The Salmagundi Club Award!

"Snowy Night, 5th Avenue at 48th St." 16x12 oil on panel

     Every year since 1878 the Black and White Exhibit has taken place at the Salmagundi Club on 5th Avenue in NYC. In the 19th century newspapers depended on the skills of illustrators and many of those illustrators were members of the Salmagundi Club. The exhibit was established to showcase their work. Over the years, centuries actually, the show evolved to include all media but with the rule that all be either black and white or sepia and white ONLY. No color accents allowed. I very much enjoy participating in this exhibit and the unifying element of the extremely limited palette always makes for a strong display.

      This year the show is particularly exciting for me because my painting, shown above, has received the Salmagundi Club Award! Am I happy and honored? You bet!

      Adding to the pleasure is the fact that the truly gorgeous International ARC Salon (Art Renewal Center) exhibit is taking place in the Main Gallery at the same time. Due to that this year the B&W show has been hung in the adjacent Parlor and in the Lower Gallery. My painting is hung in the Parlor near the windows overlooking 5th Avenue which I am delighted about given the subject of it. Also, the forecast for the end of the week will have the Avenue look much as it does in "Snowy Night". :-)

    2016 HISTORIC BLACK AND WHITE EXHIBIT : Monday, January 18th thru Thursday, February 4th 2016. Reception Thursday, January 21st 6-8 PM (open to the public). This exhibit is free of charge.

     THE INTERNATIONAL ARC SALON EXHIBIT : Same dates as above. This is a traveling exhibit of paintings by the finalists in the  2014/2015 ARC competition showcasing the work of some of the finest contemporary realist painters. The show was most recently in Madrid. There is a $15 charge to see this exhibit.

Singing the Blues

"Indigo Sky, Georgetown" 12x12 oil on linen panel

      Can you tell that blue is my favorite color? So many beautiful shades to choose from and I am finding those making up the night sky particularly enticing these days. This is the same view as "Rainy Night on the Potomac" from my last post. This one is larger but still a small painting and I wanted to explore a new range of color. I had planned these as studies for a larger piece but for now I think I will stop and perhaps paint a larger one later. I feel I have pretty much said it all in this one.
      Both of these were painted from memory of the view seen from a corner of the terrace at the Kennedy Center. I had planned to go back with my camera and take photos but perhaps it is best that I didn't. I would have had to zoom in for this shot and I am sure there would be many details that literal me would have gotten hung up on while painting. I painted this one with a palette knife and brushes and it is already more detailed than the little one I did with the credit card, palette knife and large bristle brush.
      Today I blocked in another cityscape on a 24x30 linen panel. This too will be a nocturne but it will be a street scene, Pennsylvania Avenue again and I suspect I will continue singing the blues!