Register for DC Arts Commission Grants Workshops and Live Chats

 From the DC Commision:

Learn more about our current funding opportunities through our upcoming workshops and live chats. We strongly encourage all applicants, especial first-timers, to join any that are relevant to opportunities you're considering applying for.

FY23 General Operating Support (GOS) Workshop 4pm ET, Wednesday, February 16

RSVP for the FY23 GOS Workshop

FY22/23 Grants Live Chat 2:30pm ET, Friday, February 11

Register for this FY22/FY23 Grants Live Chat

FY22 Color the Curb-School Safety Program 12:30pm ET, Tuesday, February 15

Register for this FY22 CTC Live Chat

FY22/23 Grants Live Chat 2:30 pm ET, Friday, February 18

Register for this FY22/FY23 Grants Live Chat

You can find out about additional workshops and live chats on our website.

View our Application Assistance page

How NOT to sign artwork

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Call to Artists: Submit Artwork for WPA Collectors’ Night 2022

WPA invites artwork submissions for Collectors' Night 2022, their annual benefit auction, which will be held online on Artsy for two weeks in June and will kick off with an event and preview exhibition in DC. The auction’s theme this year—Your Presence is the Best Art—is inspired by the artist James Lee Byars (1932–1997) and celebrates our return to gathering together.

Artworks can be submitted online via this link here. The deadline is Sunday, February 27 at 11:59 pm EST.

Before applying, please review the eligibility & selection requirements carefully. WPA will split sale proceeds with artists 50-50. 

There is no submission fee.

Open Call: April-June Studio Residency at Otis Street Arts Project

Open Call: April-June Studio Residency at Otis Street Arts Project

Otis Street Arts Project is looking for an excited, inspired artist to temporarily join the O.S.A.P. community for a one-time, short-term studio residency. This is a free residency with no fees attached. 

Artists are free to work on projects of their choosing, and are expected to provide their own materials and tools. Artists are expected to work a minimum of 15 hours a week. Artists must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

There is no fee to apply. This residency is open to applicants of all backgrounds and experience levels. Applications are due March 7, 2022 for a residency period of April 1—June 30, 2022.

Benefits include:

• 10x10' studio space with lots of natural light

• Participation in Open Studios May 14th and group exhibition at Otis Street Arts Project.

• Access to Otis Street Arts Project's collaborative community of 11 artists working in a wide variety of disciplines

• Minimal furniture (table and chair)

• Heating and air conditioning

• Loading dock

• Key for studio access

This residency does not include:

• Housing

How to apply

 

To apply, please submit the following via our Google form: https://forms.gle/J45f1huBKEw8BbcT7

If you do not have a Google account or have difficulty with the form please contact OSAP at info@otisstreetarts.org.

• Answers to these questions:

  • What would you work on?

  • What are you hoping to gain from this residency?  

  • How would this residency further your goals?

• 3-5 images or video links that are representative of your work

• Image guide with captions/descriptions

• A short bio

Apply by: 3/7/2022

Notifications by: 3/18/2022

The Business of the Arts: How To Develop an Art Exhibition and Pop Up

From the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities: The Business of the Arts: How To Develop an Art Exhibition and Pop Up Wednesday, February 9, 2022 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm ET via Webex Click here to register A brief checklist and discussion to help anyone who is contemplating running a pop-up shop. It takes the form of a list of questions and statements we recommend you consider before you go any further. Make sure you have considered every aspect and have an idea of how to answer most of them.

The Business of the Arts Professional Development Series aims to provide knowledge and skills related to fundraising and development, marketing and public relations, legal concerns and entrepreneurship. Free workshops and seminars are led by accomplished professionals and subject matter experts. Unless otherwise noted, workshop facilitators are independent professionals, not employees or affiliates of CAH or the District of Columbia government. The views expressed are their own and not necessarily those of CAH or the District of Columbia government. Please be advised that this workshop will include live real-time captioning via Webex. For reasonable accommodation requests, please contact Travis Marcus prior to the start of this event.

CAMP Rehoboth Call for Art

You are being invited to submit artwork for consideration in FEST ART 2022!, an exciting community exhibition that will be displayed in the CAMP Rehoboth Gallery from April 7 to 30, 2022, with an Open House Reception planned for Friday, April 8, from 3 to 5 p.m.

Women’s FEST is planning for entertainment and many fun events this year, and we are happy to report that this popular annual art show will be one of them! Join us as we celebrate the arts and artists in an exhibition that features the work of Delaware’s women artists, and artists of all genders.

To be considered, please complete the submission and agreement form by March 6 at 11:59 p.m. You will be asked to provide information about yourself and upload jpegs or files of up to three of your original works.

 

FEST ART 2022! Submission and Agreement Form

 

FEST ART 2022! is an outlet for creative expression via all art forms - painting, drawing, sculpture, 3D, ceramics, photography, videography, and more! FEST ART 2022! is a juried exhibition, and you will be notified of your acceptance by March 12, 2022.

 

CAMP Rehoboth will promote the exhibition and the artists on social media and in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. We will also include the art on the CAMP Rehoboth website, allowing individuals who cannot be there in person to view and purchase the art. A sizable number of sales have been made both in person and via the website. The 25% commission on artwork sold will be used to support CAMP Rehoboth’s arts programs, including exhibitions, Art Markets, performances, and more.

 

Key Dates
FEST ART 2022! Exhibition dates: April 7 to 30, 2022
Open house reception:  Friday, April 8, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Registration Closes:  March 6, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.
Notification of Acceptance:  March 12, 2022
Artwork Drop off:  March 31, April 1 and 2, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., or by special arrangement

Pick up of unsold artwork:  May 2, 3, or 4, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., or by special arrangement

 

CAMP Rehoboth, located at 37 Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, is thrilled to host FEST ART 2022!, and we hope that your artwork will be part of it!

My first TikTok video!

 My first TikTok video!

See it here.

On the Washington Commanders

Everyone who is serving, has served, or has been a Navy brat reacted like this when it was announced that the Washington teams which plays professional football in the NFL had been renamed the Washington Commanders: "... they way that they play not even Lieutenant Commanders..."

#washingtoncommanders #washingtonfootballteam #washington #nfl #dmv

How to sign (and NOT sign) an artwork

One of the most common mistakes that I've seen across the decades, mostly from beginning artists, but often also from experienced artists with limited exhibition exposure, is artwork which is defaced or ruined by an offending signature.

I most clarify: no one will ever complain about the size or placement of a Picasso signature on a real Picasso (lots of fakes out there).  But for most of us, an improperly placed signature, either location and or size, will sometimes deliver a negative impression upon a gallerist or a collector.

The impression delivered is "amateur."

A signature is important, and artists should and must always sign their artwork, to both document the provenance and identity of the work, for both contemporary and future generations, but also because in today's art world, it is expected -- both by gallerists and collectors.

Let's bring Picasso back into the discussion: a unsigned Picasso, even with a well-documented provenance, is generally worth nearly half of what a signed Picasso brings at auction.  Nothing exemplifies the power of an artistic signature like the commodity aspect of art.

The mandate then to artists is: sign your damn work! Usually... usually, collectors do not care where the work is signed, and "reticent" artists always have the option to sign the artwork on the back (or verso is the art lingo of the secondary art market).

Here are some visual examples -- see the gorgeous abstract that I just painted on a very large canvas that I recycled from dumpster diving at American University - it had a series of yellow dots on an otherwise blank, beautiful 40x60, nicely stretched canvas.

The curious coincidence of being surrounded by yellow
2022 abstract painting by F. Lennox Campello 40x60 inches

And here it is (above) after I sold it! It is signed - on the back, so that the essence of the abstraction remains undisturbed.

Sometimes, rarely but it does happen, a collector may request that you sign the abstract work on the front (it has happened)... in that case, I recommend using a paint that allows the signature to still be seen (if looking for it), but also somewhat blends in. See below...

But the below samples is what I see most often when this common mistake is made - gigantic signatures that deface the work.

I also see signatures on the oddest of locations on the work itself. See below -- as a rule, signatures on artwork (representational work, prints, drawings, etc., should go on the lower right margin. 

But note below, how the large signature, even at the right location, still impacts on the work.

Here is another horrible example of a work-ruining signature.

And this one as well...

In summary -- generally speaking:

• DO NOT sign any artwork with LARGE signatures - when a signature is executed, modulate the signature size so that it can be read, but does not disturb the work
• Sign abstract work on the back
• For representational work, drawings, prints, etc., sign in the lower right margin; do not sign in the artwork compositional surface
• Date the work (optional)

You are welcome!

#arttips #art #artists #tipsforartists

Seaman Schmuckatelli's Dirty Cover

Every once in a while I come across one of these... I used to do a lot of cartoons while I was in the Navy... some were published in base newspapers,  Navy magazines,  Stars & Stripes, etc. 

I gave most of them away over the years... here's one of the fabled Seaman Schmuckatelli (Navy sailors know who this fabled sailor was/is) - do they even have clubs on base anymore??? This one was "Seaman Schmuckatelli Dirty Cover"

Seaman Schmuckatelli's dirty cover
1981 Navy cartoon by Lenny Campello