WATERCOLOR EVENINGS, 2010

Two programs will be presented by two AWS Signature Members during the April, 2009 exhibition.
Both evenings are free and open to the public.
Each evening will begin promptly at 6PM. Seating is limited.
Demonstrations and presentations are held in the
upper gallery of the Salmagundi Club
47 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003, USA
For more information call: 212-206-8986

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010 6:00 PM
ANTONIO MASI
"Painting New York City's Bridges"

Antonio Masi paints NYC's bridges with all their various moods and atmospheres. He has completed more than 100 bridge paintings and named the series, "Bridgescapes."
"I start my paintings by 'meeting the bridge.' I walk across the bridge if I can (some bridges do not allow for people to walk across). I make sketches, small watercolor studies, and take photographs to jar my memory."

Masi's paintings usually measure 60" x 40", but for the demonstration he will work on a 30" x 22" paper, painting in the same manner as he would in his larger work. He has his studio in his home in Garden City, NY, where he tacks a 300 pound Arches paper to the wall with pushpins and paints. Masi's unique use of watercolor allows him to capture each bridge's mass, power, and delicacy. He uses a large 6 or 8 inch brush to loosely apply layers of juicy pigment making intense values that create the desired mood in his paintings. "My primary concern while I paint is to capture the mood I'm after; the subject is secondary to conveying what I feel in the moment." The presentation will show the materials that he uses (paints, paper, palettes, brushes), his set-up, and how he lays down colors (body color and glazes). He hopes this will give insight into his way of painting.

During the evening Antonio will share his interesting history and why bridges are so important to him.

In 2009, Masi won the High Winds Metal in the annual AWS Exhibit along with numerous other awards. His work is represented by The Phyllis Lucas Gallery in New York City. In 2006, The Artist's Magazine chose his painting of the Queensboro Bridge, "N.Y. Tramway II," as First Place winner in the Landscape category in the magazine's "Best Art" contest. The magazine described the painting as "dark and pulsating" and relating "a stirring, overpowering sensation." Antonio states, "These structures are fascinating. Each is unique and possesses an interesting character, design and history. As bridges, they function in basically the same way, yet they're an individual as people."

APRIL 20, 2010, 6:00 PM
NANCY BARCH
"Spontaneous Watercolors on Synthetic Paper"

Originally from Philadelphia, Nancy Barch is fascinated by the motion and rhythm of the city and it's people. In her sketchbooks she records the movement of people as they interact with the world around them, both alone and in groups. She always travels with a sketchbook and a box of sharpened pencils…"Sketching frees you from a lot of details and makes you simplify and pull out what is important."
"They lodge themselves in my mind. They become filed away for future use. I never know exactly where and when they will be utilized but then, that's the exciting part of the creative process." She was quoted in the 2009 article, Learning by Playing, in WATERCOLOR magazine. In her paintings she likes to convey a sense of time and place. By using strong patterns of design she sets a mood that push away from realism.

Before beginning a painting Barch likes to have a plan by making 2x4 thumbnail value sketches that makes it possible to know where the painting is going and allows her to paint more freely. Nancy paints on the synthetic paper called Yupo and finds that the possibilities are endless for experimenting. She will demonstrate how watercolor easily adheres to Yupo and how stamping, lifting and drawing brings results that are slightly different than that of pulped papers. She prefers large filbert brushes, and couldn't do without dark browns, her favorite colors for mixing.

Nancy's studio is in a small row house fifteen minutes from her home and right outside Philadelphia that's been in the family for years. Here she can work uninterrupted, creating her paintings, using her reference material, her personal photographs, and collection of sketchbooks.

Nancy is Vice President of the American Watercolor Society. In 2008 she received the Paul Remy Award in the AWS Annual Exhibit along with numerous other awards over the years. Nancy teaches workshops throughout the US. Her work is included in many private and corporate collections.