Paint-In: Please join us for our most enjoyable yearly event! It has been a FALC tradition for several years to come together and paint Holiday posters which will be donated to the Pleasant View Convalescent home in Cupertino. If you are shy about painting with a group, please join us anyway. We would appreciate the opportunity to talk and get to know one another. Please join us in celebrating the Holidays!

Bring your watercolor or quick drying acrylic paint, brushes and palette. No oil paints. Paper will be provided. You could choose to paint a simple secular holiday picture of your choice. We have designs that you can pick from to paint.

Optional: Please bring a small wrapped gift (approx. $5) for the patients at the Convalescent Home who may not have relatives visiting them during the holidays. Please mark if it is for a male or female. No liquids, lotions or perishable goods please. Suggested gifts are gloves, scarves, socks etc.

Optional: Please bring a snack or food to share at the pot-luck.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Raja's Website

Raja will discuss some pencil drawing techniques in the context of portrait and figure drawing - elements such as light and shade, balance, composition, texture, form, proportions, etc. Much of the focus will be on the ideas behind each piece of art. He will also discuss techniques and underlying ideas for his award winning oil paintings.

Raja Guha Thakurta specializes in detailed, realistic oil and pencil portraits of people and animals. He also works in other media including wood carving, glass/ceramic painting, etc. He has been fortunate enough to receive recognition for his art, most notably the Best of Show award at the Fine Arts League of Cupertino 2007 annual show, an Award of Excellence at 2007 AVArtFest, and 2nd place in the Triton Museum purchase award at 2007 AVArtFest. Over the years, he has done several commissioned pieces. His love of art can be traced back to a family of artists: mother, sister, and especially his maternal grandmother whose charcoal portraits served as a tremendous source of inspiration. He was born in Calcutta (India), moved to the US in 1985, and has been a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California Santa Cruz and UC Observatories/Lick Observatory since 1994, his day (and night!) job.

July 2011 - No meeting

There is no meeting in July due to summer break. The next demo and meeting will be August 8, 2011.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Jane Hofstetter will critique paintings brought in by FALC members. FALC members should bring in 1 or 2 completed paintings for her to review. Paintings on paper should be matted if not framed. Unframed canvases are acceptable. All artwork should be completely dry.

Noted for her exceptional versatility in painting and teaching all types of subjects, Jane has a rare ability to bring out the best in all artists who study with her. She is a popular workshop instructor, author and juror who has conducted numerous workshops across the nation and Europe for more than thirty years. She has won many awards, and is a member of the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Northwest Watercolor Society, Alabama Watercolor Society, Missouri Watercolor Society, Allied Artist West, and many more. Jane trained at the University of California, Berkley and Chouinard Art Institute of Design, Los Angeles. She has also studied with many nationally and internationally knows artists since 1971. Her book published by North Light Publications “Seven Keys To Great Paintings” is now available in all major bookstores. Her paintings have been in many national shows. Jane has been featured in “Watercolor Magic”, “The Collected Best of Watercolor”, “Splash 7", and the “International Artist Magazine” and many others.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

David Darrow will demonstrate a life drawing with a live clothed model. David Darrow received his formal art training at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena CA. He works in oils, acrylics, pencil and charcoal. He began his career as an illustrator doing artist's renderings of planned building sites, architectural interiors from floor plans and illustrations for magazines and book covers. His paintings and illustrations and sketches can be viewed at www.darrowart.com.

Mike Bailey's website

Most artists are quite interested to obtain the 'inside information' of what sort of paintings are chosen to be included in national shows and which of those win awards. . . . . and WHY!

If you have ever been confronted with choosing a painting to submit for a national show, you know full well that this is a difficult decision. What should you look for in your paintings to increase the odds that your painting will be accepted? Should you make paintings specifically for entry into shows? Should you submit paintings which are in some way biased to the juror's painting style or taste? What sort of subjects are accepted or shunned?

Mike Bailey will be presenting a powerful slide show of forty award winning watercolor paintings and will be discussing their attributes which most likely was the reason for being selected for awards in different shows. As the current president of National Watercolor Society, he will bring first-hand experience of overseeing the jurying and awards judging processes. Mike will also be telling 'tales' and 'stories' about the jurying process in various societies, including NWS. Join us for this exciting presentation and bring your questions!

For information on Mike Bailey's exhibits and the workshops that he teaches throughout the year, please visit his website at http://www.mebaileyart.com/index.html

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Would you like to improve the photography you use as an artist? This demo is designed for people who are not primarily photographers but want to learn more about using their cameras and Photoshop Elements so they can get the images they want.

Judy Kramer is a local nature photographer with a passion for wildflower close-ups and nature patterns. She is a past president of the Palo Alto Camera Club, and her photography is used by such organizations as Peninsula Open Space Trust, the California Council of Land Trusts, Environmental Volunteers, and the Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute. She has exhibited at the Fire House Gallery, Filoli, the Pacific Art League, and local businesses. A former teacher, Judy has shared her enthusiasm for photography through presentations to such groups as the Woodside Atherton Garden Club, the Silicon Valley Users Group Alliance, the Cupertino Library, and the Campbell Photo Club. Judy's images can be seen at her web site http://www.earthwitnessphoto.com

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

FALC General Meeting, Quinlan Center, Social Room, 10185 Stelling Rd., Cupertino

Monday, January 10, 2010/ 7:00pm - 9:30 PM

Decker Walker - Painting in Oils

www.deckerwalkerstudio.com

Artist's Statement

"I paint for the thrill of it. The thrill that comes when I spot some beauty of color, form, or design in a model, a landscape, or a still life arrangement that I’m painting. The thrill of finding a fresh way to represent some seen beauty in paint. The thrill of seeing smears of color become a believable image. These thrills come most often from intense, concentrated painting sessions. Most of the time I start and finish a painting in one day, taking from one to five hours; occasionally I’ll work on it for a second session while it’s still wet. The more finished, polished result I could get from spending days or weeks on a painting doesn’t interest me as much as the feeling of freshness, spontaneity and intimacy that comes from painting in one go. This kind of painting is, as Oscar Peterson said about jazz, a “daredevil experience … [that] requires you to collect all your senses, emotions, physical strength and mental power, and focus them totally on the performance… every time you play.”

Decker Walker has taken instruction in the visual arts form the Pacific Art League, Foothill College, College of San Mateo, City College of San Franmcisco, San Francisco Art Institute, and the Scottsdale Artists' School. He has been chosen for several juried awards locally and nationally since 2006.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________