The Thinking Woman's Almanac
 
In this issue

From Annie Shaver-Crandell's Studio 
MAY 2017 


 

TULIPS AND TANGO: RESUMING SOME LAPSED PLEASURES
 
Happy to be minded to paint again, after the personal upheaval of the last eight months, I'm equally pleased that It's tulip season here in the northeast. Fortunately, it's always tango season; the similarity to be noted is that, like a blossom, each dance is unique. Neither lasts in real time for very long, though memories can linger long after the musicians have stopped playing or the flowers faded.
 
Flowers captured by artists are usually less perishable than the real thing, so, in order to surround myself with tulips for all seasons, I am currently a very good customer to flower-sellers here in Manhattan.


Tulips, just home from the market, in the bathroom sink


After a few false starts now relegated to the scrap drawer in the studio flat file where watercolor failures go for recycling, I've managed a few keepers.  Here are the results of some recent studio sessions.

Parrot Tulips, watercolor, 11x11, 2017
Parrot Tulips, watercolor, 11"x11," 2017




Models resting overnight in the artist's refrigerator.


These parrot tulips flopped over so much, in spite of copper pennies in their water, daily trimming of stems and the odd overnight stay in the refrigerator, that I felt the need to revert to a medium that expressed their energies differently.  So here are two pieces done in oil stick on canvas. Oil paintings that were duds taking up storage space served nicely as substrates for both of these studies of tulips.



Parrot Tulips, oil stick on canvas, 12" x 16," 2017



Red Tulips, oil stick on canvas, 16" x 20," 2017





Annie working with oil sticks.

If you're unfamiliar with oil stick as a medium, here's a short video of my starting one, with some of the tools I use.  It's great fun if you feel the need to draw very freely and don't mind a bit of a mess.  

As for the tango, I'm very pleased to announce that I'm resuming sponsoring milongas at the Salmagundi Club, with Sid Grant as my co-host and Steve Harris as the DJ. We resume on Thursday, May 18, 6:15-9:45 in the elegant double parlor, and Thursday, June 22, same hours, in the Main Gallery.  The club's bar is open 5-10; restaurant service begins at 5:30, with last orders in by 8:30. $12 for the milongas, and always without charge for NYPD, FDNY and active military personnel, and veterans. The Salmagundi Club is located at 47 Fifth Avenue at 12th Street in Greenwich Village; www.salmagundi.org; 212-255-7740.

Hoping to dance with some of you then and to meet the rest as life continues to improve.
 

NEW MONOTYPES
   
 
Here are a first and second impression of  my most recent monotype
Dog Walker, 5 3/4" x 7 7/8" before I made corrections with Inktense pens.

Dog Walker, 1/2, 2017
Dog Walker, 2/2, 2017


This video shows some of my source photographic material, the copper plate itself, me tinkering with defects in the impressions, and their finished versions.
 
 

RECENT SALE


Hunters Pausing, 2/2  
       
 
I'm pleased to announce that my monotype, Hunters Pausing, 2/2 was acquired at the SCNY 2017 Spring Auctions.


UPCOMING ART-MAKING EVENTS APRIL-JUNE


April 22  plein air day at Planting Fields

April 29  all-day monotype at the Salmagundi Club

April 30  workshop at Annie's studio on reds, purples and pinks

May 20   all-day monotype at the Salmagundi Club

June 10   plein air day at Planting Fields 
 


UPCOMING EVENTS
 
In addition to my regular teaching schedule on Bond Street, I'm leading or involved with a number of painting workshops and other art-producing events over the next two months. The next one here in the studio is:

PINKS, REDS AND PURPLES:
a painting workshop focusing on the palette of nature in Springtime

Sunday, April 30, 11:30-3:30, in my studio
$45

As we move here in the Northeast into the season of flowering trees, bulbs and other early blooms, we are invited to broaden our palettes to include pinks, reds and purples.  How to create them?  Which pigments best depict what we are so excited to see after the greys of winter?  

Though the focus of the day is to explore the practical properties of specific pigments as they perform in watercolor, participants are welcome to work in most other mediums. You are encouraged to take the workshop in a spirit of meditation and process, rather than feeling that the day should yield a finished painting or drawing.  You will have opportunities to experience commercially prepared pinks, reds and purples, as well as to develop your own palette using combinations of pigments.  There will be flowers and other conventional still life materials available, as well as yardage from my historically vast collection of fabrics, and a wide selection of watercolor pigments to sample.

Light refreshments provided.

The workshop is open to all levels of experience; please feel free to call or email with any questions.

 
 
Carnations and Tulips (Red), watercolor, 10 1/2" x 10 1/2," 2010

Green Vase, Four Views, Three Pigments, watercolor, 18" x 24," 2005

 
TWO PLEIN AIR PAINTING DAYS A T PLANTING FIELDS, ARBORITUM, OYSTER BAY, LONG ISLAND 

Saturday, April 22nd
Plein Air Through the Seasons 
Azaleas, Rhododendrons & Spring Blooms

10:00am - 3:00pm /FREE with $8 Parking Fee

Meet at the end of the West Parking lot by the Welcome Pavillion.

Suggested list of materials:  Some form of drop cloth, any oil, watercolor, acrylic, oil or dry pastels.  Bring a bag lunch or purchase snacks at COFFEED's garden café inside the hay barn.  Contact Jennifer Lavella
(516) 922-8678 or jlavella@plantingfields.org for more information.


Gravel Path: Salvia and Peggy Martin Roses,
watercolor, 6 3/4" x 14," 2015

Saturday, June 10th
Plein Air Through the Seasons - The Rose Garden 
 
 
10:00am - 3:00pm /FREE with $8 Parking Fee

Meet at the end of the West Parking lot by the Welcome Pavillion.
Suggested list of materials:  Some form of drop cloth, any oil, watercolor, acrylic, oil or dry pastels.  Bring a bag lunch or purchase snacks at COFFEED's garden café inside the hay barn. 

Contact Jennifer Lavella (516) 922-8678 or
jlavella@plantingfields.org for more information.

 
MONOTYPE
PARTIES AT SALMAGUNDI CLUB
 
Two all-day monotype parties are coming up,

Saturday, April 29, and Saturday, May 20, 10AM-8PM each day.

 

$30 for non-members, $20 for Salmagundi Club members.  If you're new to these events, I'll suggest you bring old clothes, apron, vinyl or nitrile glove, Q-tips, soft paper toweling (Viva is very good), source photos or drawings to work off (remember that these will be flipped left to right in the monotype printing, so you may want to print your sources backward first). The club will supply: printing plates, ink (oil-based), paper and lots of shared expertise.   

 

Our club president, Robert Pillsbury, often does a demo print at the beginning of the party to explain the process; that alone is worth the price of admission. 


Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Avenue @12th Street; New York, NY 10003; 212-255-7740 or info@salmagundi.org to reserve. 

   
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VIGNETTES FROM THE STUDIO



Washing dishes in Van Gogh's bathtub during the recent outage of my kitchen drain (now repaired).



Lara Kamhi, temporarily reassigned from her Monday morning office duties to washing down watercolor palettes in the kitchen sink



Last book enjoyed: Donna Leon, The Waters of Eternal Youth


Next book on disc to listen to in the studio: Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz, which I last read as a child, from the wonderful Carnegie Library in Oberlin, Ohio.


Starting a watercolor.
Annie starting a watercolor.

 


FEARLESS WATERCOLOR CLASSES
   

Space is currently available in my group painting classes, offered in my Bond Street studio. Class is in session three times a week, on a drop-in basis. All experience levels welcome. Email me for details about these and private lessons.

Classes have begun. A few spaces remain.

Current schedule:
Monday 2:30pm - 5:30pm
Wednesday 3:00pm - 6:00pm
Thursday 10:00am - 1:00pm


A typical workstation


  ANNIE'S STORE
Annie Shaver-Crandell: A Collection of Views Landscapes, Cityscapes and Interiors
36 page book, 8 3/8" x 10 7/8"
Carousel Mug
Please visit the online store to purchase my book and collectible mug.


PRIVATE VIEWINGS  
Please visit my studio for a private viewing. Call me at 212-464-7519 to schedule. I am also available to discuss commissions.

 


 

FEEDBACK

I love hearing from all of you with all your questions and comments. Please feel free to write me at annieshavercrandell@gmail.com and I promise to reply. Your comments help me build my studio.

Annie's work may be seen at

 www.annieshavercrandell.com  

 www.sichelsea.com  

 

Stay connected with Annie

Please contact me for more information at
annieshavercrandell@gmail.com and 212-464-7519

© 2017 Annie Shaver-Crandell