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REGIONAL EXHIBITIONS ARE GREAT SUCCESSES
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Western Regional Show
Oil Painters of America celebrated its return to Santa Barbara’s Waterhouse Gallery for its fourth Western Regional Exhibition this past September. The “minia-ture” regional exhibition began with a lovely reception on Saturday evening, September 15th and was presented to collectors and art enthusiasts over the next month.
Best of Show Award winning painting “Side By Side” by René Porter
Over 100 artists displayed their mastery of miniature painting (maximum size being 11” x 14”) including 8 of our OPA Master Signature Members: Zhiwei Tu, Joyce Pike, Neil Patterson, Calvin Liang, Kevin Macpherson, Nancy S. Crookston, Thomas Buechner, and David Hettinger.
This year’s distinguished judge was California resident and Master Signature member Calvin Liang. Mr. Liang has garnered a strong reputation amongst collectors and artists, particularly for his breathtaking seascapes.
René Porter took home first place honors for her painting, “Side By Side”. Although René has been painting for quite some time, this was her first OPA Show ever! Needless to say, she was thrilled, and just a little surprised to receive such an honor.
Following the reception, artists and their guests joined Diane and Ralph Waterhouse and their staff for a fabulous dinner at one of Santa Barbara’s trendy restaurants, Café Buenos Aires.
Our thanks goes to Waterhouse Gallery for their gracious hospitality and continued support.
The following individuals took home top honors:
Best of Show- René Porter for “Side By Side” - $3,000 funded by OPA
Award of Excellence - Best Master Signature Member - Zhiwei Tu OPAM for “Village Girl” - $2,500 funded by OPA
Southwest Art Award of Excellence- Jason Dowd for “Autumn Shrine” - Half-page advertisement valued at $2,100
Award of Excellence - Best Signature Member- Daniel T. Desmond OPA for “Evening Fog” - $1,000 funded by OPA
Award of Excellence - Best Associate Member- Michael Mao for “Morning Adoration” - $1,000 funded by OPA.
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MEET THE WINNER - Western Regional
René Porter
René Porter was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. Her parents were an early influence on her creative life. René's father was an avid photographer and also enjoyed drawing. He would sketch cartoon characters and clowns for his children and give them as rewards for good behavior. Her mother was an accomplished seamstress and an early supporter of René's dream of becoming an artist. She encouraged René to set her sights on formal art training and her mother put aside money from her modest seamstress earnings to help René with tuition.
René was accepted, and awarded a first term scholarship into the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio where she formally trained from 1979 to 1983. Her training gave René a strong foundation in fine art, graphic design and illustration. After finishing college, René made her living as a graphic designer and illustrator, while she pursued her passion for figurative fine art painting and drawing.
In 1994 René moved west to Los Angeles California, and with her move came a renewed commitment to work on her figurative fine art full time. In the process, René was captivated by the beauty of California's natural environment and was inspired to infuse her work with the essence and warmth of her surroundings. As a result, a portion of René's work captures the coastal and tropical nuances of the pacific.
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Award of Excellence - Best Associate Member winner Michael Mao pictured with Juror of Awards Calvin Liang OPAM
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Host Ralph Waterhouse, Board Member Neil Patterson OPAM, Best of Show winner René Porter and Juror of Awards Calvin Liang OPAM
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Host Ralph Waterhouse, Board Member Neil Patterson OPAM, Best of Show winner René Porter and Juror of Awards Calvin Liang OPAM |
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SOUTHWIND GALLERY CENTRAL REGIONAL SHOW
Topeka, the Capital City of Kansas, served as this year’s destination for OPA’s Central Regional Juried Exhibition at Southwind Gallery, September 28 through November 10, 2007.
This wonderful weekend of events that including local television coverage by WIBW TV, was orchestrated by Gary and Sharon Blitsch, owners of SouthWind Gallery. They, along with their talented staff and many supporters worked to make this a very special weekend for all in attendance.
The event kicked off on Friday evening, September 28th where guests enjoyed introductions and out of this world hor’deurves prior to the announcement of the award winners. Gary Blitsch welcomed the artists and guests for coming to Topeka for this very special occasion.
Anita Wolgast, Chair of the Kansas Arts Commission welcomed OPA artists to Topeka. The event was a lively and fun evening.
Master Signature member Jeff Legg did an exemplary job of detailing how he selected the award winning pieces and what made them stand out from the rest.
Dianne L. Massey Dunbar OPA from Centennial, Colorado, was this year’s recipient of the $3,000 Best In Show for her painting, “Night Road Crew”. Ms. Dunbar is no stranger to OPA, as she recently took second place honors at the 2007 National Exhibition held at Whistle Pik Galleries in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Best of Show Award winning painting “Night Road Crew”
by Dianne Massey Dunbar OPA
On Saturday, a bus load of eager artists ready to paint and enthusiastic collectors made their way to the Kansas Flint Hills for a full-day of activities. The Flint Hills is a historic area comprised of magnificent, rolling hills filled with wild flowers and local fauna. The bus stopped for lunch in historic Cottonwood Falls where everyone was able to visit OPA member Judy Mackey’s Flint Hills Gallery, and dine at one of two local restaurants. After lunch, the artists were taken to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve where they spent the rest of the afternoon painting. At the end of the day, the artists and collectors headed to one final stop - the “Flying W Ranch” where they were able to relax and unwind, mingle with the cowboys, and enjoy a delicious barbeque dinner.
The weekend ended on Sunday with a reception for collectors, and another opportunity for the artists to take in the exhibition. It was a magnificent weekend and many thanks to SouthWind Gallery for all of their work on our behalf!
“The Studio” by Richard Russell won the Southwest Art Award of Excellence
This year’s Central Regional Exhibition winners are:
Best of Show- Dianne Massey Dunbar OPA for “Night Road Crew” - $3,000 funded by OPA
Award of Excellence - Best Master Signature Member- Kevin Macpherson OPAM for “Light from Above” - $2,500 funded by OPA
Southwest Art Award of Excellence- Richard Russell for “The Studio” - Half-page advertisement valued at $2,100
Award of Excellence - Best Signature Member- Howard Friedland OPA for “Saddling Up” - $1,000 funded by OPA
Award of Excellence - Best Associate Member- Dan Beck for “Crystal in Purple” - $1,000 funded by OPA.
“Light From Above” painted by Kevin Macpherson OPAM won the Award of Excellence - Best Master Signature Member |
Howard Friedland OPA’s “Saddling Up” won the Award of Excellence - Best Signature Member |
Dan Beck’s painting “Crystal In Purple” won the Award of Excellence - Best Associate Member |
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MEET THE WINNER - Central Regional
DIANNE L.
MASSEY DUNBAR OPA
Ms. Dunbar was very young when her elementary school teacher apparently told her parents that she demonstrated an unusual talent for art. Her parents sought to find a teacher that could help her foster her talent. After searching they located an artist/illustrator by the name of Harold A. Wolfinbarger, Jr. who agreed to take Dianne on as a student at the young age of seven. Her first lessons were drawing, but she quickly progressed to painting.
After studying with Mr. Wolfinbarger for several years, Ms. Dunbar drifted away from an art career. While she did not pursue a professional career until much later, Ms. Dunbar always painted in some fashion, whether it was at home or a local class.
In 1997, Ms. Dunbar made her way to the Art Students League of Denver. There she was fortunate to study with Quang Ho and Mark Daily, both of whom greatly influenced her work. At that time, she began to seriously focus on her art, where she says she had a torrid love affair with paints and painting. “It was a wonderful time of experimentation and learning,” said Ms. Dunbar.
Ms. Dunbar particularly enjoys painting ordinary objects or scenes of people engaging in daily activities. Most of her paintings come from scenes or events out of her own life experience. “For me there is something honorable and even sacred about ordinary people living ordinary lives, working hard every day, trying to do their best, raising children, growing old,” says Dunbar. She adds, “It is a privilege and a responsibility to be an artist. I am grateful to be able to express myself in this manner and I am thrilled when others enjoy my work.”
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JUROR OF AWARDS
STATEMENT
Waterhouse Gallery
Santa Barbara, California
By CALVIN LIANG OPAM
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the Oil Painters of America for selecting me as this year’s Juror of Awards. It is quite an honor and I am grateful for the confidence you have placed in me for this very special event. Also, many thanks to Ralph and Diane Waterhouse for their wonderful hospitality. It was an elegant affair all around.
I’d like to thank all of the artists who exhibited in this year’s event. You have every reason to be proud of this achievement. It was a very difficult task jurying this show, especially when there were so many outstanding pieces to choose from.
In selecting the winners, I felt it was important to trust my initial feelings. It is essential that all of the elements come together – the shape, composition, color, value, and overall movement. I believe that the pieces that received awards had very good harmony and rhythm, contrast and theme that conveyed the right message to the viewer.
Finally, I ask that we all continue to pursue excellence in our painting, bringing well deserved attention to traditional, representational art.
Best regards,
Calvin Liang OPAM
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JUROR OF AWARDS STATEMENT
Southwind Gallery
Topeka, Kansas
By JEFF LEGG OPAM
I would like to thank OPA for the honor of judging the regional show in Topeka, Kansas and many thanks to Gary Blitsch and his staff at SouthWind Gallery for all their work in hosting and promoting the event. It’s always a pleasure to meet collectors and other artists and have that camaraderie that so many of us as artists miss in our studios.
There were many fine works of art in this show and it was a challenging task for me to only pick 5 award winners from over 100 paintings.
In deciding the awards, I broke down judging into two basic ideas or levels. The intellectual level or the objective/scientific level which pertains to the actual execution and crafting of the painting i.e. composition, color harmony, value relationships, drawing, edges as well as paint application. These elements are readily observable and can be analyzed. The other level is emotional or the subjective/spiritual level. This level although less tangible is a very real element in art. These paintings evoke an emotional response, exhibit passion, the desire and excitement for the subject, honesty or the artists’ genuine response to the subject, spirit or the soul and life of the work and intuition, which are visual elements that may be at odds with the intellectual level. The paintings chosen for awards met criteria on many of these levels.
I appreciate the efforts from all of the participating artists and congratulate the award winners and all those that were selected for the exhibition.
Jeff Legg - Juror of Awards
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Masterstrokes
Painting From Imagination
By David Hettinger OPAM
There are many methods of painting. Each artist develops his/her own method to fit his or her purpose, whether it is to achieve a desired look to their finished work, or a method to deal with a subject. A plein-air painter on a painting trip may work differently than a plein-air artist working in one’s back yard. A studio painter working from life may need to work differently than one using photos. Most of my finished work, work I show, is done from memory or imagination. I paint from life as much as possible. This work is more or less to build a mental file on how subjects look, how light works, and what colors appear in different conditions.
This process for doing one of my paintings from imagination begins with a concept. These concepts evolve from events I have experienced or scenes that have struck me. A writer would take these thoughts and put them on paper and the end product would be a story but I put my thoughts on canvas. My paintings tell the story of things I have seen. When one of these concepts has been bouncing around in my head for a while and I think it may be ready to be put to canvas, I will go straight to work on a canvas without making pencil sketches.
“Summer’s End”
I begin with an abstract wash of burnt sienna and viridian or ultramarine. This abstract wash usually becomes my light and dark pattern. Using a #4 or #6 flat bristle brush I will sketch in a rough figure or figures with whatever props are needed to tell a story. When I am sure my concept is a good one, I hire live models. The wash drawing is still workable when I hire models. I will make changes to my drawing at this time and add detail to the essential areas such as hands, feet, face, or folds in the clothing.
I will also photograph the model and take individual photographs of the essential areas. This is for back up purposes in case the model is unable to return for a second and third sitting. I will, at times, use two or three models for one figure. Likeness is not important to me if I am not doing a portrait, though I tend to get a likeness when I use just one model.
Every area of the canvas is equally important to me. Each area is treated differently but with equal care. I will paint the face and hands of my figure with brush work that shows control. If I want these areas to appear more realistic I will use softer brush work and do more blending. I will also handle the edges more carefully in these areas. I will stick close to my drawing here. Other areas such as background will be done with loose brush work, thicker paint and less mixing of the color. This area will appear to be done with more passion because of the action that appears in the combination of brush work and in color mix. I put as much care into the background of my paintings as I do the figures.
“Can We”
To work as I do I need to be able to sketch figures that are only in my mind. To do this I attend two sketch groups each week and when possible I sketch people in malls, parks or at family gatherings. I draw and paint from life as much as possible and try different lighting conditions.
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Notes From Your Board of Directors
2008 National Exhibition Entries
The 2008 National Exhibition will offer artists more opportunity for entering paintings. This will be the first time that an artist may submit two entries for jurying in a national show. However, only one entry will be accepted.
Remember that all entries must be for sale. If an entry is accepted into the show and is subsequently sold prior to the exhibition, the artist will not be eligible to enter another OPA show for the next two years.
National Award Increase
The American National Award of Excellence for the Seventeenth Exhibition, being held at the Dana Gallery in Missoula, Montana, has been increased from $15,000 to $20,000.
Signature Status Application Change
Requirements to be met for applying for Signature Member status have been revised. The new requirements now state that an applicant must be in at least 2 National Exhibitions and at least 3 Regional Exhibitions or 3 National Exhibitions. Regional Exhibitions during the 5 years prior to 2008 may be counted.
Co-Chair Appointed
Past OPA President and Master Signature Member Zhiwei Tu has been appointed Co-Chair of the Master Signature Review Committee, along with Joyce Pike OPAM.
Second Annual Great Paint Outs
Paint Outs were held in various locations in 19 states this year, all the way from New York to Hawaii. OPA would like to thank the organizers who put forth their efforts to make these events so successful. Pictures of some of these Paint Outs appear through-out this Brushstrokes or on the OPA website.
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RENEWING YOUR DUES – OPA TAKES IT ON-LINE
The 2008 membership renewals in Oil Painters of America mark the beginning of a new era. The OPA website now provides a link through its “Members Only” page to a new secure on-line membership database. This will enable you to renew your membership dues on line, update your personal information, and register for events and purchase catalogs.
If you should make an error and need to cancel a payment, contact the OPA General Office at: 815-356-5987 or e-mail to mail@oilpaintersofamerica.com.
Also, most members should not have trouble receiving e-mails from OPA. However, to make sure show announcements, etc. reach you; you may want to add the email address membership@oilpaintersofamerica.com to your safe sender’s list or trusted sites list. Some email systems also allow you to setup a rule to accept email from a particular email address.
OPA NOW OFFERS
ON-LINE SUBMISSION
PROCESS
As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, the Board of Director’s felt it was in the best interest of the organization to begin offering on-line submissions to its members. “Over the past five years, we have received more and more calls from members saying that they can no longer find places to make slides or they have a place but it takes them several weeks to turn it around,” said OPA’s president, William Chambers OPA. “Whether we like it or not, slides are becoming obsolete and we need to embrace this new technology sooner than later.”
That being said, OPA has contracted with Juried Art Services to assist OPA with its on-line jurying. For the first time ever, OPA offered members in its Eastern Regional Exhibition the opportunity to enter on-line. It was OPA’s first venture using this new technology. “Overall, I would say it went very well,” said Executive Director Kathryn Beligratis, “Many wrote in that it was beneficial. Having said that, others thought it was more difficult than they had expected. We learned a lot from this first venture into on-line submissions and have made some changes to the application and to the overall process that we hope will make it easier and run more smoothly. Whatever you do, give yourself ample time to submit, especially if you haven’t done it before.”
Here are a few tips to make the submission process easier:
Give yourself time to read the instructions and whatever you do, do not wait until the last few days to submit.
You must have access to high speed internet to submit on-line, otherwise, we recommend you submit your entry by mail.
Understand how to prepare your digital image and what size dimensions your image(s) needs to be. If you aren’t digitally savvy; enlist a friend or relative to help you.
Notification comes via e-mail, and if you have a spam blocker you might not receive proper notification.
5. Don’t spin your wheels – if you don’t understand something, e-mail Juried Art Services at: support@jurying.net They will get back to you quickly and 99% of the time can answer your question(s) and help you get back on track.
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CRITIQUE SERVICE
Members and non-members of OPA are invited to submit copies of their work for critiquing by Signature and Master Signature members who will provide constructive analysis and feedback. To take part in this service please mail two identical disks containing three to ten paintings of current work with a one page bio. The fee for OPA members is $25.00 and non-members is $50.00. Send your material and check to: Oil Painters of America., P. O. Box 2488, Crystal Lake, IL 60039-2488.
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Painting Our Future
News Briefs and Special Occasions
Marti Bailey has been honored by having two of her images and a short bio included in the newly published Best of America: Oil Artists and Artisans Vol. I.
Robert Bonawitz won “Best of Show” at the Stillwater Art Guild Plein Air Competition for his painting “Morning Rain”.
Karen Bonnie presented a One Person Show of her work in October at Scottsdale Fine Art in Scottsdale, AZ.
Victoria Brook’s first Student Art Show took place at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Sacramento, CA.
Ellen Buselli’s painting “Hyacinth” won First Place in the Oil Category of the American Artist 70th Anniversary Competition.
Cody DeLong won first place at the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park plein air “Paint Out” for his piece “Pine Creek Serenade”.
Agnes Derbin-Caulfield is exhibiting her work at the exhibition “Reflections: Oil Paintings By Agnes Derbin-Caulfield” during the month of November at the Main Street Café & Books in Los Altos.
Kimberly Dow’s painting “Unruly” is a finalist in the International Competition of the Artist’s Magazine.
Karen Petrovich has been invited to participate in the 38th Annual “Women Artists of the West” exhibition held in November at the Hilligoss Galleries, Chicago, IL.
Stephen Sanfilippo won the Best Of Show for his painting “Sanctuary Trail” at the 2007 Rivertown Plein Air Event.
Jo Sherwood’s painting of former Secretary of the Interior Steward L. Udall has been chosen to hang in the lobby of the Steward L. Udall Center for Museum Resources in Santa Fe, NM.
Jill Soukup presented her One Woman Show from October 12—Nov. 3 at Abend Gallery Fine Art, LLC, in Denver, CO.
Carol Swinney’s painting “Mountain Meadow” won the Collectors Purchase Award at the 2007 Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters National Show.
Michelle Torrez presented her One Woman Show from November 9 —30 at Abend Gallery Fine Art, LLC, In Denver, CO.
Kay Witherspoon has been chosen by the members of the Society of Animal Artists to exhibit in the 47th Annual National Exhibition of Contemporary Wildlife Art.
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DATES TO REMEMBER
August 1 – Deadline for submission for Signature membership status. Minimum requirement is having been juried into three OPA National Exhibitions OR two National and three Regional Exhibitions.
September 1 – Deadline for submission for 2007 Master Signature membership status. Minimum requirement is current Signature status.
December 1 – Deadline for submission for 2008 Shirl Smithson Memorial Scholarship.
National Shows
January 17 – Deadline for receipt of mailed in submission(s) for Seventeenth Annual National Exhibition.
January 24 – Deadline for receipt of on-line submission(s) for Seventeenth Annual National Exhibition.
May 2 – June 15, 2008 Seventeenth Annual National Juried Exhibition at Dana Gallery, Missoula, Montana. Juror of Awards: Ramon Kelley OPAM.
May 1 – May 31, 2009 Eighteenth Annual National Juried Exhibition at Sage Creek Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Regional Shows
November 24, 2007 – January 5, 2008 Eastern Regional Juried Exhibition at the Weatherburn Gallery, Naples, Florida. Juror of Awards: John Michael Carter OPA
September 12 – October 11, 2008 Central Regional Juried Exhibition at Devin Galleries in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Maximum Size Dimensions: 30” x 40”
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