This past weekend we had a Special, FREE “Hands On” Art Event, our DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolors and DS Extra Fine Watercolor Stick Extravaganza! 

 

Instead of our regular FREE “How To” Weekend Art demos at our Seattle Store and Bellevue DANIEL SMITH Stores this past weekend, we offered one of our Special “Hands On” Art Events.  These “Hands On” Events allow everyone who attends the opportunity to try out the Art Supplies featured at the Event. 

 

The Seattle Store had Annie Van Engelen in the Gallery/Demo room demonstrating, answering questions and encouraging everyone to paint using the PrimaTek Watercolors and the Watercolor Sticks on various watercolor papers:  Yupo paper, UArt Sanded Pastel Paper (wasn’t out but you could use the Wallis Archival Sanded Pastel [mulit media] Papers) and Fredrix Archival Watercolor Canvas Pad.

 

The Bellevue Store had Artists Sales Associates Craig on Saturday, and Joe on Sunday, demonstrating and answering questions at the “Try It” table set up near the front of the store while customers tried out our DS PrimaTek Watercolors and DS Watercolor Sticks for themselves.

 

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

This weekend we are having a Special FREE Watercolor Event with Winsor & Newton at both Seattle (Saturday) and Bellevue (Sunday) with Artist Christine Hanlon.  There will be FREE Goodies (!) for this Special FREE Event, seating is limited, and pre-registration is required.

 

“This lively and entertaining discussion looks at the history, techniques, and materials that spell success when working in this most legendary of mediums. Impress your friends with your knowledge of flocculation and hydrogen bonding! Learn the keys to color permanence and light-fastness! What mediums will help you capture texture and expressive gesture? What are the three benchmarks for fine water-media brushes?” 
The first 40, for Seattle and the first 30 for Bellevue, to register receive a free packet of water colours and related materials with a combined value of over $35
Seating Limited – Pre-Registration Required

 

Patsy Surh O’Connell will be at the Bellevue Store on Saturday demonstrating Gongbi: Chinese Ink Painting.  Patsy was at the Seattle Store last year with a demo on Chinese Ink Painting that was very interesting.  If you are interested in watercolor painting or ink painting this FREE demo will give you some insight into some new techniques to try.

 

Saturday, October 31st at 11 am & 1:45 pm
GONGBI: Chinese Ink Painting

Patsy Surh O’Connell 

 

 

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

 

I attended most of the first hour of Barbara VanDyke-Shuman’s  2 hour demo (11am to 1pm) with her talking and showing everyone how she creates her Pastel landscapes.  Be sure to visit the Gallery section of her website to see her pastel work. 

 

First I want to pass on to you is, one of the things Barbara told the audience after some questions were being asked about 15 minuets into the demo, was that she learned the answers to many of HER questions about using Pastels and other art materials by attending the FREE demos at DANIEL SMITH!  And, if you did not know already, there are also available on the DANIEL SMITH website in the “Art Tutorials, Articles and Techniques ” link at the bottom of the homepage a great selection of “How To” articles, here is the link for Pastel Tutorials .

 

Okay, back to Barbara’s demo…. 

 

Barbara likes to work in Plein Aire when she can, so she usually works at an easel.  TIP Here: when working on an easel, Barbara has made an inexpensive pastel tray to catch the pastel dust by folding a mat board into a tray.  She scores the mat board a couple of inches from the bottom, then scores it again on the same side the width of her easel tray area.  Barbara then bends at the first score to a 90 degree angle, then at the second score also with a 90 degree angle with the major part of the mat board upright.  Then she lays the mat board in her easel tray so that she can now rest her pastel panel in the mat board tray on her easel.   The now cupped shaped mat board collects the pastel dust for easier clean up.

 

When working in the studio, Barbara works from her thumbnail sketches, and at first studies values in the sketch with a “Picture Perfect Value Finder “.  Then, working on Wallis Sanded Paper or UART400 , Barbara tacks the paper down, then lays down some pastel in large, rough areas to give herself a good, color ground to work from.  Using orderless mineral spirits and a brush, she smooths the pastel ground and then lets it dry before beginning her real pastel work using her sketch as a reference, photo too if she has one.

 

Some of the art supplies Barbara uses include:

Pastels (Unison , Rembrant , Sennelier , and Nupastels ) Sanded Pastel Paper: UART400 , Wallis Sanded Paper , Arches Cover , Finger cots , Pastel Primer, Rubber tipped blender, Brushes , Odorless Mineral Spirits, Barrier Cream, Color Wheel.

This weekend is our Annual Spring Pastel Event at both the Seattle and Bellevue DANIEL SMITH stores!  So You are invited to come by our stores for FREE demos by Artists’ showing you how they create their Art in Pastels, and you can give pastels a try at the special tables step up in the stores too.

 

At the Seattle Store on Saturday, April 4th, we will have FREE Pastel demos from 11am to 1pm with Barbra VanDyke-Shuman AND from 2pm to 4pm with Jerry Baldwin .

 

On Sunday at the Seattle Store, April 5th, we will have FREE Pastel demos from 12pm to 1:30pm with Joseph Lesser , AND from 2:30pm to 4pm with Mary Shea.

 

At the Bellevue Store on Saturday, April 4th, you can stop by the FREE Pastels demos and watch Gary Gumble from 11am to 1pm, AND Sue Dawson from 2pm to 4pm.

 

On Sunday at the Bellevue Store, April 5th, you can stop by the FREE Pastels demos and watch Barbara VanDyke-Shuman 12pm to 1:30pm AND, Jerry Baldwin from 2:30pm to 4pm

 

You can also try out pastels at tables in the store so you can see how luscious they are to work with, and perfect for creating some gorgeous Spring Art! 

 

Saturday, July 26th at 9:30am

EARLY BIRD DEMO

ninadekert.com

*****

Be sure to come by for this very Special FREE Event at the DANIEL SMITH Store in Bellevue with the Faculty from the DigiPen Institute of Technology . DigiPen Institute of Technology is the leader for Game Development and Computer Animation Education. This is a great opportunity to get an introduction into training for a career in Computer Game Development and Computer Animation. 

So, have you ever wondered if this is a career direction you would be interested in exploring? Here is your opportunity!

Please look at the schedule below for this two day, all day FREE Event to find sessions that you are interested in.

July 26th and 27th Animation Weekend with

***** 

10am Pre-production Overview of the industry and

process. going from storyboard to animatics,

and character design issues.

11:30am Character Design Discussion about

the creative process of designing engaging

characters that can be animated.

1pm Environment Design. The considerations for backgrounds.

2:30 The Art of Animation. The various forms of animation,

and the specific challenges involved with

bringing artwork to life.

***** 

12noon Game Introductory Overview The challenges

of creating art for games.

1:30pm Industry Tools Game assets tools such as

Flash, Photoshop, and 3DS Max.

3pm Creating Animation for Games The technical issues involved

with the implementation of animation into

real-time interactive environments

*****

The DANIEL SMITH Store in Bellevue is hosting a FREE Special Event Weekend with the DigiPen Institute of Technology Faculty on July 26th and 27th.

This is truly a special opportunity for anyone interested in computer art and animation as Digipen Institure of Technology is the; “first university in the world dedicated to teaching how to create video games.” This FREE Special Event will be held in the Gallery/Workshop space at the Bellevue DANIEL SMITH Store. Please see the information below for topics and times.

*****

***

This weekend is the Watercolor Event at the DANIEL SMITH Bellevue Store!

Saturday, May 17th at 11 am & 1:45 pm

FREE!

Saturday, May 17th at 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

FREE!

Sunday, May 18th from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm

SPECIAL HANDS-ON EVENT
FREE!

Sunday, May 18th from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Marianne Perkins
FREE!

Saturday, May 17th from 9am to 10am

With Che Lopez

Start your day early in this one-hour class of watercolor basics.
Che will show you fun and useful tips for learning to watercolor paint.
Each student will receive a $10.00 coupon

to use at the Bellevue store towards

purchasing art materials, what a deal!
Please register early, as class sizes are limited.

001 020 004

http://danielsmithart.blogspot.com/2008/05/watercolor-event-weekend-at-bellevue.html 

This weekends FREE Demo and Mother’s Day Event

Jerry Baldwin
FREE!  

Sunday, Mother’s Day, May 11th from 11 am to 1 pm

WATERCOLOR: Paint a Special Mother’s Day Memory
with Store Staff. Samples, and some Hands-on.

Bring in small dried flowers to learn different methods
of integrating into your artwork.
FREE!

This weekend FREE Art demo and Mother’s Day Event at the

WATERCOLOR: Garden Journal
Molly Hashimoto
FREE!

**********

Also, Don’t forget Molly Hashimoto’s Workshop

June 8th at the Seattle Store

Back by popular demand!

Fine-tune your skills for summer by taking one of

Molly’s most loved workshops.

Sunday, Mother’s Day, May 11th from 11 am to 1 pm
WATERCOLOR: Paint a Special Mother’s Day Memory
with Store Staff. Samples, and some Hands-On.

Bring in small dried flowers to learn different methods
of integrating them into your artwork.
FREE!

May is Watercolor Month at the DANIEL SMITH Stores in Bellevue and Seattle!

Through out the month of May, the focus is on watercolor 

and there are are lots of watercolor painting FREE demos,

Workshops, and the Watercolor Event May 17th & 18th.

So look for upcoming events, receptions, and demos

celebrating Watercolor Month

at DANIEL SMITH!

 

 

Hands-On, multiple demos, Artwork, give-aways and more.

Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord
with Che Lopez at 11 am and 12:30pm on the sales floor

(Sponsored by Unison FREE Samples)

Sunday, April 27th from 11:00- 4:00

Hands-On, multiple demos, Artwork, give-aways and more.

Pastel on Paper
with Mary Shea at 12pm and 1:30pm on the sales floor

“Start Abstractly Finish Realistically”
with Gary Gumble from 2pm to 4pm in the event room

(Sponsored by Sennelier FREE Samples)