Its always been FALC tradition to introduce one member of steering commitee or an Artist of the month first place winner. This month's Artist of the month first place winner was Yelena Shabrova.

It's the everyday splendor of the world that inspires Yelena to draw. Most of her creations borrow lines, forms, and colors from live sketches, memories, and creatively interpreted reference photographs. Yelena's goal is never to copy the reference but to express personal feelings in response to the original subject. Yelena's initial interest in portraits was later expanded to horses which have become her primary passion, landscapes, and flowers.

Yelena has been working in colored pencil for more than 10 years. This versatile medium allows her to draw practically anywhere, in any intervals of time, and requires almost no time for setup or cleaning. For the same reasons, Yelena keeps exploring any dry media from charcoal to oil pastel, sometimes combining different media in the same piece if the subject calls for it. Yelena was born in Germany, lived for more than 30 years in Russia, and moved to California in 1997.

Falc is excited to introduce New Membership Incentive Program. Please visit the Link for more details.

Members Incentive Program

The Cupertino Library Art Display sponsored by the Library Foundation is now taking applications from artists who would like to display their work at the Cupertino Library on a 9' x 9' space for a period of 2 months. The library takes no commission on sales and there is no charge for displaying there. The application form is at http://cupertinolibraryfoundation.org/programs/art-wall/art-wall-entry-form/

CWA 45th National Exhibition : CWA's annual National Exhibitions are open to water media artists in the United States and internationally. Our annual National Exhibition attracts artists from all across the United States and abroad, and awards a number of prizes in cash and merchandise. Call for Entries to California Watercolor Association 45th National Exhibition from January 15, 2015, to February 21, 2015 ENTRY DEADLINE: September 5, 2014. The 45th National Exhibition will be held at the Firehouse Art Center in Pleasanton, CA. The Harrington Gallery is located inside the Firehouse Arts Center operated by the City of PleasantonCA. It is a beautiful space that exhibits a lively schedule of rotation art installations featuring a variety of media, themes and styles. The gallery is situated near the historic old town of Pleasanton, where interesting local restaurants and shops can be found. Please click here for the full Prospectus.

Calling all photographers! Send Triton Museum your submissions for the 2014 Photography Competition & Exhibition. The 2014 Best of Show winner will receive a solo exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art in Winter 2016! Additional awards will be given.

Important Dates: March 24, 2014 - Deadline for receipt of CDs April 4, 2014 - Selection notifications sent (via email if provided on the prospectus) April 30, 2014 - Deadline for receipt of accepted work May 10, 2014 - Exhibition opens May 23, 2014 - Artist Reception, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. August 10, 2014 - Exhibition closes August 12-24, 2014 - Pick-up artwork.

For the full prospectus and more information on this exciting opportunity... Any questions about the competition or exhibition? Please email Chief Curator, Preston Metcalf at pmetcalf@tritonmuseum.org. No phone calls please. Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara, Ca 95050 Office Phone: (408) 247-3754 / Gallery Phone: (408) 247-2438 staff@tritonmuseum.org / www.tritonmuseum.org

Anna Lee Steed will be teaching a painting class for oil and acrylic painters at the Quinlan Center in Cupertino starting January 9th. Classes will be on Mondays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Students will paint abstracts, still life and landscape. As always, Anna Lee’s lessons will have a strong focus on color. Painters of all levels are welcome, extra help for beginners. Cost is $150 for five classes Please contact Anna Lee at 831-662-8979 for more information, a registration form and the material list. See Anna Lee’s paintings online at www.linstromart.com.

Mike Kirschel Learn and practice oil painting (or acrylic) in the Monta Vista neighborhood of Cupertino. Beginning and advanced students welcome, class focus is on painting and picture making fundamentals with an emphasis on composition and color. Indoor studio painting is Wednesday mornings, 9:30 - 12:00 and outdoor painting on location is on Saturdays also 9:30-12:00. Private and small group lessons are also available. Please visit the website at www.kirschel.com for more information or call Mike Kirschel at 650-521-1856.

Zoya Scholis conducts advanced, intermediate and beginners watermedia painting classes through the FUHSD Sunnyvale Cupertino Adult education and at the Cupertino Senior Center. She also conducts Mixed Media Workshops and Collage Workshops in the summer. For more details please visit https://www.ace.fuhsd.org. Contact Zoya at zoya@artforpersonalgrowth.com

Stefan Bauman Weekly Oil painting classes in Saratoga the first and third week of each month. Classes are on Mondays from 6-9pm and Tuesdays from 10 - 1pm. Please call 415 606-9074 or email stefan_baumann@yahoo.com. More Info at www.thegrandview.

Joy Kuo Teaching Chinese Brush Painting. Beginner or Advance students on Wednesday mornings 10:00am.-12:00pm at Joy's studio 154 Quail Hollow Dr. San Jose, CA 95128 . $40.00/per class. Please call 408-598-6085 or email kuojs@yahoo.com.

Martha Zlatar is an Artist Success Coach who can help you define your unique goals for your art and support you in the process. Coaching is a wonderful way to be accountable for your actions. Martha will help you identify what you want to do, when will you do it by and how will you get it done. Please contact her for a complimentary half hour phone consultation at 415-839-8085 or email her at martha@artmatch-coach.com.

SCVWS offers a 10 week painting course with Mike Bailey, Watercolor Beyond the Obvious. It also offers SCVWS 2012 workshop brochure. You can register on their website at www.scvws.org Info: 650-941-8073.

Member of FALC Kathy Qi has started a website for artists for selling and promoting their work. website: http://www.key2arts.com/ Key2ARTS.com is a FREE community service for artists to exhibit and sell their own original, prints, and cards of artwork with very low commission rate. Membership is free and it's open to any art club juried-in artist, and people who appreciate art.

University Art in San Jose presents a GOLD LEAF WORKSHOP: "Learn how to use Gold Leaf Within Your Painting" Saturday March 22nd, 2014 2pm to 5pm $80.00 Artist Tanya Larina will show you the steps to add gold leaf into your oil or acrylic painting. Call the store to reserve your spot. This will fill up fast and space is limited. University Art 456 Meridian Ave. San Jose, Ca. 95126. Contact No. 408-297-4707.

An Artist Workshop by George O’Hanlon, Director of Natural Pigments November 16 and 17 at Accent Arts in Palo Alto Saturday, November 16 at 9am to 5pm Sunday, November 17 at 9am to 5pm Accent Arts, 392 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA The small class size provides each attendee personal attention and guidance with materials. Registration now open: $325 per person Due to limited class size we ask that you register early and pay for the workshop upon registration to insure your space. All workshop materials are included in the tuition. Registration open now.

The laws regarding copyrighted material are complex and not uniform from state to state. In order to avoid liability and the burden of determining whether a particular image involves copyright infringement, FALC has created the following guidelines for member artists. FALC assumes that it is the respoinsibility of the artist to honestly follow these guidelines and assumes no liability for work that is submitted or displayed not following these guidelines. It reserves the right to disqualify a painting if there is reasonable doubt about copyright infringement or plagiarism.

• Work entered for a show must be the artist's original work in concept and execution.
• It cannot be copied from copyrighted material or photographs belonging to another person or organizaion except with the copyright holder's explicit written permission.
• It cannot be the reproduction of a painting done by another person even if the original artist is acknowledged on the painting.
• It cannot be the reproduction of a historic painting.