Artist Demos are presented after our regular meetings at 1.00 p.m. on the 3d Monday of the month.  There are no meetings in July, August or December.  Meetings are held at the Tuolumne County Main Library, 480 Greenley Way, in Sonora. 

The March 16 demo by Andrea Morris has been rescheduled to June 15, 2020, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.  The March, April and Maymeetings have been cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic.  Check back for plans for later in the spring.  Stay well, keep calm and paint on!

"Zebras of the Serengeti" by Andrea Morris

Andrea Morris, a resident of Lodi,  is a familiar figure in the Mother Lode art community as an artist and teacher.  She is a member of the Aloft and the MLAA .  Her presentation on March 16 will address painting wildlife in an expressive and bold style.  In her decades-spanning practice, Andrea Morris has explored wildlife and the human form through different materials and mediums. Self-taught, in her early work she created drawings of horses and familiar animals and later studied portrait works. Andrea later experimented with abstraction and assemblage in an attempt to free herself from the traditional genre.  Andrea has developed the use of strong patterns and colors to represent the subjects in her compositions and uses the diverse objects to represent thoughts and emotions to tell the story behind the painting
Andrea has been teaching advanced levels of painting in watercolor, oils, acrylic and drawing for more than ten years.  Her work has been displayed and exhibited in many art venues in California and Arizona, and she has garnered many best of show awards.
Andrea’s greatest joy has been in sharing her knowledge and love of art with fellow artists and documenting her journey of discovery and fascination in artistic expression.
Andrea has been commissioned to paint many murals and individual paintings for clients across the United States. 
andreamorrisart@yahoo.com
www.andreamorrisart.com
www.theartistsheart.com

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Recent Demos

February 2020.  Well-known landscape artist Michael Severin provided a record audience of around 40 people with a concise, well organized demonstration of how to "key" a painting, value structure, and how to incorporate a color scheme. Michael is a Sonora resident and long-time MLAA member who is represented by the Petroglyphe Gallery in  Mokelumne Hill   .  You can find out more about Michael and his art at his website, www.michaelseverin.com .

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Still life with cat by Diana Boyd

January 2020.  Diana Boyd's direct, insightful critiques attracted a crowd . She forthrightly discussed both strengths and weaknesses of every work.  Diana Boyd has been active in our local art scene since she moved to Sonora in 1997. She served on the MLAA  board for many years.  After becoming a successful artist and painting demonstrator she began teaching oil painting in Tuolumne and Calaveras County in 2006 as well as judging numerous art shows thoughout the years. Her favorite subjects include figures, animals, and still life painted in a loose,semi abstract style.

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Heinie Hartwig

Susan Lea Hackett with her plein air gear

November 2019.  Watercolorist Jeannie Vodden uses pure staining transparent hues and a very limited palette in a glazing process to achieve exquisite, detailed paintings.  She demonstrated her extraordinary portrait techniques to a rapt group of artists at November's meeting and shared practical information on equipment and materials.

October 2019.  Heinie Hartwig's critique drew a crowd, as always. 
People who were emboldened to bring their artwork to the meeting enjoyed the guidance of a master painter.  Heinie uses a piece of glass laid over the artwork to paint his suggested changes. 




September  2019. Susan Lea Hackett lives in Strawberry, Tuolumne County.  She is a noted textile artist, painter and teacher, and is the force behind MLAA's very active plein air painting group. Susan's current passion is  painting in watercolor and pastel.  Her approach begins outdoors, with a detailed drawing, going on to carefully selected transparent watercolors, often finishing with opaque watercolor or pastel.  She finishes many of her paintings in her studio.  Susan's presentation focussed on the progression from sketch to finished painting, with mention of the equipment she's collected to meet the needs of the person painting out of doors.

Al Tofanelli demonstrates how to get professional results photographing artwork, whether for printing or for show submissions.

Clark Mitchell demonstrating his pastel techniques for landscape painting.

 June 2019 Al  Tofanelli worked in the digital game industry as an Art Director overseeing graphics and development.  Since moving into fine arts, Al has taught painting for over 25 years and has shot artwork for professional artists for print and presentation.  Al  explained how to shoot your own work, whether for printing or for show submissions,  using anything from professional equipment  to your iPhone, with many helpful suggestions on equipment, editing software, lighting, etc. 








May, 2019:  Clark G. Mitchell is an artist and teacher, well known for his landscape work which ranges from tightly rendered to looser and more abstract.  He favors pastel for ease of handling, brilliance of color and portability.  Clark Mitchell has been designated a Master Pastellist by the Pastel Society of America, among other honors.  His demonstration drew a crowd and members were especially interested in his technique of pastel applied to the paper to define broad areas of color and then dissolved in brushed-on alcohol for a watercolor effect, as an underpainting for the finished pastel work.  Clark Mitchell also had useful advice to share on selection of paper and pastels and handling and framing of the finished artwork.