Yumi Iwamura 

Scarsdale Art Association's "Artist of the Month"

Yumi Iwamura, a fine artist and member of the Scarsdale Art Association, recently completed a month-long solo exhibit of her work at the Scarsdale Library.  She was selected to be the association's featured "Artist of the Month".  An account of her life and her art appears below.

 My Life and My Art

My Life

I have loved art since I was a six-year old growing up in Japan, drawing people in a small note book.  At age twelve, a birthday gift of oil paints, sealed my love of painting, and of art.

Longing to study art, and paint people, I settled for still life painting lessons, on Sunday afternoons, from a neighborhood artist.  Continuing with art during my marriage, when raising my children in Australia, however, my art had to take a back seat.  

In the early 80’s the family moved to New York, and upon my arrival here, I joined the Scarsdale Art Association, and have been a member ever since.

After a four-year study of figure painting at SUNY Purchase, I had my first solo show at The Leahey Gallery in Scarsdale.  That year, 1988, was the Year of the Dragon, -my birth year.  It was then that, I decided to have a solo show in every Dragon Year, (every 12 years), - and I did. This most recent show at the Scarsdale Library was my third solo show.

My Art

Born and raised in Japan, my art is very personal and unique in its expression.  It is a blend of East and West, - both subtle and bold at the same time.  

I love the interplay of light and shadow:  the sun’s rays that make leaves transparent and apples vibrant. or shadows that reveal subtle hues in skin tones.   This waltz of nature and human form inspires me and keeps me at my canvas.

Composition too is important, and challenging in my work.  Deciding what to include, or eliminate, makes the difference between an ordinary painting, and one that sings with color, movement and poetry.  When I paint, I see beauty in every object; try to be at one with it, and to enhance this beauty on the canvas.

A famous Japanese artist, Yuhki Ogura, active until age 94 said;  “Artists bring out their inner selves on canvas, therefore their works are their self portraits”.  By showing my work, I reveal myself.   If my paintings give comfort and joy to viewers, I am at peace, and very, very happy.

Art continues to be an evolving piece of my soul, and I feel fortunate to know that I can continue to paint and be a part of the art community, however small my role, for as long as I live.

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SCARSDALE ART ASSOCIATION OFFERS EXCITING JOURNAL WORKSHOP

Sunday November 11, 2012, from 1-4 PM

On Sunday, Nov. 11, from 1-4, the Scarsdale Art Association will hold another Journal Workshop  at the Leahey Gallery of the Girls Scout House in Scarsdale.

The program will be  multi layered, with several elements aimed at challenging artists to use their talents in new and
exciting ways.

The members' Fall Art Show will adorn the walls of the Leahey Gallery. The theme:  "Food, Glorious Food"  which will include oils, watercolors, graphics and sculpture. Prizes will be awarded.

During the Journal Workshop, members will be invited to share journals they have created since the last workshop in July. Expanding the concept beyond travel, two presenters will demonstrate how artists can use art journals to enhance their work, to explore thinking prior to starting a painting as well
as for experimenting with colors, objects and form for use in later works.

As with all Scarsdale Art Association events, the public is invited, there will be refreshments, and there
is no charge.

The Girl Scout House is located in Scarsdale, just south of Scarsdale High School, on Wayside Lane, 2/10 of a mile west of Route 22 on the right.

Meet the presenters:
     
Janet Patterson, retired textile designer and winner of numerous awards for her oils and watercolors. Janet will show her watercolor sketch books as a means of explaining how she works out color and composition prior to beginning a painting.  Here is Janet Patterson in her studio.

 Phil Wallace, artist, illustrator and cartoonist. Phil will demonstrate some fun and easy-to-master ways of placing figures in paintings. He observes that "painting figures can be a challenge to those whose work does not normally include people, yet oftentimes, a landscape can take on additional meaning with one or two figures in it".

Here is Phil at his French easel, painting "en plein air".

Do You See What I See?

Perception, seeing, and the subconscious mind

by Phil Wallace, Member blogger


With so many images bombarding our senses each day, what do we really see?  How much do we skip over, relying on images in our subconscious to complete the perception?  A good artist trains the mind to see beyond what others see.  For example:

Question:  "What color is the sky?"

Answer:  "On a clear day, it's blue."

Observation:  "Ah yes, but isn't the blue overhead deeper than the blue on the horizon? Doesn't the blue seem to fade in the distance?  Isn't a hint of pink creeping in?"

Suddenly, we realize that the clear blue sky we paint must have a considerable range of color.  When we paint, a landscape plein air, we try to concentrate on such things even though the subconscious says to us "hurry along, we know this part."  We resist the subconscious and sure enough, we see shapes and shadows. colors and values that at first escaped us.  The same is true of painting still life or portraits, or even in some cases, abstracts.

Still, we tend to fall back on that subconscious memory bank.  Our job:  to keep that memory bank as fresh and accurate as we can.  We do this by concentrating on the art of looking, and really SEEING  what we're looking at.


Phil Wallace

Phil Wallace is an artist and author, as well as a retired filmmaker and advertising executive.  He paints landscapes, still life, and portraiture in oil and watercolor.  He is also a cartoonist.

Scarsdale Art Association’s Annual Outdoor Show and Sale is upon us!

"Scarsdale Visions" be SAA artist Miriam Schulman

Our Outdoor Show and Sale is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, September 8th and 9th from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm at Chase Park in Scarsdale. The rain date is Sept 29th and 30th.

With this newsletter you will find the registration form needed to participate. Fill out the form, and send it, along with your payment to the address indicated on the form.
We only have space for 42 artists in the park; therefore, it would be wise to register as soon
as possible, since our membership far exceeds 42 artists.

This year’s show, chaired by professional artist, and art-marketing-maven Miriam Schulman,
promises to be a fun and exciting event. Colorful flyers and postcards have been specially
designed by her daughter Talia, (Honor Art Student at Scarsdale High), and copy was written by
Phil Wallace. Flyers will be posted all over Westchester, and postcards will be sent out to
friends and family. Nancy Abbe has graciously donated one of her beautiful paintings for raffle,
and we are planning coloring-book activities, face-painting and balloons to add to the festive
atmosphere of our sale.

Fun notwithstanding, we are serious about selling our art, and a strong showing of artist participation
in this park event, lets Westchester County, and everyone else know about the
talent and skill in Scarsdale Art, which, hopefully will translate into solid sales for each of us.
So sign up, dress-up your art in its “Sunday best”, and program your artist’s minds for success
and sales!

And by the way, did I mention that we will have extensive NYC and County newspaper and
online publicity coverage for our event? This is created by former advertising executive Phil
Wallace and his able Communications Committee. Scarsdale Art is on the move! Sign up and move with us!

Meet, Mingle, and Munch - Event for New Members in July Featuring a Talk - “Tips on Selling Art” by Miriam Schulman

Meet and Greet
The New Member meeting, “Meet, Mingle and Munch” will be held at the Girl Scout House, on Sunday, July 29, 2012 from 2 PM to 5 PM. This is the first in a series of bi-annual meetings to welcome and introduce our new members to The Scarsdale Art Association.
All SAA members are invited. As we enjoy light refreshments, new members will have the opportunity to discover who we are, what we do, and how we do it. They will also be invited to further their new relationships by joining committees of interest to them This is the best way to quickly get into the “swing” of the organization, meet new people, and begin to make a difference in their own art, and in the goals of the Association.

“Tips on Selling Art”
Plans are well under way for our big annual event, the Outdoor Show and Sale. All members will have the opportunity to ask questions, sign up, and receive the publicity packets to distribute to family and friends, and to post around Westchester. Miriam Schulman, Outdoor Show Chair, will give a talk, “Tips on Selling Art”, to help members understand how to navigate the selling scene, and turn “lookers” into “buyers” at the show.

This will be a casual, interactive meeting that will welcome and encourage new members, to be
active in our dynamic organization.

Mark your calendars for this event. Because it is open to all, we will send out and/or post a form
to receive your RSVPs, to help the Hospitality Committee in planning.

The Betty Taubert Girl Scout House

The Girl Scout House is located at 31 Wayside Lane in Scarsdale, just south of the High School. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

The Travel Journal Workshop was a success!

What one's travel journal may look like

On Sunday May 22, Phil Wallace, Barbara Shay MacDonald, Janet Patterson and Gina Thorne gave a workshop on how to keep a travel journal.

A very interested and lively crowd attended. Most described themselves as being “artists”, who worked in media ranging from watercolor, oil and pastel, to mixed media and digital graphics. There were many SAA members, and most of the non-members requested SAA membership applications. 

Gina Thorne opened the workshop, with an overview and showing of a vast array of materials available to travel journal artists. Thorne described why she tried different materials, and why she finally decided on a small watercolor kit that she currently uses while traveling.

Phil Wallace, a watercolorist and cartoonist, showed his traveling bag of simple art materials; unobtrusive, and easy to pack and carry. Wallace described his approach to travel journaling; after
contemplating various aspects of an interesting site, he captures a scene or people by recording
impressions, rather than exact details. His sketches, touched with dabs of watercolor, reveal a deft, less-is-more quality, demonstrating that an artist needs only a few materials to produce good art. Wallace then passed around his sketchbooks filled with interesting images, and some signature cartoon-like figures.

Barbara Shay MacDonald then gave humorous accounts of experiences in exotic countries, and
described, in vivid detail the often poignant circumstances surrounding each of her sketches, and the people in them. The “sketches” were beautiful, showing fountains, classic buildings, and people sitting outside or in cafes. She was later joined by Janet Paterson, (coming in later from her double-win at the Dobbs Ferry Beaux Arts Exhibit) who showed exquisite watercolor paintings of their trip to the Provence region of France. Both artists then circulated their sketches and paintings, and judging by the ooos and ahhhs of the crowd, they were quite well-received.
The audience asked many questions of the presenters, and gathered to get closer looks at the art materials and images. Everyone seemed to be inspired by what they saw and heard and apparently enjoyed the presentation immensely.

At the end, Thorne challenged the group to begin their own travel journals over the summer, which she insisted, could contain sketches made in backyards, sitting in the local park, as well as in foreign lands. She promised that if they kept the journals, and presented them to the presenters, that SAA would have an exhibit of their journaling work in the Fall. Most attendees agreed to this, others agreed to at least try journaling.

The workshop ended on a high note, with most providing their contact information, gathering around to see more artwork, ask more questions, and visiting the cookie-table once more before departing.

The Photography Team Is In Place

Look how wacky we were!

Judy Aranow and Elaine Kaufman have agreed to serve as photographers for SAA. We welcome them to this new endeavor, and look forward to seeing even more interesting and creative photos of our events. Elaine created the photo collage of our “Wacky Hat” dinner. Judy provided photo support for the Travel Journal Workshop. Photos will be increasingly used in our newsletters, on the web, and in articles written about us in newspapers. Thank you Judy and Elaine!