CPSA Members Announced as Finalists in Prestigious Competition

The finalists and award winners of the 2012-2013 Art Renewal Center Salon were announced recently, and we are thrilled to share that four of our CPSA members were selected as finalists in this prestigious competition. 

In the still life category, Arlene Steinberg, CPSA (NY) was selected for her work Crystal Beauty. 

Crystal Beauty

Cecile Baird, CPSA (OH) was selected as a finalist with two pieces, Garlic in a New Light and Beauty So Deep It Makes You Weep. Arlene’s and Cecile’s works were done in colored pencil.

Garlic in a New Light

Beauty So Deep It Makes You Weep

Eileen Sorg, CPSA, CPX (WA) was chosen for The Power of Self Esteem, done in colored pencil, ink and watercolor. 

The Power of Self Esteem

Tanja Gant (TX) was chosen in the figurative category for her colored pencil piece, Scarlet. She was also a finalist in the drawing category for her graphite piece, Waiting.

Scarlet

In the animal category, Eileen Sorg’s Foiled Again was chosen as a finalist. Foiled Again took top honors in the CPSA Explore This! 9 exhibition, which is on display through January 2014 at www.cpsa.org

Foiled Again

The Art Renewal Center strives to display the largest selection of fine art pieces on the internet in an online museum setting. This year, over 2,000 entries were received and 600 were selected as finalists. The center actually had to raise their maximum number of finalists to include such high quality works of fine art. To learn more about the ARC, please visit http://www.artrenewal.org 

21st Annual International Exhibition Accepted Artists Announced

CPSA is pleased to announce the accepted artists for the 21st Annual International Exhibition to be held this year in Brea, CA.  You may view the list of artists here: http://www.cpsa.org/latest-announcements/36-cpsa-organization/exhibitions/157-cpsa-21st-international-exhibition-accepted-artists

Congratulations to all!

CPSA Board Changes...Membership Director Position Available

Effective April 1, 2013, Barbara Gleason (OR), corporate image director (CID) for CPSA, is stepping down.  She and her husband, Dan, have embarked on a new venture which suits their passion and expertise perfectly, Wild Birds Unlimited in Eugene, OR.  We greatly appreciate her contribution and volunteer service to our national governing board and the CPSA community of artists. 

Also effective April 1, our membership director, CJ Worlein, will be stepping into the CID directorship.  She has an extensive background in graphics and design, and has a wonderfully creative "eye".  Watch for future changes to the "image" of CPSA!

CJ Worlein
CPSA Corporate Image Director

This change leaves our membership director (MD) position open.  We are looking to fill the position no later than the convention in Brea this July.  The MD candidate must be detail-oriented to keep track of our 1,500 members' information, and must be people/user friendly.  The MD is often the first contact with potential members and needs to uphold our CPSA philosophy, "We build the society one member at a time."  It's a great volunteer position for meeting many colored pencil artists.  Please contact Cindy Haase, CPSA president at president@cpsa.org for a job description if this is the job for you.

CPSA Announces New Board Members and 2014 Convention Location

CPSA is pleased to announce two new board members effective November 1, 2013.  Debbie Hook (OH) will take on the job of convention director.  Debbie is currently president of DC 119-Greater Cincinnati, which hosted the 2012 convention.  Hosting that convention provided her with a great learning experience. Gemma Gylling, CPSA (CA) will be stepping down after eight years of service to the board. 

Debbie Hook

Debra Yaun, CPSA (GA), president of DC 107-Atlanta, will assume the role of district chapter development director (DCDD).  Debra has served her chapter in a leadership capacity for many years and her experience will be invaluable in her new role.  Jeffrey Baisden, CPSA (FL) will be stepping down after several terms on the board as DCDD.

Debra Yaun, CPSA

CPSA also has exciting convention news.  The 2014 convention and exhibition will be held at Daytona Beach, Florida! The hotel will be the Daytona Beach Resort, 2700 N. Atlantic Ave. (on the beach). The 22nd Annual CPSA International Exhibition will be at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum (OMAM), 78 East Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach.  At its spring meeting, the governing board toured the museum.  The gallery and its beautiful, tropical grounds offer a delightful setting for the exhibition.  This is an event you simply won't want to miss.  The dates for the convention are Wednesday, July 30, 2014 through Saturday, August 2, 2014.  The exhibition dates are June 13, 2014 through August 25th, 2014.  The prospectus with more details will be available about November 15th of this year.

A Moment With Two of Our Explore This! 9 Winners

For its ninth show, Explore This! offers some of the most diverse artwork the exhibition has displayed in its history.  Artists offer an exciting range of styles from the abstract to the ultra-realistic and from poignant to whimsical.  There truly is something for everyone in ET!9.  This year, as in past years, artists used their creativity with a variety of media including travertine stone, crayon, gold leaf, textured gel medium and resin, among many others.  If you haven’t yet seen Explore This! 9, you can view the online exhibition here: http://www.cpsa.org/view-explore-this-9

We are fortunate this year to have spent a few moments with EXPY winner, Eileen Sorg, CPSA, CPX (WA) and our second-place winner, Deborah Friedman, CPSA (MA) to explore their thoughts about their work and the creative process while working on their ET! entries.  Here’s what our winning artists had to say…

Eileen Sorg is from Kingston, Washington.  She earned her CPSA signature status in 2006 and her CPX in 2011. Her piece titled, “Foiled Again” earned her the Best of Show and EXPY award, sponsored by Prismacolor.

Best of Show EXPY Winner "Foiled Again"

CPSA: Eileen, how did you come up with the composition for “Foiled Again?”

Eileen:  "Foiled Again" evolved entirely around that old skate. I had bought it several years ago because I liked its shape and I felt there was a story there. Many of my drawings start this way, their beginnings centered around an item that caught my eye somewhere. In this case, that skate started to look like a chariot to me. From there I just had to cast my players and put my story to paper.

CPSA:  How did you develop the ink, watercolor and colored pencil “formula” for your artwork?

Eileen:  I learned this mixed media process from an amazing artist and now friend, Sueellen Ross. I took her class many years ago where she taught her technique. Sueellen is a much better painter than I and she spends more time on the watercolor. I try to get to the pencil part of things as quick as possible since that is more my strength.

CPSA:  "Foiled Again" is listed in the exhibition as “not for sale.” Have you decided to keep it in your collection, or have you had the good fortune of selling it?

Eileen:  The story of the purchase of this piece is pretty simple. I was working on "Foiled Again" while working at some festivals this past summer. The collector saw it while I was in Michigan and emailed me a few days later to purchase it even though it was still not finished. Some drawings are like that - they just have an appeal that finds a buyer right away. Once completed, I shipped the piece to its new home in LA.

CPSA: For artists trying to create realistic art from unrealistic settings, such as a squirrel riding a roller skate, what is your advice to them in creating those compositions so that they appear realistic? Do you use real objects or photo references?

Eileen:  To create these sort of fantastical pieces I find it helpful to work from many sources. I use photos for the animal subjects and to "freeze" my lighting for the duration of the drawing. I set up the inanimate objects in a still-life box on a rolling toolbox in my studio, which I can move into place as needed. Many times this will get me about 80% of the information I need to complete the drawing, for the rest I rely upon my unfettered imagination. I think that is the soul of my current work, that 20% that is sort of unplanned and, until that moment, unseen outside of my mind's eye.

CPSA:  What is on the drawing board next and what are your artistic plans for the coming year?

Eileen:  Rabbits are showing up a lot for me right now. Not cutesy rabbits but more stern and glib. Crows are always involved because they are such great subjects for telling stories. Every situation I put them in is always a bit believable because they are so intelligent. I am also moving forward into children's book illustrations and a series of copper plate etchings so there will be lots to see from me this year.

"Bending Your Ear"

Eileen will be offering two 2-day workshops this spring to teach her technique. The first is March 16^th and 17^th in Shoreline, WA and the second is May 18^th and 19^th at her studio in Kingston, WA.  Space is limited.  Please contact Eileen at twodogstudio@msn.com for more information.

Deborah Friedman is our second place winner for her piece titled, “Spirit Stones.” Deborah creates her artwork from her studio in Wellesley, MA.  She earned her CPSA status in 2011.

Second Place Winner "Spirit Stones"

CPSA: Deborah, you’ve done several different pieces centered around beautiful stones.  Where do you find your subject matter?

Deborah:  I have been collecting stones for quite some time now, mostly finding them on beaches in Rhode Island.  Friends have also brought me unique stones from all over the world, including from the Dead Sea and Turkey.  I first did a stones piece as a silent auction donation for the CPSA Chapter 112 Juried Show in 2008.  (See "Beach Stones" below.)  It received so much attention, including from the DerWent Pencil Company (who commissioned me to do a drawing with their graphite pencils) that I decided to explore several ideas I had with stones over the course of one summer.  When doing those exploratory drawings I got the idea to put stones in vases and add water, enabling me to play around with light, color and shape distortions, the meniscus line, and much more.

"Beach Stones"

CPSA: The juror, Mana Hewitt found humor in your piece, “Spirit Stones.” She asked, “Could those rocks be smiling?” They really do appear to be happy...was that your intent?

Deborah:  My intent was to convey a variety of emotions in the stone surfaces/faces, from happy to chagrined, perplexed and puzzled.  I first pursued this idea in the piece I did for the CPSA’s silent auction held in Covington, KY.  But those stones were laid in a dry, clear bowl, and seen from a bird’s eye viewpoint.  (See "Stone Faced" below.)

"Stone Faced"

CPSA: Much of your artwork is derived from nature.  What about nature inspires you and what about nature do you wish to convey in your work?

Deborah:  That’s a tough question to answer!  I love nature, and find it interesting and challenging to juxtapose particular natural elements that interest me in new, and hopefully, fresh ways.  Stones with feathers or leaves. Stones in water.  Birds, eggs, nests, and leaves have been longstanding fascinations for me, but I have for the most part been focusing on stones in a variety of formats recently.

CPSA: Do you have a favorite surface (paper) and favorite pencils you use in your work?  How did you incorporate graphite into this mixed-media piece?

Deborah:  I have experimented with working on sanded surfaces and boards, but always gravitate back to Strathmore Bristol Board, or Canson Mi-Tientes papers.  I used to use Prismacolor Pencils exclusively, but have recently begun experimenting with Faber Castell Polychromos and Lyra Splendor Pencils.  I also sometimes will layer Caran D’Ache Supracolor II pencils (blended with water) under the dry layers.  The graphite in “Spirit Stones” is used in the glass and the background shadowing.  The stones are entirely Prismacolor Pencil.

CPSA: What are you working on now and what are your artistic plans for the coming year?

Deborah:  I have been doing a series of stones drawings on Canson Mi-Tientes, exploring a new manner of “joining” the stones in a still-life format.  These new drawings (there are 6 so far) will be on my website soon, which is currently being re-designed.  I haven’t updated my website in over a year, and have about 20 new pieces to add to the galleries.  I also plan to do another large, colorful stones in water/vase still-life, and perhaps another bird drawing.  I’ve always wanted to incorporate an owl into a snowy landscape.  Technically, I also plan to experiment on a small scale with CP on cradle boards, varnishing the pieces and leaving them unframed.

Deborah will be offering a five-week intermediate colored pencil course through Wellesley College Botanic Gardens beginning Thursday, May 23^rd.  Click on the following link for a brochure: http://new.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/wcbg/files/wcfh_fy13_brochure_web.pdf

Deborah’s class information is on page 20 of the brochure.