Upcoming Events - Chicago Pastel Painters

www.chicagopastelpainters.org
Summer 2016
N
o
i
N
O
Wild
from the president’s corner
T
he last day to submit for the Srokin ’IV! 2016 CPP member show was
on Sunday, July 31st.
As usual there was a flurry of activity in the last days, hours and minute(s)
before the midnight deadline.
I was among the final few to enter, having been out of town, assuming
that I would be back earlier and that my old computer was faster than
it actually was. I felt like I was sliding into home base with one foot
touching it just before being tagged out.
Now that we have made our choices in our submissions, we are hoping
that at least one of our paintings will be chosen to be in the show.
Our annual exhibition is the main event of the Chicago Pastel Painters.
We have members throughout Chicago’s large metropolitan area, in the
neighboring states and beyond. These exhibitions are our opportunity to
promote the medium of pastels to others. They are also our opportunity
to get to know each other better, share our paintings, and put a face to a
name and a painting.
Chicago
Pastel
PaiNters
Upcoming Events
August
8/29 Jury notification for
Strokin’ VI! the week of August 29
September
9/23 Strokin’ VI! painting hand
delivery
9/19–9/23 Strokin’ VI! shipped
work to arrive
9/30 (Friday 6–9:00 pm)
Strokin’ VI! opening reception
and award ceremony
October
(TBA) Art Institute Viewing
Event
10/7–10/9 Still Life;
10/14–10/16 Portrait and
I hope many of you will be able to come to the opening night reception
on September 30th to support our fellow members, to view the juried
works and to share in the excitement of what is always the best night of
the year for the Chicago Pastel Painters.
Figure – Clayton Beck workshops
(see page 5)
Good Luck to ALL!!!
Strokin’ VI! (10 am – 6 pm)
–tatijana
Don’t Forget!
10/30 Strokin’ VI! show closes
10/31–11/01 Pick up art from
November
(TBA) CPP Holiday Party
Plus, more events in the works
Weekend Workshops with
Clayton Beck…
(See page 5)
c h ic a gopa ste lpa i nters.org
Nancy Miller’s
Meet the Member
notebook of models and dresses,
which were encouraged in a family of
artists, musicians and writers. She has
spent hours in front of Impressionist
paintings at the Art Institute all of her
life. She started a degree at the
S
tella De Genova is one of our
newer members and is someone
you need to know! Stella is a very
talented artist, who happens to be
legally blind. The thing that blew all
of us away in Julie Skoda’s class was
that Stella always achieved the best
colors of anyone in our class, and yet
she was unable to see the colors of
her pastels! When I asked her about
it, she laughed and said, “It must be a
spiritual thing!”
Slipping Into Darkness
We can all think about what
we’ve lost in life but let’s be
honest ­— a person can only
dwell on loss for so long.
American Academy of Art in Chicago
but didn’t finish. Life got in the way.
She got married, had three children,
got divorced and eventually
remarried.
Stella has always had night blindness.
It wasn’t until she got her first pair of
contacts at 16, that she was diagnosed
with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). She
said that because of the night
blindness, her diagnosis didn’t change
her life that much back then. Today,
her retinal disease has gradually
changed, stealing 90% of her field of
vision and her ability to see colors. So,
Stella is changing her style right along
with it. She mentioned that Georgia
O’Keefe and Edgar Degas had macular
degeneration. Claude Monet had
cataracts. All changed their style and
continued to paint.
Stella worked as a legal secretary,
until her peripheral vision began to
fail and no corrections could help her
blurred vision. Not being able to drive
and with night blindness, she had
difficulty navigating the walk to the
train. During this time, she managed
to fit in weekend classes at the Art
Institute when she could. Later on,
watercolor classes at Oak Park Art
League became frustrating because
she “couldn’t see through the
whiteness to get to the dark colors.”
Then, she rediscovered pastels at La
Grange Art League and loves them
because of the color. She is able to
work from dark to light, can change
values and likes the forgiving aspects
of the medium.
A budding childhood fashion
designer, Stella drew notebook after
STELLA DE GENOVA
Stella describes her art this way:
“My art is my interpretation of realism.
I mainly paint with pastels for the
richness of the color. My compositions
can be images of landscapes, figures
or still lifes. As I slowly lose my ability
to see light
and color,
I try to
experiment
and interpret
it into my
artwork. My
vision loss
may make
drawing more
challenging,
but it also
makes for an
interesting
artistic
journey.
I sometimes
feel that my
painting process is becoming less
academic and more spiritual.
I strongly believe that creativity is an
important healing tool and we all
have the ability to create.”
Spring Mountains
s
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Meet the Member STELLA DE GENOVA, continued
details that used to
bog her down.
Bird’s Eye View of the Mediterranean
Stella works from
photographs. She
has painted from
vacations in the
American Southwest,
Italy and France. She
is about to go to the
Dominican Republic,
and I’m sure we’ll see
some great paintings
from that! In her
bedroom studio, she
has lots of lights,
magnifiers and a
CCTV magnifier, which projects an
image onto a large monitor that
enables her to see photographs (See
top left photo on previous page).
Her website, Art by Stella De Genova,
is http://artbystelladg.com. She is on
Facebook and also takes part in Vision
Through Words, which is a blog for
visually impaired writers.
One of the quotes from
Stella’s entry in the blog
was: “It’s weird the way life
works. We can all think
about what we’ve lost in life
but let’s be honest ­— a
person can only dwell on
loss for so long. Could be
we’re in a better place when
we move past the loss and
cherish what we do have.
Trust me, there’s someone
out there who has less than
you or me.”
Lemons and Peaches
Stella told me that the bad
news about doing artwork with a
vision impairment is that you are
unable to study a painting, to see the
artist’s strokes and figure out how that
artist actually did it.
Luckily for her, docents and her
husband take the time to explain
what they see to her, but it is still their
interpretation, not Stella’s… The good
news about RP is that it has forced her
to be looser and to develop her own
style. She doesn’t get caught up in the
She also keeps her pastels well
organized. When she gets a new set
of pastels, she and her husband sit
down and arrange them by color and
value. Each pastel is labeled, in case
one gets out of place.
Stella is a member of Chicago Pastel
Painters, The Art Institute of Chicago
and La Grange Art League. She just
entered her first Chicago Pastel
Painter’s show. She has been juried
into the Passionate Focus Art Show for
three years, the Shared Visions Art
Show for four years, La Grange Art
League and The American Printing
House for the Blind. She has sold work
at several of these events. Stella wants
to be known as a talented artist who
happens to be legally blind, not as a
legally blind artist. Perhaps CPP can
help her achieve that goal!
Egg Still Life
Stella is a volunteer at Second SenseBeyond Vision Loss. Stella introduced
creativity therapy workshops in 2013,
at this blind service organization in
Chicago. She strongly believes that
“Along with life skills, blind people
need to learn to be creative. Whether
it’s art, writing or music, everyone is
creative at something.”
Stella’s advice for budding artists is
“Don’t get stuck in perfection.
Composition and technique are
important but give yourself the
freedom to find your own style. Feel
good about what you are doing and
LET YOURSELF GO!”
c h ic a gopa ste lpa i nters.org
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Here Comes Strokin‘ VI!
Exhibition Dates
SEPTEMBER 30–OCTOBER 30, 2016
Opening Reception and Award Ceremony
Friday, September 30, 2016, 6–9 pm
ART AND COMPANY
15609 South 94th Avenue
Orland Park, Illinois 60462
www.artandcompany.net
2016 CALENDAR
Submissions opened May 1, 2016
Submissions closed, July 31, 2016
Jury notification the week of August 29, 2016
Shipped work to arrive September 19–23, 2016
Hand-delivery 10 am–6 pm, September 23, 2016
Pickup 10 am–6 pm, October 31 & November 1, 2016
Return of shipped work to start October 31, 2016
QUESTIONS: Mike Barret Kolasinski,
mbkolasinski@earthlink.net, 773-583-8391
Who’s Judging the Strokin’
VI! Exhibit?
JUDGE OF
SELECTIONS
Sergio Gomez
Sergio Gomez was
among the first
group of artists who
moved to the Zhou B Art Center
and started Third Fridays in the Fall
of 2004. Currently, he is Curator/
Director of Exhibitions at the Zhou
B Art Center, Owner/Director of
33 Contemporary Art Gallery and
coaches artists to excel in their
art careers. Sergio has curated a
number of important exhibitions
including ten years of “The National
Self-Portrait Exhibition,” “Chicago’s
Twelve,” and “National Wet Paint
MFA Biennial.“
Photo Credit: Michael Coakes
The Sixth Biennial Member Juried Exhibition
www.virtualartist.com
JUDGE OF
AWARDS
Clayton J. Beck III
BEST OF SHOW
2014 Fifth Biennial Member Juried Exhibition
Paris Bus Stop
by Tatijana Jacenkiw, CPP-M, PSA, IAPS Master Circle
After graduation
from the American
Academy of Art in
Chicago, Clayton studied at the
Palette and Chisel Academy of
Fine Arts with Richard Schmid.
Clayton’s career began while still at
the American Academy, exhibiting
at Jody Kirberger’s Talisman
Gallery and winning awards from
the Midwest Pastel Society, the
Palette & Chisel, and the Pastel
Society of America. He conducts
classes at the Palette & Chisel
Academy on a regular basis and is
a Master member of the American
Impressionist Society.
www.claytonbeck.com
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Workshop News 2016
CLAYTON BECK www.claytonbeck.com
Two Weekend Workshops
October 7–9 Still Life
October 14–16 Portrait and Figure
See the story by
Evelyn Brody about
Clayton Beck’s
workshops, in the spring
issue of Wild Onion.
Time: 9-4 with one hour for lunch
Location: Clayton Beck’s studio in Oak Lawn, Illinois (near I-294)
Cost:
$325 per workshop
To reserve a spot, send an email to: clayton@claytonbeck.com
Nine CPP Members
Exhibit at IAPS in NY
Congratulations to all of the talented pastel artists from CPP whose
paintings were exhibited this June in New York City as part of the
International Association of Pastel Societies‘ 28th IAPS Juried Exhibition.
The show opened at the Salmagundi Club on June 6 and ran through
June 17.
CPP members whose work was selected for this prestigious show
include: Ted Fuka, Tom Heflin, Tatijana Jacenkiw, Nancie King Mertz,
Brian Sauerland, Bill Schneider, Mary Lynn Sullivan, Liz Wall and
Kathy Newman.
Anne Hevener says: “As one of the three jurors of selection—along with
co-horts, Richard McKinley and Christine Ivers—I can tell you that it
was extremely tough, but gratifying work to choose 140 works from an
impressive pool of nearly 1,000 entries.”
http://www.iapspastel.org/exiaps_previous.php
Santa Fe Café, 8 x 8
by Mary Lynn Sullivan
Accepted into the
28th IAPS Juried Exhibition
c h ic a gopa ste lpa i nters.org
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Bill Schneider Close to Home
O
n Sunday, June 26, long-time
CPP member and muchhonored artist Bill Schneider treated
nine members of CPP to a tour of his
dream studio in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
Bill shows visitors
his studio and latest
paintings.
His custom-built studio space,
connected to his home, holds a stage
for models, north-facing windows
and track lighting, a large computer
monitor, a drying rack for oil
paintings, an air filtration system and
enough space for several students
and their easels.
Bill captivated us with his lessons
about color perception and light.
We also viewed his art collection and
saw a slide show featuring pastels
and oils by artists, such as Daniel
Gerhartz, Zhiwei Tu, Nicolai Fechin,
Andres Zorn and Harley Brown.
Bill has recently been honored with
the Master Circle designation from
the International Association of Pastel
Societies (IAPS).
Thank you, Bill, for an enlightening
and enjoyable tour.
Attendees enjoy the display
of mostly portraits by Bill and
other artists.
A lesson in how we see color:
If you stare at the red umbrella,
then close your eyes, you will
see the complement.
www.schneiderart.com
Bill demonstrates how a simple white
block reflects all the colors around it but
still reads as “white.” If you scan rather
than stare, you’ll see more colors.
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Ask the Framer by Nancie King Mertz
In this first article of “Ask the Framer,” Nancie King Mertz offers a few tips that
intend to generate pastel framing questions from CPP members. Chosen
questions and answers will be published in this Wild Onion quarterly newsletter
and can be anonymous by request. Please send your framing questions by
mid-October for the Fall issue to nancie@nanciekingmertz.com.
M
y framing business began in
downstate Illinois 37 years
ago, while I was in college. I had a
storefront there and then moved
the business to Chicago’s Lincoln
Park/Lakeview in 1987. In 1988,
after years of painting in oil, I also
began working in pastels and
exploring the best ways to frame
them for myself and other artists.
Since I’m opposed to using fixative
at any stage in the painting, it’s
important to protect it under glass,
as soon as possible. I use AR (antireflective) glass for my work, which
does not have the UV properties
associated with museum or
conservation glass but offers the
same clarity.
The surface I paint on is Wallis paper
dry-mounted with archival tissue to
Gatorboard to prevent warping.
Jack Richeson now offers their
papers mounted to Gatorboard in
standard sizes. I also apply
transparent gesso with pumice to
Gatorboard, again to avoid a warp.
Because both of these surfaces are
very UV stable, I do not feel
museum glass is required.
However, if a pastel is painted on
unmounted pastel paper, I
encourage artists to add the UV
protection (of museum glass),
because the unmounted paper is
exposed on both sides and is most
vulnerable to the UV light­.
As for the pastel sticks themselves,
the better brands are considered
light-fast and do not require special
glass for UV protection.
Using two frames with glass
in between is Nancie’s favorite
pastel framing option.
Rarely do I mat a pastel (maybe one
in 500), but rather I use spacers or
linen liners as separation. My
favorite option is to stack
coordinating frames with the glass
between (see example above),
which can be done with many
ready-made options, as well as
custom mouldings, and will give
the work a substantial look.
By all means, interview your framer
to see if he/she knows how to
properly store and frame your
pastels before leaving your
treasured work in their care. A very
forgiving artist recently told me
that their framer’s new employee
used a brush to get the dust off
the surface!
Nancie’s store, Art de Triumph &
Artful Framer Studios is located at:
Overheard
CPP president Tatijana
Jacenkiw shared what she
overheard in her tent at a
recent Chicago art show.
Two women came into the
tent admiring her paintings
(which were framed behind
museum glass), when one
looked more carefully and
exclaimed “Oh no, it’s
pastel!”
It’s sad to say, in many
circles pastel still takes a
back seat to oil, and museum
glass gives the impression
there’s no glass at all (and at
first can be mistaken for an
oil painting).
At the Old Town art show
in June, Tatijana noticed
people looking behind her
paintings to see if they were
artificially lit. Then, a child
asked, “Why are your
paintings like a TV?”
The crystal-like nature of
pastel creates a glow in
sunlight like no other
medium (like a TV!?)
If you’ve overheard noteworthy
comments about pastels,
please share them with us at
dotdesigns@comcast.net.
2938 N Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60657
773-832-4038
www.artdetriumph.com
7
Chicago Pastel Painters
Officers & Committee Chairs
PRESIDENT
Tatijana Jacenkiw
tjacenkiw@gmail.com
VICE-PRESIDENT
Brian Sauerland
brian@sauerlandstudio.com
EXHIBITIONS
Mike Barret Kolasinski
mbkolasinski@earthlink.net
TREASURER
Arlene Tarpey
arlenetarpey@gmail.com
SECRETARY
Evelyn Brody
evelynbrody@icloud.com
NEWSLETTER
Dotty Carringi
dotdesigns@comcast.net
WEB DESIGN
Randy Karey
rkarey@comcast.net
MEMBERSHIP
Pat Hagle
pathagle@mac.com
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Nancie King Mertz
nancie@nanciekingmertz.com
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Jessica Fine
jess6139@me.com
Great
Opportunities
for Social Media
Junkies!
Get involved and get to know
other artists in CPP! We’re looking
for a volunteer to keep the CPP
Facebook page up to date.
We also need someone to
occasionally upload information to
our MailChimp email list.
If this is for you, please contact
info@chicagopastelpainters.org
Are you looking for CPP
signature status?
If you are working toward your
CPP “letters,” it’s important
not to let your membership
lapse. Good for one year
beginning each January, your
membership may be renewed
at any time.
only $35 for the year!
Please sign up or renew at:
www.chicagopastelpainters.org/
membership-registration/
Deadlines for
Wild Onion
October 15, January 15,
April 15, July 15
Thank You
to all who contributed photos,
stories, ideas and time to this
issue of Wild Onion.
CPP Membership
Welcome
New Members
The following have recently
become CPP members:
Kim Abbati, Willowbrook, IL
April Ann Kruse-Mitchell,
Kankakee, IL
Kitty Savage, Naperville, IL
Julie Tallman, Momence, IL
Membership
Designations
Signature Status – CPP
To receive CPP Signature Status,
an artist must be a member in
good standing and be juried into
three different CPP exhibitions,
either Member or National.
Distinguished Status – CPP-D
To receive CPP Distinguished
Status, an artist must be a
member in good standing and
receive three awards in three
different CPP exhibitions, either
Member or National.
Master Status – CPP-M
To receive CPP Master Status, an
artist must be a member in good
standing and receive three awards
in three different CPP National
exhibitions.
Honorary Status – CPP-H
To receive CPP Honorary Status,
an artist must be selected by
CPP’s Board in showing their
achievement of advancing the
merits and goals of CPP.
c h ic a gopa ste lpa i nters.org
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