David Rogers, “Street Performer,” watermedia, 12 x 14 in.
The American Artists Professional League (AAPL) is dedicated to recognizing, encouraging, and promoting traditional, representational art. The AAPL has announced its plans for a 90th Grand National Exhibition. Each year, this show highlights major and emerging professional artists in all media. Entries are accepted from all 50 states as well as internationally and judged by a selection committee consisting of professional artists. The nonprofit AAPL has been devoted to the cause of fine arts in America since 1928.
“The AAPL is dedicated to encouraging and promoting traditional, realistic art,” said Peter Rossi. “We are extremely proud to recognize some of America’s finest artists whose work exemplifies the quality of art that our organization strives to support.”
This year, the AAPL’s 90th Anniversary show will be held at the Salmagundi Club Galleries (New York, New York). The exhibition will be on display November 11–19, 2018. A reception and awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, November 18.
Stefan Mackey, “Studio 7 ASL,” oil, 22 x 28 in. Newington Award, Best Painting in ShowGregg Kreutz, “Gordes,” oil, 16 x 18 in. Alden Bryan Memorial Award for Traditional Landscape in OilHaiHong Jin, “The Grand Canal,” pastel, 40 x 57 in. Art Spirit Foundation Gold Medal for Excellence in PastelJohn Balsamo, “Portrait,” sculpture – resin, 26 x 16 in. Barbara Newington Award for Traditional SculptureLewis Isaac Testa, “Chief Black Elk,” graphics, 17 x 21 in. Frank C. Wright Medal of Honor
“Beaux Arts 2018” is a combined 35th anniversary celebration and annual fundraiser. The theme for this very special event is Dream BIG in honor of Maxine Johnston, one of the School’s original founders. It was her dream to bring top-notch artists to Scottsdale as a resource to students of all ages in a growing art community, and her hard work and vision continue to be realized every day. Maxine, who continues to support and guide the School, will serve as the honorary chair for the event.
Calvin Liang, “Incoming Tide,” oil, 12 x 16 in.G. Russell Case, “Shepherds and Shadows,” oil, 16 x 20 in.
The evening features a silent auction containing a variety of artwork — including oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and sculptures — from well-known professional artists. A limited set containing juried work from our student artists will also be available in the silent auction. In addition, a live auction of select art and travel packages will be held. Included in the live auction will be a painting by Russell Case, signature artist at Scottsdale Artists’ School. Guests may also support SAS by purchasing raffle tickets. One of the raffle prizes this year is a beautiful signature sculpture by Sandy Scott.
Sandy Scott, “Roosting Rooster.” This work was juried into the 2017 Birds in Art show and the 2017 Society of Animal Artists show. Also, in 2017 “Roosting Rooster” received the Marilyn Newmark Memorial Award from the National Sculpture Society.Lori Putnam, “Organic,” oil on linen, 16 x 20 in.
“Beaux Arts 2018” takes place November 10, 2018. Celebrate 35 years with music, cocktails, and light dinner. Mingle with art enthusiasts and artists, both local and visiting, under the stars in a large party tent on the School’s grounds. Admission is $125 per person and includes a bidder number, food, drinks, and live entertainment. Experience a night of art and entertainment that supports Scottsdale Artists’ School, a 35-year-old fine art institution that continues to enrich the community.
Next week is the week so many have been waiting for: a gathering of some of today’s master figure and portrait painters who will share their techniques and advice throughout the 2nd Annual Figurative Art Convention & Expo. Among the individuals and groups present, the Clark Hulings Fund (CHF) will be there to address the business side of art. The following is our exclusive Q&A about what the CHF is doing to empower artists.
Cherie Dawn Haas: What’s a common question you hear about your organization? Elizabeth Hulings: Since the Clark Hulings Fund’s mission is “Equipping visual artists to be self-sustaining entrepreneurs,” we are often asked how do you do that? In general, we provide artists with the same kind of hands-on support that business incubator programs offer to entrepreneurs in the tech world and other fields. We balance this with self-directed learning, make it interactive, incorporate existing expertise, and encourage social learning in small groups—all key components in effective adult education.
We are known for our Art-Business Accelerator Fellowship, for which we select 20 artists from across the US and provide them with comprehensive business education and training, bolstered by structured accountability to us, their peers, and themselves that ensures they actively use the tools we give them. For the wider public of artists, we offer our recently launched Digital Learning Portal through which we provide education in formats that working artists already consume, from expert columns and how-to videos all the way to structured Accelerator learning modules. We also offer regional Art Business conferences, and we have two of those coming up (Ft. Lauderdale in February, and Washington DC in March). In addition, we partner with other arts organizations to provide entrepreneurial support at events like FACE, ArtExpo New York, and the StARTup Art Fair. Finally, we offer our podcast series, The Thriving Artist, which features professional artists and other industry experts discussing the business of art.
Elizabeth Hulings, of the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists
CDH: Why did you create The Clark Hulings Fund? Elizabeth Hulings: My mother and I felt compelled to answer a need that we saw woefully unaddressed — one that my father and I discussed at length, over the course of many years: Art is a business, artists are small business owners, and yet they are not usually taught how to function in the marketplace. Their consequent lack of business knowledge increases insecurity and paves the way for exploitation and failure. We founded CHF to overcome this, to empower artists to follow in Clark Hulings’ footsteps so that the world can enjoy their artwork, as we do his.
CHF provides training, tools, and management. CHF was founded on an investor-based, free-market approach: instead of dropping coins into the donation jars of starving artists, we help them dispense with the jars altogether by developing and maintaining sustainable enterprises around the creation of their art.
CDH: What’s a challenge artists face, and how can they overcome it? Elizabeth Hulings: Visual artists face challenge after challenge on the path to economic success. Funding sources are drying up even as upfront expenses (e.g., studio spaces, materials, etc.) are increasing. Art schools rarely teach business and organizational skills, yet artists require this expertise to protect themselves and to successfully navigate one of our most opaque and least regulated industries. But one of the biggest threats artists face comes from a most unexpected source: artists themselves. Before artists can prosper, they must first believe that it is not only okay but in fact necessary to treat their work as a business.
Many artists resist this simple truth because they are taught to see it as a debasement of their artistic purity. That is nonsense. If you plan to make a living from your art — to pay your bills, sell your work, and have the time and resources to create more work and grow as an artist — you must accept the fact that you are running a business, and that you are the CEO of the enterprise.
Carolyn Edlund, of the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists
Carolyn Edlund: One of the most common challenges artists have is selling their art. All that goes into sales can be overwhelming, and it helps to break that down into smaller pieces. Artists should have an understanding of the concept behind their work, and be able to explain what they do in the form of an artist story. Stories are memorable, and they help the artist to connect emotionally with their potential collectors. Owning a piece of art is more than owning a “thing” – it is a piece of the artist’s creativity and thus is often cherished. A good story becomes part of the experience of shopping for, buying, and owning art.
CDH: Who is your biggest inspiration? Elizabeth Hulings: Our biggest inspiration is our namesake, American realist painter and astute businessperson, Clark Hulings (1922-2011). After building a career as a commercial illustrator, Hulings made the transition to fine art at the age of 40, financing the move with his own savings and applying his considerable business experience to grow his art practice. While he continued to hone his craft well into his 80s, he also knew that to be successful, he had to think like an entrepreneur and seize opportunities to grow his business. The nine practice areas in CHF’s Digital Learning Portal are based on our analysis of what had the biggest impact on Hulings’ career and those of his peers.
CDH: Tell our readers a little about what you are doing at FACE. Elizabeth Hulings: In her interactive session, Elizabeth Hulings will show how the rapid and dramatic changes that have shaken the art market to its foundation work can work in artists’ favor. She’ll help them identify a viable business objective that aligns with who they are as artists and create a dynamic blueprint that will let them reach their artistic and entrepreneurial goals, and ensure they are communicating their message to maximum positive effect.
Carolyn Edlund’s talk will instruct artists on how to create a cohesive portfolio with a signature style and concept that projects professionalism to get noticed and gain credibility. Her presentation will cover best practices for selecting images to build a solid portfolio, the different types of visual and written materials needed and their purposes. She will also address how portfolios have changed in the Internet age, and how artists can best take advantage of these changes.
Carolyn Edlund: Artists should have the best portfolio presentation possible, to convey credibility, authority, and professionalism. I’m giving a talk called “Rock Your Portfolio” at the FACE Convention that not only stresses the importance of excellent photography and presentation but describes different types of photographs that help artists in a number of ways. Having an arsenal of an excellent portfolio and related shots enhance the collector experience, shares visual information, and can be a perfect segue into connecting with the press.
CDH: What are you looking forward to the most about FACE? Elizabeth Hulings: I’m excited to participate in FACE for a couple of reasons. Because my father was a realist painter, this is pretty much like going home for me — lots of friends and beautiful work to enjoy. I’m also thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce so many more artists to CHF and offer some of our core ideas. Our mission is to support as many visual artists as possible — to help them thrive economically, and build networks and community. FACE is a terrific place for us to do both of those things. We look to collaborate whenever and wherever we can. Getting to collaborate with Eric Rhoads and Peter Trippi, and this whole group is especially nice, though, and the potential for this partnership is tremendous.
Firenze
16 x 20 in.
Acrylic painted print of bas-relief sculpture
Available through the artist
When you think of Italy, do you picture rolling vineyards, gourmet foods, quaint cafes, and world-famous museums? While Gina Klawitter was creating Firenze, her daughter was exploring Florence (Firenze), Italy. The photos she texted Gina of white marble sculptures and the reddish brown Duomo Cathedral came to mind as Gina observed her freshly cast bas relief artwork.
Gina’s original intent for this new art was to create a classical ballet Sculptural Painting cast from Colorado Ballet’s retiring prima ballerina. She had designed a traditional, yet energetic pose. However, Gina didn’t know at the time that the ballerina was dancing spectacularly despite the pain of an injured hip. Modeling was a different challenge. As the fabric Gina formed over her was quickly hardening, the dancer needed to straighten her pose, and the top half of the fabric casting had to be repositioned within minutes. “The resulting structure looked more stately than I had first imagined,” says Gina, “To me it held a tranquil, spiritual, renaissance look, not that of a dancer on stage.”
When Gina began to paint Firenze, she instinctively reached for the Duomo’s burnt sienna color and washed it over the entire structure. “As I wiped this paint off the figure’s surface, it seemingly emerged like a buried white marble sculpture rising out of a Florentine landscape. Then, I added touches of umber to diffuse the raw orangeness of the burnt sienna, plus touches of metallic gold, and blue sky tones.”
What Gina especially enjoys about making her Sculptural Paintings is the spontaneity of her method. Casting allows about five minutes to drape the wet fabric over the model and form the design before it’s solid. Washing on and wiping away paint is an instantaneous process, too.
Likewise, it is a spontaneous action to recreate her Sculptural Paintings as painted photo prints. “Upon discovering that photographs of my artwork look similarly beautiful and dimensional, I experimented with expressively painting over archival prints, mostly using metallic paint,” says Gina. Painted prints enable buyers with smaller budgets or display space to obtain her art. While the life-size Firenze Sculptural Painting (78x49x9) is tangibly real – like having a live ballerina posing on a wall – painted prints are captivating versions of the original.
A long-time commissioned artist and former art and creative director, Gina Klawitter is emerging into galleries and exhibits with her innovative Sculptural Paintings. You can see her ongoing, rotating exhibit by appointment at Colorado Ballet’s Armstrong Center for Dance.
View more of Gina’s work and learn about upcoming shows by visiting her website, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
White Dusk In Catalonia
36 x 48 in.
Oil on canvas
$9000
Available at South Street Art Gallery
Stewart White’s watercolor and oil paintings are incredibly beautiful interpretations of the many places he has traveled. For those who have not traveled to Ireland, or Spain, or the Mediterranean coast Stewart’s paintings transport us there. Opening November 2, an exhibit of Stewart’s recent works titled “Off the Beaten Path: Paintings from My Travels” will be showing at South Street Art Gallery, Easton, MD. The exhibit will run through November 25.
“As an architect I am impressed with Stewart’s command of perspective and his convincing representation of buildings and public spaces. As a collector I covet his work. As an artist I am envious of Stewart’s magical transformation of blank canvas to finished image. And as a gallery, we are proud to represent such an artist!” says Alan Brock, owner of South Street Art Gallery.
Stewart White is an architectural illustrator and fine artist from Baltimore, Maryland. He is one of the rare plein air painters using the medium of watercolor. His background in architectural illustration adds to his skill set and his paintings reflect his knowledge of good design. Stewart’s paintings have the pleasing combination of good structure with a painterly style.
He studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and after serving three years in the US Army he returned to graduate from UC Berkeley with a BFA. He works as an architectural illustrator and designer. His watercolors both in his architecture illustrations and in painting competitions have won him many awards. In June 2009 he was invited to teach a workshop in Paris on his techniques for architectural watercolors to an organization of architects. He continues to teach in Paris every other year.
Stewart exhibits his paintings in juried and gallery exhibitions throughout the US. He is the Grand Prize Winner of the prestigious Easton Plein Air Festival (2009) and PleinAir Magazine’s Grand Prize in the PleinAir Salon. Stewart is a member of the American Impressionists Society (AIS), a signature member of the National Watercolor Society ( NWS), a signature member of The American Watercolor Society (AWS) and past President the Mid-Atlantic Plein-Air Painters Association (MAPAPA) and of The American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI).
Anticipation
14 x 11 in.
Acrylic on panel
Available through the artist
Chantel’s passion for art began flourishing at age 12 when she was mentored under local San Diego artists. She continued to study art, largely self-taught, while living in Newport, Rhode Island, and Keflavik, Iceland. While enrolled in a college art course, a fellow student introduced her to acrylic paints, and she soon found it to be a medium dominated by abstract art. But her first love was portraiture for which she found little advice. As she dreamed of perfecting her skills as an acrylic portrait artist, Chantel continued to learn from professional oil painters and translated their teachings into acrylic techniques. All the while, she remained active in local art communities, including serving as President of Artists’ Link in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 2006, Chantel opened her own art business called Chantel’s Originals near Memphis, Tennessee. Chantel soon benefited from workshops and demonstrations with outstanding artists including Dawn Whitelaw, Michael Shane Neil, Suzie Baker, and Marc Hanson. Chantel is currently the National Coordinator of the State Ambassador program for the Portrait Society of America, and is also a member of The Chestnut Group and the National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society.
Chantel has been featured in solo art shows and juried exhibitions. Her award winning paintings are in private and public collections throughout the United States and overseas. Her work is published in Acrylic Artist magazine, American Art Collector, Southwest Art, The Artist’s Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, International Artist and several books. She regularly blogs at chantellynnbarber.com. Chantel resides in Bartlett, Tennessee, where she teaches online and in workshops throughout the United States and Canada.
John Lintott is one of the 25 featured artists who participated in the 10th annual Grand Canyon Celebration of Art September 8-15, 2018, painting plein air on the South Rim of the Canyon. An exhibit and sale of their work opened at Kolb Studio on September 16. The exhibit and sale will be open daily through January 21, 2019.
From Grand Junction, Colorado, this is Lintott’s first year in participating in the Celebration of Art. After graduating with a BFA degree focusing on painting from Colorado State University, he owned and operated a custom frame shop which also served as his studio in Grand Junction. In 2014, he closed the frame shop to devote himself full time to his artwork, especially to pursue plein air painting.
Each of the Celebration of Art participating artists creates a studio painting for the exhibit, which hang in the exhibit along with the plein air work they paint during the event. Of his studio painting “Burn Spectrum” Lintott explains:
“This piece is a scene from Lipan Point. This particular view was attractive to me as an artist because it had many elements working in perfect harmony. I had never attempted a painting this complex before, and it was truly an amazing experience to try and convey the different colorful layers of the Grand Canyon in this particular scene. I wanted to challenge myself with the aspect of mid-day sun and the addition of the prescribed burn on the north rim that day.”
This scene was inspired by a recent visit to Winslow Homer’s studio and tour of the nearby rocky coast of Maine. The fall day was stormy and very reminiscent of the conditions Homer loved to paint. The painting was juried into the 39th Annual International Marine Art Exhibition and can be viewed at The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport Museum through December 31st.
Tom is a signature member of the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA) and serves on the society’s board of directors.
From his studio located in an historic building near the town square in Carrollton, Georgia, Tom travels far and wide to fulfill portrait commissions and to gather subject matter for his coastal and seascape paintings. With a career spanning over five decades, his work can be found in public and private collections worldwide. Tom has also had the honor of being commissioned to design commemorative medallion for the U.S. Congress and a silver dollar for the U.S. Mint.
Setting Sail
24 x 36 in.
Oil on linen
$6,000
On view in Spotlight on American Women Artists at J. M. Stringer Gallery of Art in Vero Beach, Florida, from November 1-24, 2018.
Stephanie Amato is a featured artist in the upcoming show Spotlight on American Women Artists, held at J. M. Stringer Gallery. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, November 1, 4-8pm.
Known among her peers as a plein air painter, Stephanie, when asked about her art, will describe herself as “an Alla Prima Artist, capturing life as it happens”.
Stephanie entered the Illustration program at Parsons School of Design in New York City and continued her training at Mason Gross School of the Arts and the Art Students League in Manhattan. During her education, Stephanie also obtained a degree as a Graphic Designer which has given her the knowledge to create work that is strong in both concept and design.
Drawing and painting for well over 25 years, Stephanie first focused on pastels and moved toward oil painting midway in her career. She is an advocate for creating art from life and her work reflects this in many ways.
“I am a purist, and direct observation is the only way I can capture the energy of my subject. My work is representational, with an impressionistic style, using painterly brushstrokes and subtle color and light shifts.”
For part of her work in the upcoming exhibition Spotlight on American Women Artists, Stephanie set out to the shorelines of Savannah, Georgia, and Vero Beach, Florida, to create a series of paintings capturing the idyllic and serene landscapes of these southern towns. Included are also scenes from the Blue Ridge Mountains which were created during the Cashiers Plein Air Invitational, where she received Third Place for her painting Camp Waterlilies.
Stephanie is a Signature Member of both the American Impressionist Society and The Pastel Society of New Jersey, Resident Member of the Salmagundi Club, Artist Member of the Portrait Society of Atlanta and Oil Painters of America and past President of the New Jersey Plein Air Painters. She has participated in many juried and invitational art events such as Olmsted Plein Air, En Plein Air Texas and Plein Air Easton, has been recognized nationally receiving numerous awards, and has been a featured artist in publications such as PleinAir Magazine, American Art Collector, The Pastel Journal, and Southwest Art Magazine.
To learn more about Stephanie Amato visit her website. Her work is available at J. M. Stringer Gallery in Vero Beach, Florida. To be among the first to view new works you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
Peregrine O’Gormley (b. 1977) makes one-of-a-kind wooden sculptures — full of whimsy, satire, and deep sentiment — that are welcome additions to any collection focused on artisanal process and time-intensive craftsmanship. Each sculpture is hand-carved from one of a variety of species, including juniper, maple, yew, black walnut, red cedar, and Alaskan yellow cedar, using knives and gouges. Molds are then made from the wood originals for limited bronze editions.
Peregrine O’Gormley, “Visit”
The artist, who was named after the peregrine falcon, credits his reverence for nature and love of natural materials — as well as his ability to observe his surroundings with sensitivity — to his father, who taught him at a young age to look at life with awe and wonder.
Peregrine O’Gormley, “Old Tree”
“While walking through the woods near our house, my father would point out species of plants, animals, moss, fossils, and insects,” O’Gormley recalls. “The depth and range of his knowledge was astonishing. Most compelling, however, was his enthusiasm, love, and appreciation for all things living.”
Peregrine O’Gormley, “Angelorum,” 2016, burnt juniper, 21 x 8 x 11 in., collection of Karen Duddlesten
With subjects such as owls, herons, ravens, rabbits, and snakes making regular appearances in O’Gormley’s work, it’s clear that he has continued to develop that connection to the great outdoors. A recent work titled “Angelorum” not only is a testament to this lifelong pursuit but also serves as a type of memento mori, reminding us of the swift passing of time and fragility of life. “The inspiration for ‘Angelorum’ is quite personal,” the artist shares. “The work is capturing that desire to have our loved ones caught as they fall — an angel’s flight, faster than falling, faster than terminal velocity: 200 miles per hour. (Peregrine falcons in full stoop can reach speeds of up to 242 miles per hour.) I hesitate to use the term ‘angel,’ as I subscribe to no doctrine; however, the spirituality surrounding death has become visceral to me in the wake of my father’s passing.”
Peregrine O’Gormley, “Scythe”
O’Gormley also carries on his father’s deep concern for the well-being of nature and collects all his materials directly from around his home in La Conner, Washington, overlooking Puget Sound. “It is important to me that I avoid using living trees for my work,” he says. “I use wood from wind-falls, beach combing, gifts from old collections, etc. As a species, we are at a critical moment in history as we watch and influence profound changes to our global ecology. The natural world informs everything that I create, and I feel that communicating ideas through sculpting its character is my way of honoring and respecting it.”
Peregrine O’Gormley, “Closing Time”Peregrine O’Gormley, “Ally,” Collection of Lake Dale Resort
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