Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Ebb Tide Gallery in Gig Harbor

I'm in Gig Harbor visiting the city, as I am considering doing some art business around this area.  This is easily one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Stopped by some galleries as part of the reconnaissance for the future, and walked into Ebb Tide Gallery, a small but impressive cooperative art gallery located right on the center spot of Gig Harbor. 

Like many small cooperatives that I've seen all over the US, there's a lot of work jammed into the space, but this is understandable and as many of you know, I'm a fan of salon style hanging whenever the situation calls for it!

Cooperative membership galleries such as this one are the front line heroes of the art world, and this gallery boasts an impressive array of artists!

Cooperative galleries, which are usually owned by a group of artists who share the expenses (and sometimes duties) of running the gallery are very special galleries. They also have to sell artwork in order to pay bills. Artists usually pay a monthly fee or a small commission on sales and keep the bulk of their sales.

Back to my visit.

I particularly liked the work of visiting artist Jeanne Anderson, especially a gorgeous watercolor of a waterfall.

Also liked the fine art woodwork of Dale McDaniels, whose intelligent pieces once again showcase why just because it's wood it doesn't have to be relegated or labeled "craft." 

Gorgeous photographs by Wendy Beeghley too!

If you're in Gig Harbor, this is a must visit place!

Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Mark Jenkins on Anastasia Travieso-Diaz

Mark Jenkins reviews several local shows over at DisCerning Eye - I especially liked the words about Anastasia Travieso-Diaz:

BUILT UP AND THEN PARTLY EXCAVATED, Anastasia Travieso-Diaz’s paintings are literally constructions. So it’s fitting that the local artist’s abstract canvases often suggest grand buildings or naturally occurring structures such as caverns and grottoes. The engrossing pictures in her Studio Russo show, “Disintegration Regeneration,” were made intuitively, and not named initially. But they came to bear such suitably evocative titles as “The Architecture of Collapse” and “Unraveling the Structure.”

Read the review here.

Monday, June 08, 2026

"Immigrant Artists" declined by Montgomery College

Bummer to report that Montgomery College's selection panel has declined my proposal for a show focusing on immigrant artists.

Dear Lenny,

I am writing with the results from our recent call for proposals for the King Street Gallery at Montgomery College. I am sorry, but we did not select your proposal. Yours was among many worthy proposals for very few exhibition slots, and the choices were difficult. Thank you for your proposal and thank you as well for your patience as we have completed this review. We very much appreciate your efforts in making your proposal and we hope that you will consider applying for future opportunities here at MC.

Sincerely,

Kevin Bowman

Professor

Visual and Performing Arts Department

Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus

930 King Street

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Will begin to look for new venues...

Sunday, June 07, 2026

Backrooms

Earlier today, Anderson, together with his friend Aarad, and I sat through Backrooms, which is described as "2026 American science fiction psychological horror film directed and co-scored by Kane Parsons and written by Will Soodik."

There was a lot of heavy-handed influence from the Blair Witch Project in the film, which is immensely challenging to understand and make sense of, and has a somewhat silly (yep - that's the correct adjective) turn towards the end.

About the most memorable part of the film is the presence of a young actress named Lukita Maxwell, who in the very short period of time that she's actually on screen makes her presence really felt by the audience... I predict a lot of great things for this lady.

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

How to price and frame your artwork

 This is TODAY Wednesday! You’re invited!

Busboys and Poets ARTOMATIC Happy Hour
"Join us for an inspiring evening of art, conversation, and connection at Busboys and Poets! This special happy hour will feature Lenny Campello discussing “How to price and frame your work”. Referred to as “One of the most interesting people of Washington, DC” by The Washington City Paper, Lenny is one of the internet’s leading art bloggers and recently curated Women Artists of the DMV which spanned 19 venues and featured the work of over 700 female artists."
How to price and frame your work

Event Details
Date: May 27, 2026
Time: 5:00pm EDT | Presentation

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Ann Alexander Murray at the Tephra ICA Festival

Ann Alexander Murray
A couple of weekends ago I was at the Tephra ICA Arts Festival when I came across this very talented and hard working artist who was video walking the show and did this segment, which includes me.  See it here.

Ann Alexander Murray writes her own piano compositions, which you should be able to find on any streaming platform of choice. Her album is called Shadows and Reflections by Ann Alexander. 

She wrote, produced, recorded, mixed, and created all graphic materials, and took the pictures for the cover herself.

Here are some direct links from her website to different platforms if you want to check that out, which I most highly recommend!

Saturday, May 23, 2026

How to price and frame your work

 This coming Wednesday! You’re invited!

Busboys and Poets ARTOMATIC Happy Hour
"Join us for an inspiring evening of art, conversation, and connection at Busboys and Poets! This special happy hour will feature Lenny Campello discussing “How to price and frame your work”. Referred to as “One of the most interesting people of Washington, DC” by The Washington City Paper, Lenny is one of the internet’s leading art bloggers and recently curated Women Artists of the DMV which spanned 19 venues and featured the work of over 700 female artists."
How to price and frame your work

Event Details
Date: May 27, 2026
Time: 5:00pm EDT | Presentation