MARCH NEWS

NEXT MEETING: WEDNESDAY 22ND MARCH 2023
FENCIBLE LOUNGE, UXBRIDGE RD, HOWICK (NEXT TO THE HOWICK LIBRARY).

Still Life Paint-Together

President’s Letter

Hi Members,

Our next club night will be held on Wednesday, 22nd February at 7pm in the Fencible Lounge. We do not have a demonstrating artist, however this does not mean we won’t have a great time! This club night we will have a Paint-Together. There will be a number of stations set up around the hall with various still life subjects. Bring along your paints, sketch books and pencils, pastels or whatever you like to have an enjoyable evening together doing what we all love best, creating art.

Our next workshop is with Wayne Sinclair, but please note, this workshop is already full.
Members enjoyed a great plein air workshop with Russell Hollings down at Bucklands Beach.
Members also enjoyed a visit to the Pah Homestead to see the Adam Portraiture Awards finalists.

Midwinter Exhibition Change of Name

Our Midwinter is now going to be known as the Spring Festival of Art. There will be no Midwinter Exhibition in July. Dates are from 27th September to 1st October. Set up and judging/opening will be on Wednesday, 27th September and then the exhibition opens to the public from Thursday, 28th September to Sunday, 1st October. By being in the warmer months of the year, we will hopefully get more people coming through.

Membership and Hanging Fees:

A reminder that membership fees are now due. Please pay either by direct credit to Howick Art Group 02-0168-0016188-00 with your last name and SUBS as a reference, or via EFTPOS or cash at the Cottage or on club night. Membership is $50 and includes hanging fees at the cottage (except hiring of the Solo Room).

Members Top Tips.

This month’s Top Tip comes from Elise De Silva.

Have you heard of Watercolour Ground? I never had and thought I’d give it a go.
Watercolour ground is a special medium that you can add to a surface like wood, canvas etc so you can paint watercolour on it. There was an imperfect pot of Daniel Smith’s watercolour ground on special at Gordon Harris so I thought I’d give it a go. I painted two coats onto a small canvas and left it to cure for 24 hours. I then proceeded to paint on it with my watercolours in the same way I would normally. I was actually extremely surprised how well it took the watercolour! It was able to do all the things I usually try to do. The only thing that was a little difficult was to paint a very thin line, as the surface is extremely porous. However, I think it would be fun to try this technique on something much larger.

Dates for the Diary

Wednesday, 22nd March 2023 – March club night – Paint together
Sunday, 26th March 2023 – Changeover at Cottage
Sunday, 23rd April 2023 – Wayne Sinclair Workshop – Uxbridge
Sunday, 7th May 2023 – Matt Dowman Workshop – Uxbridge
27th September to 1st October – Annual Howick Art Group Exhibition – Fencible Lounge

Stay safe, and happy painting.

Elise De Silva

 

Our 2023 committee members are:

President – Elise De Silva
Vice President – Merv Appleton
Secretary – Carina Sim-Smith
Treasurer – Liz Payne
Membership – Amanda Gleason
Gallery & Library – Janice Skinner
Committee – Jennie Henry

Off committee member is:
Website & Library – Wendy Oey

COTTAGE REPORT 

Thanks to all who supported the tents last weekend. We had plenty of visitors as it coincided with an Howick Cultural event but unfortunately not much in the line of sales. Hopefully more people became aware of the gallery and the lovely art it houses.
The next changeover day will be Sunday 26th March. Paintings can be dropped off at the Gallery over that weekend. Please make sure they have the proper cord at the back and that Artist’s Framing Tape is used where necessary. Remember two paintings per artist.

Please note that the Gallery will be closed over the Easter Weekend the 7th, 8th and 9th April.

“A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, some fantasy. When you always make your
meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people.” – Edgar Degas

Take Care
Janice Skinner (Please ring Pat 534 7236 or Wendy 533 3027 while Janice is away)

For those of you who may be new to the group, the Solo Room is available for any working member to book. It only costs $40 and means you have the whole room to yourself for the month. This is a great way to have your own exhibition. There is a board in the cottage, and all you need to do is add your name to the month that you would like to exhibit. I highly encourage members to take advantage of this unique benefit. – Elise

 

GALLERY RULES (FOR ALL TOO READ)
ORIGINALITY – (New Zealand copyright law and excerpts taken from Landscape Painting Inside and Out by Kevin Macpherson)
Many artists are not aware that painting from a photograph taken by someone else is copyright infringement. The same goes for painting from another artist’s painting. Photos or paintings by others may inspire you to see a subject a different way, but please do not copy them. To do so is illegal. Copying a painting can help you grow as an artist, but the results should never leave your studio. If working from someone else’s photograph the painting must be so changed that it is unrecognisable as a copy. Copying paintings of the Old Masters is allowed as copyright falls away after they have been dead for 50 years but the original artist must be acknowledged on the artwork.
When putting your signature to a painting, it means that you are the sole artist. No work that has been worked on by a tutor should be entered in a competition or sold. No work that has been done at a workshop from the demonstrator’s photo, or that the demonstrator has worked on, should be put up for sale.
For your own work, find and research your own subjects, including taking your own photos. Make it your view, your idea. Herman Melville said: ‘It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation’.
FRAMED PAINTINGS AND PAINTINGS ON STRETCHED CANVAS – Are to be written up in the Painting Register at a cost of $2. Paintings are hung for one month but can be hung again after a waiting period of at least 4 months.
PRICE – All works including miniatures and unframed items must be for sale and 20% commission added on.
FRAMING – Artwork must be soundly framed with the correct rings and cords attached ready for hanging. The correct picture framers tape must be used. No badly damaged frames will be accepted.
LABELLING – Put your name, title, medium, and price on a card (swing tag) affixed to the back of each painting.
UNFRAMED WORKS – All unframed Watercolours must be mounted and covered in plastic or cellophane. All these works must have stickers on top of the plastic, stating title, name, medium and price. These paintings must be entered into the Miniatures/Unframed register (no cost) and they can stay in the gallery for a period of 6 months.
MINIATURES – These works should be no higher than 7”. A card stating title, name, medium and price must be affixed to the back. These paintings must be entered into the Miniatures/Unframed register and can stay in the gallery for a period of 6 months. There is no cost in hanging miniatures in the gallery.
Janice Skinner – Ph 535 9190 (021 023 68667)

 

CRAFTS FOR THE GALLERY

We are able to display ceramics, glass, pottery, woodwork and sculptures.  Any of our working members who are involved in the above arts please bring your creations to the next changeover.  The cost to display for the month is $2 per item and 20% commission must be included in your pricing.