Twenty-Four Hours

Joaquin Sorolla, Vision of Spain 

Thursday was a full, wonderful day of inspiration and the joy of great friendship.  I headed to Philadelphia so that Diane Feissel and I could meet up with our other dear friend Sadie Valeri in New York City.  We started our day in upper Manhattan at the Hispanic Society of America.  This Museum/ Research Library, founded by Archer Milton Huntington in 1904, is devoted to the arts and literature of Spain, Portugal and Latin America.  The beautiful Beaux Arts building, constructed in 1904 on a farm originally owned by artist John James Audubon, was created specifically to house the Hispanic Society of America's impressive collection.  In May of this year, they finished renovating the fantastic Bancaja Gallery which has housed Joaquin Sarolla's Vison of Spain murals since 1926.  These 14 monumental canvases (commissioned specifically for the Hispanic Society) surround you when you enter and each represent a different facet of Spanish life.  This free museum is a real hidden treasure.

 Diane in the center of the Hispanic Society of America

 

 

 Joaquin Sorolla's Vision of Spain Murals

After feeling full on inspiration, we set out to fill our stomachs before heading to Arcadia Fine Arts a gallery in SoHo, at 51 Greene St NY, NY.  Sadie has one stunning piece included in their Small Works exhibit.  It was a wonderful opening reception for a beautiful show filled with small jewels of paintings, drawings, and photographs.  Small Works will be on exhibit thru October 13, 2010.

Sadie Valeri, The Wave, oil on panel, 9" x 12"

 

 Sadie, Me, Diane at Arcadia Fine Arts Small Works exhibit.

We ended the evening with more food and friends.  It was a truly wonderful twenty-four hours!

Green Hill Opening Photos

Here are a few photos from the Opening Reception of the Drawing Revisited exhibition at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art.  It was a lovely night with some friends from Raleigh and a huge turn out for the show.  It was so packed I wasn't able to get any decent shots of the show overall.  I will however be going back and will take more shots of some of my favorites from the exhibit as well as the beautiful space.  Thank you to artist Susan Martin for taking these few .photos.  Her net drawings are really beautiful and intriguing as well as very hard to photograph.        

To see a previous post on Drawing Revisited you can click here.  Thank you to Edie Carpenter, Mario Gallucci, and Emily Shank for this wonderful exhibit.    

Artist Kiki Farish and myself

Autumn Fun: Part III

I am so excited to share the last bit of fun I will be having this Fall!  Perhaps you are aware that I am a contributor to a fabulous site called Women Painting Women?  If you haven't all ready, please make your way over to this wonderful online collection of high quality figurative paintings that happen to all be done by women artists.  The WPW site sprung from an online conversation, that prompted San Francisco artist Sadie Valeri to highlight contemporary women artists working in the figurative tradition.  Soon after, Diane Feissel and myself became contributors to the blog to help maintain the ever growing collection.  We are so excited to announce the first ever Women Painting Women exhibition which will be held November 5-31, 2010 at Robert Lange Studios, an amazing gallery in Charleston, SC.  There are over 45 artists included from across the globe!  RLS really has pulled out all the stops on this show, making sure that the Art comes first!  I am so proud to be hanging in such great company!  Here is a post on the gallery's blog that lists all the artists included as well as mentioning a six page article featured in ArtMag.  And here is one more brief article on this exhibition in the Charleston City Paper.

Jennifer Balkan, Poof, oil on birch with map fragments and ink, 30" x 30"

As if that weren't exciting enough, we at WPW have been working hard to coordinate a weeklong painting retreat for a dozen women artist whom have all been featured on the site.  We will be staying on Sullivan's Island, just outside of Charleston to paint the figure in the beautiful marshes and beaches of the Low Country.  Then in March of 2011, the works created during or inspired by this trip will be exhibited at Notion Fine Art in Laguna Beach, CA!  

The artists included in this inaugural Women Painting Women retreat are:

Alexandra Tyng - Narberth, PA
Catherine Prescott - Harrisburg, PA
Cindy Procious - Chattanooga, TN
Diane Feissel - Philadelphia, PA
Linda Tracey Brandon - Phoenix, AZ
Lisa Gloria - Aurora, IL
Mia Bergeron - Chattanooga, TN
Rachel Constantine - Philadelphia, PA
Sadie Valeri - San Francisco, CA
Stefani Tewes - Laguna Beach, CA
Katherine Stone - Toronto, Ontario
Alia El-Bermani - Cary, NC

I hope you will be able to join us for the opening reception at Robert Lange Studios on November 5th from 5:30-7:30!  It is sure to be a stellar event.

New Figure Painting

Becoming, oil on panel, 24" x 24"

Here is my most recent figure painting.  I literally just finished it last night.  For those of you who have found me on Facebook, you may have seen a very early stage of this painting (even earlier than the grisaille below), and then again last night I posted the "finished" version on there.  However, if you look closely there are a few tweaks I made after seeing it on Facebook.  Often times, I don't see errors within my paintings until I see them condensed for me on the computer screen.  Another good tool for finding problems in paintings is to look at them in a mirror.  Now, if only I could remember to use these tools before I share my work with the public.  Ah well.

  Becoming, oil on panel, 24" x 24" (in progress)

Autumn Fun: Part II

 Public Restroom, oil on panel, 20" x 30"

The next portion of autumnal fun will be another fabulous invitational show which is being curated by Barclay McConnell at the Durham Arts Council.  The title of the exhibition is People You May Know: Contemporary Portraits.  I am so pleased to have four of my portraits included in this exciting exhibition that not only celebrates the fine art of portraiture, but also seeks to celebrate the characters of our everyday life that often go by overlooked.  Other great artists included are Beverly McIver, Titus Heagins and Jacob Cooley.  This exhibition will run October 8th, 2010 - January 9th, 2011 with the Artist Reception to coincide with Downtown Durham's Third Friday ArtWalk on Friday October 15th from 5-7pm.  Thank you to Barclay and the DAC for including my work in this wonderful exhibition. 

Durham Arts Council: 120 Morris Street Durham, NC 27701  919.560.ARTS  

Autumn Fun: Part I

This Autumn is going to be packed with great exhibitions and adventures for me.  I am so looking forward to the coming crisp air because with it will come a flurry of activity.  I am so happy to share with you that I will have my work included in several prestigious invitational exhibitions here in North Carolina as well as a group figurative show that is near and dear to my heart in Charleston, South Carolina.

 Images left to right by artists: Tamie Beldue, Kreh Mellick and Alia El-Bermani

First off, in September I will have three of my layered vellum drawings included in an exhibition titled Drawing Revisited at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art.  The Opening Reception is September 10, 2010 5:30 - 7:30 and will continue through October 29th.  "Drawing Revisited is a major survey of North Carolina artists working in a medium which in the digital age may appear to be a slow and intimate art form.  Drawings from more than fifty artist, both renowned and newly notable will be on view.  Over 200 works on paper in graphite, watercolor, artist's crayon, wash, charcoal and ink will attest to the ongoing vitality of drawing.  Related programs will include lunchtime artist's talks, figure drawing workshops, and an audio tour for children and families."  In fact, I have been asked to give an Artist's Lecture on my work on Wednesday, October 20th at 5:30.  I will be presenting 'slides' of my work both painting and drawing.  I am quite honored to also have been chosen as one of the artists whose image was reproduced for the invitation you see above.  

 Artist Proof, Julie, charcoal on layered vellum, 38" x 25"

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my "Layered Vellum Drawings" I think I should explain.  This series of large scale, charcoal drawings investigate the concept of layers.  I am interested in the physical layers of my chosen medium as well as representing the internal, psychological layers of my sitters.  Each complete drawing is made of up several (as little as two and as many as four) drawings on separate sheets of vellum, which are then flattened one a top another to create the final image.  Often, I have included symbols such as pattern and still life objects to further represent my subjects.  As with painting, the under layers of these drawings are not always as clear as those on the surface.  This in fact, is an intentional use of the semi-transparent vellum.  The further the layer recedes from the viewer, the more ghosted the drawing appears.  It's a nice physical representation of the deeper layers we all have obscured within us.

Layered Self Portrait, charcoal on layered vellum, 94" x 45"

Colin, charcoal on layered vellum, 38" x 25"

200 N. Davie Street, Greensboro, North Carolina 27401
http://www.greenhillcenter.org/ 

If you are near Greensboro, I hope you will be able to join me for either the Opening Reception on September 10th or the Artist Lecture on October 20th.  
   

N.E.W. Works Exhibition at VAE

I am pleased to announce that my painting Space Between will be included in Visual Art Exchange's 21st Annual Never Exhibited Works show September 3 - 23, 2010.  The juror for this year's exhibition was Steven Matijcio, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) in Winston-Salem, NC.  I hope to see you at the Opening Reception on Friday September 3rd 6-9pm. 

 Space Between, oil on panel, 36" x 48"

In Progress: Southern Weeds

These two paintings are still in progress. They are two of a triptych which shows three different stages of the blackberry bush in my back yard. The weather here has scorched the bush, so unfortunately, now I will have to finish these up from photos. It is not an easy thing for me to switch from working from life to using photos, especially on this newer subject matter. With the figure, I have had enough time painting in front of the real thing, so that I know what information I need to ignore in photos. But, with the botanicals, I become overwhelmed with so much information and details within the photos which aren't as apparent to the naked eye. Also, colorwise, I need to find a way to tie these two (and then the third) together a bit more.

 Blackberry Blossom, (In Progress), oil on panel, 8" x 10"

Blackberry Fruit, (In Progress), oil on panel, 8" x 8"

Diane in Raleigh again!

Diane Feissel is in Raleigh tonight... well sort of!  Diane with Kitten will be on exhibit thru July 31 in the Upfront Gallery of ArtSpace.  The opening reception is tonight during First Friday 6-10pm, so stop by if you are out enjoying the fabulous weather!

 Diane with Kitten, oil on panel, 20" x 16"

Artspace Artists Association New Members Exhibition
July 2 - 31, 2010
Opening Reception: July 2, 6 - 10pm

New members of the Artspace Artists Association (since Spring 2009) will exhibit work in the Upfront Gallery during the month of July. New artists participating in the exhibition include Megan Clark, Ryan Cummings, Jenny Eggleston, Alia El-Bermani, Kiki Farish, Bill Hickman, Lillian Jones, Julie Niskanen, Addison Page, Megan Sullivan, Ann Corley Silverman, and Lisa Stroud.

The Artspace Artists Association (AAA) is a professional membership association. Artists are juried into the association through a competitive process twice each year. The next deadline for membership is September 1, 2010.

2010 Art Related Travels: San Francisco

I am woefully behind in blogging as of late.  Please be patient with me in my attempt to catch up.  Back in April, I had the opportunity to take a quick trip to San Francisco, California.  We only had a weekend, so I felt a bit rushed, but I did manage to see some fantastic Art while visiting.

 Carl Dobsky, Portrait of Layil (detail), oil on canvas, 12.5" x 9" 2009

At John Pence Gallery, we were fortunate enough to see the exhibition of Carl Dobsky's most recent drawings and paintings.  Dobsky studied Fine Art at the Ringling School of Art in FL, received his MFA from the New York Academy of Art, as well as studied under Jacob Collins at the Water Street Atelier in NY.  His paintings combine a controlled skill and refinement with a fresh liveliness to the paint that comes from thicker application in key areas.  Just off center of the room was a table that displayed several paintings that were framed double sided.   These double sided paintings, were mostly contemporary portraits on one side and still lifes of skulls and contemporary objects on the other.  I quite enjoyed circling this table several times, noting his choice of pairing portraits and skulls.
 

 More images and information for this exhibition of drawings and paintings by Carl Dobsky can be seen by clicking here.

Seeing such great paintings can make a girl hungry, so the good folks at John Pence Gallery recommended the Grand Cafe at the Hotel Monaco.  What a splendid suggestion that turned out to be.  Fantastic French cuisine in an Art Nouveau grand ballroom style atmosphere made for quite an experience.  Delicious!

  Grand Cafe at the Hotel Monaco, San Francisco California

The next day was spent at the De Young Museum.  Now, I must say that several friends that have lived in San Francisco have always been quite apologetic for the art museums of their city.  So going to the De Young, I had low expectations.  However, I am happy to report, I have no idea what those friends are apologetic for.  This smallish museum had quite a few holdings to be proud of.  Here are a few of my favorites:

 Thomas Dewing, Elizabeth Platt Jencks, oil on canvas, 1895

Alexander Pope, The Wild Swan, oil on canvas, 1900

Alexander Pope, The Wild Swan (detail), oil on canvas, 1900

John Singer Sargent, Caroline de Bassano, Marquise d'Espeuilles, oil on canvas, 1884

John Singer Sargent, Caroline de Bassano, Marquise d'Espeuilles (detail), oil on canvas, 1884

2010 Art Related Travels: NYC

As I stated in a previous post, in January I was quite fortunate to go visit my good friend Diane Feissel in Philadelphia.  While on that visit, we took a bus trip up to NYC to meet up with our other good friend and fabulous painter Sadie Valeri who was visiting the big apple from San Francisico.  We spent the entire day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Seeing amazing works of art with two amazing friends was such a great way to break in the New Year!  Here are just a few of some of the works that struck me that day.  Again, there is much more to see at the MET and every time I get back there, I seem to find more great works I hadn't previously discovered.

Eugene Delacroix, Madame Henri Francois Riesener, oil on canvas 1835

Camille Corot, Portrait of a Child, oil on wood, 1835

Camille Corot is considered more of a french landscape painter (see example below) yet here in a room filled with Corot's masterful landscapes, I was surprised to find two of his finest portraits.  It is said that he painted fewer than 50 portraits in his life time which were mostly of his family or close friends. 

Camille Corot, The Environs of Paris, oil on canvas, 1860

Charles Brague, Bashi-Bazouk, oil on canvas, 1875

Jules Breton, The Weeders, oil on canvas, 1860

I loved walking into the room that this painting is hanging in.  It shares the space with a few Jean Francois Millet's wonderful paintings of a similar time of day.  I am in awe of paintings with back light situations.  It has got to be one of the most difficult casts of light to paint.  According to the placard hanging next to The Weeders, in his autobiography, Breton states that one evening he came across this twighlights scene of peasants pulling up "thistles and weeds... their faces haloed by the pink transparency of their violet hoods, as if to venerate a fecundating star".

 

Greenville Museum of Art

I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to be the Juror for this year's Greenville Museum of Art Artist Association's Annual Juried Exhibition.  The exhibition will run from July 29 - August 29, 2010.  I look forward to seeing GMA Artist's best work!  Thank you to Director, Charlotte Fitz for the opportunity.

More information on entering the exhibition can be found Here (scroll down) or on the Greenville Museum of Art's site.

Greenville Museum of Art
802 S. Evans St
Greenville, NC 27834
www.gmoa.org