Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exposition - Day 10

Painting of the Day

"Peu Peinture Abstraite"

("Little Abstract Painting")

Oil

6x6 Gallery Wrap

Love painting with oil,  but having a hard time waiting for the art to dry...

Kevin LePrince's Oil Demo Yesterday

"Moo"

What you see above is the "Moo" reference photo with the artist.

The painting was bought during the demo before I could photograph it,

so Kevin kindly posed as the demo...

 Congratulations, Kevin!

Tammy Papa's Pastel Demo Yesterday

Unfinished but well on the way!

You can see where Tammy works out the colors (rectangular area below the tape)

before she puts it down in the composition.

Only 6 More Days - Come Quick!

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 9

Painting of the Day

"St. Mark from the Lindesfarne Gospels"

Mixed Media

9x12"

Beautiful day, busy day, by the end of  the day,

the artists are still going strong but their assistants are tired out!

 Ray Beacham, husband of Artist Helen K. Beacham, takes a well-deserved rest.

Alex and Sara Radin talking with customers in Alex' booth.

Shalom, the littlest Radin just wakes up...

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 8

Painting of the Day

"Camellia Against Stripes"

Watercolor

Image 10x15"

One of my new favorite watercolors I finished right before the show!

Come check out the free art demonstrations at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day.

Carla Johannesmeyer - Demo in Oil

Here Carla shows how she begins with a toned linen canvas.

A little instruction as she gets ready to paint.

Coming together nicely!

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 7

Painting of the Day

"Marsh Glow"

Oil

6x6"

Another hot, hazy and lazy day in Marion Square.

We're all resting up for the weekend crowds at the Art Show and the Farmers Market. 

So...what do the Artists do during the weekdays in Marion Square?

We paint and we paint and we paint!

Laurie Meyer and a beginning.

A little bit later.  Not quite finished!

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 6

Painting of the Day

"Palmetto in Teal Mist"

Oil

6x6"

Hot and hazy Wednesday in Marion Square. 

But grateful it's not raining!

Third Place Award Winner

Congratulations, Kellie Jacobs!

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 5

Painting of the Day for Booth 67 in Marion Square

Symbol of St. Mark - from the Echternach Gospels

11x14"

Mixed Media

Another mixed media piece from my Mark series, painted at a worship service several months ago.  The Echternach Gospels is an illuminated gospel manuscript written around 700 A.D. and again we see the lion as the symbol of St. Mark.  This lion, however, is not represented with the wings as many of the St. Mark lions are. St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice, so if you google the lion of St. Mark, you will see some fabulous stone, mosaic, etc. lions - many from Venice.

Second Place Award Winner

Congratulations Tammy Papa!

"Eyes of the Wild"
Oil Demonstration by Dianne Munkittrick

 Stage 1 - The Drawing and Background

 Stage 2 - Blocking In

Stage 3 - Almost Finished

These daily art demonstrations (11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) are free and a public service that the show offers to the community.  Our PSOAE artists volunteer to do these art demonstrations and in reality, the demos are free art lessons - please come and see how our artists handle the various art mediums - ask questions - we love to share our knowledge and experience with you!

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 4

Painting of the Day

"Little Hill Town"

Mixed Media on Canvas Panel

6x6"

Yesterday was a paint-out and this little mixed media piece was what I worked on - I gessoed several small canvas panels while out in the park; needless to say, they dried fast.  Then I collaged the heavy paper on - collage is not the best medium to work with outside when there is a breeze.  But I soldiered on and after the collage dried, I jumped in with some acrylic and played.  Took it home last night for finishing touches, framed it and hung it in my booth today...

Highlighting the 2015 First Place Award Winner

Congratulations, Mr. Bob Graham!

Shown with Mayor Joe Riley

A Little Glimpse of Bob Graham's Booth in Marion Square

And, finally, a favorite Family Photo of the Day

Scott Henderson and Family Hanging out in Scott's Booth

It's always a little disconcerting for me to photograph a professional photographer's family. Obviously, the little Henderson in pink has got my number and knows I'm a faux photographer...

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 3

Painting of the Day

"Low Tide"

Oil

6x6"

Another wonderful day at Marion Square - lovely weather, lots of people, sales made, art painted and visits with new and old friends!

The BIG Prize - 2015 Mayor's Award goes to...

Mary Grayson Segars!

Mary Grayson Segars, Mayor Riley & PSOAE Co-Coordinators

Congratulations!

Mary Grayson Segars at Today's Great Paint-Out in the Park

This year, we had 2 judges and 2 Spoleto interns who helped make sure each judges got to all the booths - with 86 artists, judging the show can be overwhelming, but the judges did a great job.  What is interesting is that they decided not to judge particular paintings.  Instead they judged each artist's work as a whole at each booth.  That's why you won't see a "Mayor's Award" image.  The artist won the award for her body of work, not just for one piece.

And below, as I promised, is the list of the 2015 PSOAE Award Winners:

Mayor's Award:

Mary Grayson Segars

First Place:

Bob Graham

Second Place:

Tammy Papa

Third Place:

Kellie Jacobs

Honorable Mention:

Alana Knuff

Jan Sasser

Alicia Leeke

Joanne Evans

Steven Hyatt

Merit:

Carl Crawford

John Michiels

Pat Forsberg

Scott Henderson

Lu Bentley

Congratulations to a great group of artists!

Today was the Great Paint-Out, with almost all the artists happily painting away - here are just a few of the masterpieces:

Marissa Vogle with a finished oil

Alex Radin with one of his (unfinished) 365 Day Painting Series

(It's hard to finish an oil painting with 5-month old Shalom Radin in his arms!)

Below is a Painting in Stages by Hilarie Lambert

 Just warming' up...

 Hilarie used odorless mineral spirits to spread that warm up paint around, giving the painting a toned background - hints of the red will be evident in the finished piece

- then she put in simple reference marks-

Not quite finished, but we all get the idea!

Blogging the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 2

New Painting for the Day

"Tuscan Hilltop Town"

Image  11x15" - Framed 16x20"

Mixed Media

I'm highlighting some of my new work that I'm showing in Marion Square this year. This piece is much like my Jerusalem I blogged about recently - again using heavy collage on 300 lb watercolor paper and getting a 3-d effect - I love working this way- the shapes, textures and colors take on a life of their own and so the painting is more of a dialogue between me, the paint and the surface.  Kind of a "call and response" way of painting. I have floated this piece with it's ragged edges (cropped out above) on  a dark charcoal mat with a wide gold plein air frame under glass.

A Big Hit at the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition!

Charleston Style and Design Magazine

with its Piccolo Spoleto Art Section starting on Page 294

is drawing raves and Quentin gets to take a break to go get more magazines!

Seriously, the response has been overwhelming - we all like giveaways, but this magazine is a high quality giveaway.  People are loving' it and so is Quentin! (Waiver:  I have a full page ad in this magazine and also a full page biographical sketch with 5 of my recent images.  And Quentin's tent is right next to mine...)  Come out tomorrow and Monday and get YOUR free copy!

Stay Tuned - Tomorrow I'll list the art show winners!

Blogging the 2015 Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - Day 1

St. Mark Winged Lion - From Book of Kells

11x14"

Mixed Media

SOLD

First Sale at PSOAE 2015 - the winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark.  This particular winged lion is from the Book of Kells, one of the earliest Illuminated Gospel Manuscripts, entirely handwritten and painted around 800 A.D. in either Ireland or Britain.  St. Andrews in Mt. Pleasant spent approximately 9 months on the Gospel of Mark and many of my paintings at worship during that time reflected some aspect of either St. Mark or the Gospel attributed to him.  A great way to start the day and the show!

Come and get your FREE copy of Charleston Style and Design Magazine!

Quentin Senise, Publisher

with just a few of the current issue he's giving away!

The weather was great today - highs in the 80's so it was like a freeze compared to the last few days - so pleasant as the 86 of us settled in for an extended stay of 16 days in Marion Square.  There was a great tree beside my booth #67 (Meeting Street side near the fountain) that gave great shade and was a favorite for climbing because it was covered with knobs - a great ladder-like effect.  However, it must have been dying because the City cut it down.  And in it's place is a tent for the Charleston Style and Design Magazine - the latest issue is the Art Issue and manning the tent is no less than the publisher, Quentin Senise, and he's got thousands of this high quality magazine to give away.  I can't even miss the shade too much because Quentin is so entertaining - come and get your FREE copy today!

Thank you, Mayor Joe Riley!

Mayor Riley with PSOAE Co-Coordinators

Vicki Ellis and Lesley Johnson

Mayor Riley presented the awards for PSOAE 2015 this afternoon, and this was his last time to do so - he's retiring (from Mayoring only).  He's been Charleston's Mayor for about 40 consecutive years, being first elected in 1975.  He's put Charleston on the map, nationally and internationally, in many ways, and especially in the arts for which we will always be grateful!

Piccolo Spoleto Greetings!

"Spoleto Bouquet"

Watercolor

15x10"

It's time - another Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition - we officially open at 10 a.m tomorrow in Marion Square.  Yesterday was the nightmare situation every artist dreads for an outdoor art show.  I put up my tent in a thunderstorm and pouring rain. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Today was gorgeous and I was at Marion Square by 9 a.m., setting up my screens.  Left at 12:30 and came home for breakfast and lunch.  Finished 2 pieces (yes, people are still painting) and framed 3. Loaded up the car for the 3rd time and went back downtown late this afternoon to hang my art.  There were just of few us who were still soldiering on, so I snapped a picture of my neighbor, Sherry Browne as she was hanging her art...

Sherry Browne, a true Piccolo Spoleto Soldier.

Yes, Some Artists are Still Hanging Their Art at 8:00 P.M.

A Look on the Bright Side after a Morning Marking Spaces in Marion Square

Marsh Glow

6x6"

Oil

A bright moment in a hectic day...at 9:30 the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition Committee (what a mouthful) met in the Marion Square for the annual marking of 86 spaces. This is not an easy thing - there are always surprises such as trees that have disappeared and so we end up reconfiguring on the spot..

We actually divide the park into 2 pods of 43 spaces.  Each half of the Committee marks a pod.  Our pod finishes first...E v e r y Y e a r.

HOW MANY ARTISTS DOES IT TAKE

TO MARK A SPACE???

Another Wednesday Night Worship Painting

"Jerusalem"

Mixed Media

11x14"

A different take on Jerusalem, a city that ends up in a lot of my artwork, whether it's painted during a worship service or in the studio.  This piece was painted over 2 Wednesday services at St. Andrews, Mt. Pleasant and has a sculpted, 3-D quality to it.  I started with a canvas panel and began building the foundation with gesso and torn paper, some of it heavy card stock.  What I enjoy about working this way is that it's difficult, if not downright impossible, to be too realistic.  You literally have to deal with the bumps and ridges, and I like the surprises that happen along the way as the shapes begin to determine what goes where.  I used a little watercolor to begin with but quickly changed to acrylics and then coated the finished piece with matte medium.

While Jerusalem is certainly a geographical place, it signifies far more than that for me and for many others.  My paintings of Jerusalem come from deep within and don't fall into set category.  I just know that whenever I paint it, the colors flow onto the paper or canvas.

Wednesday Night Worship Painting

"Olives"

Mixed Media

18x18"

Painted during last Wednesday night's Creative Worship Arts Service with our rocking' worship band and a great talk by the Reverend Rob Sturdy at St. Andrews, Mt. Pleasant.  I changed the background after I got home - I had painted it 2 coats of cad red light but there's not great light where I set my easel up at church so sometimes I don't realize I need to change a color until I'm home.  Anyway, since I was using acrylic paints, I just poured rubbing alcohol on the background and rubbed it with paper towels, ending up with a pale pinkish orange. Then I glazed the background (when in doubt, glaze, glaze, glaze...) with a transparent quinacridone golden color which has a real zing to it.  I really like using that color with the olive theme because it reminds of the richness (physically and spiritually) of olive oil.

Snow White's Cousin

"Rose Red"

Acrylic

6x6"

Obviously this is not a rose but I painted it right after the white flower (previous posting) a/k/a "Snow White" so I had to name it "Rose Red" after the old fairy tales.  (I've been an avid reader since first grade and have been spotted on various Sunday afternoons between stacks sitting on the floor of libraries - either reading or looking at pictures...)

Piccolo Spoleto will be here soon!

"Snow White"

Acrylic

6x6"

SOLD

Piccolo Spoleto may be on its way but I just can't hold all my recent pieces until May 22...not with participating in a gallery and spring weekends filled with art shows and worship conferences!  I love painting these 6x6" canvases - you can frame them up or just place on a little brass easel, and people can always find room to squeeze a 6x6" in.  "Snow White" is on a plain canvas panel but I'm trying some 6x6" gessoboard right now with oils and I think I'm becoming attached to the gessoboard as a support - so smooth for oil paints, it's like spreading soft butter on hard toast....yum!