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I was asked by our chapter newsletter editor to write about my experience of judging certification at convention and after writing the article for them it occurred to me that some of my other painting friends might like to hear about the certification program and the judging experience.
Society of Decorative Painters (SDP) established a Certification Program for members many years ago as recognition of painting excellence. Certification is a personal goal or quest requiring in-depth study of our art form and painting along with building skills. SDP appropriately calls it a “Quest for Excellence”. There are two levels of certification, CDA and MDA. In order to become a Certified Decorative Artist or CDA, one must take a test (it is painted) and score at least 75%. The participant has a choice of a stroke or still life design for the test. To be a Master Decorative Artist or MDA, three additional tests must be passed; one floral, one still life and one stroke tray design. New tests for each category are released each year by the design committee and you can have the whole year to paint it. You purchase the test folder which includes the line drawing, order form for the surface, program information, those all-important deadlines for mailing it in and other instructions for applicants, (no instructions for painting however as that, after all, is the test!) Continue reading Judging SDP Certification
Artist’s block? At times I stare at the blank white drawing pad and I feel I don’t have a new design or painting idea left in me. Other times, the object of my staring is the computer screen and I don’t know what to blog about…writer’s block. I’ve learned that staring doesn’t get me anywhere. So what do I do to refresh and gain new inspiration? I like to Continue reading Inspiration
 Welcome Butterflies Garden Slate Last month I attended the Sunshine State Decorative Artists retreat in Ellenton, Florida. What a great painting retreat! The SSDA chapter has existed since 2000 and it’s sole purpose as a chapter of SDP is to have a retreat each year. How cool is that? While attended mostly by Florida painters, any member of SDP (Society of Decorative Painters) can join and attend. Classes were offered in various mediums. Make-it and take-its were very interesting and fun. There were auctions, drawings, entertainment and plenty of good food.
At the retreat this year, I taught a design of butterflies and red pentas on a garden sign using an old barn-roof slate as the surface. It is painted with oils. The students loved it; each did a marvelous job. I wish I had taken photos of them, but forgot. After some fine-tuning of the notes, I put together an e-packet that is now available on my website. Order yours today.
Paint in Peace,
Jean
 Time to paint for the holidays! Today a new e-packet was added to my web site. It is a Christmas Still Life with a brass candlestick and red candle under a glass globe with a brass jingle bell. I included a photo of an ornament I painted using just part of the design; the bell with a red ribbon, holly leaves and pine. You can see the tin ornament photo on the shopping cart. Go to Categories/E-packets.
Recently someone asked me “What is an e-packet?” It was new to her and she was concerned she would not be able to get it because, in her words, she is not very computer savvy.
An e-packet is a .pdf form of the painting packet that can be downloaded and saved onto your computer. It is quite simple as a code is sent to you and you can download it anytime for the next three days. It’s so convenient to have this form of a packet on your computer because not only can you print it out to work with, you still have it to view the photos on the computer monitor. Details are so much easier to see on the monitor than in a printed photo.
Also, shipping is free and you do not have to wait for the mailman to deliver it. You have it instantly! I hope you will give it a try soon. Don’t worry. if for any reason you cannot download my e-packet, I’ll make sure a copy is sent to you. As with any of my packets, your satisfaction is guaranteed.
What Is Value to an artist?
Value is a word that we may not normally think of in the context of creating art, but it is one of the most important concepts for painters to grasp. According to Merriam-Webster the word value means The relative lightness or darkness of a color. It means the relationship of one part of a picture to another with respect to lightness and darkness. It also can refer to luminosity, the relative quantity of light. While each color on the color wheel has its own value, so does black and white and each of the gray shades in between. Continue reading Values
Paintin g with Gray Tones
Grisaille is a French word (pronounced gris-eye). It is the term for a painting that is carried out with black, white and values of gray. The grisaille technique is one where the artist first creates a monochromatic underpainting (usually gray tones to create form) over which color is applied when it is dry. Paintings with great richness, depth and luminosity can be produced using this technique. When colors are applied over the grisaille layer, Continue reading The Technique of Grisaille
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