Group Art Show | DoNArTNeWs

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Donald C. Meyer Medal

Art of the Flower 2015 at The Philadelphia Sketch Club is a juried group art exhibition dedicated to florals in honor of Donald C. Meyer. Dianne Meyer presented the First Prize winner, Kimberle Nentwig for her watercolor painting titled Dahlia Darling, a golden medal in remembrance of her late husband.

The exhibition is an exuberant display of floral artwork, the jurors were Al Gury, chair of the painting department at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Lauren Sweeney, fine artist and Marylyn Waltzer, member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. The entry process is completed on-line at The Philadelphia Sketch Club website and hundreds of artists submitted images for consideration by the jury who then select artworks for the awards. The jurors selected an eclectic mix of media for the awards but being in the show is a goal itself for many regional artists.

View the on-line gallery here.

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Alice Chung, Spring, oil, 17″ x 15″

Spring is all everyone is thinking about, The Art of the Flower show excites the desire to preserve some of that delightful satisfaction of better days. Alice Chung captures a moment of quiet and warmth in her composition, the balance of color, tone and brushwork feels satisfying and serene. Flowers have always been used for decoration, welcoming guests, gifts of love and adornment for sacred ceremonies. Alice Chung‘s Spring is naturally atmospheric, defining a magical moment in time with loose, liquid strokes, empathetic marks and gestural cues to an energetic concept of a space and time of renewal.

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Doris Peltzman, A Cup Full of Peonies, oil on plexiglass, 10″x10″

“I am a direct painter, painting from life to capture the moment. The excitement of the moment and the immediacy are what drive me. It is that total impression that creates the completed painting. I focus on color, harmony, light, mood, texture, composition and the calligraphy of my brush strokes. I love to experiment with a variety of palettes and surfaces. It is the visual stimulation that drives and moves me forward.” – Doris Peltzman artist statement, Artists’ House Gallery

A Cup Full of Peonies by Doris Peltzman possesses a subdued yet elegant presence, the painting has an ethereal quality. Even though the palette is restrained, the alla prima mark-making expresses the subject though tone, light and action in powerful impressionism. Peonies are my favorite flower but they really only last a day, Doris narrates that brevity with experience and skill.

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Suzanne Comer, Panoply, photo montage on archival paper, 21″ x 17″

Suzanne Comer was so sweet to me at the reception for Art of the Flower 2015 at The Philadelphia Sketch Club, offering to take a photo of me with my accepted entry. She said people rarely take pictures of me with my work and we each took photos of each other with our artwork. It was a nice surprise to see that both of us had used digital photo montage to make floral artwork. While my composition has an informal composition, Suzanne Comer‘s Panoply is a formal composition with a coherent balance of shape, color and negative space with the charm of individual flowers emphasized.

“Suzanne Comer regards photography as an art form, often expanding the boundaries by using portions of her photographs to digitally create a new and different whole or montage. With the perspective of a painter, Suzanne’s style stimulates the viewer’s own interpretation and feelings. Therefore, in full circle, creating new personal meanings” – Media Arts Council

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Kimberle Nentwig, Dahia Darling, watercolor, First Prize and Maria Kurtzman, White Roses and Kumquats, oil on board, Second Place

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Laura Ducceschi, Lotus in Repose, photography, Third Place

“Laura Ducceschi’s photography captures the magical way natural light accentuates beauty in nature and in people. Laura’s award-winning fine art photography portrays an intimate view of our beautiful world. Her images reveal how natural light emphasizes color and texture._ excerpt Laura Ducceschi artist statement

As a photographer and painter I was particularly satisfied to see a top award go to a deserving photograph. Photography isn’t about just shooting hundreds of photos to find a good image, the photographer has to make it happen. The tools of a photographer are not unlike painters, the goals are similar, the time and effort equivalent. To have a jury of peers, experts in their field, select a photograph signals the change in acceptance towards the art form. There are a lot of photographs in the show, Philly is as much a photography town as it is a painters town. The history of photography in Philadelphia parallels PAFA and the influence of photography on modern painting is undeniable.

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Gus Sermas, Morning Flower, acrylic, work on paper, HM

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, J D Mitchell, Chestnut Hill Iris, digital print on 100 lb paper, 12″ x 12″ framed

The excitement of an opening, meeting the artists and their families, taking pictures, drinking and eating, is a social practice that is a reward in itself. It is so much fun to watch folks checking out the competition, eves dropping on critiques and comparing and contrasting the artworks with friends. One wonders why artists subject themselves to the process of acceptance and I think it’s the feeling of accomplishment, aside from the exclusivity, of being recognized for your hard work.

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Lauren Sweeney, One Person art show, Observations in Watercolor, in The Stewart Room Gallery (the pool room).

Dear Artists and Art Lovers,

Please join us at historic The Philadelphia Sketch Club for an ongoing exhibition of works by one of our professional member. Free and open to the public. STEWART ROOM GALLERY New works by Lauren Sweeney. March 7-30, 2015See her Online Gallery under “Sweeney” in our PSC Member Gallery HERE . Reception: Saturday March 21, 2015, 2:00 – 4:00pm at The Philadelphia Sketch Club. Open to all.

A lifetime of scientific observation is the underpinning of the artist’s interest in capturing the essence of her subjects in watercolor. In her still life compositions, she focuses on close observation of the organic forms of flowering plants, vegetables, seashells and gourds for their exuberant variations in shape, color, texture and pattern.” – Lauren Sweeney

Art of the Flower 2015, The Philadelphia Sketch Club through March 28th, 2015

Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.

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A video posted by DoN Brewer (@donniebeat) on Mar 8, 2015 at 12:43pm PDT

William Way LGBTQ Community Center Group Art Show: Gina Giles, Thom Duffy, Lance Pawling

“Thom Duffy, Gina Giles, and Lance Pawling are the winners of the 2013 William Way LGBT Community Center Juried Art Competition and their exciting and diverse bodies of work will be on display this September and October in the gallery.

Thom Duffy will display beautifully created watercolor still lifes on paper featuring an autumn theme. Gina Giles has exhibited in The Plastic Club, Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Franks, Hicks Art Center Gallery, and more and will display photographic works. Pawling is a performance and installation artist known for his work with the improvisational theater group Dumpsta Players. Lance Pawling’s found-object sculptures ‘provide the viewer with a magnetic vounce through wonder. Evocative, often disturbing and equally alluring, his work redefines our ideas of refuse.’ The show will be on view in the gallery from through October 31, 2014.

The group art show at William Way LGBTQ Community Center presents three of Philadelphia’s most interesting and influential artists that were chosen from the 2013 Juried Community Art Show. I believe these artists are influential because they each are living their own authentic artistic self-actualized selves and influencing Philadelphia’s artistic culture.

Gina Giles is documenting the drag scene in Philadelphia, a performance art with a long Philadelphia history, through candid and backstage photographs. Thom Duffy is a fine painter who created a whole new body of work, beautiful Autumnal watercolors in a variety of sizes. Thom also operates a successful business, Thom Duffy Massage Therapy LLC, ‘offering a full array of therapeutic massage services for men and women to achieve specific targeted goals and physical well-being’. His job is to make you feel better. Lance Pawling, who’s day job is at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, is influential because of his fearless performances in burlesque shows as well as his visual art skills. I caught the latest performance of The Weird Beard Review, an all male burlesque review, at L’Tage and watched the man with the Dali moustache transform from art nerd to bearded lady sex bomb before my eyes.

October is Gay History Month and a lot of gay history is being made around the world. ‘LGBT History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11.^[1] In the United Kingdom, it is observed during February, to coincide with a major celebration of the 2005 abolition of Section 28.’ (Wikipedia).

The group art show at William Way LGBTQ Community Center is part of gay history now and I believe that the main takeaway is that ‘gay art’ is art just like LGBTQ people are people. Living an authentic life with a freedom of spirit and nature just feels right and brings happiness to our lives.

Read my interviews with each of these artists on DoNArTNeWs Philadelphia Art News Blog.