Senior Holiday Card Contest

Each Year the Secretary of the State of Massachusetts, William Galvin sponsors a Senior Holiday Card Contest at the Mass. Archives Building at the Commonwealth Museum at 220 Morrissey Boulevard in Boston, Massachusetts. In this the 15th Year of the contest I was pleased to learn that my oil painting entitled "Winter Solitude" was awarded a 2nd Place in the Museum Committee Awards Category.  This contest is open to seiors 62 years of age or older.  The pictures below are a close-up of this painting, the painting hanging in the Commonwealth Museum, Director of Archives Comeau making the presentation, a picture of myself and my cousin Sandra Regan of Winthrop Massachusetts who also placed 2nd in the mixed media category, a picture of Richard Mangino of Revere a quadruple amputee from Revere who painted his entry using his mouth before becoming the first double hand transplant recipient and whom we are all inspired by and proud of, and finally members of my Monday Cameron Senior Center Open Studio Group from Westford, Massachusetts with their award winning paintings.  This group mentored by Marie Stabile of Westford was very well represented at a special luncheon and awards ceremony held at the Commonwealth Museum.  In addition these painters will have a special Artists Showcase for the Month of November at the Cameron Senior Center in Westford on 20 Pleasant Street which is open to the public with a special meet the artists opportunity on November 17th from 3 PM until 8PM at theCameron Center.  Light refreshments will be available.  Come meet these talented artists and renew or make new acquaintances.  Many of the art pieces on display will be for sale.



Lowell Open Studios

This was a very busy weekend since it was the 11th City Wide Open Studios in Lowell, MA.  Special activities and demonstrations took place in many of the studios located throughout the city.  Shuttle bus transportation was available to those wishing to visit several of the studio complexes in Lowell. At my studio in suite #326 at Western Avenue Studios many friends and other art viewers were in attendance and all paintings were offered for sale.  The annual fall event was the most successful in 11 years and more than 2000 people came to view the great art at Western Avenue Studios. If comments overheard were any indication of how satisfied participants were with this experience, we can look forward to many other Western Avenue Activities. For the artists and their families the building owner Karl Frey organized the 7th annual pot luck dinner and party on Friday night October 30th in the Loading Dock of Western Avenue and announced several new accomplishments of the artist's community including the installation of more than 900 solar panels on the roof of the building which will produce approximately 60% of electricity used in studios by artists. In addition is was announced that 50 live-in studios are being constructed and should be available for occupancy in the Spring of 2012.  Western Avenue Studios certainly is a vibrant and alive place for artists to work and have fun.

Entry For Beaver Brook Association Fall Festival Show In Hollis, NH.

This painting which I have titled "Night Watch" was a commission for a client who is a collector of owls. This particular owl is a snowy owl. The painting was a new challenge for me and was worked on for much of the month of September for entry into the Beaver Brook Association of Hollis, New Hampshire's Fall Festival. The painting was on Exhibit at the Maple Hill Farm for the show which was entitled Nature Beckons from September 22nd through the 25th. The new artwork criteria for the show accented New England natural settings or art which reflects a nature theme.  Manmade structures and domesticated animals could not be included in landscapes or be the focus of the art. I was quite pleased at the results achieved and learned a great deal about representing birds in painting. Since this was a commission the painting was not offered for sale.

Summer Work

Although the summer has been quieter for me in terms of production of new paintings, I have worked on a few new pieces.  This piece which is called Winter Solitude is a view of the Massachusetts State House which I produced for the 15th Annual Seniors Holiday Card Contest sponsored by the Secretary Of State William Galvin's Office.  The contest is open to all citizens 62 and over.  The paintings are hung in a gallery upstairs in the Commonwealth Museum located at the Massachusetts Archives Building on Columbia Point at 220 Morrisey Boulevard in Boston, Massachusetts during November and early December.  Two paintings will be chosen to be reproduced and these cards will be sold at the State House Gift Shop with the name of the artist printed on the card. Winning artists will be presented in a ceremony to be held at the Commonwealth Museum and all entering artists will be recognized a a special luncheon sponsored by Secretary Galvin's office. I am relatively happy with the results in this painting and attempted to convey a moodf of quiet and solitude on Beacon Hill.



Summer 2011

As I have said in the past I am not sure where time goes. It seems like I am always trying to catch up.  I apologize for not keeping up with this blog over the summer.  The summer of 2011 was a very hot and humid one indeed and it seems that when the temperature goes up into the 80's and 90's and the humidity increases my energy level goes into a tail spin.  I did try to stay in the cool air conditioning during much of the hot weather.  Whenever I could I painted in air conditioned comfort but rarely made it over to my Western Avenue Studio in Suite #326..........the building was like an oven and due to its brick construction it retained the heat. I continued to meet with my art colleagues in the Nashua Artists Breakfast Club an experience that I always find fun and instructional.  Although my production level was at a minimum I did continue to work on several paintings.  I will say more about these in the next few posts.  Now that the cooler weather has arrived and we have begun autumn activities I will be posting more often and painting more often.  Sometimes taking a break and stepping back helps inspire an artist to move ahead with new ideas.

More Spring Art Show 2011

A few photos from the Spring Breakfast Club Exhibition 2011

Nashua Breakfast Club Spring 2011 Exhibition

This Spring the Nashua Area Artists are again exhibiting for the month of April at the McCarthy Room of the Chelmsford Public Library in their second annual show,  This again has been a very rewarding experience and a successful show. Now that it is nearing completion it is time to beging work on soome new pieces inspired by Spring and Summer.  Thanks to all friends and family who dropped into the reception on April 9th.  It was a stretch to participate as I had flown in on the red eye from LaJolla, California where I attended a bnusiness conference and extended it by a few days vacation.  Thanks to good friends my work was hung in the exhibition and I was able to make a wonderful reception for the artists.

Catching Up

Sometimes I am awestruck by how fast time passes.  This winter of 2011 has been a busy one with a trip to the Christmas Markets in Germany, the heart of Europe,  and a cruise through the Rhine and Main Rivers.  Lots of landscape and people for inspiration.  I have also been busy participating in a few group art exhibitions. The above picture is from a group show entitled the "Men of Western Avenue" which was held in February at the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, Massachusetts.  This was a very successful exhibition and we had a great Artists Reception sponsored by the Art League of Lowell.

Reception February 26th Men Of Western Avenue at Whistler House Museum of Art

This month I thought that I would post some photos from The Men of Western Avenue Studios very sucessful show and reception which was held at the Whistler House Museum Of Art in Lowell, Massachusetts.  The attendance at the reception included many friends, family members and members of the Nashua Area Artists Breakfast Club, a group of very talented artist friends.  It was fun to have a couple of my paintings accepted to this show.  These pieces "Serenity and Province Lands" can be seen in previous posts in close up as well as in the pictures posted.  The show was a varied presentation with pieces from 19 male artists of Western Avenue Studios mentioned in the previous announcement post.  The wonderful refreshments were provided by the Whistler House Staff and members of the Lowell Art Association whose joint efforts have unified the many artists working in the Lowell area which has become a very active art community.

Men Of Western Avenue Show at Whistler House Museum of Art

This is an announcement for a currently offered show entitled the "Men of Western Avenue Studios" which is now at the Whistler House Museum of Art at 243 Worthen Street in Lowell,MA.  The Museum is the birthplace of James McNeill Whistler and the home of the Lowell Art Association and is  open Wed. throgh Sat. from 11 AM until 4 PM.  This historic site was built in 1823 and it represents the richness of the history and art of Lowell.  There is a permanent collection of late 19th and early 20th century artwork as well as exhibitions of art in the adjacent Parker Gallery.

The show features a collection of art in various disciplines, media and styles from the Men of Western Avenue Studios, an integral part of the cultural life in the city of Lowell.  The cross section contains sculpture, oil, watercolor and acrylic paintings, photography and mixed media.  The artists included are: Tom Gill, Marcus Griep, Jack Holmes, David Barton, Don Ouellette, William McMeniman, David Leblanc, Stuart Krentcil, Glenn Szegedy, Joe Lapiana, John Wren, Peter Zimmerman, Gary Destramp, Bill Berry, Bruce Wood, John Cascio, Don Sullivan, Todd Bonita, Christopher Volpe, Jeff Engle and Michael Miller.

Come visit the exhibition and join us for the artist's reception on February 26th from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.

Pastel Workshop With Nita Casey January 20, 2011

Theses photos are from a recent Pastel Workshop I took with my good friends from the Nashua Area Artist's Breakfast Club.  The full day workshop was given by Nita Legere Casey at her Western Avenue Studio. It was my first attempt at working with pastels and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  This medium is easy to travel with and very versatile.  My friends Peg and Rene also enjoyed the workshop.  I know that I will work again with pastels and this workshop was a good warm up for a second workshop that I will do on January 26th with Gregory John Maichak at the Chelmsford Art Society.