Post 621: A Great PWAS Meeting with Otis Stanley

A Great PWAS Meeting with Otis Stanley

The members of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) and several visiting artists, met on Monday, April 27 at the Tall Oaks Community Building at 7:30pm for their monthly meeting. We had a wonderful meeting with a special guest speaker, a time for social interaction, and got caught up on the upcoming business of the art group.

Guest Speaker Otis Stanley

Our guest speaker for April was PWAS member, Otis Stanley, who gave a wonderful talk on his life and artistic journey, finding the Prince William Art Society, learning to display art and talking about several artworks he had painted and on display. It is so inspiring to hear the story behind the artworks he creates, the feeling and the deep history found in so many of his pieces. And thank you for your service, Otis!

Many of us remember the time when we were part of the art gallery over at the Stonebridge Shopping Center (2021-2023) and were working as a gallery volunteers with Otis and his knack for getting people in to see the art... some of whom later became PWAS members! Otis is a treasure of a person and such an amazing artist.

A few pics from Ana Quispe: 

The Business of PWAS

Welcome to all of our new members - there were a lot of new faces, so great to see you! 

There are some very important upcoming dates for everyone that we discussed. 

Thursday, April 30 is the deadline to ENTER the Jul/Aug PWAS ARTfactory art show for PWAS MEMBERS! The theme is Nostalgia.

Saturday, May 2 Art in the Garden with Plein Air Artists Robert Dew and David Dillon - see the notices on the PWAS website for more info. Prince William Art Society

Saturday, May 2 PWAS Spring Tall Oaks Show at 12298 Cotton Mill Drive is our biannual show for an art show, rain or shine, right there in Lake Ridge 10-5. 

Monday, May 25 the next PWAS meeting will be when we award our Annual Scholarship to a graduating local high school senior that will be going forward and studying a career in art. Come and enjoy this wonderful celebration.

Monday, June 15 is the deadline for PWAS Members to submit their ideas for a new PWAS Logo. Watch your emails for info on this. 

July 10-Aug 9 is the PWAS at the ARTfactory Art Show featuring the member artworks with the theme of Nostalgia. This is a juried show and the deadline to enter is above, Apr 30.

Saturday, Sept 12 is the potential date for the 'new' Arts Alive art show at the Hylton Performing Art Center. More info to come on that later. Info TBD.

Saturday, Oct 5 should be the Fall Tall Oaks Art Show - dates and times and show coordinator TBD. 

Also discussed were some upcoming art classes (available on the PWAS website). 

As I like to say, miss a meeting and you miss a lot! See you at the next one!

Drop a comment below! 

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Photos: Donna Liguria, Ana Quispe

Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

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 (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

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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Post 619: PWAS Meeting Mon Apr 27 with Guest Artist Otis Stanley

PWAS Meeting Mon Apr 27 with Guest Artist Otis Stanley

The Prince William Art Society, known as PWAS (pronounced "p-whauzz") is a 55 year old nonprofit art group in Prince William County, VA that meets monthly on the 4th Monday of the month. The group meets at 12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Lake Ridge, VA at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 7:30pm. Meetings often have a guest speaker and for April, we'll feature PWAS Member Otis Stanley.

PWAS Meeting

On April 27 at 7:30 PM the Prince William Art Society will hold their monthly meeting at the Lake Ridge Community Center, 22192 Cotton Mill Road, Lake Ridge 22192. Monthly meetings feature a guest or member artist, a project, a show-and-share or our scholarship presentation. This month, members are invited to enjoy the work and philosophy of our accomplished member artist Otis L. Stanley, followed by a business meeting presenting opportunities to be involved in community arts. All members of the community are invited to attend these free meetings and art presentations. 

For PWAS member Otis L. Stanley, art is simply living. Often painting in monochromatic colors Otis creates art that reflects his experiences and culture. Acrylic paint is his choice of mediums. Never conforming to popular themes Otis would rather tread a road less traveled to invite conversation about the work. Hoping to shine a light on the common humanity of us all Otis is at peace in his lane of subjects. 

Otis has work hung in Va., Md., D.C., Pa., N.Y., N.J., Conn., La, Calif., S.C., Fla. and Tring U.K. Here is where you can view Otis' work:  @otisstanley9127 on Youtube, and on instagram he is @otislstanley.

March Meeting Collage Activity

Last month members and guests ripped, tore and glued collages to create abstracts or landscapes, portraiture, or narrative or figurative backdrops. Everyone was encouraged to take their collage home and use pen, paint or mediums of their choice on them - to alter them, add outline or detail, or simply to use the backdrop as a taking off point for another style of contrasting work. There was already a wide variety of interpretations as we left that night. See https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2026/03/post-609-pwas-meeting-mon-mar-23-2026.html

Bring your altered collage back on the 27th to lay out on a side table to share. Anyone who missed last month can try a torn or cut paper collage (magazine scraps are perfect) on any mixed media paper, then use the dry collage as a backdrop for something going a little bit further. Then bring them in.

See you at the meeting! 

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

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 (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

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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Post 590: PWAS Meeting Recap 11/24/25

PWAS Meeting Recap 11/24/25

Monday, November 24, 2025. The Prince William Art Society met for their monthly meeting at 7:30pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Road, Woodbridge, VA. Our guest speaker was Christine Dixon.

Christine Dixon

Christine gave the members a view into her creation process of the wonderful original artworks. She brought examples of her works, which were absolutely beautiful and shared information on her painting surfaces, varnishing, planning the subject matter, and much more. 

Her art bio info is found here: https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2025/11/post-586-pwas-meeting-nov-24-guest.html 

And a few pictures from the meeting: 

The PWAS Meeting takes a break after the guest speaker, along with some snacks and a beverage. It is always a good few minutes of mingling with the members and learning what everyone is up to. The meeting continues afterwards with reports from the various PWAS officers on our finances, updates on our art shows, social media, website, art class news, etc. Members often ask questions, so Q&A can be a part of a meeting as well. 

Meetings are open to the public, so very often we meet new artists from around the area that want to learn more about PWAS. November is in fact the last official "meeting" of the year as the December get together is always a private member only (plus one adult) Christmas party. All members are to bring a pot luck dish and we ALWAYS have a great time. There is a Signup Genius link for the party that was sent out to members.

Now, I'm off to visit the family for a day or two, so Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! See you for the Christmas party!

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

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 (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

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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Post 586: PWAS Meeting Nov 24 Guest Speaker Christine Dixon

PWAS Meeting Nov 24, 2025 Guest Speaker Christine Dixon

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) is a nonprofit art group in Prince William County featuring many local artists that meet monthly to enjoy the world of art in us and around us. Meetings often feature programs by area artists specializing in various media and processes as well as show and tell by our members, and other interesting projects.

Guest Artist Christine Dixon

This month the Prince William Art Society will host a presentation by contemporary realist painter Christine Dixon. On Monday, November 24 at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center (12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22191) you are invited to enjoy the free program which opens each meeting and stay to hear about the many ways our art society supports county artists as well as providing opportunities for those interested in classes and attending shows. Meetings are free and open to the public.

This month our guest artist Christine Dixon will provide samples of her work and share her painting process for still life painting. Though inspired by classical realism, she carefully arranges organic and man-made things in a way that is both nostalgic yet modern. Ms. Dixon’s talk will cover her method of setting up painting references as well as  her process of oil painting similar to the classical tradition of the Dutch Masters. More of her work may be viewed online at :  https://www.cadixonart.com/ ; https://www.facebook.com/cadixonart/ ; https://www.instagram.com/anartangel/ .

In some recent shows this year, I remember seeing Christine Dixon's name on the art labels and thinking, wow, she's good! But I wasn't sure I had ever met her...but I soon will. You can too, so come to the meeting on Monday, November 24, 2025 at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA.

 

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Author Emily Hawes

Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

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 (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

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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Post 581: PWAS Meeting with Jessica Pidcock

PWAS Meeting with Jessica Pidcock

Monday, October 27, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) met and enjoyed a presentation by local artist, Jessica Pidcock. PWAS is a local nonprofit art group that meet once a month on the 4th Monday of the month at 7:30 pm (typically) at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Road in Woodbridge, VA.

Guest Speaker Jessica Pidcock

See Jessica's bio info here

We loved to hear how Jessica creates her most interesting art pieces that are such a combination of talent and ingenuity, including wood carving! She explores her thought processes to achieve meaning and reasons for how and why her pieces come together in such meaningful ways. She gave a great presentation that was enjoyed by everyone attending.

PWAS Elections

The Prince William Art Society had a really great discussion about our biannual elections coming up in November, yet we voted to move the actual voting to the January 2026 meeting set for Jan 26. Be sure and take care of your membership renewals in early Jan so that you have a vote.

The next meeting is Mon, Nov 24 at 7:30pm and is open to the public. The December meeting is always a private event for the PWAS members plus one guest. It is our annual Christmas part set for Friday, December 19. 

The Prince William Art Society is also having the Fall Tall Oaks Art Show at the Tall Oaks Community Center this Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 10 to 5 and the public is very welcome to attend.

Also on our radar is the upcoming Autumn Art Market on Saturday, November 22 at the ARTfactory in Manassas, VA and PWAS some members will be attending this art event as well. Mark your calendars and see you at the shows!!

Event Registration Page for PWAS Members ONLY is at https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/register  in order to show, if you haven't already. 

Follow and Comment on the PWAS Blog!  

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

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 (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

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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Post 578: PWAS October 2025 Program

PWAS October 2025 Program

A very busy meeting is planned for the Monday, October 27, 2025 Prince William Art Society (PWAS) Meeting scheduled for 7:30pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Lakeridge. The public is welcome to attend at 12298 Cotton Mill Road, Woodbridge, VA and our guest speaker is Jessica Pidcock.

 

Guest Artist Jessica Pidcock

The Prince William Art Society will host a program by Fine Artist Jessica Pidcock on October 27 at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Woodbridge, VA  22191. Programs are free and open to the public who are cordially invited to attend. Enjoy the free program which opens each meeting, and stay to hear about the many ways our art society supports county artists as well as providing opportunities for those interested in classes and attending shows.

This month our guest artist Jessica Pidcock will share some of her work, which "is all about exploration of the self and the unseen vastness within our beings". She uses the visual language of the natural world - flora and fauna - to explore the many facets of her own psyche and invites her viewers to do the same. Her process is one of ritual, solitude, and loss of time and place, while her work attempts to offer a space to explore the self with loving curiosity. Her work can be viewed at JessicaPidcock.com  as well as on her instagram account:  instagram.com/jessicapidcockart/ . 

Coming up soon is the PWAS Fall Tall Oaks Art Show on Saturday, November 1 from 10-5 which will be held at the Tall Oaks Community Center as well so mark your calendars for that too. The Art Show goes on rain or shine.

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

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 (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

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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Post 563: PWAS Meeting with the Todds

PWAS Meeting with the Todds

Monday, April 28, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) had their monthly art group meeting at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Woodbridge. PWAS meetings cover the ongoing projects that the art group is up to and there is often a featured artist. This meeting focused on two artists, a husband and wife team - Charles and Holly Todd.

Special Artist Guests

Read the about our guests, Charles and Holly Todd on this Blog Post https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2025/04/post-pwas-monthly-meeting-and-guests.html

You know a presentation is really, really good when a roomful of people are as quiet as church mice yet they are all straining their necks to see what the artists are showing. This was so very interesting! Their artwork was exquisite! And I agree with Larry Burch who said, "I want those socks!"

 

Click on an image to enlarge

I wish I had gotten a close up of those socks too!!

Thank you so much to Charles and Holly for showing us your work and telling the stories behind the pieces. That was so very fascinating! What do the other PWAS members think? did anyone else capture any pictures?

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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: Donna Liguria

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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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Post 558: PWAS Monthly Meeting and Guests Charles and Holly Todd

PWAS Monthly Meeting and Guest Artists Charles and Holly Todd

Monday, April 28, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) will meet at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Woodbridge, VA  22191 for the monthly meeting and the public is welcome to attend. Our guest speakers are Charles and Holly Todd.

Guest Artists Program

Guest artists Charles and Holly Todd will share their work, their processes and the way in which they inspire and influence each other through their very different arts. Charles is a COO for architectural firm Little. Over the past 25 years he has intensified his artistic focus on capturing stories and experiences with urban sketching and watercolor. Holly has a background in computer engineering and medical services, piloting a large family, dog rescue, and knitting which enables her to explore her passion for color, patterns and complexity. The Todds have found that working in tandem serves to build their sense of purpose in their art and supports their artistic evolution. More of their work can be viewed at:  https://www.knitsketchschematics.net/ . 

PWAS monthly meetings and programs are free. The public is cordially invited to attend, enjoy the free program, and stay to hear about the many ways our art society supports county artists and the arts.

Meeting Agenda and Art Updates

PWAS has some big events that will be discussed that are on our radar including 2 shows to be held in May and June at the ARTfactory in Manassas, Virginia...

• Call for Art Deadline for the Best of the Region Show is April 30 11:59pm 
• Juried by Catherine Hillis
• The PWAS Member Art Show May 15-30
• PWAS Member Art Show Web Gallery 
• The Best of the Region Fine Art Show and Sale June 3-15
•  Apply Here

Also upcoming are the...

• Saturday, May 3 Art in the Garden 9-12 9535 Linton Hall Rd, Bristow VA
• Saturday, May 10 Spring Tall Oaks Art Show at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Woodbridge
  

And several other shows to be discussed as well.

You miss a meeting, you miss a LOT!

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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.

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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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