Click on the link below if you would like to preview or purchase my new book:

Time is running out!  This workshop in Tuscany Italy is filling up and begins in just over three months.  We have 5 vacant spots to fill and would like to hear from you soon.  We have reserved our time at Le Casacce for May 29-June 12, 2010 located in the Tuscany Italy area.  The Villa setting is beautiful and the food and wine are exceptional.  This workshop is open to all medias.  To make your reservations, contact:

            Magic Palette-Skillet Workshops
            http://www.magicpalette-skilletworkshops.com/
            William Sperling
            10646 Glen Acres Drive S
            Seattle, WA 98168-1566
            WilliamSperlingG@aol.com or
            Joe@netos.com 

         

Joe Mac Kechnie’s “Dried Hydrangeas”, watercolor and ink, took third place in the Mixed Media category in the First Annual Autumn Arts Challenge and Contest. This global Internet event was open to artists around the world. Hundreds of new original works were created during the month of October 2009 specifically for the Autumn Arts Challenge. Out of over 1000 entries, 21 artworks were selected.

The selected artworks will be part of an exhibit at the Bucks County Gallery of Fine Art in New Hope, PA, beginning March 1, 2010. To learn more about the event and to view the artworks selected, visit: http://autumnpaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/

Joe Mac Kechnie’s pastel painting, titled “Wild Turkeys”, won an Honorable Mention in the 11th Annual Pastel 100 Competition. An image of his winning painting is slated to appear in the April 2010 issue of The Pastel Journal.

We have reserved our time at Le Casacce for May 29-June 12, 2010 located in the Tuscany Italy area.  We have also added a segment on Photography for Artists to the workshop.  Put some excitement into your artwork and recharge your artistic batteries by painting in one of the most beautiful Plein Air sites in the world!  To make your reservations, contact:

            Magic Palette-Skillet Workshops
            http://www.magicpalette-skilletworkshops.com/
            William Sperling
            10646 Glen Acres Drive S
            Seattle, WA 98168-1566
            WilliamSperlingG@aol.com or
            Joe@netos.com

Artist Joe Mac Kechnie is also a professional photographer and he will be teaching artists how to use their digital cameras for capturing stunning photo images that can be used as reference material later when you return home to paint in your studios.  

For more information visit www.jlmackechnie.com  to download a pdf brochure about the workshop.

Thank you.

Reservation deadline extended to October 31, 2009 for Seggiano (Le Casacce) Plein Air Painting and Photography workshop in Tuscany Italy for May 29-June12, 2010.  If you plan on attending, please send in your $500.00 deposit by October 31, 2009 to reserve your spot.  Make your checks payable to:

            Magic Palette-Skillet Workshops
            William Sperling
            10646 Glen Acres Drive S
            Seattle, WA 98168-1566

We will also have professional photographer Kelsea Ellingson with us.  She will be teaching artists how to use their digital cameras for capturing stunning photo images that can be used as reference material later when we return home to paint in our studios. 

This is a great opportunity to visit one of the best Plein Air painting regions in the world for a very resonable price.  For more information visit www.jlmackechnie.com  to download a pdf brochure about the workshop.

Thank you.

Joe Mac Kechnie

I have added a new series of paintings on birds located under "New Artwork" on my website.  I have used pastels to create this series of my avian friends. I live in a wetlands area so I have a great access to a large varity of birdlife including many bald eagles. 

Let me know what you think.  I love working with pastels and I find they are very forgiving and produce wonderful colors and textures.

joe@netos.com

Matted

We finally have confirmation from our Seggiano (Le Casacce) hosts in Tuscany Italy for May 29-June12, 2010.  If you plan on attending, please send in your $500.00 deposit by August 31, 2009 to reserve your spot.  Make your checks payable to:

            Magic Palette-Skillet Workshops
            William Sperling
            10646 Glen Acres Drive S
            Seattle, WA 98168-1566

This is a great opportunity to visit one of the best Plein Air painting regions in the world for a very resonable price.

(Visit www.jlmackechnie.com for more information on workshop)

Joe MacKechnie, Kenmore WA artist, was awarded first prize in the Northwest Watercolor Society’s 2008 annual Waterworks exhibition of members’ work now at the New Dimension Gallery in Bellevue. His winning watercolor “Rachel 2”, shown below, was among more than seventy entries selected by juror Betsy Dillard Stroud, nationally known artist from Arizona. MacKechnie is also a member of the Portrait Society of America, the Puget Sound Group of NW Painters and past president of the Eastside Association of Fine Arts. Awards were presented to MacKechnie, Harold Walkup of Beaverton, Oregon (second prize) and Donna Watson, Camano Island, Washington (third prize) at a reception Oct. 30. .

   

The New Dimensions Gallery is located at 206 105^th Ave. NE in Bellevue and hours are Mon-Fri 9:30 am – 6:00 pm; Sat 10:00 am –5:00 pm. All paintings are for sale through the Gallery. Credit cards and lay-away plans are accepted, says Brian Martin, manager. CDs of the exhibition are also for sale. The exhibition will close on December 5, 2008.

 

The Northwest Watercolor Society has nearly 1,000 members throughout the Pacific Northwest, in Canada and around the United States, one of the largest in the country.  “Many are not aware that the Northwest Watercolor Society is an international organization with nationally known artists as jurors and large awards for shows,” says Sheila Mattick, president.