'Tuesday Painters' on exhibit

A watercolor class offered through Glendale's Lifetime Learning classes is standing room only with a waiting list that outstrips many of Parks and Recreation's other courses. Art instructor Peggy Reid has taught “Journey in Watercolors” at Brand Art Center for five years. With remodeling underway at Brand, the class is temporarily located at Chevy Chase Library. Two classes meet weekly on Tuesdays.

On Saturday (Jan. 26) more than 150 art lovers gathered in the Gallery of Geo Systems in Glendale. They sipped and supped on wine and cheese during the exhibit's opening reception. On display are 64 paintings from 30 watercolorists known as the “Tuesday Painters” — all students of Reid.

The artists, most of whom have never had their paintings exhibited, proudly pointed out their work to visitors. Pasadena resident Marnell Land began Reid's classes in the fall. Her “Window in a Room” is NFS — not for sale. Since many of the artists are beginners, some were shy about offering their paintings for sale to the public.

Artist Arline Helm had no such compunctions. Her “Green Valley” landscape is on sale for $135. Helm has studied watercolor painting for 10 years, including five years with Reid.

Faye Dangerfield from Pasadena is on her fourth series of Reid's eight-week classes. Dangerfield's “Go Cart” was exhibited as well as her "Berries." (Both were not for sale). Dangerfield had just returned from Washington, D.C., for President's Obama's second inauguration. As a community volunteer for the Democratic Party, Dangerfield had also attended the president's first inauguration. Dangerfield announced that this year she danced at the Inaugural Ball. Who knows? Maybe Dangerfield will use the ball as the subject of her next masterpiece.

Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena has hosted luminaries such as actress Jane Fonda and, most recently, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor who signed their latest books. (Upcoming is an appearance by former Vice President Al Gore.) But it's been a long tradition of the independent bookstore to never neglect its kid readers.

Steve Ross has been reading to kids ever since he realized he had a knack for exciting them with the written word. He also has to corral them,Can you spot the answer in the fridge magnet? too. Sometimes a kid or two may jump out of their chair and practically wind up on Mr. Steve's lap in their attempt to make story time all their own. This morning was no exception. Ronan Fox, 4, from Pasadena was too excited to merely sit in his seat. He stood close to the action all through story time. Dad Jon Fox obediently sat in his seat along with younger son, Gavin Fox, 1.

Sendak's “Where the Wild Things Are” won the Caldecott Medal for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year in 1964. Sendak was the writer and illustrator.

The story is about Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper. He creates his own world — a forest inhabited by wild creatures that crown Max their king. When the book was written in 1963 the theme of dealing with anger was rare in children's literature, especially in picture-book format for young children.

In today’s on-demand culture, it’s easy to forget the process it takes to create good work. With easy access to top-of-the-line computer equipment, software programs, specialized applications and more, anyone can take a photo or video, manipulate it just so subtly and call it “art.”

Want your photo to have a Picasso-like manipulation? There’s an app for that. Don’t feel like waiting weeks to properly frame and hang an image in order to share it with the masses? Bring the art to everyone, and post to Facebook or Instagram for the perfect of-the-moment response.

But for Helen DeRamus, who has expressed herself through a mix of painting, sculpture and photography for four decades, getting there has been — and always will be — half the fun. And the 70-year-old artist and instructor is always working to perfect her craft.You must not use the laser cutter without being trained.

“I feel like my painting right now is better than it’s ever been,” DeRamus said. “That’s another drive, is to find that perfect painting.Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks!”

The Atlanta-based DeRamus is showcasing 20 images from her ongoing series of landscape encaustic paintings, drawings and monotypes in a new show opening at JSU on Thursday titled The Deep Song. The ancient process of encaustic painting involves melting damar resin and beeswax and adding color to make an image.

The Atlanta-based DeRamus is showcasing 20 images from her ongoing series of landscape encaustic paintings, drawings and monotypes in a new show opening at JSU on Thursday titled The Deep Song. The ancient process of encaustic painting involves melting damar resin and beeswax and adding color to make an image.

“You use a torch for a heat gun in order to melt each of the layers into one another,” said DeRamus of the carefully-detailed form. “The process — it’s mesmerizing. You’re not dealing with a lot of toxicity. I think of it as being more like sculpture than I do painting, because it’s very tactile, and you can actually touch it.”

The collection of landscape paintings that DeRamus has assembled for the exhibition are part of an ongoing series she has been working on for several years.They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets.

“It has more to do with the layering of the images so that you are looking into the past as well as looking toward the future,” she said. “I think of them as being passages in my life that I am discovering,The USB flash drives wholesale is our flagship product. and I want to communicate those to the people who are actually viewing the work.”

“It’s exciting when we all get together at the holidays, believe me,” she said. She also reads a lot of poetry, and was particularly inspired by the rhythm of the words of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca for The Deep Song.

“I’m looking for rhythm, usually, when I start to paint. I sort of disconnect from everything and then start to make marks on the board, and it’s the rhythm of the written word. And it’s also the rhythm of the music that I usually have playing in my studio that actually starts to form the images,” she said, citing the “very rhythmic” music of composers Philip Glass and John Adams in what helped her create this series.

DeRamus has heavily embraced technology to communicate her work. The blogger and regular-user of Twitter and Pinterest said she believes that maintaining an Internet presence is very important. “It’s a good way for me to communicate with my students, communicate with collectors, with my gallery, with the general public.”

Next, her sights are set on trying her hand at video recordings, and possibly creating an installation using a camcorder. Ideally, she would like to begin another residency, having completed her first just a few years ago.