All of the students did so well on Tuesday. Below are a few of the samples from the class. These are drawings from three different models.


Below is a photo of the students working from model. There are a few spots open for the next session which will begin March 24. Please contact me for more details at DGRstudios@aol.com.

         Doesn't it feel good to be recognized for our work? Well, now it is your chance. This is a call to all artistic high school students. Drum roll. It is now time for the 2nd Congressional High School Art Competition. I have been asked to be one of the three judges for the last three years and it is really an exciting event. If  you are in high school, or if you want to know more about this great competition, email Sara Dreier, who is one of the assistants to Congresswoman Jean Schmitt.  Her contact information is Sara.Dreier@mail.house.gov. Her phone number is 513-791-0381. I just spoke with her and she would be happy to email you the information to submit your artwork. I believe the deadline to deliever the art work is mid April 2009. I will be judging the work on April 15, 2009.  
         For my students who take a teen class from me at the barn in Mariemont: You may certainly enter the competition, but please do not enter work that was produced in the class in which I am the instructor. Good Luck!!

My friends and I had a Paint - IN at the Cincinnati Art Museum, to copy and learn from the great master paintings. This painting has been created by John Singer Sargents titled, " Italian Girl with a Fan", painted around 1882. Although to me it looks as if she is holding a bolt of fabric. It is a huge painting, around 8 feet high by about 4 feet wide. My copy is about 20 by 16 inches. It is one of the two Sargent paintings which are owned and exhibited by the museum. An artist can learn so much from the practice of ( or trying to ) copy the masters. Sargent is by far one of my favorite figurative painters. Check out this painting on your next visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum.

 

      The Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati welcomes internationally recognized oil painter Qiang Huang (Chong Wong) for a 3 day workshop, April 23 - 25, 2009, at the WACC Cultural Center, 6890 Cambridge Ave. in Mariemont.

 

      Since arriving from China in 1984, Mr Huang, an optical engineer by day, spends evenings and weekends with paint brush and canvas capturing the alluring light from his subjects.  The results are paintings that have been selected continuously since 2004 for the 14th, 15th and 16th Oil Painters of America National juried exhibitions.

 

      Recently  Deborah Ridgley, workshop organizer for the event, had a conversation with Mr. Huang concerning the upcoming workshop and demonstration:

 

"What is your goal in painting a still life?"

Qiang - "To share the extraordinary beauty I have seen from the ordinary items around us. "

 
"What do you enjoy most about painting still lifes?"
Qiang - "I enjoy most when I see a dramatic light effect is being orchestrated by a still life setup".

 

 "How did you become interested in your concentration on still lifes?"

 Qiang - "I didn't like painting still lifes at very beginning, but I had several good teachers, especially David Leffel. They have shown me the artist way to observe, to compose, and to manipulate paints on a canvas. So I got hooked."

 

"What are the main points of interest that you are planning to teach the students at the demonstration? "

 Qiang - " I would like to show that still life painting is not doing a portrait of the setup, but to depict the movement of  the light across the setup with astonishing beauty and dynamics."

 

      Currently the workshop is at capacity, however the artist will present a demonstration, open to the public, on Friday, April 24, 7pm- 9pm.  The cost is $25 in advance, $30 at the door. For more information and reservations, please contact Deborah G. Ridgley at DGRstudios@aol.com   or by calling 513-259-9302.  Act quickly, space is limited!