Karin Richter Fine Art Newsletter July 2013

Spring/early summer 2013 will forever be in our memory as one of the wettest in recent history. My thoughts and best wishes go out to those among my readership who were affected by the flood waters. I hope you get the help you need so that your lives can return to normal as soon as possible. Dont hesitate to ask us fellow artists to assist you in whatever way we can!

I feel a little selfish to be writing this newsletter when so many people are going through difficult times but I hope that for a few moments in time we can step back and just reminisce about the good times this spring has brought as well happy and fulfilling

times in classes doing our art, new travel adventures, interesting reads and new projects. In May I quietly celebrated 40 years in Canada! I arrived via SS Alexander Pushkin, was unloaded at Shed #6 in the harbour of Montreal and have never looked back.

I love this country and cannot imagine being anywhere else. It recently occurred to me that if I had chosen art as my career I would never be where I am today. That sounds strange? I decided against a career in the arts because I thought it would take the fun out of it and instead became a translator because it was a faster and more lucrative way to make a living. It did bring me to Canada and ultimately led me back to where I first started : art, something that could not be denied. Canada and the art community has given me wonderful opportunities and I am grateful. I have now been living of the proceeds of my imagination (author of quote unknown) for the past 20 years and am enjoying every minute of it. What I love about art is that learning never stops, there is always something new around the corner and I have no idea where my efforts will take me something that keeps my interest fresh and my future exciting!

Spring started with an exhibition at the Rosebud Theatre in Rosebud, Alberta, a tiny hamlet east of Calgary, housing the renowned Rosebud School of Theatre Arts. My colleagues Cindy Barratt, Doris Charest and Judith Hall collaborated in an exhibition entitled Abundance of Nature. As it often is the case in this part of the country, a snowstorm almost ruined our plans for the artist reception. However, true to form, Albertans came out in large numbers to not only take in the theatre performance at the Rosebud theatre but also to see our show in this beautiful space:

The Akokiniskway Gallery in Rosebud (my daughter Julia at the piano)

To expand my horizons and become more knowledgeable about the medium that I work most in these days (which is pastel) I took a workshop at the Leighton Centre by colleague Susan Woolgar. She teaches people how to make their own pastels and what a

messy business it is, very exhausting physically as we were rolling those little masses of sticky goop all day long. It is actually not a difficult thing to do and you end up with a lot of pastel sticks in any colour you want.

Materials

Susan, fully covered up for messy action

Commercially marketed pastels are expensive and it is not surprising why. Materials of pigment, French talc and calcium carbonate are easy to come by but there is a lot of labour involved. Susan made it a lot of fun though! I had a chance to use my new pastels in Albuquerque, NM where I attended the Convention of the International Pastel Societies. What a treat to be among the best painters in this medium today! IAPS 22nd Juried International Show was on at the same time for all to take in, such a display of impressive work! This event happens every two years and I recommend it to everybody who is interested in pastel painting. It is inspiring to be mingling with mentors and students of the medium, all in the spirit of sharing. A multitude of workshops, demonstrations and lectures appeal to those wanting to learn about the medium. I was privileged to demonstrate a still

life in a 3-hour session where I showed participants how to paint luscious pastels on my favourite support: suedeboard. Watch for my first instructional video, ready later this fall.

New Mexico is a neat place to visit. Albuquerques old town is wonderful and Santa Fe is only a short ride away on their Rail Runner train service. It is indeed the best art destination outside of New York City. What I love about Santa Fe is that all the galleries are in a small geographical area. Canyon Road is famous for its 150 galleries and everything you see here is first class. This time around I concentrated on the other 100 art galleries, some in the downtown area which was a little easier to handle in +35 degrees heat at 7000 ft. altitude.

Art Museum downtown Santa Fe

Here, one can also find markets and native artists offering their wares:

One of my favourite things to admire are New Mexicos crafts, from beautifully crafted pottery and carpets to exquisite jewellery, a feast for the eyes!

Of course, this spring also featured one of my painting holidays to Tuscany/Italy. My usual destination of La Foce (www.lafoce.com) did not fail to make an impression on my group. We visited, painted and ate and drank a lot of wine doing what the Italians do, enjoying la dolce vita!

The La Foce estate

Painting on the estate or while out and about:

by the pool

Inside when raining

Under the Wisteria

Exploring small towns

People watching in Siena

Whos watching who?

Shopping of course:

Visiting the largest winery in Tuscany, the Castello Banfi, and enjoying a wine-paired lunch:

La dolce vita indeed!

It is not hard to feel inspired, with or without wine, by such experiences and subject matter is plentiful. Even spending several hours between flights on the way home has opportunities to catch a paintable scene:

Watching the hustle and bustle at Chicago OHare

Back home, priority one is to ease into summer and find ways to make the most of our short season. Plein air painting is wonderful but for the uninitiated it can be a challenge as some of my Tuscany travelers have experienced. Give it a shot and try to find a scene that appeals to you and make a sketch of what you see. Dont worry about the results, its all about observing the shapes and colours of nature, our best teacher! If you are in the mood to try something new of any kind, remember that YouTube has many tutorials on any subject. Summer is all about playing a little and maybe learn something in the process. If you like some of the accounts of my travel adventures with likeminded people, you might like to consider some of my upcoming holidays. In the spring of 2014, I will take a group to exotic Morocco (May 4-15), a place I have wanted to explore for a long time. Join me! Check out all the details on my website or call me.

Souk baskets

I also would be very happy to lead another painting holiday to Tuscany in the spring of 2014 (after Morocco) but I need you to contact me so Ill know if I have enough people to make plans. 2015 is the year Ill go back to France so if you want to be kept in the loop, do contact me to have your name placed on the list! If you are looking ahead to the fall for classes, do consult my website for all the places I teach as well as a regularly updated

section of upcoming workshops. If you are in Waterton National Park, check out the Gust Gallery where some of my work is displayed this summer. I am also participating in the Alberta Society of Artists exhibition at the Roberto Ostberg Gallery in Calgary (across from Edelweiss) running from July 18 to August 28, opening July 18, 5-8pm. The Calgary Exhibition & Stampede is upon us and I cant wait to see how they have managed to pull it all together given the current circumstances, no doubt a monumental task! As they have assured us, the show must go on Come Hell or High Water. I hope you will go and see the Western Showcase of Art, always worthwhile. Ill be in my studio this summer, hoping to replenish my inventory with new paintings for the art season ahead, working on new projects and taking some time to experiment, one of the things we often neglect. Drop me a line to let me know how your efforts are coming along.

Karins Garden Studio

Til next time, enjoy summer. All the best in life and in art!
karinrichter@shaw.ca (403)272-1471

Karin

www.karinrichter.com

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