Post 305: PWAS Monthly Meeting Guest Speaks on the Art of Pastels

PWAS Monthly Meeting Guest Speaks on the Art of Pastels

The monthly Prince William Art Society meeting at the Tall Oaks Community Center took place last night. PWAS meets on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA 22192, at 7:30 pm. and featured a program with local artist, Teresa Brunson.

The guest speaker opened the meeting with Ms Brunson showing the tools and procedures in creating her beautiful pastel and mixed media paintings. 

 

 

    

Wild Flower Field by Teresa Brunson 

 

The PWAS members asked Teresa many questions about her process. She covered the types of paper used, the qualities of the pastels and their properties and uses. The members were fascinated by her mixed media use of watercolors, clear gesso, topped with pastels, then on to the framing. Very interesting demo.

Teresa currently exhibits and sells her artwork at the well-known Loft Gallery in Occoquan, VA where her work can be viewed:  https://www.loftgallery.org/our-artists/pastel-artists/teresa-brunson/

See more at https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2023/02/post-298-february-27-2023-pwas-meeting.html

An Art Meeting in Woodbridge, Virginia

After a short refreshment break, the PWAS business portion took place covering finances, grant updates, scholarship fund progress, Open Space Arts gallery news, art show info and more. New members were introduced and questions were asked and answered. PWAS monthly meetings are free and open to the public to attend. If you live in the Northern Virginia area and are interested in art, we invite you to attend the next meeting - March 27, 2023.

 

Tall Oaks Community Center

 See you at the next meeting - or at the Open Space Arts gallery!

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

 

Author: Emily Hawes

Photography/Video Credits: 

Ana Quispe

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 #140 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 304: Open Space Arts Gallery Winners February 2023

Open Space Arts Gallery Winners February 2023

The current art show at the Open Space Arts gallery at 15000 #140 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA has been running between February 1 and February 26, 2023. The show is called "African American Voices and Visions" and will come to a close this Sunday. Each art show we have the visitors vote on their favorite art piece and drop the little cards in the box. Well, the public voted and we LOVE announcing the winners! So, a nice surprise here too...

You Came, You Saw, You Voted

1^st place - Three way tie!

Anna Gatling - Cotton and Chain

Kate Brogden - James River Naiad through the Manchester Bridge

Otis Stanley - Sultry

2^nd place

Tom Payne - Slave Hands

3^rd place

Rita Nolan - The Whole World in his Hands

 

First Place - 3-Way Tie

A big congratulations to all the winners - great work!

 

Anna Gatling "Cotton and Chain" 

 

 

Anna Gatling at the art reception Feb 3, 2023

 

 

Otis Stanley "Sultry" 

 

 

Otis Stanley at the art reception Feb 3, 2023

 Kate Brogden - James River Naiad through the Manchester Bridge (IMAGE PENDING)

Second Place  

 

Tom Payne - Slave Hands

 

Tom Payne at the art reception Feb 3, 2023

Third Place 

 

Rita Nolan "The Whole World In His Hands" by Valerian

 

 Rita Nolan "The Whole World In His Hands" by Valerian

There you go folks, the winners with the most votes at this month's Open Space Arts gallery art show. The next art show will be Women in Literature for March and begins on March 1. The reception is open to the public on March 3 at 6:30pm so see you there! And the voting will begin for that show!

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 #140 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 303: Open Space Arts at Stonebridge Calendar Mar-Jun 2023

Open Space Arts at Stonebridge Calendar Mar-Jun 2023

Tentative art event list at Open Space Arts because as everyone knows, often 'the best laid plans of mice and men, often go astray'. So check with the contact person or at the gallery for the latest information. 

Artists need lead time to create new art of course. An idea for artwork must be formed, then created, then cured. It all can take a LOT of time especially depending on the medium so please check the upcoming art shows so you can prepare.

PWAS - Prince William Art Society

PWCAC - Prince William County Arts Council

PWCPRT -  Prince William County Parks, Recreation and Tourism

OSA - Open Space Arts

CAPAC -  Creative and Performing Arts Center

TBA - To Be Announced 

What's Happening at Open Space Arts

Dates - Event / Description - Dates and Time - Contact - Fee

March 2023 Page Turning Image in Women’s Literature March 1 – March 26, 2023 PWC/PWAS OSA Steering Committee

March 1 - March 15, 2023 Somer’s Voices March 1, 3-8, 10-15 at 6:00 – 9:00 Herb Williams

March 3, 2023 Reception for March Show March 3, 2023 at 7:00 PWC/PWAS/PWCPRT Susan Furr- POC

March 4, 2023 Call for Art for Emerging Student Artists March 4 – 15, 2023 OSA Steering Committee Herb Williams PWCPRT

March 11, 2023 Page-Turning Writers Informal Presentations March 11, 2023, at 1:00 in OSA Gallery bays OSA Steering Committee Penny Shaw Jackie Thomas Michelle Baker

March 11, 2023 OSA Desk Training Session March 11, 2023 at 10:00-11:30 OSA Steering Committee – Main Gallery

March 17- March 31, 2023 Somer’s Voices March 17-22, 24-29 and 31 at 6:00 – 9:00 Herb Williams

March 18, 2023 The Business of Art – Pricing Artwork for Galleries March 18, 2023, at 7:00 backroom OSA Steering Committee

March 18, 2023 Page-Turning Writers Informal Presentations March 18, 2023, at 1:00 in OSA Gallery bays OSA Steering Committee Penny Shaw Sharon Krasny Helen Burroughs Lileeta Harlem

March 18, 2023 Adjudication of Emerging Student Art March 18, 2023 Backroom Herb Williams Steering Committee

March 20, 2023 Notification of April Juried Artwork March 20, 2023 Herb Williams Steering Committee

March 25, 2023 Pysanky Ukrainian Easter Eggs March 25, 2023, at 10:00 – 3:00 Backroom Bring Sack lunch OSA Steering Committee-Penny Shaw and Millie Adams

March 26, 2023 Acrylic Pour Class March 26, 2023 at 1:00 – 5:00 Backroom Anna Gatling

March 27, 2023 Pick-up and Drop-off of Artwork March 27 – 5:00-6:00 and March 28 12:00 – 2:00 Herb Williams PWCPRT PWAS

 

April 2023 Emerging Student Art Show (Young Adults ages 15-25) March 29-April 30, 2023 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

April 1, 2023 NAAEP Act SO April 1, 2023 at 10:00 – 1:00 Herb Williams

April 2, 2023 Call to Art – April Showers May Flowers Call to Art April 2 – 13, 2023 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

April 8, 2023 OSA Desk Training Session April 8, 2023, at 10:00-11:30 OSA Steering Committee – Main Gallery

April 18, 2023 Adjudication of May Artwork April 18, 2023, backroom Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

April 20, 2023 Notification of May’s Juried Artwork April 20, 2023 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

April 2023 The Business of Art – Preparing to Hang Art in Galleries TBA OSA Steering Committee

April 22, 2023 Scott McDonald Bob Ross Oil Painting April 22, 2023 at 1:00 – 5:00 Scott McDonald (fee)

April 30, 2023 Pick-up and Drop-off of Artwork April 30, 5:00 – 6:00 and May 1, 12:00 – 2:00 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

May 2, 2023 Call for Art for June Art Show May 2, 2023 -May 12, 2023 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

May 3, 2023 Flowers a Blooming Event Art Show May 3 – May 28, 2023 PWCAC Organizations

May 13, 2023 OSA Desk Training Session May 13, 2023, at 10:00-11:30 OSA Steering Committee – Main Gallery

May 16, 2023 Adjudication of June Artwork May 16, 2023 OSA Steering Committee

May 20, 2023 Excelsoir Voices May 20, 2023 OSA Steering Committee Dr. Mary-Hannah Klontz

May 18, 2023 Notification of June Artwork May 18, 2023 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

May 29, 2023 Drop-off and Pick-up Artwork May 29, 5:00 – 6:00 and May 30, 12:00 -2:00 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

May 31, 2023 PWC and PWAS June Art Show May 31 – June 25, 2023 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

June 6, 2023 Call for Art For Those Who Serve – July Art Show - Military Call for Art June 6 – 16, 2023 OSA Steering Committee

June 2, 2023 Excelsoir Voices June 2, 2023 OSA Steering Committee Dr. Mary-Hannah Klontz

June 10, 2023 Taste of Woodbridge Pop-up Shows June 10 @ 11:00-6:00 front of gallery JWC Management, Herb Williams, OSA Steering Committee

June 10, 2023 OSA Desk Training Session June 10, 2023 at 10:00-11:30 OSA Steering Committee – Main Gallery

June 20, 2023 Adjudication of July Art Entries June 30, 2023 Backroom Herb Williams, OSA Steering Committee

June 23, 2023 Notification of Juried Artwork for July Art Show June 23, 2023 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committee

June 26, 2023 Pick-up and Drop-off Artwork June 26, 2023 5:00-6:00 and June 27, 12:00 – 2:00 Herb Williams, PWCAC, and OSA Steering Committe

June 28, 2023 Showcasing Those Who Have Served – Military and Veterans Art June 28-July 30, 2023 PWC Arts Community PWAS

July 2023 Lecture - Those Who Have Served – Creative Art from Military and Veterans TBA

 

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Author: Penny Shaw
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA

 

Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 #140 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 302: Tips To Photograph Your Art For Jury Submission

Tips To Photograph Your Art For Jury Submission

By Leah Boynton 

I’d like to begin by reassuring you that you don’t need a fancy camera to get a great shot of your artwork. In fact using a phone camera has its own benefits and it’s convenient (more on that in a bit). Also, don’t be afraid to take more than one photo. It may take a little bit of time and patience to get a decent shot, but it’s totally achievable!

Photography Tips

Tip 1 : Photograph your artwork before it’s framed, or take it out of the frame. The glass from the frame can cause a lot of glare issues and be disruptive to viewing your art.

If you can’t avoid this and need to take a photo once your artwork is framed, try stepping a bit to the side of your photo and see if that reduces some of the glare. Don’t be afraid to move around! This may mean your photo isn’t as straight on, that’s okay. You can also try cropping it a bit afterwards if needed.

Tip 2 : Take a photo of your artwork in natural light. Using lamps and overhead lights will add glares and can make the colors of your artwork look “off” (by making the colors seem more yellow or more blue depending on your overhead light source).

Try taking photos in a room well lit by natural window light. Another option would be to take your artwork outside on an overcast day or in the early morning/evening when the sun isn’t too high in the sky. If you are taking your artwork outside, make sure it isn’t overly windy because you don’t want your art to blow around or have dirt/leaves end up on your artwork.

Tip 3 : When taking photos of your artwork (not applicable to 3d art), lay your artwork on a flat surface and take the photo from above. Try to match the corners of your artwork to the corners of the camera frame, eliminating as much excess background as possible.

This is also where having your phone camera can come in handy. A lot of phones (though not all) have a “leveler” in the camera settings when shooting from above. You may have to go into your settings to find this. But a small dot should appear in the center of screen and a circle that is near it (and moves when you move). When the camera is held leveled to the ground, the circle should fit around the dot near perfectly. This helps because if you need to crop it later, your lines are already straight and you shouldn’t have to worry about cropping out part of your canvas.

Tip 4 : Sometimes having a bit of background showing is inevitable, especially with 3d pieces. If you have a background showing, make sure it is solid white or solid black. Cardstock, black material (especially velvet because it absorbs light), or solid backdrops (something I’d suggest looking into for sculpture pieces) you can order on Amazon for fairly cheap are all great options. Make sure that your background is solid so it isn’t distracting (example- no paper towels, counter tops, fabric with patterns).

Tip 5 : While there are editing tools, aside from a slight crop, try to stay away from or limit editing your photo too much. By playing with exposure, saturation, contrast, etc, you run the risk of altering your artworks appearance too much from what it truly looks like. Instead try changing the location of the photoshoot or the angle from which you are taking the photo for better results.

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Author: Leah Boynton
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 #140 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Have an art story to share? Art Tips? Contact PWAS ArtistrySpin Blog!

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!

Post 301: Feb 2023 - What's on Your Easel?

Feb 2023 - What's on Your Easel?

Most artists love to show off what they do, even if its in its early stages - and people like to see the 'behind the scenes' story of how a piece of art comes to be. Approximately monthly, I ask the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) members, "What's on your easel right now?" Here are some samples of their works in progress.

Artwork In Progress (AWIP) from PWAS

PWAS has members that are painters, photographers, digital artists, mixed media and more, so not every work is on an easel. So the better question is, "What are you (as an artist) working on right now?" And actually the answer to that could be what they are actually painting, photoshopping, quilling, manipulating, pouring, throwing, carving, and whatever other fine art VERB I can throw at it.

Let's see who answered the question this time for their AWIPs...

Michael Kent

Up in smoke. Any resemblance between this and anything is pure.

Susan Furr 

Charcoal and Chalk

Donna Liguria 

"Fly Like an Eagle" and "Black Bird", in acrylic, both are 6x6 - additions to a bird series I started last year.

Elena Jochum

8x10, commission, watercolor on paper

Saul Roldan

Our Daily Bread, oil

Sue Rosenbaum

I’m a mixed media collage artist and I’ve been working on some new backgrounds. 7-10 layers of acrylic paint, brayered onto 8.5 x 5.5 watercolor paper. One will become a birthday card for my husband. The others will become my next collage series by adding vintage papers, stamping, ink and stencils. I’ll call them “peeling back the layers”, for now.

David Dillon

5 x 7 acrylic on canvas board. Working title is Red Strap 

Otis Stanley

Washboard Blues, Acrylic 16 x 20

Evelyn Chatters

The name of this painting is Survival. It is inspired by a novel entitled July's people by Nadine Gordimer. Vividly describes how the servant in South Africa has to save his masters from the uprising during the apartheid era.

Fatima Farzana

Title: Views of the Rickshaw Girl Size: 36x48 Medium: Acrylic

 

Kelly Haneklau

A commissioned abstract realism acrylic piece for a customer (painted after a photo they took)

Sheri Herrick 

While I'm in FL, I'm experimenting with zentangling on flower photos I've taken at various Botanical gardens in my travels-thinking ahead to May flowers at OSA.  This is Lotus taken in India.

Elizabeth Stathis

“The Mastro's”. 11 X 14 Aquarelle Arches Watercolor Block,140lb Cold pressed, Kuretake Pan Paints, and Windsor & Newton Watercolor Pans, using a Princeton Watercolor rigger brush. WIP of what is to be just one part of an article that will be published in a local magazine entitled, “The Lovely Front Doors of Lake Manassas’.

Mark Murphy

I'm working on watercolor of firefighters in action.  I found a very old block of watercolor paper with no markings (cover was missing).  It looks like Arches but it seems to be even less absorbent than hot pressed, perhaps due to its age.  It is almost like working on plastic "paper" (Yupo).  It has been quite the challenge.

Zorri Berrios

Another rendition of La Gioconda.

 

Thank you to all the Prince William Art Society members that add to our blog! Great to see what you guys have coming up on the radar!

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: Visit us at Stonebridge Open Space Arts at 15000 #140 Potomac Town Center, Woodbridge, VA - Open Wed to Sat 12-7 and Sun 12-5
The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to know how to get involved at OSA? If you are an artist (18 or older) living in Prince William County, or a are a member of a PWC art group, you are welcome to get on our next art show's emailing list. Send it to us, OR come by the gallery to find out more.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!