Attention arts lovers: As part of its 125th anniversary celebrations, the Friday Morning Music Club is hosting a concert — free and open to the public!
The gala concert will take place Sunday, April 15, at 7:00 pm at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria. The Orchestra of the Friday Morning Music Club, conducted by Pablo Saelzer, and the Friday Morning Music Club Chorale will present opera selections from Mozart, Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, and Bizet, as well as Tzigane by Ravel.
Painting instructor Rob Liberace taught a workshop last weekend — “The Painterly Sketch: Advanced Alla-Prima Portrait” — that packed the classroom with painters eager to learn from the talented artist. Rob was also kind enough to let us film his demo on the first day!
In the video, Rob talks technique, color, and other tips as he paints model Wayne, who was dressed as a Civil War soldier. Here’s part one of the three-part demo:
(Visit YouTube for part 2 and part 3.)
Kim Stenberg attended the workshop and wrote this blog post detailing her work and recapping the workshop experience, with lots of photographs.
As Kim writes, alla prima is a “daredevil approach” to painting. Also called wet-on-wet or direct painting, alla prima asks artist to lay down color without lots of layering. Painters such as Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent are known for using the technique.
As Rob demonstrates in the video, there is no elaborate underpainting, and color is applied while the first strokes are still wet, requiring some improvisational skill and a good deal of practice. Rob’s demo, edited down into three videos, only took about an hour to complete!
You can click here to see upcoming classes and workshops by Rob, who also occasionally teaches travel workshops like next week’s trip to Scotland. Other demos from Art League School teachers are up on our YouTube channel.
Birds of Play, above, was winner of the Evelyn Turner Award for outstanding abstract work in this month’s “Play” exhibit, in The Art League Gallery through April 2. Juror Judy Bass, who selected the acrylic painting on canvas for the award, praised the painting’s composition and sense of color, as well as the looseness and sense of movement created by the birds.
We asked the artist, Ahmed Alkarkhi — profiled in this 2010 NPR story not long after moving to the U.S. — to tell us a little about the painting.
Ahmed said the painting should appeal to the “thrill of discovery” and stimulate a sense of adventure and imagination, much like fantasy or adventure literature. “Life is an adventure,” he wrote, drawing a comparison to his arrival in the U.S., a place he knew nothing about. Ahmed came here from Syria in 2009 after leaving Baghdad in 2006. His home in Iraq continues to inspire his work, as featured in this YouTube video.
Different media produce different effects, Ahmed said, saying that he tries different raw materials and surfaces depending on what is called for. Ahmed works in acrylic, watercolor, and oil.
Ahmed won the Urquhart Award last year for his painting, DC Kaffee Freedom, in the “Emancipation and Freedom” exhibit.
Our Q&A with this month’s other award winner is here.
Exhibition and residency opportunities courtesy of FindArtInfoBank.com:
The XL-XS Show – MD
Deadline: April 18, 2012. The Maryland Federation of Art invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada to enter its national juried competition for artists working in extra large and extra small formats. Any two-dimensional submissions following exhibition guidelines will be considered by the juror. The selected artworks will be on exhibit June 24 – August 5, 2012 at The Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, by invitation to MFA. $1,000 in Cash Awards. Juror: Barry Nemett, Chair of Painting Dept., Maryland Institute College of Art. One-two entries $35 (MFA members $20); additional four entries $5.00 each. Download prospectus (PDF format) at: http://www.mdfedart.com/exhibits/2012_XL_XS/XL-XS_2012_Prospectus.pdf. Questions? Please contact Kyle Freeman at [email protected] or call 410-268-4566. http://www.mdfedart.com/pages/call_for_artists.php
Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors – NY
Deadline: April 9, 2012. View in Old Forge, NY announces a call to artists for a juried exhibition, August 11 – October 8, 2012. Jurors: Pat San Soucie, Paul Jackson. Competitive exhibition open to all artists working with water-media on paper; only water soluble media on unvarnished paper will be considered. Water soluble media include: acrylics, casein, egg tempera, gouache, inks, and transparent and opaque watercolor. Collage mechanicals, including computer imaging and prints are not eligible. $30 members/$40 non-members for up to two entries. Visit website for prospectus, http://www.viewarts.org/View_Watercolors.cfm, or send a SASE to: PO Box 1144, Old Forge, NY 13420. Questions? Contact Linda Weal at [email protected] or 315.369.6411. http://www.viewarts.org
Call to artists for Nelson Gallery’s 13th Annual Juried Show – VA
Deadline: June 12, 12. Call to artists for 13th Annual Juried Show at NELSON GALLERY (an artists’ cooperative in Lexington, Virginia.) Eligibility: mid-Atlantic residents (NC, SC, VA, PA, MD, DE, DC). Prizes include: $1,000 best in show and Members’ Choice Award of solo show at Nelson Gallery in July, 2013, plus additional cash awards. Theme: “Feast on This” interpreted as artist wishes. Two or three dimensional art up to 50 inches, length or width. No crafts. Juror: Matt Klos, MFA, U of MD, chair of Art Dept at Anne Arundel Community College, winner of many awards, oils in New American Paintings. Entry fee: $30 for 3 jpgs. All works must be for sale. For more information and to download prospectus, contact [email protected] or call Nelson Gallery at 540.463.9827.
Continued: Continue reading Artist Opportunities from FindArtInfoBank
The Art League is hosting two lavender-themed travel workshops this summer: Susan Abbott’s popular trip to Provence, France, and closer to home, a plein air painting workshop with Bobbi Pratte following the Pennsylvania Lavender Festival. The weekend trip (June 23–24) will include painting time in lavender fields, a tour of the fields, and a five-course lavender luncheon.
The New York Times wrote of domestic lavender: “If I can’t get to the lavender fields of Provence, in France, Willow Pond Farm in Fairfield, Pa., will do just fine.” Visitors will be going to Willow Pond, near Gettysburg, which grows over 70 varieties of lavender and celebrates their blooms in June.
The workshop with start with a demo at 9:00 am Saturday. Bobbi’s lesson will address issues related to plein air painting — when you’re presented with a huge, sweeping landscape, where do you start? How do you decide what to paint? Drawing on the picturesque fields and surrounding views for inspiration, painting will continue with plein air sessions on Saturday evening and Sunday. Saturday will include the farm tour and five-course luncheon.
The workshop price is $225, including the luncheon fee. Optional (and limited) lodging is also available. For more information and to register, visit the travel workshop page!
Next week’s Art In City Hall, a juried exhibit of artwork on display in Alexandria’s City Hall, is the latest exhibit in a long partnership between The Art League, Del Ray Artisans, the Torpedo Factory Artists Association, and the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. Since the first show, in February 2006, the shows have hung twice a year in City Hall, sharing works of art with the community and giving artists a new venue for exposure.
The upcoming show, running March 26–September 14, was juried by Ali Ringenburg of Principle Gallery and features artwork from each of the collaborating organizations. The juror awarded four $200 prizes, one from each of the participating organizations — the winners are pictured above.
The partnership with the city, which supports the project by providing space and promoting local art, also works to make the arts accessible to people who visit City Hall. Two exhibits go up each year, each hanging for about six months.
The exhibit can be viewed on weekdays, 8:00 am–5:00 pm, on the second floor of City Hall (310 King Street). The opening reception for Art In City Hall is May 21 at 5:30 pm.
Enjoy art or working with kids? The Art League needs interns for Summer Art Camp! The weekly art camps, running June 18–August 24, feature a different syllabus each week and a new art project each day for children ages 5 and up.
Interns will assist instructors, help set up and coordinate classes, and evaluate the effectiveness of classes offered. Interns are trained and directly supervised by the camp coordinator.
College credit is available for summer-long internships. Only six spaces are open, so interested candidates should send their resume and letter of interest, including any experience with teaching or children, to Ali Wunder: aliw (at) theartleague.org, or call the school office, 703-683-2323, with any questions.
The Art League — a multifaceted, non-profit visual arts organization — operates a gallery, school, and store and is stationed in the historic Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. More information about Art Camp is here.
Three upcoming opportunities for artists:
FotoDC National Cherry Blossom Photo Contest
Deadline: April 15, 2012. Entry fees apply. FotoDC, in conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, is presenting the second annual Photography Contest to honor the 100-year anniversary of the gift of trees. Winners will recieve cash prizes, exposure on the popular FotoDC website, exhibition and/or projections during the FotoWeek Festival, public exhibition in Crystal City and exposure throughout the Cherry Blossom Festival March 20 – April 27. Full details on FotoDC’s website.
Something and Nothing: Activating the Void
Deadline: April 3, 2012. $25 entry fee. McLean Project for the Arts is calling for submissions to a juried exhibition of works exploring negative space and the in-between. Artists in the mid-Atlantic can submit up to four digital images of works in any medium. To download the prospectus, visit the MPA website.
Piscataway Park Paint-Out
On Saturday, June 2, in celebration of National Trails Day, the Accokeek Foundation invites artists to an all-day plein air painting event. Artists can capture on canvas the historic buildings of the National Colonial Farm, the heritage breed livestock grazing in green pastures, the flora and fauna of this picturesque site, and the inspiring views of the Potomac. Light refreshments will be available for participating artists in the Visitor Center. To sign up, visit the Accokeek Foundation website.
This month’s “Play” exhibit in The Art League Gallery includes many chuckle-inducing moments. One of them is the pastel, Rasta Billy, which artist Monna Kauppinen says was the idea. But the painting didn’t earn only appreciative laughter: juror Judy Bass also chose it as the recipient of the Jane McElvany Coonce award for realism. We spoke to Monna about Rasta Billy and her work in general.
Realism is a goal in her work, Monna says: “I want people to get it on the first try. I don’t want them to have to figure it out.” Juror Judy Bass specifically praised Rasta Billy for its mastery of detail and the color in the angora goat’s nose, calling the piece “beautifully drawn.” Monna says the object was to recreate the texture of the fur with her pastels.
But while Rasta Billy was awarded for its realism, the other important goal was playfulness — the theme of this month’s show. Monna says she hopes the viewer comes away with a smile or a chuckle. The painting has its origins in childlike playfulness: Monna was at a county fair when the goat in question was brought to her attention by some children.
“It was the children’s enthusiasm that brought the subject to me,” she says. Adding to the “play” factor, some child clearly had fun giving the goat its distinctive hairstyle.
Inspiration can come from anywhere, including the county fair, Monna says. “I never understand writer’s block, because I have 18 pictures I like to be working on.”
This creative spark is the beginning of her artistic process. Monna: “Something inspires me, for one reason or another, and I decide I have to paint that. Then I decide what medium I’m going to use and try to get the drawing fairly firm” before starting. Monna does watercolors and some drawing, but mainly works in pastel. “I like the hot colors you can get from it,” she says, as well as the texturing it makes possible.
Emphasizing the importance of drawing technique, Monna makes an analogy to the fashion world: drawing is like having a model’s figure, where you can hang any clothes on it — “if you can draw, you can hang any medium on it.”
We’re still looking for a few arts-lovers to join the League of 25, the new society that fully funds an exhibit in The Art League Gallery with donations of only $100 each!
If you visit the gallery and enjoy the monthly exhibits — like this month’s “Play” — consider making the small donation to keep the exhibits coming. There are a lot of costs associated with monthly exhibits, including jurying, awards, promotion, and gallery maintenance. Joining the League of 25 for $100 means the shows can go on! Tomorrow will be the last day to donate.
“Earth” will be the first exhibit funded by the League of 25, and it’s shaping up to be very interesting. Artists have been invited to submit artwork incorporating found or recycled materials, or otherwise address our relationship to the planet. At the opening reception, $100 donors will have the chance to participate in a competitive art relay using materials donated by Hotel Monaco. Two teams will build sculptures within a time limit, and a special guest will declare the winner.
You can donate through tomorrow, March 16, on this page. Want to pitch in but don’t have $100? Contact Charlene at the development office: [email protected].
This month’s “Play” exhibit — part of Virginia’s Minds Wide Open collaboration celebrating children and the arts — is about to get more playful, with additional activities for kids starting this weekend. Kids (and adults) can look forward to playing with:
These additional activities start this weekend, so grab the kids and swing by the gallery — no smock necessary!
The announcements below are courtesy of FindArtInfoBank.com. The call to artists from the Torpedo Factory, previously featured on this blog, has a deadline in less than a week! Also, three craft shows we’ve written about have deadlines April 1: the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, the Westchester Fine Craft Show, and the Washington (DC) Craft Show.
For more opportunities for artists, watch this space, and check out the classifieds directory maintained by the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Forged: Torpedo Factory Art Center/Target Gallery – VA
Deadline: March 19, 12. Exhibition Dates: May 19th – June 24th, 2012. Description: This is a media specific sculptural exhibition that explores the contemporary approaches to forged metal work. The work can range in size with the stipulation that it incorporates forged metal elements. This is open to all artists nationally and internationally. Juror: Twylene Moyer: Twylene Moyer, managing editor of Sculpture magazine, has published numerous articles and catalogue essays on contemporary art. She has been a featured speaker at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and at SOFA Chicago and has juried and curated several exhibitions, including “Insight Out” and “Disintegration” at the Arlington Arts Center. She is the co-editor of The New Earthwork: Art, Action, Agency, A Sculpture Reader, Conversations on Sculpture, and Landscapes for Art, all distributed by the University of Washington Press. Website: http://www.torpedofactory.org/
Continue reading for more announcements: Continue reading Exhibition Opportunities Knock
The March shows in The Art League Gallery are in like a couple of lions, with a solo show of encaustic paintings by Georgia Nassikas and the juried “Play” exhibit featuring works in all media incorporating the theme of play. The opening reception for these amazing shows is tonight at 6:30!
If you can’t make it to tonight’s reception, at least see the shows by April 2 — these pictures don’t do the artwork justice. Well, they never do, but particularly this month: for one, the color and texture in Georgia’s paintings need to be seen in person. She uses wax from bees she keeps herself for the abstracted, ethereal landscapes.
The other reason you need to come to the gallery: you can play with the “Play” pieces!
“Play” — a first for the gallery — asked artists to create interactive work, and they delivered. “Touch me” signs abound: some works are rearrangeable, one painting asks viewers to contribute dry-erase dialogue, and you can even play darts:
The non-interactive art took “Play” to heart as well, expressing fun in a wide variety of ways, from the reflective to the laugh-out-loud. (You can see the full show on flickr here.) Juror Judy Bass, a widely exhibited artist who also teaches at Marymount University, noted that the artwork interpreted the theme widely, with some artists coming at the idea of play literally, and others reproducing play at its most abstract.
Judy Bass said the photographs and drawings were particularly strong, praising their “beautiful composition.”
The “Play” reception is part of the “Minds Wide Open” regional kickoff in the Torpedo Factory, celebrating children and the arts in Virginia. Events will include live music by Keira Moran, proclamations from Alexandria’s town crier, and visits from assorted dignitaries. The “Play” awards presentation is at 7:30.
More photos below: Continue reading Opening Reception Tonight: “Play” and “Elemental”
We have three local shows, one festival in Connecticut, and one online exhibition to share today. They all have upcoming deadlines for submission. Good luck!
City of Fairfax 36th Annual Fall Festival
Deadline: March 15, 2012. $12 application fee. Celebrating its 36th year in 2012, The City of Fairfax Fall Festival invites you to participate with more than 400 juried crafters and food vendors showcasing their wares. Enjoy this family friendly exciting outdoor street festival in the heart of the City of Fairfax, VA. Activities include children’s activities, amusement rides and musical entertainment for all ages. Attracts 25,000 shoppers annually. Details and application here.
City of Fairfax 26th Annual Holiday Craft Show
Deadline: March 15, 2012. $12 application fee. The City of Fairfax Holiday Craft Show is celebrating its 26th year in 2012. This annual show 2 day indoor show provides an opportunity to purchase one-of-a kind handmade crafts such as baskets, dolls and accessories, floral, jewelry, paintings, pottery/clay, and a multitude of wood items made by local and regional artists. More than 200 juried crafters and gourmet food vendors participate. Attracts 7,000 shoppers annually. The show is held at Fairfax High School in Fairfax, VA. Details and application here.
Online Exhibition — International Society of Acrylic Painters
Deadline: March 15, 2012. $46 application fee. Join the International Society of Acrylic Painters in celebration of its Fourth Open Online Internation Exhibition held on our website: www.isap-online.com. The Juror for this event is Marilyn Hughey Phillis, AWS. This is an opportunity for all Acrylic Artists who work in all sizes but especially in very large formats where shipping to shows is financially stressful. This show will be permanently archived on the ISAP website. ISAP entrants and members have a significant reputation in the art collecting community with galleries and buyers actively checking this website. Prospectus, due dates, and additional info is also posted on the ISAP website: www.isap-online.com
Westport, Connecticut Fine Arts Festival
Deadline: March 19, 2012 (late deadline March 26). $40 application fee/$450 booth fee. Westport’s Fine Arts Festival is held in one of the most affluent communities in the country. Nestled along the picturesque Saugatuck River, the show is located in the quaint, downtown commercial district with some of the finest shopping and dining establishments within a commutable distance to New York City. Original artwork will be viewed by thousands of shoppers who reside in Westport year round as well as many summer residents who call this upscale beach community home during the month of July. With a long-standing tradition as an artistic community, the Westport Fine Arts Festival remains a highlight on the calendars of collectors from New England and Manhattan each year. Glass, Ceramics, Fiber, Jewelry, Wood and Digital Art will debut at this summer festival along with traditional mediums of Painting, Watercolor, Photography, Scultpure, Drawing, Printmaking, Mixed Media. Details and application here.
Art In the Park — Easton, Maryland
Deadline: April 21, 2012. Booth fees apply. “Art in the Park…Easton” is taking place at Idlewild Park on May 12, 2012, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is the second year for this show. Talbot County Visual Arts Center is the hosting organization. The show is located in a beautiful park-like setting in a charming neighborhood of Idlewild Park. There will be extensive publicity for this show and hoping for a large turnout of shoppers.
Jurying will be based solely on images that are provided with the application. Click here to download the rules and application (PDF).
The Art League is launching a new society of donors to fund exhibits in the gallery, and it’s not too exclusive to join. For just $100, you can be a founding member of this new group!
Combining, as usual, art and fun, the League of 25 will be made up of — you guessed it — 25 people who donate $100 each to fully fund an exhibit, and then take part in an activity on the night of the opening reception.
It all kicks off at the “Earth” exhibit, opening in April. Teams (participation optional) will use found materials to make a sculpture, relay-style, in a limited amount of time. The winning sculpture will take its place in the exhibit alongside the juried pieces.
Putting together an exhibition each month takes a lot of time and work — and money. Donations go toward hiring a juror, providing awards, gallery maintenance, and paying for staff, the reception, promotion, and office supplies.
Your donation ensures these shows can go on. Round up your friends, family, or classmates from your Art League School class, and see what a difference a few hundred dollars makes.
You can click here for more information about the League of 25, or click here to donate!
In April, at the same time we are having our “Earth” exhibit, there will be an international environmental art project taking place on the other side of the world in Taiwan. It is the CHEN-LONG WETLANDS INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ART PROJECT. Six artists have been invited to participate in that project, and one of them is New York installation artist Isabelle Garbani. You may have seen her projects “Knitting for Trees” on Governors Island in New York or in Vermont last fall.
She has a unique way of cutting plastic bags and knitting the strips into panels, which she then stitches together to wrap around trees or she makes florets and covers trees or buildings with them. In Taiwan she will be doing a project called “Invasive Species,” using plastic bags cut into florets to cover a building. She needs bags! She especially needs COLORED bags! In honor of “Earth” month, we want to support Isabelle’s project by collecting bags for her. You will find a box located at the Gallery entrance between March 2-16. Please bring what you have when you come to receiving, or any time you are at The Art League. Besides plastic shopping bags, newspaper bags, such as the blue ones The Washington Post delivers your paper in, are great to save. Let’s send a little piece of The Art League to Taiwan to make April a truly global effort!
Courtesy of FindArtInfoBank.com:
Emerging Curator Open Call 2012 – NY
Deadline: March 2, 2012. The New York Art Residency and Studios (NARS) Foundation is pleased to announce its second annual Emerging Curator Open Call. The Emerging Curator Program offers an opportunity for a young-in-career curator to present a group show at the NARS Foundation Gallery. The aim of the program is to encourage new dialogue and to create a platform for artists and curators to experiment and exchange ideas. The curator is provided with exhibition space and administrative support to present innovative ideas and artworks in a unique gallery surrounded by an artist community and studios. The curator is responsible for organizing and installing/de-installing the show and writing a short essay to accompany the exhibition. NARS Foundation will provide the gallery space, insurance for the artwork during the term of the exhibition, administrative support including marketing, postcard invitations, email invites and will organize an opening reception and a Curator’s Talk. A stipend of $200 will be awarded to the selected applicant to help subsidize the cost of organizing the exhibition. There will be no other financial support towards production of artwork, installation cost, or shipping/transportation of artwork. Submission guidelines and application forms are available for download from our website: www.narsfoundation.org All applications must be delivered to the office by 5pm on March 2, 2012. A non-refundable application fee of $10 (US) is required with each application.
Venus Envy 2012: Too Much Pink? – LA
Deadline: March 16, 2012. Baton Rouge Gallery is seeking submissions for the Venus Envy 2012 exhibition, April 17-26, 2012 in Baton Rouge, LA. Juror: Michaelene Walsh. Female artists in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are eligible. All media. The theme for this year’s exhibition is “Too Much Pink?” From an early age, whether welcomed or not, girls and women are oftentimes faced with the color pink as a gender-identifying color. From advocacy (breast cancer awareness) to marketing, children’s toys to clothing and everything in between, pink is often a part of the female experience. Some despise the color’s prevalence while others seek it out. Others remain indifferent. With this exhibition, we invite artists to explore the role the color pink – and the causes, things and perceptions often associated with the color – plays in the development, life and experience of women. Whether works utilize the color pink or not will not affect their eligibility. $30 entry fee. Download prospectus at: http://www.batonrougegallery.
More listings after the jump: Continue reading Artist Opportunities Nationwide
Colorado potter Kazu Oba will be teaching a free workshop on Japanese Ceramics this Saturday, March 3, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Kazu, who came to the United States as a young adult, will be focusing on modern and traditional forms from Karatsu, Japan, a center of ceramics where he apprenticed in 2003–2004. You can expect to see mostly bowls, plates, and cylinders, thrown “off the hump” and slightly altered.
Yes, the workshop is free! For more information, call the Art League School office at 703-683-2323.
The Old Takoma Business Association (in DC and Maryland) is looking for public art in most media as part of reCYCLE The Art of Tree Project. The deadline is March 23, 2012. Here is the announcement:
reCYCLE The Art of Tree Project is the second installment of the Old Takoma Business Association’s reCYCLE temporary public art series in Old Takoma (Takoma, DC to Takoma Park, MD). reCYCLE is a public art exhibit designed to highlight the art, recycling and environmental conservation cultures of Old Takoma. The art will be installed throughout Old Takoma creating a self-guided, walking tour with the goal of attracting and engaging visitors and showcasing Old Takoma’s locally owned and independent businesses. For 2012, trees are the theme!
There are three opportunities for participation: outdoor sculptures, non-sculpture visual art, and installation art. Full details and the submission form are here (PDF).
