Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Plastic Club Members Exhibit

The Plastic Club’s annual member’s exhibit brought out the best in the historic art club’s world class creations; from oils, to drawings, to watercolors to digital media, the Plastic Club allows each member to enter two pieces which were then juried and honored with awards.  The receptions at the Plastic Club are always fun and with the new six burner stove in the basement kitchen Bob Jackson’s monthly dinners are extra special. 

Plastic club winners

The Winners of the Plastic Club’s annual Members Exhibit. 

 Plastic Club Members show

Members works at the Plastic Club’s Members Exhibit (that’s DoN‘s oil painting of Bartram’s Garden on the right) 

Plastic Club Members show

Panoramic shot of the Plastic Club’s gallery/studio on the second floor of the historic space. 

Anders Hansen

Watercolor by Anders Hansen @ Plastic Club Members exhibit. 

Plastic Club Members show

The Plastic Club offers free membership to several student artists each year.  John Baccile, an undergrad at the University of the Arts, won first prize for one of his digital compositions (not this one).  The digital collages are printed on canvas and truly stood out from the crowd with vivid color, original compositions and masterful computer manipulation.  UArts is DoN‘s alma mater, it’s gratifying to see wonderful new talent continuing to thrive on the Avenue of the Arts. 

Plastic Club Members show 

Plastic Club’s members exhibit (that’s another one of DoN‘s painting upper right). 

Legacy Show & Sale @ The Philadelphia Sketch Club

The Legacy Show & Sale at the Philadelphia Sketch Club is a fundraiser with club members donating art for the show.  Ostensibly the idea is for artists to unload some of their stock but DoN felt the tension of competition with each of the contributing artists donating work that somehow epitomizes their own particular style. legacy show 

Art by Lois Schlacter, Dorothy Roschen, DoN and others @ the Legacy Show @ PSC. 

mcDonnel & Cortosi

McDonnell/Cortosi @ PSC Legacy Show.  The dynamic duo are showing @ Rodger Lapelle Galleries as well.

Dorothy Roschen

Dorothy Roschen @ PSC Legacy Show.

PSC 

 Michael George Jerista @ PSC Legacy.

  

Hobo Orona @ The Beauty Shop Cafe

The Beauty Shop Café consistently displays forward thinking art, curator Jon has transformed this formerly dingy corner to a really nice hangout for locals.  The recent art opening for hobo orona, two art girls going to PAFA, each with their own distinct point of view, is quirky and deep.  The happening was fun and thoughtful, bringing out friends and neighbors to hear a local musician (whose name escapes me – I’ll get it soon.) The journals by Jamie with the repurposed book covers with lovely papers inside are cleverly displayed.  Her mom told me how a potential customer asked her to create wedding invitations from the pages of a love story, sadly the project was too big but is a wonderful meme.  The drawings and collages by Tate O are clever and thoughtful.

beauty shop

Jamie’s journals with repurposed book covers. 

beauty shop 2 

 

beauty shop 3

Paper cutout with collage – cool. 

beauty shop 4 

Art party @ The Beauty Shop Cafe for “hobo orona”. 

 

Arthur Ostroff @ Montgomery

Arthur Ostroff @ Montgomery 

Philadelphia artist, Arthur Ostroff escorted fellow artist Jed Williams and DoN to see his one-person installation of prints and drawings at Montgomery County College Library – which is continuing through 12/19.  The college is in Pottstown PA, the library anti-room is spacious and bare, allowing Ostroff to install what amounts to be a retrospective of a career in graphic design and fine art since the late 1950s.  There is a powerful image Ostroff painted of a fellow soldier, in uniform, ready for battle, the beautiful desire to create art lives in the painting: the artist as a young warrior battling for his life.  On board a fighting sea vessel, Ostroff would trade his drawings of boats for beers to his fellow shipmates while sailing off to war.  Other images in the show represent artistic growth and the development of expertise in method and procedure such as multi colored prints.  DoN will post more on the show soon but strongly urges all who can to visit the Library at Montgomery County College not only to experience the fine art of Arthur Ostroff but to learn something new about the art venues outside of Philly who provide the opportunity for such an expansive show – over 75 works of art by one artist, in one room.  Arthur Ostroff @ Montgomery Artist, Arthur Ostroff.Arthur Ostroff @ MontgomeryArthur Ostroff @ Montgomery Arthur Ostroff @ MontgomeryArthur is so interesting, he has truly forged his own way as an artist in a highly innovative mode.  

Under $100 @ Off the Wall @ Dirty Franks Bar

Tonight is the opening of the Under $100 show at Off the Wall Gallery @ Dirty Franks Bar.  DoN is delighted that his photo, “Chick”, has been selected by the jury to be included in the show.  Chick was shot with a 35mm camera on black and white film, developed in the darkroom at Philadelphia University by DoN (gotta say that as much fun as Photoshop is there’s nothing like un-spooling the film in complete darkness, then developing the negatives with liquid chemicals; whoever invented this process must have been touched somehow by a higher being).  The negative was then scanned and enlarged in the computer and printed on pearlized photo paper on a digital printer.  So even though in theory the image can be endlessly reproduced, the piece in the show is one-of-a-kind since the printer no longer feeds paper properly and the printer heads are worn out.  DoN now uses Shutterfly for most of his photo printing and sometimes Kodak.  It’s so much more cost effective to produce art this way since all the hassles of paper jams and ink running out are handles by a vendor – plus they do a really good job.  DoN now uses the rather expensive Epson printer to print letters and such; maybe he shouldn’t have tried to feed through that thick watercolor paper just to see how it would turn out.

 

In a Kerouac-ian manner, DoN is posting this from warm and rainy Florida, so he won’t be at the opening tonight to hang out with the groovy art crowd Dirty Frank’s attracts but hopes that the party is fun and that Chick won’t be coming home to roost in DoN’s studio but will find a new home instead.

Under 100

 Under 100 poster

 Download full size copies of the poster by clicking here.  Chick is featured in the lower right.