is $150 yearly, to get unlimited access and unlimited time. The members present thought it would be a good use of our money. If we could not make the meeting, we could still attend and participate using zoom. If we do this we will need to find meeting places with the internet and can be set up or someone needs to bring an ipad set to use zoom each time.
*Avon’s workshop on using unconventional tools will be at Blackford County Arts Center, in Hartford City on Jun 23, 2023from 10-2. The cost is $55.for members and $85 for non-members. You have until the week before to sign up .
*PPSI will host a social on Jun 24, 2023. The social will be at Hilarie’s friends, the Doctors' at 1628 W. 900, Huntington IN. They have a 10 acre farm with a large barn that they built to host their children's wedding . They offered it to us for our social as a trial artist retreat . The barn (in case of rain) has 2 bathrooms, plenty of space to eat, and antique farm implements, trees, fields, gardens and lots of things to draw. They have a refrigerator if you bring cold dishes, and will have electricity or crock pots etc. The event will begin at 12 if you want to paint plein air , We will have the paint around activity at 4 and eat around 5;30 p.m. . Jackson Vibe, Hilarie’s husband's band, will play from 4-7. Each member should plan to bring supplies for art work, food and drink for pot luck , BYOB if you plan on libations. The paintings we do as a paint around could be maybe auctioned off as a PPSI fundraiser. We may be able to sell our work at our social also. Please let Hilarie know in advance if you are coming and what you will bring for the potluck. We need helpers to set out and clean up the food. Please feel free to bring spouses and friends.
*PPSI will have it’s first members show at Blackford Co. Arts Center in Hartford City. It’s downtown Hartford City in an old building, the space is very nice. Members will drop off on Sept. 21, 2023 between 2 and 6pm. The show will open Sept 25 and run through Nov 2. Our reception will be Oct. 1, 2023 from 2-4. There will be a fee to participate and a maximum number of pieces per member that is yet to be determined. The Arts Center does ask for a 30% commission on pieces sold. This first show will be kept simple. It will not be a juried show, there will be no awards at this time.
*Hilarie has been working hard on our behalf. She has applied for a grant from Star Bank, the first one was a rejection. But, she found out there are 4 grant application cycles per year and that Star is a big supporter of the arts. She will try again in the next cycle. Also, IAPS has a grant, it is a global society grant. If we should receive the grant she was thinking of booking a multiple day workshop with a renowned artist/educator, then ask the educator to judge a larger show in 2024. This would be set up in Decatur IN at the Hive.
** NEXT MEETING: Jul 26, 2023, will be at Frame Art and Design, 650 E. Dupont Rd. Ft. Wayne IN. It will begin at 6:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted:
Karen Fisher
5/25/23
PPSI Minutes – March 22,2023
March 22, 2023
6:00 pm
The first in person meeting opened with a social time, critique, and sharing.
6:20 pm
Hilarie did a demonstration with a live model , following 7 basic steps with a focus on light and shadow patterns
discussing as she worked that it was not so much about color but about values.
7:40 Business Meeting:
SHOUT OUT!
We have 27 paid members as of this date. Kim Lanoue is having an exhibition at the Warsaw Court
House soon. The Lakeland Art Center in Warsaw will be exhibiting Hilarie’s portrait show , Unity with Variety , until April 27.
She is also doing an artist talk there.
TREASURY REPORT:
Thanks to anonymous donors, we have received cash amounts of $1,000, $500, and $100. The balance as of
today of $2,111.00 before expenses. Our contact management company, Wild Apricot, has raised their
fee from $48 per month to $60 per month. So, we will consider looking for another company to host our group website and contact management system .
We will also be receiving a cashback of $100 from our credit card. since we are paying month to month . There needs to be a discussion of
commissions on shows as it would bring in more money.
MINUTES.
Posted on the website.
OLD BUSINESS.
Please go to our website and print your membership cards, get familiar with the functions and link your website if you have one. We are coming up in the google search ratings with all of your clicks !
Carol Strock Wasson will host our meeting on April 22 at her studio. It was suggested that we carpool.
It was agreed that those attending from the north would meet at the Shell Gas Station near the St. Joe Hessen Cassel
Church on highway 27 before 8:30 am that morning. April 15th is Hilarie's workshop at First Presbytarian , and May 12th and 13th at the Rolland art center . The May meeting will also be held at the Rolland Art Center at St. Francis to view a video featuring either pastel artist Albert Handel or Richard McKinley.
Avon will do a workshop for our members June 23 at Blackford Art Center. More info to come . The social will be June 24 in Roanoke at a local
farm. They have a barn in case of bad weather. A great place for plein air painting. We need a volunteer committee to help with the social.
Note: the calendar is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances. . We may hold more meetings by zoom so everyone can still attend. These will most likely be at the library or just on zoom in our homes without a demo or speaker . If you have any ideas for future meetings, show or potential exhibition venues , please contact Hilarie.
NEW
Kim Lanoue has graciously accepted the position of Treasurer. We also need volunteers to help in many
areas. Darlene Selzer Miller and Nancy Longmate have agreed to head up the show committee. The
first show will be held at the Blackford Center in September.
