Post 636: PWAS Art Show at the ARTfactory Member Art Jul 10-Aug 9, 2026 Part 2

Part 2: PWAS Art Show at the ARTfactory Member Art July 10-August 9, 2026

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) artist members will be at the ARTfactory for a show called "Nostalgia" July 10 - August 9, 2026. We'll be featuring various member's art that was juried into this show. The art reception will be on July 11 between 6-8pm and we hope you will plan to be there. The show is called "Nostalgia" so its a walk back in time for each art piece.

 

 

The ARTfactory 9419 Battle Street, Manassas, VA across from the Train Station 

 

Parking for the ARTfactory is easy from the parking garage across the train tracks that you access via Prince William Street

Twenty-five artists were selected to show in Nostalgia and included in Part 2 is: Larry Burch, Scott Spur, Fatima Batool, and Kat Gates

In Part 1 of PWAS at the ARTfactory is: Mark Murphy, Bettie Sperty, Donna Liguria, Sheri Herrick, L Palladino, Mandy Powell, Staci Blanchard, Katie Keller Dugan, Michelle Evans, Sandra McClelland Lewin, Doreen Dauer, Zee Berrios

I've asked each artist to send me one piece of art that was juried into this show and to give me the story about the artwork. Every artist has a different view or a remembrance of what makes the art they do as nostalgic and many of the works will probably trigger a memory for you as well. Here are some of the artworks that will be on display, and for sale, at the ARTfactory starting on July 10. Many artists have several pieces in the show so you'll need to come see the show to see everything.

What do you think of when you hear Nostalgia as a theme for an art show? 

Click on a image to enlarge. 

PWAS Member Larry Burch

Title: Cows and Barn

Medium:  Acrylic

Size:  11x14 without frame

A peaceful scene of rural life that brings memories of a simpler time.

PWAS Member Scott Spur

"Blue Hummingbirds" This mixed media art piece was based on the 1950s/60s Gibson dual pickguard guitars. The designs on their acoustic guitars pickguards then, and now, had ornate patterns including some that are bird related. The dual pickguard is to protect the guitar's finish on the top and bottom. I chose to recreate the hummingbird model and put my own spin and color choices on it, in addition to adding the floral/butterfly touches. 

PWAS Member Fatima Batool

This is my painting titled “Adventure”. My name is Fatima Batool and grassy areas, sunsets, and flower fields remind me of childhood. 

PWAS Member Kat Gates

Feeding the fish 18x18 oil pallet knife painting This is inspired by memories of feeding the carp at Tacketts Mill (in Woodbridge). I would take the kids to the pond after our weekly grocery trip to Safeway.  We even named the more distinctive fish.  I miss those precious moments. 

Other PWAS Members that will be in the show but not pictured are:

Tinnetta Putney, Nicole M Fisher Art, Evelyn Chatters, Absku, April McKether, KatharineKOwens Danielle Bancroft - Author, Tom Payne, and Lizzy Javier. If I hear from them, I'll add them here. Mark your calendars for this awesome show! Will you be there? The art reception is July 11! 

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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 635: PWAS Art Show at the ARTfactory Jul-Aug Member Art Part 1

PWAS Art Show at the ARTfactory Member Art July 10-August 9, 2026 Part 1

The Prince William Art Society artist members will be at the ARTfactory for a show called "Nostalgia" July 10 - August 9, 2026. We'll be featuring various member's art that was juried into this show. The art reception will be on July 11 between 6-8pm and we hope you will plan to be there. The show is called "Nostalgia" so its a walk back in time for each art piece.

 

 

The ARTfactory 9419 Battle Street, Manassas, VA across from the Train Station 

 

Parking for the ARTfactory is easy from the parking garage across the train tracks that you access via Prince William Street

Twenty-five artists were selected to show in Nostalgia and included in this Part 1 post is: 

Mark Murphy, Bettie Sperty, Donna Liguria, Sheri Herrick, L Palladino, Mandy Powell, Staci Blanchard, Katie Keller Dugan, Michelle Evans, Sandra McClelland Lewin, Doreen Dauer, Zee Berrios

I've asked each artist to send me one piece of art that was juried into this show and to give me the story about the artwork. Every artist has a different view or a remembrance of what makes the art they do as nostalgic and many of the works will probably trigger a memory for you as well. Here are some of the artworks that will be on display, and for sale, at the ARTfactory starting on July 10. Many artists have several pieces in the show so you'll need to come see the show to see everything.

What do you think of when you hear Nostalgia as a theme for an art show? 

Click on a image to enlarge. 

PWAS Member Mark Murphy

Here is one of my entries for the Nostalgia show at the ARTfactory.  I started it years ago but pulled it out and improved it with "fresh eyes".

The woody station wagon was one of my favorite Hot Wheels car as a child.  While I never owned one, I always thought it would be a cool way to cruise the beach.

 

"Woody" by Mark Murphy 11x14 framed to 18x24 Watercolor

 

PWAS Member Donna Liguria

For this artwork, living here in the Lake Ridge area, during the summer last year I heard the music playing outside..and you just KNOW. You absolutely know what it is, who it is, and what it means. It reminded me of those days as a child living in Alexandria, when I would hear the music playing...

Growing up in the suburbs as a kid, during those very hot summer evenings while out playing, the tinkling of music was heard which announced the very soon to arrive - Ice Cream Man! All of the children would all rush to their homes, calling out to their own moms if we could get ice cream. And if she said yes, the coinage was dispensed or the allowances were pillaged, then the rush to get in line and make our selection had to be made. Then the commencement of operations began. The frozen treat would be adoringly devoured before it could dribble down your hand. There was an art to it. And all was right with the world while holding an ice cream cone. 

The fond memory of ice cream delivered almost to your doorstep is an ongoing memory each summer when that tinkling music plays to this day.

 

"I Dream of Ice Cream When I Hear the Music" by Donna Liguria 11x14x1.5 in Acrylic, unframed 

PWAS Member Bettie Sperty

This painting was inspired by a trip to Virginia Beach in November during the early COVID years. An artist friend invited me to ride along while she picked up work from a gallery show in the area, and I never turn down a trip to the beach! 

The weather was cold, the beaches nearly empty, and our hotel seemed almost abandoned — we saw only one other guest during our stay. On our first day there, after a passing rain storm, we bundled up and took a walk along the beach. The quietness of that time, combined with the muted colors of late autumn, the seagulls soaring above, created a feeling of stillness and reflection. I took the photo to remember the peaceful feeling of the day.

Fortunately for us, the weather got warmer and sunnier each day of our visit and we had a spectacular little vacation. Fond memories. With this painting I hope to share that calm, peaceful feeling.

  

"Cloudy Day at the Beach” by Bettie Sperty 11”x14” Oil 

PWAS Member Sheri Herrick

Mixed media entry into the "Nostalgia" show at the ARTfactory. 

Some of the crochet work was done by my mother's great Aunt who visited us from time to time during my childhood.  She taught me basic crochet stitches and how to make various types of Granny squares. I learned enough to make baby blankets for my kids and grandkids, but never got close to the beautiful lace-work that my Aunt Cora did!

PWAS Member L Palladino

Pool Party depicts a simple afternoon of a baby sitting in her pink plastic pool. What started as a way to explore the water turned into an adventure filled with oceanic friends in her very own floral paradise. 

 

"Pool Party" by L Palladino 36x36 Mixed Media

PWAS Member Staci Blanchard

The vivid blue door, framed by weathered red brick and draped in cascading wisteria, feels like a portal to another time. It’s a reminder of childhood afternoons spent wandering familiar streets, where every doorway holds a story. The flowers spill across the wall like treasured memories. Bathed in warm light and surrounded by lush greenery, the scene captures the comforting feeling of returning to a place that has remained unchanged in your heart, even as the years have passed.

PWAS Member Michelle Evans

For “All Roads Lead to Italy” By Artist Michelle Evans was juried into ARTfactory’s “nostalgia” Show in July. Based on a Photo taken by the artist on a trip in 2005. Tuscany’s beautiful landscape evokes a timeless elegance. Cypress trees and Italian villas dot the landscape with a path that moves through the painting, inviting you in. The artist used an Impressionistic technique to enhance the painting’s dreamy effect. 14x18 oil on linen. Come see it for yourself at the opening reception July 11th 6-8pm!

PWAS Member Katie Keller Dugan

The pointe shoes in the photograph show both the beauty and the grit of growing up in dance. They’re worn and broken in, a reminder of long hours, sore feet, and constant practice. At the same time, they still hold the elegance and beauty of dance. Looking at them brings back a mix of pride and nostalgia for a big part of my childhood.

 

"In Another Lifetime" by Katie Keller Dugan, Photography 16x20 

PWAS Member Mandy Powell

"Tiny Dancer" 16x20 Layered Mixed Media and Oils. A Tiny Dancer spinning to tiny music can evoke big emotions. Opening a trinket pulls you back into the past as the music resonates with a memory that hugs you tight. She's kept that tempo after all these years, never missing a note. A rose is placed at her feet for a performance well done. 

PWAS Member Sandra McClelland Lewin

Checkmate

I learned to play chess when I was in college, at the same time that the women’s movement was gathering speed. The fallen king piece hints at old hierarchies being challenged, and the upright queen stands strong, representing resilience, agency, and the growing recognition of women’s power. Even in its stillness, the scene carries a sense of progress—the kind that builds over time, move by move, as women claim their place and reshape the rules that once confined them.

Another interpretation:

The raven is often seen as an omen. The painting suggests that it is time to topple anyone who would seek to be king in a democracy.

PWAS Member Doreen Dauer

“Manteo Light” 12x16 oil. Framed 13x17” $500

"The mid-morning sky frames the small lighthouse on the island of Manteo, NC. It  brings to mind memories of a  clear day after a half-marathon. These are reflections of a nostalgic time to relax and breathe in the joy of accomplishment."

PWAS Member Zee Berrios

One of the paintings that was accepted for the Nostalgia ARTfactory Show was the "Entra lleno de tristeza." It is an acrylic on canvas 24" X 40". It is based on a trip I took to a city in Cuba during the early 1990's. It portrays a vendor going to the city to sell or repair a refrigerator carried on a "wagon" pulled by a donkey. Parked next to it you can see a 1950's American car.

PWAS Members - if you are in the show, send me one photo and the story, description of that piece. 

So which ones are your favorites? Drop a comment below.

See Part 2 here 

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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 617: PWAS Spring Tall Oaks Art Show Sat, May 2, 10-5

PWAS Spring Tall Oaks Art Show Sat, May 2, 10-5

The biannual Prince William Art Society Spring Tall Oaks Art Show will take place on Saturday, May 2 from 10am to 5pm at 12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA. The artist members will have a variety of art, art styles and art mediums on display for your viewing. Local art by local artists right in Lake Ridge!

Tall Oaks Community Building in Woodbridge

We've had great turn outs for our art shows each year and enjoyed meeting everyone! The art show can go on - rain or shine! Often we have an artist painting out front too. We'll be right off Old Bridge Road, down from the Giant on Hedges Run and the corner of Cotton Mill Road - so Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, Occoquan - an art show right in your backyards!

Click on an image to enlarge... 

 Mark those calendars and come meet the artists on Saturday, May 2.

A few pics from past art shows: 

 

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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 616: PWAS Member Art Show Coming This Summer at the ARTfactory

PWAS Member Art Show Coming This Summer at the ARTfactory

An email went out to the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) members about a Call for Art for the July 10 - August 9, 2026 juried art show at the ARTfactory in Manassas, Virginia. The submission deadline is Thursday, April 30, 2026 and the theme is Nostalgia. Mark those calendars, quickly rejoin or join PWAS, but let's get ready for this show!

https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership 

Nostalgia Ideas

I love this idea for an art show! Just think of all the art gallery visitors that will wander the gallery "oooing" and "awwwwing" all the wonderfully clever art works on display and thinking, "Oh, I remember those!" Let's see if we can jog a memory to find or to create artwork for this show, themed as Nostalgia (although the list is endless)! Alrighty, let's shake up the brain cells.

Do be careful of any copyrights but do get creative.

 

Nostalgia according to Wikipedia: 

"Nostalgia is a sentimental view of the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. It is often described as a sort of sad pleasure, in which a person longs for a past, whether real or romanticized, that cannot be recovered. It can also refer to a type of homesickness."

• What reminds you of grandma? Or your mom? Of 'Home'? The "good old days"?
• What fond memories do you have of your childhood? 
• Did you have a favorite toy or game you played? 
• How about the music, your favorite band or music artist?
• Where did you used to go that has since disappeared or has changed so much you don't recognize it any more? 
• Carnivals, Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds... 
• Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet. 
• How about your younger self or when your kids were little?
• A perfect vacation. One for the books. The Vacay of a lifetime. Keep it G-rated, kids!
• Speaking of books...a favorite book from way back when. Pride and Prejudice! 
• How did you celebrate special holidays when you were knee-high to a toad-frog? 
• What old car did you have, what was your first set of wheels? Big Wheel! 
• Pets of long ago.
• A huge banana split you wanted...maybe your eyes were bigger than your stomach! 
• Reminder the days of flip phones, cassette tapes, albums and album covers, VHS players. Oh my gosh, disco? I dare someone to paint a disco ball. Please include Donna Summer singing, "I Feel Love".
• Baby's first bowl of spaghetti with more on baby's head than in his/her mouth. 
• Now don't you get why your mom always said, "Go clean up your room!"? What a mess that room was!
• The greatest sand castle on earth 
• Playdough, tricycle, bicycle, bigwheels, marbles, crayons, Matchbox cars, playgrounds, paper airplanes, flying a kite
• The clock on the wall at school and it shows 5 minutes to 3. 
• The early days of TV, cartoons, Barbie and Ken, Cabbage Patch Kids?
• Classic movies - so many old great movies!
• Candy! Paint those Gummy Bears, Jelly Bellies, Rock Candy.
• Cereal. 'Nuff said. 
• Old dishes, or glasses, or thrift stores finds that have a history behind them. Maybe an antique too.
• Riding bikes, snow sledding, how about the play ground you romped around in.
• Think about that old "Tech" that really isn't that long ago. A Walkman? A girl waiting by the dial up phone hoping and waiting for that special boy to call?
• Did you go to the movie theater, the drive-in theater. An arcade?
• A first kiss? A first date? 
• School days...so many stories  

Did the list jiggle a memory of something you may have already painted in your art inventory? Did you get an idea for something you could get on the easel? Let me know!

Remember, the ARTfactory wants artwork that has NOT appeared at their gallery before. And you have to do a write up about the piece and why its nostalgia for you!

As always, and especially if you are new to PWAS and/or are new to showing your art, here are some VERY important links to help you be successful as this is a juried art show.

Here Come the Judge - know what goes into the jurying process

Displaying Your Artwork - how PWAS artists are required to display art. A BIG reminder here is that at the ARTfactory, they hang artwork from the DRing, not from the actual wire! The artwork should still be wired though.

Call for Art - some very important reminders about Calls for Art.

Artwork Rejection - because as per usual, not all artwork can or should be accepted to show for many reasons. Read this to help offset your artwork from not getting in the show.

Do You Have Ideas to Share?

Drop a comment below and share any ideas about nostalgia themed artwork that may help other artists.

ALWAYS READ the Call for Art and know the minimum and maximum sizes and any other pertinent rules. There is contact info on the email for who to contact for more info...and it isn't me! 

Get to painting folks! 

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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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