<em>Inside Out</em> by David Carter Albrecht Dürer. Cover image: detail from a painting by David Carter.
If David Carter’s juror statement got you thinking about perspective and its artistic possibilities, you won’t want to miss his talk on Saturday, June 24:
“[Linear perspective] was a creative breakthrough that revolutionized western art, and its pervasive influence is still with us today. But is it correct? Is it merely a technical tool, or does it also reveal purely aesthetic principles? From the beginning, its inventors understood that the apparent correlation between strict perspective theory and human vision was not perfect. So how and why is perspective so relevant to visual art? This talk will briefly explore some of the highlights of perspective’s virtues and inadequacies.”
This talk is free to attend, but we ask that you RSVP on Eventbrite. We hope to see you there!
This painting is by Art League instructor Patrick Kirwin.
On Tuesdays, we gather a variety of artist opportunities around the DC area and beyond. Find one below and enter today — good luck!
Holiday Market 2017
Deadline: July 6. The 2017 Downtown Holiday Market will be held in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood in Downtown DC with the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture as its backdrop. There is room for 58 exhibitors each day, with exhibitors rotating through.
Virginia photographers
Deadline: August 1. Compelling Images from Virginia Photographers celebrates professional, original photography with varied aesthetics from around the Commonwealth of Virginia. Open to all artists living in Virginia, this exhibition is held at the d’Art Center in Norfolk, Virginia.
Human trafficking
Deadline: August 15. Central Virginia Justice Initiative is accepting entries for the People Are Not Products benefit exhibition which will be held at Verizon Gallery in the The Ernst Community Cultural Center, Annandale Campus, NOVA. Artists must be residents of the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia. Artwork relating directly or indirectly to human trafficking (slavery in the form of labor or sex trafficking) is encouraged. Please do not submit work that is sexually graphic in nature.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Art of Engagement
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
The Art League: July Open Exhibit
Deadline: June 16. Open exhibits at The Art League are open to all current exhibiting artist members. There are no restrictions on medium, process, theme, or content. The juror for the July Open Exhibit is Lucila Biscione.
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Resist
Deadline: June 16. This summer, Zenith Gallery (Washington, DC) presents an exhibit titled Resist in honor of the latest resist movements captivating the globe. We invite professional artists to submit works that interpret and reflect on the state of our world today.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
VCU Hospital
Deadline: July 1. VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital is seeking artists to submit digital images of original artwork available for purchase for the new facility being built in South Hill. This opportunity is open to artists living in Virginia and North Carolina.
Culture Shock
Deadline: July 2. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Black and white
Deadline: July 10. Specto Art Space, a new gallery coming to the Harrisonburg, VA area later this year, is seeking applicants for its September international juried show “Black & White: 2017.” Media accepted: photography, digital art, graphic design.
Design competition
Deadline: July 14. To mark 100 years of service, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area is commissioning one local artist (or team of artists) for an original design to be painted on a canvas which will be displayed at their headquarters on Georgia Ave NW.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
2-D art
Deadline: August 14. The National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts (Harrisonburg, VA) is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media.
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
The Washington Jewish Film Festival is hosting a screening of Errol Morris’s The B-Side on June 27:
The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography Tuesday, June 27, 7:30 pm | Edlavitch DCJCC
Portrait photographer Elsa Dorfman found her medium in 1980: the larger-than-life Polaroid Land 20×24 camera. For the next thirty-five years she captured the “surfaces” of those who visited her Cambridge, Massachusetts studio: families, Beat poets, rock stars, and Harvard notables. As pictures begin to fade and her retirement looms, Dorfman gives Errol Morris an inside tour of her backyard archive.
Looks like a fascinating film for anyone interested in photography, film, or portraiture! Tickets and all the details are on WJFF’s website.
Inside/Outside: Self-Portrait as Subject & Object, oil on canvas, by David Carter
About the author: David Carter began teaching for The Art League School in 1991. That same year he began teaching as an adjunct professor of art at Montgomery College (MC) in Germantown, MD. In 2001 he became a full time professor at MC, where he also served as department chair from 2008-2014. At MC, Carter typically teaches courses in drawing, design, color theory, painting, and art history, and also continues to teach a variety of courses for The Art League.
His work, primarily oil painting and drawing, has been exhibited in solo and group shows on the east coast and across the country. He has completed numerous public and private mural commissions in different parts of the U.S., and worked intermittently as an illustrator, photographer, and graphic designer.
Carter is the juror for the June 2017 exhibit at The Art League, “Perspective.” He wrote this statement on the ideas behind the theme. You can also find our juror’s dialogue on the exhibit page.
A statue of Filippo Brunelleschi near the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence
In 1401, Filippo Brunelleschi stood in the doorway of the Florence cathedral and made a small painting of the church baptistery across the street. The whole endeavor, though, was more of an exercise in geometry than an artistic composition. Brunelleschi didn’t stand next to his easel and copy what he saw as a landscape painter might do; he constructed what must be visible – from that exact spot – according to ideas and calculations he’d been mulling over about how vision works in three-dimensional space. His radical idea was to take a Euclidean approach to painting.
As it turned out, the little painting was surprisingly good. Unbelievably good! As a coherent, convincing illusion of an architectural structure in three dimensions, it was better, really, than any ever before seen. To most who saw it, the little painting seemed a miracle.
The Florence bapistery that Brunelleschi painted. (Photo by Laodicea)
Brunelleschi’s method (since then known as linear perspective) achieved a synthesis that no one else had conceived for at least two thousand years. It beautifully reconciled the appearance of three dimensions with the unyielding facts of a flat surface. In no time, Brunelleschi’s method spread like wildfire. One look at the results of this technique and there was no turning back.
In the decades that followed, other painters elaborated on the basic principles, applied them in diverse situations, and became capable of producing visual poetry never before imagined. Equipped with this new insight, artists were liberated. Perspective techniques had emancipated them from the stifling confines of shallow, frieze-like, comic strip space, and for the next several centuries they masterfully depicted any place, and anything, from any point of view.
“One look at the results of this technique and there was no turning back.”
This capacity to render convincing illusions of depth where there is in fact only a two-dimensional surface is a trick that is appealing and provocative in and of itself. For artists in fifteenth century Florence, though, it was especially desirable. At that time, the illusionistic aspect of drawing and painting was a preeminent virtue. So the development of perspective facilitated a quantum leap in exactly the right direction.
Linear perspective study for The Adoration of the Magi, silverpoint, by Leonardo da Vinci. 1481.
But perspective was much more than a useful trick of the trade. When the various lines, shapes and foreshortened planes throughout an image were all subjected to the orchestrating influence of perspective, an underlying consistency suddenly appeared that pulled the whole scene together. A sense of agreement and congruity pervaded all the different parts. One could feel it.
“Every part participated in the whole.”
This coherence reinforced the illusion of depth, but it also imparted a distinct unity and harmony to the composition. Every part participated in the whole. The persuasive appeal of such unity is a purely aesthetic phenomenon. Perspective, then, had the effect of highlighting the part-to-whole relations in a composition that are vital to art of any style or category.
Train in the Snow, oil on canvas, by Claude Monet. 1875.
Impressionism – when it finally caught on in the mid nineteenth century – went along with the principles of perspective for the most part, but it certainly didn’t dwell in them. Its interests were more concerned with purely optical effects than with the geometry of objects in space, so perspective didn’t play a big role in that episode of art history.
Some of Monet’s canvases were still drying when Cezanne, in his abundant doubt, considered perspective with great suspicion and decided to pay it very little attention. But it was the audacious, very modern-minded explorations of Picasso and Braque, in the early twentieth century, that finally pushed the time-honored technique into forced retirement. Their radical new art abandoned the principles of perspective completely, and the celebrations followed shortly thereafter.
Bottle and Fishes by Georges Braque. 1912.
It had been a good run – perspective had enjoyed nearly five full centuries of devoted respect – but eventually its horizon lines, sight lines, and converging orthogonals felt more like prison-cell bars than passports to freedom. Perhaps by then it was all just too familiar, or too status quo, but suddenly perspective – the liberator – was something to be liberated from. It was seen as a constraint; its rules were inhibiting. The exciting experiments of Picasso and Braque dealt the final blow. “Finally!” progressive artists exclaimed, “we are free!” No longer did a painting need to be spatially “correct” to be good.
But perspective never really goes away. Despite its flaws, and limitations, and even in spite of its theoretical inconsistencies, the fundamental points of perspective are built-in features of human visual experience. It is true – the dictates of perspective are bound to cramp the style of an expressionist painter. And its geometric regularities are completely inappropriate for many creative paths. But the same might be said of color.
The Sunset Limited by Teresa Oaxaca, selected as best in show in “Perspective” by juror David Carter. (click for larger image)
One thing this geometrical strategy of drawing accomplishes exceptionally well is the portraying of normal appearances of the external world from a particular point of view. At first it may seem that perspective is only about mastering the appearance of external objects in space. It makes all the things in a picture “look right.” But equally compelling is the way it defines the specific point in space from which that “right look” is experienced. Perspective doesn’t just define the objects seen, it also says a lot about you, the seer. Vicariously, it puts you exactly where you are. And it singles you out. From any other position in space, all those objects and their relative positions would appear different. But no, they appear exactly as they do because right now you (the viewer), and only you, are precisely where you are with respect to the picture.
“Perspective doesn’t just define the objects seen, it also says a lot about you, the seer.”
It is in this implicit sense that perspective understands the world, and displays it, one point-of-view at a time. Subtly, but powerfully, perspective underscores our individuality. And it’s why we speak, so easily and appropriately, of one’s “perspective” as a metaphor for the uniqueness of their wider experience.
It’s curiously ironic, then, that expressionistic painting styles that pay no heed to, or blatantly distort the admonitions traditional perspective affords, nevertheless typically revere this deeper implication of the term. Brunelleschi’s mathematical perspective enabled artists to express unique and vivid experiences that were new to their time. Since the start of the twentieth century, modern, non-representational painters have continued to pursue very similar goals. After all, the absence of perspective is itself a “perspective.” Cubism’s combination of multiple and simultaneous points of view was itself a means for expressing a psychologically new point of view. There is more in all this than a mere play on words. To varying degrees, visual art has always been a language for expressing much more than purely visual experience. From its start, the implications of Brunelleschi’s perspective went way beyond the mere illusion of a baptistery. Today we have an even broader understanding of “perspective,” and its implications are unfolding still.
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The FOWL MOOD Show
by Sage Chandler
June 8–July 2, 2017
Meet the Artist & Models (human and feathered): Thursday, June 8, 6:30-8:00 pm
Feathers are flying at The Art League this month.
Sage Chandler’s “The FOWL MOOD Show” pairs the artist’s two favorite subjects, people and chickens, in tongue-in-cheek and lightly narrative paintings. Tonight, you can meet the artist and her models — including the poultry — at the opening reception.
In the Instagram above, you can see (left to right) Black and Blues, Chixxx for Sale, and Cock Tease in installation. This is a detail from American Goth:
Chandler’s extra-large paintings play on phrases like “chick” and “cock tease,” while portraying individuals at the edges of society. Narratives are implied by the titles and characters, but the paintings remain open to interpretation.
As part of her (intended art history) undergraduate degree, Sage Chandler traveled to Germany in 1989 to study as an art history extern at a gallery in Koln. However, a trip to East Berlin at the height of East Germany’s uprising that October changed her trajectory. Instead, she received a BA in International Relations from Allegheny College with focus on East Germany’s dissident movement, and the manner in which opposition leaders used the arts to secretly communicate.
Upon moving to Washington nearly two decades ago for a government job in international relations, she began painting at The Art League. Her work has received numerous local and regional awards and has been shown in galleries and exhibits throughout the region. She has been featured twice in Northlight Books “Strokes of Genius” series, and her commissioned works are in collections in the US, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, and Brazil.
Deadline: June 16. This summer, Zenith Gallery (Washington, DC) presents an exhibit titled Resist in honor of the latest resist movements captivating the globe. We invite professional artists to submit works that interpret and reflect on the state of our world today.
VCU Hospital
Deadline: July 1. VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital is seeking artists to submit digital images of original artwork available for purchase for the new facility being built in South Hill. This opportunity is open to artists living in Virginia and North Carolina.
2-D art
Deadline: August 14. The National Juried Art Show at Larkin Arts (Harrisonburg, VA) is a national juried visual art competition and exhibition that is open to any artist who is a resident of the United States and is over the age of 18, working in two-dimensional media.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Artist as citizen
Deadline: June 7. “Create/Change” at Hillyer Art Space (Washington, DC) is an all-media, juried exhibition that will feature work that examines the idea of artists as citizens.
Art of Engagement
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
The Art League: July Open Exhibit
Deadline: June 16. Open exhibits at The Art League are open to all current exhibiting artist members. There are no restrictions on medium, process, theme, or content. The juror for the July Open Exhibit is Lucila Biscione.
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Black and white
Deadline: July 10. Specto Art Space, a new gallery coming to the Harrisonburg, VA area later this year, is seeking applicants for its September international juried show “Black & White: 2017.” Media accepted: photography, digital art, graphic design.
Design competition
Deadline: July 14. To mark 100 years of service, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area is commissioning one local artist (or team of artists) for an original design to be painted on a canvas which will be displayed at their headquarters on Georgia Ave NW.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
It is! And so are all of our June workshops. Ranging from five days long to just one, workshops are a perfect way to fit some art into your summer — or to craft your own staycation. Here’s what’s happening this month at The Art League:
It’s The Art League’s first art auction and wine-tasting party! The event kicked off May 30 with a 10-day online art auction that culminates in a festive, global wine-tasting party on Friday, June 9 at 7:30 pm in the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
The auction …
The online auction began at 12:00 noon on May 30, and it features a variety of artwork from our esteemed faculty of artists as well as date night packages from local Alexandria businesses, including the new Hotel Indigo. A small selection of the items are pictured above.
The final round of bidding will occur during the event on June 9 as a silent auction. No ticket is required to bid online. To attend the final round of bidding (and taste the wine), you’ll need an Art on the Vine ticket ($55).
… the wine
The Art on the Vine wine tasting party on June 9 will feature 12 different wines from around the world. Tickets are $55 per person, and each ticket holder will receive a tasting glass, eight tastings, and one full pour.
Well Crafted Wine & Beverage Co. curated the selection of wines, and the tasting is designed to take the palate on a journey from light to bold. Chadwicks in Old Town will provide light hors d’oeuvres.
All proceeds go to benefit The Art League and its educational programs.
Deadline: June 5. 1708 Gallery (Richmond, VA) invites US-based and international artists and curators to submit proposals for the 2018 and 2019 exhibition seasons.
Artist as citizen
Deadline: June 7. “Create/Change” at Hillyer Art Space (Washington, DC) is an all-media, juried exhibition that will feature work that examines the idea of artists as citizens.
Design competition
Deadline: June 26. To mark 100 years of service, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area is commissioning one local artist (or team of artists) for an original design to be painted on a canvas which will be displayed at their headquarters on Georgia Ave NW.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. The Matador Review, an online literature and art quarterly based in Chicago, publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. Art submissions for the Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 4. The City of Alexandria, Virginia invites artists and artist teams living and working in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications for a temporary public art project for the Duke Street Pedestrian Concourse. An average of 3,000 people walk through the tunnel daily.
Art of Engagement
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
The Art League: July Open Exhibit
Deadline: June 16. Open exhibits at The Art League are open to all current exhibiting artist members. There are no restrictions on medium, process, theme, or content. The juror for the July Open Exhibit is Lucila Biscione.
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Black and white
Deadline: July 10. Specto Art Space, a new gallery coming to the Harrisonburg, VA area later this year, is seeking applicants for its September international juried show “Black & White: 2017“. Media accepted: photography, digital art, graphic design.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
In crayon news, those dandelion yellow Crayolas might be worth some money someday. (OK, probably not.) Recently retired by the company (illustrated eulogy here), they’ll be replaced by a new blue inspired by an accidentally discovered artificial pigment.
She and the Franklin Furnace are still supporting avant garde art, and are marking their 40th anniversary. Here’s what they’re up to these days, in Wilson’s interview with Hyperallergic.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is holding an exhibit of Imogen Cunningham’s photography, so naturally they took to Instagram to promote it. Instagram is, of course, the place to share amazing photography online — unless, as the MFA found out, that photography includes “some … female nipples.” Instagram took down three posts by the museum.
Inspiration
You may know Jerry Saltz as famous art critic, but do you know Jerry Saltz as an artist? In My Life as a Failed Artist, Saltz’s essay for Vulture, he recalls a forgotten part of his life and why it didn’t end up the way he wanted. “Every artist does battle, every day, with doubts,” he writes. “I lost the battle.”
This writer told the story of his mother, Katherine Bradford, who is achieving recognition for her art in her seventies, over three decades after she took the plunge. How About a Little Badass Inspiration?
Gear
Have you heard of the camera lucida? It’s one of the optical devices painters used as an aid in the days before photography. (Another is the camera obscura, which is much older.) Anyway, the camera lucida was invented about 200 years ago and never really took off — except that now you can buy one and try it out! Check it out on Kickstarter.
Bonus video
In this very thought-provoking video, Vox explains the research into how different cultures name colors. It’s definitely worth a watch:
Where does the title The Moment come from? Was it the moment the model was captured? The moment artist Wen LePore put pen to paper? Or was it the moment she nearly started over, but decided to keep the painting instead?
Whenever the Moment was, it was recognized this month by juror Dana Shearin, who selected it for the Amelia T. Clemente Family Award for Best in Show in the May Open Exhibit. We asked the artist to tell us more about this painting:
What was your goal when you were painting The Moment?
To be honest, I did not think about what it should be. I did not plan it. It was an unfinished ink sketch from drawing class, and I was trying to finish it but I made the face ugly … I was trying to wash away and redo it again, then I saw there was something nice there.
Why are you a painter?
To be a painter is my dream.
I love music, love dancing, and I admired artists who stand in front of a easel. But I am too short; I have very small hands. My parents thought I wasn’t able to be a perfect musician or dancer. As I saw artists were painting, I wanted to paint, but my mom told me, “That is too expensive.”
I stayed in math and physics … such useful majors. It’s easy to survive, too. To be a painter became my dream.
Passion, oil, by Wen LePore
Why did you choose watercolor for this painting? What other media do you work in?
The first time I learned brown ink was in Dan Thompson’s workshop in 2015. Then I started to take Robert Liberace’s drawing class. Some classes were learning to use watercolor as one kind of media to do a quick sketch. Usually I use black ink pen in my sketch book; this took longer and used more ink. Learning the watercolor technique has brought me more joy.
Usually, I paint in oil.
Is this a typical painting for you? What makes it different?
This is a typical painting for me: It came from a mistake or unpredictability.
Portrait of Len Brachen by Wen LePore, honorable mention in The Art League’s January 2015 exhibit.
More often I paint landscapes and portraits in oil. When I started to paint, I only wanted to use oil media, since Chinese ink painting is very hard to save for hundreds years or longer. There is a more magical result from the wash technique in painting because there is always unpredictability. How many risks I took during the creation — that’s how much surprise I get from it.
It’s very exciting. I feel it is like a casino.
What was your first experience with art as a child?
I went to primary school when I was five. I joined the school band and played the Chinese musical instrument ErHu. I also joined a dancing group and singing group as a conductor in same period, from first year to the end of primary school.
Who or what are your greatest influences?
It’s hard to say … there have been so many.
My parents were my influences in my childhood. My dad taught me music, and he also helped me build my love of nature. My mom taught me how to sing songs and how to perform for an audience.
Memory of One Spring by Wen LePore
After I came to America, my two favorite places to go are the National Gallery of Art and the Torpedo Factory. In the early years I spent a lot of time browsing each floor on weekends at the Torpedo Factory … I still remember which artist has cool metal in the corner of the first floor, who is making little figures in the ceramic space on the third floor, who makes the most elegant cherry blossom carving work on the second floor. All the artists in their studios were my influences.
Then I went to NVCC for art, and I learned the basic techniques of drawing, painting, and ceramics there. In 2010, I joined Arlington Artists Alliance, a wonderful artists group, and then I joined The Art League. I met Rose O’Donnell in the gallery, and she is the key person who guided me to The Art League school, where I have been taking higher professional training since 2015.
We have exciting news to share from one of our Art League instructors! Delna Dastur writes:
“I have been accepted as a Fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, (VCCA), an honor that both excites and humbles me. I shall be doing my residency on their beautiful campus for two weeks this summer, where I shall be given a studio to work in undisturbed!”
In her class, Abstract Art: New and Creative Approaches, Delna introduces a new artist each week for students to learn about different processes and techniques. Here is a day on Per Kirkeby:
(Amherst, VA) – Delna Dastur of McLean, VA, has been awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). The VCCA is located near Sweet Briar College in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in rural Virginia. Delna Dastur will be among approximately 25 Fellows focusing on their own creative projects at this working retreat for visual artists, writers and composers.
A typical residency ranges from two weeks to two months. Each artist is provided with a comfortable private bedroom, a private studio and three prepared meals a day. Beyond the breakfast hour and the dinner hour, there are no schedules or obligations. This distraction-free atmosphere, as well as the energy that results from having some 25 visual artists, writers, and composers gathered in one place, enables artists to be highly productive.
Festooned by Delna Dastur
Serving more than 350 artists a year (more than 4,000 since its inception), the VCCA is one of the nation’s largest year-round artists’ communities. VCCA Fellows have received worldwide attention through publications, exhibitions, compositions, performances, and major awards and accolades, including MacArthur grants, Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts awards, Rome Prizes, Pollock-Krasner grants, National Book Awards, Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and Academy Award nominations. VCCA has been a wellspring of music, literature and the visual arts in the United States, providing residencies for artists from all disciplines during the most important and the least supported phase of their work: the creative phase. This is done by giving visual artists, writers, composers, performance artists, filmmakers, collaborating artists and those whose work crosses disciplines the crucial elements every artist needs–time and space to do their work.
A nonprofit organization founded in 1971, the VCCA is supported in large part by grants and private donations.
More information is available online at www.vcca.com or by calling 434-946-7236.
See all of Delna’s classes at The Art League in our catalog.
Deadline: June 4. The City of Alexandria, Virginia invites artists and artist teams living and working in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to submit their qualifications for a temporary public art project for the Duke Street Pedestrian Concourse. An average of 3,000 people walk through the tunnel daily.
The Art League: July Open Exhibit
Deadline: June 16. Open exhibits at The Art League are open to all current exhibiting artist members. There are no restrictions on medium, process, theme, or content. The juror for the July Open Exhibit is Lucila Biscione.
Deadline: July 10. Specto Art Space, a new gallery coming to the Harrisonburg, VA area later this year, is seeking applicants for its September international juried show “Black & White: 2017“. Media accepted: photography, digital art, graphic design.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. The Matador Review, an online literature and art quarterly based in Chicago, publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. Art submissions for the Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
The Fruits of Summer by workshop instructor Diane Tesler.
There’s exactly one month until summer classes start, but this week’s 90-degree temperatures have us feeling the summer heat already.
Heat, it turns out, is also an important part of an artist’s toolkit. Here are a few of our classroom demos where temperature plays a role:
Raku firing
In this video, Art League ceramics chair Blair Meerfeld fires ceramic work using the raku process. After the raku ware is heated in a kiln until red-hot, the pieces are placed in metal cans filled with combustible material, like newspaper. The paper ignites and the smoke completes the process:
The raku firing workshop is not currently on our schedule, but stay tuned for raku firing opportunities!
You can create work suitable for the raku kiln in any ceramics class. Our ceramics department also fires work in electric, gas reduction, and sometimes woodfired kilns. See all our ceramics classes →
Heat-coloring copper
The sculpture classroom sees plenty of heat when we hold our Metal Sculpture classes. In this demo, Brian Kirk shows how easily a torch’s heat can create interesting coloration on copper:
Beeswax, pigment, and heat are the critical ingredients for painting in the ancient medium of encaustic. For our encaustic workshop, the jewelry studio becomes a painting studio for a few days. Warm wax allows for some interesting transfer techniques, like the simple photo transfer here:
Our next encaustic workshop is in September, but you can register for it now! All encaustic workshops →
Color study painting
For an exploration of temperature as it relates to color choices, you can’t go wrong with a color study. In this demo, artist Danni Dawson shows how to build a portrait starting with some pretty wild colors:
I wanted to write and describe my process in selecting work for this May’s open call Art League show. In making selections, I tried to represent as faithfully as possible the diversity and variety of submissions. I chose pieces that brought me joy, charmed me with their eccentricity, or impressed me with their skill; I looked for pieces that made me uncomfortable and pieces that surprised me with their direct simplicity.
Foreground: Ocean Vista by Thomas Mulczynski
For those who submitted work that was not included, first, I would like to say that I had space for about 14 percent of the works submitted; there were many excellent works that I was unable to include simply because of space restrictions. I want you to know that your work is valuable and my choices were personal; the world needs more of your art and I thank you for making my job both difficult and enjoyable.
I hope this show leaves your soul well fed.
Best wishes,
Dana Shearin
The Three Heavens: Water, Earth and Sky by Marcel Artes Deolazo
About me: I spent my childhood on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the daughter of a watercolor painter, I was immersed in art making from a very young age. My formal education began at Interlochen Arts Academy where I built large scale abstract plaster sculptures, studied figure drawing, photograph and printmaking. I have a BFA from Alfred University’s New York State College of Ceramics. There I continued studying figure drawing, printmaking and began pursuing an interest in mixed media installation, sound, and ceramics. I also have an MFA in Ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art.
I have taught workshops and classes at National Louis University, Western Illinois University, North Central Michigan College, and The Evanston Art Center. I have an active studio practice at the Midwest Clay Guild where I have been now for more than 11 years, and have twice served as its president. I currently work with dogs and make art in Evanston, Illinois, where I live with my husband and our yellow lab.
Deadline: June 2. McLean Project for the Arts (McLean, VA) invites all Mid-Atlantic artists to submit up to ten high resolution images for MPAartfest2017. MPAartfest is a one-day juried fine art and craft show and sale featuring the work of more than 50 local and regional visual artists.
The National Building Museum (Washington, DC) is seeking volunteers for programming related to their latest Summer Block Party installation, Hive.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
First Sunday: Annapolis
Deadline: First come, first served. Applications are now open for vendors for the 2017 season of the First Sunday Arts Festivals in Annapolis, MD.
Leesburg fair
Deadline: First come, first served. The First Annual Arts in the Alley Street Fair will be held one day only July 29, 2017 in Leesburg, VA.
Art sale
Deadline: May 18. Applications are now available for art sale booths at the June 11 Mt. Vernon Spring Art-Fest at Sacramento Center (Alexandria, VA).
Paint out
Event: May 20. Mattawoman Creek Art Center invites artists including photographers to a paint out at Historic Smallwood State Park in Charles County, MD. Register with Barbara Stepura at [email protected]. Meet at the art center in the morning and paint anywhere at the park. Bring a bag lunch and meet back at the art center at noon for a break and an informal critique, if desired.
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. The Matador Review, an online literature and art quarterly based in Chicago, publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. Art submissions for the Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Art Impact USA
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
Bacchus stranded in a dry county. Oedipus working on Wall Street. Achilles wielding a rifle.
These are the mythological figures you’ll meet in this month’s solo exhibit, Lesa Cook’s “Gods, Heroes and Fools.”
Wall Street Oedipus by Lesa Cook
Cook’s exhibit of drawings and sculptures reimagine these characters as 21st-century personalities, asking what these stories have to tell us in the present day. Each piece is accompanied by an statement explaining the original myths behind the art.
You can come experience these stories at The Art League through Sunday, June 4.
Elpis Is Alive! by Lesa Cook
About the artist
Lesa Cook grew up in South Carolina and received a degree in studio art from the University of South Carolina in 1987. In 1990, she pursued graduate work in computer graphics at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. She continued her fine art studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD; the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC; The Art League in Alexandria, VA; and The Shuler School of Art in Baltimore, MD.
She continues to pursue her studies and thinks of herself as a perpetual student. Currently, she resides in Burkittsville, MD, where she paints and sculpts. She teaches at The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, MD, and The Yellow Barn Studio in Glen Echo, MD. She is a registered copyist at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. She considers herself a classical realist, drawing inspiration from the great masters and trying to capture not only the natural form but the emotional reality as well.
Deadline: June 16. Climax: The Best of the Best at Pepco Edison Place Gallery (Washington, DC) highlights what the artist feels is his or her best work, most inspiring message, and/or most sublime visual imagery. Only 2D wall art will be juried; no nudity. This is Art Impact USA’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Culture Shock
Deadline: June 18. Target Gallery (Alexandria, VA) invites national and international artists to apply for Culture Shock, an exhibition exploring the influence of pop culture and street art in contemporary works. Artists working in pop, street, graffiti, and mural art styles are encouraged to apply.
Being Sentient
Deadline: July 25. The Will’s Creek Exhibition is a national juried exhibition of contemporary American art hosted by the Allegany Arts Council at its professional Saville and Schwab galleries in Cumberland, Maryland. This year’s theme is Being Sentient/Sentient Being. Traditional media, as well as installation, video, kinetic, sound, and performance art, are eligible.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
First Sunday: Annapolis
Deadline: First come, first served. Applications are now open for vendors for the 2017 season of the First Sunday Arts Festivals in Annapolis, MD.
Leesburg fair
Deadline: First come, first served. The First Annual Arts in the Alley Street Fair will be held one day only July 29, 2017 in Leesburg, VA.
Deadline: May 15. The ManneqART Competition (Laurel, MD) covers three distinct “sections” of wearable art design: Sculpture, Hair, and Makeup. An artist’s award pool of over $10,000 has been allocated for this year’s ManneqART competition.
Baltimore craft show
Deadline: May 15. The 2nd annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American and international crafts and design.
Art sale
Deadline: May 18. Applications are now available for art sale booths at the June 11 Mt. Vernon Spring Art-Fest at Sacramento Center (Alexandria, VA).
Paint out
Event: May 20. Mattawoman Creek Art Center invites artists including photographers to a paint out at Historic Smallwood State Park in Charles County, MD. Register with Barbara Stepura at [email protected]. Meet at the art center in the morning and paint anywhere at the park. Bring a bag lunch and meet back at the art center at noon for a break and an informal critique, if desired.
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. The Matador Review, an online literature and art quarterly based in Chicago, publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. Art submissions for the Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
Exhibit proposals: Richmond
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
Signing artwork is an important part of the creative process that’s sometimes overlooked. Here are three signatures we’d all like to find in our attic! (via)
What’s the first thing you do after you’ve finished a piece of artwork? Frame it? Take a photo? Put it on your website?
Not so fast. Before you do anything else, you need to sign it.
Common mistakes in signing artwork
The most common mistake artists make with signatures is not signing artwork in the first place. Maybe you forgot, maybe you aren’t sure how, or maybe you don’t feel like a “real” artist.
This is no time to be shy — signing artwork is a must. It gives the work value and marks it as a finished, sellable piece of work. (We’re including examples from Art League artists throughout this post.)
Artichokes on a Crate by Brent Erickson, signed with the artist’s initials in a trompe l’oeil style.
There are some other mistakes you can make when signing your art:
Distracting from the artwork: Your signature should be small and unobtrusive. This is not the time to break out your glitter marker.
Signing illegibly: The signature is there to identify you as the artist, so make sure it’s legible.
Signing the matte: For photographs and other prints, we sometimes see artists sign the matte. You should sign the print itself — probably not on the image, but just outside, or on the back. This way, if the piece gets reframed, the signature goes where the art goes.
Using non-archival materials: Just like the artwork itself, your signature should be made to last. Don’t use ink that will fade over time, for example.
Blue Dot, Yellow Center by Marilyn Grelle. The signature is on the same paper as the monotype, printed neatly just below the image along with the piece’s title.
Where and how to sign
Where to sign is up to you: some artists do it on the back, some on the front in a corner. As you’ll see below, there are other places to “hide” a signature. Most artists, however, sign in a bottom corner, and that’s where a collector will look first.
Just be sure to sign on the artwork itself — not on the matte or a stretcher bar, for example.
#877 by Tory Cowles is signed on the side of the gallery-wrapped canvas.
How to sign depends on your medium: pen or pencil are good for works on paper. Painters should sign in paint (using a small brush) with a color that makes sense for the artwork. Again, your artist signature should be legible but not draw attention to itself.
Keep in mind this doesn’t have to be the same signature you use for signing checks: you can use your initials or a monogram, like Albrecht Durer’s at the top of this post.
Diane Blackwell signed her sculpture The Washington Football with a chain stitch.
What about three-dimensional work?
The same basic rules apply to sculptures and other three-dimensional work. That is, you should sign unobtrusively on the work itself and not, for example, on a detachable base.
For jewelry and ceramic works, you may want to create a unique maker’s mark. You can see Blair Meerfeld’s distinctive mark below:
Blair Meerfeld
Jewelry can be tricky when it’s very small. Whitney Staiger puts “UDOP,” the name of her jewelry business, on the inside of pieces when she can.
Creative solutions
As long as it doesn’t detract from the artwork, there’s no reason you can’t get creative with your signature! You are an artist, after all.
In this video, Sara Linda Poly shares a good tip for painters: you can sign with a color shaper by removing paint. It’s probably a little easier to write with, compared to a brush.
You can have a little fun by hiding your signature in the subject matter, like Joey Mánlapaz does in her painting below.
911 by Joey Mánlapaz features a signature built into the scene.
Artists, is there anything else you’d like to know about signing artwork? Let us know in the comments!
Those are far from the only options, of course. With 126 classes and 43 workshops this summer, you can flex your creative muscle any way you choose! Check out the full catalog.
Registration opens May 8 at 9:30 am, and Summer Term kicks off on June 19 (the same day as Summer Art Camp). Check course details for specific start dates.
About Art Camp
Art camp — for ages five and up — provides children a wonderful introduction to visual art. This summer, we’re offering 98 different camps over nine weeks!
In our regular art camp, each day brings a new project that may include drawing, painting, printmaking, or sculpture. Our specialty camps, like Drawing Camp or Painting Camp, focus on immersion in one particular medium.
Art camps run from June 19 to August 18, Monday to Friday, and have a varied curriculum from week to week.
You can register for half-day camps, full-day camps, or full-day camps plus an extension.
Not sure where to start?
If you’re brand-new to art classes — or if you just need a refresher — we most often recommend Basic Drawing as a great first class. If that’s not your speed, there are good classes for beginners in every medium, including ceramics, sculpture, fiber art, painting, photography, and printmaking.
No two artistic journeys are the same! That’s why you can always get in touch with us for advice on which class is right for you:
We’re proud to have a group of talented artists as instructors here at The Art League, and we love sharing what they’re up to! Here are some news items from The Art League faculty:
Robert Liberace’s award
Do you recognize the painting above? Robert Liberace‘s Fifth Circle graces the inside cover of this year’s class catalog. This week, we learned this stunning painting was awarded first place in Imaginative Realism at the 12th Annual ARC Salon! Read more about this painting’s inspiration.
Avis Fleming’s “Images”
Avis Fleming: “Images”
Avis Fleming teaches sketchbook workshops this year at The Art League, but sketchbooks aren’t the only place she’s making her mark! You can see her exhibit “Images” through June 28, 2017 at Printmakers, Inc. (Studio 325 at the Torpedo Factory, upstairs from The Art League.) “Images” includes paintings, prints, and ceramics by Fleming, demonstrating her gestural drawing technique.
Painting in Thomas, West Virginia
Thomas, West Virginia
“A tiny town is assembled, snow-globe-like, on only one side of the street.”
That’s Travel & Leisure writing last month about Thomas, West Virginia — a town name you’ll recognize if you’ve flipped through our catalog. A Week in Thomas, West Virginia is a five-day workshop this August with Danni Dawson, Mike Francis, and Paul Lucchesi. Students are free to paint and sculpt with the different instructors as they wish, and enjoy the small-town charm of Thomas.
Instructors, are we missing any of your news? Drop us a line or leave a comment below.
Deadline: June 1. artspace (Richmond, VA) is accepting exhibit proposals for solo, joint, and group exhibits for the first half of 2018.
VA juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. Bower Center for the Arts (Bedford, VA) announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, July 25–August 26, 2017. Juror: Halide Salam.
Artist trading cards
Deadline: August 15. Artist trading cards are small, baseball-card sized works of art that can be traded with other artists as a way to get creative, connect with other artists, make contacts, and collect great art! This on-going by-mail exchange is hosted by Jennifer Hines. There are three deadlines per year.
Re-runs: These announcements have been posted here before, but it’s not too late to enter!
First Sunday: Annapolis
Deadline: First come, first served. Applications are now open for vendors for the 2017 season of the First Sunday Arts Festivals in Annapolis, MD.
Leesburg fair
Deadline: First come, first served. The First Annual Arts in the Alley Street Fair will be held one day only July 29, 2017 in Leesburg, VA.
Young artists with disabilities
Deadline: May 3. “Electrify!” is a juried competition and exhibition featuring artwork by artists with disabilities, ages 16–25, showcasing artwork that excites our senses, awakens our curiosity, and electrifies our very being.
DC fellowship
Deadline: May 4. The Halcyon Arts Lab Fellowship (Washington, DC) is a nine-month program established to provide emerging artists with time and space to explore new ideas and ambitious projects in an environment of independent learning, study, and collaboration. Halcyon Arts Lab accepts six national or international fellows and two DC-resident fellows in each year of the program.
Watercolor juried exhibit
Deadline: May 6. The Central Virginia Watercolor Guild invites entries to the 2017 Annual Exhibition, to be held at McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville, VA. The juror this year is Steve Fleming, former instructor at The Art League.
MD craft show
Deadline: May 7. The Academy Art Museum Craft Show (Easton, MD) is an indoor, juried craft show featuring approximately 65 artists from across the United States.
All-media exhibit
Deadline: May 8. The Open Regional Juried Art Exhibition at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (Washington, DC) is open only to artists residing in the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Original hanging work created in any medium will be considered.
Deadline: May 15. The ManneqART Competition (Laurel, MD) covers three distinct “sections” of wearable art design: Sculpture, Hair, and Makeup. An artist’s award pool of over $10,000 has been allocated for this year’s ManneqART competition.
Baltimore craft show
Deadline: May 15. The 2nd annual Baltimore Fine Craft Show is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary American and international crafts and design.
Art sale
Deadline: May 18. Applications are now available for art sale booths at the June 11 Mt. Vernon Spring Art-Fest at Sacramento Center (Alexandria, VA).
Paint out
Event: May 20. Mattawoman Creek Art Center invites artists including photographers to a paint out at Historic Smallwood State Park in Charles County, MD. Register with Barbara Stepura at [email protected]. Meet at the art center in the morning and paint anywhere at the park. Bring a bag lunch and meet back at the art center at noon for a break and an informal critique, if desired.
Inaugural photography
Deadline: May 23. Gallery OonH seeks a broad range of submissions from all levels of photographers for “Who’s Looking Back,” a comprehensive look at the impact of the 2017 Inaugural from January 19-21 and beyond.
All media
Artwork delivery: May 26–28. Mattawoman Creek Art Center (Marbury, MD) invites artists to enter the 23rd annual All Media Juried Exhibition, to be held June 9–July 9, 2017. Juror: Bobbi Pratte.
Panama residency
Deadline: May 29. Continuing our year-long focus on Black Speculative Art, the Creative Currents Artist Collaborative Summer Artist Residency allows literary, visual, performance, dance and music artists two weeks in conversation with their creative muse and each other as we explore the Black Speculative Arts amongst the backdrop of historic Portobelo, Panama.
Matador Review
Deadline: May 31. The Matador Review, an online literature and art quarterly based in Chicago, publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art. Art submissions for the Summer 2017 issue are now being accepted.
VisArts juried exhibit
Deadline: June 1. VisArts (Rockville, MD) welcomes artists ages 17 – 27 in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to submit their application for NextGen 4.0, the fourth juried exhibition in their Kaplan Gallery. NextGen 4.0 is an opportunity for aspiring artists with little to no experience exhibiting their work in a professional gallery.
Nebraska residency
Deadline: June 1. One residency is available in painting, drawing, metals, fibers, or mixed media at LUX Center for the Arts, a non-profit arts center in Lincoln, NE. Artists with an MFA or BFA in studio art are eligible.
Deadline: June 12. Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC is seeking entries for “Art of Engagement,” a National Juried Show scheduled for August 4–24, 2017. Artwork entries should reflect present-day issues and concerns. Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center.
Studio space: Rockville
Deadline: June 16. VisArts invites applications from local and national artists for studio space at VisArts in Rockville, Maryland. The Studio Artist Program provides a unique opportunity for a dynamic individual artist or collaborative artist team to experiment, create new work, evolve an existing body of work or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Lease period: September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018.
Glow
Deadline: July 21. Art selected for “Glow” at the Athenaeum (Alexandria, VA) will convey a sense of lightness or hope emanating from something dark. Entries may be literal, figural, allegorical, or abstract. Artists who live or work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia may enter.
Athenaeum
Deadline: July 21. The Athenaeum Invitational celebrates the visual arts of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. It is a theme-based event featuring the works of both specially-invited artists who have exhibited in the Athenaeum Gallery in the past, as well as works selected through an open call for submissions.
Wearable hat art
Deadline: August 1. The Wearable Hat Show at Artists & Makers Studios (Rockville, MD) will be curated by Steven Krensky and a mystery juror. Artists in the metro area are invited to make a statement through the art of the hat. It must be functional, but need not be comfortable.
FEAST proposals
Deadline: August 1. F.E.A.S.T. at VisArts 2017 (Rockville, MD) calls for proposals that help envision and frame the future. What voices, stories, platforms, food, services, or experiences are currently missing or hidden?
Show proposals
Deadline: Ongoing. ArtSpace Herndon (Herndon, VA) invites submissions for solo shows and thematic group shows from artists 18 years and older.
This ground-breaking book describes how artists extend their practices outside of their studios. Their first-hand stories show how artists add to creative economies through their out-of-the-box thinking while also contributing to the well-being of others. Although there is a misconception that artists are invisible and hidden, the truth is that they furnish measurable and innovative outcomes at the front lines of education, the non-profit sector, and corporate environments.
“Anyone serious about a career as an artist must read this book.”(Adam Sheffer, partner, Cheim and Read Gallery)
“Extraordinary. . . . Louden has initiated a public discussion of how an artist can persist. It’s an essential question in a field that no one chooses for its assurance of financial rewards. In many ways, Louden’s book helps us to answer the question, ‘How does an artist make a living today?’” (Art Journal)
“Contributions range from predictable to shocking, in-control and overwhelmed. Some artists have full-time jobs; many are parents … [Louden is] telling it like it is.” (ARTnews)
She graduated with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from Yale University School of Art. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Drawing Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Weisman Art Museum, National Gallery of Art, Birmingham Museum of Art, Weatherspoon Art Museum and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.
Louden’s work is held in major public and private collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, National Gallery of Art, Neuberger Museum of Art, Arkansas Arts Center, Yale University Art Gallery, Weatherspoon Art Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others.
In addition, Sharon Louden is a Senior Critic at the New York Academy of Art and the editor of “Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 Working Artists” published by Intellect Books and distributed by the University of Chicago Press. Published in October, 2013, the book is now in its sixth printing. With sales in over 18 countries, it has become Intellect Book’s #1 best selling publication two years in a row. The book has been translated into Korean, garnered over 45 reviews, the subject of 15 podcasts and radio appearances and received more individual feedback than can be counted.
From September, 2013 until late May, 2015, Louden went on a 62-stop book tour, where she met thousands of artists from all over the US. Some of the venues who participated included LACMA, the Hirshhorn Museum, Strand Bookstore, Art Basel Miami Beach, the 92nd St Y in New York City, Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and many others.
The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life” launched at the Strand Book Store in New York City on March 2, 2017 as a part of an extensive 80-stop conversation/book tour. The last book in the trilogy of Living and Sustaining a Creative Life books, “Last Artist Standing,” focusing on artists over 50 years of age, will be published in 2020. (More information about Sharon Louden)
Best Practices in Painting workshop with George O’Hanlon and Tatiana Zaytseva
Want to make paintings that last through the ages?
June 12 to 14, a new workshop is coming to The Art League. Taught by the experts at Natural Pigments, Best Practices in Painting isn’t your typical painting workshop. This one is about changing how you paint from the ground up, with an emphasis on knowing your tools and materials:
Who is this workshop for? What kind of experience is necessary?
George O’Hanlon, instructor: This workshop is intended for all levels of artists and art students. No experience is necessary, although familiarity with common painting terms is useful (i.e., oiling out, glazing, impasto, etc.).
What makes this different from other painting classes?
This is the only workshop taught anywhere that focuses solely on the materials and practices of painting so that artists can create archival pictures and avoid many of the common mistakes made by painters today, such as sinking in, blotchy surfaces, etc.
Why is it important to learn this kind of stuff?
The information in the workshop is transformative, changing how painters work, as many prior students have commented:
“I am not exaggerating when I say it was life changing. Not only does it give me answers to many of the problems I have been having for years, but it is making me re examine all the things I do correctly to have a better understanding why they do work.”
—Marek
“This workshop was what I wished I would have learned in my first year of art school. It challenged everything I thought I knew and things that I could never find the answers to. The information was presented in such a sensible way that provided you the background knowledge to understand how materials function the way they do and what is really happening when problems arise. This will completely change the way I work. I feel I can make more informed choices about the materials I use and be able to troubleshoot and attain the desired effects I want in my work. George and Tatiana were fantastic and it is evident they are so passionate about the work they do and about educating the artistic community.”
—Jessie W.
What are your professional backgrounds?
George O’Hanlon is technical director of Natural Pigments, an artists materials manufacturer and is an expert in historical painting materials and pigments. Tatiana Zaytseva is director of Natural Pigments and was educated in physics and art in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
What is the schedule like over the three days?
The workshop begins with a review of the leading causes of cracking and paint loss in paintings. In light of the research, we review different types of painting supports to help you choose the best one for your painting technique. We review the most suitable grounds for each type of popular support and painting and review factors influencing the embrittlement of the paint film and what artists can do to prolong its life.
Throughout the workshop we provide recommendations involving different supports, grounds and painting techniques that will help you make technically-sound paintings. Here’s the complete curriculum.
What do I need to bring?
A notebook and writing instrument is all that is necessary.
More information about the workshop
For over a hundred years, most causes of paint failures have been studied: humidity, temperature, and paint embrittlement. The symptoms were obvious—cracking, delaminating, and paint loss—but the causes were not. Conservation workers gradually formed concepts as to the causes of cracking and paint loss of old paintings. Concurrently, the coatings industry studied failures in all types of paint films. Artists developed their own ideas, but remained largely unaware of findings from both the conservation community and the coatings industry.
Natural Pigments spent years developing a technical workshop to teach skills that are not taught in art school and universities — a thorough understanding of artist’s materials and tools, what they are designed to do, when to choose them and how to provide considerable longevity to your finished work. This workshop covers the most important aspects of painting that have proven to be the best practices over the centuries.
The information-packed workshop includes all aspects of constructing a painting from the support and ground to the final layers. Practical procedures will be clearly explained and demonstrated on how to build your oil paintings based on conservation research during the past century. This workshop is designed for painters of all mediums, but special emphasis is given to oil painting.
