Our demonstrator was Rosalie Sidoti. She did an Oil Landscape demonstration.
The meeting was held in the Guild Hall, First Congregational Church (middle side door), Sanborn Street, Reading, Wednesday April 10, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
We have some photographs of the event in case you could not make it there in person.
Rosalie gave us a stupendous demonstration.
The audience was small, but fully engaged and appreciative.
Rosalie tones her canvas with Transparent Iron Oxide pigments.
It allows her to wipe off the paint to make changes.
A good composition must have a focal point. Divide the canvas into thirds.
Choose one of the intersections as the focal point.
Then draw a Z at the chosen focal point.
The composition needs three lines, Vertical, horizontal, and diagonal.
The vertical line gives strength.
The horizontal line gives stability.
The diagonal line gives direction.
She used one of her paintings as source material for the demo.
Here, Rosalie is blocking in the colors to cover the canvas.
On larger canvases, she uses a palette knife to cover the space quickly.
In this photo, you can see the horizontal line and the diagonal line.
The horizontal line is the horizon. "The horizon has to be straight".
Here she is blocking in the clouds. Another tip is that daytime
clouds are lit from above, and evening clouds are lit from below.
The progress so far.
The vertical lines come from the foliage on the beach.
Some of the foliage is blocked in.
Defining the grass by scraping with the handle of the brush.
Here she is using a scraper from the hardware store to remove some paint.
Rosalie said that this is just the bones of a painting.
She will finish it in the studio and send a photo when it is done.
Neither pure Impressionist nor Realist, Rosalie Sidoti describes her focus in her work. "I've always felt fortunate to be able to visually translate the things I love into paintings. Being a classically trained artist, I am guided by the respect and knowledge gleaned from that experience. My academic knowledge gives me guidance for my process. I employ a combination of direct observation and intuitive interpretation."
Along with being a national award recipient, Rosalie was recently honored with the coveted Alden Bryan Memorial Medal for her work along with awards from prestigious organizations such as the Copley Society.
Rosalie believes in the importance of continued teaching and mentoring and was a Masters Program Supervisor at Tufts University for many years. Rosalie lives on Cape Ann, where natural beauty abounds and is home to her creative inspiration.
Rosalie Sidoti earned her MA and BFA degrees and continued her graduate education for many years though a series of exchange programs with the Ruskin School of Fine Arts, Oxford University, England.
Learn more about Roslie at her website, https://rosaliesidoti.com/