Events

Upcoming Demonstrations and Events

Friday September 27, 2019 - Boston Art Experience Day Trip
Sold Out

October 2019

Wed. October 2, 2019
Dianne Brown

If you like discovery through excavation then I bet you will love working with the Oil & Cold Wax medium. When I begin a painting, I may have an idea of where I’m going, but as I begin layering color on top of color and working to create textures, I find my idea vanishing and a completely new and exciting direction taking hold. That’s when the fun begins. Experimenting with various tools, stencils, solvents and pigments all add to the excitement of the Oil & Cold Wax experience.

12th Annual "Art in the Garden" Fall 2019 Show at Cheshire Nursery,
October 12 to October 20, 2019
Opening Reception Friday Oct. 11, 6:00- 8:00pm

This bountiful backdrop is where our Annual Fall show takes place. Located on Rt. 10 in Cheshire, Cheshire Nursery, one of Connecticut's leading garden centers, has graciously hosted our Fall show for the past 10 years. Many of our members display and sell their work in this vibrant environment. The show runs for 1 week during normal business hours Mon - Sat 9am-6pm and Sun. 9am to 5pm.
Come and meet the artists during our opening reception.

November 2019

Wed. November 6, 2019
Steve Durkee

The demonstration includes the following sequence:

We will begin with showing some finished carvings that will include song birds, shore birds, decoys, birds in flight with wings open, as well as competition birds.
Next will be stages of the block of wood from solid to two dimensional cut (that was done on a band saw), to rounding out the piece. (Basically you take away everything that does not look like the bird you are carving).
From there I will demonstrate the different tools we use to round out the carving using knives, rotary tools, burning and texturing tools, etc.
Next we will demonstrate the detailing of the carving, cutting in the eyes, feather patterns, mandible, legs and feet, etc.
Detailing tools will be used to show how we bring each individual feather to life.
Sealing the carving for painting.
Demo on block painting and then move on to the mixing of the acrylic paints and fine detail painting, etc.
Questions and answer session.

December 2019

Wed. December 4, 2019
Kathie Miranda

Silverpoint, a drawing medium used by the Old Masters, is enjoying a revival by artists today. A holder containing a pointed sterling silver jewelry wire is drawn over a specially prepared paper resulting in delicate, pale gray lines which tarnish over time to golden browns. Drawings have an ephemeral glow due to thin layers of silver reflecting light.

An exhibition of my silverpoint artwork will be on view at the Cheshire Library from December 2 - 28, so we’ll begin with an artist gallery talk. I will present a brief history of silverpoint drawings through the ages as well as the many ways silverpoint is being used today. Highlighting examples in the exhibition, learn how simple silverpoint materials - supports (paper, panels) and grounds (white paint, gesso) - work in combination to produce a variety of different effects.

Back in the meeting room, I will demonstrate how to prepare paper to receive silverpoint strokes. A slightly abrasive surface is required in order for the silver to leave marks on the paper. Learn how to draw with silverpoint in traditional and non-traditional ways as well as options to enhance the design with additions of color.

Kathie Miranda is a contemporary botanical artist who graduated from Pace University, with further studies at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and Paier College of Art. She is the former coordinator of the Botanical Art program at the New York Botanical Garden and past-president of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, Greater New York Chapter. She exhibits regularly with the Spring Bull Gallery (SBG), Newport, RI; American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA); Connecticut Watercolor Society; and the Colored Pencil Society of America. Recent exhibits include Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, St. Louis, MO; the West Gallery of the National Botanic Garden, Washington, DC; and The Silpe Gallery, Hartford, CT. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Anne Marie Carney Award (ASBA) and Best in Show, Magic of Colored Pencil, (SBG).