Dear friends,
First an apology because I am so far behind in sending out a newsletter.
Life has just flown by this past year. As many of you know, Jim's
Mum is now in a nursing home and he has had the painful job of selling
Mum's home of over fifty years. Seeing our parents age is always so difficult
to accept. Thanks so much for all of your messages of encouragement.
We just wrapped up our seminars this year with another fabulous workshop
with Claudia Nice. Everyone was thrilled with all they learned about
watercolour, and drawing and painting birds. But, they were the most
excited about doing a pen and ink rendition of their favourite pet. We
even had a live model with my friend Ann's adorable new puppy Jenny.
She really stole the show!.
SCOTLAND 2004
I can't even begin to tell you what a wonderful time we had on this tour. We started off our two weeks together with a four day coach tour up the west coast of Scotland. The sun came out for us every time we left the bus, and did those shop keepers ever smile when we did some serious shopping! Bobbie Takashima and her granddaughter Amanda were among our North American group, and were great fun as always - just like family! We were also thrilled that folks from our first tour joined us again for the second one - you just can't get enough of this beautiful country! On our painting days we were joined with fellow painters from Ireland, England, Germany and Israel.
Lewis, our bus driver from our first tour, took time off from his current job as a train conductor so that he could be our tour guide again this year. And he promises to do the same next time. How does the east coast of Scotland with all its quaint fishing villages sound for 2006? We are hoping to convince local watercolour artist Lynne Henderson to give us a day or two of classes. If you would like to see Lynne's work, please visit her web site at http://www.lynnehenderson.freeuk.com
We have added 8 new packets on my website.
One you must check out is:
#653 Iris-Simple Elegance- this one has never been taught or shown before. Folks have been asking for a pretty floral that can be easily taught in a three to four hour class, and I think that this one fits the bill. And you will be surprised to see that the palette for this project only uses seven colours! It's just in time for you to paint up for those special Christmas gifts.
653 Iris Simple Elegance
There are two step by step worksheets included in this packet as well as the 8" X 11" picture of the full painting. For some reason this painting reminded me of a love story, the way the stems intertwine. So I wrote this little poem to share the tale. . .
Flowers are a living thing
Andwith that, could they feelings bring?
Could they fall in love like you and I?
Twine in embrace, yet still be shy?
Forbidden to open in the dark of night,
Yet morning glory tried, with all her might.
As she fluttered open, so goes the lore
She captured hydrangea's heart forever more.
Maureen McNaughton 2004
621 - Hydrangeas & Morning Glories
Also look for the following new additions on -line:
#623 Strokework Fuchsia
#646 Folk Art Petunia
#647 Floral & Acanthus leaf Scrolls
#648 Victorian Stroke Roses
#649 Elegant Stroke Iris
#650 Golden Poppy
PALETTE GRIDS
Those of you who have painted with me know how important an organized
palette is for my tipping technique. We now have a Palette Grid Packet
for just $3.95, that gives you sample grids for fourteen configurations
for a 9" X 12" palette.
Just lay the palette paper over the grid and transfer the lines with a permanent
pen.
Judy McDonald's tip is to laminate the grids - good thinking Judy!
WHAT A GREAT VARNISH BRUSH!!!
Folks have been writing to tell me that they love my 2" flat brush for applying varnish. It is made from the same high quality hair as our regular line, and it was originally designed for teachers to do large strokework or floating demos. (See Teachers Demonstration Brushes on my web site.) But varnish? Well I tried it for varnish, and they are absolutely right. It produced a flawless finish and in half the time. Now, I wonder how it would be for basecoating those large pieces . . mmmmmmmm.
This is made from Water + DecoArt Easy Float 3:1. We add the Extender to most DecoArt Acrylics which allows the colours to streak softly and make pulling a stroke so much easier.
I now advise that you use sterile, distilled or bottled water when making up this Extender. We have found that the tap water in some areas was turning the Extender into a science experiment!
Exciting news from SDP! They will be hosting seminars at the SDP offices in Wichita Kansas. This a wonderful opportunity to study with great teachers in a beautiful and inspiring setting. This building also houses the Decorative Arts Collection Museum and the Decorative Painter Magazine. I was honored to be asked to teach for them in November 2006 and hope that many of you will be able to join me.
NEW NORTHLIGHT BOOK
I am busy working on my next book for Northlight, which will be released sometime in 2006.
This book will be filled with lots of brush stroke instruction and oodles of projects. I am really enjoying developing a book that I hope will be a resource tool, both for teachers and for those of you who are learning my technique on your own.
SDP MEMBERSHIP CARD
I was so surprised when one of my students asked if I was excited to have
my artwork on the new SDP membership card - it was the first I had heard
about it. She brought out her card to show me and there it was with one
of the projects I did for the Developing Skills series earlier this year.
I will look forward to being in your wallets for the next year!!
A GREAT TIP!
Some of you have shared with me that you are getting my book Beautiful Brushstrokes,
spiral bound. What a wonderful idea. Just take it to your favourite photocopy
or business supply store, and they will do it for you for around $2.50. At
the same time, you can get the cover laminated, which will also keep your book
in tip top shape.
2005 SEMINAR SCHEDULE - JANUARY
NEWSLETTER
Because you are on my newsletter list, you will receive a link in the January
newsletter to an advance peek of what has been painted so far. And you will have
the dates for all the seminars planned in our studio for 2005. Consult your calendar
and be ready to sign up when registration opens mid February.
Due to high demand, I will present another colour theory class - with all
new projects of course. A new Brush Stroke Clinic will be offered. And,
I'll also repeat the Hibiscus and Hummingbird class from this year. I think
this project has been the very best one I have ever taught - you should have
seen what our students produced. We had a very happy class!
Students have given me great hints on what they'd like to see for next year. So
I can hardly wait to start designing.
I will finish this newsletter with more great hints sent in from fellow
painters - and another delicious recipe too.
Warmest regards to all,
Maureen
Tips and Hints Folks - please send me more hints.
You all have such great ideas to share!
Maureen -- Most of your students probably know about this, but just in case some don't, here is a hint to get melted candles out of their holders. Just put them in the freezer for a few hours and they will pop out. The odd time you may have to use the tip of a paring knife to pull them out, but not too often.
From Judy McDonald, Creative Pasttimes in Ajax Ontario
Put happy face stickers on DecoArt paint bottles that do not require Maureen's Extender.
I have a tip about cleaning brushes after using them for gold leaf adhesive. Even though I follow Rebecca Baer's suggestion to let them soak a bit in DecoArt's Deco Magic brush cleaner, I felt my brushes still had a hint of stickiness, and the bristles tended to "clump" after they dried. (I had applied adhesive with one of my favorite brushes, which is not a good idea in the first place!) What worked for me was thoroughly cleaning them first with Deco Magic, and then a quick wash with baby shampoo. Between the two products, all the residue was gone.
When tracing my pattern onto my surface, I always secure the pattern to the surface with a couple of pieces of blue tape or other low tack tape to keep the pattern from shifting during tracing. I don't remove the tape from the pattern until I am finished with the painting, just in case I need to retrace again.
Before removing the pattern from the surface, I use the smallest end of my stylus to puncture four holes in the pattern (one in each corner). Then with a chalk pencil, I make a circular mark thru the hole in the pattern onto the basecoated surface. In stenciling, these marks are known as registration marks. Throughout the painting of the project, I can reposition my pattern by using these registration marks. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the pattern lines up with the tracing perfectly.
- we believe a toasted sandwich is a hot meal!
SPAGHETTI FRUIT SALAD
Sonja Sindell, Florida Suncoast Decorative Painters Chapter, Tampa Florida
1-cup confectioners' sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple tidbits
3 medium tart apples, diced
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Maraschino cherries, halved
In a saucepan, combine sugar,
eggs, lemon juice and salt; cook and stir over medium heat until temperature
reaches 160 degrees and mixture is thickened, about 4 minutes.
Cool completely. Cook spaghetti according to the package directions; drain
and rinse in cold water. Place in a large bowl. Drain pineapple, reserving
juice. Pour juice over the spaghetti; stir in apples. Toss gently; drain.
Stir in the egg mixture and pineapple. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Fold in whipped topping just before serving.
Garnish with walnuts and cherries.
Yield: 12-14 servings.
Marion Grummett, Georgetown Ontario
Here is a recipe that my family likes, even though for years they would not eat brussel sprouts.
2 lbs. Brussel sprouts
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots
ORIENTAL SALAD
Sonya S. Bird-Connor CDA from the Palmetto Chapter
South Carolina
1.) Slice 1 head of Chinese
(NAPA) cabbage crosswise into thin slices. Add several green onions sliced, with
green ends. Chill
2.) Brown
the following in ¼ cup butter and cool.
USE LOW HEAT - DO NOT
BURN!
-2 packages Ramen noodles broken into small pieces. (May be
crushed in packages before opening -
save seasoning for another purpose)
-1 cup cashews or sliced almonds (cashews are best)!,
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds.
3.) Boil the following together
for one minute and cool;
½ cup sugar
3/4 cup salad oil
¼ cup white vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce.
4.) The
above steps can be done a day before.
Toss all together JUST BEFORE serving.
Add dressing slowly so as not to get too much on salad.