Friday, May 30, 2025

Post 574: 40 Regional Artists Featured in “Best of the Region” Fine Arts Show & Sale

40 Regional Artists Featured in “Best of the Region” Fine Arts Show & Sale

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Press Release from the ARTfactory, Jordan Exum (ARTfactory, Gallery Directory)

Exhibit dates: June 3 – June 15, 2025

(9419 Battle St, Manassas, VA 20110)

Artist Reception: June 7, 6-8 pm

RSVP: https://insidenovatix.com/events/the-best-of-the-region-opening-reception-6-7-2025

Check out the top winners, view the artwork, meet the artists, and enjoy wine and light refreshments.

Exhibit Summary

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) proudly presents the juried “Best of the Region” Fine Arts Show and Sale (BoR), on view June 3–15, 2025, at the historic ARTfactory in Manassas, Virginia.

This exciting exhibition features 40 regional artists and showcases the depth of talent and creativity found across Northern Virginia. PWAS invites artists and art lovers alike to experience this celebration of visual arts culture in our own backyard.

With a commitment to supporting both emerging and established artists, the “Best of the Region” show offers visitors a chance to explore and appreciate the exceptional creativity of local artists. A qualified juror will evaluate submissions and present awards for First, Second, and Third Place, along with a People’s Choice Award—each with cash prizes.

Don’t miss this must-see art event of the summer!

Participating Artists

Absku, Asia Anderson, Danielle Bancroft, Zee Berrios, Erik Bohn, Jill Brabant, Mark Clifton, Jaclyn Del Vacchio, Scott Elliott, Mike Flynn, Michele Frantz, Anna Gatling, Andreia Gliga, Kelly Haneklau, Janet Hansen Martinet, John Hartt, Sheri Herrick, Corban Hubler, Rebekah Keener, Debra Keirce, Donna Liguria, Russ Mardon, Ann McCarty, Sandra McClelland-Lewin, Stephanie McGee, Nicki Mulligan, Mark Murphy, Eric Ndofor, Marina Olchevskaia, Anna Polanco, Aurea, Christine Raymond, Mary Reilly, Carol Rusaw, Maria Theresa “Tes” Sain, Bettie Sperty, Lisa Stewart, Halle Strosser, Emily Thomson, Suzanne Yurdin

Contact

ARTfactory, Gallery Director: Jordan Exum | jexum@VirginiaARTfactory.org

9419 Battle St, Manassas, VA 20110 | 703-330-2787

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday (10 am-5 pm), Sunday (12-5 pm)

VirginiaARTfactory.org

See the Gallery Online

Art is to be experienced in person, but if you are not in the area, please see the online web gallery...or to take a sneak peek before you come to see it!

Best of the Region Fine Arts Show and Sale Gallery

Our Other Sponsors

Creative Brush Studio

Manassas Art Guild

Prince William County Arts Council

Wegmans

The ARTfactory

Jason D. Brandt, DDS

See this Press Release in Prince William Living

Author: Jordan Exum, Gallery Director of the ARTfactory in Manassas, VA

Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and 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 Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Photography/Video Credits: ARTfactory

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

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

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Post 573: PWAS Member Penny Shaw Will Be Missed!

PWAS Member Penny Shaw Will Be Missed!

Monday, May 26, 2025. At the Prince William Art Society's May meeting held at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Woodbridge, VA Monday night, the group gave their goodbyes to a favorite member, Penny Shaw. Penny is moving out of the area and was recognized for her long-time devotion to the PWAS art group, serving as a volunteer and as the Hospitality Chair. Penny will be missed!

PWAS Member Penny Shaw

Penny was presented with a card and gift card and so many members told and can tell the stories of spending time at many art gallery spaces and events volunteering with Penny. And learning about art with Penny.

Monday, May 26, 2025 at the PWAS Meeting

From the Clearbrook Gallery at Tacketts Mill to the art gallery we once populated at Stonebridge, to the monthly meetings at Tall Oaks, we will all remember the times we did 'desk duty' with Penny. Art Talk to Recipe Talk - as Bettie Sperty said.

I've worked with Penny on many occasions both in person, and on this blog for many art topics. Via phone calls and emails, calls for art, and art receptions, Penny has been a part of PWAS since before I joined in 2021, so her knowledge and friendship over the years became a part of our hearts and of this blog as she has graced our archival history. Penny taught classes and workshops, trained artists for volunteering desk duties and so much more. Have a look at some of the past posts:

Artists Interview with Penny Shaw this blog post is still one of the most often viewed posts from the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog archives.

Mixed Media Workshop with Penny Shaw Nov 2

Mixed Media Class with Penny Shaw

Open Space Arts Training with Penny Shaw

PWAS Meeting Recap from Monday, October 25, 2021

What is Mark Making in Art?

Artists Art Reception Strutting OUR Stuff!

Onyx Art Group Show with 6 PWAS Members

Onyx Art Group Show Sat, Sept 21, 2024

And this is where PWAS Members signup for snack duty:

PWAS Hospitality Signup Genius - an invaluable tool for the PWAS Meeting Hospitality Committee that Penny set up. For every monthly meeting, a person or two signs up for the snacks and beverages we all enjoy, thanks to Penny keeping this task organized - and to all that bring the goodies!

Yes, Penny will be missed by all of us in the Prince William Art Society and we all wish her well in this next phase of her life. She said she will come back for visits periodically - and we look forward to that.

Our people are what make an art group great - and a great team to be a part of.

We'll need people to fill in for various committees and roles as folks move on as well as for our Board positions - many that will be voted on in November of this year. I urge our members to consider next steps as PWAS grows and changes, so please see PWAS Board Elections Coming This Fall

Do you have a Penny story to tell? Drop it in Comments below!

Photography/Video Credits: Donna Liguria

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Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Post 572: PWAS Scholarship 2025 Faith Garcia Young

PWAS Scholarship 2025 Faith Garcia Young

Monday, May 26, 2025. At our monthly meeting for the month of May, the Prince William Art Society awarded the Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award to a very well deserving young artist, Faith Garcia Young. Faith's family and Mr. William O'Connor, M.A. Fine Arts Department Chair, from Saint John Paul the Great High School in Dumfries, Virginia, were in attendance.

Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship

Read more about the Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship here and on the Prince William Art Society website here.

Emily Hawes (PWAS Programs and Scholarship Committees Chair) presenting the Scholarship Certificate and Check to Faith Young. The PWAS Board (seated)

Here is some of Faith's portfolio artwork that she had on display. The PWAS Members enjoyed the stories behind each piece with what inspirations went into the creation of each one. The first is a nod to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - the Keira Knightley version of the 2005 movie with Matthew Macfadyen. (Three cheers from me!)

By Faith Garcia Young

By Faith Garcia Young -Inspired by Easter morning at the empty tomb.

By Faith Garcia Young

L-R: Tom Payne, Faith Garcia Young, Bettie Sperty, Staci Blanchard and Eric Ndofor

Photos from Emily Hawes

What an inspirational meeting! As the Prince William Art Society members listened to Faith's plans and hopes for her future in art, it was so heart warming. A very well deserved Scholarship Award winner! We truly hope those dreams come true and see her working at the National Gallery of Art one day! Art World - here she comes!

Photography/Video Credits: Donna Liguria and Emily Hawes

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Saturday, May 24, 2025

Post 571: The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award Night

The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award Night

In May for many years, the Prince William Art Society announces and awards the winner(s) of our annual Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award by celebrating at our monthly meeting. This Monday, May 26 is the day to award the Scholarship, so come and celebrate with us.

From May 2023: The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award presentation. Featured l-r: 2023 PWAS President Ana Quispe, Jewell Pratt Burns, and the 2023 Scholarship recipient Awaneh Sawaneh

PWAS Meeting Monday, May 26, 2025 7:30pm

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) offers a Scholarship each year for $1,000 to be used toward tuition, books, art supplies or anything that helps make school more affordable. Applicants submit an essay, a teacher's letter of recommendation, and digital images of their art. They bring original works to an interview with a panel of Prince William Art Society artists where they discuss their use of mediums, styles, and future goals in the art community. The application process is excellent practice for many later experiences within the art world, and the monetary award provides meaningful help at this pivotal time.

One of the most rewarding moments for PWAS members has been meeting these talented young students and knowing we were able to help this member of the next generation of artists - ensuring all our futures will be a little bit brighter and more creative. Attend the membership meeting this May 26th to help celebrate our 2025 student scholarship winner, Faith Garcia Young. Support her as she receives the award, talk with her and her family over cake and ice cream, and enjoy being a part of this celebration.

Membership meetings are held at the Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Lakeridge, VA 22192. Meetings start at 7:30 pm. All programs are free and open to the public, who are cordially invited to attend.

A Business Meeting Too

Following the Scholarship ceremony, the PWAS members will go over some of the upcoming events, shows and any announcements. A big topic of conversation is our current PWAS Member Art Exhibit showing at the ARTfactory in Manassas May 15- 30 followed by the Best of the Region Fine Art Show and Sale also at the ARTfactory June 3-15. The Art Reception for the Best of show is June 7. The Prince William Art Society is sponsoring the Best of the Region Show and features artists from all over the Northern Virginia areas.

See the Web Gallery online for each of these events at:

PWAS Member Art Exhibit https://pwasatartfactory2025.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery

Best of the Region Fine Art Show https://bestoftheregionexhibit.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery

For a bit of history on the PWAS Scholarship fund, please see https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2021/09/post-5-pwas-art-scholarship-program.html

Consider a Donation to the Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Fund

Save the Date and come to our May Meeting!

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Friday, May 23, 2025

Post 570: PWAS Exhibit at the Bull Run Library June/July

PWAS Exhibit at the Bull Run Library June/July

The Bull Run Library is where we are invited to put up our art for June and again for July so here is an easy call for art for our Prince William Art Society (PWAS) members. PWAS Secretary Bettie Sperty is the event coordinator for this show, so you'll need to contact her if you want to be a part of this event - immediately!

View of the Bull Run Library - the art up

PWAS art exhibit at Bull Run Library for the month of June!!

Highlights:

Submit up to 3 pieces
Accepting medium sized artwork for the entry walls until Saturday, May 24th!
Sizes accepted are minimum of 144 sq.in. (example -12”x12”), maximum size of 320 sq.in. ( example - 16”x20”).
Artwork will be sold via the PWAS Online Art Store
Deadline for submissions Saturday, May 24 11pm
Art Notification acceptance/regrets Tuesday, May 27
Art Delivery Sunday, June 1 1:30 to 2:30pm

Once again PWAS has been invited to display their artwork at the beautiful Bull Run Library located at 8051 Ashton Ave, Manassas, VA 20109. The art display area is a bright, open area immediately inside the front doors of the library making it the very first thing the visitors see upon entering. This is not a juried show and all PWAS artists are invited to submit up to 3 pieces for consideration for display. Due to limited space, only 16-18 pieces will be accepted (total from all artists). These pieces will be chosen by size and order of submission. (First ones submitted will be the first ones considered), so please reply and submit your entry as soon as possible.

This PWAS Art Show will be up and on display during the Bull Run Library Maker Faire being held on June 7th, which attracts several hundred visitors for the day. Contact Bettie for more info of course - bettiesperty@gmail.com

PWAS Shows 2025

PWAS has so many shows and events. You have plenty of opportunities to show your art.

PWAS show at the ARTfactory (juried - show ongoing NOW at the ARTfactory)
PWAS Best of Region show (juried - show coming up at the ARTfactory June 3-15).
This new Bull Run Library show
September Arts Alive (non-juried - show at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas)
and more coming

Note that Bettie has said that she has been contacted by library visitors in the past while showing art at the Bull Run Library for several commissions too!

See info about the PWAS Online Art Store here

Photography/Video Credits: Donna Liguria

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Sunday, May 18, 2025

Post 569: An Art Reception at the ARTfactory

An Art Reception at the ARTfactory

Saturday, May 17, 2025. The Prince William Art Society celebrated an Artist Reception at the ARTfactory for the current art show on display at the gallery. The show is the Prince William Art Society Member Exhibition which began May 15 and will run until May 30. Lots of the artists came and enjoyed the wonderful celebration of art.

Photos from the Reception

The ARTfactory is located at 9419 Battle Street in Manassas, VA right across from the railroad station.

Photographs from around the ARTfactory gallery

Donna Liguria next to her painting called "Spring at Merrimac Farm"

2 From Katharine Owens, featuring "White Chocolate" and "Peppermint Pattie"

2 from Katie Keller Dugan (with Mandy Powell)

To see ALL of the photos from this show, see the PWAS Web Gallery

Here's one from Sandra McClelland Lewin

From PWAS Member Zee Berrios

From PWAS Member Mandy Powell

From Member Scott Elliot with is "Day at Royal Lake"

Thank you PWAS Members for sending in your photos too! As always, art is better seen in person. The colors, the size of the piece, the full impact of an artwork is not realized via the internet...so go by the ARTfactory and see the show! The Show ends May 30th!

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Friday, May 16, 2025

Post 568: Photographing Your Artwork To Make Prints

Photographing Your Artwork To Make Prints

by Tom Payne

Photographing artwork is done for many different purposes.

One purpose is submitting images to be juried for an art show. This can be done with some practice and minimal equipment after watching a few YouTube videos. In this case, the quality of the image and the size of the file may not be very important. Here is a good video to watch for this purpose: https://youtu.be/WIe-KuDAkkc

Photo by Heshan Perera on Unsplash

Photographing your artwork for the purpose of making and selling high quality prints is a worthwhile venture. Many artists pride themselves on selling individual, one of a kind, artworks for customers who have the financial wherewithal to afford that kind of purchase.

In addition to offering original one offs, artists may also want to provide more affordable print products for customers to consider (such as artist note cards and frame-able mat prints in different sizes). For this purpose, good camera equipment, lighting, and image editing software are needed in order to create high resolution images that show your paintings accurately, whether it’s for a pop up show or for your website. Here is a good video that shows this process: https://youtu.be/zsqiPscQQCE

As a photographer, I have the high resolution camera equipment necessary to shoot artwork in a studio setting and would be happy to chat with PWAS members who are interested in learning, with me, how to photograph their work.

If you’re serious and would like to sell note cards and mat prints, I recommend that you spend what you can afford and buy a good photo printer. Stick with Epson or Canon. Go to B&H Photo and shop around and look at videos for a printer that meets your needs. B&H is the best place to buy. Trust me. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/

You can purchase quality photo papers and note card stock from B&H Photo as well. When purchasing photo paper you might wish to purchase a sample pack that includes examples of different finishes, mat, glossy, premium luster, watercolor etc… There are a ton of different types of papers to experiment with.

If you don’t have or don’t want to buy a printer, you must choose a good professional printer. My advice is to use the printers trusted by professional photographers. My favorite printer for paper prints is Mpix. Visit the website and spend some time familiarizing yourself with the various options and products available. You will not be disappointed in the quality of their work. www.mpix.com.

If you are interested in making canvas, acrylic, or metal prints, I highly recommend ProPrints. I get all my big canvas prints from them and they stand behind their work. https://www.proprints.com/

When selling your prints, it is important that they be matted, suitable for framing, and in sealed clear bags. I get my mat boards, backer boards, and clear bags, in standard sizes from Matboard Plus. Purchase supplies in bulk, mat your own prints and you will be good to go. Check them out here: https://www.matboardplus.com/conservation-mat-board-show-kits/

Photo by Jonny Caspari on Unsplash

If you’ve never made a mounted print, don’t worry, it is easy. Here is a good video showing the CORRECT way to do it with acid free products. https://youtu.be/VYUVC8cc838

I hope these references and tips are helpful as you explore the world of photography and how you can create fine art prints to augment the sale of your artworks. Contact me anytime! Make some art and enjoy today!!

Tom Payne Relief Artworx

Author: Tom Payne, PWAS Member-at-Large

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Pages

Friday, May 30, 2025

40 Regional Artists Featured in “Best of the Region” Fine Arts Show & Sale

Artist Reception: June 7, 6-8 pm

Exhibit Summary

Participating Artists

Contact

See the Gallery Online

Our Other Sponsors

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

PWAS Member Penny Shaw Will Be Missed!

PWAS Member Penny Shaw

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

PWAS Scholarship 2025 Faith Garcia Young

Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship

Saturday, May 24, 2025

The Jewell Pratt Burns Scholarship Award Night

PWAS Meeting Monday, May 26, 2025 7:30pm

A Business Meeting Too

Friday, May 23, 2025

PWAS Exhibit at the Bull Run Library June/July

PWAS art exhibit at Bull Run Library for the month of June!!

PWAS Shows 2025

Sunday, May 18, 2025

An Art Reception at the ARTfactory

Photos from the Reception

Friday, May 16, 2025

Photographing Your Artwork To Make Prints

by Tom Payne

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