Month: February 2018

Artist Opportunities #411

Prague from the sketchbook of Art League instructor Avis Fleming.

On Tuesdays, we gather a variety of artist opportunities around the DC area and beyond. Find one below and enter today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

Foundry Gallery

Deadline: ongoing. Foundry Gallery is seeking a few artists in the greater Washington, DC area. If interested in applying for membership please send up to five images (jpg attachments) and an email letter to: [email protected]. The oldest cooperative in Washington, the gallery holds monthly solo and members’ group shows at its beautiful space north of Shaw near the 9:30 Club.

DC exhibit

Deadline: March 9. Art Impact International’s Third Annual Juried Art Exhibition, “Golden,” will be held at Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC.

Video art

Deadline: March 28. The PhotoPhore, proud partner of ADAF 2018, opens its call for artists TECH BREAK. We are searching for video-art works, short movies, digital and animation films, to include in our official selection for the 14th Athens Digital Arts Festival – ADAF 2018. The screening will be part of the festival programmed from May 2018 in Athens, Greece.

Mural Request for Proposals

Deadline: May 31. Akre Capital Management, located in the historic building formerly known as Mosby’s Tavern in Middleburg, has released a RFP to have an exterior mural painted on the side of their office building. They are seeking proposals from those who have the ability to design, manage and implement the project to completion.

Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!

Shop Local Project

Deadline: February 28. The Old Town (Alexandria, VA) Boutique District is seeking an artist designto use in shop windows and on branded items.

Torpedo Factory installations

Deadline: March 1. The Torpedo Factory Art Center invites artists and artist teams residing in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications and proposals for the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s common areas. Up to three artists/artist teams will be selected to install works of art in three designated public locations inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

Art Speaks on the Bay

Deadline: March 1. “Art Speaks on the Bay” in Mathews, VA will open April 28 and run through May 29. The juror is Joe Seipel, Professor Emeritus in sculpture and prior Dean, VCU’s School of the Arts.

New Photography

Deadline: March 8. Photographic artists of all walks are invited to submit their latest works to a national juried show at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD. The exhibition aims to highlight the current state of photography across a broad spectrum. Artists may submit all types of photographic works including digital, analog, alternative processes, etc.

Roanoke fair

Deadline: March 9. The Sidewalk Art Show takes place annually in Roanoke, Virginia, on the downtown streets near the Taubman Museum of Art. The 2018 dates are June 2 and 3.

Fairfax festival

Deadline: March 15. The City of Fairfax (VA) Fall Festival returns on October 13, 2018. All work must be original, handcrafted art and craft items produced by the vendor (US based artists only).

NC internships

Deadline: March 15. Elsewhere is a museum and artist residency set in a 3-floor, former thrift store in Greensboro, NC. Internships at Elsewhere offer a professional, creative, hands-on opportunity to work and live within an alternative, non-profit organization run by a small, but an impactful team of staff, artists, and community partners.

VisArts fellowship

Deadline: March 20. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a six month Studio Fellowship at VisArts at Rockville. The Studio Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment.

Bird art

Deadline: March 26. For “Of a Feather: Birds in Art” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), all media are welcome. This includes small- to large-scale work intended for the indoors or outdoors.

2019 solo exhibits

Deadline: March 30. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites artists working in all media to apply for 2019 Solo Exhibitions in the Gibbs Street Gallery and Common Ground Gallery.

Wanderlust

Deadline: April 5. artlessBastard in De Pere, Wisconsin is calling for 2D & 3D works of art, in all mediums – except performance art or film – for their May 2018 Wanderlust Show. Themes of work may include anything related to the journey of leaving home.

Virginia festival

Deadline: April 6. The Gloucester (Virginia) Arts Festival is pleased to announce it is accepting submissions for its 2018 Juried Show.  This show is a unique opportunity for artists across the mid-Atlantic to curate their own exhibit and earn a share of more than $5,000 in prize money.

Annapolis festival

Deadline: April 7. Art @ the Park (Annapolis, MD) features original art work from exhibitors throughout the region and includes musical performances, other activities, eclectic food, wine and beer.

VA fair

Deadline: April 13. Calling exceptional artisans for the 74th Waterford Fair. Located in the Historic Landmark of Waterford, Virginia, our event draws 18,000+ visitors over 3 days, October 5–7, 2018.

MD craft show

Deadline: May 7. The Academy Art Museum Craft Show (Easton, MD) draws patrons from all over the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Athenaeum Invitational

Deadline: July 13. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter the 2018 Athenaeum Invitational (Alexandria, VA). The theme is “Cabinet of Curiosities.”

NYC volunteer opportunity

Introduce NYC school children to the world of art by giving tours at The MET Museum. Volunteer in this year-round program. Visit us at awnyc.org, contact us at http://awnyc.org/contact-us/ or find us on Facebook at artworksnyc.

Artists 50 and over

The Beacon is holding a regional competition for people over 50 who have picked up a new artistic endeavor: painting/drawing, 3D art, photography, or poetry. The competition opens in April 2018. For details, download the PDF flyer.

Superfine art fair

Deadline: rolling admission through September 2018. Applications are now open for Superfine!’s first fair in DC, coming this Halloween to Union Market. Galleries, artist collectives, and solo artists can apply for space.

Artist Opportunities

Artist Talk with Susan Abbott: A Painter’s Pilgrimage

A Painter’s Pilgrimage
Artist Talk with Susan Abbott
Monday, March 19, 2018 at 6:00 pm
RSVP here

See the world through an artist’s eyes in the latest artist talk in The Art League’s Visiting Artist Series!

Susan Abbott will share the sketches, photos, paintings, and poems she created on her two-month, 550-mile solo walk on a pilgrimage in Northern Spain — the Camino de Santiago.

This artist talk is free to attend!

RSVP

 

You’ll learn how she prepared, what she experienced, and what she created on the journey.

And while she’s in town, Abbott will be teaching the one-day workshop From Amateur to Professional, Saturday, March 24:

This intensive workshop demystifies the business side of being a professional artist. Students learn about building a resume, approaching galleries, organizing shows, coping with rejection, slides, publicity, marketing, taxes, and many other topic. Each participant receives a booklet of worksheets and information.

A travel sketch by Susan Abbott

About the artist

Susan Abbott was born and grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland. Because her father was an artist and graphic designer, there were many art books and supplies at home, and Abbott was drawing and painting from an early age. Her mother was a skilled seamstress, and taught Abbott how to sew, knit and embroider. Making things and playing in the creeks and woods in her neighborhood were favorite childhood pastimes.

After the Market, Provence by Susan Abbott

Abbott began her formal art studies at 14, studying life drawing under Richard D’Arista at American University. She dropped out of high school and began as a full time student at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, which she selected for its rigorous painting program, and where she focused on oil landscape and figure with Israel Hershberg.

Abbott graduated Summa Cum Laude, and two years later received a MFA degree from the Institute’s Hoffberger School of Painting, working with renowned abstract painter Grace Hartigan as her advisor. She went on to study intaglio printmaking in the graduate program at the University of Iowa under Professor Mauricio Lasansky.

Susan Abbott has been working as a professional artist since that time, exhibiting in galleries and museums around the country. Her still life and landscapes have been featured at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Museum of Technology, Hood College, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Her painting was included in the show “Objects of Personal Significance”, which toured museums around the United States. She has been a recipient of a Maryland Art Council “Individual Artist Award” and a Vermont Arts Council “Creation Grant.”

Town Fair, Midway by Susan Abbott

In 2009 she was one of ten artists selected from an international competition to receive funding to produce a series of paintings about the future of Vermont for the “Art of Action” project. In 2015 she helped to organize the “Eyes on the Land” project, and was one of the artists chosen for its Shelburne Museum exhibit. She is an active partner with non-profits in projects that connect art and conservation.

Susan Abbott’s paintings are in many private and corporate collections, including Mead Data Central, the Gund Company, the Federal Home Mortgage Administration, Peat Marwick, and Chittenden Bank. Her commission for Oprah Winfrey was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

In addition to her career as an exhibiting painter, Susan Abbott conducts popular art workshops in Italy, France, India, the Bahamas, and locations around the United States. She lives in northern Vermont.

Events

Exhibit Preview: “Drone Zone,” Coming March 7

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be-64EwhPjY/

What’s artist Beverly Ryan doing with that plasma cutter? And what, exactly, is this inflatable creation below?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be_K_CKByFc/

They’re both artworks under construction for Ryan’s upcoming exhibit at The Art League, “Drone Zone.” The artist is posting works in progress and other goodies on her Instagram @bev_ryan — like this painting that’s not quite finished:

OIl painting in progress by Beverly Ryan for her exhibit “Drone Zone” at The Art League

Drones first started appearing in Ryan’s work a few years ago, and you may remember her Drone Free Zone installation from “Not a Box”:

Drone Free Zone by Beverly Ryan

The subject is as ripe for exploration as ever, with drones in use today for surveillance, warfare, delivery, photography, and more. Ryan’s recent work asks viewers to pause and reflect on what this could mean for themselves and others.

Mixed media paintings, metal and fiber sculptures, and even silk-screened T-shirts will be a part of this exhibit. For the artist, it’s an intuitive process:

“My work is about discovery. I begin with a small germ of an idea and it evolves as I progress. I figure out where I am going as I paint. I have learned to trust the process. Creating a new installation of paintings, drawings, and sculpture appeals to me and motivates me to move into new territory.”

Ryan likes working large and making “big moves” in her artwork. We’re excited to see what she does with a whole room in our gallery! Keep an eye on Instagram to follow the artist as she works.

“Drone Zone” is on view March 7–31, 2018. Opening reception: Thursday, March 8, 6:30–8:00 pm.

Another “Drone Zone” painting by Beverly Ryan
Exhibits

A Golden Patrons’ Show Anniversary: Photos From Our 50th

705
artworks went home
(103 were in the first Patrons’ Show in 1968)

25,190
views of the Flickr album

329
downloads of the iOS app in the last 90 days

Thank you for making our 50th anniversary Patrons’ Show Fundraiser the best yet!

This Sunday, patrons got together, had a good time, and took home hundreds of original artworks. See below for some photos from the amazing evening, and mark your calendars for next year’s event: Sunday, February 17, 2019.

Patrons getting prepped for the big event.
Some last minute studying.
The nerve center of the drawing.
Surveying the scene and getting organized with the app.
Did you stick around for the after-auction?
Lucky patrons flocked to the gallery during breaks to claim their choices.

Below, artworks headed home.

Thank you

A big round of thank-yous goes to:

  • the artists who generously donated artwork
  • our sponsors, below
  • our great MC, Oscar Santana
  • “Art Thief” creator Steve Roberson …
  • … and Android developer Ryan Connors
  • our staff and volunteers
  • you, our patrons!

To learn more about the Patrons’ Show Fundraiser, visit our website. You can join our email list for updates about future events, too.

Events

Artist Opportunities #410

Partly Cloudy by Art League instructor Fred Markham.

On Tuesdays, we gather a variety of artist opportunities around the DC area and beyond. Find one below and enter today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

Pet portraits

Deadline: February 25. Dick Blick Art Materials invites artists to enter their Pet Portrait Competition.

Art Speaks on the Bay

Deadline: March 1. “Art Speaks on the Bay” in Mathews, VA will open April 28 and run through May 29. The juror is Joe Seipel, Professor Emeritus in sculpture and prior Dean, VCU’s School of the Arts.

Annapolis festival

Deadline: April 7. Art @ the Park (Annapolis, MD) features original art work from exhibitors throughout the region and includes musical performances, other activities, eclectic food, wine and beer.

Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!

Painting awards

Deadline: February 23. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites eligible artists to enter the Bethesda Painting Awards. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, DC.

Shop Local Project

Deadline: February 28. The Old Town (Alexandria, VA) Boutique District is seeking an artist designto use in shop windows and on branded items.

Torpedo Factory installations

Deadline: March 1. The Torpedo Factory Art Center invites artists and artist teams residing in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications and proposals for the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s common areas. Up to three artists/artist teams will be selected to install works of art in three designated public locations inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

New Photography

Deadline: March 8. Photographic artists of all walks are invited to submit their latest works to a national juried show at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD. The exhibition aims to highlight the current state of photography across a broad spectrum. Artists may submit all types of photographic works including digital, analog, alternative processes, etc.

Roanoke fair

Deadline: March 9. The Sidewalk Art Show takes place annually in Roanoke, Virginia, on the downtown streets near the Taubman Museum of Art. The 2018 dates are June 2 and 3.

Fairfax festival

Deadline: March 15. The City of Fairfax (VA) Fall Festival returns on October 13, 2018. All work must be original, handcrafted art and craft items produced by the vendor (US based artists only).

NC internships

Deadline: March 15. Elsewhere is a museum and artist residency set in a 3-floor, former thrift store in Greensboro, NC. Internships at Elsewhere offer a professional, creative, hands-on opportunity to work and live within an alternative, non-profit organization run by a small, but an impactful team of staff, artists, and community partners.

VisArts fellowship

Deadline: March 20. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a six month Studio Fellowship at VisArts at Rockville. The Studio Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment.

Bird art

Deadline: March 26. For “Of a Feather: Birds in Art” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), all media are welcome. This includes small- to large-scale work intended for the indoors or outdoors.

2019 solo exhibits

Deadline: March 30. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites artists working in all media to apply for 2019 Solo Exhibitions in the Gibbs Street Gallery and Common Ground Gallery.

Wanderlust

Deadline: April 5. artlessBastard in De Pere, Wisconsin is calling for 2D & 3D works of art, in all mediums – except performance art or film – for their May 2018 Wanderlust Show. Themes of work may include anything related to the journey of leaving home.

Virginia festival

Deadline: April 6. The Gloucester (Virginia) Arts Festival is pleased to announce it is accepting submissions for its 2018 Juried Show.  This show is a unique opportunity for artists across the mid-Atlantic to curate their own exhibit and earn a share of more than $5,000 in prize money.

VA fair

Deadline: April 13. Calling exceptional artisans for the 74th Waterford Fair. Located in the Historic Landmark of Waterford, Virginia, our event draws 18,000+ visitors over 3 days, October 5–7, 2018.

MD craft show

Deadline: May 7. The Academy Art Museum Craft Show (Easton, MD) draws patrons from all over the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Athenaeum Invitational

Deadline: July 13. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter the 2018 Athenaeum Invitational (Alexandria, VA). The theme is “Cabinet of Curiosities.”

NYC volunteer opportunity

Introduce NYC school children to the world of art by giving tours at The MET Museum. Volunteer in this year-round program. Visit us at awnyc.org, contact us at http://awnyc.org/contact-us/ or find us on Facebook at artworksnyc.

Artists 50 and over

The Beacon is holding a regional competition for people over 50 who have picked up a new artistic endeavor: painting/drawing, 3D art, photography, or poetry. The competition opens in April 2018. For details, download the PDF flyer.

Superfine art fair

Deadline: rolling admission through September 2018. Applications are now open for Superfine!’s first fair in DC, coming this Halloween to Union Market. Galleries, artist collectives, and solo artists can apply for space.

Artist Opportunities

Say Hello to Your Patrons’ Show MCs

Patrons’ Show 2016

This Sunday, Oscar Santana and Robb Spewak will be at the mic leading hundreds of people through the adventure known as the Patrons’ Show Fundraiser. That’s right — they’ll be calling your name as this year’s Patrons’ Show MCs!

You might recognize Robb and Oscar from the Mike O’Meara Show, where they entertain listeners daily with discussions of their lives, pop culture, and the news.

Since they’re both Patron’s Show pros at this point, we asked them to help us get everyone pumped up for this Sunday’s event by sharing their tips and stories. (This will be the second time hosting for each of them, and their first time teaming up!)

Oscar Santana

Tip #1: Get involved

How’d we snag these two, anyway?

“A handful of my friends have been going to the show for about 6 or 7 years,” Oscar told us. He’d see beautiful pieces of art in their home, and eventually he asked them about it:

“That must have cost a fortune.”
“No, see, they have this event every year…”

Once Oscar started attending as well, a volunteer recognized him and we heard him talk about the show on the air. It didn’t take long for us to invite him to be the host.

“Of course I said yes, because the event rules.”

Tip #2: Go digital

As a 5th year attendee, Oscar’s favorite moment has been watching the evolution in people’s list-making methodologies: from clipboards, to posters, to spreadsheets, to the public debut of the Art Thief app three years ago.

“That’s the geek in me,” he said.

A bonus side effect of so many people using the app: everything goes more smoothly and quickly.

Tip #3: Everyone wins

Oscar’s stage name is Oscar Santana, but his given family name is Zeballos, so he’s used to getting called last. That said, he’s hoping to get one of his top 10 picks.

Still, he’s not stressing out. Every piece from past shows is hanging is his home, even if it wasn’t a number one pick. “Whether you pick first or last … I tell everyone, you win. You’ll actually get a piece of art.”

Tip #4: Be patient, be informed, be entertained

Oscar’s number one tip? Listen for your name and don’t worry so much how it’s pronounced.

If you pay attention, you’ll have an easier time picking your piece when your name is called — and you’ll have more fun.

Tickets are still available for this Sunday’s Patrons’ Show Fundraiser!

Events

First Time at Patrons’ Show?

 

Patrons' Show Pointers

The Patrons’ Show Fundraiser is a lot of fun. It also takes a little work.

So if you’re attending for the very first time on Sunday, we want to help you prepare! Here are our tips for first-time patrons. (It’s impossible to fully describe the experience, but we’ve done our best.)

The basics

You already have your ticket. Here’s how things will go down on Sunday:

  • Show up early. The gallery will open at 10:00 am, and the drawing starts promptly at 4:00 pm — be sure to be seated by then!
  • This year, the building will close from 2:00–3:00 pm. The gallery closes at 3:45.
  • Ticket holder names are drawn and called in a random order.
  • When you hear your name, call out the number of the artwork you want, loudly and clearly. Staff with walkie-talkies will be nearby to relay your selection to the nerve center on the first floor. Congratulations!
  • Keep track of what’s already been taken. These numbers will be announced over the PA and shown on the projection.
  • Stay seated until the break. If you’ve chosen your artwork, the break is your time to go grab it and “check out” at the computers. If you’re still waiting to hear your name, this is your chance to review your list and get psyched up for the next round.

How to prepare

As you can tell, it’s not enough to just pick your favorite — it might be gone by the time we get to your name! That’s why you’ve seen those huge lists other people are preparing.

  • We recommend making a list at least 100 works long. Many people have much longer lists!
  • There are a number of tools to help you:
  • Before you finalize your list, make sure to view all the artwork in person in the gallery. After all, it’s the artwork that will be hanging in your home — not the photo of the artwork!
  • If you’re using the app, be sure to update one last time before you leave home on Sunday. There’s no public wifi in the building, and data might be iffy.
    • You can email your list to yourself (Options → Email List) as a backup.

Enjoy yourself

The Patrons’ Show Fundraiser has been described as a block party. Here are some guidelines for an enjoyable experience:

  • Refreshments are welcome. Please keep your coolers small enough to fit under a chair, and please — no tables, other furniture, or food deliveries.
  • Unfortunately, there is no room for children or pets. They wouldn’t have a good time, anyway: it gets crowded and noisy.
  • On that note, please keep your conversations at a low volume. It’s important to make sure people can hear the announcements, names, and numbers being called out.
  • Please remain seated until the announced breaks.
  • Be kind to your neighbors.

Don’t miss out

The main drawing isn’t the only fun to be had!

First choice raffle: The first choice raffle is a separate drawing that happens just before the main event. When you buy a ticket, you mark the piece you want most of all. A single ticket is drawn at 4:00 pm, and the piece marked on it is set aside for that lucky person to pick up! You do not need a regular Patrons’ Show ticket to participate.

Raffle tickets are $15 each or two for $25, available for purchase in the gallery up until 1:00 pm Sunday.

After-auction: There will be a few pieces left over at the end of the drawing. Join us immediately after for the aptly named after-auction, where you can get more artwork for a steal! You’ll register for a paddle and bid on artworks just like in a regular auction.

Door prizes: The last few names called each round get special prizes!

Questions

Any questions we didn’t answer? We want to make your first Patrons’ Show experience a good one! Call us at 703-683-1780 to get in touch.

Events

Award Winners for the 2018 Patrons’ Show Fundraiser

Hanging artwork earlier this month for the Patrons’ Show Fundraiser.

2/20 update: We’ve added the award winners from the night of the drawing!

With over 600 pieces and counting in the Patrons’ Show Fundraiser, this year’s judge had his work cut out for him. So did the patrons making their lists!

The following awards were decided by judge Crawford Alexander Mann III (the first seven) and by the patrons who made the first selections on Sunday (the last four).

Congratulations to the artists!

Thank you to our award sponsors

These awards are funded by:
The Clemente Family
Jerry Kollman and the Nelson Bunn Family
Friends of Geri Gordon

(#514) Cantata, mixed media, by Susan O’Neill. Winner of the Clemente Best in Show for Contemporary Realism award.
(#570) Thirsty Art 2018, mixed media, by Lisa Schumaier. Winner of the Clemente Faculty Award.
(#242) dessa fell by Joe Noorigian. Winner of The Patrons’ Show Brenda Kollman Award for Best in Show for 3D Artwork
(#567) A Place I’ve Been But Never Seen, print, by Jennifer Dunbar. Winner of the TFAA Artist Award.
(#652) Wheatfield, print, by Avis Fleming. Winner of the Van Landingham Award.
(#039) Twenty Past Two, colored pencil, by Wendy Donahue. Honorable mention.
(#199) Twilight, watercolor, by Gloria Barbre. Honorable mention.
Station Pond (#350) by Caroline Heald. Winner of the Geri Gordon Award (to the piece chosen by the winner of the First Choice Raffle).
Cheek By Jowl (#233) by Cindy Richmond. Winner of the Collectors Award (to the three pieces chosen first in the main drawing).
Heron of Sugarhill (#263) by Candace Clifford. Winner of the Collectors Award (to the three pieces chosen first in the main drawing).
Still Life (#685) by Danni Dawson. Winner of the Collectors Award (to the three pieces chosen first in the main drawing).
Events, Exhibits

Artist Opportunities #409

This week’s image is a painting by Art League instructor Susan Herron.

On Tuesdays, we gather a variety of artist opportunities around the DC area and beyond. Find one below and enter today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

Torpedo Factory Visiting Artists

Deadline: February 19. The Visiting Artist Program is a professional development opportunity for emerging and experienced visual artists. Visiting Artists take part in a summer residency program with the Torpedo Factory Artists (Alexandria, VA), a juried membership organization with more than 275 active visual artists.

Photography competition

Deadline: February 20. The Allegany Arts Council is pleased to announce the call for entries into the Allegany National Photography Competition and Exhibition in Cumberland, MD.

Shop Local Project

Deadline: February 28. The Old Town (Alexandria, VA) Boutique District is seeking an artist design to use in shop windows and on branded items.

NC internships

Deadline: March 15. Elsewhere is a museum and artist residency set in a 3-floor, former thrift store in Greensboro, NC. Internships at Elsewhere offer a professional, creative, hands-on opportunity to work and live within an alternative, non-profit organization run by a small, but an impactful team of staff, artists, and community partners.

Virginia festival

Deadline: April 6. The Gloucester (Virginia) Arts Festival is pleased to announce it is accepting submissions for its 2018 Juried Show.  This show is a unique opportunity for artists across the mid-Atlantic to curate their own exhibit and earn a share of more than $5,000 in prize money.

Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!

Landscapes

Deadline: February 15. The Art League (Alexandria, VA) invites members to submit artwork that evokes a sense of place for the exhibit “Landscape,” juried by Timothy J. Clark.

Plein air event

Deadline: February 15. The Mountain Maryland Plein Air Competition & Exhibition, an annual juried exhibition and art competition, is sponsored by the Allegany Arts Council.

Painting awards

Deadline: February 23. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites eligible artists to enter the Bethesda Painting Awards. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, DC.

Torpedo Factory installations

Deadline: March 1. The Torpedo Factory Art Center invites artists and artist teams residing in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications and proposals for the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s common areas. Up to three artists/artist teams will be selected to install works of art in three designated public locations inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

New Photography

Deadline: March 8. Photographic artists of all walks are invited to submit their latest works to a national juried show at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD. The exhibition aims to highlight the current state of photography across a broad spectrum. Artists may submit all types of photographic works including digital, analog, alternative processes, etc.

Roanoke fair

Deadline: March 9. The Sidewalk Art Show takes place annually in Roanoke, Virginia, on the downtown streets near the Taubman Museum of Art. The 2018 dates are June 2 and 3.

Fairfax festival

Deadline: March 15. The City of Fairfax (VA) Fall Festival returns on October 13, 2018. All work must be original, handcrafted art and craft items produced by the vendor (US based artists only).

VisArts fellowship

Deadline: March 20. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a six month Studio Fellowship at VisArts at Rockville. The Studio Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment.

Bird art

Deadline: March 26. For “Of a Feather: Birds in Art” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), all media are welcome. This includes small- to large-scale work intended for the indoors or outdoors.

2019 solo exhibits

Deadline: March 30. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites artists working in all media to apply for 2019 Solo Exhibitions in the Gibbs Street Gallery and Common Ground Gallery.

Wanderlust

Deadline: April 5. artlessBastard in De Pere, Wisconsin is calling for 2D & 3D works of art, in all mediums – except performance art or film – for their May 2018 Wanderlust Show. Themes of work may include anything related to the journey of leaving home.

VA fair

Deadline: April 13. Calling exceptional artisans for the 74th Waterford Fair. Located in the Historic Landmark of Waterford, Virginia, our event draws 18,000+ visitors over 3 days, October 5–7, 2018.

MD craft show

Deadline: May 7. The Academy Art Museum Craft Show (Easton, MD) draws patrons from all over the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Athenaeum Invitational

Deadline: July 13. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter the 2018 Athenaeum Invitational (Alexandria, VA). The theme is “Cabinet of Curiosities.”

NYC volunteer opportunity

Introduce NYC school children to the world of art by giving tours at The MET Museum. Volunteer in this year-round program. Visit us at awnyc.org, contact us at http://awnyc.org/contact-us/ or find us on Facebook at artworksnyc.

Artists 50 and over

The Beacon is holding a regional competition for people over 50 who have picked up a new artistic endeavor: painting/drawing, 3D art, photography, or poetry. The competition opens in April 2018. For details, download the PDF flyer.

Superfine art fair

Deadline: rolling admission through September 2018. Applications are now open for Superfine!’s first fair in DC, coming this Halloween to Union Market. Galleries, artist collectives, and solo artists can apply for space.

Artist Opportunities

Spring Workshop: Fire Your Pots in a Mountainside Wood Kiln

Instructors Blair Meerfeld and Allison Severance

Woodfiring Workshop
April 21, 28, and May 5, 2018

Potters, have you been looking for a chance to fire your pots in a wood kiln?

This spring’s Woodfiring Workshop is your opportunity to do just that, in a kiln built by the instructors, Blair Meerfeld and Allison Severance.

by Allison Severance

How it works

Bring your pots with you to Highfield Pottery, in the Catoctin Mountains in Northern Maryland. You’ll want enough glazed bisque ware to fill two 12″ × 24″ × 9″ shelves. (Clay bodies should be appropriate for wood firing and salt glazing to cone 11.)

The workshop takes place over three Saturdays, which gives the kiln time to preheat and cool down:

  • Loading: Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 10 a.m.
  • Firing: Saturday, April 28 at 10:00 a.m.
  • Unloading: Saturday, May 5 at 11 a.m.
by Blair Meerfeld

Why woodfiring?

Wood-fueled kilns have a long history and tradition — and they remain in use today because of the beauty of the finished wares. The action of the ash and fire can lead to happy accidents.

“I enjoy finishing my pots in the wood salt kiln because I love exploring the element of controlled chance,” instructor Severance writes on her website. “And I have always been intrigued with, and admired and respected the mystical surfaces of pots decorated by fire, ash and salt.”

The bourry box kiln at Highfield Pottery

The kiln used in this workshop is a downdraft bourry box built by Severance and Meerfeld. The bourry box design provides a smoother surface, perfect for kitchen wares, Severance explained to us.

Future workshops

Can’t make the April 2018 workshop? For future opportunities, keep an eye on our catalog.

Art Classes

Make the Most out of Patrons’ Show With the Art Thief App

Today’s guest post is by Steve Roberson, the founder and president of Zurka Interactive, a web development and information technology company headquartered in Tysons. This will be his 6th year attending the Patrons’ Show. He typically sits in section A2 and would love to get your feedback about the app.

The Patrons’ Show Fundraiser is a fabulous, unique event, and this marks its 50th year. Can you believe that?!

My hope is that if you’re coming this year, you’ll be using Art Thief of the Patrons’ Show, the app designed and built just for this event. If you’re not sure about going to the Patrons’ Show, stop that nonsense — you need to buy a ticket now. You really don’t want to miss out.

I’d like to think that Art Thief makes the drawing a whole lot easier and the weeks leading up to the event more fun and engaging. Of course, I’m biased — I wrote the app. If you’ve read my previous guest blog post, you already know the history of Art Thief, so I won’t go into it here.

Using the Art Thief app at Patrons’ Show.

What’s new?

This will be the third year the app has been available to the public. It’s mostly the same as it was last year. Only one additional feature was added for 2018: Art Thief now displays the width and height in inches for all the art. To give you a look under the hood, the code base was updated to the latest version of the Swift programming language, Swift 4, and some refinements were added. A colleague of mine at Zurka Interactive modified the server side code to help updates happen smoothly.

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about some features of Art Thief that many users aren’t aware of, but, before I do, let’s get something straight. Do you have to use Art Thief to have a fantastic time at the Patrons’ Show? Absolutely not. If you have a paper system that has served you well for years, good for you. I respect that. I won’t judge you.

We’re all here to have a great time and support a phenomenal institution, The Art League. In fact, if the people in the row behind you make fun of you for your paper system as they pour yet another glass of what is reported to be a well-balanced Bordeaux, let me know. I’ll talk to them. After all, I’m particularly fond of Bordeaux.

Swiping all around

When you’re looking at a work of art in the app, you can swipe left to jump to the next piece or swipe right to go back to the previous artwork. If you swipe up, it adds a star to the rating of the art, and, just like you’d expect, swiping down removes a star. This works on both iPad and iPhone. I find this particularly useful while walking through the gallery with an iPhone because I can rate the art and swipe to the next piece with one hand and a glance to confirm my actions.

Sneaking a Peek

During the drawing, you spend most — if not all — of your time in “The Show” tab of the app. It’s not obvious, but if you swipe from the left edge of the app, this reveals a list of available art in the order you’ve set up.

This is particularly useful later on in the drawing. I know I’ve been in the third round and thought to myself, “Should that really be my top pick?” By taking a peek at my list, I was able to quickly look at the other art that was still available. If you’d like to rearrange the order of the art you’re peeking at, just press down and hold onto the art you’d like to move. It will dislodge from the list, and you can slide it into its new position.

If you swipe from the right edge, you can reveal a list of all the art you’ve marked as taken. This is useful if you want to make sure you’ve entered the correct number. Or even just take one last loving look at that beautiful piece that got away.

QR Codes in Action

While you’re peeking at the artwork that’s been taken, you’ll notice there’s a link in the upper righthand corner called “Scan.” During the breaks, a QR Code will be be displayed on the monitors in the Torpedo Factory. Tap the scan button, and your camera will appear on your screen. Now point your device at the QR Code. Your phone/iPad vibrates once it takes a picture and then automatically updates your list of taken artwork, correcting for any mistakes you may have made. That QR Code contains the official list of art that has already been taken.

An Android Counterpart

I’ve been talking about the iOS version of Art Thief because that’s what I know best, but there is an Android version as well. The Android version was written by a brilliant programmer and all around great guy, Ryan Conners. After seeing the iOS version in 2016, Ryan volunteered to make an Android version. It’s essentially the same as the iOS version with some minor differences.

Art Thief Version 3.0?

Art Thief is currently at version 2.4. Will there be a version 3? I expect so, but that’s where you come in. Please let me or anyone at the Art League know what you think about the app. And don’t forget to rate it on the app store! Knowing that people value the app is what fuels its further development.

If you have ideas for additional features or enhancements, please let us know. All of the features in the app today are courtesy of people who have participated in the Patrons’ Show.

Events

Artist Opportunities #408

New Life by Art League watercolor instructor Alice Kale.

On Tuesdays, we gather a variety of artist opportunities around the DC area and beyond. Find one below and enter today — good luck! Click here for recent opportunities posts, and submit your opportunity listing here.

Roanoke fair

Deadline: March 9. The Sidewalk Art Show takes place annually in Roanoke, Virginia, on the downtown streets near the Taubman Museum of Art. The 2018 dates are June 2 and 3.

Fairfax festival

Deadline: March 15. The City of Fairfax (VA) Fall Festival returns on October 13, 2018. All work must be original, handcrafted art and craft items produced by the vendor (US based artists only).

Bird art

Deadline: March 26. For “Of a Feather: Birds in Art” at Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center (Solomons, MD), all media are welcome. This includes small- to large-scale work intended for the indoors or outdoors.

Athenaeum Invitational

Deadline: July 13. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter the 2018 Athenaeum Invitational (Alexandria, VA). The theme is “Cabinet of Curiosities.”

Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!

Illustrators

Deadline: February 6. Illustrators in any country working in any medium or content can enter work created between January 2017 and February 2018 for the World Illustration Awards 2018.

Landscapes

Deadline: February 15. The Art League (Alexandria, VA) invites members to submit artwork that evokes a sense of place for the exhibit “Landscape,” juried by Timothy J. Clark.

Plein air event

Deadline: February 15. The Mountain Maryland Plein Air Competition & Exhibition, an annual juried exhibition and art competition, is sponsored by the Allegany Arts Council.

Painting awards

Deadline: February 23. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites eligible artists to enter the Bethesda Painting Awards. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, DC.

Torpedo Factory installations

Deadline: March 1. The Torpedo Factory Art Center invites artists and artist teams residing in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications and proposals for the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s common areas. Up to three artists/artist teams will be selected to install works of art in three designated public locations inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

New Photography

Deadline: March 8. Photographic artists of all walks are invited to submit their latest works to a national juried show at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD. The exhibition aims to highlight the current state of photography across a broad spectrum. Artists may submit all types of photographic works including digital, analog, alternative processes, etc.

VisArts fellowship

Deadline: March 20. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a six month Studio Fellowship at VisArts at Rockville. The Studio Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment.

2019 solo exhibits

Deadline: March 30. VisArts (Rockville, MD) invites artists working in all media to apply for 2019 Solo Exhibitions in the Gibbs Street Gallery and Common Ground Gallery.

Wanderlust

Deadline: April 5. artlessBastard in De Pere, Wisconsin is calling for 2D & 3D works of art, in all mediums – except performance art or film – for their May 2018 Wanderlust Show. Themes of work may include anything related to the journey of leaving home.

VA fair

Deadline: April 13. Calling exceptional artisans for the 74th Waterford Fair. Located in the Historic Landmark of Waterford, Virginia, our event draws 18,000+ visitors over 3 days, October 5–7, 2018.

MD craft show

Deadline: May 7. The Academy Art Museum Craft Show (Easton, MD) draws patrons from all over the Mid-Atlantic Region.

NYC volunteer opportunity

Introduce NYC school children to the world of art by giving tours at The MET Museum. Volunteer in this year-round program. Visit us at awnyc.org, contact us at http://awnyc.org/contact-us/ or find us on Facebook at artworksnyc.

Artists 50 and over

The Beacon is holding a regional competition for people over 50 who have picked up a new artistic endeavor: painting/drawing, 3D art, photography, or poetry. The competition opens in April 2018. For details, download the PDF flyer.

Superfine art fair

Deadline: rolling admission through September 2018. Applications are now open for Superfine!’s first fair in DC, coming this Halloween to Union Market. Galleries, artist collectives, and solo artists can apply for space.

Artist Opportunities

Quick Links to Start Your February

Painting by Art League instructor Mike Francis.

Welcome to February! This is a busy month at The Art League, what with the Patrons’ Show Fundraiser, followed by the Student/Faculty Show. It’s a quick month, too, so take a short break with these quick artful links:

Look at this

Wanna see what a 10,000 year old crayon looks like?

Fast-forwarding a few millennia: If you’re looking to up your Instagram game — and really, who isn’t — take a look at these seven artists for inspiration, courtesy of the Abundant Artist.

A reminder: did you download the Google Arts & Culture App just for the selfie feature, then put it away again? Give it another look.

Read this

In case you missed it: back in October, the Obamas announced the artists who will paint their portraits for the National Portrait Gallery: Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald. Here’s the New York Time’s and the Washington Post’s takes on these portrait artists.

Left: Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance) by Amy Sherald, oil on canvas, 2013. Right: LL Cool J by Kehinde Wiley, oil on canvas, 2005.

Wiley, based in Brooklyn, and Sherald, in Baltimore, will be the first black artists to paint portraits of a First Couple for the Smithsonian. The portraits are due to be unveiled in early 2018, so we’re keeping our eyes peeled for an announcement!

Nearby at the Renwick Gallery, if you’ve marveled at Wendell Castle’s Ghost Clock, we’re sad to share the artist passed away last month. This story about his most famous piece is a touching ode to the power of fooling the eye. For a more complete overview of his career, read this Hyperallergic article.

Watch this

Finally, here’s the brief story of the “stingy” man who wanted to become an artist without buying any art supplies. You might be surprised at his solution. Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/greatbigstory/videos/1769248003377625/

News

Sardar Aziz’s Cityscape in Flux

dConstruction, oil, by Sardar Aziz. Winner of The Art League Award in the January Open Exhibit.

Like January’s other award winner, this painting evokes a strong sense of place, transporting the viewer instantly. Unlike that landscape, however, Sardar Aziz’s cityscape, titled dConstruction, is a bustling hive of human activity. (Can you hear the honking?)

Juror Ephraim Rubenstein, who gave this painting The Art League Award, noted the painting’s ambition and the artist’s success in pulling off many feats at once. We talked to the artist to get some more details about this piece:

What was your goal for dConstruction?
Sardar Aziz: I wanted to capture how we as humans build a city and then rebuild it, right from the ground up, again and again. It seems like a never-ending process.

What made you stop and notice this scene?
The effort of the people to improve things, and the colors of construction machinery and taxis against the tallest buildings of New York City.

dConstruction (detail)

What do you think makes a good painting of a cityscape?
A good painting has a good subject and the right color harmony with appealing design.

If one is able to capture the character of the architecture and its relation to the town and place humans around it in a way that everything creates harmony, I believe that can be a good landscape painting.

Why are you a painter? How long have you been one?
I knew I was a painter right from the beginning, but most of my life I did not paint. I started painting full time not long time ago. Why am I a painter? Honestly I don’t know.

When did you start painting full-time? Was it a difficult transition?
Adopting painting as a profession was always hard throughout the history and it hasn’t changed.

dConstruction (detail)

I started my career as a full-time painter only five years ago. It was a very hard and difficult transition for me. Sometimes things got harder financially and I had to take some odd jobs to pay my bills. I photograph, I do television productions, documentaries, and sometime post productions of films to meet ends. At the end if I paint and keep things going in the right direction, it’s all worth it.

What’s your creative process like — where do you get ideas, and how do you know when a painting is complete?
I watch people when I go into the city: how they behave, act and react with other people, and with architecture of a city. Once in awhile you got an idea from a person or from architecture.

If my painting is in the studio it’s not done. I often work on the paintings I exhibited several times on several places. However there are very few paintings, they are done. I know because they told me themselves.

The January Open Exhibit is on view through Sunday, February 4.

Artist Interviews