Cubans are on the street!

The internet is ablaze with the news that for the first time (at least in my memory) there are widespread protests in Cuba - the shouts are for "Libertad" which means "freedom."

The Marxist dictators are sure to react with a bloody reprisal - let's pray for these brave men, women and children on the streets of that poor brutalized island!

"Isla Herida"
1980 F. Lennox Campello
Original Watercolor
In a private collection in Coral Gables, FL

And here's a new flag for the uprising! A take-off on the 26th of July flag - this one has the colors of the Cuban flag (Red, White and Blue).  The red stripe is slightly larger than the blue, in honor of the blood being spilled on the streets of Cuba.  The "11J" in white is for 11 July!

11 July Uprising Flag
by Florencio Lennox Campello

The Morrigan

New for 2021 - a return to one of my obsessions! This is "The Morrigan" - she's the Celtic goddess of War, Lust and Sex. About 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches, charcoal, conte and a tiny bit of green watercolor for her Celtic eyes. Frame made from one of the nine holy woods of a Celtic bonfire.

Punk Lincoln

"Punk Lincoln", circa 1981, Charcoal and conte on paper, 12x16 inches - an art assignment from the University of Washington School of Art (for a portrait assignment).

Punk Lincoln
Florencio Lennox Campello circa 1981
Charcoal and conte on paper, 12x16 inches 

Burundanga explained

Here's the whole logic to this song:

Songo hit Borondongo because Borondongo had hit Bernabe... And Borondongo did that because Bernabe had hit Muchilanga... why? 

Because Muchilanga had used Burundanga (the toxic drug) to make Bernabe's feet swell up!!! 

Cough... cough...

Paint It! Ellicott City Award Winners Announced

Landscape painters from around the Mid-Atlantic region gathered in Historic Ellicott City June 10-13, dodging raindrops and cicadas while competing for cash prizes during Paint It! Ellicott City 2021, the Howard County Arts Council’s annual plein air paint-out. 

A virtual reception on June 18 featured a sneak peek at the Paint It! Ellicott City 2021 exhibition, featuring 27 juried artists; a look at the Open Paint exhibit, featuring 41 community artists; and the presentation of more than $9,000 in awards to the artists.   

Juror Lynn Mehta presented the $1,000 Gino Awards, named in honor of Ellicott City artist Gino Manelli (1915-2010), to Rajendra KC for Little Market Café and Michael Kotarba for Water Like Wine. 

Juror awards also went to:  

• 2nd Place, $900 – Erin Pryor Gill, Rainy Day at Frederick Rd. 
• 3rd Place, $800 – Marita Hines, Flowers for Sale 
• 4th Place, $700 – Nishita Jain, Trolley Trail Walk 
• 5th Place, $600 – Christine Rapa, A Sunday Kind of Love 
• Honorable Mentions, $150 each – Tom Ritchie, Rainy Day Lunch Bunch; J. Stacy Rogers, Down Main Street; Bruno Baran, Through a Rainy Windshield: Babe Ruth’s Church; and Kathleen Kotarba, Built to Last. 

The Arts Council’s 40^th Anniversary Award, $400, went to Jane Knighton for Peaceful Pond.  

The Patapsco Heritage Greenway Award of $500 for Best Depiction of the Patapsco River was presented to Kathleen Gray Farthing for Rush. 

Howard County Blossoms of Hope’s Award for Best Depiction of Nature, $500, went to Nishita Jain for Trolley Trail Walk. 

AARP Maryland’s Juried Artist Award, $500, went to Amanda Milliner for Meet Me at the Café. 

Awards were also presented to the Open Paint Artists:  

• AARP Maryland Open Paint Award, $500 – Moonjoo Lee, Where Reflection Lies 
• HCAC Director’s Choice 40th Anniversary Open Paint Award - Ronaldo Dorado, Running Wild  
• HCAC Director’s Choice Honorable Mentions, $50 each – Barbara Kern-Bush, Ellicott City Fire House and Collin Cessna, Chalks on Main Street  
• Young Artist Award, $25 - Henry Kigin, Mr. Blue House 
• Carole Zink Open Paint Award, $100 – Andrea Naft, Reunion in Ellicott City 

Paint It! awards were made possible through the generous support of these sponsors: The Manelli Family, AARP of Maryland, Blossoms of Hope, Patapsco Heritage Greenway, and the Family of Carole Zink. 

 

Paint It! Ellicott City 2021, the exhibit featuring the juried artists’ work, remains on display at the Howard County Arts Council through August 7.  The Open Paint exhibit will be on display at the Howard County Welcome Center through July 24. Both exhibits are also available to view online via the Current Exhibits section at hocoarts.org/galleries. 

Torpedo Factory artists new presence on Facebook

Check out their new footprint on Facebook!

Click here.

Isla Judia

This is "Isla Judia", circa 1981, watercolor on 180 weight paper, done while I was a student at the University of Washington School of Art.

It honors Cubans of Jewish ancestry. While legend has it that the first Jews arrived with the early Spanish settlers, and Jews have always migrated to Cuba in the past, the bulk of the Jewish migration to Cuba was in the early 20th century, as they escaped persecution of Jews from the Ottoman empire in the early 1920s, and later from Europeans before and during the Second World War, with immigrants arriving mostly from Germany and Poland. By 1959 there were 15,000 Jews in Havana alone, and there were five active synagogues in the city.

After the brutal Communist takeover, nearly all Cuban Jews escaped, and now estimates show only about 1500 Jewish Cubans left on the island.

"Isla Judia (Jewish Island)"
1981 Watercolor on paper by F. Lennox Campello

This is the preparatory sketch for the final work as I did 3-4 prep watercolors before doing a large painting.