A Palette of Paper - the Collages of Megan Coyle

The Center for the Arts, Caton Merchant Family Gallery in Manassas, Virginia will feature Megan Coyle’s collage art in a solo exhibition called “A Palette of Paper.” The art center consists of a theater, an art gallery, and classrooms that are located inside a historic Candy Factory building in Old Town Manassas. Coyle’s show will display portraits of people, animals, as well as landscape and cityscape collages.

“A Palette of Paper” will showcase a group of collages that look like they were made from acrylic or oil paint, when they were actually made from magazine strips. Each creation is the product of Megan Coyle’s intricate efforts in cutting and layering paper. It is only when you step up close to one of these collage “paintings” that you can pick up on all the fragments of photographs, textures, and patterns that have been pulled from magazine pages. This is the very reason why Coyle calls her technique “painting with paper” – the process of manipulating magazine clippings in such a way that they strongly resemble the brushstrokes in a painting.

The exhibit will open on February 8th, 2012 and run until March 22nd. Coyle will have an artist talk on February 18th at 1:00p.m. If February 18th is a snow day, the artist talk will be held on February 25th.

Megan Coyle is a practicing collage artist and designer living in Northern Virginia. She graduated in 2008 from Elon University with a degree in painting and creative writing. Her work has been featured in international publications like the Washington Post, Papirmasse, and Somerset Studio. She has exhibited nationally in venues that include the Smithsonian Ripley Center, Art League Gallery, Fisher Gallery, and Krempp Gallery.

"A Palette of Paper - the Collages of Megan Coyle"
February 8th - March 22nd, 2012
Artist Talk: February 18th (snow day: February 25th)

Today: Book Signing at BlackRock

There will be a book signing for my 100 Artists of Washington, DC book today, February 16 from 6:30 - 8:30PM at the gorgeous BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland.

Bring your own book (buy it at Amazon here) or get a copy from me at the Center (it will be cheaper at Amazon).

Many of the artists in the book will be there, so this is also a good opportunity to get your copy signed by them as well.

I will also be giving a talk about how this book came to be, and the selection process (an update) for the next two volumes.

BlackRock Center for the Arts
12901 Town Commons Drive
Germantown, MD 20874

301.528.2260 (administrative offices)
301.528.2266 (fax)
info@blackrockcenter.org (e-mail)

See ya there!

Call for Artists: Bethesda Painting Awards

Deadline: Submissions must be received by Friday, February 24, 2012

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is currently accepting applications for the seventh annual Bethesda Painting Awards. Up to nine finalists will be selected to display their work in an exhibition during the month of June at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda, and the top four winners will receive $14,000 in prize monies.

Best in Show will be awarded $10,000; Second Place will be honored with $2,000 and Third Place will receive $1,000. Additionally, a “Young Artist” whose birthday is after February 24, 1982 may be awarded $1,000. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C.

All original 2-D paintings including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimensions should not exceed 60 inches in width or 84 inches in height. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibit.

Each artist must submit either 5 slides, application and a non-refundable fee of $25. Digital entries will be accepted on CD in JPG, GIF or PNG format.

For a complete application, please visit www.bethesda.org, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Bethesda Painting Awards
c/o Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District
7700 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814

Or call 301-215-6660 x117.

Tomorrow: Book Signing at BlackRock

There will be a book signing for my 100 Artists of Washington, DC book on February 16 from 6:30 - 8:30PM at the gorgeous BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland.

Bring your own book (buy it at Amazon here) or get a copy from me at the Center (it will be cheaper at Amazon).

Many of the artists in the book will be there, so this is also a good opportunity to get your copy signed by them as well.

I will also be giving a talk about how this book came to be, and the selection process (an update) for the next two volumes.

BlackRock Center for the Arts
12901 Town Commons Drive
Germantown, MD 20874

301.528.2260 (administrative offices)
301.528.2266 (fax)
info@blackrockcenter.org (e-mail)

See ya there!

February 14

OK, so it may be Valentine's Day today, but for us history buffs, in real history, in 1778 the United States flag is formally recognized for the very first time, in this case at sea by a foreign naval vessel, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by the legendary John Paul Jones.

That's the spectacular painting by Edward Moran depicting the moment.

Ichiuji on Tom Green


Details here.

Artists' Websites: Russ McIntosh

There are hardworking artists and then there's Russ McIntosh. If I told you that in the last year alone this talented digital artist has been included in over 20 exhibitions around the nation, you'd be as awed as I was when I discovered this fact.

Galadali by Russ McIntosh
Check out his amazing work here.