December 2024 Announcements

You can access our website by clicking: https://santaritaart.org/

CO-PRESIDENTS' Message

Meet the full

SRAL Board of Directors

for 2025! 

Left to right: Secretary - Deanna Brooks; Co-1^st Vice President - Pam Guard;  2^nd Vice President- Deb Nealy; Co-President - Jeani Gustafson; Co President - Arlene Szypulski; Treasurer – Berkana Gervais; Co-1^st Vice President – Brenda Stewart.

WELCOME to our new board members, Pam, Berkana, and Brenda! 

  THANK-YOU to our board members who will serve for another year.

Our e-blast communications also have two new editors, Suzy Webber and Bob Hamilton! They are bringing us a new format to keep everyone informed. See below.

- On the 25^th of each month, the “Newsletter” will be sent out. 

Each issue will provide information for the upcoming month.  

          EXAMPLE:  This Nov. 25^th “Newsletter” is the December issue.

-On the 10^th of each month, “An eblast” announcing upcoming 2024-25 “Art 101 classes” and mini workshops will be sent. You will need to respond to the eblast where applicable to enroll in a class or workshop.  

- On occasion, a brief “e-blast´ may be sent for impending situations that pop up.



Thank you to Rich Metcalf for serving as our E-Blast editor for the last year.

Thank you to Susan Ettl for serving as the SRAL Treasurer for the past two years. 

We look forward to seeing everyone in the studio. Let’s get busy painting! 

Happy Holidays! 

Arlene and Jeani

Clarification of upcoming event dates:

Thursday, DECEMBER 5^th       3:00 – 5:00pm     Mix and Mingle at the SRAL Art Studio 

Saturday DECEMBER 7^th     5:00 – 7:00 pm    MEMBER’S SHOW RECEPTION at Canoa Hills

Current Art League Shows

• West Center: Mixed Media through December
• Desert Hills Auditorium: SRAL Membership Permanent Show through December
• Canoa Hills: Retro Briggs through November 29

 Winning artwork will be chosen by a vote of Santa Rita Art League Members.

Please come to the reception to place your vote.  We need your vote.

**KATE McCAVITT**

....Will Be Our December Demo Artist.

Thursday, December 12, 2024, 1:00pm

Anza Room

More information can be found on the Monthly Demo page of SRAL’s website by clicking here. (https://santaritaart.org/monthly-demos/) 

 Kate McCavitt, a New York native, currently lives and works in Green Valley, Arizona. She began painting in 1985 after moving to the West coast. For ten years she trained in Sumie (Asian Brush) with a contemporary Zen style master. Discontent within the confines of ink and subdued color, she began exploring other watermedia. With her early influences of the Rinzai Zen masters and Toko Shinoda, she never completely abandoned the Sumie aesthetics of balance, harmony and negative space. Her inspirations shifted to Maxfield Parrish for his use of transparent oil color washes, Gustav Klimt for his use of metallics in mind-bending embellishment and Eyvind Earle for his revolutionary “Seeing” style of portraying the ordinary as extraordinary. Kate is self taught in much of the technique that defines her work, indulging in “experimental watermedia” which she says is code for playing with paint, trying odd things, failing and sometimes hitting on something brilliant. Over time, her signature style emerged. Her use of color isolation via transparent color washes and varnish layers with shape isolation, from threads of metallic paint, produced artworks with visual reference to enameled metal or Cloisonné. Kate’s work is in private and corporate collections in the United States, Europe and the United Arab Emirates.   

Artist Statement:

“All of my art is born of attention and an awareness that everything in the world is immediately available for me to witness and express through painting. I’m moved to create with "transparent“ layering, rich surface detail, intense pigmentation and extraordinary luminosity so that my Mixed Media paintings sing of Nature’s radical but elegant side. I love the idea of hidden or partly revealed things and I hope viewers feel compelled to touch my work to connect with it, and then find their own magical things within it.  

I like calling myself a “liminalist”, being neither a purely abstract nor representational artist and creating art that leads it’s viewer to delightful ambiguity; a twilight where an inclusive unresolve lives. This kind of art remains relevant.”

Art by Kate McCavitt

Sky Island Sunset

Strawberry Moonrise

Here is the completed painting by Kristen Harvey from last month's demo:

SRAL CLASSES

Art 101 Beginning Drawing

We will be following a video series of classes using an on line subscription and the new TV.

This series is designed for absolute beginners as well as those who need to build their drawing confidence.

Date: Saturday, December 14

Time: 9:00 to Noon (we will be going through several short lessons with a break between them)

Location: Santa Rita Art League Studio

Facilitated by: Jeani Gustafson

CLICK HERE for more info & to register

SRAL New Member Orientation

If you are new member of Santa Rita Art League, or just want to be brought up to “speed” on how to benefit from your membership and how you can participate/volunteer, please attend our New Member Orientation on Thursday, December 5th at 2:00 pm at the SRAL Studio. 

Questions? RSVP? Contact Sally Bryan, New Member Liason, SallyB@SantaRitaArt.org

BENEFITS:

..........-Monthly live artist demonstrations

..........-Free learning workshops

..........-Over 10 different Special Interest Groups to work with

..........-Participation in membership exhibits throughout GVR Centers

..........-Participation in juried and judged shows

..........-Use of our art studio and wonderful library

..........-Camaraderie and developing great friendships

APPLICATIONS:

..........-You can go onto the SRAL website to:

....................-Fill out an application and pay online

....................-Print out an application and pay by cash or check

..........-Pick up an application in the studio and pay by cash or check

..........-Pick up an application at the General Meeting and pay there

To go to the Membership Application on the SRAL web site

Click Here.

NOTE: PLEASE read the renewal form carefully as it gives you the information you need to renew and how to make your dues payment.

NAME BADGES:

Please pick up your name badge. A new order of badges has just arrived and there are many others that have not been picked up. You will find them in a box labeled Name Badges on the desk in the studio. You can also pick them up at our general meetings each month.



Thank you!  - Liz Wolf

..

Special Note to All Members about Upcoming Art Exhibits

and Demos

All the upcoming exhibits (to date) have been listed on the bottom of the ART EXHIBITS webpage. To zip over to check out the coming shows, Click Here.

We shall alert you as more shows are added.

Art Shows

You May Want to Enter

The 1st

"Ellen Sussman - Eva Briggs

Abstract Art Competition"

Presented by The Santa Rita Art League

Premiering January 2, 2025 at CPAC

The First Annual Ellen Sussman-Eva Briggs Memorial Abstract Art Competition will be held in January 2025. The caveat: Only SQUARES are acceptable! Submissions can be in any medium: Acrylic, Watercolor, Oils, Pastel, Collage, & Mixed Media. All substrates (canvas, wood panel, paper, or cradle board) must measure 12" X 12", 20" X 20", 24" X 24", 30" X 30", 36" X 36",

or 48" by 48". The maximum dimensions of a framed piece shall not exceed more than 2" above the substrate's size.

If you can’t decide on the size? Paint two! For the $40.00 entry fee, two paintings can be entered into the show. That has the possibility of the judge seeing a lot of squares, but the spectacular artwork is bound to delight all the viewers! Prize money awards are BIG for this show, but personal satisfaction and gratification is BIGGER! Jump into the most expressive and mind-expanding journey of abstract painting!  Entry forms with complete details are now available online. Paper copies are currently available in the studio.

For more information on the SRAL website, CLICK HERE

"The 20th Annual Eva Briggs Abstract Art Competition"

Begins January 30, 2025, at CPAC

...2025 Masters Show! 

Will be held at the West Center,

Sunday, February 16 to Monday, March 31, 2025.

This year the special section will be for Cubist artists. Some eligible artists to reproduce paintings by are Roger de la Fesnaye, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizes, Juan Gris, Paul Klee, Fernand Leger, Aristarkh Lentulov, and Lyubov Popova. Note that Picasso is not mentioned, as he has not been deceased since on or before 1955. Due to copyright laws, an artist must be deceased for at least 70 years to be copied legally. Of course, cubism is optional and you may choose any artist or painting that you deem to be a Master. You may enter 2 paintings, so why not try cubism? Entry forms are available on the SRAL website by Clicking Here.

Due to the rise of AI (artificial intelligence) online, with fake interpretations of famous artists, there will be a line on the entry form to enter the provenance of the painting that you are reproducing. Examples are: title of the book it was listed in, which museum it is hanging in, which personal collection it is from, or when/where it was sold at auction (like Christy's). It is no longer enough to just take a painting from a Google search. Our library has many great books to find a painting that you like. 

It's Time to Start your Paintings for the Masters Show!

Please direct any questions to Cheryl Schaeffer by Clicking Here.

SRAL LOCKERS AND SLOTS FOR RENT 

Lockers and slots for storing art supplies, canvases, etc., are available for rental in the SRAL studio. Yearly fee for a locker is $20, and $15 for a slot.

There are a limited number of lockers and slots. If all are rented, a waiting list will be kept and filled as available.

Fees can be paid by filling out a rental application (available in the studio or on the website by clicking here) to include with your cash or check payment; both should be left with the studio monitor. 

“If you currently rent a locker/slot, fees will be due soon for 2025 rentals.” Fees can be paid… (as already written).

“If you will no longer wish to rent your locker/slot for 2025, please contact Valerie to let her know, and remove your supplies by the end of the year.”

You can contact Valerie St. Marie by clicking here -->  Just Click Here 

.

.....

Art Workshops and

......Art Classes in the Area

Adult Classes at the

Community Performance & Art Center (CPAC)

CPAC has expanded their adult education program to include a variety of workshops. Various media, traditional and new techniques, as well as classes for personal growth are all offered.

Adult Workshops at CPAC

Weekly Classes at CPAC

.Fran Sutherland: ."Four Ways to Start a Painting"

Every Wednesday AM from January 8 to February 12, 2025

........

.Rich Metcalf: "Discovering Your Artistic Style"

Every Monday AM from February 3 - 24, 2025....

For more information about the CPAC classes, CLICK HERE.

Learning Opportunities at the

Tubac School of Fine Art

The Tubac School of Fine Art is offering workshops from a variety of artists.

Please click below for information.

Phone: 520-398-2589

Email: workshops@tubacschooloffineart.org

Additional Workshops at the Tubac School of Fine Arts

.....

......Keiko Tanabe: "Composition and Design for Atmospheric Painting"

January 3 - 5, 2025...........

......Deb Deaton: "Painting Landscapes and Skies" January 25, 2025



Members’ News

Congratulations to five of our members

who have been awarded prizes

in CPAC’s Icons of the West II Exhibit - October 30 – December 21, 2024

First Prize: The Dancers Enter Stage Right by Leslie Berry 

Second Place:

Ceremonial Dress by Carlotta Brandenburg 

 Honorable Mention:

Alamos Morning by Sharon Wirth

 Honorable Mention:

Western Spirits by Barbara Sweeney

Honorable Mention:

Feather War Bonnet by Diane Conant

Congratulations to Joan Cawthorn! 

At the Tubac Center of Art recent Members’ Juried Exhibition, Joan was awarded the Ursula Suess Abstract Award for her painting, “Autumn Leaves.”

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (SIGs)

There are 10 Special Interest Groups and all of them are open to the members of the Art League.

• ABSTRACT BRIGGade
• ASSEMBLAGE
• COLLAGE/MIXED MEDIA and ACRYLIC
• FIGURE DRAWING
• OIL PAINTING & PASTEL

• OPEN STUDIO
• PLEIN AIR
• PORTRAIT
• PRINTMAKERS GUILD
• WATERCOLOR

On the SRAL website there is a complete description for each SIG.

If you wish to learn more about any of the SIGs, Click Here



Click here for the list of SIG chairpersons and their e-mail addresses.

Below is additional INFO not on the SRAL webpage.

ABSTRACT BRIGGade

There are no special skills required to join in with this friendly group. Attendees always find artist support, often with live demos, workshops, and critiques.

 Hi and welcome back to all of our returning friends. Our next meeting is 

Monday Dec. 9th at 10:00am in the studio.

We need you! 

For more information on the SRAL website, CLICK HERE

ASSEMBLAGE

Assemblage Art combines mundane objects in new and surprising ways, requiring the viewer to question their relation to the world of objects around them. Sometimes used as social critique or as an exploration of the fantastical and dream worlds, Assemblage Art gives objects new meanings, makes creative connections between disparate elements, and elevates non-art materials into the realm of art. 

The Assemblage Group meets on the 2^nd and 4^th Fridays of every month from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the SRAL Studio.

This is currently an informal group meeting for all who are interested creating three dimensional artworks and is open to all SRAL members. 

See you in the Studio!

COLLAGE/MIXED MEDIA and ACRYLIC

You can contact Janet Johnson by, Clicking Here.

All Art League members are invited to participate in this SIG.

Get ready for a terrific year.

FIGURE DRAWING

The Figure Drawing SIG will have a drawing session on Saturday, December 7th, 9 AM to Noon. We will have a clothed male model. The fee per participant is $5. Tips for the model are welcome. Hope to see you there.. All members are invited to participate.

OIL/PASTEL

This group meets every Monday from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. We are a friendly, supportive, and informal group that allows our members a scheduled time to paint, share ideas, and techniques. We welcome both beginner and accomplished artists alike!

PLEIN AIR PAINT OUTINGS

The first meeting of the Plein Air Group is Thursday, November 7th. We will meet every Thursday from November through April. A schedule for each month will be sent out at the end of each month for the following month to anyone on the email list. There will be a schedule posted on the studio bulletin board for the upcoming month. We travel to destinations all over Southern Arizona. We have meeting points where carpools are formed. Any art medium is acceptable. We paint for about 2 hours and have a light critique after we finish so we can all view our morning's work. We paint buildings, landscapes, or famous sites known to most Southern Arizonans. 

If you would like to join us send an e-mail to Nanci Sheppard.

Click Here

It is so wonderful to be in nature and create with other artists.

So please consider painting with us.

PRINTMAKERS GUILD

Coordinators: Karen Keim and John McGraw

The Printmakers Guild meets in the SRAL Studio twice a month on the second Wednesday and the fourth Thursday, September through May, with exceptions during holidays. Our sessions are held from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM in Room A.

WATERCOLOR

The Watercolor Group normally meets year-round in the SRAL studio on Fridays from 9am - noon. 

For new SRAL members, we are an informal, social group working on our own watercolor projects, while sharing ideas and support. All levels are welcome from beginners to those who have painted for years. The SRAL library also has many books on watercolors for your reference.

To contact Valerie St. Marie Click Here

Click here for the list of SIG chairpersons and their e-mail addresses.

GVR is alerting everyone about Closures for the Holiday Season

• Wednesday, Nov 27.....All Centers close at 6 pm

• Thursday, Nov 28.........Club spaces are closed

.........(Thanksgiving Day)

• Friday, Nov 29..............All Centers are OPEN

• Tuesday, Dec 24..........All Centers close at 6 pm

• Wednesday, Dec 25.....Club spaces will be closed

..........(Christmas Day)

• Tuesday, Dec 31..........All Centers close at 6 pm

..........(New Years Eve)

• Wednesday, Jan 1.......All Centers are OPEN

..........(New Years Day)

Mark your Calendar