artbysarahbhansen.com

Wine label submittal

2009-12-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a while, as I've been working on a number of items: Commissioned paintings, a book cover, and this wine label. I submitted this label for a contest through Truro Vineyards for the Pilgrim Monument's 100 year anniversary in 2010. Unfortunately, I didn't win the contest, but it was interesting to paint the old monument. I enjoyed composing the image, with the fact in mind that the label would be small, so the detail needed to be kept to a minimum.

"The Pose" 28x20 Framed $500

2009-09-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

"The Pose" is a painting of a River's Edge Ladies League member. I love her coral ensemble and wonderful floppy hat. Although she was at the driving range when I snapped this photo, I placed her on the golf course, perhaps hitting a fairway shot. I see her on the golf course all the time and finally was able to get a photo of her in her hat! Love this painting. See the painting in person at Awbrey Glen Golf Club in Bend.

Awbrey Glen Golf Club Show August-December 2009

2009-08-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy summer so far this year! In spite of all the family activities while school's out, I've painted about 25 golfing-ladies watercolors in my "Wednesday Club" series. It has been such fun, and quite a learning curve. I have to admit, by the time I painted around 15 of them, the first attempts needed revamping. So to get ready for the show at Awbrey Glen Golf Club in Bend, Oregon (http://www.awbreyglen.com) this month, I continued to paint more until they were all at the level of quality I wanted them to be. I have around 11 in the show, most being 20x16 framed, and two being double that size. I have sold four paintings so far, before the show began. The paintings are unusual. I've searched the web for anything that comes close to this style and this subject matter. It seems that if you are searching for women and golf paintings, you get more about the uber-sexy images for men. My paintings are more like real-life, yet with a somewhat dreamy quality and a positive outlook on golf and it's role in our lives. The titles usually have double-meaning to some daily event, such as this painting, entitled "Having a Blast". Please go see my show at Awbrey Glen Golf Club (the restaurant is open to the public) and let me know what you think. The show will be hung this year from August to December. Prices are very reasonable, since we are all struggling to make ends meet. If you would like a painting of yourself golfing (or with friends), the prices will run from $150 unframed for the 15x11 to $250 unframed for the 20x16. You can also visit my website and see some of the images of the work posted there (but they are much more fun in person!) Hope to hear from you all!

Wednesday Club Golf Series 11x14 $150 (Unframed) Watercolor Sold

2009-05-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the next in my golfing ladies series. I think I like the title, "Don't think about the Laundry". Because that kind of thought usually goes through my mind when I set up to drive off the tee box. This painting brings to mind the process of remember to do this, do that to my head, hands, shoulders, etc. before I let 'er rip (hopefully). The women behind might be saying, "Longest Drive is YOURS today, girl!" What do you think about that title? Let me know in the comments, below.

Wednesday Club Golf Series 11x14 $150 (Unframed) Watercolor

2009-05-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a new golf painting of my ladies club series, which I've named Wednesday Club (series title, not painting title). During the blustery, cold Central Oregon days this winter, my studio was filled with photos of summer golf! As a result, I will have some new paintings to post here and on my website. This painting shows two friends standing by, rooting for the another's put to save par. We've all been there, haven't we?! (Usually the pressure gets to me and I whiff it. But we don't need to go into that!)

The worst part about these paintings is coming up with a title! I would like the titles for this series to revolve around friendship, support, and friendly competition of women in the league (not to mention fun fashion). I'm trying to come up with titles that are a play on words, using the game of golf or life situations we've all dealt with. Help! If any of you can post a comment on what you think the title for this painting should be, please do so! Just click on the "Post a Comment" button and add your thoughts.

Art Literacy, Seminar, and Golfing Gals Update

2009-04-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I wrote. I've been busy with the Art-in-a-Box program for our elementary school. It's a wonderful program; teaching art literacy to our elementary school kids through a the PTA, using volunteer parents. I write the lessons and the projects, teach them to the volunteers, and they are able to teach, in turn, to the kiddos in their classrooms.

I've also been preparing materials and an outline for the seminar I'll be teaching at A6 Studios http://www.atelier6000.com here in Bend. The seminar is April 14, from 10-3 at Atelier 6000. There is still room for 4 people, if you are interested in learning about painting the figure/portraiture. You can sign up online, if you wish.

I'm also still working on refining the golfing gals series. As I write, a new painting is in process, drying for the night, on my drafting table. I'm concentrating more on details in the form and swinging a bit more towards the realism side rather than the abstraction side of the spectrum. I'll update with a photo as soon as it is finished.

Step-by-Step Portrait of Chelsea $360 11x15

2009-03-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the beginning, middle, and end of a watercolor painting of Chelsea, one of my client's little dogs. You can view the step-by-step process:Step 1, above photo: After drawing out the dog (you can see the photo reference in the lower left), I began with a resist applied to all the areas that I wanted to remain white. This was mostly the top edge of the head, the reflections in the eyes, and little whiskers around the face. After the resist dried, I applied a light wash of cobalt blue in the shadows and a mixture of gamboge hue and quinacridone red in the warm areas. I then began to lay in the darks of the eyes, ears, nose and shadow areas with Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna and a touch of red. I concentrated on varying the color temperatures of the reflective blue light from the sky above and warm areas of fur around the cheeks and eyes. Step 2, above photo: Here, you can see that I intensified the values around the ears, eyes, and nose, while beginning to lay in general colors all around the face. I was careful to work around the dog's white spots on her ears, maintaining those markings with a cool white/grey. While laying in the strokes of paint, I kept to the direction of her hair, as it is very smooth.Step 3, above photo: Although there are many more steps than just three, this shows the progression of a painting thoughout the several layers of paint I apply. To finish the piece, I deepened all the values and added a wash to the background. Since she is a dark dog, I kept the value of the background light, but used the same colors as I did in her fur. This unifies the painting. I removed all the resist and softened the hard edges it created. After pulling out light hairs with a skinny brush and placing a few well-earned black whiskers, Chelsea was complete. And what a cutie she is. Thanks, Chelsea, for posing so beautifully.

"Effervescence" ($2000) Selected for NWWS Show

2009-03-10T11:16:00.002-07:00

Exciting news! "Effervescence" has been selected for the Northwest Watercolor Society's 2009 Open Show and Exhibition http://www.nwws.org. The juror for the show was Mr. Mike Svob http://www.mikesvob.com. He selected 64 paintings of 307 images submitted from around the nation, including Canada. This is very exciting news for me! See my blog entry on "Effervescence" for January 24, 2009, as this is one of my favorite paintings. The show will be held from April 13 to May 15, 2009 at the Mercer View Gallery inside the Mercer Island Community Center (8256 SE 24th St) in Bellevue, WA. If you are up in the Seattle area, check it out. The show will be a wonderful collection of great paintings from gifted watercolor artists around the nation!

Watercolor Society of Oregon Accepts "Red Bells"

2009-03-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

As a new member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon http://www.watercolorsocietyoforegon.com, I submitted an image of "Red Bells," ($425) into their 44th Annual Aqueous Media Exhibition. I just received notice that the painting has been accepted into the show! Nationally recognized watercolor artist John Salminen was juror (wow!). There were 171 artists who submitted 293 images to be juried. Eighty entries were selected. The selected paintings will hang in Astoria at River Sea Gallery http://www.riverseagallery.com during the month of April. If you are on the coast, stop by and see it!

Wednesday Club Series

2009-03-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note on the Wednesday Club Series. A disclaimer, if you will. Mostly for the wonderful, expressive, and fun golfing gals who posed for me. The figures I used are actually quite different from the golfers who modeled for me last fall. Although I used your positioning, I wanted to make the figures have larger curves. I liked the ladies to seem imperfect, showing us that we can all play golf, get together, and have fun, no matter how fit we are, no matter what our age, and no matter how good we are at the game.
As I continue to paint this series, I'll use all kinds of shapes, heights and ages for my ladies. That's the beauty of painting...it isn't a photograph of reality. It's an expression of thought. Please comment and let me know what you think.

"Support System" Wednesday Club Series 11x15 $200

2009-03-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

"Support System" is a painting from a photo shoot last fall with some fine ladies of River's Edge Ladies League. What I love most about this painting is how the gal in the bunker is looking up at her friends, laughing and commenting on how she's sure she'll duff this ball. Everyone is commiserating on her situation. This painting is on 300# Fabriano Soft Press. No gesso is used.

"Poppy" Dog Portrait

2009-02-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a fun portrait I did last fall of a client's dog, Poppy. It hung in the Atelier 6 Studio here in Bend, Oregon for the Arts Central Fundraiser in 2008. Cute little dog. He was sitting in a field of purple and pink flowers.

Golfing Ladies Series Coming Together

2009-02-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the first in my golfing series paintings. This painting (full sheet 22x28) is entitled "Wednesday Morning," and has sold. The painting was done with watercolor on gessoed watercolor paper.

After the Christmas rush for portraits settled down, I returned to my golfing ladies series. Although using the same 1/4 sheet size for all the paintings, I have experimented with a few methods: watercolor on gessoed paper, watercolor and watercolor pencils on 140# Arches Bright White, and most recently, watercolor on 300# soft-press Fabriano paper. The Fabriano paper seems to be the most receptive, nicely smooth, and receives watercolor pencil strokes well. I'll continue my series on the 300#. The watercolor pencil adds gestural strokes that not only outline the shapes, but add a sense of movement and brightness to the ladies, their hats, and their golf clubs. I began the series with a touch of humor, but feel that I may have lost a bit of that humor in the recent paintings. Maybe not, though. I'll keep trying!

The golfing ladies have a different look than the portraits I paint. They are a much looser, figurative form of art. Working more with figures, shapes and expressive painting instead of pure realism is a challenge. Thanks to a workshop with Ruth Armitage, this golfing ladies series is beginning to come together. I think you will be surprised to see the difference in the artwork. The weather has not been optimal for taking photos of the series, so I'll have to post photos of recent work when it clears up.

New Portait, "Effervescence,"

2009-01-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

In this painting, entitled “Effervescence,” capturing the magic of light and bubbling personality of a friend of mine inspired me. As she and I were chatting on the kid’s soccer field late one afternoon (our boys played on the same team last fall), the sun came through her hair in a burst of light. I had to try to capture it. In planning this painting, I selected the photo where her hair and face were of the same value. She’s also looking off into the distance (watching her kids tumble on the grass). Although trying to capture the untamed quality of the wind and sun through her blond curly hair, I really was striving to convey a sense of magic in her bubbly personality. There are bubbles of energy floating around her that cannot be contained. She exudes life and energy. Everyone loves her. I hope you can sense the magic of this painting and relate it to someone in your life.

I just submitted this painting to the Northwest Watercolor Society's Open Exhibition 2009. Wish me luck!

Finished Portrait

2009-01-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

I haven't done such a great job adding to this blog! Maybe if I just do a short bit at a time? Holidays were busy for me, but I did manage to finish a few paintings. I completed our friend's girl and it turned out nice. Here's the photo.

I also finished a few commissions and plan to post them to my blog. I have a couple of commissioned portraits to complete, then will begin the women's golfing series.

Beginning a new portrait

2008-11-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Portrait day! I just began a new painting of a commissioned portrait yesterday. This is a beautiful girl, our friend’s daughter. I began with a simple line drawing on watercolor paper, soaked and stapled the drawing to Gatorboard (from Cheap Joes). After the drawing was stapled, I allowed the water to run off, then did a quick, light wash of red, yellow, and cobalt blue over the entire painting surface, to reduce the stark white of the paper. At this point I have to let it completely dry. I’ve tried before to push into the wet paper and begin too soon and it never works! Overnight drying time is essential!

Today, as you can see, the painting is coming along well. I’m pushing reflective light beneath the chin and hairline, hoping it stays cool till the end. The hair is just a flat color at this point, with yellows towards the sun and cool shadows underneath.

This painting has great potential. I’m excited to that she’s beginning to come alive on the paper. It really helps to take my own photo, as opposed to using someone else’s!

I’m cooking up ideas to use for the golfing series as well. I took a bunch of photos on Wednesday, so will post info on that soon!

More later.

Introduction to Sarah B. Hansen

2008-11-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog! This blog will be an online journal of my artistic journey and current shows. As a watercolor artist, I’m a signature member of the Northwest Watercolor Society in Seattle, the Watercolor Society of Oregon, and a member of the A6 Critique Club, as well as Arts Central. Besides raising my family, I’m currently working on three aspects of my career: Watercolor portrait commissions, golfing women/conversations series, and an art literacy program for elementary schools.

Being a mom of three boys, all under 16, makes life a bit busy. We golf, ski, hike, and mountain bike as a family here in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest in Bend, Oregon. We all have many interests in nature, books, music, games, and art. The boys and my husband all are wonderful companions and support in this crazy life!

Without further ado, I’ll post this incredibly exciting introduction and will be adding detail to it as I go!