2021 Upcoming Workshops

A Hybrid Approach to Painting Outside With Artist Ron Krouk:


There’s nothing quite like painting from nature outside! The challenge of distilling intense and changing sensations into something only you can express is completely absorbing but how can we avoid being overwhelmed?
This workshop involves a hybrid approach to the difficulties of weather, lighting conditions and constant change. We’ll use many smart phone photos to help with selection, composition and simplification but will rely on “being there” for inspiration and most of the work. Through structured exercises, we’ll practice seeing in larger shapes based on values rather than delineating the “things” we know. You can expect focus on simplification, encouragement of process and growth, review of the most important elements of drawing (how tall, how wide, at what angle) and painting (value and color relationships) and exploration of options for equipment.
Some work will be done in the studio when we have weather concerns. Painters at all levels of experience are welcome. You’ll need a portable easel, oil or acrylic paints and some scheduling flexibility.
Because we will be inside together for some of this workshop, we trust that those participating have been vaccinated or will be prepared to wear a mask for the session. Thank you for helping to keep our community healthy.




Class meets at The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck August 3, 4 and 5 and run from 10AM to 3PM each day, with time for lunch break. Material list sent upon registration.

2021 Upcoming Workshops

Drawing, Painting, and Critique Workshops With Artist Amy Sudarsky:

July 26, 27, and 28 “Drawing and Painting the Figure”:


Amy Sudarsky, the juror for last year’s Beyond Likeness exhibit through RNAC, is teaching a three-day workshop live at The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck. Although Amy focused on the self-portrait through Zoom classes during Covid, we can now branch out to the entire figure, applying Amy’s same patient and methodical approaches to: gesture, planar structure, value and expressive possibilities. Those using paint can continue to explore monochrome or full color. There will be nude models, male for day one, female on the next two days. If you are painting, bring the materials you are comfortable with and a drop cloth for spills. Since this is an indoor workshop we trust that those participating have been vaccinated or will be prepared to wear a mask for the session. Thank you for helping to keep our community healthy.

Materials list:

18”x24″ drawing pad (preferably all-purpose paper but newsprint in fine, too)

Conte crayons– medium softness

Charcoal pencil–4B

Kneaded eraser

Painting materials of your choice; drop cloth

Class meets at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck July 26, 27 and 28, from 10AM to 3PM each day.


July 29 “Small Group Critiques”

Teacher Amy Sudarsky will hold two small-group critiques for students and others focusing on the figure and the portrait. Bring up to five works for feedback from Amy and the group. Explain your process and articulate where you think you need help.

Since this is an indoor workshop we trust that those participating have been vaccinated or will be prepared to wear a mask for the session. Thank you for helping to keep our community healthy.

This critique will take place at the Goetemann Artist Residency Studio.

Group 1: July 29 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Group 2: July 29 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM



July 30 “All About Hands”


Why are hands so hard to draw? Because they’re hard to draw. Fortunately, artist Amy Sudarsky loves to draw hands and is really good at telling us how to do the same. In this two-hour intensive, Amy will gently guide us through the basics of gesture, basic planes and just enough anatomy to up our game considerably. Demonstrations galore!

Since this is an indoor workshop, we trust that those participating have been vaccinated or will be prepared to wear a mask for the session. Thank you for helping to keep our community healthy.

Materials:

18”x24″; Drawing pad

4B Charcoal pencil and/or conte crayons, medium

Eraser

Class meets at the Cultural Center at Rocky Neck July 30th from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM.


Find out more about Amy here: https://www.rnacexhibitions.com/amy-sedarsky

2021 Upcoming Workshops

Tulip Paint-a-Thon, May 12 & 13

All systems go! Lovely day. And there are still tulips:

Time to get outside and paint. Generous Gardeners planted 30,000 tulips along The Boulevard in Gloucester and the bulbs are getting ready to put on their show. Sort of a flash-mob plein air, let’s convene at the Fishermens’ Wives Memorial statue around 11 AM on Wednesday and Thursday, May 12 & 13, to put the show on canvas, sketchbook, paper or pad.

Watercolor Tulips, by Joyce Roessler

We’re asking for a $20 donation, to be split between Rocky Neck Art Colony and Generous Gardeners. No instruction. Just bring your enthusiasm.

Check back here for more updates and last-minute info (like rain).

2021 Upcoming Workshops

Keep Busy in March

Lots of classes.

If you’re interested in printing, you’ll want to take Maria Malatesta’s Gelli printing class focusing on Mixed Media. It runs the weekend of March 13-14. Get more info and sign up here

Block printing is the domain of Mary Rhinelander. She asks that you have previous experience to join this class. This’ll be a fun workshop, running for five Saturdays, starting the first day of spring! Get all the info here

Soon to be added: Need a little nudge to get your sketchbook practice under way? Artist Loren Doucette is the master nudged with feedback, prompts and loads of encouragement. Class runs four Tuesdays, from noon-1:30, starting March 9. Sign-up here

Online Challenges

Art Share: What’s in Your Sketchbook

Rocky Neck Art Colony’s newest virtual exhibition is called: Up Close: Sketchbooks by Martha Swanson.

Martha (Marty) was RNAC’s Artistic Director for the past 8 years and we thought this would be a great way to honor all she’s done for Rocky Neck — and all the art directions she’s explored.

So…what’s in your sketchbook? Send submissions to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com, be sure to include a brief bit about what we’re looking at. And your name, of course.

From Judythe Evans Meagher

Ed. Note: Be sure to drop by Judythe’s studio on Rocky Neck this summer.

From Linda Bourke:

From Pamela Stratton:

This was a sketch for a mosaic honoring my ceramic pot that I purchased from Ruth Worrell. It is the inside of the vessel.

—Pamela Stratton

From Lynda Fatalo

These are drawings from my drawing-a-day 2020 (366 leap year!) series. 
The first group are drawings from the alphabet series. 
The second group are drawings from the number series (1-100).
I posted a drawing a day for the year on instagram @artonomous_art
I’m continuing posting a piece a day this year as well . — Lynda Fatalo

From Matt Cegelis

All the excitement about sketchbooks has motivated me to start a digital sketchbook, and Loren’s wonderful video has inspired me to begin a daily sketchbook practice.

Not a day without a line!

My “First Page” is attached. The fun has begun! My sketchbook medium is digital, using the painting tools in Adobe Photoshop 2021 – Matt Cegelis

From Neta Goren:

In Italy, 2019
Ruins in Brit-She’an, looking east towards the Jordan mountains, 2017
Umbria, Italy, 2019
The 3rd Lockdown, 2021 (all images by Neta Goren)

Online Challenges

My Favorite Thing — Art Share #1

A little different this time. Instead of you creating a new piece of art, look around your house or studio — which one piece is your absolute favorite, the one you would have a hard time living without. It could be a piece done by you, your kids, your favorite artist. It just has to be really important to you.

For this “Share,” you can add a few words about why it speaks to you. But try to keep it to under 50 words. Send to RNAC.workshops@gmail.

Ken sent this in without a title. But do you really need one? By Ken King
Drawing, by Jake

This charcoal/pastel drawing was made by my son, Jake, many years ago. It shows the strength, balance and resilience that has made him into a fabulous, caring adult!

—Karen Ristuben

I was touring artists residencies in California when I met a family of potters from Jalisco, Mexico, who made beautifully unusual works. The entire family works together and was enjoying the Montalvo residency in Santa Clara. The father, Gerardo Ortega is the heir of three generations of potters and is considered a Grand Master of Mexican folk art.
I fell in love with this joy-filled car depicting Mary, Joseph and the three kings taking the happy baby Jesus out for a ride.

—Kathy Archer

The Celeste Burrill, by Arthur V. Gregory

Painted in 1897 in Australia by marine artist Arthur V. Gregory, it shows my sea captain great grandfather, my great grandmother, and my then 9-year-old grandfather aboard the ship Celeste Burrill. From Australia to Nova Scotia to Minnesota and now to Massachusetts, it connects me to 10 generations of mariners.

— Paul Trefry

Petie

This is a taxidermy bird I love. I’ve painted it many times. His name is Petie. Looks exactly like my childhood pet bird.

— Joyce Roessler

Storm Warning, by Kevin Magnan

This is a painting by my son Kevin Magnan. He grew up around the ocean and has painted a number of seascapes, capturing many different moods. This is one of my favorites.

—Ray Magnan

Walt Whitman Portrait (1969, 4/25), by Antonio Frasconi

I fell in love with this the minute my father brought it home. Walt’s been with me a long time, and so have my favorite lines of his:

O to be self-balanced for contingencies, 
To confront night, storms, 
hunger, ridicule, accidents, rebuffs, 
as the trees and animals do.

—Janice Brand

Online Challenges

Basic Black — Art Challenge #26

We’re at 25+ weeks of Art Challenge, which has been a great run. I’m sensing a lessening of enthusiasm or at least of submissions, so I’m going to ease up for a while and consider this the Fortnightly Art Challenge. It’s getting colder and there’ll be fewer options for distractions, so maybe things will pick up.

So, you’re not off the hook yet! This fortnight (two weeks), draw with white on a black surface. Simple, but powerful.

Rules are simple:

  • Black & white (okay, I added some color)
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

Deadline is November 7. Send submissions to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. If you have some killer ideas for new Challenges, send those along too!

“Who are we, where are we from, where are we going…” to paraphrase someone else, by Ken King
Black Self Portrait, by Joyce Roessler
Ebb Tide, by Pat Collins
September 30, by Linda Bourke
Wet Street, by Pat Collins
Floaters, by Matt Cegelis
Charles River Bridge, by Ray Magnan
White on Black Paper, by Neta Goren
Buster, by Janice Brand
Wiggy, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Break with Tradition — Art Challenge #25

For this challenge, put aside your pencils and brushes. Make an image using a non-traditional drawing tool (stick, fork, your roommate’s toothbrush…). You can also use a non-traditional medium. Please identify your materials.

Otherwise, rules as usual:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Truly any surface, any non traditional medium

Deadline is October 24. Send your image to rnac.workshops@gmail.com. Send title, but more important this week, identify your materials.

Tool used was the tube from a paper towel roll fluted on the end, by Ed Mowrey
Low Brow Hairbrows (what happens when you start trimming your hair), by Linda Bourke
Kitchen-Printed Crucifix with plastic bags and finger press, by Neta Goren
Doodling with Wire from Chinese Take-Out Containers, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

10X — Art Challenge #24

Enlarging is a powerful visual strategy. Otherwise, we would not love Georgia O’Keefe’s work quite so much.

For this art challenge, choose a small object from nature– a seed, mushroom, cherry, shell, etc. Spend a few minutes observing the object’s details. Make an image in which the object is at least TEN times larger than the original (1 inch = 10 inches!). Don’t hesitate to let the image bleed off the edges of your surface to create interesting negative shapes.

Simple rules:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

Deadline is October 10. Send your image to rnac.workshops@gmail.com. Send along a title, or I’ll come up with one (and it’s sure to be wrong!).

Pebbles, by Ken King
Blizzard, by Ray Magnan
Eye of Kara, by Ray Magnan
Forsythia’s Second Coming, by Linda Bourke
Teeny Weeny Barnacle, by Janice Brand
Zinnia, by Linda Bourke
Happy Hour, by Matt Cegelis
Gourd, by Linda Bourke

Online Challenges

Subtractive Drawing — Art Challenge #23

This week’s Challenge involves removing from the surface. Scratch, scrape, sand, erase your way to an image! (Personally, I find it one of the most fun ways to attack something — break out those erasers.)

Rules are simple too:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

Deadline is October 3. Send your image to rnac.workshops@gmail.com. Send along a title, or I’ll come up with one (and it’s sure to be wrong!).

One Lonely Tree, by Michele Champion
Less is More, by Matt Cegelis
Ken’s Trees, by Janice Brand
Online Challenges

Repetition — Art Challenge #22

Let us repeat: Repetition. Using repetition can produce a variety of effect, like movement or emphasis. It can trigger memory, create confusion or just result in an interesting composition. In this challenge use repetition repetition.

Rules are simple:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

Deadline for this one is September 26; send to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send along a title or I’ll have to make one up.

Repetitions, by Mary Rhinelander
Knot, by Matt Cegelis
Cherries, by Christine Bobek
Balancing Act, by Christine Bobek
I am Paisley, by Jean Fogle
Angel, Angel, by Linda Bourke
Music of the Spheres, by Ken King
She Sells Sea Shells, by Michele Champion
Reflections on the Multiverse, by Ray Magnan
Birds on a Wire a la Stuart Davis, by Janice Brand

Online Challenges

Go Wide — Art Challenge #21

Someone mentioned football season starting? We can do that — here’s the challenge: think wide, think panoramic format. (Okay, not the easiest thing to take a picture of, but give it a whirl.)

Rules are simple:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

Deadline for this one is September 19; send to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send along a title or I’ll have to make one up.

The Headlands, by Matt Cegelis
After the Swim, by Karen Matthews
Stoney Cove, by Joyce Roessler
Rocks at Folly Cove, by Linda Bourke
Plum Island, by Linda Bourke
Summer of ’75, by Ken King
Elizabeth Bishop the Traveler, by Neta Goren
Online Challenges

Merging 2D and 3D — Art Challenge #20

Enough summer laziness. We’re back! This week’s challenge is to merge the 2D world and the 3D world. It’s easier than you think — or not.

Rules are simple, as ever:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D and 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

You have until September 12 for this one. Send submissions to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com with your title or I’ll make one up!

Can Do, by Judy Robinson-Cox
Rosie, by Karen Watson
Swimming in the Quarry, 9/12, by Sally Waite
The Angelic Monitor, by Cornelius Sullivan
SOS (Save Our Seas), by Donna Caselden
Beached in the Grass, by Alev Danis
Tail Feather, by Linda Bourke
What Mice? by Janice Brand
Bottle Cap Snout, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Big Tiny — Art Challenge # 19

Big Tiny is one of our major fundraisers for Rocky Neck Art Colony and you can help make it a success. The Challenge is to make a gorgeous image in a tiny 5×5″  painting, photograph, mixed media or print. This will be a piece you can deliver to us per instructions below for inclusion in the fundraiser.

Here are your marching orders:

  • After matting the visible area must be 5 inches x 5 inches.
  • Work on a 6“x6″ piece of watercolor paper, bristol board or photo paper. Need paper? We can provide 6”x6” 100 lb. Bristol stock. Call Mary Ann McCormick at 978-317-6803 to arrange a pick-up time at 4 Hatch Way on Rocky Neck (not the Cultural Center). 
  • All 2D media accepted, including photography, collage, drawing and painting.
  • We do the matting. Just remember the visible area must be 5×5”.
  • Sign the BACK, not the front. One of the thrills of Big Tiny is the buyer doesn’t know who did the piece until after purchase!
  • Submission Deadline Update: Final Art due September 7. No excuses now! Please deliver or mail artworks in protective packaging to Mary Ann McCormick, 4 Hatch Way, Gloucester MA 01930.  Artwork pickups can also be arranged.

See the links below to YouTube videos for some inspiration on how to make your tiny masterpiece:

Barbara Moody

Ruth Mordecai

Kat Masella

Loren Doucette

The Big Tiny is all-virtual this year, so people can view and buy online. The website (we’ll post the URL here when it’s up) will be live for three days, Oct. 10 to 12. The artwork will sell for $150 the first day, $100 the second and $50 on the third. We are also offering framed Triptychs of three pieces that go together.

If you want, you can send your image here to Art Challenge for posting (I won’t be running your caption info): RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. More important, though, is to send the completed piece in to the address above by August 31.

Here’s another idea: Repurpose some of your past Art Challenge work for Big Tiny. As long as it has the all-important 5”x5” internal dimension, you’re probably good to go.

Anonymous for Big Tiny
Online Challenges

Distort This — Art Challenge #18

Create an image incorporating distortion as the essential visual strategy. What is distortion? Morphing, blurring, stretching. You play with it.

Rules as ever:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

I’m going to take a bit of a break for August and only update every two weeks (the Fortnighly Challenge?). So you have until August 15 for this one. Send submissions to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com with your title or I’ll make one up!

Pop Rocks, by Katherine Coakley
Old Garden Beach, by Karen Watson
Hold That Pose, by Matt Cegelis
Mood Indigo, by Ken King
Turtle Diary, by Linda Bourke
BMW 507 at Castle Hill, by Ray Magnan
Blurry Barry, by Janice Brand
Online Challenges

Good Fortune — Art Challenge #17

For this Challenge, you will need a fortune cookie (real, virtual, dreamt). Make an image triggered by your fortune. But, wait there’s more: Many fortune cookies’ fortunes have a feature on the back “Learn One Chinese Word.” An extra challenge is to somehow reference that word in the drawing. (If you’re looking for some inspiration, start here.)

Rules are simple:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible

Send your image to RNAC.Workshops@gmail.com along with the title of your piece. Deadline for this Challenge is August 1.

Fortune Cookie in a Teacup, by Matt Cegelis
This Cookie’s Fortune: “Declare Peace Every Day”, by Linda Bourke
Practicing Good Fortune (with Jackie’s Ceramic Cookie), by Janice Brand
Online Challenges

Ingredients — Art Challenge #16

Some energetic souls here at Rocky Neck Art Colony are looking to put together a Colony cookbook. We’re gathering recipes, and we need art too. Focusing on ingredients is easier than, say, painting a salad, so take your favorites as inspiration—eggs, apples, walnuts, even broccoli, maybe a whole pie —and paint/draw/photograph at will.

Rules are simple:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your image to RNAC.Workshops@gmail.com along with the title of the piece. Deadline for Ingredients is July 26 (extended — I’ll be away the 20th to the 23rd and won’t be able to post your pictures on those dates).

Gooseberries, by Christine Bobek
Olive Branch, by Christine Bobek
Pears by Katherine Coakley
Pears, by Dina Gomery
Eggs Not Broken, by Ken King
Cabbage, by Olga Hayes

Ripe, by Sandy Shaw
Greek Salad, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Farm Fresh, by Leslie Heffron
Four Pears, by Bruce Shaw

Apples, by Marny Williams

Corn and Ant, by Karen Watson

Pierre’s Table Oil, by Candace Stella
Italian Dinner at Farfa, by Joy Buell
Oysters, by Mary Hayes
Frilly Egg, by Helen Tory
Allium Sativum, by Matt Cegelis
Swiss Chard, by Ray Magnan
Pepino Melon and Grapes, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Fast Sketch — Art Challenge #15

Sure, it’s easy to draw a model or a tree, something static. Want a real challenge? Pick a moving target. I happen to be partial to chickens, but birds, waves, dogs, people at the beach: anything’s fair game. You’ll be training your eye to get the essentials — fast.

Rules are simple:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your image to RNAC.Workshops@gmail.com along with the title of the piece. Deadline for Fast Sketch is July 11.

Happy Hour, by Ken King
Too Darn Hot, by Jane Hively
Sailing Lessons, by Shelly Champion
Pounding Down the Tracks, by Jonathan Hively
1918, by Donna Caselden
Ellie in the Woods, by Matt Cegelis
Helen’s Chickens by Helen, by Helen Tory
Released, by Linda Bourke
Helen’s Chickens, by Janice Brand
Online Challenges

Faceless Self-Portrait — Art Challenge #14

Phew — glad that Mineral Challenge is over (though if you have a piece to submit, you still can). This week’s Challenge is way more fun: Create a self-portrait that does NOT include your face.

The rules are simple:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your image to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send in a title or I’ll come up with my own. Deadline for Faceless Self-Portrait is July 4 (July 4th?? Already??).

In Summer, by Neta Goren
Piper Jon, by Jonathan Hively
Self Portrait without a Self Portrait, by Ken King
Bubbly Jane, by Jane Hively
About Face, by Ed Mowrey
Faceless Selfie, by Matt Cegelis
Some Fingers on It, by Helen Tory

Gray Hair, by Janice Brand
Faceless Selfie, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Mineral—Art Challenge #13

Figures it would be Number 13: Mineral?? According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a mineral is “a naturally occurring homogeneous solid with a definite chemical compositionand a highly ordered atomic arrangement; it is usually formed by inorganic processes.”

Got that? Me neither.

You can Google “mineral images”— get out the paint box!

If you played along with Animal and Vegetable, this Mineral should be part of that series—or not. Try your best!

  • Color (black & white if you think you can!)
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your image to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send in a title or I’ll come up with my own. Deadline for Mineral is June 28.

A Necessity for Life, by Sandy Shaw
The Gift, by Ken King
Carats & Carrots Plus Sheep, by Jon Hively
Round Stone on Rock, by Helen Tory
The Eye of the Tiger in Dreamland, by Jane Hively
Portrait of a. Rock, by Ed Mowery
Across Generations: Self-Portrait in my Grandmother’s Silver Spoon, by Bruce Shaw
Beach Rock Garden, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Mock Diamond (part of the Mock Series), by Linda Bourke
Three of My Favorites, by Christine Bobek
Himalayan Salt, by Matt Cegelis
Online Challenges

Vegetable—Art Challenge #12

Following last week’s Animal Challenge, this week it’s Vegetable’s turn. You did establish a theme for all your images, right (remember, next week it’s the trio’s conclusion with Mineral)? Yeah, I didn’t either. That shouldn’t stop you, though.

Simple rules:

  • Color or black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Draw from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your image to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Send in a title or I’ll come up with one of my own! Deadline for Vegetable is June 21.

The Offering, by Ken King
Fennel, by Jean Fogle
Carrot Banquet, by Jonathan Hively
Peter Piper’s Peppers, by Jane Hively
Garden Sampler, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Animal + Vegetable: Cattle in a Grassy Pasture, by Bruce Shaw
A Fruit’s a Vegetable, Right?, by Helen Tory
Beets, by Ed Mowrey
Maize, by Matt Cegelis
Mock Meat, by Linda Bourke
Egyptian Onion 1, 2 and 3; by Martha Swanson
You’ll Be Missed, Asparagus; by Janice Brand
Online Challenges

First of Three: Animal— Art Challenge #11

This week it’s Animal. Guess the next two weeks’ Challenges: yep, Vegetable, Mineral. The point is to choose a theme to connect your three responses over the coming weeks. Ready to get started?

***Still time to sign up for the online Portrait Workshop given by the juror of our new RNACExhibitions website inaugural show. Only $100 for all four classes for RNAC members Details here. ***

Simple rules:

  • Color of black & white
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your image to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Deadline for Animals is June 13.

I know I am but what are you, by Joyce Roessler
Sheep May Safely Graze, by Jon Hively
The Challenge, by Ken King
Panda and Friend, by Candace Stella
Sunlit Slumber, by Katherine Coakley
Lula, by Bruce Shaw
Claudius—Tiger Enthroned, by Jane Hively
Mixed Media: Global Warming, by Donna Caselden
Great Blue Heron, by Ed Mowrey
Night, by Barbara Moody
A Threefer: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral; by Ken King
El Toro (after Elaine de Kooning), by Ed Mowrey
Wolf Hollow Resident, by Matt Cegelis
Mock Moo, by Linda Bourke
Wild Boar (not your next dinner guest), by Janice Brand
Online Challenges

A Spot of Color — Art Challenge #10

Wow: We made it to 10 Challenges!

This week we tackle Isolated Color. Adding a second color to a monotone image creates immediate and often dramatic focus. Have fun using this simple visual strategy.

Simple rules:

  • Monotones except for that isolated color
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your images to RNAC.Workshops@gmail.com. Include a title. Deadline is June 6.

Catch Me if You Can, by Ed Mowrey
Dinosaur Lookout, by Jonathan Hively
Annisquam Light, by Janice Brand
Sunset Sail, by Katherine Coakley
Ro, by Christine Bobek
Goldfinch in the Catmint, by Helen Tory
Robin’s Egg, by Jane Hively
Back Door, by Paul Trefry
One in Ten, by Linda Bourke
Man with Red Brush, by Paul Trefry
Falling Water, by Ken King
Envelope with Blue Tape, by Matt Cegelis
Mantis Swan Song, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Congratulations: It’s Analogous!—Art Challenge #9

We’ve reached Number 9 (“number 9, number 9” for those who remember the White Album). This week, explore colors that are side-by-side on the color wheel (see chart below).

or Color Wheel

These colors are considered analogous, and create calmer energy than complements. Use analogous colors for this week’s Art Challenge.

  • Colors that are analogous
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible

Send your images to RNACworkshops@gmail.com. Include a title unless you want me to make one up for you. Deadline is May 30.

Quarry Painting #1, by Joyce Roessler
Dutton, by Jonathan Hively
Orchid, by Randolph Kelts
Summer Meadow, by Ed Mowrey
Sunset, by Ken King
Mirror Mirror, by Jane Hively
Lilac Love, by Janice Brand
Analogous Swooshes, by Matt Cegelis
Oriole with Oranges and Azalea, by Helen Tory
Lost City, by Anna Stewart
The Reappearance of Ms. Mantis, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Complements—Art Challenge #8

The underlying energy of an image is often determined by deliberate color choice. Complementary Colors are those that are opposite each other on the color wheel (Red and Green, Yellow and Purple, Orange and Blue).  When used together, these combinations create a certain vibration or resonance within the image. For this challenge, make an image that employs this principle of color theory.

  • Complementary colors, please
  • 2d or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.

One-week deadline: You have until May 24, so get drawing! Send your images to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com.

Twin Lights, by Leslie Heffron
Doodling in Contrasts, by Cynthia Roth
Wild Columbine, by Helen Tory
Growth, by Joyce Roessler
Praying Mantis, by Linda Bourke
Storm Warning, by Jonathan Hively
Not My Favorite Colors Together, by Candace Stella
Abstract Construction, by Len Burgess
Red Umbrella, by Jane Hively
Complements, by Donna Caselden
Recon 5132, by Matt Cegelis
Looking at You, by Randolph Kelts
Red-Haired Girl Napping, by Claire Wyzenbeek
En Guard, by Kathleen G. Archer
Weavings, by Ken King
Old Friend, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Complements, by Kat Masella
Meadow, by Ken King
Lure, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Going for the Green — Art Challenge #7

APOLOGIES TO EVERYONE FOR THE LATE POSTINGS TO THIS ONE. THEY’RE ALL GREAT!

Olive, pea, forest, parrot, spring, grass, lime. This is the moment of the year when green calls to us with limitless variety. Make an image in which green dominates.

Simple rules:

  • Color (well, mostly green)
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your images to RNACworkshops@gmail.com Deadline is May 17.

Green Hair in Motion, by Matt Cegelis
Green Marine, by Judy Robinson-Cox
In Progress, by Joyce Roessler
A Time for Tea, Green or Otherwise, by Jane Hively
Day Three, by Len Burgess
Green, by Ed Mowrey
Wet Green, by Matt Cegelis
Spring is Here, by Mary Barker
Cogswell’s Grant, by Ken King
Folly Cove, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Summer Swiss Chard, by Ray Magnan
Dandylions, by Helen Tory
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet on a Lime, by Janice Brand
Olive Ash Tray, by Linda Bourke
Cox Landscape, by Linda Bourke

Online Challenges

What lurks in the SHADOWS—Art Challenge #6

Light and shadow are vital elements in image-making. Shadows define objects and create mood. Make an image in which SHADOW is the most important element.

Simple rules:

  • Color or B&W
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your images to RNACworkshops@gmail.com. Deadline May 9(ish).

Shadows, by Barbara Moody
Ominous Spectator, by Jane Hively
Smith Cove Bench Shadow, by Ed Mowrey
Sophie’s Shadow, by Ken King
Late Day Harvest, by Jane Hively
Make Three Wishes, by Linda Bourke
Piano Shadows, by Len Burgess
Shadow, by Karen Ristuben
Shadow Pear, by Linda Bourke
Fiddlehead Ferns Emerging from the Dark, by Helen Tory
Airport, by Matt Cegelis
Winter, by Ken King
Triple Light Source, by Ray Magnan
Copied from The Shadow Master, by Janice van Lanesville
Online Challenges

What’s That On? — Art Challenge #5

Uh-oh—I left my house without my sketchbook! Arg! Luckily, I found a paper bag (or a stone or an apple…). For this challenge, draw on a non-traditional object or surface. 

Rules are simple:

  • Color or B&W
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, as long as it’s unexpected
  • Drawing from direct observation preferable

One-week deadline: You have until May 3, so get drawing! Send your images to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com.

Bunny in a Clam Shell, by Joyce Roessler
Nature as Artist on Cement, by Len Burgess
Petals on Floor, by Karen Ristuben
Sunflower on Glass, by Anne Marie Crotty
Breakfast, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Look Who’s Talking, by Janice Brand
Drawing by Anonymous. Photo by Matt Cegelis
Cocktail Time: Sex on the Beech (Leaf), by Helen Tory
Liner Love, by Linda Bourke
Butter Fly, by Helen Tory
Easter Napkin Setting, by Jane Hively
My New Love: Concrete, by Ken King
Loo Roll, by Helen Tory
Charcoal and Chalk on Exposed Aggregate Concrete, by Ken King
Emerging, by Ray Magnan
Dogs on Bark, by Linda Bourke
Walking on Eggshells, by Janice Brand
Bagged One, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Game On! — Art Challenge #4

Apparently the virus has triggered a surge in sales of jigsaw puzzles and other games. For this Art Challenge, play a game (video, vintage, card, word) and then draw it.

Rules are simple:

  • Color or B&W
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferable

Two-week deadline for this one; you have until April 25. Send your images to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com .

Jigsaw Turning into Nightmare, by Helen Tory
Checkmate, by Ken King
Sudoku 101, by Michele Champion
Puzzled, by Matt Cegelis
Addicted to Wordbubbles, by Anne Marie Crotty
Board Game Trio, by Jane Hively
Tic Tac Toad, by Linda Bourke
Crossword from Hell, by Janice Brand
Cootie, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Draw from Your Car — Art Challenge #3

Keep a sketchbook and bag of pencils in your car (which you should always do anyway). Stop to draw without leaving the car. Bring a snack, try to park so sun streams into the car, choose some good music, and go for it! Deadline in one week: April 11.

Send your images to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com. Rules are:

  • Color or B&W
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferable
Good Harbor, by Claire Wyzenbeek
Pebble Beach, by Linda Bourke
Dear John, by Jane Hively
Waiting for Tele-Therapy, by Linda Bourke
Plum Cove Beach (with snoozing dragons), by Janice Brand
People, by Helen Tory
View from Driveway, by Matt Cegelis
H for Honda, by Karl Frank
Cape Hedge Beach, by Linda Bourke
Oops, by Ray Magnan
Twin Lights from the Car, by Linda Bourke
Online Challenges

Virtual Visit – Art Challenge #2

Make an image of a chair from your house, perhaps the chair you would offer to a visitor. Let’s visit each other virtually!

  • Color or B&W
  • 2D or 3D
  • Any surface, any medium
  • Drawing from direct observation preferred where possible.

Send your images to RNAC.workshops@gmail.com.

This isn’t a drawing — but it’s drawn from Thoreau. In Walden, in the chapter Winter Visitors, he writes:

There too, as everywhere, I sometimes expected the Visitor who never comes.  The Vishnu Purana says, “The householder is to remain at eventide in his courtyard as long as it takes to milk a cow, or longer if he pleases, to await the arrival of a guest.”  I often performed this duty of hospitality, waited long enough to milk a whole herd of cows, but did not see the man approaching from the town.

From RNAC member Karl Frank

Online Challenges

Seeing Outside the Box: Challenge #1

Here’s where we’ll be posting submissions to the first Challenge: Seeing Outside the Box. Your assignment, should you choose to accept: Make an image that includes one or more eyes (your cat, a potato, a hurricane…).

This Challenge is closed. But there are new ones here. Don’t feel like playing but want to get your work out there? Get on the Rocky Neck Facebook or Instagram pages. Just send your name, the image, title of the work, medium and a sentence or two about the work to: Rnac.operationsmanager@gmail.com

Upcoming Workshops 2020

Pastels Workshop Cancelled

We’re going to cancel — more accurately, postpone— the Susan Ellis Pastels Workshop. If you signed up for this, you will be getting a refund check. You will also be the first to know when we reschedule this.

We’ll hold off on scheduling more workshops for the time being. (Although there may be something virtual abrewing….)

Breaks my heart, but I’d rather be proud we did our bit to help stop the Coronavirus and can get back to our regularly scheduled lives!

2021 Upcoming Workshops

Mindful Drawing, Early March

I first met Erica Beade in a very quiet room tucked into the second floor in the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Of course it was quiet — it was full of taxidermied birds and small animals. Erica was teaching a class on drawing birds, and I’ve been hooked on her calm and patient style ever since.

Although I haven’t taken her popular Mindful Drawing class, I’m very glad to offer it at RNAC (virtually, of course). And, it’s not just for artists. Got a pencil? Get mindful.

The class is one morning only, Wednesday, March 3, from 9:30 to 11:30. Cost is $40 for RNAC members, with a limit of 10 students. Don’t miss this one!

Here’s the sign-up page.

2021 Upcoming Workshops

Great Classes in February

Two winners for the Portrait with Amy Sudarsky:

But, wait: There’s going to be more. Loren Doucette will lead a class on the Sketchbook (get yours ready!), from noon – 1:30 on Thursdays. Lunch with Loren! Link coming soon!

Upcoming Workshops 2020

A Different Kind of Block Party

Here’s a special offer for members of Rocky Neck Art Colony: Let’s block print some holiday cards, together, apart.

This year, whether socially distanced or locked down, keep pandemic panic at bay by joining artist Mary Rhinelander for three, one-hour get-togethers on Zoom.  

Under Mary’s direction, we will design, carve and print. Mary will make her own card alongside us, available to answer questions and give advice. This is not a formal class, but rather a goodwill gesture to get us all organized and motivated to make an extra special card for our friends and family, many of whom we have been unable to see and spend time with. Plus, you can support the Post office by buying stamps! 

Block Print, by Mary Rhinelander

Three get-togethers, one-hour each on December 2, 4 and 9. Cost for each is zip. Nil. Nada. Rien. Exclusive for Rocky Neck Art Colony Members. Happy Holidays, and let’s kick 2020 outta here!

Each online gathering starts at 10 AM.

You will need the following:

  • Blank cards and envelopes (smooth paper is easier to print)
  • Linoleum, sized accordingly
  • Carving tools and x-acto knife
  • A Sharpie 
  • Ink (Mary recommends oil-based with soap and water clean up)
  • Putty knife
  • Brayer/roller
  • Plexiglass to roll ink on
  • Baren or wooden spoon 

Rocky Neck and Mary will offer a follow-up in the New Year, so if you invest in these ingredients, you will have the opportunity to use them again.

Join us by sending an email to RNAC.Workshops@gmail.com. First 15 members to do so will receive confirmation and the Zoom link before the gathering begins. There will also be a link to Dick Blick for the suggested supplies, as well as a YouTube video of technique.