What's shakin' for 2013?

Spring has arrived!  I can't seem to stop myself from taking photos of the hundreds of poppies in our front yard garden, ostensibly as reference photos for future drawings. Smart phones have made it so easy to snap photos on the spur of the moment, and the photo quality is quite decent for reference purposes.

It's been quite awhile since my last posting on our chapter blog, simply because I've taken to keeping in touch with our members via direct email.  But it occurred to me today that these posts provide some color (no pun intended) for outreach to folks who find our website and wonder what we're about beyond the formal structure of the website.  So I'll try to get back into the swing of it.

So, what's shakin' for 2013?  We have our next meeting all lined up!

Saturday, June 8, 2013
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Accent Arts (classroom upstairs)
392 S. California Ave.
Palo Alto, CA
(650) 424-1044

See the calendar page on our chapter website for the details.  I'm excited to have Christopher Swetlin present his unusual techniques, which he humorously refers to as "wrecking expensive paper", to produce his luminous and painterly work.  As I write this, his beautiful "39th and Hacienda III" is on display in the Pacific Art League's "Breath of Spring" juried show, through the end of April.  And Accent Arts owner Gil McMillon will give us an update on new materials for colored pencil.  

This year's national CPSA convention will be in Brea, California.  That's a few hundred miles south of here, but at least it's on this coast.  See the national website for details and how to register.  I'm planning to drive down.  I'll be going early to participate in a forum for all the chapter presidents, but I encourage folks to get a carpool together and make a road trip--it's totally worth going to meet some of your favorite famous cp artists, see the jaw-dropping International Exhibition first-hand, and perhaps win one of the fabulous raffle prizes.  At last year's convention, in Covington, KY, there were groups who drove all the way from Florida and Texas!

Our chapter show is starting to take shape, too!

Explorations in Colored Pencil 2013
September 6 - October 6
Coaastal Arts League Gallery
Half Moon Bay, CA

Important dates:
    Entry deadline: Wednesday, August 28
    Dropoff date for hand-delivery to gallery: Monday, September 2
    Show: Friday, September 6 - Sunday, October 6
    Opening reception and awards ceremony: Friday, September 6 6:00-8:00 PM
    Pickup date from gallery: Monday, October 7

Our awards juror will be Ellen Joseph, owner of the Ellen Joseph Gallery and Studio in downtown Half Moon Bay and a member of the Coastal Arts League.  Keep checking back on our website for the prospectus and entry form.  It will be open to anyone over 18 who works with colored pencil, and they need not be a CPSA member.  Jurying will be only for awards, not for entry. 

I'm excited to have our show at the CAL gallery, because it's a beautiful space in downtown Half Moon Bay, a high-traffic, touristy area.  I recently participated in their annual members show and my "California Poppy #3" sold to someone from Oregon.

So to bring this post full circle, that's why I need to take all these poppy photos--now that my latest poppy drawing sold, I need to draw another one for our chapter show.  Fire up your pencils and get ready to show Half Moon Bay what we do!