Rocky RQAS NewsletterApril 2019

Compiled by Carol Petherick

Calendar of Events

April30 En Plein Air (the Causeway)

May10 Monthly Meeting14 En Plein Air (Botanic Gardens)21 En Plein Air (Rigarlsford Park21 Nominations for Tenant’s Committee Exhibition close27 Nominations for Rocky Show close30 Preparing artworks to hang (our rooms at WRCC)

June7 Nominations for RQAS Annual Exhibition close12-14 Rockhampton Show17 June-7 July RQAS 2019 Exhibition and Sales

July5-14 July WRCC Tenant’s Committee Exhibition23 En Plein Air (The Caves Pub)30 En Plein Air (Glenmore Homestead)

August6 En Plein Air (Eileen’s Garden)

President’s PieceThere are many great things to mention this month. I will mention some in brief but for the full story please read the Newsletter, as Carol will cover the topics in full.

We have some exciting plans for our annual exhibition. Firstly Margaret Strelow will be our special guest at the official launch on Friday 21 June. Secondly our plans for transforming the shop space are coming together. We have 5 new display easels on order to help cater for the artwork.

There are no nomination fees nor will any commission be taken. The bank’s fees for usage of the eftpos machine will be borne by the club. If you have the facility to do electronic banking then the Treasurer will be asking for your banking details so any sales that you may have will be paid electronically. At the completion of the exhibition all Members’ banking details will be shredded. Of course, if you don’t have electronic banking that won’t be a problem. We are still able to issue cheques.

Thanks to Coral, Heather and June for donating paintings for the raffles and people’s choice prize.

I must make mention of the great workshop last weekend with Deb Mostert. Deb was like a breath of fresh air (both figuratively and literally) as we enjoyed many hours drawing while sitting down by the river. Her passion for sketching in her ‘Everyday Sketchbook’ was palpable.

Also a big thanks to Royleine who will be introducing a bookkeeping package which will make her job more manageable. Over the last couple of months we have made huge strides towards electronic banking. Which reminds me of course. Annual membership fees are due on 1 July but can be paid anytime. The $40 fee makes you a financial member from 01/07/19 to 30/06/20.

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Last but definitely not least, what can you do? PAINT, SKETCH, COLOUR, SCRATCH, WASH. Plan what you intend to enter. Check your dates. Don’t leave framing till the last moment. Oil paintings should be ready by early June to ensure they are dry. If you haven’t entered in a Challenge before, then make this year your watershed moment. It’s such an easy challenge. Do a tonal drawing/painting in black and white then add a highlight colour. It will be your WOW factor.

Now enjoy the Newsletter and please read all the Guidelines and Conditions for the exhibition. There have been changes.

Lyn

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Monthly Meeting

Our next meeting will be on 10 May 2019 in our rooms starting at 1 p.m. Please make a note in your diary, as we will not be far off our Exhibition then. Lyn will send out an agenda giving further details closer to the date.

En Plein Air Programme

The following schedule has been developed, although some details will be advised nearer the dates. Please bring a hat, sunscreen, water and chair (if you need one) in addition to your art materials.

Date Location Meeting time Meeting place

April 30 The Causeway 09.30 In the park

May 14 Botanic Gardens 09.30 By the lagoon

May 21 Rigarlsford Park (Elphinstone St) 09.30 At the playground

July 23 The Caves pub 09.30 On the verandah

July 30 Glenmore Homestead TBA TBA

August 6 Eileen’s garden 09.30 TBA

We hope that the session at Glenmore Homestead on 30 July will be “Christmas in July”, so keep a lookout for more information. If you have any questions, then please contact Lyn (details at the end of the Newsletter).

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Rockhampton Show

Copies of the schedule and regulations for the Fine Art section are now available in the magazine stand in the rooms. Lyn and June are very positive about this year’s Show and the commitment of the RRC, after last year’s debacle. Lyn and June would very much like to see the Fine Art section well-supported by club members. Note that applications to enter close on 27 May 2019, with exhibit delivery between 9 and 12.00 h on 9 June and collection between 9 and 12.00 h on 15 June 2019.

RQAS 2019 Exhibition and Sales

Our Exhibition and Sales is fast approaching with nominations required by 7 June 2019. We have revised the Guidelines and Conditions for the Exhibition to, hopefully, cover everything and make it easier to understand. The document also includes details about The Challenge, together with a couple of examples (one in oils and one in charcoal) provided by Lyn, so you can see the type of work required to meet the criteria. Please make sure you read the document carefully to make sure you and your artworks comply.

I have sent out the Guidelines and Conditions, the Nomination form and a set of labels as a different e-mail, and copies will also be available in the magazine stand in the rooms. You will see that the Nomination form has a section at the bottom for bank account details. This is so any payments for sales can be put directly into your account. This is the club’s preferred way to operate now, but cheques can still be written if you don’t have the facilities for electronic banking.

We are very pleased to say that Mayor Margaret Strelow has accepted our invitation to officially launch the Exhibition on Friday 21 June 2019 at 5.30 p.m. (but the Exhibition and Sale will be open from the Tuesday of that week). The judge for The Challenge will be local fine artist, Catherine Boreham.

The opening times of the Exhibition and Sale will be 9.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. on weekdays, 9.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and 8.30 a.m. to midday on Sundays. Each day is regarded as a single roster and two people will be needed each day. The roster will operate from Tuesday 18 June to Saturday 6 July 2019 inclusive, and June has volunteered to be in charge of the roster, so please contact her to arrange the days you wish to do.

On Thursday May 30 from 9.30 to 11.00 a.m. in our rooms, help will be available for preparing artworks for hanging (as stated in the Guidelines, if artworks are not properly prepared, they will not be hung). You can either bring your own materials (rings, wire etc.) or make a small donation to use the club’s materials.

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Tenant’s Committee Exhibition

As noted in the last Newsletter, the Tenant’s Committee are staging an exhibition entitled “Rhythms” from the 5-14 July, so it is on during the Rockhampton River Festival. Members of our club are welcome and encouraged to put something in this exhibition. Expressions of Interest are due by 21 May 2019 and there is a maximum limit of 3 items per person. Please contact Lyn (details at the end of the Newsletter) if you need further information.

Oil Painting Workshop

On 5/6 October 2019, Philip Miles will tutor an oil workshop in our rooms at the WRCC. Planning is still in the early stages, but if you want an idea of Philip’s paintings then go to https://m.facebook.com and go to Category then Artist and you should find him listed.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING

Launch of Nick’s Book

As I said in last month’s Newsletter, Nick Daley has put together 22 of his pen and wash pictures of old buildings to produce a book. The launch of the book, “Welcome to Rockhampton”, took place in our rooms on 12 March 2019 when we held a special morning tea to congratulate Nick on this wonderful achievement. Nick had copies of his book for sale and he was happy to sign them for people. I know that at least two of the books will be going overseas, so many congratulations, Nick on being a local and international artist!

Workshop with Deb Mostert

During the weekend of 6/7 April, I was fortunate enough to join a group of 12 artists (our fellow members) for the much anticipated workshop with Deb Mostert. Deb is a Brisbane artist, who paints, draws and sculpts. She explained that her Dutch heritage has influenced her works. Her works are often quirky, containing many everyday and found objects. While on the surface they sometimes appear whimsical, they contain a narrative of Deb’s perception of the world.

Our weekend kicked off with an introduction by Deb to her artworks. She generously brought along a wide selection of her personal journals to share with us. At the end of this session we were yearning to make our own attempts at this journaling venture. There were ‘not so muffled groans’ when Deb announced we were to choose ONE pen (NO PENCILS) for

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our first En Plein Air exercise. My own meagre attempt fell far short of anything I had seen in Deb’s journals. After lunch on the first day, we continued on in our meeting room, where we did tonal exercises, blind contour, continuous line contour and quick gestural drawing. We were set the imaginative challenge to draw a type of paint we would like to have manufactured. Finally we set to drawing one of Deb’s quirky plastic toys from nine different angles.

Day Two started with an explanation of what to pack in an ‘everyday, on the go, journaling kit’. Deb’s motto is that you draw every day for at least 20 minutes, whether it be waiting in the doctor’s surgery, over a meal, sitting in a café, anywhere you are. Subjects can embrace anything – a detailed drawing of a piece of toast, a still life, your food, figures, shells, rocks, your family, whatever you have to hand. She encouraged daily continual contour drawing and keeping a journaling kit with you at all times. The remainder of the day was filled with contour drawing of each other, another En Plein Air outing by the river, a fast paint/slow draw exercise and a tree profile practice on pre painted paper.

All in all the weekend was extremely rewarding. Deb was more than generous in sharing information and answering our many questions. It was a joy to share the weekend with a group of ‘like-minded’ people and such an amiable and encouraging instructor. Thank you so much to the committee members who were involved in organising this worthwhile, educational weekend.

Judy Born (member)

Deb had the chance to visit the botanical gardens while in Rockhampton, where she met and sketched Cassius.

OTHER NEWS and INFORMATION

Club Banking

As mentioned previously, the club has finally got the ability to use Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to make and receive payments. This makes life easier for everybody, as cheques and cash will not be needed, although of course, we will keep those methods to use if necessary. In future, members will be able to renew membership by transferring funds from their own account into the club’s account. For making payments to members (e.g. for the sale of

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artworks) the club can pay money direct to your account. To do this we will require your bank account details, but once payment has been made, those details will be destroyed. Don’t worry if you don’t have the facilities to do electronic banking, payments can still be made by cheque. Royleine has also been investigating book-keeping software packages which will make the Treasurer’s job much simpler.

Mixed Media Monday

Sandra Biggin is renewing promotion of the art group that meets in our rooms on a Monday evening, as it would be good to have more people involved. Please contact Sandra if you’d like more information.

RQAS Website

Barbara Lawrence, our website manager, has again raised the issue of how ‘sad’ and ‘static’ the website is. Barbara is willing to put a lot of time into the site over the coming months to make it more dynamic and interesting and to do justice to the talent that we have in the Branch. To do this, she needs information from you; she wants artists’ profiles that she can put on the site (currently, there are only 3 members’ profiles on the site!). This is not about self-promotion and saying how good you are (although, we know you are, of course!), but more about the club and showing the range of talent that we have. Even if you are like me and don’t consider yourself to be “an artist”, I’m sure you still enjoy the art that you do and work to improve what you do. So, don’t be shy, get in touch with Barbara (contact details at the end of the Newsletter) and she’ll explain what she’d like to get from you.

Interested in Gems and Lapidary?

The Lapidary Club, which is also located in WRCC, is involved in staging a major event, the 55th Australian National Gemboree, at the Rocky Showgrounds on 19-22 April 2019. You can find out more at https://advancerockhampton.com.au/visit/gemboree or

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https://Facebook.com/Gemboree2019 (if these links won’t work, then copy and paste them into your browser).

Blackwater P&C Art Competition and Exhibition

This is on at the Blackwater Civic Centre on 24-26 May 2019, with the official opening at 7 p.m. on Friday 24 May. Entry forms and fees are required by 17 May 2019. If you want further information then I have entry forms etc. that I can e-mail to you, or there are hard copies on the magazine stand in our rooms.

Sale of Frames at Mi-Art

At the recent monthly meeting, Andrea Chapman told us that Mi-Art are having a sale of pre-made frames, all of which will be $30. This sale will happen before our Exhibition and Sales, so will be very useful to members. Andrea didn’t know exactly when the sale would be, but I’m sure MiArt will be only too happy to let you know if you contact them.

Do you get your Newsletter by Post?

If I send the Newsletter to you by post then that means I don’t have an e-mail address for you and you will miss out on getting some information about what’s going on. Things often come up after I’ve completed the Newsletter, or I need to get information to members quickly. It isn’t practical or cost-effective to post these items to you, so please, if you have an e-mail address then provide it, so that you don’t miss information and you get it promptly. Just send an e-mail to secretaryrokrqas@gmail.com. Many thanks.

PERSONAL NEWS and VIEWS

Get Well Wishes

As most of us know, June Taylor underwent surgery for breast cancer towards the end of last month. She is making a steady recovery, although still has some challenges ahead of her. Amazingly, she paid a visit to the Tuesday art group just 1 week after her surgery; she had told us that the Tuesday art group were part of her recuperation and recovery, but I don’t think we’d expected to see her there so soon. We wish her the very best for her continuing recovery and very much look forward to seeing her taking-up the reins in class again soon.

Birthday Greetings

There is just one birthday in April and that’s for Emilie Metcalfe; we send our very best wishes for a happy day.

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If you’d like a birthday mention, then please let me know the month of your birthday (no need to tell me the year!).

Andrea’s Art Tour and Residency

Andrea Chapman is taking a significant step in her personal and career development. She has been invited by a travel agent friend to lead and tutor a 5-day “Art in the Hills” painting tour in spring next year (2020). The location of the tour is in the area associated with the famous painters Hans Heysen and his daughter Nora (Hahndorf, South Australia) and will combine painting trips, sightseeing and visits to wineries in the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills. This is the first time that Andrea has guided an art tour and I’m sure we all wish her success and enjoyment on her new venture. If you wish to find out more about the tour then go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HaveLippyWillTravelTours/, or if you don’t do Facebook, then try: https://havelippywilltraveltours.com.au/blog/f/art-in-the-hills-spring-2020 .

Andrea is also the artist in residence in Emerald this year, teaching both oil and watercolour, for the first two weekends in both August and September. I’m sure she would be only too happy to answer any questions you may have about these classes. She can be contacted on: achapman27@optusnet.com.au or phone 0412613661.

CALL for CONTRIBUTIONS

Please help make this Newsletter more interesting to you by contributing articles and information. Perhaps you’ve attended a workshop, or know of one that’s coming up. Maybe you’ve visited a fun or inspiring exhibition. What about some interesting techniques and ideas you’ve seen or heard about? How about some useful tips? Is there something significant going on in your life that you’d like to share with us? This is the place where you can share your experiences, views and ideas; we would all love to hear about them.

Is there something else missing that you’d like to see in the Newsletter? What about the way it is set-out? I’ll do my best to give you what you want, just as long as it’s not too technologically challenging!

Deadline for Contributions

Please submit your items, preferably electronically as a Word document, to me, Carol Petherick, at secretaryROKRQAS@gmail.com by 10 May 2019.

Carol

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CONTACT INFORMATION

President

Lyn Howard lynemail@bigpond.com 0409 059 332

Vice-president

June Taylor junie.taylor45@gmail.com 0448 128 457

Secretary

Carol Petherick secretaryrokrqas@gmail.com 0437 252 692

Treasurer

Royleine Weir royleine.weir@gmail.com 0412 566 541

Publicity and Web Manager

Barbara Lawrence barblawrence2012@gmail.com 0411 262 597

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