Category Archives: Paintings Philadelphia

oils, acrylics, watercolor, mixed media, ink, philadelphia

Garden

Bartram's Garden, DoN BrewerBartram’s Garden, DoN Brewer, oil on canvas, 16″ x 20″

My friend John Benigno asked me the other day if I had ever finished the painting I posted on Instagram? I think it’s done. Painting plein air with the Philadelphia Art Meetup Group ignites an energy in me that had been dormant. Going into the field, with the security of friends, to paint the natural world stimulates creativity through performance. It’s like being in a play and everyone is making up their own parts. Sometimes there is participation from the audience like a dog-walker with questions or a passing car horn honk.

Posting progress of the painting on Instagram and facebook is also a kind of performance art with the satisfaction of ‘likes’ and comments. The act of painting is as scientific and technological as computing, it’s hard work and experience to learn the combinations. You really need to know your codes to get results and with painting it’s about emulsions.

When I’m outdoors I use Liquin medium to thin the oils, the result is a nice soft texture with a bit of transparency. In a home studio, though, the fumes are too much. I learned about Gamblin Galkyd Lite at Plaza Artist Material Hands On Creativity event this past Summer. Using the Gamblin Galkyd Lite medium indoors to finish the painting from a photograph was not as smelly but you still need good ventilation. The finish was nice and slippery, the paint layered and stayed in place, and the drying was faster with time to work wet on wet.

Bartram's Garden, DoN BrewerBartram’s Garden, DoN Brewer, Philadelphia Art Meetup Group

Thank you to Bartram’s Garden for being such a welcoming host for artists to work in a beautiful, safe and accommodating environment. Thank you to Philadelphia Art Meetup Group for their support and encouragement for painters to gather together and make art. Thanks to Plaza Artist Material for the demo and free stuff, the education and fine materials you provided pushed me to paint. Thank you to my followers who continue to show interest in my work, provide support and encouragement for me to be an artist.

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Bella Vista

Jed Williams GalleryKimberly Neff Consulting kimberly@kimberlybneff.com C: 267-249-6185 Jed Williams Gallery http://www.jedwilliamsgallery.com/submissions/

Bella Vista Resident Art Show: January 24th at Jed Williams Gallery. This January 2015, Jed Williams Gallery will be holding a two-day show displaying artwork from Bella Vista residents. Artists can be amateur or professional and artwork can be of any medium. Residents interested in displaying their work are encouraged to submit an email to info@jedwilliamsgallery.com with 3-5 digital images of work, a description of their work, a short bio or artist statement and contact information. The show will be held at Jed Williams Gallery, at 615 Bainbridge St. Philadelphia, PA.

Deadline for show submissions is January 14, 2015. A selection of submitted works will be on display and for sale at the gallery and open to the community for viewing. All artists who submit work (whether they end up getting their actual artwork displayed at the gallery or not) will have the option of having images of their submitted work featured in a digital slideshow during the event.

Join us for music, light fare and beverages to see some of the talent and creativity of Bella Vista Resident Art Show Family Event January 25, 10-12pm. Little ones (of any age!) and their parents are welcome to view the Bella Vista resident art show, enjoy coffee and light fare and make a craft to take home.

About Jed Williams GalleryJed Williams Gallery is a unique art space owned and operated since 2010 by artist Jed Williams. JWG showcases up-and-coming and inspiring artists from the Philadelphia area. Artists featured are from all backgrounds including classically trained as well as self-taught outsider artists. The gallery shows a variety of thoughtful, cutting edge high quality works ranging from 2D, mixed media and painting, to video, installation and sculpture. www.jedwilliamsgallery.com

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Portraits

Portraits at Plastic Club

Portraits at Plastic

Portraits at Plastic at The Plastic Club, 247 South Camac Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. December 7th – 21st.

Artist Reception and Awards: Sunday, December 7th, 2:00 – 5:00pm

Portraits at Plastic includes work that portrays a person–a likeness or description, including single and double-portraits (portraits of two people together), self-portraits, and abstract portraits.

“A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.” – Wikipedia

Prize Juror: Sarah Stolfa, Fine Art Photographer and Educator, Founder/Executive Director of
Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, MFA Yale University, currently teaching at UPenn.

Sarah Stolfa was born in Winfield, Illinois in 1975.  She earned her BS in photography from Drexel University, Philadelphia, in 2005 and her MFA in Photography from Yale University in 2008.  In 2004, Stolfa won The New York Times Photography Contest for college students and several of her photographs were reproduced in The New York Times Magazine.  In 2006, Stolfa was included in the Second Woodmere Triennial of Contemporary Photography at the Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia.  In the same year, her work was exhibited at Gallery 339 in Philadelphia and Silverstein Photography in New York.  In 2007, Stolfa was included in “Women to Watch” at Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, and in “L’Autre” at the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery of the University of the Arts, Philadelphia.” – Gallery 339

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Life


Scott Noel, Peter Van Dyck, and Elise Schweitzer: The Life of a Painting. Video by John Thornton

“Philadelphia’s Gross McCleaf Gallery hosted two exhibitions of art made from direct observation. Scott Noel’s solo show called “Painted Confabulations”. The other show, “Mise en Scene: Pageant and Place”, featured Peter Van Dyck and Elise Schweitzer, and was curated by Scott Noel.

Scott Noel is not only an excellent artist, he is an intellectual and one of the leaders of a movement advocating for the return of representational painting based not on photography but grappling with the reality right in front of an artist. February of 2014, Scott organized a large exhibition of like minded painters at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts called ‘From Edwin Dickinson to the Perceptual Painters, Observation and Invention: The Space of Desire‘. As a curator, Noel was arguing that direct observation can yield painterly results that can be obtained in no other way. I see the two current shows at Gross McCleaf Gallery as a furtherance of this argument.” – John Thornton

Scott Noel began teaching and exhibiting in Philadelphia in 1980, after completing undergraduate study at Washington University in Saint Louis. Since that time he has mounted over thirty solo exhibitions at galleries, universities and museums as well as many group shows. Solo shows have appeared at the State Museum in Harrisburg, the University of Virginia, the Bowery Gallery, the Painting Center and fifteen exhibitions at the More Gallery, Mangel Art Gallery and Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia.” – PAFA Faculty web page

Gross McCleaf Gallery represents local and national artists with a focus on Contemporary Art. The gallery has been active in the Philadelphia arts community for over forty years, advising collectors and placing artists’ work in museums throughout the greater Philadelphia region. Gross McCleaf features monthly rotating exhibitions in two main galleries, special events, artist talks, and an extensive inventory. Our mission is to promote mid-career artists, while seeking to build the careers of emerging talents.” – About Gross McCleaf Gallery

Thank you to John Thornton for permission to post “Scott Noel, Peter Van Dyck, and Elise Schweitzer: The Life of a Painting” video

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Active Adults

Marilyn Lavins, Bernice Paul and Priscilla BohlenActive Adults: Marilyn Lavins, Bernice Paul and Priscilla Bohlen at Center on the Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, Pa. 19118

Three visual artists will be showing their paintings at Center on the Hill…the place for active adults. This art show runs from December 2nd until Dec. 29th 2014 and can be viewed for no charge at any time during ‘Center on the Hill’ business hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00am until 4:00pm.

Marilyn Lavins has recently had her ‘Water Works‘ painting selected for the cover of the Surrey Services 2015 calendar. Lavins was awarded first place by Richard Rosenfeld, at Einstein Hospital in Elkins Park, for her collage necklace made from a coat hanger, pearls, silver, and copper. Marilyn has won many prizes and has shown throughout this area. Marilyn Lavins has a BFA degree from Tyler School of Art, has studied at Moore College of Art and Design, and at The Barnes Foundation in Merion with Violetta de Mazia and with Angelo Pinto

Bernice Paul is 97, still painting, and still showing her work. She emigrated with her family, to the US from Moscow, in 1929, at age 12. She has studied art extensively at PAFAThe Barnes Foundation, Fleisher Art Memorial, and The Philadelphia Sketch ClubBernice’s work has been shown at Woodmere Art Museum, Villanova University, Rosemont College, Inliquid, The Philadelphia Art Alliance, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Crane ArtsBernice Paul’s vibrant style has earned many awards; Best in Show at Main Line Art Center and also at Tri-State Artists Equity Association, for her “exciting composition and the physicality and joy of her brush strokes.”

Priscilla Bohlen is a professional visual artist who works on canvas using acrylic paint, with resist. Bohlen applies the resist to a colorful background, then with a palette knife, she covers it all with a complementary color. When the resist is removed, part of the underneath activity is revealed. From there Priscilla enjoys the challenge of resolving the painting, which involves many layers. Priscilla Bohlen loves the surprise element that comes about through this method of painting. Priscilla is a juried member of Delaware Valley Art League, of ARTsisters, and of Tri-State Artists Equity AssociationBohlen is actively involved with the workings of all three groups, when she is not painting.

Center on the Hill…the place for active adults“, is a vital outreach center. The director, Leslie Lefer has worked to build the center to its current level of excellence. Be sure to visit this gem of an outreach center, right here in Chestnut Hill at 8855 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, Pa. 19118. You may want to sign up for an exercise class, or listen to a speaker. For more information, call 215.247.4654 or email Llefer@chestnuthillpres.org.

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