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!

Winter ????

"The Willard Hotel, Winter Night" 9x12 oil on panel

     I have been off the grid for about a month busy with the holidays, a large family and my menagerie. However, the painting continues if not my blogging and Facebook postings. We have been having an extraordinary December here in Washington and I am loving the springlike weather. I know there are those wishing for cold and snow more appropriate to the season.  I am not in that camp! BUT, when it comes to winter paintings a little snow can be an asset. Back on October 11th I posted a little painting called "Willard Hotel Nocturne" which was a memory from a balmy summer night. The painting above is also a memory as any snow this December could only exist in the mind :-) My husband and I have spent many a pleasant evening dining at the Willard Hotel the front of which sparkles all winter. This beautifully restored Washington landmark is full of history and for me, wonderful memories. So here is the Willard on a snowy, slushy night.
This painting as well as those from the October 11th post have all found new homes. Perhaps the buyers have good memories of their own.

       The little painting below, which I painted last week, is much more in keeping with the weather we have been experiencing.The night was warm, rainy and a little foggy. I experimented with a different, limited palette. I used Indigo, Cadmium Turquoise, Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ochre and White. I used a palette knife, a credit card and a one inch bristle brush to paint this as I wanted to keep it loose.

"Rainy Night on the Potomac" 8x8 oil on linen panel

THE 87TH GRAND NATIONAL, AAPL

"Monday Morning on H Street" 24x20 oil on panel

      I have been extremely fortunate to have one of my paintings juried into the American Artists Professional League's Grand National for five years in a row!  This year is the 87th Grand National and once again it will be held in the beautiful Main Gallery of the Salmagundi Club in NYC. This Washington DC scene is the painting that was accepted. I am particularly pleased to have a cityscape in the exhibit as they have been my focus this year and this is the first to be in a national show. The exhibit opens next Sunday, November 8th and runs until Friday, November 20th. The Salmagundi Club is located at 47 5th Ave. NYC. You can see all the paintings at www.americanartistsprofessionalleague.org or read more at www.salmagundi.org

     I have been busy getting ready for upcoming small works shows and just finished a seventh small painting which will cover the two shows I am entering. This one is of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson connecting NYC to New Jersey. It was a pleasure to paint it and I wonder why it is the first time I have done so. I have crossed that bridge easily over a thousand times in my life. First as a child visiting relatives or doing holiday shopping in NY, then as I grew older going to the city with friends and after graduation commuting to work from New Jersey to downtown Manhattan. I vividly remember the views which are beautiful and the bridge itself which is so graceful. I also remember thinking how exciting it was to have the lower level added in 1962. I have the feeling I will be doing more paintings of the GW Bridge!

"Sunset, The George Washington Bridge" 6x12 oil on panel

A Different Vibe

"Splash ! " 12x 9 oil on panel

     I have had the good fortune to live in three of the world's greatest cities, New York, Washington DC and Paris. Each has it's own distinctive look and personality. I love all three. My life in Paris was many years ago and I find I am too far removed to paint it from memory and don't feel right creating work from old photos. I would need to visit and renew my relationship with the city before painting it. However, New York and Washington are a different story. I have been living in Washington DC since 1974 and it is the city I paint most often because I am right here. This is now my hometown but it is not the first city I called home.  I grew up in Northern New Jersey just  a 20 minute drive from NYC. We were the only family members NOT living in New York and I was considered the "country cousin". I am sure I traveled over the George Washington Bridge over a thousand times between family visits, good times in the city with friends, shopping trips and later working there. I still feel like I am going home when I visit.. Therefore it is with familiarity that I can paint that city.
     The painting above which I have titled "Splash" is a painting of 8th Avenue in the upper 50's. For those not familiar with NYC that description means it is on the West Side and upper 50's refers to the cross streets between 55th and 59th streets. New York is drawn on a grid. I used to live on West 61st Street and this view is what I saw when I walked from my apartment down 8th Avenue to 57th Street where I used to visit some of my favorite galleries. Rain, particularly at night really makes the city sparkle and so I decided to make that the subject on this familiar stretch of the city.

AUCTION UPDATE; "When the Clouds Parted" sold at auction at the Salmagundi Club this afternoon!

More DC summer paintings

"Willard Hotel Nocturne" 8x10 oil on panel

   Knowing there would be at least two small works shows I would be entering this fall I did a number of small paintings this summer in preparation. This one is a particular favorite as it was a lovely summer night and the full moon and romantic lights from the Willard and Cafe du Parc in front of it lent a fairy tale feeling to the scene. The view is from the edge of Freedom Plaza on 14th street. The fountain was not on so I had a clear view over to the hotel.
   This is not a plein air painting. It was developed by making a sketch of the scene during the daylight hours and then adding the lights and sky I experienced at night. As you can tell by now, I like to paint cityscapes. I think that cities look their best when lots of lights are on. That is why so many of my paintings are rainy day or evening/night paintings. Early morning can be beautiful as well but I really like the twinkle factor of the other end of the day.

"The C&O Canal at Wisconsin Avenue" 6x12 oil on panel

     This little one was sketched plein air from one of the pedestrian bridges over the canal looking back toward Wisconsin Avenue. Since the star of this scene is the canal I decided to eliminate the traffic that is always pretty heavy on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown. I had just had dinner at Filomena which is a well known Italian restaurant in Georgetown and is in that white building on the left.

     SALMAGUNDI AUCTION UPDATE:  "Mainland Lights" from my last post SOLD at auction on Friday night. "When the Clouds Parted" will be auctioned this coming Sunday, October 18th at 2:00 P.M.
You can go to www.liveauctioneers.com to see all the artwork available. My painting is lot #63. I can tell you that if you have any interest in owning one of my paintings this is the most economical way to acquire one. Just create a free account at the above link and place a bid online or by phone or live during the auction. You can also go to www.salmagundi.org and get instructions for bidding there.  I do this twice a year as it is a fundraiser for the Salmagundi Club. I accept the fact that the paintings sell well below market value but I believe in supporting this institution and I also consider it great publicity. Where else is a guy in a tux going to stand there holding one of my paintings and talk about me, my affiliations, my gallery representation and the virtues of my work :-)  I consider it a win all way around, for the Club, the collector and for me!

The 2015 Salmagundi Fall Auctions

"When the Clouds Parted" 12x16 oil on linen panel

"Mainland Lights" 10x20 oil on panel

         The much anticipated 2015 Fall Auction Exhibit is now on view in the Main Gallery at the Salmagundi Club, 47 5th Avenue, NYC.  This is a twice annual tradition of the Club and is our major fundraiser. I really enjoy having my paintings accepted for these auctions. The exhibit is on view now through October 24th and there will be three live auctions. I am just participating in the first two this year. Please go to www.salmagundi.org to view all the works in this show and see what the minimum bids are. When you are on the main page click on the 2015 Auctions. You will then receive instructions on bidding and when you click "Here" you will go to the paintings. Mine are on pages 14 and 15.
          What is really fun is to create a free account at www.liveauctioneers.com which requires only a user name and password and then you can see all the work, place bids right there online and even watch the auctions live at the Club. Both of my paintings have an opening bid of only $400!  I do hope you tune in!