DEMO FOR CALIFORNIA WATERCOLOR ASSOCIATION

I have been conducting a portrait workshop this week for the California Watercolor Association.  I have a wonderful slide show to share of some of the work that is being created.  I will post it tomorrow night.  Wednesday was the monthly meeting and I was the guest demonstrator.  A little challenging after standing all day teaching but after a lovely dinner, and a little wine, I was ready to share my love of Tyvek Paper and Dr. Ph Martin's liquid HYDRUS watercolors.  I arrived at the meeting to discover that the technical person who opperates the video camera and other equipment had failed to show.   To compilcate matters, there was no overhead mirror because the usual proceedure is to project what the artist is doing onto a big center screen.  The solution to work at an upright easel so others could see was out of the question because of the slick nature of the Tyvek paper.....all the paint would slide right off!  We finally decided that the best solution was to put the painting table in the middle of the room and have all the chairs circling me with the first rows seated and others standing.  I stopped a few times to let people circulate, come up close to see what I was doing and change positions in the room for a different view.  Having been a sketch artist at outdoor shows, I was used to people gathering round to watch what I am doing.  We had a nice question and answer session while I was painting.   As we have all found our selves in challenging situations when things didn't fall into place the way we had planned, everyone was undestanding and gracious and hopefully enjoyed the evening.  I was concerned that people would go away disappointed that they had made the effort to come to the meeting and couldn't see the demo well enough.  Checking with a few insiders this morning, I was told everyone had a great time and enjoyed the evening.  

This is a portrait of David Levine, one of America's great artists.  He passed away this year.  I don't know how wonderful of a likeness I achieved, but I like his face and love his work.  I am fortunate to own a book about his life and art called The Arts of David Levine published in 1978.