The IAPS Paintaround
June 11, 2007
The IAPS convention was, as always, educational, exciting and fun. One of my favorite events is always the Paintaround, and I was happy to be invited to participate in 2007. (See the previous blog, Getting Ready for IAPS.)
When all five artists were in position at their easels, each with a selection or set of pastels and a photograph for a subject, the crowd helped with the countdown to start. With only ten minutes to block in a subject on the Ampersand Pastelbord, I began quickly laying down color. I took the painting as far as I possibly could, frantically adding a few more strokes as the countdown to “Rotate” approached.
Then I moved to Richard McDaniel’s landscape subject, which was based on a combination of two different photos. Meanwhile, Carole Katchen spent ten minutes developing my painting.
One of the challenges of the Paintaround is that none of the participating artists knows what subjects the others will bring, so upon approaching each new easel there’s a moment of surprise, followed by a quick analysis of the stage of completion.
On the command to “Rotate!” I moved to Jimmy Wright’s expressionistic sunflower subject, and Duane Wakeham worked on my marsh scene.
Then, as Jimmy Wright developed my painting further, I moved to Duane Wakeham’s landscape painting, working on reflections and defining the land masses.
On the next move, I went to Carole Katchen’s lively figurative piece, and since it was nearing completion, worked on details and clarification of figures, tables and chairs. Meanwhile, Richard McDaniel was putting near-finishing touches on my painting.
Finally, for the last ten minutes each of us returned to our own beginning painting, and took a few seconds to comprehend the changes it had gone through since we left it. Working quickly, we each re-established our interpretation of the subject, incorporating revisions made by others and putting on the finishing details before the countdown to "Stop!"
The final pieces were each signed by all five artists, and auctioned off during the Saturday night banquet. The money went to the IAPS educational fund, and gave each new owner an unusual and unique piece of art created by five artists.