Well, the year is just about over, and it's been pretty eventful. Cowboy Artists and Photographers of Amrica (CAPA) has had a steady growth, and recently complted it's 2nd annual art show & sale in Las Vegs during the NFR.
The year has been pretty stressful for many people for all sorts of reasons. Between Iraq, international terrorism, home-grown terrorism (PETA and all those other animal groups), political correctness (no more calf roping - just the tie-down event (ha), the economy's effect on us average folk,
and whatever else you can name, it's no wonder the populace seeks escapist endeavors.
Everyone should own at least one piece of cowboy art/photography. Feeling stressed? Just sit in front of a cowboy art painting or photo and relax - gazing upon the way things were and could be again. As complicated and difficult ranch and farm life can be, there's a certain level of calm satisfaction
an individual receives from participating in those lifestyles. Sitting in front of cowboy art images can bring the same level of comfort - knowing that what we had and still have -to some degree - is good - and we may be able to have it one more time.
The CAPA show this year was quite good, and the Excalibut Hotel Casino was extremely hospitable and cooperative as a working partner in the event. We're now planning for the 2004 show, and expect to expand exhibitor space from
the seventeen artists who were here this year to thirty artists for the next show. There's some photos from the show elsewhere in this end of the year edition of the CA&R.
Anyhow, I want to wish you all the best for the new year - don't take things too seriously, and remember that "there's always the next cowboy, always another spring" Gary D. Ford
Joe Chernicoff, CAPA Exec. Director
Cowboy Poetry
This month we have another poem from cowboy artist >Steve Dirksen, which kind's tells you about
the artist's getting to work:
a book of poems lay next to the easel
For 2004 - You are invited to send in your local rodeo schedules for inclusion here -
if you are a rodeo contestant, we'll be happy to publish photos of you in your event, depending upon the quality of
the image.
CAPA Member News
For Your Interest
Drawing, from Art Monthly:
Pencils - Getting to the Point
As long ago as the time of the Pharaohs, marks on various materials have helped
to document the history of the ages. Originally, these scribing instruments were
nothing more than long strips of metal, cast into slender shapes and used to scribe
faint lines and images on papyrus reed paper. Then slender sticks of lead were crafted,
which left darker, more permanent marks. Although lead has not been used in
pencils for over a century, this ancient identification still remains. Today's
pencils have graphite cores, but the pointed centers are still referred to as "lead."
The creation of this graphite mixture is a process involving considerable precision.
Large quantities of graphite and clay are placed inside huge drum grinders. These
two components are crushed into a fine powder to which water is added and mixed
well. After the excess water is pressed from this mixture, the sludge left behind
is air dried and hardened for several days. It is then re-ground, forming an ultra-fine
powder to which water is added, this time creating a soft paste. This paste is
extruded into long thin pencil length sticks that are dried and then heated in a
special oven to 1,800 degrees. This high heat insures a smooth and hard lead with
uniform strength that will perform as expected in drawing and writing tasks.
Actual construction of pencils is very much the same as it was decades ago. Large
blocks of wood are cut into slats. These slats are grooved and prepared for the
insertion of the graphite sticks. Glue is applied to the surface of the grooved
slats, and leads are placed into the slats. Two such slats are quickly joined
together, sandwiching the lead stick in place. The exterior profile is shaped.
At this point, razor-sharp blades slice through the remaining fragment of wood
that remains between the two halves to form individual sticks. Slight sanding and
up to eight coats of paint are then applied. (continued in next column)
paint tubes without lids were near by
brushes hair up in a jar on a table
waited for the artists’ next try
paint on the palette was useless
as a radio played low in the room
sending out crackly sounds
as the artist swept with a broom
an empty canvas sat on the easel
waiting as time ticked away
to hold lines,color and form
and maybe be seen someday
but the artist had given it up
he figured he had been wrong
to think he’d make it a go
searching for truth took too long
and he figured to pack his stuff
in boxes and give it away
except for the book of poems
that told of the cowboys who stay
so he sat down and read them again
and the words ignited a flame
of passion for work he must do
cause a heart of the West can’t be tame
Rick Meoli and his photography were featured in the curent
issue of Cowboys and Indians magazine
The last part of the construction is the addition of the metal collar, or ferrule, that holds the eraser in place. In the U.S., hundreds of tons of erasers are produced for the 2.8 billion pencils sold each year. However, in Europe most pencils sold do not have erasers.
Different grades, or varying hardness, of lead are accomplished by adding more or less graphite to the mixture. Extreme care is given to the formulas used to insure uniform repetition of pencil marking qualities. Graphite and clay can be combined in mixtures anywhere from 9H (extra hard), which leaves a barely detectable line, to 8B (very soft) and creates a near jet-black line. This means that there could be more than 25 variances in any given line of artists' graphite drawing pencils.
Different methods of sharpening pencils appeal to different "schools" of pencil users. A true pencil aficionado would never think of sharpening his slender collection with an electric apparatus. Instead, he might use an old-fashioned hand-crank style sharpener. But among devoted pencil persons, perhaps the most popular sharpening device is a small hand-held sharpener. This is said to give the most even point shape and the most control over the amount of sharpening with the least waste.
Some artists abhor super sharpness in favor of a slightly blunt point. Their sharpener would be less likely to have a catch-cup attached because the smell of the freshly shaved wood becomes part of the ritual. For this degree of appreciation, there is nothing quite like a jar of freshly sharpened pencils standing in wait for the next assignment or project.
Lastly, the drawing surfaces onto which pencil line is placed can vary greatly. Every type of paper from newsprint to all rag museum papers and from napkins to freezer wrap--holds possibilities, but most artists choose one or two surfaces that give them the "tooth" or texture they need to convey their imagery. Smooth surfaces are best for fine detailed drawings, and heavy textures like watercolor paper can be just right for abstract or experimental work. And don't forget those surfaces usually reserved for pastel--the sanded surfaces of gesso boards, which offer more avenues for exploration.
While we are on the subject of experimentation, remember that pencils are not just graphite. There are conte pencils, similar to hard pastels; charcoal pencils, in white and blacks; and watercolor pencils, ready to blend with the addition of just a bit of water.
In closing, here are some little-known facts about the pencil:
--A single pencil can write up to 45,000 words.
--A single pencil can draw a line up to 35 miles long.
--A pencil can write in zero gravity, upside down and underwater.
--Pencils were standard issue to soldiers during the Civil War.
--Thomas Edison kept a three-inch-long pencil in his vest pocket to jot down any
important notes.
--Leonardo da Vinci often sketched in pencil.
--John Steinbeck used as many as 60 different pencils every day.
--George Washington is said to have used a short pencil as he surveyed the Ohio
Territory in 1762.
--Wooden pencils date back to the 16th century.
Easy to carry, clean, widely varied and very spontaneous, pencils may be "the" medium for the new millennium
The 2nd Annual CAPA Art Show & Sale - Successful!
Well, the 2003 CAPA Art Show & Sale was judged by all as a big success, certainly when compated to the 2002 show. This year's experience with the Excalibur Hotel Casino in Las Vegas was very encouraging, and thhe Excalibur people were mighty impressed with the waulity of the art and the proferssioanlism of our the CAPA artists. So impressed, that Excalibur and CAPA are now in the planning stages for the 204 show - which promises to be bigger and better
This year, we had 17 artist vendors, and next year plans call for up to thirty artists. We all believe that the CAPA show at the Excalibur Hotel Casino will be the premier cowboy-western art show of the NFR, if not of other major cowboy events.
CAPA is now booking for the 2004 show - contact via e-mail for information.
For some photos of the 2nd Annual Cowboy Artists and Photographers of America Art Show & Sale, Click here
CAPA Member News
Rick Meoli and his photography were featured in the current issue of Cowboys and Indians magazine
