Christmas Wreath Making...

Ruthie (my daughter in law) and I want to share our Christmas wreaths we made. We had so much fun. Love her....!

Foothills & the Federation...

I am pleased and honored to be able to announce that my recent painting "Foothills" juried in the Western Federation of Watercolor Society (WFWS) exhibition to be held in Eugene Oregon. I was one of the 100 selected from among over 869 entries from 11 watercolor societies by nationality known juror Jeannie McGuire. Last year I received signature status. What a blessing. There are over 6,000 members in the WFWS. 

Congratulations to all who entered and to those accepted. Each of you are fine artists. I am honored to be along side you. Keep painting!

Abandonment & Determination...

I have been on a new adventure in my paintings over the last few years. I continue to enjoy painting my traditional style, while at the same time I also have the creative drive to move on to experiment and permit my skills to be challenged. In my abstracted work I create with abandonment, meaning I give up some control or influence, surrender or relinquish my expectations taking risks. I work with determination to have intentional purpose working toward resolution to discovery. I don’t give up on a painting until it is to my satisfaction and / or has a high educational result.  

Abandonment and Determination are somewhat opposite, which works great with the left and right brain decision making process.   

I start with an idea, either a theme or subject, and let it develop and change along the way often with more drastic measures. The paintings are generally more toward abstract. I take the inspiration, often a photo, and apply a few steps I have developed to alter it, pushing me to a creative and bold direction.  

Design Suggestions--

1. Choose composition start

2. Choose color pallet- limited to 3-4 colors

3. Theme or subject matter

     Organic, Geometric or combination

     Organic- subject starts like nature, birds, flowers, shells, ferns, etc.

     Geometric- subject starts like circles, squares, irregular shapes. etc.

4. I choose a couple of Elements or Design principles, See list below...

5. Size- Small, Medium, Large-  Areas in the painting

6. Value- Light, Medium, Dark- Variety of value is important

7. Layers- transparent and opaque, add interest plus can increase mystery

8. Finishing and embellishments

9. Review using elements and principles check list...see below

10. Correct problem areas

11. Critique

12. Sign and review educational results

By working with determination I keep the experiment going…working with abandonment I try new things. 

”Sticking with it” is a key element in the whole endeavor.

I have taught a number of three day experimental art retreats with this method and have found artists grow both in the abstracted as well as in their more traditional paintings. 

I look forward to hearing you are continuing your personal education no matter what your style. Make it your own and have a great time creating the next masterpiece.     

-Elements - color, line, shape, form, value, space, texture

-Principles - direction, balance, proportion, emphasis, variety, movement, harmony, rhythm

ãLinda Aman    

Published in the Idaho Watercolor Society Newsletter October 2016                    

linda@amanarts.com   www.amanarts.com

The Nampa Art Guild Fall Show!

This year, the Nampa Art Guild's Fall Show was again, another lovely grouping of art from some very talented artists.

I was pleased to have won the Gold Award for one of my newest paintings, "Sure Foundations".  

This painting was created from the emotions of my travels between Oregon & Idaho.  Mount Hood and its misty skies and Idaho's high desert rocks & warm colors.

Such a great honor!

Successful Gallery Reception at Finer Frames, Eagle Idaho!

I'm currently a featured artist at a gallery showing at Finer Frames in Eagle, Idaho for the month October. Last night's reception was an enjoyable evening.  It was a delight to chat with guests and see many of those who attend my classes.  Thank you all for coming.

Three More Workshops Done!

While in Oregon a few days ago, I taught three workshops. Two are annual favorites, Fall Leaves & Christmas Gifts & one was a newer, soon-to-be-favorite, the Water Soluble Pen with Watercolor workshop!

First up, on October 20th in Woodburn, we had fun with the water soluble pens & pencils to create one of three pictures I provided for the artists.  Most of these artists had already taken my "Pen with Watercolor" workshop in the past, so this was an all new adventure for them!

Here are two student examples with the original photos:

 

Then, on the 21st in Tualatin, we enjoyed the annual Christmas Gifts workshop, where we made bookmarks, paper weights, gift tags and other small, fun gifts for Christmas.  What a fun way to get ahead on your Christmas gift list & have fun doing art, all at the same time!

The next day in Tualatin, on the 22nd, we went in reverse a little bit and did the annual Fall Leaves workshop.  This particular one was the mixed media with gold leaf,  attached to a cradled wood board.

These always turn out beautifully!

Some of my examples:

We Did it Again.....

I had so much fun teaching the 3 day art retreat up in Cascade, ID back in August, I thought I would do another one...only a bit closer to home!

September 29th through October 1st, a smaller group of ladies came to my home studio to partake in a 3 day retreat where we had so much fun creating art, talking & laughing, making new friends and eating good food.  Can't go wrong with that!

This was essentially the same as the Ashley Inn Art Retreat in Cascade, but on a slightly smaller scale.  We learned new things about different materials and mediums to use in our art, as well as growing in our artistic abilities.  Click here to see the 2016 Ashley Inn Art Retreat.

If you are interested in a 3 day retreat in the future, email me here!

It was such a fun weekend!

Here are some examples of the lovely works of art that were created during the weekend...

....And here is the abstract demo I created.

Wonderful work, ladies!  I'm so glad you were all able to attend this retreat!