As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.
We’d like to congratulate Patricia Burford Ryan for winning Overall First Place in the July 2022 PleinAir Salon, judged by Michael J. Ruple, Director of aux gallery.
“‘Marmalade Sky’ represents the direction I’m headed now with my art, so I was delighted when it took first place in the July Plein Air Salon competition,” Patricia says. “That win feels like a validation that I’m on the right track.”
Michael adds, “‘Marmalade Sky’ was an immediate first choice as soon as I saw it. I was initially drawn to the cinematic high chroma palette, but it was the subtle additions of modernity that kept me in the painting. It’s not heavy-handed like some industrial landscapes or cityscapes, to be honest it’s almost ordinary, something we’ve all seen driving along the outskirts of a city. I think it’s really special when you can discover beauty in the unexpected, and for that reason I would consider it a great example of the contemporary landscape.”
By Patricia Burford Ryan
My Inspiration:
“Marmalade Sky” was inspired by my memory of the change of seasons in western New York, where I used to live – especially November, when there’s that resigned chill in the air as autumn gives way to winter. Despite the cold and the increasing starkness of the landscape, I’ve always found that time of year to have a certain poignant appeal. I think if we can move beyond commonplace notions of what makes a scene “paintable,” we can see beauty everywhere.
My Palette:
From the beginning, I visualized a scorching sunset to warm up the scene and serve as a contrast to the neutral-colored trees and ground. My goal was to make it look as if the sky was on fire, which involved multiple layers of paint.
The Composition:
I don’t always utilize the Rule of Thirds in my compositions, but in this case I wanted to emphasize a sense of quiet harmony, so I went that way. Likewise, the ground and the bare trees own distinct blocks of real estate in the rectangle. The power lines prevent the painting from looking too static by dividing that vivid sky into dynamic segments, just as the dirt road with its icy rivulets breaks up the bottom third of the painting.
The Challenges
My challenge was to make what could have been a dreary landscape visually exciting. When I was studying art in college, my painting teacher put a big truck crankshaft in the middle of the studio and told us to paint it. She said it’s easy to make beautiful art from something that’s already beautiful. A real artist, she said, can make anything beautiful. That concept had a big impact on me.
My Tools:
I love silicone color shapers because of the unique effects they can produce, and because they’re so satisfying to manipulate. I used them to apply all of the paint except for the trees, which were done with small brushes. A firm surface seems to give the best results with color shapers, so I painted this on a cradled panel.
Connect with Patricia Burford Ryan:
Website | Instagram
See more of the July PleinAir Salon winners at our sister site, OutdoorPainter.com. And, browse more winners here.
In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The competition rewards artists with over $33,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir Magazine.
Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The 12th Annual Awards will be presented live at the Plein Air Convention & Expo in May 2023.
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
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From CBS News: Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama unveiled their official White House portraits at a ceremony on September 7, 2022. Robert McCurdy painted the former president, and Sharon Sprung painted the former first lady.
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From the Art Students League of New York:
We’re thrilled to share that Sharon Sprung had the honor of being selected to paint the White House’s official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. Sprung’s painting, which has been kept under wraps for more than five years, was finally unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday, September 7.
Sprung, an Art Students League alumna and current instructor, describes her process as one of “carefully observed negotiation.” Her work is driven by a painterly vision “as equivalent as possible to the complexity of real life.” In her striking portrait, Sprung captures Michelle Obama’s lauded tenure as First Lady of the United States, as well as her enduring status as a symbol of American excellence, elegance, and empathy.
“I want to thank Sharon Sprung for capturing everything I love about Michelle,” said Barack Obama, at the unveiling of the portraits on Wednesday. According to the New York Times, Sprung’s “portraits combine uncannily lifelike details with just enough painterly effect to make it impossible to forget that you’re looking at oil… Ms. Sprung’s painting is a reminder that oil paint remains the best technology for really looking at someone.”
Sprung’s commission places her in the long line of League instructors and alumni who have also been commissioned for official portraits of U.S Presidents and their families. These include but are not limited to: Charles S. Hopkinson (1869–1962), Aaron Shikler (1922–2015), Everett Raymond Kinstler (1926–2019), Herbert E. Abrams (1921–2003), and John Howard Sanden (b. 1935).
Martha Greta Kempton (1901–1991), who painted the official portrait of President Truman, was also an Art Students League alumna. What else do Sharon Sprung and Kempton have in common? In 1928, Kempton studied at the League in Studio 7, where Frank Vincent DuMond taught at the time, and where Sprung now teaches her class today.
In addition to appearing at the unveiling, Sprung was profiled in the New York Times. Sprung was also interviewed for the short documentary below, which was produced by the Obama Foundation.
An exhibition of her work opens at Gallery Henoch on October 6, 2022. Sharon Sprung has been on the faculty of Realism Live, featured at RealismToday.com, and at FineArtConnoisseur.com.
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How did you develop your unique style?
Laurie Hendricks: Ever since I started painting, my goal was to interpret what I see, expressing the beauty through the lens of feelings and emotions. I studied with several teachers who were Impressionists or even Expressionists. Joseph Mendez who was mentored by Russian, Sergei Bongart, passed his techniques of seeing and painting color and value in an expressionist style, and Jove Wang who was also influenced by Russian colorist sensibility with loose purposeful brush strokes using thick paint.
I was always told that I had my own unique style. Learning techniques and practicing the skills I was taught; I have tried to stay true to this “style”. I believe that one’s personal style is not something you think about or try to develop, it unfolds naturally. This has been true for my journey as an artist.
How do you find inspiration?
Laurie Hendricks: I find inspiration in the beauty of the ordinary world: whether from nature, people, or architecture. I study the work of great artists: Pierre Bonnard, Joaquín Sorolla, Anders Zorn, and John Singer Sargent to name a few. There is beauty everywhere, even in the mundane, and my job as an artist is to interpret that beauty and reveal it to the world using color and light.
To see more of Laurie’s work, visit:
www.lauriehendricksart.com
“The Art of Soon Y. Warren” opens at Art Gallery Prudencia in San Antonio, Texas runs through October 22, 2022.
Featured in the show are the paintings “Baby’s Breath Fantasy” (shown at top), “Joy of Sunflowers,” “Daisy in a Tiffany,” and more.
Soon Y. Warren is a full-time artist, teacher, and workshop instructor nationally and internationally. She was born in South Korea and currently lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
Her favorite subjects are those found in nature, which inspire us in everyday life. “I’m inspired by the beauty and complexity of nature and our surroundings,” she says. “I try to paint the essence of my subjects using my sincere feelings for nature.”
Soon has an Associate Degree in Commercial Art. Since Soon began painting full time in 1998, she has had many exhibitions and has won numerous awards She is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society (NWS), American Watercolor Society (AWS), Southern Watercolor Artist (SW), Texas Watercolor Society, Purple Sage Brush (TWS), Transparent Watercolor Society (TWSA), and American Woman Artists (AWA).
Soon Warren’s paintings are in the permanent collections of private, corporate and educational institutions, both in the United States and abroad.
She also has a variety of art video workshops available through PaintTube.tv.
Learn more about the exhibition at prudenciagallery.com.
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
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Admirers of Western American art and some of the country’s top Western artists will convene at the Eiteljorg Museum on September 9-10, 2022 for a weekend of bidding on artwork during the Quest for the West® Art Show and Sale, which brings artists and collectors together at the museum for two fixed-price, luck-of-the-draw sales and a weekend of festivities.
Now in its 17th year, Quest for the West builds interest in and support for Western American art, allowing artists to reconnect with longtime collectors and meet new ones, and providing museum visitors an opportunity to encounter portraits, landscapes, still lifes and sculptures. Since its inception in 2006, Quest has generated approximately $16.2 million in art sales, with artists receiving $13.1 million and the museum netting nearly $3.1 million during the event’s first 16 years.
This year’s Quest for the West will be significant for another reason: It will be the final Quest for John Vanausdall as the Eiteljorg’s president and CEO. Vanausdall, who has served as emcee of the Quest events and awards presentations, recently announced his upcoming retirement from the museum after 26 years, effective next June 30.
“As one of the Eiteljorg’s main initiatives each year, Quest for the West has increased awareness of Western American art generally, and raised the Eiteljorg’s profile nationally in the art world. It is rewarding during the sale weekend to watch the interactions between the outstanding artists and collectors who treasure their works, and then, after the sale, to see the general public enthusiastically tour the month-long Quest art exhibition,” Vanausdall said. “Quest for the West brings together friends who are passionate about Western art, and I am grateful to The Western Art Society, our other sponsors and the hard-working museum employees and volunteers who make the event so memorable.”
Art and Artists. Newly created artworks by 50 artists of the Western American genre will be shown and sold during Quest, and 42 artists are scheduled to be there in person to meet collectors. Many of the artists whose work is on view are returning favorites, including Robert Griffing, George Hallmark, Mark Kelso, Dean Mitchell, Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Mian Situ and others. This year’s Quest welcomes six new artists: Abigail Gutting, William Haskell, Don Oelze, Mateo Romero (Cochiti Pueblo), Brad Teare and Gayle Weisfield. View the list of artists and latest gallery of art at quest.eiteljorg.org.
Main Art Sale. On Saturday, Sept. 10, pre-registered Quest attendees can participate in a fixed-price, luck-of-the-draw sale. Absentee bids also are accepted. Quest is not an auction; instead, a bidder whose name is drawn gets the first right to purchase a particular piece. If the bidder passes, the next person drawn is offered the opportunity to buy it. This process continues until a lucky bidder accepts and becomes the happy new owner of the artwork. The bidding period is filled with suspense and excitement for bidders and artists alike.
Miniature Art Sale. Before the larger Saturday sale, the Quest weekend of art viewing and bidding kicks off on Friday, Sept. 9, during the miniature art sale. Many Quest artists create additional smaller works, appealing both to first-time and experienced collectors who seek smaller pieces at lower price points. Buyers can take miniature art purchases home that evening.
Art Awards. Artworks by Quest artists are eligible for awards presented in multiple categories Saturday, Sept. 10. The acclaimed Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award goes to a work purchased by The Western Art Society and is added to the museum’s collection.
Hospitality. During each of the two evening sale events, the Eiteljorg’s exclusive caterer, Kahn’s Catering, creates a delicious dining experience. Quest guests will be the first to enjoy the museum’s newly redesigned multipurpose space, the Allen Whitehill Clowes Sculpture Court, fresh from its expansion as part of the Project 2021 capital/endowment campaign. Pre-registered attendees can enjoy weekend programming honoring the artists as well as activities, including a Sept. 9 open house at the home of local Western art collectors, and a Sept. 10 visit to the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway, Ind.
Public Exhibitions. The sale weekend, Sept. 9-10, kicks off a one-month exhibition, during which Quest artworks will remain on view at the Eiteljorg for the public to see and enjoy, before the paintings and sculptures are shipped to their buyers. Experience the artworks of the Quest for the West show from Sept. 11 to Oct. 9 in the special exhibition gallery. Also, landscape paintings by last year’s Quest Artist of Distinction award winner, Denis Milhomme, will be on exhibit in the museum’s Gerald and Dorit Paul Gallery. That exhibition, “Natural Wonders: The Art of Denis Milhomme” runs Sept. 9-Oct. 16. Look for a copy of the beautifully illustrated 2022 Quest for the West art catalog, available in the Frank and Katrina Basile Museum Store.
For more about Quest for the West, including a complete list of artists, an early look at the art, opening weekend registration or absentee buyer information, visit quest.eiteljorg.org.
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and Western art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
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Alyssa Monks: Be Perfectly Still, A Retrospective
Through November 13, 2022
San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, California
Congratulations to Forum Gallery artist Alyssa Monks, on the occasion of her solo exhibition, “Be Perfectly Still, A Retrospective,” at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) in California. This is the artist’s first museum retrospective, and includes the most diverse survey of her work to date, spanning 15 years of painting.
“Through paintings that are expressive, lush, and often intimate, Monks conveys the very essence of being human through works that meditate on love, loss, and the perennial search for self.” -Emma Saperstein, SLOMA Chief Curator.
Learn more about the exhibition here.
View additional information and available works by Alyssa Monks on her Forum Gallery artist page here.
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
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Western Art > The 41st Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Announces Award Winners
On the morning preceding the grand opening of the 41st Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show Live Auction Gallery, a panel of judges convened to attribute awards to the seven works of art they felt best reflect the mission of the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale (BBAS) and represent exceptional craftsmanship and quality. BBAS limits the number of contemporary Western artists invited each year to ensure that each year’s show is more invigorating than the last. This year’s show features 104 artists, all of whom represent a high caliber of artistic knowledge and execution.
Judges are carefully selected to represent a range of art industry expertise, namely: museum representatives, art collectors, and art business professionals. The 2022 judges were Linda Williams, Executive Director of the Bozeman Art Museum, Andy Franklin, art collector, and Tim Newton, Publisher of Western Art and Architecture.
The Spirit of the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale Award
This award recognizes the artwork that is most representative of the Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale in terms of location, history, and the greatness and grandeur embodied by the “spirit” of the American West. The judges awarded this honor to “By the Light, Psalms 75:15-17,” a 30- by 40-inch oil painting by Thomas Kegler (shown at top).
Kegler’s oil painting is a remarkable nightscape of Castle Rock located up the Southfork outside of Cody, Wyoming. The judges were captivated by Kegler’s technique and overall composition. Williams went as far to say, “his ability to capture that moment and give it back to the viewer is exceptional.” Newton declared, “It’s an ambitious piece and he succeeded” and, “grandeur is what comes to mind.”
Two-Dimensional Award
The judges selected “Wyoming Buffalo” by Tucker Smith as the two-dimensional artwork of exceptional execution and craftsmanship. Smith’s oil painting is 20 by 24 inches and depicts a classic Wyoming scene of buffalo in a sagebrush-covered landscape. Newton stated, “Tucker gives a nod to western heritage with this painting. This is a master work by one of Wyoming’s greatest masters.”
All three judges agreed that Tucker’s color work and his composition conveyed excellent skill and he is truly a master of the craft.
Three-Dimensional Award
The judges selected “Wisdom in the Wind” by Campbell Dosch as the three-dimensional artwork of exceptional execution and craftsmanship. Dosch’s piece is a bronze standing 48 inches tall and measuring 36 by 16 inches in width and depth.
Dosch’s subject matter is a bust of a weathered Native American Chief wearing his war bonnet. The artist’s intention was to capture and exude wisdom and strength and the judges all agreed that Dosch was successful. Franklin commented while admiring the sculpture: “This magnificent piece has a capturing quality, and you can feel the emotion in the Chief’s weathered and wise facial expression. It’s incredibly powerful.”
Judges’ Awards of Excellence
As a true mark of the overall quality of the 41st Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show, the judges felt it necessary to present four additional Awards of Excellence. They felt the following pieces required recognition for their design and execution:
T.D. Kelsey, “Sunday,” Bronze, 18 x 22 x 19 inches
Grant Redden, “Night Rider,” Oil, 24 x 24 inches
David Santillanes, “Spring Thaw,” Oil, 24 x 40 inches
Dustin Van Wechel, “Making Dinner Plans,” Oil, 48 x 24 inches
Gilly Fales Fine Art Scholarship Award
The Gilly Fales Fine Art Scholarship Award is a local scholarship opportunity provided by the Gilly Fales Memorial Foundation for the Arts. The Foundation seeks to empower Wyomingites ages 18-30 who have a passion for the arts. Olivia Christensen received the honor for her 18- by 24-inch oil painting entitled “Whispering Breeze.”
More information: codychamber.org
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Lyme Art Association has announced the New England Landscape show. For over a century, the natural beauty of New England has inspired Lyme Art Association member artists to create sublime works that capture the multifaceted color and character of the landscape.
From autumn leaves to summer trees, from lonely roads to rolling hills, from crashing seas to frollicking rivers, visitors will experience an array of mediums paying homage to New England’s many moods and views.
New England Landscape: September 30 – November 10, 2022
Running concurrently is the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Satellite Show. Founded in 1896, this national organization showcases and promotes the artwork of professional women artists. The Lyme Art Association is proud to present this show, which includes a number of artists who are members of both organizations.
For more details on these shows, please visit: lymeartassociation.org
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
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Neill Slaughter: 50-Year Retrospective
The Atelier at Flowerfield
St. James, Long Island, New York
theatelieratflowerfield.org
Through October 27, 2022
It is highly appropriate that one of Long Island’s leading art schools, The Atelier at Flowerfield, is about to open a retrospective exhibition surveying almost half a century’s worth of art created by Long Island University professor emeritus Neill Slaughter (b. 1951).
Having spent the past 25 years in Southampton, a charming town facing the Atlantic Ocean, Slaughter notes that he has “almost always lived near the sea.” His early childhood was spent in Annapolis, where his father taught at the U.S. Naval Academy before moving the family to Atlanta. During and after his undergraduate study at the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, Slaughter crewed aboard a 90-foot schooner, spent summers working in the Virgin Islands, and in 1980 sailed with other artists and historians aboard a replica of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle, sketching in anticipation of a maritime series. Besides his school years in Atlanta, Slaughter’s longest stint inland was two years spent at Indiana University, where he earned an M.F.A. while studying with Robert Barnes and James McGarrell.
While teaching from 1983 to 1993 (first at California State University, Long Beach, then at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles), Slaughter became fascinated by the labyrinth of freeways, overpasses, and cloverleaf exits that sprawls across Southern California’s urban grid. He recorded their features in his Passages series, and went on to juxtapose them with scenes of nature in Maine. “To find unspoiled landscapes near either coast can be challenging,” Slaughter notes, yet he relishes painting outdoors in the Northeast, recently completing a 15-foot-wide, three-panel dune scene commissioned by a couple on Shelter Island.
In the late 1980s, Slaughter’s grant-funded venture to southern Africa inspired him to create the Africa America Amalgamation series. These paintings of social commentary challenge the stereotypical notion that something seen as “civilized” in urban American society is necessarily better or more progressive than the “uncivilized,” i.e., rural African society. In 1992, a Fulbright Fellowship brought Slaughter to India, where he found a painter’s paradise, a study in contrasts that often assaults one’s senses, yet also possesses an enlightening spiritual quality. Traveling through Africa and India offered profoundly broadening experiences that affected the artist’s outlook on life. He moved to Long Island a year later and in 2016 retired from Long Island University after 25 years there.
In his insightful essay for Slaughter’s 2008 retrospective, the scholar Gordon L. Fuglie notes Slaughter’s keen sense of how art history can inform contemporary practice: he writes that Slaughter’s “nostalgia desires a living connection with the tradition of great painting from the 19th and 20th centuries, especially the fin-de-siècle and early 20th century. To know this tradition means for him the capacity to operate deeply within and out of it, his sure guide to making art in and of the present.”
One could argue that all successful educators put history in the service of their students and themselves, yet Slaughter’s evident understanding of — and enthusiasm for — great historical paintings is notable even in this context. He is particularly passionate about Sargent, Zorn, and Sorolla, hints of whose brushwork will soon be enjoyed at Flowerfield.
> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.
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