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Zinc White Paint concerns

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:30:28 -0800

Dear Sue,

Here something that all of our members should know. That is those who want their paintings to last a few years.

Here is an article from a paint manufacturer that excerpts a 29 year test of Zinc paint at the Smithsonian.

http://www.naturalpigments.com/vb/content.php/161-Zinc-White-Problems-in-Oil-Paint

I seems that lots of manufactures mix zinc in with the Titanium dioxide. There is a list showing who does and who doesn't in the article.

Good luck, Malcolm

NEA Announces New Research Note on Artists

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:42:33 -0800

Hello my artist friends;

Check out the PDF download. Interesting stuff - maybe some you already knew, some you didn't.

<http://www.arts.gov/research/Notes/105.pdf>

Happy Thanksgiving. :-)

FYI-
J.P.
jp@thistlecreekstudio.com
www.ThistleCreekStudio.com and www.JPanterCalligraphy.com

- Artists are highly entrepreneurial. They are 3.5 times more likely than the total U.S. workforce to be self-employed.

-Artists are generally more educated than other workers. Over half of all artists have received at least a bachelor’s degree.

-Artists are less likely than other workers to have full-year or full-time employment, which partly accounts for their annual median incomes being lower than those of workers with similar education levels.

-Among full-year, full-time artists, women earn 81 cents for every dollar earned by men artists. Only women musicians and “other entertainers” earn slightly more (by $0.02 per dollar) than men in those professions. Among writers and authors, women earn nearly the same amount as men.8

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<http://www.arts.gov/news/news11/Research-Note-105.html>

NEA Announces New Research Note on Artists in the Workforce
Research offers industry-specific, regional, and demographic data on the 2.1 million artists working in the U.S.
For immediate release October 28, 2011
There are 2.1 million artists in the United States workforce, and a large portion of them -- designers -- contribute to industries whose products Americans use every day, according to new research from the National Endowment for the Arts. Artists and Arts Workers in the United States offers the first combined analysis of artists and industries, state and metro employment rates, and new demographic information such as age, education levels, income, ethnicity, and other social characteristics.
This latest report builds on earlier NEA research -- Artists in the Workforce: 1990 - 2005 -- which identified key traits that differentiated artists from other U.S. workers. That report found artists to be entrepreneurial (more likely to be self-employed) and more educated than the workforce at large. This latest research confirms those earlier conclusions and shares new data about the working artist. Among the key findings:
There are 2.1 million artists in the United States. They make up 1.4 percent of the total workforce, and 6.9 percent of the professional workforce (artists are classified as "professional workers").
• More than one-third of artists in the survey (39 percent, or 829,000 workers) are designers (such as graphic, commercial, and industrial designers, fashion designers, floral designers, interior designers, merchandise displayers, and set and exhibit designers.)
• Performing artists make up the next largest category (17 percent). In addition, each of the following occupations make up 10 percent of all artists: fine artists, art directors, and animators; writers and authors; and architects.
• Between 2000 and 2009, the artist labor force increased by 5 percent while the civilian labor force grew by nearly 8 percent. (i)
Artists work in many industries and job sectors
• More than half of artists (54 percent) work in the private, for-profit sector; 35 percent are self-employed.
• One in three artists (34 percent) works in the "professional, scientific, and technical services" sector, which includes architectural and design firms, advertising agencies and consulting firms, and companies offering computer or photographic services.
• One in five (18 percent) of artists work in the "performing arts, spectator sports, and independent artists" category, including more than half (53 percent) of all musicians.
• Fourteen percent of all artists (73 percent of producers and directors, 23 percent of actors, and 20 percent of writers and authors) work in "information" industries, such as the motion picture, video, and broadcasting industries, or newspaper, book, or directory publishing.
Wage gaps persist
• Women artists earn $0.81 cents for every dollar earned by men artists. This gap is similar to that in the overall labor force (where women earn $0.80 cents for every dollar earned by men); professional women earn even less -- $0.74 for every dollar earned by professional men. (ii)
• Artists' median wages and salaries ($43,000 in 2009) are higher than the median for the whole labor force ($39,000). Yet artists as a whole earn far less than the median wage of the "professional" category of workers ($54,000), to which they belong. Architects make the highest median wage ($63,000), while workers who are classified as "other entertainers" had the lowest ($25,000). (iii)
Artist demographics
• Artists are less socioeconomically and demographically diverse than the total U.S. workforce, yet diversity levels vary across individual artist occupations.
• While artists as a whole are less likely to be foreign-born than other U.S. workers, some of the highest-paid artist occupations have the highest rates of foreign-born workers. Architects and designers are the most likely to be foreign-born (14 to 16 percent, roughly the same as the U.S. workforce).
• Artists work at home at more than three times the rate of the total labor force (15 versus 4 percent).
• Artists are just as likely to be married as the general workforce (53-54 percent).
Artist-heavy states and regions
• New York and California have the highest numbers of artists in the U.S. Oregon and Vermont have 20 percent greater-than-average numbers of artists, with writers and authors especially prominent. Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Washington, and Rhode Island outdo the national average.
• In Tennessee, 22 percent of all working artists are musicians.
• Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have the most workers in the book publishing industry. (iv)
• The San Jose, California metro area has the highest level of employment in industrial design services -- more than 3 times the U.S. average. (v)
The NEA analyzed data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, a new annual survey tool that complements the decennial census. The note analyzed 11 distinct artist occupations: actors, announcers, architects, dancers and choreographers, designers, fine artists, art directors and animators, musicians, other entertainers, photographers, producers and directors, and writers and authors. The NEA used a five-year data set (2005-2009) to get a large enough sample size for a thorough analysis. New data on employment patterns and freelance artists reveal more accurate totals for this mobile, entrepreneurial group of workers.
About NEA Research
The NEA is the only federal agency to conduct long-term and detailed analyses of arts participation. For more than 30 years, the NEA Office of Research & Analysis has produced periodic research reports, brochures, and notes on significant topics affecting artists and arts organizations, often in partnership with other federal agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Recently, the NEA announced a new research grant opportunity to foster more research on the value and impact of the arts on the nation. The NEA is committed to extending the conversation about arts participation by making data available to both the research community and the public at large.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. To join the discussion on how art works, visit the NEA atwww.arts.gov
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i. Bureau of Labor Statistics ii. These calculations are for full-year/full-time work only. iii. Annual wages and salaries are provided only for full-time, full-year artists, based on 2009 estimates.. iv. From the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which tracks employment by industry, not occupation. This data includes both artists and other workers in that industry. v. Ibid.
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Bits and Pieces: Don’t Handcuff Yourself

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 10:30:30 -0700

Don’t Handcuff Yourself
Trying to be too literal will handcuff your efforts and almost guarantee poor results every time.

Copyrighted 2011 by Ed Bertolet

This is a very common misstep by plein air painters. Especially in plein air where the objects you’re painting are right in front of you. Their immediacy almost demands you render them as they are. And, you’re being instructed to carefully observe the subtleties of local color, temperatures, reflected light and intensities. Nonetheless, resist slavishly duplicating your subject or you’re in trouble! Besides it is an almost impossible task and no one but an exceptional talent could do justice to this almost impossible approach. I’d explain why but this space is better used to explain why not.

This is one of the conundrums of plein air painting. You need to observe accurately and in great detail – but then not paint exactly what you see. WTF!?

Let me try to explain because if you can understand why, and determine what you need to pull from observation and what you need to invent, your work will vastly improve.

WHAT IS YOUR PAINTING IS ABOUT?
Remember the need for an emotional connection? Your painting is not a photographic representation (cameras do a much better job) but it is your emotional response to what you’ve decided to paint. That response will differ from person to person and what resonates with one artist won’t have equal impact on another. The primary focus of your painting could be the quality of light, the dramatic shadows, the color relationships, the delightful shapes and composition or something else entirely. But it will be one specific thing that primarily strikes you as worthy of painting it. Once you have determined what that major emotional communicator might be then all other decisions relating to size, composition, value, and color will need to be amended to support that major player.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
You must design your painting. Be an art director and pick the costumes, sets and lights to enhance the stage for your “actors”. If you need to make a tree larger or smaller and move it right or left – Do it! If the tree would look better with an orange tint rather than a yellow one – Do it! If removing a branch would make a better shape – Do it! If adding a shadow in the foreground or stretching or shrinking an existing one makes a better composition – Do it! If the sky would harmonize better if it were more yellow, pink or purple instead of blue – Do it! If the water needs to extend beyond a tree – Do it!

You don’t have to be overly dramatic with the changes you make, but the point is – You can be! You have control and you must decide what changes are required to make the painting express your emotional involvement.

SO THEN WHY IS CLOSE OBSERVATION SO IMPORTANT?
If you are allowed, no make that required, to make so many adjustments to the scene in front of you, then why is it necessary to so closely observe everything? Well, your tree may be larger, in a different place, a different color but it still needs to look like a tree!! The quality of the edges, the value of the sky holes, the value relationships with other objects and the effects of atmospheric perspective must all be accurately observed and rendered. You may have made the shadow a different size, shape and color but it will still be sharper and darker near the base and softer and lighter as it moves away. The sky color will begin to have more of an influence in the shadow color as it moves away from the thing casting it. All very subtle observations but they will “ring true” and make the other changes you made believable. It is the details concerning temperature shifts, reflected light, edge quality and value relationships the require the most sensitive and delicate eye. To see them properly takes practice and training.

I hope this explains the seeming contradiction. That it explains what observations are important to note and what observations can be ignored.

Here is small painting done very quickly (20 minutes). I wanted to capture the feeling of open space, sun and wind. Nothing is painted in great detail. But the importance of close observation about the things painted made this work. The delicate shading on the cloud, the color choices, where I chose to place the bushes, the shadows and general composition all have a deliberate effect.
Notice how all the diagonal lines of the composition seem to “point” to a spot outside the picture plane on the left-hand side. This creates additional “implied” space and adds a subliminal touch of curiosity as to what might be there that everything seems to be pointing to it.

Creative Artists

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:10:26 -0700

Must watch video ... to make you smile:
http://oaklandnorth.net/2011/05/19/creative-growth-provides-an-outlet-for-extraordinary-artists/

By: Nicole Jones | May 19, 2011 – 2:46 pm

The Creative Growth Art Center, located north of downtown Oakland, has been serving artists with developmental, physical and mental disabilities for over 35 years. The studio has space for a few dozen artists to work in paint, ceramic, mosaics and woodwork. Located right next door to the studio is the exhibition space — the first of its kind dedicated to people with disabilities. Open daily to the public, people can observe what the artists are working and purchase their work. Proceeds go to the non-profit and the individual artist.

Pay Attention

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 08:48:31 -0700

Q&A With Henry Schwaller, Who Was Head Of The State's Recently Liquidated Arts Commission

Over Memorial Day Weekend, while most people were relaxing, Henry Schwaller was facing the reality of the assault on the arts in the United States. The chair of the Kansas Arts Commission found his agency in the crosshairs of Republican governor Sam Brownback, who employed his line-item veto to completely eliminate support for the arts in the upcoming state budget. The move made national headlines, not just for the dire affects that it will have on the arts in Kansas, but because Brownback publicly claimed to be setting an example for the rest of the nation.

On Friday, ARTINFO's Ben Davis talked to Schwaller about the background of the cuts, the governor's plans to replace state money with corporate cash, and the possible effects the liquidation of the Kansas Arts Commission on communities throughout the state. Minutes after the interview, Governor Brownback removed Schwaller from his post as chair of the now defunded agency, replacing him with Linda Weis, chair of the governor's newly created private-sector arts foundation (her letter of introduction can be found at the Kansas Arts Commission Web site).
According to Schwaller, staff were ordered by the governor's office to delete the commission's Twitter account, Facebook page, and other online content advocating for state support of the arts. Weis also canceled the June 16 open meeting of the commission that Schwaller speaks about below, saying that it did not have the governor's backing. However, a new Facebook page has already been established to continue advocating for arts in Kansas, dubbed Kansas Arts Movement.

You've called what happened the "Saturday morning massacre." Can you go over how you found out about the cut and the sequence of events that led up to it?
Let's start with the sequence of events and then we can go to that day. When the governor was inaugurated, he gave a "State of the State" address, indicating that because of budget concerns he would eliminate eight state agencies. This was in January. He then submitted a proposed budget to the state legislature, in which those eight state agencies were eliminated -- and one of those was the Kansas Arts Commission. But in that budget he also provided $200,000 in funding for a new entity called the Kansas Arts Foundation. The Kansas Arts Commission received $800,000 in funding in the current fiscal year, so that still represented a big change. Then, on February 7th, he signed what we call in Kansas an "executive reorganization order" that eliminated the Kansas Arts Commission and replaced it with the Foundation. Now, under Kansas law, either the state House or the Senate may override an executive reorganization order with a simple majority -- and the Kansas Senate did so on March 16th. Subsequently, in the process of creating a budget to present to the governor, both the House and the Senate agreed to fund the Kansas Arts Commission $689,000 for the new fiscal year that begins on July 1st, and they transmitted that budget to the governor.
So, at this juncture, we had heard rumors that the governor would absolutely, positively line-item veto us -- he has that power. But he was very coy. He wouldn't say. When he was approached by fellow Republicans, certainly donors, he would say, "Well, I just haven't made up my mind," or if it was a Republican who he knew was in favor of the arts, he would say, "Yes, I know you are a big supporter, thank you." He never really made any statement. Even his spokesperson said that the cut was something they were "considering." Then we received word last week that the governor would absolutely sign the budget with line-item vetoes last Friday, but this did not happen. So we were kind of confused -- and then on Saturday morning, I received an email from one of my board members that a newspaper was reporting that the governor had indeed line-item vetoed us. The reason it came as a surprise was that it really could have been done at any time. He chose Saturday for a reason. He chose the weekend because he knew it was a quiet time for the media. He also knew that most people would be thinking about either those who served our country or celebrating a three-day weekend with their loved ones. He has not had the guts to stand up and say this is my decision and I stand by it; he keeps kind of tap-dancing around it.
If you go the Kansas Arts Commission Web site, one of the first things you find is a set of pictures of you at something called the 2011 Governor's Arts Awards. How do you go from the Governor's Arts Awards to the Governor specifically targeting the arts with a line-item veto?
Well, that's an interesting thing. In fact, the Governor's Arts Awards have been a tradition for not quite 40 years. This incarnation, I don't know how long it's been around. But this particular governor was contacted when he was governor elect to ask if we could use his name for the Governor's Arts Awards, and to see if the date we chose, March 3rd, was convenient for him. His office never responded. They wouldn't approve the invitation, they wouldn't approve the date, and they wouldn't give us his name. He was invited. He sent no one, not even a lowly cabinet secretary. It was probably just as well, because the audience had a lot of fun without the governor there -- it was much more relaxed than if he had been present. Because there was a lot of tension. That was the day that the Senate considered and passed out of committee the resolution, so there were hundreds of people who had come from across the state to convince the Senate to support the arts, and we had been successful.
What is this Kansas Arts Foundation that he wants to replace the Commission with?
The governor created, through staff and friends, a private-sector, nonprofit foundation entitled the Kansas Arts Foundation. And the theory is that this group of citizens will raise corporate money that will be used to replace the state money that had been funding the arts. But there are a few problems. Number one, the foundation really hasn't got off the ground with much success. The governor has had difficulty finding 12 people to serve on his Foundation -- most arts people have avoided him, because they're not happy. Second, there has been some conflict with the National Endowment for the Arts. Originally, the governor said that his organization was just like Vermont's arts organization, which is a nonprofit. Since then, the executive director of the Vermont organization has said, "No, what you're doing is not at all like what we're doing." So, he had to keep changing his tune. The point is that he thought, falsely, that he could invent something that could replace state dollars and still receive matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mid-America Arts Alliance.

What has the public response been to the elimination of the Kansas Arts Commission?
It's been overwhelmingly in support of the Commission. The folks that have been supportive of the governor have been few, with comments such as, "I don't want my taxes raised to pay for art." Or there was a comment from the state representative for Americans for Prosperity: "We all have different tastes, from Beethoven to 'Dogs Playing Poker' -- it's not for the state to decide." Now, I don't understand why we can't have both: I love Beethoven, I love "Dogs Playing Poker." The state has never decided what art is appropriate. We take money we receive from the state and the federal government, and we distribute it to 190 local arts organizations and artists for programming, arts education, professional development, and programs that are appropriate for their communities. We don't pick art and say this is what the state's art is. I believe very strongly that there is an incredible misunderstanding in the governor's office -- and in the governor's mind -- of what the arts mean for Kansas.
Are there some things that the Commission has sponsored in the past that are particularly notable?
Absolutely. We are the lead agency for Poetry Out Loud, and we have a really fantastic young woman in Topeka who has gone two years in a row to the finals in Washington, D.C. We sponsor Arts in Education programming that provides arts experience to young people, primarily grade school but really K through 12, throughout the state. For many, many young people this is their only experience with the visual or the performing arts or meeting an artist. We support operational funding for all local arts organization. This is not a lot of money -- some organizations get as little as $1,500. But that's what keeps tiny arts agencies in rural communities open. In addition, we provide really important training and programming for the administrators of these local arts organizations. We talk with them about how to put a budget together, how to put together a balance sheet, how to run a board meeting, how to pick board members, how to write a strategic plan. So, it's not just about money, although that is important. It's about getting everyone prepared to run a professional organization.
What are the immediate effects of the cuts? I know there has been a lot of talk about how rural arts programs are going to be hit. What's going to happen?
Well, on July 1st, 150 arts organization and 40 or 50 artists will not have a source of money. They will certainly have no outlet for professional development opportunities. So many of them are now scrambling to think about other places to turn -- maybe the city, maybe the county. But it's very difficult to make up those dollars. So I am sure that at some point these local arts organizations are going to have to think about staffing, that is, whether or not to maintain or reduce pay for staff. And certainly they will have to ask what programs will get cut. And probably it will be youth programs, young adult programs.
We know that there are about 4,000 nonprofit arts jobs in Kansas related to what we do. They generate $150 million in economic impact, and $15 million in revenue for the state. So this is going to be a slow, painful process.
And as for your own staff, there are five people affected?
There are five paid office workers. Their last day will be Friday, June 10th. They received layoff notices last month on May 10th -- before the legislature even passed a budget. We had two program directors, a communications officer, an individual serving as our financial officer, an interim executive director, and an office manager. Those folks are now unemployed.
Governor Brownback framed the ending of state arts funding as a "good trend." Obviously, you don't think it's good, but do you think that what happens in Kansas is going to affect the direction of arts policy nationally? Is it a trend?
You're right, I don't think it's good. But no, I don't think it is going to set policy across the country. Most legislators in other states, and most governors, know the value of federal money. They understand that every dollar they put into this program comes back to them, first from the federal government. And they also understand the economic impact of the arts. Certainly, two or three other states have flirted with this idea. But the overwhelming message that they received from voters in their states is "don't touch the arts." So I don't think this is going to set a national trend. It really follows up on Kansas's foray into not discussing evolution in science and discussing creationism, and it just keeps sending the message across the country -- in fact across the world -- "What's the matter with Kansas?" And that's sad to me.
The reason why the arts are important is not just the jobs, although that is part of it. It's also because the arts create a quality of life, particularly in rural communities. There's a small community in the southwest portion of the state, a tiny town near Dodge City, and its arts center is the community center. People go there -- little old ladies go there to paint watercolors, but they also go there on the holidays to wrap Christmas gifts for service members in Iraq or needy children, and they gather there for coffee and other things, and that's what the arts centers across Kansas do. They provide access to programs and a quality of life we wouldn't have otherwise. As I said before, for young people, the Arts Commission and our programs give them exposure to things they have never seen before and probably would not see, and give them an opportunity to think creatively and be innovative. These are people that could be very good employees in the future. And on top of all this, certainly there's the economic impact of the arts that I talked about before. It does raise money for the state. It's an industry, no different than aviation or agriculture.
What's next? Is there an opportunity to fight for the arts, or is it pretty much a done deal?
Well the legislature had "sine die," which is a Latin term for adjournment, on June 1. They need a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override the veto. Typically, only about half show up, and that's what happened this year. So there were not enough people present to override the veto. Consequently, beginning July 1, there is no funding for the arts in Kansas.
We are going to continue to work. Our board has a meeting on June 16. We're going to prepare a strategy for moving forward. It's going to difficult, there's no doubt about it. But in Kansas we're no strangers to difficulties. We just roll up our sleeves and keep working.

Take Good Care of Your Eyes

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:29:09 -0700

Plein air painters love the sun and its effects ... and the painters’ eyes need special attention to care. Sunglasses don’t work for most while painting. Shade helps a lot ... from a tree or umbrella. Add a comment here to tell your best tips to find shade. Another critical factor is to keep hydrated which not only helps the body function well overall, it also helps minimize floaters. A painter can also put eyedrops, (e.g., Refresh) in their eyes before and during painting outside ... helps a lot. Following is an article on eyes and aging effects.

FLOATERS AND THEIR TREATMENT
by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon
The nature of floaters can be understood in terms of the fluid in which they occur, namely the vitreous. This is a gel matrix filling the vitreous cavity, making up about 2/3 the volume of the eye. In front of it is the lens structure, behind it is the retinal structure. The vitreous is a transparent gel, about 98% water, but it is 2-4 times more viscous than water, mainly due to the content of sodium hyaluronate (the salt of hyaluronic acid, a component of many fluid structures in the body). The hyaluronic acid molecules are large coils that hold water; in the vitreous they are entrapped in a matrix of collagen fibers (type II, the main fiber making up cartilage). Most of the collagen is at the surface region of the vitreous, where it comes in contact with the rest of the eye, giving it a somewhat more solid surface. There is less collagen in the central region, which is a more liquid portion, comprised of about 99% water. Collagen fibrils attach the vitreous gel to points around its margin, particularly to the retinal and lens structures.
The vitreous mainly functions as a transparent fill for the eyeball. The fluid maintains the shape of the eye, acts as a shock absorber, allows transmission of light to the retina, and helps maintain the contact between the retina and the back wall of the eye by applying a mild pressure. It contains no blood vessels and is essentially cell free. A few cells may be present near the retina, including hyalocytes that appear to be responsible for producing hyaluronic acid; these are similar to immune cells called macrophages. Aside from hyalocytes, there are other sources of the vitreous components among the various types of cells of the eye structure, though it is not yet established which ones play a key role.
The original three-dimensional net-like structure of collagen fibers begins to deteriorate once body growth has halted at adolescence. This deterioration is slow and involves having some strands of collagen clump up, and some of the original compartments of gel merge into larger compartments. At this point, "floaters" may begin to appear. Many people believe that these floaters are materials released into the eye, when, in fact, they are shadows on the retina from light encountering the irregularities in the gel matrix. Such irregularities are mainly caused by coalesced collagen filaments, forming fibrils. The floaters are especially visible while looking at a plain, well-lit background.

It is not until middle age, around age 40, that there are significant changes in the vitreous that generate floaters. The vitreous begins to slowly dry out, and the collagen becomes more clumped, leaving the vitreous almost entirely a free flowing fluid with some intervening gel lumps. These produce the floaters that are most frequently reported. They tend to "float" more easily because of the breakdown of the gel matrix. Nothing needs to enter the vitreous to make these floaters and nothing is present to break down the floaters, so they remain for many months. They may eventually degrade or settle out, or they may persist.
With further aging, the vitreous will dry, thicken, and shrink to an extent that it starts to pull away from the retina (the condition is called posterior vitreous detachment). This process may be the result of a sudden drying of the fluid, rather than the gradual drying that is normally expected. When a sudden vitreous shrinkage occurs, there can be a substantial appearance of floaters over a short period.
While vitreous detachment through a gradual process is common by age 70, it occurs more often and sometimes earlier in people who are nearsighted, have undergone cataract surgery or laser eye surgery, or who have an inflammatory disease of the inner portion of the eye, such as retinitis. When the vitreous gel pulls away from the retina, nothing may happen (vision remains basically the same), but this pulling can cause some retinal tears. Tearing of the retina may allow some blood cells to flow into the vitreous cavity, which accounts for some of the new floaters; other floaters may appear as a result of contraction of the fibers that had been attaching the vitreous to the retina.
When a retinal tear occurs, some of the vitreous fluid can penetrate into the torn areas and lift away the rest of the retina, which is extremely thin, leading to partial or full detachment. During retinal tearing or detachment, flashes of light (like flurries of fireflies) are detected by the patient, and the vision may be blurred, particularly in certain portions of the visual field. The torn retina should be examined carefully, as it may require treatment, such as laser photocoagulation, cryopexy (freezing), or surgery, to avoid complete retinal detachment or to treat a detached retina.
The condition of the vitreous fluid and the nature of floaters are observed by dilating the eye (applying eye drops to do so), and then examining the region through the pupil. There are no medical treatments for floaters. Some floaters, particularly those that occur as a young adult, will eventually disappear as the gel matrix changes. Other floaters, particularly those that occur in later years, may disappear as they settle out of the fluid. In persons suffering from severe disorders of the vitreous, which occurs in some cases of diabetes or where injuries have allowed blood into the vitreous, a vitrectomy may be performed; the vitreous is removed and placed with an artificial substitute liquid called hyaluronate.
POSSIBLE CAUSATIVE FACTORS
Little is known about what causes the changes in the vitreous with age, and what can speed up or slow down the process. It is relatively easy to speculate on some potential causes. It is known that excessive exposure to sunlight can cause damage to the eyes and skin, and is a contributor to cataract formation and drying, wrinkling skin. There is no reason to think that these types of effects could not occur in the vitreous to some extent, perhaps contributing to the clumping of the collagen fibers and the drying of the fluid. Hence, a rational protective effort would be to utilize good quality sunglasses and, in cases where there is considerable exposure to sun, to utilize shading (such as a visor or hat). Similarly, one should be careful about exposure to bright lights from copy machines, lasers, and other indoor sources. The drying of fluid within the eyes may be accelerated by poor circulation in the retina (capillary bed circulation) and by general lack of hydration. Blood circulation can be worsened by high blood sugar, high blood fat, and high oxidative levels in the blood, while it can be improved by maintaining healthy blood conditions and having a diet rich in flavonoids and antioxidants; hydration is improved by drinking plenty of water, juice, tea, or other healthy beverages. Thus, protecting the eyes and maintaining good circulation and hydration are potential preventive measures for floaters, retinal tearing, and retinal detachment.

Got Inspiration?

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:47:24 -0800

I came across this website (http://web.me.com/suncage/Site/Suncage.html) from a subscriber to my plein air videos. The website is of a plein air painter, John Hall, from the UK. Not only is he a passionate and dedicated painter, he is totally rounded by music and life philosophy. I love his 11/11/10 podcast (with photos) ... the woman and his own voices are melodies ... does not matter what they are saying ... and his music is non-conformist. I feel like I am sitting is an English stone cottage, cozy with a glass of wine, by a warm fire, listening to a fellow passionate painter ... so wonderful. He paints large with acrylic paint ... so free in motion and technique ... makes me want to try acrylic. It is amazing to me that his website treasure has had so few “hits.”

http://web.me.com/suncage/Site/Suncage.html

Bits and Pieces: Artists Must Be Jugglers

Sun, 3 Oct 2010 20:00:59 -0700

by Ed Bertolet

Just like a juggler keeps an eye on many balls in the air at one time, an artist needs to keep many considerations in the mind during the painting process. Take your attention away from any one of them and the whole process will fall down around you.

What are the things a painter needs to juggle? Shape, composition, value and color are the primary “balls” we need to keep aloft. We need to be constantly mindful of each and every one of these as we paint. If we concentrate on just one “ball” and take our attention away from the others as we work, we won’t be as successful.

How do we learn to “juggle” while painting? The same way a juggler does. We start with one or two “balls” and keep adding more until we can handle them simultaneously. Practice is essential. But that practice must be done with purpose and a plan, otherwise we will continually “drop the ball”.

Because all the “balls” below are affecting each other in an interdependent way as we paint, it is necessary to constantly pay attention to how a change in one “ball” will affect the others. That’s what I mean by an artist having to constantly juggle.

Here is what I suggest. Start with the most important balls first and don’t try to juggle too many, too soon. If you do, you will be intently watching the fourth or fifth most important ball and drop one of the more important ones!

What ball do we start with, and which ones do we add as we go along? It is my observation that as a general rule most casual painters spend far too little effort on the two most critical “balls” – Shape and Value. They absolutely need to be mastered first! Being too anxious to jump into color before these two elements are established greatly reduces the chances of a successful painting.

Shape Breaking the picture plane into interesting shapes.
I would suggest the first ball to juggle is breaking the picture plane into five to twelve easily identifiable shapes (positive and negative). Less than five and the picture is just not engaging enough, more than twelve and it most likely will be too cluttered and confusing. Be sure to establish a dominate shape. No two shapes should have the same area or look be similar in design. Vary the edges and the sides so none are symmetrical or identical.

Value Organizing the value relationships.
The second ball to juggle is organizing a definite value pattern. Now that you have a group of pleasing shapes – you need to determine a value pattern. This can vary from two (just light and dark) to five (highlights, quartertones, halftones, three-quarter tones, and darks) value groups. The more value groups you have the more control you will need to exercise in painting them. (See previous blog on getting a painting to read.) Just as you created a dominate shape you now have to establish a dominate value. Here is where doing a thumbnail drawing is most helpful as you can push or pull a specific shape from one value group into another to see which assigned value will provide the best composition (see next item).

Composition This is a marriage of shape and value in a pleasing arrangement.
Composition is too detailed a subject to summarize in a short paragraph, however it is mostly about balance – and directing the eye where you want it to go. If you followed the above suggestion and establish a dominate shape and a dominate value that will take you half way home to a good composition.

Focus Where do you want the eye to land to “anchor” the painting.
The next ball to juggle is deciding on a focal point. A painting is usually ‘about’ something, and that thing is generally embodied at the focal point. Let’s review the tools we have to create a focal point – contrast, color intensity, composition and sharpness of edges. Of these, contrast is the most effective tool. The darkest dark next to the lightest light. Then consider the most intense color and the sharpest edges. You can employ all the tools but these are the most useful.

Color Now is the time to indulge in color!
Now we can begin to juggle color. This is perhaps the most difficult ball to keep aloft. It takes a lot of practice to develop first an eye to see color relationships, then to learn to adjust local color into expressive color. This is true whether you are a super realist, tonalist or colorist. Color is the most emotive tool you have as rich color harmonies will evoke far more emotional responses than any other device we employ.

Brushwork More than your just your signature.
The final ball to juggle is how you apply the paint. Soft edges, versus hard edges, thin paint versus heavy paint. Solid strokes versus blended. Depending on preference and style all these variables need to be consciously applied. Do you need to use a round, a filbert or a bright to achieve a desired effect? Every artist has a distinctive manner in applying the paint, but they all vary their brushstrokes to create desired effects. If you have juggled all the previous balls successfully, then your brushwork will have a directness and intention that lends the painting a freshness and confidence that has an appeal of its own.

So, get out there and let the show begin! Make the difficult look easy.

Exhibit Space Available in Gallery Collective

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 07:53:39 -0700

Space is available for painters, jewelry makers, ceramicists, small sculpture and photographers in an established Coastside collective gallery. We are located in Half Moon Bay.

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please call us at 650-726-6335 and we will contact you with more information.

Hi Sue...this is a painter on the coast side. I thought the Peninsula painters might be interested in the attachment about a collective gallery. Do pass it on when you can. Thanks...Pat Keefe

A Remarkable Artist, an Artist Hero

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:55:09 -0700

Portraits of the Fallen
An artist named Kaziah Hancock paints portraits of fallen soldiers free of charge for their families as part of Project Compassion. Video by KARE 11/ Minneapolis/ St. Paul. Her story is from the heart. Link to video:

http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/?bctid=51748824001

Other videos and information:

BIO
http://www.utahands.com/artists/hancock/index.html

PAINTING IN PRESENCE OF HERO'S MOM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZMqzEKSTNI&feature=fvw

IN HER STUDIO PAINTING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2bn4K2WL2U

HER OTHER PAINTINGS SELLING TO SUPPORT EFFORT
http://www.kaziahthegoatwoman.com/fund_raising.html

HER PAINTING GOES HOME TO FAMILY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxO7hs_uqUA&NR=1

MORE VIDEOS ON COMPASSION WEBSITE:
http://www.heropaintings.com/news_media.html

Manti woman ensures a painting of each fallen soldier goes to kin
By Michael Gonda
Deseret News
Published: Saturday, July 4, 2009 12:00 a.m. MDT
MANTI — A small, wild fledgling sits in a Christmas box on the floor of Kaziah Hancock's farmhouse, waiting to be fed its afternoon meal of raw hamburger.
The young bird fell from its nest on Hancock's 15-acre ranch two weeks ago, and since then, she has been its mother. Pausing during her painting, Hancock takes a tub of meat from her fridge and feeds the bird one small lump at a time with a pair of tweezers.
"I mother everything and everyone," Hancock says, her voice high and thin like the bird's real mother. "This is just who I am."
In the corner of the room rests Hancock's 604th portrait of a dead American soldier. The young man is smiling, his shirt loosely unbuttoned.
"That burned sepia off to the left side of his head, it's so warm," Hancock says. "I used muted shades of beautiful color to keep this soothing."
When Hancock talks about the colors on her canvas, she does so with the same passion and gusto as a mother describing her eclectic children — using words like sensitive, warm, exciting and quiet to give life to their effect on people.
These are Hancock's children: her colors, her sick bird, her herd of 70 goats roaming outside and her small puppy, Whiskey, tied to her shed.
She spends her day painting the portraits of other children who died while fighting in the Middle East.
Six years ago, Hancock founded a nonprofit, Project Compassion, that gives gallery-quality portraits to the families of fallen soldiers. Somehow, the paintings they receive seem more alive than the photos on which they are based.
With the help of other artists, 1,600 portraits have been completed since Project Compassion began in 2003, and thousands more remain on their order sheets.
The supplies for each 18-by-24-inch portrait cost $250. A private benefactor in California reimburses Project Compassion for the materials, but there is no money to compensate the artists for their time and effort, or the organization's overhead.
To raise funds, Hancock placed 34 of her personal paintings for sale on her Web site. The funds raised will generate the money Hancock says her organization desperately needs.
Kneeling down to feed her bird, Hancock doesn't look like a 70-year-old woman. She springs to fetch the bird when it clears the walls of the box, and she springs again when a newborn kitten gnaws at the cord of a heat lamp.
But all of this is on the outside. "This old sister is in pain," she says.
Last year, Hancock was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
Though its toll cannot easily be seen on her body, her refrigerator is a stash of steroids and green dandelion shakes that lubricate her joints and allay the crippling symptoms.
Like the shortage of funds, this illness is a challenge that tests her resolve to keep painting the soldiers. For the moment, she is dexterous, but she wants to raise enough money to make sure Project Compassion can continue even if she cannot.
"I want to make it so that there is never a time when an American soldier is not painted," she says.
The grief of the mothers is the constant hum that moves Hancock's brush across canvas.
"Those beautiful hens out there," she says, pointing out the window of her farmhouse in Manti, "dedicate their entire day to teaching chicks all they know about survival. They will fight to their death to protect that baby. These mothers couldn't do that. Their baby is gone, and they are full of grief beyond description."
Her portrait of Joseph Lancour, who died in Afghanistan in November 2007, hangs in his mother's white guest bedroom in Ludington, Mich., just down the hall from where she sleeps. The guest room is his mother's memorial to her late son, adorned with plaques, medals, poems and photos from his brief life.
On a black bookshelf are three recordable frames — one gold, one green, one red — with messages left by a son who did not seem to perceive life was so short. Contained within them are small photos of Lancour before he enlisted in the Army.
"Sorry I missed you, Mom," he says through the gold frame. "I will try to call you in the next day or two. Sorry I missed you. I love you, Mom."
Lancour was 21 years old when he was killed.
"He meant more to me than life itself," his mother, Starla Owens, says during a phone interview while standing amidst the items. "It was like Kaziah brought him back to life in this painting."
Owens will often enter the room, close the door and speak to her son.
"It's like he's sitting there, waiting for me to talk to him or sit with him," she says. "It's a real comfort to me."
Hancock has sacrificed a great deal to paint portraits like the one of Lancour.
Over the years, she has spent $50,000 of money she earned as a professional artist to keep Project Compassion alive. She likes to describe herself as the biblical widow from the New Testament.
In the parable, Jesus tells an audience at the temple in Jerusalem of a widow who gave only one mite to the church. Her one mite was a greater sacrifice than the king's ransom, he said, for it was the sum of her money.
Hancock is not as poor as the widow. She lives comfortably. But, she says, she has now given all that she can.
"I've got to get this done. I've got to do what I've got to do. I've thought of it for years. This is an act of last resort. I cannot, I will not, turn these mothers down," she says.
Then she adds, looking down at the kitten on her lap, "At some point the widow's mite and the king's ransom have to meet in the middle to get something done."
How to help
Kaziah Hancock's portraits may be purchased as tax-deductible donations at www.kaziahthegoatwoman.com