This weekend at our DANIEL SMITH Store in Bellevue, for our FREE “How To” Art demos we have Anne Olwin demonstrating Watercolor Techniques and Darlene Lucas with Collagraph Printmaking.

 

Saturday,  Anne Olwin demonstrating Watercolor Techniques for painting Fur, Feather and Animals, you can see some examples of Anne’s animal Watercolor work here.  If you are interested in animal portraits, or painting animals in a landscape, this would be a good FREE demo to learn a few tips, and to find out more about Anne’s November 15th Watercolor Workshop: “Fur, Feather, and Animals” with more in depth teaching.  Here is a blog post on another Watercolor & Pastel demo that Anne did.

 

Saturday, November 7th at 11 am & 1:45 pm
WATERCOLOR: Fur, Feather, and Animals 
Anne Olwin
Don’t miss Anne’s Workshop Nov 15th Bellevue Store!

 

Sunday, Darlene Gentry Lucas will be sharing some great texture techniques with Collagraph printmaking.  Darlene often incorporates different papers into her watercolor paintings, “She layers various rice and handmade papers to develop textures and create movement from transparent to opaque.”  So come on Sunday and get some new ideas how you might use Collagraphic techniques in your own work.

 

Sunday, November 8th at 12 & 2 pm
PRINTMAKING: Textures!!! Collagraphic Printing with a Press
Darlene Lucas
gentryart.com

 

So come for fun, learn something new (to make original Holiday Cards?) and be inspired to Make Some ART!

 

Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns
 
Follow DANIEL SMITH on Twitter
Become a DANIEL SMITH Fan on Facebook

 

Seattle Store 
Saturday, October 10th Multiple Demos, Trading Card Table, and Try-it Stations
COLLAGRAPH: with Barbara Bruch 10 am to 12
BLOCK PRINTING: with Molly Hashimoto 12 to 2 pm
SOLAR PLATE: with Barbara Mason 2 pm to 4 pm

10:30 to 2:30 Special Printmaking Demo with Mary Shea with Fine Art Papers and more Sponsored by Savoir Faire

  

Bellevue Store
Saturday, October 10th Multiple Demos, Trading Card Table, and Try-it Stations
LINOLEUM PRINTING: with Dan Cautrell 10 am to 12
ETCHING: with Bill Ritchie 1 pm to 3 pm (August etching demo with Bill Ritchie)

 

Also heads up for Printmaking 101 Workshop: Screen Printing (Silkscreen) with Dave Pruneda beginning this Tuesday.  This is Part 3 of a rotating 4 part Series of Printmaking 101 Workshops. 

 

Tuesdays, October 13th & 20th, a series of 2 sessions at the Seattle Store
PRINTMAKING 101: Screenprinting
with Dave Pruneda

 

If you have been curious about the different forms of Printmaking and would like to find out more, then DANIEL SMITH is the place to be this Saturday!

 

 

My initial interest was to watch Bills’ 1977 video interview with Dan Smith (OUR Dan Smith!) with Dan talking about making etching and litho inks and why, while he worked on making a batch of etching ink.  Bill’s UW (University of Washington) video students were making this documentary as an assignment.  It is so interesting to see how Dan wanted to make the best printmaking inks available to artists such as himself, because he could not find the high quality inks he wanted to work with.  It was fascinating to watch “Making Etching Ink: Featuring D.G. Smith – Artist and Entrepreneur”!  You can watch a 2 1/2 minuet trailer at that link.

 

Bill told us that Dan Smith made the small batches of etching and litho inks and gave them to some UW printmaking students (Dan taught litho at UW in 1976) to test out in their work.  In the video when talking about one of the reasons why he began making inks, Dan says, “I’m into making perfect materials“.  A couple of other phrases really caught my attention; “One of my most favorite pigments is Lamp Black” and Dan goes on to explain why (incredibly rich color) as well as some background info on Lamp Black.  Later Dan makes a really poignant comment that I know many Artists also feel, “I don’t know how to make Art a bigger part of the world.“  I hope you have an opportunity to watch the video (now DVD) someday, it’s very interesting to watch what was originally a student assignment interview of someone who eventually turned his passion for making the BEST Art Materials for Artists into the Art business we know as DANIEL SMITH: Artists’ Materials.  And today that passion still continues to make the highest quality Artists Inks and Paints in the world!

 

Bills’ demo set up added another level of interest because his handcrafted “Halfwood Presses” were amazing sculptures on their own.  The photos on line do not do them justice, they are exquisitely detailed, and while working presses, they look as if they should be on display.  Bill brought his personal Mini Halfwood Press as a display which has a couple of unique and charming features.  The first was a clock embedded in the fine woodwork, and the second….well it has a music box mechanism in it and Bill surprised and charmed several DS store staff when it began playing!

 

For the part of the demo where Bill was pulling intaglio prints, inked in DANIEL SMITH etching ink, off the copper plate, he used a brand new, never-been-used press (#49) to test it before sending off to it’s new owner in Australia.  So not only was Bill debuting press #49, he was also pulling prints off a plate he made to commemorate his DVD of Dan Smith that he had not printed from before….pure performance!  Bill believes printmaking is a performance art and this demo was absolutely a performance.  I hope you get a chance to see his Interactive Printmaking FREE Demo this Sunday at the Bellevue DANIEL SMITH Store:

 

Sun July 26th from 12 to 2 pm Special Time!
INTERACTIVE PRINTMAKING: Daniel Smith Etching Ink DVD
Bill Ritchie Pulling Prints!
emeralda.com

 

Thank you Bill!

[ And Thank You for the wonderful print, I will treasure it! ]

 

Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns
 
Follow DANIEL SMITH on Twitter
Become a DANIEL SMITH Fan on Facebook

This Saturday, the Bellevue DANIEL SMITH Store will have Artist Gail Baker demonstrating Acrylic Painting: “Acrylics in the Rough“.  It’s FREE, so come by and get some great Acrylic Painting tips from Gail.

“My plan is to give a background of the DVD we made in the 1970s, then play the DVD. While it’s playing, I’ll quietly print an etching I made, titled Portrait of Daniel Smith - using ink made by Daniel Smith, Inc. and on a Halfwood Press I designed.’- Bill Ritchie” 

This Saturday we are having a Special FREE Demo at the DANIEL SMITH Seattle Store and again on July 26th at the Bellevue Store with Artist Bill Ritchie. 

 

Bill Ritchie is a Multimedia Artist whose work includes working in Printmaking and Video.  In 1977 a few of his video art students, as part of an assignment, filmed Bill talking with Daniel Smith.  This “Basement Documentary” filmed by Bills’ students, shows Dan Smith talking about why he, as an Printmaking Artist, began making fine art printmaking inks which eventually grew into becoming the International Company DANIEL SMITH: Artists’ Marterials.   Bills’ video shows Dan talking about the struggle to balance making his art and starting his business, while showing Dan making a batch of etching ink, and a few years later at work as an Artist pulling prints. 

 

For this Special demo, Bill will be playing his video, “Making Etching Ink: Featuring D.G. Smith – Artist and Entrepreneur” (you can see a video trailer of the DVD on that link) during the demo while he pulls etching prints off the plate he made just for this occasion.  Bill has not pulled a print off this new plate yet, so everyone present at the start of the demo will get to see the first proof.  As Bill described it to me, it will be a bit of a “performance piece” as he will be pulling the prints off his “Halfwood Etching Press“

 

Seattle: Sat July 18th from 11 am to 1 pm Special Time!

Bellevue: Sun July 26th from 12 to 2 pm Special Time!  
INTERACTIVE PRINTMAKING: Daniel Smith Etching Ink DVD
Bill Ritchie Pulling Prints!
emeralda.com

 

In addition to the regular FREE weekend Art demos, this Saturday the Seattle DANIEL SMITH Store will have a very Special Interactive Printmaking Session with Artist Bill Ritchie. 

 Bill Ritchie has this posted on his website:

 ”‘My plan is to give a background of the DVD we made in the 1970s, then play the DVD. While it’s playing, I’ll quietly print an etching I made, titled Portrait of Daniel Smith - using ink made by Daniel Smith, Inc. and on a Halfwood Press I designed.’- Bill Ritchie”  

Bill also has a 2 1/2 minuet trailer from his DVD of his fascinating 1977 interview with Daniel Smith and making Printmaking Ink posted on his website.  At Bill’s demo, he will be playing the complete DVD while he pulls some prints.  This Special demo is from 11am to 1pm.  We are very excited to have Bill at the Seattle Store this weekend and the Bellevue Store July 26th, so please come and join us for this Special Event! 

Saturday, July 18th, we will also have two FREE demos at 1 and 3pm with Artist Dan Riley on “How to Figure Draw in Watercolor“.  Dan is an Artist who is all about the drawing, and writes this on his website: “I love a good line. The capture of a look, a gesture or an emotion with the simplicity of a clean line is almost magical to me.”  Come and learn more from Dan on figure drawing in Watercolor. 

Sunday, July 19th, Cal Capener will be demonstrating how he paints in oils, landscapes.  This demo is at a special time from 12 to 2pm while Cal paints a landscape in oils so you can watch while he paints and ask questions. 

Please note that there are Special Times for all these demos so you don’t miss out. 

Saturday,  July 18th from 11 am to 1 pm – Special Time!
INTERACTIVE PRINTMAKING: Daniel Smith Etching Ink DVD
Bill Ritchie Pulling Prints!
emeralda.com

Saturday,  July 18th at 1 pm & 3 pm – Special Time!
WATERCOLOR: Figure Drawing
Dan Riley
danrileyart.com

***

Sunday,  July 19th from 12 to 2 pm – Special Time!
OIL: Landscapes
Cal Capener 

 

Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns
 
Follow DANIEL SMITH on Twitter
Become a DS Fan on Facebook

It was hard being inside on the beautiful, spring-like day we had today to attend the FREE Weekend Demo at the Seattle DANIEL SMITH Store, fortunately seeing Lisa Snow Lady’s floral monoprints and demo more than made up for it. 

 

First of all, the story behind Lisa’s name is that her maiden name is Snow, and her husbands last name is Lady.  Lisa trained as a painter and has for the last 15 years been working on monotypes as well.  She finds that the process, for her, is similar to painting.   

 

During the hour long demo, Lisa created a monoprint of two pears showing us some of the basic techniques, as well as some fun ways to get some creative visual effects. 

 

Lisa works from a drawing on paper of her subject, then lays the plexiglass plate over the drawing so that she can see the drawing through the plexiglass.  Then Lisa mixes her inks on a glass palette with a brayer.  Once she has mixed the desired color, she begins to apply that color with the brayer, onto the areas on the glass to cover the desired areas of the drawing she can see through the plexiglass.  Lisa keeps mixing ink colors and applying them to cover areas of the plexiglass.  Lisa may at that time “draw” into the flat applications of paint with q-tips, or other objects to remove some of the ink she just applied.  The printmaking paper then is placed on the inked plexiglass and run through the press.  The paper with an image is removed and the plexiglass plate is cleaned. 

 

These steps are repeated over and over with creative modifications such as: laying decorative papers down on the ink, “painting” the ink onto the plexiglass getting more painterly effects and more.  The possibilities are infinite!

 

While Lisa uses a printing press at her studio, and for the demo she used one of the Seattle Stores’ display presses, you can use a brayer on thinner paper or even wet the paper so that ink can go on thicker.  It won’t have quite the same effect, but you will get different effects to work with.