ArtSpeaks by Kay Byfield

I just got back from a ten day tour of Portugal and am so glad I went. If you are looking for a country where the climate is temperate, the people are warm and welcoming, the culture is fascinating, and the land is beautiful, I cannot recommend Portugal more highly. It was a great experience.

I didn't go to paint (and I didn't). I went to have an adventure. Here are a few pics. The boats are on the Douro River in Porto and the Roman temple is in Evora. The storks were nesting everywhere we went in central Portugal which I was thrilled to see.

I am so ready to get back in the studio as soon as the jet lag dissipates. I think the break has done me good.

I am honored to be judging the Art Club of McKinney, TX Spring Show this week. The exhibition will be on display on Friday and Saturday March 15th & 16th. The reception and awards ceremony will be held on Friday at 6:30 pm at the Cove, 402 N. Tennessee St., McKinney, TX 75069. I plan to be there to meet all the artists. And if they would like, I have offered to talk about the selections for awards. Should be fun!!!

What a great group the people are at the Trinity Arts Guild in Bedford! They were so engaging and seemed really interested in the presentation last night. Several told me that there were things we discussed that they had never thought about in that way before. That is music to a teacher's ears. I hope they will consider inviting me back sometime.

I am busy preparing for my presentation tomorrow evening at the Trinity Arts Guild at the Central Arts of Bedford, 2816 Central Drive, Suite 170, Bedford, Texas 76021. I will be talking about MAKING THE BEST OF YOUR DESIGNS. I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Bedford. If you can make it, the meeting starts at 6:30 pm.

I just received photos from my presentation at the Plano Art Assn on Tuesday. It was a lively meeting. What a nice group! They asked a lot of great questions and seemed really interested, so it was gratifying to me.

I am the presenter at the Plano Art Association tomorrow night at 6:30 pm at the Sam Johnson Recreation Center, 401 W 16th St, Plano, TX 75075. I will be discussing "USING THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN EFFECTIVELY" in artworks of all kinds. We will be talking about why composition is so important to creating engaging artworks. Then we will analyze some pieces to see why those artists made the design choices that they did. Please plan to join us if you can.

This is the painting I did at Ken Call's workshop last week. It was half done there and then it took a couple of days to finish after. It is based on Ken's photograph of his daughter-in-law's grandfather that they call "Poppy." Even though I changed the composition completely and painted it in my own way, I can't ever submit it to anything because the subject belongs to Ken. Nevertheless, I enjoyed doing it and am basically pleased with how it came out.

This is a busy week for me. Last night I gave a presentation about reflections and transparencies for the Society of Watercolor Artists in Fort Worth. What a nice group! Forty or Fifty people attended (although people don't sit in the first few rows). They were surprised not to have me paint, but I think most of them were okay with that in the end. Personally, I get tired of watching other people paint demos, and I am a really slow painter, so watching me would be really boring for everyone. I just don't think passive observation is the way to learn things. Instead, I like to solicit input from everyone and we all learn from one another. It was fun. Thanks to SWA for the enjoyable dinner and evening. https://www.facebook.com/SocietyOfWatercolorArtists

I taught an all-day workshop for beginning watercolorists today at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas. It went really well, and the group was very enthusiastic which made it really fun for me. I will sleep well tonight.

I went to a wonderful movie this evening. It is a foreign film with subtitles but if you can bear to do some reading, this is a really lovely story with a surprising, satisfying ending. My spirit was uplifted by this glimpse of "the happiest country in the world." If you want a taste of a different culture and to see things from a new perspective, I recommend this film most highly.

The Monk and The Gun 92024) | Official Trailer | Only In Theaters February 9 The Monk And The Gun captures the wonder and disruption as Bhutan becomes one of the world’s youngest democracies. Known throughout the world for its extraor...

I haven't done a self-portrait in years and have decided that it would be a good opportunity for experimentation. This is the small study I just finished. I plan to call it "As I See Myself." The study is 7"X11" but the larger one will be a quarter sheet. A photo taken by my 8 year old grandson was the reference source for this.

I just finished the larger version of the girl in the mud puddle. It is called "Launching the Flotilla" and the watercolor is 17" X 23" to frame out to 24" X 30". I changed a lot from the study I had done and like this better.

Just finished a little study for a larger painting I would like to do. I am going to do a presentation about reflections in Fort Worth in February and thought it might be fund to do a painting with them. This one is 8"X10" and the painting will be larger. It is tentatively titled "Launching the Paper Flotilla." Think I am going to change the raincoat and the position of the boats in the painting.

My new years resolution is to clean up my act--literally. I am tired of my disorganized pallet so I decided to start the year fresh with a new pallet and fresh paints. I am sure that will make a huge difference in the quality of my work. What do you think?

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I was going through old drawings and came across one I did about 30 years ago. The daughter of one of my friends was a serious dancer and I asked her to pose for me. The drawing was done from life and I have no photos of her but decided to just play with paint here. I am calling it "Seated Straddle Stretch" and it is 22" high and 32" long. I haven't painted anything with this approach in years and it felt like I was going back to my roots. I really enjoyed it. I lost touch with the girl and her mother decades ago, which is a shame.

Here are the two paintings I did in Laurie Goldstein Warren's workshop this week, www.warrenwatercolors.com. They are based on reference photos she provided and with her restricted color pallet and "pouring process." I won't sign them because, while I applied the paint, the composition, drawing, approach and colors are from Laurie. After I got it home I decided the bottles one needed a black background behind the bottles. I enjoyed trying the pour process out, but doubt I will use it much. However, I do recommend her workshop because she is really generous with information and is a really nice person. Now I go back to painting my own thing but I have no doubt that this experience will impact my future paintings. I am grateful to SWS for offering such great workshops.

I am a Co-Chair for the Southwestern Watercolor Society exhibition this year and we held the awards reception yesterday afternoon at the Lillian Bradshaw Gallery in the main branch of the Dallas Public Library. The ceremony went off without a hitch and somewhere between 130 - 150 people attended. There was universal praise for the way the way the show was presented and the range of styles of watermedia being exhibited. Over $9000 in awards were presented to the winning artists. We are proud to have shared such a strong show and congratulate again all the winners. We are also grateful to all the people who worked so hard to make the exhibition happen.

The exhibition closes on September 29th. If you haven't seen it, we encourage you to go down to the library during the hours they are open. Secure parking is conveniently provided in the underground lot off of Wood Street.

I have been asked to teach a one-day workshop for the City of Carrollton on the first Saturday in November. This is an introduction to watercolor class and we will talk about the medium and basic techniques. There won't be time for much more than that. But if you are interested in learning to paint, they have also asked me to teach a class starting in February for 8 weeks. I also will continue to teach beginning and intermediate watercolor classes at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas.

I am incredibly busy getting ready for a new session of classes at the Creative Art Center in Dallas, but squeezed out a few moments to finish a new painting that I have been working on for weeks. I am calling it "Back Street" and it is 22" X 32" to frame out to 30" X 40". It is the largest painting I have done in years. The reference is a photo I took this year that has been screaming to be painted. I was attracted by the light and all the textures. It makes me think of all those urban landscapes where the new technologies are overwhelming older infrastructure. I am enjoying my moving pictures series but it was fun to paint something equally complicated but more optically representational. I haven't painted a street scene, except in a sketch book, for years and years.

I just finished a new painting I am calling it "Cattitude". It was really fun to paint because it seemed to paint itself. It is 13" by 17" and will frame out to 20" X 24". I wish I had finished it in time to enter it in the SWS competition. Ah well! I'll submit it to another show instead.

The Southwestern Watercolor Society will be showing all of the slides of paintings entered in the exhibition this year on Saturday July 8 from 2:00 - 4:00. More than 300 paintings were entered and the juror will only be selecting about 80 of them to hang. I am looking forward to seeing all the work that was submitted. There will be time for socializing and refreshments.

Here are the details of this special event:
• Slide Show of Entries: July 8, 2023 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
• Location: J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St (Downtown), Dallas, TX 75201, 7th Floor, O'Hara Hall
• Parking: Free in the secure underground parking lot. Entrance is off of Wood Street in the back of the building. There is no need to park in city lots.
• Parking Directions
• A charcuterie and other refreshments will be available for your enjoyment.

This is the only SWS event of the summer. I hope to see you there.

I just finished a little study that I will use as a reference for a larger painting. This one is only 7.5" X 10" but the larger painting will frame out to 24"X30". I am enthused about the study and plan to call the painting "Flim Flam" when I get it finished. I took the reference photos for it at the zoo.

Taught the One-Day Class yesterday for the Southwestern Watercolor Society. It seems to have gone well and most people seemed happy. I have decided my schedule was a bit ambitious so I will make a few changes if I get to teach this again in the future but overall I think it went well.

I just got back home last night from two weeks visit in Korea. Really enjoyed seeing a bit of the country. It is beautiful, has such a rich history and the people are so nice. It was too cold to sit out and sketch much but I did do one little drawing. It is so good to be home and I have a very busy schedule for the next couple of months.

Without a solid basic design, artworks will be chaotic and lack organization but many painters do not have a strong understanding of the Principles of Design. Lists of the Principles of Organization vary widely and most are too long, but I argue for just four basic standards that are critical to the success of paintings. My simplified list makes it much easier to troubleshoot a painting and make easier to decide on adjustments that will increase its effectiveness. In this week’s ArtSpeaks Studio Moment, I describe these essential principles of organization and how to use them as you design an artwork. The video is called “Exploiting the Principles of Organization for Better Paintings” and will give you the key to better designed paintings. You can watch the video on the ArtSpeaksStudio website blog or on the ArtSpeaks by Kay Byfield YouTube Channel.

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In this week’s ArtSpeaks Studio Moment, I am explaining how to select good photos to provide reference images for paintings. In my classes I have students bring in some photos they have taken and we look them over to see which ones are more likely to lend themselves to good paintings. I find that students tend to be attracted to photos that have personal meaning for them but that may not be well composed or are too predictable. In this video I show examples of some of the kinds of photos they bring and explain how to make it work for an interesting painting. To see the video, go to the ArtSpeaksStudio website or the ArtSpeaks by Kay Byfield YouTube channel.

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Recently, I had the students in my class do an intensity color wheel to help them understand how to contrast bright with dull colors and to clarify the confusion between the terms “bright” and “light.” In this week’s ArtSpeaks Studio Moment, I show the project and explain the qualities of color. To watch it go to the ArtSpeaksStudio website or the ArtSpeaks by Kay Byfield YouTube Channel.

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The Intermediate level Watercolor Students in my classes are focusing on color this session. To help them understand the difference between light and bright, we did two color wheels. Here, Andrea is working on an intensity wheel that shows primary, secondary and tertiary colors and their complements. Each hue gets progressively duller toward the center while still remaining that hue and value. Try it, it's not easy to master. Good job everyone.

I see a lot of different responses as my students grapple with trying to learn to paint. One of the biggest challenges for many of them is the amount of risk that is required in order to be creative. I believe that most people will be creative if they are willing to try new things and accept the disappointments that will inevitably come. In this week’s ArtSpeaks Studio Moment, I talk about the risks we need to take, and the rewards of creativity. Watch the video on the ArtSpeaks Studio website blog or on the ArtSpeaks by Kay Byfield YouTube Channel.

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I always tell my students to get 100% cotton watercolor paper. Even if they are an absolute beginner, it is important to use good paper because the cheap papers like Strathmore and Canson perform so badly. It is hard to learn how to do good work when your materials undermine you. In this week’s ArtSpeaks Studio Moment I experiment with 140 # cold press papers including Arches and Fabriano Artistico that are 100% cotton, Fabriano Studio 25% cotton paper, and Strathmore and Canson wood pulp paper. I compare how the paint applies, the intensity and value of the color, and how the paint lifts and what happens when new paint is reapplied. You can find the video on the ArtSpeaks Studio blog or the ArtSpeaks Studio YouTube Channel.

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