2023 Northern National Art Competition

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Washington Printmakers Gallery has a new home!

WPG has exciting news! Their gallery is moving to a larger space at 1675 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC, a short walk from their old space!

The opening date for the new space is Friday, January 6, 2023.

With over thirty years in the greater DC metro area as a primary source for contemporary fine art prints and photographs, WPG also contributes to the Washington DC community via teaching, internships, lectures, and the promotion of public art shows. We plan to expand in many ways: not only will our large gallery will let us show more artwork, but we will also initiate a new membership drive – we wish to accept eight to ten new full members. For information on applying, click here.

WPG will also be offering more classes and workshops in a dedicated space for learning: printmaking and photography techniques, three dimensional works on paper, art-related lectures and more. Check our calendar for listings.

The new gallery includes an open air patio in addition to two gallery spaces, and we invite local businesses to hold events amongst our lively artworks. We look forward to seeing you in our new space.

Call for Artists! DO THIS!

 Northern National Art Competition

The 36th Northern National Art Competition is a juried art exhibition in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, co-sponsored by Nicolet College and the Northern Arts Council. The Northern National Art Competition (NNAC) began in 1987 with a mere 37 entries. Today, the show attracts the work of artists from all across the United States with hundreds of entries as diverse as the artists themselves, and showcases a wide array of contemporary art in a variety of two-dimensional mediums.

MORE THAN $8,500 AWARDED WITH THREE $1,000 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

CALENDAR 2023

• Monday, January : Registration opens via CaFÉ
• (Call for Entry) online registration system
• Friday, March 24: Registration deadline
• Friday, April 21: Acceptance notification
• Friday, May 12: Hand delivery by appointment
• Monday, May 15: All shipped work due
• Thursday, June 15: Opening Reception
• Thursday, July 28: Show Closes
• Friday, July 29: Pick up hand delivered work by appointment 

All the details here!

Happy New Year's - Enter this!

Northern National Art Competition

The 36th Northern National Art Competition is a juried art exhibition in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, co-sponsored by Nicolet College and the Northern Arts Council. The Northern National Art Competition (NNAC) began in 1987 with a mere 37 entries. Today, the show attracts the work of artists from all across the United States with hundreds of entries as diverse as the artists themselves, and showcases a wide array of contemporary art in a variety of two-dimensional mediums.

MORE THAN $8,500 AWARDED WITH THREE $1,000 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

CALENDAR 2023

• Monday, January : Registration opens via CaFÉ
• (Call for Entry) online registration system
• Friday, March 24: Registration deadline
• Friday, April 21: Acceptance notification
• Friday, May 12: Hand delivery by appointment
• Monday, May 15: All shipped work due
• Thursday, June 15: Opening Reception
• Thursday, July 28: Show Closes
• Friday, July 29: Pick up hand delivered work by appointment 

All the details here!

Wanna get rid of artwork and get a line in your resume?

I'm always baffled by artists who destroy their own work because of "fill-in-the-blank" reason.

Here's a no fee opportunity to donate your artwork for a good cause and at the same time get a museum show line in your resume.

Deadline: January 10, 2023

This exhibition will feature 6" x 6" artwork displayed in a grid, and auctioned off of sale to raise funds for the Grants Pass Museum of Art. Display your work in the museum and support the arts in Southern Oregon during this fundraising exhibit. The Grants Pass Museum of Art is raising funds that provide free admission for museum visitors, affordable art classes, and amazing programs for kids. This will also be an online auction.

Original artwork(s) get mailed to:

Grants Pass Museum of Art

1630 Williams Hwy, PMB 501

Grants Pass, OR 97527

The artwork will be exhibited in the museum and online from January 20 - February 16, 2023. All accepted work will be exhibited. All work needs to be suitable for audience of all ages, and not infringe on copyright laws. Other than that it is up to you!

No application in advance required. Please fill out the entry form for each entry, and mail it with your work. 

Anyone is eligible to submit artwork. Please be aware that unsold work may not be returned. 100% of the proceeds go to fund the Grants Pass Museum of Art in Southern Oregon. 

Details here.

Pat Goslee at Artists & Makers

Artists & Makers Studios on Parklawn Drive in Rockville starts the new year with Artist Pat Goslee and the exhibit “Patch” along with two additional exhibits and an Open Studio event. The January 6th First Friday evening opening will run from 5pm – 9pm. Enjoy “Open Window” with Resident Artists, and Gallery 209 Artists exhibiting their latest work. Pat Goslee’s arrangements in “Patch” bring hope and joy as patchy remarks on uneven inequalities of time. These are beauty-impregnated substrates operating as patches of visual code suggesting amelioration. A dream of water so clean it can’t be seen. Flora that references the healing powers found in the Peyer’s Patch. And the pleas of fauna for continued mending of ecosystems before more life is lost. In “Open Window” Resident Artists explore landscape from many varied perspectives and practices. The Members’ exhibit is always a visual treat in the long Gallery Hall.

“Patch” with Invited Artist Pat Goslee

“Open Window” with Resident Artists

The Artists of Gallery 209

Opening Reception

5:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Friday, January 6th, 2023

Meet the Artist - January 14th, 2-4pm

Artists & Makers Studios

11810 Parklawn Drive, Suite 210

Rockville, MD 20852

Exhibits for Pat Goslee, the Resident Artists, and Gallery 209 will run from January 4th through January 25th. Viewing hours are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday-Saturday, and Sundays by chance or appointment.

Job in the arts

 Arts Capital Program Coordinator, Public Art Project Manager

Deadline to apply: January 13, 2023 at 4 p.m.

This position is primarily responsible for building the arts capital grant program outlined in Maryland SB323 (2021) and managing public art and projects for MSAC. Incumbent reports to the Executive Director of MSAC and works closely with the Public Art Program Director and with other staff in the management and administration of public art commissions through the Maryland Public Art Commission (MPAC). The focus will be on building an arts capital grant program that distributes $3 million annually to arts organizations and county arts agencies beginning in fiscal year 2024.

The duties for this position include: providing technical assistance, professional development and program evaluation, building the grant program to include researching existing programs in other state agencies and arts councils; facilitating constituent listening sessions; developing program rationale; establishing grant eligibility and criteria; building an application process, form, and rubric; developing applicant and grantee communication templates; establishing grantee reporting requirements; and developing program outcomes and a program evaluation framework. The position manages Commission projects of the Public Art Across Maryland program, assists in the artist selection process for artwork in new or renovated state buildings and public spaces throughout Maryland and works closely with state user agency partners and contracted artists.

For more information and to apply, click here.

Day Eight

 Day Eight is one of the really good art drivers in the the tapestry that makes up the DMV's art scene - Day Eight's accomplishments in 2022 include:

• They published six books of poetry:

•    Ashes to Justice by Shaquetta Nelson (Feb, 2022);
•    The Great World of Days edited by Gregory Luce, Anne Becker and Jeffrey Banks (Mar, 2022);
•    Why We Write, edited by Robert Bettmann, a youth and faculty anthology (June, 2022);
•    Diaspora Café edited by Maritza Rivera and Jeffrey Banks (Aug, 2022);
•    Breaking the Blank by Rebecca Bishophall and Dwayne Lawson-Brown (Nov, 2022);
•    I’d Rather Be A Nerd by 2022 Poet Project winner Dominic McDonald (Dec, 2022)

• They hired six early-career arts writers who authored more than thirty articles through their arts journalism fellowship. They also hosted a conference on The Crisis in Book Review that featured Joyce Carol Oates, Brian Broome, and other literary luminaries, and they produced a week-long summer institute offering intensive training for professional arts writers, including faculty members Geoff Edgers (Washington Post), Emma Sarappo (the Atlantic), and more.

• They produced a group of opportunities for young writers, including an after school series for LGBT youth and allies, five weeks of summer writing camp, and a monthly writing club for girls.

If you support their work, thank you for considering an end of year donation to Day Eight. All contributions are tax deductible. Whether you donate $5 or $500, every little bit helps. Thank you for your support!

To donate on  their Facebook fundraiser, click here.

To make a donation on their website, click here.

Here Are 6 of the Worst Artworks Around the World in 2022

Sarah Cascone and others from ArtNet News pops in with their top bottom... cough... cough... artworks from around the world...

Who says criticism is dead? Sometimes, despite an artist’s best intentions, an artwork misses the mark—at least according to some opinions. Art is delightfully subjective, and we are sure that many people hold dear some of the art our editorial staff found, well, less than perfect.

Read their picks here...

William H. Anderson, R.I.P

It is with deep sadness that I share my father-in-law's passing on Christmas Eve, William H. Anderson (June 29, 1933 - December 24, 2022) - fair winds and following seas shipmate! RIP - we have the watch!

We called him "Pop Pop", and he was perhaps the kindest, gentlest man that I have ever met. Pop Pop welcomed me to his family from the very first day, and we shared Navy stories and that comradery that only Navy shipmates can share. He loved sports, and we all loved watching soccer with him - one of his favorite sports... "Don't kick it back!" was his favorite commentary and one which will always be associated with Pop Pop. This gentle, hard-working, and loving man will be missed, but his teachings and presence will live in his descendants and in our hearts. Fair winds and following seas, old shipmate - we have the watch now.

Wanna show in Howard County, Maryland?

The Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) in Maryland manages two galleries at the Howard County Center for the Arts with over 21,000 square feet of exhibit space. 

HCAC presents 11-12 exhibits per year of national, regional, and local artists, including two-person, small and large group, juried, curated, and community shows.

Visit HCAC's application portal to apply.

A sailor and his date

As many of you know, when I was in the Navy I did loads of illustrations and cartoons for many newspapers (such as The Stars & Stripes and lots of base newspapers, etc.), and hundreds of sketches of my shipmates and other US Navy sailors in ports in the US and European ports. 

Most of these drawings, cartoons, and paintings were given away to my shipmates over the years, but I also kept many of them, and I see them often being sold at auctions online and by galleries... this image was sent to me by someone who bought it at an auction in San Diego and it is part of this vintage group of Navy artwork! It is called "A Sailor and his date".

A Sailor and his date - 1980 drawing by Campello

Northern National Art Competition

Northern National Art Competition

The 36th Northern National Art Competition is a juried art exhibition in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, co-sponsored by Nicolet College and the Northern Arts Council. The Northern National Art Competition (NNAC) began in 1987 with a mere 37 entries. Today, the show attracts the work of artists from all across the United States with hundreds of entries as diverse as the artists themselves, and showcases a wide array of contemporary art in a variety of two-dimensional mediums.

MORE THAN $8,500 AWARDED WITH THREE $1,000 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

CALENDAR 2023

• Monday, January : Registration opens via CaFÉ
• (Call for Entry) online registration system
• Friday, March 24: Registration deadline
• Friday, April 21: Acceptance notification
• Friday, May 12: Hand delivery by appointment
• Monday, May 15: All shipped work due
• Thursday, June 15: Opening Reception
• Thursday, July 28: Show Closes
• Friday, July 29: Pick up hand delivered work by appointment 

All the details here!

The Fake Art Industry Is Booming Online

This article by Chris Cobb is a must read for everyone who has bought an original Frida Kahlo on Ebay for a few hundred bucks!

If you are in the business of selling fake art online, this is truly a golden age.

It’s especially true if you are selling images attributed to famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, or Jean-Michel Basquiat...

Read the article here. 

Lost Painting by Futurist Master Umberto Boccioni found!

A Lost Painting by Futurist Master Umberto Boccioni Turned Up at a Dorset Junk Sale for Around $100. It Could Be Worth $288,000

Read the article by Vittoria Benzine here.

Glen Echo Park Partnership Call for Artists

Application deadline: December 30

Glen Echo Park Partnership Galleries invites artists to submit art that investigates the impact our environment has on identity and experiences. Themes can include place, identity, origins, routine, displacement, immigration, natural and manmade environments.

Click here for more information and to apply.

Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation

Application deadline: January 18

The Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation welcomes applications for its 2023 Individual Support Grants program, which will award grants of $25,000 in support of mature painters, sculptors, and printmakers who are in financial need. To be eligible, applicants must be able to demonstrate they have been working in a mature phase of their art for at least 20 years.

Click here for more information and to apply.

The Rock Magnet

Below is a peek from Juicy Fruit Perfume: An American Remembers his Cuban Childhood, my biography, which is currently scheduled to be published in 2024 2026 (should I ever finish it!) - This chapter is titled "The Rock Magnet":

One of our favorite games was rock fights. 

How in the world we survived countless battles without losing an eye or getting killed is both a miracle and mystery. 

Rock fights would either be planned, between a couple of teams, or just start out of nowhere, first with one or two people, and slowly gathering impetus until broken up by either an adult, a cracked head, or a cracked window or windshield on a parked or passing car. 

How many times would I wander out of my house, bored and with nothing to do, climb on the roof and survey the neighborhood from my own little kingdom. And if I detected Pepin or his brother Monguito playing down at the end of the block, or perhaps one of the Calixton brothers outside their house a block directly across from us, I would climb down from the roof, gather a few rocks, walk to the middle of the block, yell just one warning shout and launch an unexpected aerial attack.

Having been at the receiving end of these same attacks, it was not unfair to launch an unprovoked attack, and immediately the battle would begin. 

Two solitary warriors lobbing rocks at each other, maybe 100-200 feet apart, throwing the rocks in long, elegant arcs that demanded attention – in order to avoid them – and guts – in order to appear unconcerned and avoid being hit just at the last minute by side-stepping the rock as it was about to hit you. Soon, one of the brothers would join in, and now I would have to start dodging two attackers while shouting for either my cousin Cesar or my best friend Jorge Cunningham to come to my aid. 

As my best friend, Jorge, who was an excellent rock thrower, was feared for his skill; however, he lived about half a block down from Cuartel Street and would not always hear me. Cesar nearly always came to my aid, but he was not very good at aiming, and there was always a chance that he’d join the other guys – unless the Monguitos had done something to him recently. 

The only guy in our neighborhood that you never started an unprovoked rock fight against with was Pupy. 

Pupy was one of an endless horde of Haitians who lived in a huge house at the end of where the paved Cuartel Street ended. He didn’t usually play with us, as the Haitians tended to keep to themselves, and his house had a huge, fenced garden full of trees and space where he usually played his many brothers and cousins. A whole tribe of Haitians lived behind that walled fortress of a house and it was one of the few places in our neighborhood where we weren’t welcomed or allowed in. 

But once in a while Pupy would come out and play with us, more often than not terrorizing us. We were all afraid of him, except the Monguito brothers, who were fearless and would fight anyone, anytime; and Jorge, who although skinny and small was very tough. 

Pupy was mean and evil, and in rock fights would run close up to you and fire rocks at close range, rather than maintaining a respectable artillery distance. Our only means of revenge against Pupy was rather cowardly, but we all did it anyway. 

It consisted of the ritual of lobbing a few anonymous rocks into his house’s back garden or their roof, nearly every night; or whenever we were playing around that corner of the street, which was unusual by itself, as we usually played around the other corner of the block, directly next to my grandparents’ house, which is where I lived. 

There was an art to the rock fight that demanded a certain skill and grace in order to survive without being hit. This was especially needed when you were defending against two boys. 

The idea was to throw your rock and then immediately and very quickly begin looking for a new one to throw. Because we lived on a paved street, strategy and location was important, such as beginning the fight from around one of the several empty lots in our block, with an abundant supply of projectiles. One was most vulnerable when bending down to pick up new rocks (ideally two at once), when you took your eyes off your opponent. 

A well timed throw would arc towards you to try to catch you looking away for that final split second. Two throwers demanded intense concentration and skill, and an amazing dance around a rainfall of rocks. 

One year, for a few delirious months, our street was torn and opened up as huge, new sewer lines were installed. For months these large cement pipes provided castles and forts from which massive rock fights took place – the open, torn streets providing an unending supply of rocks. It is amazing how few times we were actually hurt – of course we were hit, and it did hurt, but seldom were hits very serious or requiring stitches. 

Except for Pepin. 

Pepin was the youngest of the two Monguito brothers, his father was Mongo, who we would all make fun of, as he traveled back and forth to his job in a bicycle, becoming the proverbial Mongo en Bicicleta character. Mongo also wore the same thick, nerd glasses that Castro wore and that nearly every Cuban who needed glasses seemed to have in those years. 

Later when I was in the US Navy we would see those glasses being issued in bootcamp and we would call them "birth control glasses." 

Mongo also had an incredible resemblance to the American cartoon artist Robert Crumb. Pepin and Monguito were a key part of our pandilla, and we all played together, and of course this included rock fights, either on our side against other neighborhood’s kids or internecine battles in our own group. 

But Pepin’s head seemed to be a rock magnet! I cannot recall the number of times that his poor mother Elba, had to take Pepin to the hospital to stitch his head close from rock wounds. It was astounding even to the doctors, and his crewcut was decorated with shiny white healed scars visible under the short cropped hairstyle that we all wore. It was so bad that one time, as Elba and Pepin where coming out of the most recent visit to the hospital (she madder than a hornet at yet another busted head, and he, recently stitched and bandaged), an amazing thing happened as they were waiting for the bus outside the hospital

Now, it must be made clear that buses were also good targets for rock throwing, and in our neighborhood we generously pelted the buses with rocks if they happened to drive by during one of our battles. 

Apparently this was the case all over Guantanamo, as when the bus arrived at the hospital stop, and as Elba and the bandaged Pepin prepared to enter it, from across the street someone lobbed a rock at the bus, managed to miss it completely, arcing the rock over it and landing it squarely atop Pepin’s head, busting it open in a new spot and sending him back to the hospital amidst Elba’s cries of blue murder. 

But the rock fight to end all rock fights was an incredibly huge rock fight that took place one warm, sunny summer early evening at the crossing of the river Guaso. It has remained, both in my memory and my father’s memory, as the largest, most intensive rock fight in Guantanamo’s history, and it literally involved nearly 100 people of all ages, sizes and colors. This rock fight was the mother of all rock fights.

Heading to the Left Coast

 

Wanna get an unicorn?

This 1980 original drawing of an unicorn by yours truly just popped up on Ebay! I did these unicorn series in prep for a private, illustrated edition of a book on the subject being printed in Seattle in 1980!

I recall selling this drawing in 1980 while I was selling art at the Pike Place Market while I was an art student at the University of Washington.

Bid for it here.