This is what student artwork looks like

These are all from about the same period (1977-1981) when I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art...

A good look at what student artwork looks like... explorative... right?All over the place... reacting to assignments, to teachers, to fellow students...

Most of these were sold right after they were graded, as I used to sell my artwork at the Pike Place Market in Seattle... also between 1977-1981.

 

To the black bloc idiots...

Wake effect...

Both these pieces, most recently exhibited at Context Art Miami, are heading to Hawaii to the home of the same collector...

The Boy Wonder, Alone. c.2016 by F. Lennox Campello, charcoal on paper

The Batman, Brooding. c.2016 by F. Lennox Campello. Charcoal on Paper

Goodbye and Hello, and Bill, Bill, Bill...

As I've done for every Prez since I started the blog, I was gonna say "Thank you for your service... fair winds and following seas" to President Obama and "Welcome to the Jungle Swamp!" to President Trump...

And then Bill Clinton stole the show:

D .C. exhibit highlights art banned in Russia

PRESENTED BY: CHARLES KRAUSE/REPORTING FINE ART, Washington’s only gallery exclusively dedicated to showing political art. Founded in 2011, the gallery has a new exhibition space in the DACHA LOFT Building, 1602 Seventh Street NW, 2nd fl., Washington, DC 20001 

INAUGURAL WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Jan 20th, 21st and 22nd (11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Normal weekend hours: SAT/SUN 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (through March 6) Weekdays by Appointment (202-638-3612)

Elise Campello: This is what you came for

My youngest daughter on stage...

Talking about entertainment... a peeps of mine who lives in NYC, was sitting in a booth in a fancy Manhattan hangout, and he overheard a couple of dudes in the booth behind his discussing a talk show for Hillary Clinton.

He says that the suits were talking as though they were in the final stages of the deal, rather than as an "idea."

Interesting.... right???

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this rip off art scammer:

From:   "Dave Gordon"

Hello,
I would like to make an order for some works.
Do you ship internationally?
Let me know if payment is accepted by Master card or Visa card.

Regards,
Dave Gordon

 The scam works like this.

Opportunity for PG artists!

Deadline to Apply: January 30th, 2017, 4:00PM
$500 Honorarium

 

The Prince George’s County Traffic Box Art Wrap project, coordinated by the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation (Hyattsville CDC), funded by The Prince George’s County Executive’s Community Partnership Grant, with the support of Prince George’s Department of Public Works and Transportation (PGDPW&T), is announcing a Call for Artists.  

Hyattsville CDC seeks five (5) designs for reproduction on vinyl wraps to cover 11 traffic boxes, at pre-determined sites within Prince George’s County. Traffic signal cabinets – the grey metal structures located at every signalized intersection – are vulnerable to graffiti and vandalism.  This project will utilize a public art application to address community blight and enhance the visual landscape, focusing on boxes located in the county’s T.N.I (Transforming Neighborhoods Initiative) communities.

This call is open to all artists, graphic designers, illustrators, and photographers who currently live or work within Prince George’s County.  Submitted designs must be original artwork and can be created in any medium, so long as it can be represented in, and is submitted as, a high-resolution digital image without loss of integrity or quality.

View full Call for Artists

Open Studio - Go see this!

17 graduating artists!

Artists & Makers Studios Presents
“Compass Atelier Thesis Exhibition”
with seventeen graduating artists 

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn in Rockville will present one exhibit in three galleries for the month of February. The first 17 member graduating class of The Compass Atelier’s Master Artist Program will present their Thesis Exhibition. The Compass Atelier is an art school located within the Artists & Makers Studios flagship studio center on Parklawn Drive. The Atelier runs a unique program of study called the Master Artist Program (MAP). The MAP is a 3-year fully comprehensive course of study for painters looking to master their craft and achieve a professional practice. Students spend their entire third year developing a thesis—a series of paintings exploring a personal and well-executed concept.

“Compass Atelier Thesis Exhibition”
with seventeen graduating artists

Opening Reception

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Friday, February 3, 2017

Artists & Makers Studios

11810 Parklawn Dr., Suite 210

Rockville, MD 20852

Additionally A&M is proud to also present exhibits at Artists & Makers Studios 2 at 12276 Wilkins Avenue in Rockville, just 9/10’s of a mile from the flagship location. “Desolate Beauty: Desert Landscapes” with photographer Alex Keto - an exhibit of desert landscapes that captures the desolate beauty of the American Southwest. Although deserts are known for their wide-open vistas and immense horizons, the land features a sense of light found nowhere else. Additionally “What’s Your Passion” in the New Masters Gallery and “5 by 5” with five members of the Montgomery County Camera Club will fill the galleries at Wilkins, along with artists’ open studios.

Exhibits at both locations open Friday, February 3rd, and continue through Thursday, February 23rd, 2017.  Viewing hours are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Saturdays, and Sundays/Mondays by chance or appointment.

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville, established in October 2014 by artist and arts community builder Judith HeartSong, is a 13,000 sq. ft. facility is home to 68 resident artists. Newly opened Artists & Makers Studios 2 on Wilkins Avenue in Rockville is a 23,000 sq. ft. facility with 49 resident artists and more to come. A&M Studios is dedicated to providing a supportive and vibrant environment for artists to realize their creative goals - through studio practice, collaboration, education, opportunities, networking and connecting with the community beyond their doors. 

Auction Good Deals!

These two signed framed prints (each from a tiny edition of 2) are being offered at a starting bid that is less than the cost of the frames!

See them here...

Anatomy of a another commission

Background: At the 2016 SOFA art fair in Chicago, a local Chicago collector acquired one of my large drawings, and told the gallery that he'd like to discuss possibly commissioning two additional pieces in the same size to create a full wall.

Subsequently the collector and I get in touch, and via email we begin coordinating the commission(s). Essentially he wants two additional pieces that can work together... almost like a planned triptych.

The work that the collector already has, depicts a nude woman, jumping from the upper left of the composition into open space. He actually comes up with an excellent idea: The left-most piece would be the same figure, but walking from left to right; the middle piece is again the same figure, but climbing a ladder to the upper right. His piece, then would show her jumping into space.

I really like the idea, and he also tells me that he's open to other suggestions... I tell him that I'll do some rough sketches...here's what I've come up with:

That's his idea above, and then I come up with a couple of different versions:

In this version, the center figure is on a swing... I also send him a rough sketch of that center piece:

And one last version, where the center figure is on stilts:

And a rough sketch of the "new" middle piece:

And now... let's see where we go next!