Exhibition Great Art on Screen: Manet, Portraying Life

This is a one night event nationwide in certain theaters, on Thursday April 11, 2013.    I am going on Thursday, Cinemark Festival Bay, Orlando.   It is an exhibition on screen of the exhibit, "Manet, Portraying Life at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.  I can't wait to see how this is done on a movie screen!  For information go to www.fathomevents.com, plug in your zip code and click on a theatre near you where you can buy tickets and see the trailer.  They will be doing a one night event in this series on Munch in June, and Vermeer in October.

Manet is one of my favorite French painters.  Many think he was one of the Impressionist but he never classified himself as such even though he was painting during the same time period.  Their were 8 Impressionist exhibits between the years of 1874 and 1886 and he did not exhibit in any of them.  His student and protege Berthe Morisot was in a few and was only one of three women to exhibit with the French Impressionists, along with American, Mary Cassatt and Marie Bracquemond.

If you go see this, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!

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Acceptance into 2013 Georgia Watercolor Society National Exhibition

Hong Kong Happy Hour

$175.00

Price Includes Shipping

Limited Edition Archival Print Giclée Signed and Numbered, Edition of 300

Original Painting is SOLD.

Image Size:  12” x 18,” (30.5 cm x 46 cm)

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Just found out today my painting Hong Kong Happy Hour was accepted into the 2013 Georgia Watercolor Society National Exhibition!  Show opens April 5 and goes to May 17, Blue Ridge Art Association Gallery, Blue Ridge Georgia.

Here is the story behind this painting.  This window was part of a facade in the Soho District on Hong Kong Island.  There was no sign or any indication as to what was inside. I was so intrigued by the blue color and peeling paint.   One night a friend took me there and much to my surprise, it was a French antique shop turned into a cocktail lounge!  Hence, the name of this piece.

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Mayan Gate

Mayan Gate

$1,500.00

Watercolor, Framed

14.5” x 21.5,” (37 cm x 54.5 cm)

Framed Size 21.5" x 28.5," price includes frame

Selected for the Louisiana Watercolor Society 44th International Juried Exhibition 2014

Selected for theFlorida Watercolor Society's On Line Exhibition, 2014

Selected for Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's 34th Annual Juried International Competition, 2013

Selected for the Annual Central Florida Watercolor Society Exhibition 2013 at the Terrace Gallery, City Hall, Orlando Florida

This painting was inspired by the wonderful Mayan Revival Architecture at the Maitland Art Center, Maitland Florida, designed by J. Andre Smith. 

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The Central Florida Watercolor Society's exhibition is being held currently at the Terrace Gallery in City Hall, downtown Orlando Florida, through March 22. The entries had to be a piece inspired by or representing something in the Orlando area.

My painting in the show, Mayan Gate, was inspired by a gate in the Mayan Court at the Maitland Art Center, Maitland Florida. Formerly knows as The Research Studio, it was an art colony founded and built in 1937 by artist and architect J. Andre Smith (1880-1959), and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The main building, gardens and courtyards, have a unique Mayan Revival Style.

J.Andre Smith was born in Hong Kong, and as child, moved to Germany and eventually came to New York City. After receiving a master's degree in architecture at Cornell, he travelled in Europe for 2 years on a fellowship from the university. He served in World War I in active duty as an artist. Additionally, he designed The Distinguished Service Cross, still in use by today’s military. Unfortunately, he underwent a post war amputation of his right leg.

Known for his etchings, he published in France, an illustrated volume of his work, with the American Expeditionary Forces. His etchings also won him a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915.

His main residence was in Connecticut, but in his retirement years he wintered in Maitland, Florida. He met Mary Curtis Bok, who assisted him in opening The Research Studio in 1937. Over the fireplace in the main gallery, a concrete carving over the fireplace summarized the intention of the center, “The artist’s job is to explore, to announce new visions and open new doors.”

I feel I opened a new door with this piece, it was a bit of a departure for me from my other works, exploring more textural techniques in watercolor and focusing on a more graphic composition. Not knowing anything about Smith prior to doing the painting, I discovered later, we have both lived in Hong Kong, France, and central Florida, and studied and worked in architectural fields before pursing art careers!

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