March - 2003
Jini James
"Paint what you know, paint what you love...."
is the message she received loud and clear from her artist-mentor-friend several years ago. At the time, she believed that the expression was pretty superficial, something that everyone just did naturally until she discovered that most of us (artists) struggle to find our voice, picking up the style of others who we admire; refining it along the way. What she loves are the faces of Native Americans. A high point in her level of understanding of their beauty recently occurred when she traveled the Southwest last Fall. The demo then, will be a combination of slides which influenced a vision that she had for the subject as well as slide views of the works in progress. The presentation will show the model in watercolor as well as oil. The technique that she will attempt during the demonstration will combine watercolor and gouache on a Strathmore Bristol 5-Ply paper. This painting style offers an opportunity for her to be more "painterly", a combination of oil as well as watercolor technique that still stays within the boundaries of watercolor. One of her first attempts at the technique was at a workshop at the Torpedo Factory with one of her most favorite artists, Burton Silverman. She has said; " It will take years of refining for me to mirror Silverman; the demo will be one of many more enjoyable tries".
Jini is the current president of the Brevard Watercolor Society (BWS), providing support to the tradition of monthly workshops, seminars, group painting experiences and exhibition opportunities for artists who work in water media. The class scheduled for April 12 is in Acrylics and held at the Satellite Beach Civic Center. The guest lecturer for May is Pat Weaver, FWS who is a nationally known workshop leader. Those interested in learning more about these opportunities should call our information line at 255-1002.