My picks for Paint It! Ellicott City 2021

 As June arrives, I’m beginning to think that perhaps the Covidian monster has been tamed, art fairs are desperately seeking galleries to apply to show, the DMV’s outdoor art festivals are returning, and brushes, pens and pencils continued to be applied to paper or canvas. Notice that I did not mention cicadas or Brood X or none of that 17-year nonsense that feeds other papers’ pages these day.

Restaurants, museums, bars, and libraries are allegedly open, except in Montgomery County, where Kommissar Marc Elrich curiously has kept his iron boot on the throat of the county’s attempts to come back to life… and most libraries remain closed

Plein Air painting has always been a refreshing genre of art production, and our area boasts some of the best plein air painting events, perhaps none better than the one held in Easton, but one a bit closer to the DMV and just as good is and a lot closer is the one in Ellicot City.

In that annual event, artists from around the region gather in Ellicott City – this year the weekend of June 10-13 -- for Paint It! Ellicott City 2021.

This year, the Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) and Visit Howard County have partnered to host this paint-out weekend culminating in an exhibit of 30 juried artists at the Howard County Center for the Arts.

The guest juror for Paint It! Ellicott City 2021 is award-winning landscape artist Lynn Mehta, who selected the following artists for the juried exhibit: Lissa Abrams, Bruno Baran, Pamela Betts, Julia Bowden, Cathy Cole, Shawn Costello, Ann Crostic, David Drown, Vlad Duchev, Kathleen Gray Farthing, Kathleen Ryan Gardiner, Erin Gill, Marita Hines, Nishita Jain, Rajendra KC, Jane Knighton, Kathleen Kotarba, Michael Kotarba, Laura Martinez-Bianco, Michael McSorley, Amanda Milliner, Christine Rapa, Tom Ritchie, J. Stacy Rogers, Duane Sabiston, Maggii Sarfaty, Stacey Sass, Lida Stifel, Nancy Thomas, and Nancy Van Meter.

The event begins with a virtual Welcome Reception & Event Kick-Off via Zoom on Wednesday, June 9 at 4pm. Then, all day on June 10-13, artists will set up their easels throughout Ellicott City’s historic district to capture the picturesque charm of the beloved mill town. Members of the public are invited to watch the artists at work from a safe distance while strolling Main Street. Artists and art students from the community can also be part of the fun by participating in the Open Paint-Out, which takes place concurrently. Artwork created during the Open Paint-Out will be featured in a temporary exhibit at the Visit Howard County Welcome Center on Main Street.

A virtual reception on Friday, June 18 from 6-7pm will include an award ceremony for the exhibit of juried artists’ work. More than $7,000 in awards will be presented, including the coveted Gino Awards, two $1,000 cash prizes named in honor of artist Gino Manelli and presented by the Manelli Famil

Other awards include a $500 award sponsored by Patapsco Heritage Greenway, a $500 award by Blossoms of Hope, and a $150 Open Paint award sponsored by the Family of Carole Zink.

Registration is required for those wishing to be included in the Open Paint-Out exhibit. Registration is available at the Arts Council and online at hocoarts.org/paint-it before and during the event.

Awright… you didn’t think that was all… did you? Here what I’m gonna do now: even though this event hasn’t happened as my talented hand type this column, I’m gonna take the extraordinary risk of looking at some of these artists’ online footprint and pick out a few faves.

Kathleen Kotarba’s online presence shows me an artist who really understands the powerful effect which light can deliver at the hands of a talented artist. Her paintings are infused with the ever fluid colors of light at different times of the day, as it touches grass, wood, flowers, trees, people.

Laura Martinez-Bianco is also formidably armed with those same skills as well as a very advanced ability to capture the nuances of light on water and the living nature of water itself. This talented artist also knows her composition, and is one of my favorites to win the top prize at Ellicot City.

Duane Sabiston also stood apart. I like the manner in which his brush takes chances with bold statements in seriously contrasted painting areas within the canvas.

J. Stacy Rogers is another artist who will win an award; enviable technical skill, an eye for the unusual in the landscape and a limitless ability to interpret what most of us “see” when we look at color.

Who else did I like online? Rajendra KC can paint weather variations in the atmosphere with astonishing loose detail! Do not be fooled… only a master can do that.

Nancy Van Meter will also win a prize, maybe the top prize; she’s a professional with almost supernatural talent.

I admire the way in which Maggii Sarfaty goes on trying different things and ways and manners to deliver her art! That is a courageous (and enviable) sign of artistic courage that most artists lack. Sarfaty will not fall into the trap of getting comfortable with any success – she will then knock on another artistic barrier and knock it down. Of all the artists in this event, her work is the one that I am looking the most to discover.

Richard Weiblinger: Hard work pays off

A common complaint from artists is "lack of exhibition opportunities." I usually address this in my Bootcamp for Artists seminar, but (at least in the DMV) there are plenty of exhibition opportunities.

Empirical data? Look at the enviable number of yearly shows that DMV area photographer Richard Weiblinger has been part of since 2011. Check out his work here.

Hard work pays off.

 

2016

• Delaplaine Visual Arts Center Frederick, MD Solo invitational exhibition November 2016
• ArtSpace Herndon Gallery group invitational juried exhibition Herndon, Va. September 2016
• "Water" SE Center for Photography juried exhibition Greenville, South Carolina April 2016
• "Red" A. Smith Gallery invitational juried exhibition Johnson City, Texas April 2016
• "Blossoms of Hope: Moving Forward" 7th Annual juried invitational exhibition Columbia, MD April 2016
• Weinberg Center for the Arts solo invitational exhibition Frederick, MD April 2016 
• Marymount University Barry Gallery Arlington, Va. two person invitational exhibition January - March 2016
• 47th Annual LAG juried exhibition at Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery March 2016
• Circle Gallery juried invitational exhibit Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD Janaury 2016
• “Maryland State of Mind” Maryland General Assembly Maryland House of Delegates Lowe House Office Building Annapolis, MD January -April 2016 

 

2015 

• "Magical Realism" The Arts Barn  juried invitational exhibition Gaithersburg, MD December, 2015
• Washington Artworks Gallery Rockville, MD juried invitational Exhibition Decemberl 2015
• Montpelier Art Center Library Gallery  Solo invitational exhibition September 2015
• "Au Naruel" DelRay Artisans Gallery juried invitational exhibition Alexandria, VA August, 2015
• Washington Printmakers Gallery juried national small works exhibition Washington, DC August 2015
• University of Maryland The Art Gallery: Maryland Federation of Art juried invitational exhibition College Park, MD June 2015
• McLean Project for the Arts juried invitational exhibition Mclean, VA. June 2015
• Hill Center Galleries juried exhibition Washington, DC June 2015
• "Transformations" Pyramid Atlantic Art Center juried invitational exhibition Silver Spring, MD May 2015
• Gallery at Penn Place juried invitational exhibition Bethesda, MD May 2015
• Washington Artworks Gallery Rockville, MD solo invitational Exhibition April 2015
• "My Little Town" Photoworks Gallery, invitational juried exhibit Glen Echo, Md April 2015
• ArtSpace Herndon Gallery "Fine Art Photography Exhibit" Herndon, Va. March 2015
• "Focal Point" Circle Gallery juried invitational exhibit Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD March 2015
• “The Guild” Maryland General Assembly Maryland House of Delegates Lowe House Office Building Annapolis, MD February 2014 
• “What’s On Your Mind” Strathmore Mansion Gallery North Bethesda, MD 24th Annual Strathmore Fine Arts juried exhibition February 2015 
• "The White Show” Washington Artworks Urban by Nature Gallery Rockville, MD juried Exhibition January 2015

 

2014 

• Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery PAL 24th Annual Juried Exhibition Laurel, MD December 2014 
• “Focus” Delaplaine Visual Arts Center Frededrick, MD juried Exhibition Juror: Frank Van Riper August 2014
• Glenview Mansion Gallery Rockville, MD invitational Exhibition September 2014 
• Hill Center Galleries Washington, DC juried Exhibition Juror: Phiip Kennicott Art Critic The Washington Post October 2014 
• “Beach Comber Art” AnnMarie Art Center Dowell, MD juried Exhibition August 2014 
• “Florally Inspired” Dorchester Center for the Arts Cambridge, MD invitational Exhibition June 2014 
• University of Maryland Art Gallery "MD Art at College Park" College Park, MD juried Exhibition June 2014 
• "A Burst of Color” Washington Artworks Urban by Nature Gallery Rockville, MD juried Exhibition May 2014 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition April 2014 
• 37th Annual Art on Paper Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition March 2014 
• “Unique Visions” Hodgson Art Gallery Frederick Community College Frederick, MD Solo Exhibition March 2014 
• “Warmer” Whitaker Gallery Hood College Frederick, MD invitational Exhibition March 2014 
• Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery LAG 45th Annual Juried Exhibition Laurel, MD March 2014 
• ArtSapce Herndon Fine Art Photography juried exhibition Herdon, VA March 2014 
• Strathmore Mansion Gallery North Bethesda, MD 23rd Annual Strathmore Fine Arts juried exhibition March 2014 
• “Love is in the Air” Photoworks Gallery Glen Echo, MD juried exhibition March 2014 
• “A Case of the Reds” Maryland General Assembly Lowe House Office Building Annapolis, MD January 2014 
• “Color in January” iDorchester Center for the Arts Cambridge, MD invitational Exhibition January 2014 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition January 2014 
• “A celebration of Color” Washington Gallery of Photography Rockville, MD juried Exhibition January 2014

 

2013 

• Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery PAL 23rd Annual Juried Exhibition Laurel, MD December 2013 
• “Up Close and Personal” BlackRock Center for the Arts Main Gallery Solo Exhibition November 2013 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition September 2013 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD 13th Annual American Landscapes juried Exhibition August 2013 
• “Local Color 2013” Artists' Gallery Columbia, MD juried Exhibition July 2013 
• MD Art at College Park University of Maryland Art Gallery College Park, MD juried Exhibition June 2013 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition 2nd Place Award May 2013 
• “Drawing for Art” Strathmore Mansion Gallery North Bethesda, MD juried exhibition April 2013 
• Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery LAG 44th Annual Juried Exhibition Laurel, MD March 2013 
• Maryland General Assembly Lowe House Office Building Annapolis, MD “On The Verge” invitational Exhibition February 2013 
• “Points of View” Strathmore Mansion Gallery North Bethesda, MD juried exhibition January 2013 
• “Nature in Focus” Howard County Center for the Arts Ellicott City, MD invitational Exhibition January 2013 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition January 2013

 

2012 

• Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery PAL 22nd Annual Juried Exhibition Laurel, MD December 2012 
• Delaplaine Visual Arts Center Frederick, MD 2nd Annual Juried Photography Exhibition November 2012 
• “Focus on Color” The Arts Barn Gaithersburg MD invitational Exhibition November 2012 
• “Under the Influence” Harmony Hall Arts Center Gallery Fort Washington, MD invitational Exhibition October 2012 
• “Let There be Color” BlackRock Center for the Arts Main Gallery Solo Exhibition October 2012 
• York Art Association Woodward Gallery York, PA 42nd Annual Juried Exhibition October 2012 
• “Xl-XS University of Maryland Art Gallery College Park, MD juried Exhibition August 2012 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD “12th Annual American Landscapes juried Exhibition August 2012 Jurors Choice Award 
• “Unique Visions” Bernice Kish Gallery at Slayton House Columbia, MD Solo Exhibition September 2012 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition July 2012 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition May 2012 Honorable Mention 
• Gallery West Alexandria, VA 15th Annual National juries Exhibition June 2012
• “Photographic Visions” Ratner Museum Bethesda, MD invitational Exhibition June 2012 
• Gettysburg College Schmucker Art Gallery Gettysburg, PA 9th Annual ACAC Juried Exhibition June 2012 
• “Lotta Art” School 33 Art Center Baltimore, MD invitational Exhibition April 2012  
• Art Association of Harrisburg Harrisburg, PA invitational Exhibition April 2012 
• Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery LAG 43rd Annual Juried Exhibition Laurel, MD March 2012 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD “35th Art on Paper” National juried Exhibition March 2012 
• “Focus on Color” Gardiner Gallery Delaplaine Visual Arts Center Frederick, MD Solo exhibition February 2012 
• “Memories from all Directions” Maryland General Assembly Lowe House Office Building Annapolis, MD  invitational Exhibition January 2012

 

2011 

• “Small Wonders” Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD National juried Exhibition December 2011 
• “Visions” Washington Gallery of Photography Rockville, MD Juried Exhibition November 2011  Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition June 2011 
• Academy Art Museum Easton, MD “Focus on Flowers” Solo exhibition June 2011 
• Maryland Federation of Art Circle Gallery Annapolis, MD juried Exhibition May 2011
• Fraser Gallery Bethesda, MD 10th International Fine Art Photography Exhibition March 2011 
• Montpelier Arts Center Main Gallery LAG 42nd Annual Juried Exhibition Laurel, MD March 2011 
• Strathmore Mansion Gallery North Bethesda, MD “20th Annual Fine Arts Exhibition” juried exhibition February 2011

Legal and Financial Education for Artists

Mind your Business!

Click here for the flyer. 

Monday, May 6, 2013

In beautiful Easton, MD 

12:30 pm - 4:30 pm (with breaks and refreshments) 

Avalon Theatre, 40 E. Dover St., Easton MD, 21601

View map HERE

Get the scoop on Copyright Law, Liability Insurance, Business Entities (LLC v. Nonprofit v. Fiscal Sponsorship), and Merchant Services. 

Free! But reservations required.  

Space is limited! Please RSVP to Erin @ 410.467.6700. 

Plein Air–Easton

Plein Air–Easton! Artists Prospectus Released, Dates Announced  

9th Annual Competition & Arts Festival to be Held July 15-21, 2013 

The Competition Prospectus for the 9th Annual Plein Air–Easton! Competition & Arts Festival will be released on January 25, 2013. Release of the prospectus marks the official kickoff of the 2013 event and begins the essential selection process for the next Plein Air–Easton! Competition. Amidst an art movement that has spurred hundreds of competitions across the country, Plein Air–Easton! is America’s premier plein air festival. Some of the best plein air artists from across the country and around the globe converge on Easton and Talbot County to vie for large cash and product prizes during a weeklong art extravaganza. In 2013, more than $20,000 in cash and product prizes will be awarded, plus the opportunity to sell their work to a large audience of art buyers. 

The caliber of artists competing at Plein Air–Easton! has strengthened each year, which has been a crucial component in the festival’s standard of excellence. With such stiff competition, the release of the prospectus offers timely and vital information for artists. The prospectus describes the process for artist entries, gives information about the entry jurist and awards judge, and outlines the competition guidelines. It will be released January 25 on the event website, www.pleinaireaston.com. 

Plein Air–Easton! is a rare opportunity to interact with these artists and experience an up-close view of the spontaneous and exciting art movement form of plein air painting—where artists leave their studios to paint “in the moment” outdoors. In just a few days, hundreds of pieces of some of the best representational art in the world are created and sold, making this a major East Coast art sale and a hot spot for art collectors and enthusiasts.  

The pinnacle of the competition is the Collector’s Preview Party which offers the first opportunity to view and purchase the competition paintings and to see the competition exhibit intact before paintings begin to be sold. Winners are announced during an awards ceremony at the Collectors’ Preview Party.  

Artists, art collectors, art and nature enthusiasts, students, tourists, local businesses, and spectators alike have discovered that this event truly lives up to its slogan of offering “Art for Everyone.” Over the past eight years, Plein Air–Easton! has become one of Easton’s largest events, attracting crowds and consistently posting impressive figures for art sales. 

Important Dates  

January 25, 2013 – Artists’ prospectus released  

March 8, 2013 – Artists deadline to enter juried competition 

March 29, 2013 – Competition artists announced. 

July 15-21, 2013 – Plein Air–Easton! Competition & Arts Festival 

July 19, 2013 – Plein Air–Easton! Collectors’ Preview Party at the Academy Museum 

Plein Air–Easton! is the work of the Avalon Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide diversified arts and educational programs that improve the quality of life in the Mid-Shore region. The Academy Art Museum is the museum venue for the competition exhibit. The event is supported by Friends of Plein Air–Easton!, the Talbot County Arts Council, and corporate, media, product, and communitybased sponsors.  

Mark your calendars now for the 2013 Plein Air–Easton! Competition & Arts Festival to be held July 15-21, 2013, with pre-festival events beginning the week before. 

Plein Air–Easton! highlights are available on an extensive video blog available at www.pleinaireaston.com. 

For information, call 410.822.7297 or visit www.pleinaireaston.com.

2012 Plein Air-Easton names winner

Hiu Lai Chong of Gaithersburg, MD is the grand prize winner of 2012 Plein Air-Easton, the Avalon Foundation announced on July 22. Chong’s nocturnal painting of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse (pictured) also won the Artists’ Choice Award.

Plein Air-Easton is a top plein air festival nationally, and among Easton’s largest annual events. Ninety-six paintings totaling $121,780 were sold at this year’s Collector’s Preview Party at the Academy Art Museum.

A few years ago I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at the Museum's artists gala and I was pleasantly astounded at both the quality of the work and the sales frenzy that takes place!

Easton and Cambridge

I'll be in Easton and also in Cambridge, Maryland this weekend, relaxing with the family and checking out some of the local art spots and galleries. Too bad I wasn't there on a Wednesday, otherwise I could have hung around the Wednesday Morning Artists:

Wednesday Morning Artists is a diverse group of local artists with a common desire to engage our community in experiencing the arts while cultivating the growing artist community in Cambridge, Maryland and surrounding areas.

Is that cool or what?

More later from Cambridge and Easton.

Congrats!

To 18 year old Bethesda artist Carolyn Becker, who just won the grand prize in the Plein Air Easton, The Next Generation painting competition.

Having been a guest speaker in this competition in the past, I know that it is very difficult and an amazing art experience.

Carolyn also won the Alma Thomas award for painting this past year at American University for her work in the undergraduate show there. She is a painting major at American University.

Keep an eye on this young talented painter.

2010 Whitney Biennial artists announced

From the NYT; 32 of the 55 artists live in New York and 12 in Los Angeles. I am also struck by the number of artists who live in two places at once.

David Adamo
Born 1979 in Rochester, New York; lives in Berlin, Germany

Richard Aldrich
Born 1975 in Hampton, Virginia; lives in Brooklyn, New York

Michael Asher
Born 1943 in Los Angeles, California; lives in Los Angeles, California

Tauba Auerbach
Born 1981 in San Francisco, California; lives in New York, New York

Nina Berman
Born 1960 in New York, New York; lives in New York, New York

Huma Bhabha
JoshuaBorn 1962 in Karachi, Pakistan; lives in Poughkeepsie, New York

Josh Brand
Born 1980 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; lives in Brooklyn, New York

Bruce High Quality Foundation
Founded 2001 in Brooklyn, New York

James Casebere
Born 1953 in East Lansing, Michigan; lives in Brooklyn, New York

Edgar Cleijne and Ellen Gallagher

Dawn Clements
Born 1958 in Woburn, Massachusetts; lives in Brooklyn, New York

George Condo
Born 1957 in Concord, New Hampshire; lives in New York, New York

Sarah Crowner
Born 1974 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; lives in Brooklyn, New York

Verne Dawson
Born 1961 in Meridianville, Alabama; lives in Saluda, North Carolina, and New York, New York

Julia Fish
Born 1950 in Toledo, Oregon; lives in Chicago, Illinois

Roland Flexner
Born 1944 in Nice, France; lives in New York, New York

Suzan Frecon
Born 1941 in Mexico, Pennsylvania; lives in New York, New York

Maureen Gallace
Born 1960 in Stamford, Connecticut; lives in New York, New York

Theaster Gates
Born 1973 in Chicago, Illinois; lives in Chicago, Illinois

Kate Gilmore
Born 1975 in Washington, DC; lives in New York, New York

Hannah Greely
Born 1979 in Los Angeles, California; lives in Los Angeles, California

Jesse Aron Green
Born 1979 in Boston, Massachusetts; lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and Los Angeles, California

Robert Grosvenor
Born 1937 in New York, New York; lives in Long Island, New York

Sharon Hayes
Born 1970 in Baltimore, Maryland; lives in New York, New York

Thomas Houseago
Born 1972, Leeds, England; lives in Los Angeles, California

Alex Hubbard
Born 1975 in Toledo, Oregon; lives in Brooklyn, New York

Jessica Jackson Hutchins
Born 1971 in Chicago, Illinois; lives in Portland, Oregon

Jeffrey Inaba
Born 1962 in Los Angeles, California; lives in New York, New York

Martin Kersels
Born 1960 in Los Angeles, California; lives in Los Angeles, California

Jim Lutes
Born 1955 in Fort Lewis, Washington; lives in Chicago, Illinois

Babette Mangolte
Born 1941 in Montmorot (Jura), France; lives in New York, New York

Curtis Mann
Born 1979 in Dayton, Ohio; lives in Chicago, Illinois

Ari Marcopoulos
Born 1957 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; lives in Sonoma, California

Daniel McDonald
Born 1971 in Los Angeles, California; lives in New York, New York

Josephine Meckseper
Born 1964 in Lilienthal, Germany; lives in New York, New York

Rashaad Newsome
Born 1979 in New Orleans, Louisiana; lives in New York, New York

Kelly Nipper
Born 1971 in Edina, Minnesota; lives in Los Angeles, California

Lorraine O'Grady
Born 1934 in Boston, Massachusetts; lives in New York, New York

R. H. Quaytman
Born 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts; lives in New York, New York

Charles Ray
Born 1953 in Chicago, Illinois; lives in Los Angeles, California

Emily Roysdon
Born 1977 in Easton, Maryland; lives in New York, New York, and Stockholm, Sweden

Aki Sasamoto
Born 1980 in Yokohama, Japan; lives in Brooklyn, New York

Aurel Schmidt
Born 1982 in Kamloops, British Columbia; lives in New York, New York

Scott Short
Born 1964 in Marion, Ohio; lives in Chicago, Illinois

Stephanie Sinclair
Born 1973 in Miami, Florida; lives in New York, New York, and Beirut, Lebanon

Ania Soliman
Born 1970 in Warsaw, Poland; lives in Basel, Switzerland, and New York, New York

Storm Tharp
Born 1970 in Ontario, Oregon; lives in Portland, Oregon

Tam Tran
Born 1986 in Hue, Vietnam; lives in Memphis, Tennessee

Kerry Tribe
Born 1973 in Boston, Massachusetts; lives in Los Angeles, California, and Berlin, Germany

Piotr Uklański
Born 1968 in Warsaw, Poland; lives in New York, New York, and Warsaw, Poland

Lesley Vance
Born 1977 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; lives in Los Angeles, California

Mariane Vitale
Born 1973 in New York, New York; lives in New York, New York

Erika Vogt
Born 1973 in East Newark, New Jersey; lives in Los Angeles, California

Pae White
Born 1963 in Pasadena, California; lives in Los Angeles, California

Robert Williams
Born 1943 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, lives in Chatsworth, California

AWA at Easton

Easton's hard working South Street Gallery has a terrific exhibition hosting the work of the members of the American Women Artists (AWA) organization.

AWA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the inspiration, celebration and encouragement of women in the Arts and its current president is the very talented DC area master plein air painter Bethanne Kinsella Cople. The exhibition at South Street is a juried show that received 750 entries from which 64 works by non-member artists and 46 works by AWA members were accepted.

The exhibit ends November 8, 2009.

Laura Roulet's Top 10

DC area ubercurator Laura Roulet needs little introduction, she's one of the major freelance curators in the DMV region, whose curatorial hand has been part of the Hirshhorn, Museum of the Americas, to name a few off the top of my head. She responds to my AOM call and sends me her top 10 artists in this year's Artomatic:

- Tim Tate and the Washington Glass School artists
- The group of artists from Sunderland, UK are outstanding, particularly Andrew Livingstone, Midori Shinmura and Theresa Easton
- Laurel Lukaszewski
- Jessica Van Brakle
- Johanna Mueller
- Mike McDermott
- Mark Jude
- Corwin Levi
- Stephanie Booth
- "Space Between", a collaboration between John M. Adams, J.T. Kirkland and Matt Sargent

Museum Shooting Suspect Details

The man suspected of walking into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and opening fire Wednesday has a long trail of vitriol and vindictiveness.

According to the AskART Web site, which features the work of James W. von Brunn, he was born in St. Louis on July 11, 1920. The birth date jibes with real estate records of a James W. von Brunn who lives in Maryland. He is listed as living in either Annapolis or Easton.

Details from NPR story here and here.

President Obama issued the following statement in regards to the shooting:

"I am shocked and saddened by today's shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms. No American institution is more important to this effort than the Holocaust Museum, and no act of violence will diminish our determination to honor those who were lost by building a more peaceful and tolerant world.

"Today, we have lost a courageous security guard who stood watch at this place of solemn remembrance. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this painful time."

Michael Janis: AOM Top 10

It has been a tradition of this blog for many years to publish various AOM Top 10 lists as they are sent in by anyone and everyone who wants to send one. In the past these Top 10 Artomatic lists have even resulted in gallery shows for the mentioned artists.

So start sending me your Top 10 Artomatic picks this year; meanwhile, below is Michael Janis' top 10:

Megan Van Wagoner Level 8 mixed media

David D'Orio Level 9 wall mounted glass sculpture

Theresa Easton Level 5 print & books

Matthew Langley Level 2 painting

James Halloren Level 9 painting

Sarah Blood Level 5 neon/ceramic

Carin Quinn Level 3 painting

Mark Tolson Level 7 painting

Drew Graham Level 2 wall sculpture

Peter Chang (the Document collaborative) Level 2 mixed media

Spring Break in NYC

By Robin Tierney

Here’s a cure for cabin fever: a recession-priced escape to Manhattan.

Look for a discount fare on the Amtrak Acela (tip: board the no-cellphone “Quiet Car”). Rate-surf for the New Yorker Hotel, an architectural classic one block from Penn Station. It completed a massive renovation in time for the economic bust, so you can get a bargain and colossal views. Next, buy a $74 CityPass that gets you VIP admission at a bunch of iconic venues, and a $7.50 FunPass for 24 hours of unlimited subway riding on days you don’t feel like walking, although walking’s easy from this central location.

Now, some quick takes from my long weekend of art-spotting.

Big venues are scrambling more than ever to lure more visitors. The Metropolitan Museum of Art hit the bell with its new “It’s Time We Met” ad campaign built on photos submitted by museum-goers. Winners got a couple hundred bucks and an annual pass. So if you dream of having work shown at the Met, instead of slaving over a hot canvas just click some whimsical scenes with your cellphone.

So I shouldn’t have been surprised when security sentry Guy Anglade told me that visitors have asked which way to the “We Met at the Met” exhibition. Anglade shook his head: “Forget Carravaggio, where are the Flickr photos?”

"Six-year-old emulating Edward Hopper! His own choice, said his mother."
By Robin Tierney
The supersized images are plastered on billboards, buses and fencing in front of the museum. Evidently in the social media age, there’s an unquenchable thirst for acts of cuteness executed against fine art. Imagine your life’s work functioning as a background for goof-shots.

One special exhibition revisited the debate that won’t die: “is photography art?” “Walker Evans and the Picture Postcard” arrested scores of onlookers during my visit with its documents of Americana arcana culled from the photographer’s collection of 9,000 postcards. For most of the cards, the photographers remain unknown, but several of Walker’s own postcard creations are on view. Through his 1936 experiments, he taught himself to crop for maximum clarity and intensity. Walker then worked decades to free this humble genre from the pigeon-hole of nostalgia and get respect as an art form.


Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975) View of Easton, Pennsylvania (variant), 1935 Postcard format gelatin silver print 8.6 x 13.7 cm (3 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.)
Whatever you call them, their allure overpowers: viewers studied b&w and hand-colored portraits of beach towns, main streets, train depots, river ports, windswept cliffs, hometown jubilees, fan-dancers, sanitarium patients. The alchemy of documentary and lyricism includes original Coney Island amusements (“Atlantis, the Sunken City”), San Francisco’s Valencia Hotel vaulted out into the street by an earthquake, even an electric chair at Sing Sing prison.

The postcard exhibition closes May 25; check out curator Jeff Rosenheim’s terrific catalog.

Across the hall, I caught the final day of “Reality Check: Truth and Illusion in Contemporary Photography.” Interesting selections included faux-to-journalist David Levinthal’s staged battle using toy soldiers, flour and plastic bags shot using a very narrow depth of field. Mark Wyse documents a squirrel ignored in the road after falling to his death in his “Marks of Indifference” series.

Downstairs, “Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors” offered an opportunity to observe the graphic shorthand of dots, dashes, loops, spirals and zigzags the modernist used to record images and to compose paintings.

Make time to meander in Central Park.

Just south of the park you can overdose on eccentricities all day at MoMA (AKA the Museum of Modern Art). Sleep-deprived, I lacked the patience to mine for meaning in the temporary exhibitions that left me plagued by an earworm of “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” (from “Gypsy”). Such as Klara Liden’s projects, partly due to the medium designation of “interventions.” And a performance artist’s self-imposed year-long confinement to a cell. “Four Decades of Contemporary Art” felt like a Target commercial on drugs.

The ennui evaporated once I remembered to fetch my MoMA audio tour.

It’s worth scaling the steps for the survey spotlighting Martin Kippenberger, who has lambasted the vagaries of modern culture in nearly every medium. Consider “Psycho buildings” and the sprawling recession-ready installation presenting job interview as sporting event, complete with bleachers and cheerleaders.

MoMA admission gets you a free all-day ticket to use when you wish at P.S.1, the contemporary/indie art haven two subway stops east in Queens.


"Cheerful New York Graffiti in Building near P.S. 1"
By Robin Tierney
Speaking of gimmicks, even art-grumps might crack a smile at the swimming pool that mixes false bottom with false illusions. Darker spectacles play out on dual-sided screens showing Kenneth Anger’s surrealistic brain dumps. His lyrical 40s-style b&w “Faux D’Artifice” held me spellbound while others crowded before flickering frames of Coney Island biker escapades in “Scorpio Rising.”

Jonathan Horowitz commanded a bunch of spaces with jarring works in a range of media. Player piano playing songs from the Who’s “Tommy” paired with disturbing clips from “The Miracle Worker” and other movies. Commentary amusing and sinister about politics and celebrity, the universal appeal of violence and scandal, and imperialism as foreign policy and entertainment from the Roman Empire onward. It’s interesting. Really.

Watching Yael Bartana’s videos of vehicles eerily coming to a stop on a dark highway made me contemplate the narcotic effect of film, especially after I nodded off for an uncertain duration until a lady guard told me it was closing time.

Lecturin' at the Museum



My world famous lecture on collecting contemporary art (a primer for art collectors), which includes a bonus lecture on fun art history.

Wanna go to an opening in Easton, MD?

I love Easton - it is such a gorgeous little artsy Maryland town... anyway, the South Street Gallery is having an opening reception for two classical realism masters this Friday.

Ed Ahlstrom lives in Frederick County, Maryland, is a professor in the Art Department of Montgomery College where he teaches classes in landscape painting, portraiture, and watercolor. Texas-born, Louis Escobedo now lives in Baltimore County, Maryland. Louis received his BFA from Sam Houston University. His paintings have received numerous awards, including the Best of Show from the National Oil Painters of America.

Opening Reception Friday, October 3, 2008 5-9-pm.

Paint Annapolis

You may recall how excited I was about Plein Air Easton earlier this summer (where I was a featured speaker), and I've now just found out about the Seventh Annual "Paint Annapolis," an event taking place the weekend of 18-21 in Annapolis, MD.

Included in Paint Annapolis is "Dueling Brushes," a Saturday morning open air painting competition which brings more than 75 artists to downtown Annapolis to paint from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sept. 20. Right after they are finished and framed, judging starts at noon at Susan Campbell Park at City Dock, where artwork will be for sale right off the artists' easels and if my Easton experiences repeat here, most of them will fly off the easels. The juror is Mark Karnes, a professor at Maryland Institute College of Art for almost 30 years. If you want to register for this event, the deadline is Sept. 19 and details are here.

All through the weekend, members of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association and area high school art students will join the 30 juried artists in this event and all of them will paint throughout the weekend and then hang their wet and framed canvases at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts for exhibition, judging and sales on Sept. 21.

On that day, a ticketed VIP "Collectors' Preview" champagne reception will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Chaney Gallery. At 4PM the general public gets a crack at the paintings and they can cast their vote for the "People's Choice" award and attend the public reception, which is free, from 4 to 6 p.m.

An information tent will be located by the Market House, and schedule updates can be found at www.paintannapolis.com.

If you want to get a taste of plein air panting, check out the below video from the similar plein air event in beautiful Easton, Maryland earlier this summer.

In case you haven't seen it...

Plein Air Easton, Part I is here... and the art market is not dead in Easton!

Art Talk Tonight

Tonight at 7PM I will be at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland giving a spirited talk on art history and collecting art.

See ya there!

Inn at 202 Dover

Arrived today for my working stint at Plein Air Easton.

What a gorgeous little town this place has turned out to be: essentially a town made up of art galleries, cool restaurants, mom & pop shops, a town theatre, a couple of museums, and an amazing inn.

We're staying at the Inn at 202 Dover... a gorgeous place to stay and clearly a place where the owners have placed a lot of love and effort in refurbishing this 19th century home into a beautiful inn with a classy restaurant (which just happens to have a Cuban-born chef!).

We're staying at the Asian Suite, as each room in this world class inn has a specific motiff and focus. The room is decorated with beautiful Asian furniture and original Ukiyo-e woodblocks on the walls as well as a couple of rare antique Asian puppets.

And a steam shower... and a lounge room with a hi def TV and a decanter with sherry...

So far I am most definitely impressed. Just on day one this place gets my highest endorsement.

At 5:30PM we hung around for happy hour at the inn... and it didn't disappoint, as the chef popped in with some tasty food, which included what can be best described as my first exposure of what happens when Southern cooking (let's say fritters) meet Cuban food (let's say WOW!).

Then I walked over to a local restaurant called ... ah... called Restaurant Local, where we had some good happy hour vittles on their sidewalk tables, listening to a local play the guitar, and you won't believe this: a $5 pitcher of beer in a fancy restaurant!

So far Easton gets a rave review from me, and the Inn at 202 Dover is certainly the special place to stay if you ever come by to visit this beautiful Maryland spot.

We saw quite a few artists already painting out on the streets; more tomorrow as we begin to focus on the visual arts.

This Week: Easton, MD

As I've discussed before, just four years ago Plein Air Easton got started as artists worldwide have begun to return to painting in the Plein Air style, and once again, as they did in 19th century Europe, are leaving their studios to paint and draw outside... on roadsides, on the beach, on top of mountains, in their gardens and yards, and even in city streets to capture landscapes, still lifes, figures and architecture in their natural elements.



I've said that I thought that the resurgence of this movement, much like it happened in Europe in the 19th century, may be a reaction to the overwhelming presence of technology in our daily lives. And that's OK; there's room for plein air painter and digital photographers and technogeeks artists in the art world.

The festival goes from Monday, July 21 - Sunday, July 27, 7:00am-5pm... but there are tons of associated events in the gorgeous and tiny Maryland village. All the details are here.

I will be speaking at 7PM at the Academy Art Museum on the subject of contemporary art, collecting, artists and art in general. I promise to make you laugh if you come by and you may just also learn a few things about art.

So, come on Saturday, July 26, 7:00pm - details here (scroll down).

See ya there!