DoNArTNeWs

Seven Dishsoaps, Peter Seidel @ Da Vinci Art Alliance, 7th & Catharine Streets in South Philly.   Peter Seidel won the Da Vinci Art Alliance Gold Medal for his superb painting.

DoN Brewer, Heptagon, photoshop.  DoN was honored to be on the jury committee to select the medal winners, which also freed him to produce whatever he wanted for the show.  Seven will be shown at The Noyes Museum annex in Hammonton, NJ this Fall.

Lois Allen Charles, Seven Waterlillies and Lilliana Didovic, Seven Elephants @ Seven, the current member exhibition at Da Vinci Art Alliance has a wide interpretation of the symbolism of the number seven, yet the discussion around the sign went on long after the show was installed.  The DVAA exhibitions committee really tapped into a concept the members could grok.

Anna Vosburgh, Hope 1 @ Da Vinci Art Alliance - Anna is not only a great painter, she’s a blogger!

Alden Cole , Burning Man, oil on canvas.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Alden Cole completed his series of self portraits portraying the Seven Deadly Sins, the first three sins are included in a painting Cole produced for DVAA’s Henry IV, Part 1 @ The Lantern Theater Company’s Black Box Gallery.  These two panels, though, are more explosively emotional, brashly colorful and deeply introspective; Alden acts for the camera then paints the facial expressions with light, color fields and texture as if he’s looking deep into your being, reflecting back the many faces of sin.

Karen McDonell & Anthony Cortosi

7 screens, 7 colors, 7 minutes - cool.

Anna Vosburgh & Lilliana Didovic @ Seven in the Da Vinci Art Alliance Gallery, Summer 2010.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.

Robert Bohne, Seated Nude, gouache/pencil @ The Plastic Club 2010 Worksop Show.

Paul Clement, Dryad, watercolor.

Barbara Fleming, Solitude, photograph, Syd Torchio, Untitled, acrylic & DoN Brewer, Homme Debout, charcoal & chalk.

Drawings in the Workshop Show @ The Plastic Club by Don McPartland, DoN Brewer & Mike Roberson.

DoN Brewer, La Bella Blonde, charcoal & chalk, Greg Lewis, Untitled, ballpoint, Don McPartland, Untitled, mixed media & Alden Cole, Untitled, oil.

 The Workshop Show @ The Plastic Club embraces art of all kinds as long as the piece relates to work done in one of the many workshops held throughout the week in the Studio on the 2nd floor.  Friday night is DoN’s favorite workshop; dedicated artists drag their tired asses up to the studio to draw, paint, etch, collage, drink wine…and the last Friday of the month, President Bob makes dinner.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.

Coulter Watt, A Bag of Fun, oil on board @ Newman Galleries on Walnut Street.

Newman Galleries is the 2nd oldest continuously family owned art gallery in America, the collection the Newman family has amassed is amazing.  Terry Newman is hosting a holiday art sale, offering terrific deals on paintings; DoN began dreaming of decorating an awesome beach house or a glamorous new condo with the perfectly eclectic work of art to match with decor - there is so much to look at, it’s hard to imagine what to put where.  Terry suggests trying taking favorites home on a trial basis to find that perfect piece that expresses your lifestyle, their website has a fantastic database to explore.

Abraham P. Hankins, Picture on a Blackboard, oil on canvas.  The third floor gallery is a cool respite from the street filled with desirable works of art.  Newman Gallery will be hosting The Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Annual Member’s Exhibition June 12th, 2010.

Ethel F. Betts Bains, House and Garden, 1923, oil on canvas, @ Newman Galleries.

Photos by DoNBrewerPhotography.

While Alan Klawans, the Exhibitions Chair of The Plastic Club, awarded honors for the excellent Black & White show, DoN observed sunlight creeping across Vetiado # 48, a mixed media painting by Louisa Velben.  The painting glittered as if diamonds are embedded in the surface but the illusion was shiny paint bubbles in the thickly painted and swirled liquid.

Pulled From The Darkness, Erik Melendez, charcoal.

Karl Richard Olsen, Portrait, graphite. Bill Meyers, of PSoP, volunteer posed at the Plastic Club, the likeness is striking yet loose and free.

Rebecca Miller, Overrripe: Compost 3, graphite.  Miller is completing the Master program @ PAFA, studying with the extraordinary Scott Noel; this piece was created by drawing on gessoed board, draw with graphite, layer watered gesso over the drawing, let dry, draw some more…the result is an award winning drawing.  Miller also took home a prize the same day from The Philadelphia Sketch Club for an oil painting.  Seeing young new talent emerging from local art schools with the skill of masters participating in the grass roots arts movement in Philly is extremely satisfying.

Alden Cole, Dancing in the Dark, pencil and Leroy Fornoy, Night Bus, oil.  Pairing these two graphic pieces is genius - Cole’s trippy Starlings dance ecstatically and Fornoy’s painting has a Manga skate-punk nihilist vibe.

One of the great aspects of this show is the variety of media displayed, now that photography is accepted in  the art circles as a legitimate art form, many Photographic Society of Philadelphia members have the opportunity to show with their work along side traditional media - some photographers even entered paintings!

Arthur Ostroff, Floreal Ancienne, ink jet print.

Riikka Salo, Windows to Spruce, photograph.

Lois Schlachter, Exhibitions Chair of The Philadelphia Sketch Club, and Alan Klawans, Exhibitions Chair of The Plastic Club, at the Black & White Show.  The Philadelphia Sketch Club opened their 147th Annual Exhibitions of Small Oil Paintings the same afternoon - between the two art clubs there are over 300 new art works by contemporary Philadelphia area artists to see.  The juxtaposition of two strong theme shows is visually and psychologically invigorating, one show is limited to size and medium, the other limited to no color, the problem-solving and creativity of the artists is inspiring, entertaining and lucid.

Photography by DoNBrewerPhotography.

2010 Philadelphia Open Studio Tours -  pdf

Register @ http://www.philaopenstudios.com/Opportunities.aspx

Dog by Karen McDonnell & Anthony Cortosi perfectly encapsulates the theme of this groundbreaking, historic art show curated by Jody Schweitzer of Off the Wall Gallery @ Dirty Franks Bar on the corner of 13th & Pine Streets, bringing together artists from the dual art clubs, The Plastic Club & The Philadelphia Sketch Club on the historic Avenue of the Artists - a painting of a three-legged dog created in collaboration by an opposite sex couple.  The formally all female Plastic Club and the formally all male Philadelphia Sketch Club have been co-existing on the same block for decades - the Sketch Club is celebrating it’s 150th anniversary this year with a stunning array of historic art shows & the Plastic Club is nearly 100 - both clubs integrated sexes in 1991, since then Camac Street has become a fantastic haven for artists to work and learn side by side, the competition raising the bar for quality, prestige and creativity for everyone.  Alan Klawans, the exhibitions chair @ The Plastic Club, told DoN participation in art shows is up 300%; the current Small Oils Show @ PSC has 170 paintings, you couldn’t squeeze another piece in if you wanted to.

Karen & Anthony, create all of their art together: drawing, cutting, spraying, dumpster-diving, brain-storming…resulting in iconic imagery resonating with vibrant contemporary urban life.  Their work is proof men & women can work together in partnership, even if the result is like walking on three legs to get there.

The showcase @ Off the Wall Gallery with Dorothy Roschen, Cara Kendric and more, many of the artists are members of both clubs.

Mina Smith-Segal @ An Offering on Camac.  Mina won an award Saturday for a painting she created for the Lantern Theater Company’s Henry IV, Part 1 production, another art collaboration between the Da Vinci Art Alliance of South Philly and the St. Steven’s Theater in Center City - it’s art synergy, baby!

Sibylle-Maria Pfaffenbichler is getting terrific buzz for her jazzy paintings of couples dancing; every show they’re in is instantly energized by the bold color and confidant brushwork, capturing the attention of the viewer like watching a really good-looking couple dancing deep in the groove of the music in a smokey dive with a great juke-box.

An Offering on Camac @ Dirty Franks is the perfect third leg for an art crawl; after trying to absorb over 300 fantastic new art works on view between the two clubs current shows, a stiff drink is in order.  What do you call a one-eyed, three-legged dog?  Lucky.

Sibylie Pfaffenbichler, Sailor on Leave, oil.  The artist explained to DoN her inspiration came from the forties and the famous images of sailors returning home.  The painting is so exuberant, vibrant and distinctive it really makes you wonder why we don’t dance in the street when our soldiers make it home.  Pfaffenbichler is chair of The Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Annual Flower Show.

Paul Davis Jones, Enigma, acrylic.

Gail Morison-Hall, The Burning Bush, mixed media & Elise Arnold, Untitled One, acrylic.  With 199 works of art, Small World @ The Plastic Club would have been even bigger if more artists understood that presentation is half the battle, the exhibitions committee refused several pieces (DoN spotted a few suspect entries who passed muster).

Nick Brown, Orange Juice Cup & Mug, stone ware.  Brown brings unfired pottery to life study workshops at The Plastic Club and sketches directly onto the clay, often you can hear him scratching grooves into the design to prevent the glaze from spreading when applied.  The resultant objects are like ancient vessels found at an acheological dig - future meets ancient.

Lee Mamaluy, Popping Blooms, oil, Kathryn Russo, At Ease, mixed media and Jeanne Chesterton, Dots, oil.

Robert Stauffer’s photograph, Thorazine Can Kill The Human Spirit, with broken glass in a mirror lined shadow-box frame is like a history of modern art all mushed up like DuChamp meets Warhol meets Ansel Adams.  The broken glass reads like disaster, the desert scene feels like being stranded and the infinite reflections on all sides have secret hidden images to uncover.

 Alden Cole, Now n Then #3, Mother & Child, wax/clay, 2010 & 1964.

Bob Makoid, Avian Capers,markers.  Makoid told DoN this drawing is extra special to him because his kids surprised him by having the design made into a stained glass window.

Michele Jenkins, New Glasses, oil.  DoN LoVeS this painting!  Timeless, super-fun, nostalgic, funny, happy and executed with aplomb.

Anders Hansen, Earth Goddess, ink/watercolor, Lois Schlachter, Queen of the Night, acrylic and Joseph De Fay, The Cafe’, ink-jet print.

Lois Schlachter, Balloon Release, acrylic.  DoN appreciates Lois’ combination of real & unreal, abstract & illustrative, signs & significations - cool.

Alan Clawans, Small Shed, photograph, DoN Brewer, light being (Farrah Fawcett), photograph (it’s not DoNArTNeWs without some DoN news), Sylvia Schreiber, White Flower, acrylic, Susan Wierzbicki, Saim, acrylic and Elise Arnold, Cats, acrylic.  DoN is so pleased to have his entries placed so strategically in the beginning, #3, and the end, #196 - the magic of 3.

Photos by DoNBrewerMultimedia Photography.

The 14th Annual Art Ability Exhibition & Sale at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital’s Patron’s Preview Party on November 7th was a sensational event kicking off the extensive art show featuring more than 400 art works by 128 artists from 23 states and 10 countries.  The hospital on Paoli Pike is an excellent venue with high, long walls, a fine hanging system, great lighting providing a wonderful stroll or roll along a meandering path to wander and take in the wide array of fine art.

Photographer Linda Fry Goschke was honored with the catalog cove, a beatific portrait of a “Crested Caracara“, a raptor she spent time with in a bird sanctuary.  The photograph is poignant, strong and sensitive; at first glance it appears to be a painting with golden light brushing the elegant bird’s feathers, the dark head contrasting the ochre beak and the glint of disinterest in the eye, a perfect metaphor for the theme of the exhibit.

Goschke told DoN that in order to capture her images she had to wait for new technology to catch up with her vision - the lustrous flower photograph is actually created on a flat-bed scanner, then enhanced with Photoshop.

Linda Fry Goschke, Barred Owl, photograph @ Art Ability.

Sal Panasci was commissioned by Bryn Mawr Rehab to create the design for a mural leading to the admissions center, formally along stark hallway to what could be an uncomfortable experience.

Now, the hallway is a colorful, exuberant scene welcomes people to what may be an extended stay to rehabilitate the body, mind and spirit.  Panasci’s painting was transformed into wallpaper creating a warm, sunny vista.

Sal Panasci, Late Autumn Palette, oil.

Ken Smith, Blue Flower, photograph pigment ink on paper on board, encaustic.  Smith’s serene composition won honorable mention, The Mary Armitage Green Memorial Award presented by Heather and Damien Lubeski, the wax finish means the print will survive for a very long time.

Michael Jameson, Charlois Bull, oil painting on birch panel

Sheryl Yeager, pastels.  DoN talked with Sheryl about her inspiration for the delightful pig and zebra pastels, she explained that she portrays lots of different animals because they make her feel free, at one with God & nature and the art heals her past.  A self described high functioning autistic, her most popular drawings are of elephants and she’s more than willing to accommodate her customer base.  This is Sheryl Yeager’s 5th year with Art Ability, she has been accepted into the Pastel Society of Little Rock and has exhibited her work at the Andrews Art Museum in North Carolina.

The big fish are by Arnie Segal, the drawing is by Mari Newman, Dick Wexelblat created the menagerie and won honorable mention for Fine Crafts presented by Sal & Linda Panasci, the sculpture in the right forefront is by blind artist Tara Arlene Innmon.  This tableau is very popular with visitors with the vibrant animal forms delighting the eye and lifting the spirit.

Arnold Segal was a true art star at the Art Ability Patron Preview, selling most of his collection of sculptures and earning commissions - a mixed media artist, Segal uses plaster, paper mache and electronics to enliven his sculptures which often have hidden surprises.

Liam Kennedy, Dreams, bronze, winner of 2nd prize for sculpture, the Sarah Hair Shearer Memorial Award.

Kathy Harris, Double Self Portrait & Winter Bride.  Harris created the portraits from life masks - the double self portrait is from 30 years ago and the Winter Bride is a recent mask.  Kathy told DoN that the younger version is dreaming of the future and the elder shows aging through time, either way she’s beautiful with a wonderful spirit and wicked wit, we had the best time chatting about her career making paintings, ceramic tiles and pipes.

Michael Tavani, Winter in Chadds Ford, oil.

Jack Beverland, Happy Trails, acrylic & plastic.

Clif Anderson, The Last Rose, oil.  Clif told DoN this was literally the last rose in his garden last November.

Beverly Strohecker-Yablin, Favorite Teacup, oil.

David Gerbstadt is one of the famous Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, his mixed media paintings are super-pop, perfect for a hipster’s pad or austere modern interior.  DoN was recently in the Dumpster Diver gallery on South Street and a patron bought 27 of his $1.00 drawings as Christmas gifts.

Marilyn Lavins, 40th Anniversary 1969-2009, Moon Landing, collage.

Photography by Jim Knisley @ Art Ability.

Gregory Gans, Spirit Over Waters, photograph, winner 3rd Prize for photography, The Denise Fraunfelter Memorial Award.

Photography @ Art Ability Exhibit in Bryn Mawr Rehab.

Gregory Gans, Forest Cathedral, photograph.  DoN had the opportunity to chat with Greg’s biggest fan, his wife, who offers constant support and encouragement and agrees with DoN that if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything.  Gans’ has been a working photographer for 45 years, creating hundreds of images - now many of his photos have Biblical & spiritual references reflecting his faith and strength to battle the epileptic seizures he endures after having a benign brain tumor removed.

The Art Ability show has so much to see it’s impossible for DoN to share it all - Evan Gozali’s brilliant digital Asian style scroll is transcendental, Elizabeth Core’s imaginative large painting, Christine Severson’s jewelry…the point is that even though the art is all created by artists with disabilities there are no boundaries, no style, no medium that is exempt from an artist with the will to create from painting to drawing, photography to sculpture, fine art to crafts, an artist is an artist even if they have to hold the brush with their mouth, work from a wheelchair, try to hold steady until the tremor passes or struggle to articulate because the words won’t come.

DoN was so happy to see so many red dots indicating sales - 80% goes to the artist and the remainder is used to improve the facilities to aid people who need rehabilitation everything else is provided by volunteers including the wonderful sales team.  DoN had the pleasure of meeting Ellie Pfautz, a volunteer sales rep who absolutely loves Bryn Mawr Rehab since they helped her recover from a brain aneurysm; the two of us marveled at the new Lokomat suite - a robot which helps train muscles & nerves by reminding the body of motor pathways, building new neural networks and strengthening the body without manual manipulation by a technician.  To see a short video clip - click here.

Lokomat Robot @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital

Curator Alan Clawens insisted all entries must be work created outside of the historic art club on Avenue of the Artists, Camac Street, the theme being still life in any media; the Plastic Club artists reached deep into creative reserves to bring work that represents they’re own style yet meet the criterion of the show.  There’s nothing like listening to an artist explain how they’re work meets the rules - it would make a great reality show but in this case everyone seems sincere in bringing their best.

Marie Davis Samohod, Parting of Ways, acrylic.

Elizabeth H. MacDonald, Tin Can, relief print.

Michael Kuncevich, Facets, monotype.  Kuncevich took first prize in the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Miniatures Show.  The delicate coloration and high concept of this print is a master class in composition, technique, style and skill.

Debra Campbell Goodyear, Lemon Aid, photograph, Veronica Schmude, Wheel, digital print and Alden Cole, …And Delicious, mixed media.  Isn’t this a beautiful tableau?  DoN LoVeS that Veronica & Alden are hanging together since they’re both DoN faves.  DoN’s looking for Ms. Goodyear.

Mina Smith-Segal, Terracotta Head, watercolor.

Anders Hansen, Wild Onions, ink & graphite.

E.S. Holmes, Pipes, acrylic, Thelma Segal, Mexican Paper Flowers, watercolor, Paul Perez, Artist, photograph and Dom Loschiavo, Lunch at Le Magnolie, color print.

DoN Brewer, light being (David Arneson), digital photo.

The Plastic Club is an oasis of creativity, friendship, camaraderie and support; not just a club, it’s a think tank, a hide-out, a studio, a gallery, a place to learn and experiment without fear.  Fear is the mind-killer.