Philadelphia Sketch Club Members Annual Show

Nancy Bea at Saxby's, oil, 24" x 20"

Every year the artist members of the Philadelphia Sketch Club have been showing their work at the Newman Gallery in Center City Philadelphia. It's going to be a fantastic show, judging by the artists who belong to the club, and I'm honored to be part of this exhibit! My portrait of fellow artist and Sketch Club member, Nancy Bea Miller, will be hanging in the Newman Gallery in the company of some wonderful work (including a painting by Nancy Bea herself). Other artists whose work will hang in the show include Garth Herrick and Joe Sweeney.

On the front page of Philadelphia's City and Suburban News is an article on the exhibition. Check it out here!

Opening Reception Information:

Newman Galleries
1625 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Saturday, June 12, Noon-4:00 p.m.

Arsenic Lobster , Spring 2010 Cover

Toast to Lobsters, oil, 22" x 30"

Arsenic Lobster--what a strange name for a poetry journal! It does catch one's attention, though. And it's filled with a variety of work by accomplished writers. I'm admiring of anyone who can write poetry since I'm hopelessly devoid of any talent in that direction.

The editor of the journal, Sue Yount, asked me some time ago if she could use my painting Toast to Lobsters on the cover, and of course I was delighted! Here's a link to the journal, in case you would like to purchase a copy of the spring 2010 issue (or any other issue for that matter).

I'm pleased to report that the original painting, which was hanging in the gWatson Gallery in Stonington, Maine, last summer, has been purchased by a private collector.

33rd Annual Juried Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in NYC

Harriet Pattison in her Landscape, oil, 38" x 30"

People have been telling me for years that I should enter a juried show at the Salmagundi Club in New York. And I kept saying, "Okay, I will," but for some reason the deadline would pass by and I would tell myself I would have to remember to enter next year. This year I decided the procrastination had gone on for too long, so I did enter. To my surprise, my portrait of Harriet Pattison was accepted.

Juried shows would make an interesting study. Everyone says "It's a crapshoot" whether you get in or not. The decision rests in the hands of a few jurors who are human and have human preferences, though they try to be fair. (I know; i've been in that position myself.) I've been rejected many times from shows, and the rejection letter or email always says something about how they received a huge number of entries and how difficult it was to choose. Because of these factors, we artists know we shouldn't be too disappointed if we don't get in. I've been entering shows for several years now, but I can't avoid being disappointed, even angry and frustrated, when I don't make the cut. Conversely, each time my work gets in I'm so thrilled I feel like jumping up and down.

Anyway, I'm very happy that my portrait of Harriet will grace the walls of the Salmagundi this summer! For those who find themselves in Manhatten, Here are the show details:

33rd Annual Painting and Sculpture Exhibition for Non-Members
Exhibition of original oils, watercolors, pastels, acrylics, mixed media, and sculpture
July 12th through July 23rd, 2010

Awards Reception: Friday, July 23rd, 6:00--8:00 p.m. (open only to exhibition artists and their guests)
EXHIBITION OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: 7 days a week, 1:00-5:00 p.m., July 12th through July 23rd, 2010

Butler Midyear!

Teamwork, oil on linen, 24" x 36"

Persistence pays off! This year my painting Teamwork was accepted into the 74th Annual Butler Midyear Exhibition, at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. Several other artists I know also got in. (congratulations to Stanka Kordic and Jeff Gola!) This is a large national juried group show with a wide range of work. Here is the information on the opening reception:

Exhibit opens: Sunday, June 27th
Exhibit runs June 27th-August 22

The Beecher Center
524 Wick Avenue
Youngstown, OH 44502

Hours: Tues-Sat, 11-4; Sunday noon-4 p.m.

Views from the Air

What do portraits have to do with aerial landsapes? You might well ask!

If you are planning to attend the Portrait Society of America annual Art of the Portrait Conference, and you happen to have signed up for Calvin Goodman's first breakout session on Friday afternoon, you'll find out. I'll be giving a power-point talk on my aerial landscape paintings and how I go about getting reference material for them. I will also try to explain how these large panoramas are related to my other landscape paintings, my figurative work, and my portraits. Copies of my essay "The sky is Not the Limit," will be available.

Hope to see you there!

ARC Awards

Lunch Break, Horn Hill, oil, 24" x 40"
Back Yards in Snow, oil, 22" x 44"

This morning I was pleased to open an email from the Art Renewal Center and find that I won awards for two landscapes. They are: Honorable Mention for Back Yards in Snow

Top 100 Finalist for Lunch Break, Horn Hill

Spring Class: Portrait Painting in Oils

Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA

PORTRAIT PAINTING IN OILS--ALEXANDRA TYNG
5 Weeks: April 26 to May 24
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

$130/ model fee included

Students will explore the art of portraiture through painting from the model in a series of long and short poses. As in the fall semester, we will approach color in terms of the relationship between direct light, ambient (indirect) light, and shadow. We will continue to focus on proportion, brushwork, values, and edges. In the spring we will be concentrating more on the idea or concept behind each painting. Students can continue to focus on the head, or they can include more of the figure in their portraits. Drawing experience is highly recommended; some experience working in oils is useful.