Technique Demonstration Day 2020
Notes from our Technique Demonstration Day 2020
by Wendy Chadbourne
Several of our members volunteered to demonstrate their skills and share their favorite media during our Technique Demonstration Day. This was my first time organizing such an event. At first, I thought 30 minutes was going to be too long for each presenter… but it turns out that in most cases it wasn’t long enough. After the demonstration was completed, I think 30 minutes was just right, it gave everyone a pretty good sense of the technique. We can always set up a longer workshop day for those who want a more in-depth hands-on practice of a particular technique. Presenter handouts and practice sheets will be posted here as soon as I can get them.
Technique Demonstration presenters
Wendy Berube – Calligraphy
Wendy Berube shared her love of calligraphy, complete with a little history, some discussion of different types of equipment and paper, exercise sheets and lots of samples of how she incorporates calligraphy into her life. For those of us who do nature journaling, she showed how calligraphy could be used to augment your journal entries and spice up your handwritten notes.
Mei Leung – Chinese Ink Brush
Mei Leung shared a meditative traditional Chinese ink brush technique, including a great discussion of honoring the space you are working in and the materials you are working with. She demonstrated her personal brush exercise sheets and discussed many different aspects of her chosen media including brushes, paper, and ink. Her collection of handmade greeting cards, which she brought out to share at the end of her session, was a huge hit – featuring very expressive and lively subjects of all kinds.
Carol Schwartz – Gouache painting
Carol Schwartz shared her beautiful mastery of gouache, including the use of masking frisket, using a sponge to apply textured backgrounds, and how to work with a very limited pallet of only three colors of Winsor Newton gouache – indigo, burnt sienna, and yellow ochre. Her technique is very similar to watercolor and achieves an effect that allows light to reflect off the paper and make the gouache practically glow.
Frances Topping – Watercolor effects
Frances Topping shared an amazing array of effects one can achieve with watercolor. I’m always amazed at how versatile this media is. She also included some explanation of color mixing and tips on how to experiment to see how colors mix with each other.
Aya Rothwell – Comics and cartoons in natural science illustration
Aya Rothwell is one of our newest members for this year and she stepped up to the plate and demonstrated her skills in cartooning and comics. She showed us in under 5 minutes how she creates a simple cartoon figure. It was really interesting to see how comics can be used to convey information such as teaching about Lyme disease and ticks.
Wendy Chadbourne – Carbon dust on drafting film
Wendy Chadbourne finished up the day with an overview of carbon dust on drafting film. Her presentation included a quick demonstration of basic carbon dust application skills (this is not a quick media to work with – she did her best). She also brought several finished pieces to demonstrate the versatility of this media – which can render many different subjects including bone, fur, scales, fins and wet surfaces.
This was a very successful demonstration day, and I want to thank everyone who volunteered to demonstrate something to the group. If some of these methods appeal to you and you want to learn more, please check out the soon to be posted listing of upcoming art classes taught by some of our members, or contact the presenter directly. Keep on illustrating!
