Friday, August 20, 2010

Autumn Fun: Part II

 Public Restroom, oil on panel, 20" x 30"

The next portion of autumnal fun will be another fabulous invitational show which is being curated by Barclay McConnell at the Durham Arts Council.  The title of the exhibition is People You May Know: Contemporary Portraits.  I am so pleased to have four of my portraits included in this exciting exhibition that not only celebrates the fine art of portraiture, but also seeks to celebrate the characters of our everyday life that often go by overlooked.  Other great artists included are Beverly McIver, Titus Heagins and Jacob Cooley.  This exhibition will run October 8th, 2010 - January 9th, 2011 with the Artist Reception to coincide with Downtown Durham's Third Friday ArtWalk on Friday October 15th from 5-7pm.  Thank you to Barclay and the DAC for including my work in this wonderful exhibition. 


Durham Arts Council: 120 Morris Street Durham, NC 27701  919.560.ARTS  

Monday, August 16, 2010

Autumn Fun: Part I

This Autumn is going to be packed with great exhibitions and adventures for me.  I am so looking forward to the coming crisp air because with it will come a flurry of activity.  I am so happy to share with you that I will have my work included in several prestigious invitational exhibitions here in North Carolina as well as a group figurative show that is near and dear to my heart in Charleston, South Carolina.

 Images left to right by artists: Tamie Beldue, Kreh Mellick and Alia El-Bermani

First off, in September I will have three of my layered vellum drawings included in an exhibition titled Drawing Revisited at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art.  The Opening Reception is September 10, 2010 5:30 - 7:30 and will continue through October 29th.  "Drawing Revisited is a major survey of North Carolina artists working in a medium which in the digital age may appear to be a slow and intimate art form.  Drawings from more than fifty artist, both renowned and newly notable will be on view.  Over 200 works on paper in graphite, watercolor, artist's crayon, wash, charcoal and ink will attest to the ongoing vitality of drawing.  Related programs will include lunchtime artist's talks, figure drawing workshops, and an audio tour for children and families."  In fact, I have been asked to give an Artist's Lecture on my work on Wednesday, October 20th at 5:30.  I will be presenting 'slides' of my work both painting and drawing.  I am quite honored to also have been chosen as one of the artists whose image was reproduced for the invitation you see above.  

 Artist Proof, Julie, charcoal on layered vellum, 38" x 25"

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my "Layered Vellum Drawings" I think I should explain.  This series of large scale, charcoal drawings investigate the concept of layers.  I am interested in the physical layers of my chosen medium as well as representing the internal, psychological layers of my sitters.  Each complete drawing is made of up several (as little as two and as many as four) drawings on separate sheets of vellum, which are then flattened one a top another to create the final image.  Often, I have included symbols such as pattern and still life objects to further represent my subjects.  As with painting, the under layers of these drawings are not always as clear as those on the surface.  This in fact, is an intentional use of the semi-transparent vellum.  The further the layer recedes from the viewer, the more ghosted the drawing appears.  It's a nice physical representation of the deeper layers we all have obscured within us.

Layered Self Portrait, charcoal on layered vellum, 94" x 45"

Colin, charcoal on layered vellum, 38" x 25"

200 N. Davie Street, Greensboro, North Carolina 27401
http://www.greenhillcenter.org/ 


If you are near Greensboro, I hope you will be able to join me for either the Opening Reception on September 10th or the Artist Lecture on October 20th.  
   

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

N.E.W. Works Exhibition at VAE

I am pleased to announce that my painting Space Between will be included in Visual Art Exchange's 21st Annual Never Exhibited Works show September 3 - 23, 2010.  The juror for this year's exhibition was Steven Matijcio, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) in Winston-Salem, NC.  I hope to see you at the Opening Reception on Friday September 3rd 6-9pm. 

 Space Between, oil on panel, 36" x 48"