Frida at $100 starting bid!

Anybody like Frida? This very cool painting that I did in art school and which sold originally almost 15 years ago, just showed up at an auction house! Follow the link! At a really good starting bid - Only $100!

http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/f-lennox-campello-american-cuban-artist-passio-115-c-90143738cd

Frida Kahlo: Picasso Style
Oil on Board, c. 1980
F. Lennox Campello

#fridakahlo #frida #picasso #pablopicasso #fridapainting #lennycampello #artauction

Frida in a Cross of Clouds

Frida in a Cross of Clouds
Charcoal, Conte and Unfired Bisque, c. 1980-2017, 7x7x2.25 inches
F. Lennox Campello

"Frida in a Cross of Clouds" is one-of-a-kind mixed media (charcoal, conte, and unfired bisque), about 7x7 inches, c. 1980-2017 and designed to hang as a 3D piece on your wall... and which will be part of my upcoming solo show at Judith Olivia HeartSong's wonderful Artists and Makers Studios in Rockville! Stay tuned for more details! At $250 this will be gone on opening night, so reserve it now with Judith!

#fridakahlo
@ArtistsAndMakersStudios

Art Scam Alert!

Stay away from this mutant... E-mail address is positivepackaginginc@gmail.com, in case anyone else gets this:

"Hello,
Am Anthony Petrello from California. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work. I'm also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, You are doing a great job. I would like to purchase one of your Collections Labyrinth Sculpture, 16.5 H x 32 W x 1.5, as a surprise to my wife on our anniversary. Also, let me know if you accept check as mode of Payment.
Thanks."

20th Annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival

Application Deadline: May 31, 2017

Apply Here

WHAT: 20th Annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival

WHERE: Bethesda Row - Bethesda, Maryalnd

WHEN: October 14-15, 2017

           Saturday 11am - 6pm; Sunday 10am - 5pm

NOTEWORTHY:

*The Great Application Giveaway - Art-Linx will award 3 lucky artists their jury fee. This random drawing is based on application (not acceptance) to the show.  Winners will be notified via email.

*Limited to 195 Artists

*45,000 Attendance 

*Multi-Page Glossy Program - mailed to 20,000 high income single family homes  prior to the show 

*Cash Awards:  First Place $2000, Second Place $1500, Third Place $1000

      Best in Category (16) $50

*Free artist parking

*Artist Hospitality Room stocked with snacks & beverages during the show

 

*24-hour police security

*Festival Director and Staff on-site during entire festival

*Artist only bathroom facilities

*Booth sitting

*Extensive Marketing to Art Buying Patrons

We invite you to apply to the 20th Annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival.  The festival takes place on the streets of Bethesda Row, a prime location of fabulous dining, entertainment and specialty boutiques.

Our multi-page glossy program will be mailed to 20,000 high income single family homes prior to the show and personally handed out by your street captain to the 45,000 art lovers who come to the show.

APPLY TODAY on ZAPP

Jury Fee: $40

Booth Fee: $550 10'x10', Limited 10'x15' and Double Booths Available

Application Deadline: May 31, 2017

Notification: June 30 , 2017

For more details visit their Website

Contact: Robin Markowitz, Festival Director at Robin@BethesdaRowArts.org or call 

301-637-5684

Mid City Artists Open Studios

Mid City Artists (MCA), a decade old visual art collective, located in one of the liveliest sections of the city, opens their studio doors on May 13th and 14th. Local artists invite the public to explore and interact in the intimate setting of their studios, spread among the Mid City area of NW Washington DC (from Dupont Circle, to U Street and Logan Circle), by offering visitors a rare portal into the artists’ creative habitat.

For the first time, the Mid City artists will also show their work in an Open Studios Preview Night on May 11th at the White Cloud Gallery located at 1843 14th Street, NW. Examples of work created by the talented artists who live and work in the neighborhood will entice you into the studios to see more.

Visitors can enjoy DC’s spring weather by touring artist studios and witnessing an expansive offering of art and culture by some of the city’s most talented and creative artists. It is an opportunity to see the most recent works by artists at the site of their origin, gain meaningful insight into their process of creation and participate in the District’s dynamic and diverse arts community. MCA open studios gives collectors and art lovers the opportunity to purchase works directly from the artists’ studio inventory and discover new talent before it makes its way to the gallery walls. 

Open Studios is free and offers self-guided and guided tours. The self-guided tour is an open format that has proven to be an ideal way to encourage dialogue between artists and enthusiasts allowing visitors to gain firsthand knowledge about the creative process. Guided tours will also be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and will help familiarize participants with the works in a conversational setting. These free guided tours must be reserved in advance.  To reserve a tour, please email info@midcityartists.com and to download our map, visit the MCA website (www.midcityartists.com). 

MCA studios remain nestled among the new condos, trendy shops and restaurants, proving that artists find ways to make space for their creativity. These local artists continue to contribute to the growth of Mid City by infusing the neighborhood with authenticity, creativity and economic activity. MCA is a driving force in keeping art and creative expression alive within Mid City. 

The Mid City Artists Open Studios is generously supported by many Mid City businesses that believe a flourishing arts community adds vibrancy and economic value to the neighborhood.

Open Studios Participating Artists:  Chuck Baxter, Stephen Benedicto, Jane Cave, Michael Crossett, Brand Dave, 

Indira Marin Dingledine, Charlie Gaynor, Arthur Kwon Lee, Miguel Perez Lem, Andrew Lisi, Lucinda Friendly Murphy, Betto Ortiz, Mark Parascandola, Brian Petro, Marie Ringwald, George H. Smith-Shomari, and Robert Wiener.

The Board of the Zenith Community Arts Foundation (ZCAF) is sponsoring its Second Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser Event. 

This year’s Fundraiser will be held on Sunday, May 7, 2017, 5:00-8 PM at The Washington Ethical Society, 7750 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20012.  

They are asking for your support so that they can continue the success of their After School and Community based Arts Programs. These programs include our “Hands On Workshop” (HOW) for the Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC), a DCPS program and the Hands On Workshops now under the grantor, for Middle School (12-15) High School (16-18) and Young Adults (18-24).

The curious case of the blowback on the City Paper's Nesbett interview

As first detailed in this post, it all started a while back with DMV artist Barbara Januszkiewicz  noticing and asking a Facebook question about the annual Washington Projects for the Arts fundraising Gala auction (disclaimer: I’ve been part of this auction multiple times in the past). You can catch up on that issue/question here.

Subsequently, and as a result of the nearly 2,000 comments that Barbara’s question received, the Washington City Paper’s freelance scribe Kriston Capps conducted an interview with the WPA’s newish Executive Director Peter Nesbett.  The interview initially missed the key question, but that question was subsequently added in a revised version of the interview, which can be read online here.

I then commented on Nesbett’s answers in this post, essentially noting that Nesbett had missed a golden opportunity to use the Facebook commenting as a perfect way to start a constructive dialogue with the WPA’s artists’ members. Instead he doubled down on his perception that the Janus Facebook post was as triggered as result of Barbara’s personal issues with him, and his public criticism of her work. You can read that post here.

Following the Capps’ interview, the Facebook attention shifted to what many commenters considered Nesbett’s massive foot-in-mouth answer and inexplicable introduction of the race and age card into the discussion.

And not for the first time… cough, cough… DMV artists also began to find issue with Capps’ interview, which many opined only showed one side and failed to present a response from the person (Barbara J) who was essentially being somewhat attacked with claims of aggressive emailing (to Nesbett).

Subsequently a new FB thread focused on Capps and asked:

 Art coverage, Kriston Capps. Some questions.  

Can we talk about Ethical Standards for the Media?

 How do most reporters correct mistakes?

 Are they to be accountable to the public for the fairness and accuracy of in what they write. Should they correct mistakes promptly? Should they take responsibility for decisions and consider the possible consequences of their writing and actions

 respecting the laws of the country and the principles of freedom of the press?

 Should writers who post on blogs could they be providing accurate and balanced reporting, substantiating facts and figures, identifying sources and clearly identifying between fact and rumor?

Criticism of Capps’ article mounted in several comments, as well as some defenders, one noting that:

“There's a lot being asked of a 2000-word interview that earned the author $15 (WCP blog freelance piece fare).

 

At the least you got Nesbitt, on record, outside of Facebook, doubling down on putting his foot in his mouth, and then miraculously sticking a second foot in his mouth.

But, let's not overlook the original substance of all of this: Barbara's legit criticism of the auction, and questions from others on auction functions, to which Nesbitt answered Capps' summary of questions.

Given the response, should future issues occur, I'm guessing the author won't bother with the $15. And everyone will be left wondering, "why is no one writing about this?"

That’s a great point, which shifts Capps’ interview flaws (more on that later) by highlighting the fact that it was via this WCP interview that Nesbett truly stepped on his crank big time.

As I myself noted in the FB comments, I think that the main issue with Capps’ interview is that as soon as (in a "subjective" newspaper article… awright, an “interview”) a point of view (in this case from the interviewee) says something or claims something (or in this case: accuses) about the other side (in this case a person... in the Capps' case Nesbett about Barbara's "aggressive emails") , then one would expect the journo to approach the second person and see about the triggering comment/accusation (is this true Barbara???)

Especially since Barbara’s has stated in various FB comments and separately that this allegation is false, and yet, no one contacted her to verify or get her comments on what Nesbett claims was the main trigger point for the complaint (sour grapes).

It is bad journalism, but arguably passable for just an "interview"by a freelancer done for fifteen bucks… cough, cough.... I can't jump on Capps too much for this... but it is a missed golden opportunity!

Especially when compared to this article in the HudsonValley-Times, where writer Paul Smart does a brilliant job of reporting on Nesbett’s strange experience with the  Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild.  It is not an interview, of course, but Smart does a damned good job of documenting all the strange allegations against Nesbett as well as his point of view and responses. That article ends with the Guild’s President noting that “It’s frightening for me to think of how many people out there were frightened by his words…”