May 2017
Welcome to you all! Since my last newsletter I have been busy painting towards my major October exhibition. There never seem to be enough hours in each day to achieve all I want to. Nevertheless, I am loving the challenge of incorporating 24 carat gold and palladium leaf into my oil paintings. This has been a fantastic journey beginning with learning the best practices used by the ancients and incorporating them using archival quality products from today.
What a challenging learning curve – but time well worth investing. I couldn’t be more excited about my new series of work. Watching the paintings evolve, with a true sense of ‘presence’ in each piece, has been the most exhilarating journey. I can’t wait to unveil these new works at my exhibitions in October.
Briefly, here is a summary of this newsletter’s contents:
- My October 2017 Exhibitions
- 2018 Australian Watercolour Workshops
- Free Art Lesson:
I have written a 2-part Art Lesson full of invaluable hints and tips to help artists overcome self-doubt – which is something that cripples so many artists world-wide.
- DVDs and Downloads
- Art and gardens to visit
So, on with the news:
- My October Exhibitions
For the first time my major exhibition will be displayed at 2 separate venues. On Friday 13 October will be the opening of my 2017 Exhibition just north of New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. A week later (20-22 October) I will exhibit at a beautiful venue on the outskirts of my home town of Tauranga. I will provide more details closer to the time, but in the meantime I am spending as much time painting as I can. I generally see around 3000 visitors from throughout New Zealand and some from Australia and North America.
- 2018 Australian Watercolour Workshops
As you many of your are aware, my workshops are rare but I love to help artists find their wings and fly high. So I make time to do this when I can. I am looking at conducting more watercolour workshops in March 2018. I particularly love to teach in beautiful Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia. Previously I have conducted much awaited 3-day workshops in 2013, 2015 and 2016. They attracted artists from all round Australia, plus from NZ, the USA and Canada. For more information and to express interest in the future workshops please visit: https://www.susanart.com/workshopslessons/workshops/
If you are keen to take part in one of my workshops be sure to complete the form on the above webpage to enable you to be on the priority list for workshop spaces. The spaces are generally taken up quickly so they will need to be allocated on a first-in-first-served basis. Feel free to write a note on the form if you have any queries.
- Free Art Lesson to Help Artists Overcome Self Doubt.
Join me in a two part Art Lesson full of invaluable hints and tips to help artists overcome self-doubt – which is something that cripples so many artists world-wide. The feedback from these articles has been overwhelming. So many have written to say they feel as if they were written especially for them. Learn how to spread your wings and discover the creativity within that you have been searching for. You can find the first lesson here: https://www.susanart.com/art-lesson/gain-confidence-painting-skills/
and the second is here: https://www.susanart.com/art-lesson/free-painting-lesson/
- DVDs and Downloads
Sales of my four 2-disc watercolour painting DVDs continue to go well and it’s interesting to see that many of you are also making use of the option to purchase the DVDs as video downloads. These are particularly useful for viewing on portable hand-held devices such as iPads and other tablets. We use a service called ‘Platform Purple’ and the videos play on their free downloadable ‘Purple Player’. The wonderful feature of the ‘Purple Player’ is that it retains the menu and navigation functions which are such a useful feature of DVDs – but generally not available on downloads. You will love them. We have now sold tens of thousands of DVDs around the world. Most buy one and then almost invariably they love them so much, they come back for the others.
I know the dilemma when purchasing DVDs or video downloads is that you don’t know what you will be getting. The wonderful thing about my DVDs and Video Downloads is that you can enjoy a preview page of images, text and preview video footage specifically designed to help you see that what you learn from me is very far-reaching and for all skill levels from beginners to professionals. We discuss and I teach all I know about painting in Watercolor. I hold nothing back. I also share insights into the hugely important observation, deliberation, how to create fabulous compositions, my unique methods and techniques, mixing beautiful transparent colors that allow your paintings to glow with color and life, layering, how to create a true sense of presence in your work and so much more. Watch at your leisure:
Visit my DVD and video download page via the following link: https://www.susanart.com/dvds-video-downloads/
Visit my video download shop via the following link: https://shop.platformpurple.com/?shop=3606#
- Art and gardens to visit:
This is something a little different. In fact, with so much of my time taken up with painting, it has been written by my husband, Richard. Many of you will have received messages from him in relation to DVD purchases and Workshop bookings. He also now does all the DVD video editing. When we travel, either on our own or when we are leading one of our fabulous bespoke group tours to our favourite destinations, we love to take time to visit art galleries, museums and beautiful gardens. His list of ‘Art and gardens to visit’ provides information and links about some wonderful sights to see and experiences to be enjoyed. The countries and locations included are Australia (New South Wales), USA (CA, PA, NY, MA, ME), Canada (BC), France (Paris, Provence) and Austria (Vienna). If you are planning a magical trip, or live near any of them, you may like to incorporate some of these fabulous destinations in your travel plans. You won’t regret it – I can promise you that!
Even if you are not able to visit any of them you may find the links to the websites and Wikipedia pages fun to explore. The list is, of course, not comprehensive (that would require a book or more), but is a taster of a few of the highlights we have thoroughly enjoyed during our travels. Richard has put his list of ‘Art and gardens to visit’ on a separate web-page, which you can see by clicking the link here: https://www.susanart.com/newsletter/richards-art-gardens-visit/
I wish you all a very happy summer (in the northern hemisphere) and winter (in the south). For the artists amongst us I know my article on how to gain confidence in your work will help you to find your wings. Enjoy Richard’s article on the magic of travel to some of our must-see favourite destinations.
Do remember to make a note of the dates of my October exhibitions. Because you are on my mailing list, you will receive an opportunity to apply for complementary tickets when we get a little closer to the date.
And don’t forget my Sunshine Coast Australia workshops. Contact me via the webpage to have your place on my priority list for notification when the workshop details are announced.
Richard and I send you our very best wishes for a fabulous summer/winter with lots of creative painting time!
Susan and Richard
