Local artist Osgrove to speak at FAA meeting

FALLBROOK – Fallbrook artist Si Osgrove will present “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Composition” at the Fallbrook Art Association, Oct. 20, at the Fallbrook Women’s Club, 238 W. Mission Road.

The meeting begins 9:30 a.m. and will include a critique of members’ paintings of one work each by Osgrove until 10:15 a.m., followed by his presentation. Osgrove will present a slideshow of paintings and photographs to illustrate various aspects of composition. The public is invited.

For seven years Osgrove taught photography at University of California Los Angeles Extension in Los Angeles. Each course included the topics of composition and lighting, subjects important to all artists. During the day, he held the position of Los Angeles Zoo photographer.

“I’ve photographed every animal from anteater to zebra,” he said.

Osgrove began painting when he was eight but only oil painted intermittently until he was 22. Then, as a graduate student in photography at Ohio University, he took some art classes and began oil painting regularly. It was a change of pace from his numerous photographic assignments.

“My need is to paint the world around me brighter and more vividly than I see it,” Osgrove said. “That’s the way I like it. It is my goal to paint the essence of a subject, not to reproduce it as a photograph would. My subjects are landscapes, trees, flowers, and scenes of the Western United States.”

In 2011 Osgrove started using acrylic paints and now prefers acrylics to oils. He said he likes the quick-drying characteristics of that medium.

“Acrylics allow artists to make rapid improvements to a painting,” he said.

Osgrove has three paintings on display in the newly opened FAA Gallery at 127 North Main Ave. in Fallbrook. Osgrove is a member of the Fallbrook Art Association and the Temecula Valley Art League. He can be reached in Fallbrook at (631) 223-9806.

After Osgrove’s presentation, he will conduct a workshop on composition, 1-4 p.m. The workshop is open to both beginners and advanced artists, members and non-members. The cost for members is $40 with $35 going to the artist and $5 to FAA, and the cost for non-members is $50 with $45 going to the artist and $5 to FAA. To register, call Carol Reardon at (760) 731-6677. Participants need to register in advance by sending in checks to reserve a spot. Reardon will email participants a list of supplies to bring as well as the class agenda.