Albert – I’ve been extremely busy with a one-woman show; 21 paintings at the Riverwalk Theater Lobby Gallery in downtown Lansing.  Below is the advertisement ran in three local papers to promote the exhibit.  Also above is the painting for which I won an “Honorable Mention” Award.  The painting was entitled “Santa Fe Adobe.”  The venue was the 41st Annual Art Show and Sale November 2-25, 2012, at the Hope Borbas Library in Okemos, Michigan.  The painting sold for $450.00.

I am also entering a large painting of Lake Huron/Mackinac Island with the Muskeon Museum of Art Next week. I won a Purchase Award for my “Quiet Cove” on the Grand River at Dimondale, Michigan at the 84th Regional Exhibition last year.  The painting was sold to a financial corporation in Grand Rapids.

Albert, I cannot express to you how much you helped me take my paintings to an entirely new and higher level;  the whole experience with you was such an epiphany on so many different levels. I so much look forward to seeing you an Jeanine again.  Jack  so wants to meet the two of you (Jeanine, as I told you Jack is a huge baseball fan, and I told him about your father).

Again, Albert, you are very special to me, and I so look forward to seeing you and painting together!

Sue Preiss

Dear Albert,

I am pleased to report that I have received 1st Place for my pastel “Reflections” at the National Audubon Society Mill Grove Art Show. The show is in this amazing rustic stone barn and it is attended by Society members nationally and by many people in the area. The show will run to the end of April.

At the end of April I will also be a featured artist for the GNAL Art Trail. My home and studio will be open Saturday and Sunday for people to come in and tour. I have done this before and I get about 80 people over the two days and I sell 20 – 30 paintings. I am also teaching a series of Plein Air classes for my local art league. As I help students at the easel or do end of day critiques I often think of your comments over the many years I have studied with you. Helping students resolve their paintings has taught me about resolving mine. I will send in a separate e-mail my last demo painting called “Spring at Last”.

Thank you Albert for your friendship and so freely sharing your amazing art vision. I have grown so much as an artist working with you. You have given legs to my desire to paint and teach. Oregon will be amazing this August!

Attached is the painting.

Love and gratitude,
Doug

Dear Albert,

Following participation in the 2012 Paint-A-Long in Santa Fe, I submitted 3 pastels for consideration for the New Mexico Pastel Society’s 21st Annual Pastel Painting Exhibition. Two paintings were accepted, and to my surprise and delight, ‘Taos Stream’ won an award under the generous sponsorship of Pat Berrett, Photographer, and Artisan/Santa Fe. The inspiration for Taos Stream came directly from earlier exercises with you at the Taos Paint-A-Long.  I feel these intense painting experiences, under your guidance and in the company of the other superb artists attending, have been seminal in whatever progress I’ve been able to make.

Thank you Albert, for your mentorship and unflagging encouragement!

Best regards,

Bill Buss

During the winter months here in Santa Fe….my days are spent painting with oils in my studio and the business of the office. At sunset, we are out and about  photographing the magnificent light reflecting on the trees and the adobe walls. And in the evenings perhaps Jeanine and I swing dance at the La Fonda Hotel on the Plaza. Or attend a movie or spend time with friends or talk by our fireplace. 

We are driving tomorrow to TUCSON ART ACADEMY and PALM SPRINGS follow us as we start our 2013 schedule.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the recent e-mail. I especially enjoyed your little write up about your experience at Grand Marais, Minnesota. I had put $200.00 down in October prior to that paint along the following fall, but then gas prices went up and my budget did not allow me to make the long trip from Kalamazoo, Michigan, so I was forced to cancel. All of these years since, I’ve have dreamed about what might have been.

I was fortunate to have viewed your one man exhibition at Youngstown, Ohio which occurred about that time and I was almost put into a trance as I gazed upon the work! There are a very few of my colleagues left from the Kalamazoo Area Pastel Society who still reminisce about the three day workshop you gave here in Kalamazoo at Nazareth College about 33 years ago. At that time you were living in NY. You actually came to my studio at that time when you were in town, since I was one of the key people organizing that event. I tell my students that Albert Handell actually stood at this easel. They are impressed, of course.

I continue to paint in pastel, do some teaching (but always feel like I don’t know much, especially as I learn more about my favorite medium which I have been using since I was in grade school; I will be 70 in February). I plan to live to be 100 so maybe we can make a deal: you live to be 100, offer a paint along reasonably close to Kalamazoo, and maybe we can meet again!

I offer you the best: good health, longevity, happy painting and best of luck with your new found love!

P.T.
Kalamazoo, MI

Jeanine and I are excited about the start of 2013…with all our planned Workshops and Paint-A-Long with Albert Mentoring programs scheduled for the year.  We look forward to being together again with artist friends and meeting and painting with all the many new aspiring artists who are joining us for the first time.

Came across the enclosed photo in my files…one of myself painting on Artist Point at the Grand Marais. The photo ignited a realization that I feel is worth explaining and sharing in more detail…thusly.. the impetus for this blog.

During my COME PAINT-A-LONG MENTORING PROGRAM,  I was painting on  ”ARTIST’S POINT’ a very well known, beautiful and extensive location in Grand Marais, located in northern Minnesota on Lake Superior.  In this mentoring program, every morning, I paint on location with the participating artists.  They can watch as I paint,  or they can choose  to paint nearby and every 15 or 30 minutes or so, come by and take a peek at how my painting is developing or they are also invited to stand behind me and watch and if they wish to actually paint the same subject as I am painting. I encourage this.  This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to realize and absorb some simple and yet profound insights.  It’s not that I am trying to cultivate “little Handells”… far from it.  For I have found, from my years of teaching, painting and painting with aspiring artists, that each artist who I have worked with, can certainly do something at their easel.  It’s at the beginning of their works that the problems start or it’s after  the first 15 min. or 20 min. or an hour and 20 min. the problems are there, and the aggravation is there.  Then… after three hours of painting and toil, the painting just doesn’t make it. How come?

What to do-??  These are the  the big questions-!!  BUT… by standing behind me and actually painting the same subject as I am, one realizes in an instant and in an unique way, they can easily see and realize, what I eliminate from the subject, ESPECIALLY WHAT I ELIMINATE, what I emphasize…  how and what I take from the landscape in order to develop  further and finish my painting.

It’s what I TAKE from the subject, that adds to my painting, rather than putting in “things” or unnecessary details that take away from the essence of my painting. In my opinion, there is a metamorphous that occurs in the process of  painting that is not realized, or even spoken about, especially painting “en plain air”.  Because of the constantly  changing  lighting conditions, when I start a painting, nature is the boss.  But, at a certain point in ones painting,  the metamorphosis  occurs and this is not clearly understood,  for it is then, that  the painting and the artist become boss.   After all, for it’s the painting you are going to frame and exhibit-!

This is such a straight-forward learning experience for those who wish to make use of it…..it’s not obligatory. AND YET.. as far as I am aware, this is not a common-place offering.  It is unequaled for learning how to proceed, develop and eventually finish your painting.

Please continue to check in with us periodically… here and on Facebook.

We are in the process of creating new ways for us to send you up-dated painting information and our schedule.

In closing..,both Jeanine and I  wish you the best of health and painting in 2013-!!

For Plein Air Painting:

Some general supplies are your portable easel, a hat with a wide brim, sunscreen, etc. Unfortunately umbrellas, which could be useful, are difficult to take onto airplanes.

The Easel:

Bring a sturdy easel to work on. There are many different makes that are good. The easel that Albert Handell uses and that works well for both oils and pastels is the portable French easel. This portable easel folds into a box, and is recommended for on location painting. The best easels are made in France. They come in two sizes (full and half-size); both are good. Mr. Handell uses the full size. If you have a different easel that you use- bring it!

‘Island Costal Trees’, Pastel 12×18 by Albert Handell

What Art Supplies Should The Pastel Artist Bring?

If you are painting in pastel, bring all the pastels that you have and the pastel papers that you like to paint on – plus a few lightweight drawing boards i.e., made of foam core or gator board or any lightweight material. Albert likes to use the Kitty Wallis Sanded Paper in both white and their Belgium Mist grey tone, they both come in pads of 8 sheets, and he prefers the 12×18” size, but if you wish to work on a smaller size, these pads are also available in 9×12”. These are very handy pads for pasteling on location, and can be purchased from Dakota Art Supplies (they only sell pastel supplies) at
888.345.0067. Albert also paints with pastel on U-Art sanded papers 500-p and 600-p, grits.

If you wish to work on other pastel papers, be sure to bring them to the workshop. 

If you are an experienced pastelist, bring the pastels you already have.

What Pastels should I bring?

• All pastel brands are good, since plein air painting is a one session experience. Mr. Handell paints with a combination of Unison, Schmenke, Nu-Pastels, Rembrandt, Senelier, to name a few. Bring what you already have.

Other Pastel Materials:

• A few sticks of soft vine charcoal
• Masking tape
• Light weight drawing board (foam core)
• Spray fixative (any brand)
• Kneaded eraser
• Folding TV tray (optional)

What Art Supplies Should The Oil Painter Bring?

‘At Water’s Edge, East Beach’ Oil 20×24 by Albert Handell

If you are painting in oils, bring the colors that you are accustomed to painting with, plus at least 12 or more canvas or canvas panels to paint on. Albert likes to paint on the Source Tek Panels, telephone them at 800.587.5462 or visit their website: www.canvaspanels.com. They have Claussen Linen glued to light weight Birch plywood – in different sizes. They are strong and lightweight. The recommended sizes are 9×12”,11×14”, 12×16”, or 14×18”. Or 16×20” Choose the sizes that you are most comfortable painting on.

Can I Ship My Art Supplies To The Workshop?

Yes, you can ship your art supplies to the hotel where you will be staying. Please contact their office directly for any special instructions or requirements. Albert Handell’s Pallet Of Oil Colors Mr. Handell paints in oil during the winter months in the studio. He uses Turpenoid as his paint medium, especially at the beginning, since these works are larger and call for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th painting sessions. He will then use Winsor Newton Liquin, very sparingly as his paint medium. He applies paint combining both brush and knife applications of color. His Oil Palette is listed below:

• Titanium White W/N (Winsor Newton)
• Naples Yellos W/N
• Cadmium Yellow Light W/N
• Cadmium Orange W/N
• Cadmium Red Light W/N
• Terra Rosa W/N
• Permanent Alizarin Crimson W/N
• Yellow Ocher Light W/N
• Burnt Sienna W/N
• Viridian (Green) W/N
• Cobalt Blue W/N
• Ultra-Marine Blue W/N
• Ivory Black W/N

If you are an experienced oil painter, bring any materials with which you would normally paint.

Brushes

A large assortment of brushes is recommended. Two or three of each size: numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Your choice of brights*, flats (sable), rounds, or filberts (bristle)*.

Mr. Handell also uses:

• Richeson # 9629 signature # 10 & 12
• Langnickel Royal Sable # 5590 # 8, 10 & 12
• DaVinci Maestro series 7000, # 10, 12,14 (white bristle filbert)

Mediums

• No medium; use odorless turpentine (Turpenoid) used by Mr. Handell for his alla prima paintings (one session paintings), or Gamlin Brand; Gamsol.
• Liquin by Windsor Newton -Mr. Handell uses for glazing purposes and for paintings that take multiple sessions to complete.
• A general all around paint medium, which many artists use, is a mixture of 1/3 Damar varnish, 1/3 linseed oil, 1/3 turpentine or turpentine substitute.

Other Oil Materials

• Any palette
• Two palette cups
• Rags and/or paper towels
• Two palette knives

There is an Albert Handell 72-color Summer Landscape Pastel Set manufactured by the Unison Co. This landscape set has many beautiful greens – both warm and cool – varying from very light to rich middle tones and dark tones. Mr. Handell modifies his greens with both cool and warm mauves, which are also part of this set. Many of these mauves relate to the greens in identical value. The set also has five different sky colors and plenty of rich earth colors. Mr. Handell selected each and every color that’s in this set.

These sets are usually available at Mr. Handell’s workshops, or you can order yours directly from him by phone, 505-983-8373 or email alberthandell@msn.com.

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