Upcoming July - September Painting Class Dates

The dates for the next sessions of classes at both Binders Art in Atlanta and the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville are coming up soon.

-- Binders: Tuesdays, July 21 - August 25, 2009 and Tuesdays, September 8 -October 20, 2009

-- Quinlan: Wednesdays, August 12 - September 16, 2009

In the Binders class, Charles has recently added figure work to the curriculum, so at least three of the classes in the 6-week session will be with a live model. At both locations, afternoon and evening classes are again offered. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

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Painting - Design and Technique
Tuesday afternoons (1-4 pm) or evenings (6-8:30 pm)
$140 for six weeks
next 2 session dates:
July 21 - August 25, 2009
September 8 - October 20, 2009

The Art School at Binders
Piedmont Peachtree Crossing
3330 Piedmont Road, Suite 18, Atlanta GA 30305
http://learning.bindersart.com/
contact person: Kristina Breneman - 404-237-6331 ext. 203

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Painting - Design and Technique
Wednesday afternoons (1-4 pm) or evenings (6:30-9:30 pm)
$150 (members) $165 (nonmembers) for six weeks
next session dates:
August 12 - September 16, 2009

Quinlan Visual Arts Center
514 Greene St. NE, Gainesville GA 30501
http://www.quinlanartscenter.org/
770-536-2575 or email info@QuinlanArtsCenter.org

New Works: "An Epic in Three Acts"

This involved and enigmatic new piece is the first of a group of paintings Charles plans to do involving multiple figures in complex compositions.

"An Epic in Three Acts" is currently hanging at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art until September 12, 2009. At the exhibition's opening reception we heard various interpretations of the painting's narrative. What story do you think it's telling? (36 x 30, oil on canvas, 2008)

Metro Montage IX Opening Reception

It was a packed house last Saturday, June 20, at the Marietta / Cobb Museum of Art. By 6:30 pm the opening reception for Metro Montage IX was in full swing. Three rooms full of people juggled programs, wineglasses and chilled summer fruit as they made the circuit through the galleries. The excited conversation got so loud at one point it was hard to hear anything else!

Metro Montage is the museum's annual juried exhibition of Georgia art, showcasing some of the best artists and sculptors of the area. The juror this year was Rebecca Grunberger from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She chose a very nice show of 77 pieces by 76 artists - a wide array spanning the range from abstract to contemporary to traditional representational.

Did you notice those numbers just now? Well guess what! During the reception several museum staffers, including the Director herself, went out of their way to let us know that Charles was the only artist in the show from whom the juror accepted more than one piece! Charles' new multi-figure painting "An Epic in Three Acts" made the cut, along with "Lavender Lace" which again stood out from the crowd. We received numerous glowing comments about it, with quite a few people citing it as their favorite of the whole exhibition.

Metro Montage IX will remain on display until September 12, 2009. Also at the Museum during this time, in the upstairs galleries, are selections from their permanant collection - pieces mostly from the 19th century, including beautiful works by Robert Henri and N.C. Wyeth. Stop in and see it all if you find yourself in the area.

Two Paintings Accepted into Metro Montage IX

Charles has had 2 paintings accepted into the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art's annual juried exhibition Metro Montage: his lush and mysterious portrait of a young woman - "Lavender Lace", and a new very intriguing multi-figure composition enigmatically titled "An Epic in Three Acts".

We delivered the paintings to the museum this morning - it's going to be a vibrant and varied exhibition! This year, Metro Montage IX includes works by 76 Atlanta-area artists, a representative sampling of the best north Georgia has to offer. The opening reception is Saturday evening, June 20 - we'd love to see you there.

Earlier this year, the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art completed an extensive interior renovation, uncovering the building's original hardwood floors and opening up the gallery spaces, along with varied other projects, all with beautiful results. The extra gallery space allowed for their newest venture - a monthly open drawing night, where artists gather for 3 hours of serious academic life study. The museum should be heartily applauded for this. Their efforts to foster an active artistic community in their area have created quite a buzz in the art circles!

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Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art
Metro Montage IX
June 20 - September 12, 2009
opening reception: Saturday, June 20, 6-8pm
30 Atlanta Street, Marietta GA 30060
770-528-1444 -- info@MariettaCobbArtMuseum.org

New Works: "Bent but not Broken"

Charles completed this small plein air painting last year. I love this piece and, since I'd included it in our most recent website update, I thought I'd feature it here as well.

Besides the obvious attractions of its lush green surroundings and the beautiful effect of all the dappled light, Charles was drawn to this tree by its story. It had obviously been through a terrible storm some time past which caused extensive damage; it had not only survived but continued to grow. In fact it's still thriving, a year or more after this painting was done at a nature preserve not far from our house. ( 11 x 14, oil on panel, 2008 )

A Surprise Visit from Vasari's Master Paintmaker

On April 28th, Charles had the great honor of a personal visit by Steve Salek of Vasari Classic Artists’ Oil Colors.

Steve and his assistant Joshua found themselves passing through Atlanta on their way home from a weekend at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and just wanted to drop in and say hello! That happened to be the day of Charles’ painting class at Binders, and several of his students stayed late after class and got to meet one of the greatest paintmakers living today!

Charles has always been effusive in his praise for Vasari, for he feels that it would be impossible to overstate the quality of their paint. For many years now, he has used Vasari almost exclusively. So when Steve called to see if it would be alright if he and Joshua dropped by to say hello, we were floored and very honored. Though their visit was brief, it was thoroughly enjoyable and they left behind much warmth and good will.

So what is it that makes their paint so great? Well, Vasari Oils are handcrafted all the way. The pigments are precisely ground and mixed by hand in small batches without fillers of any kind. They are then loaded into their tubes, crimped and labeled by hand as well. Because of all this hands-on attention they are able to make the colors much more heavily pigmented than other brands. This results in a palette of jewel-like brilliance. So many times when Charles is setting up for a demonstration, people in the audience will see these vibrant colors and exclaim “What is THAT!”

Vasari is a small operation with only one retail store, located in Manhattan just off Times Square. Whether you call or drop by in person, Gail Spiegel will likely be the person you talk to there. She is an amazing fount of knowledge of all things pigment. If you happen to be there in the store (which we highly recommend next time you’re in NYC), ask her about any of their wonderful colors and she’ll immediately begin showing you its working properties and possible combinations on their huge mixing board. Many times Charles has left there with more paint than what he’d intended, and thrilled with his new discoveries.

Behind the scenes, and making all this possible, is Steve Salek, master paintmaker. Steve has invested many years into careful and thorough research of the old world, traditional paintmaking methods. He describes it as just his commitment to bringing the best materials to the art of painting. The fact that he allows the rest of us to benefit from all his hard work is amazing.

Steve makes great paint, which helps Charles makes great art. We love Vasari and were honored beyond words by their visit!

Painting Class at Binders - Upcoming Session Dates

The next 6-week session of Charles' painting class at Binders Art Supply in Atlanta will begin Tuesday May 26, and continue through Tuesday June 30. Future class dates have also been set through mid-October.

Charles has recently added figure work to the curriculum, so at least three of the classes in the 6-week session will be with a live model.

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Painting - Design and Technique Tuesday afternoons (1-4 pm) or evenings (6-8:30 pm) $140 for six weeks upcoming class dates: May 26 - June 30, July 21 - August 25, September 8 - October 13, 2009

The Art School at Binders Piedmont Peachtree Crossing 3330 Piedmont Road Suite 18, Atlanta GA 30305 http://learning.bindersart.com/ contact person: Kristina Breneman - learning@BindersArt.com - 404-237-6331 ext 203

Third Place at the 2009 Hilton Head National Exhibition

"Persimmon and Bronze" has been awarded 3rd place at the 2009 Hilton Head National Juried Exhibition!

Friday, May 1st, marked a beautiful weekend for a quick trip out to Hilton Head Island SC. The Art League of Hilton Head had two days of events planned for the opening of their 21st National Juried Art Exhibition - the awards reception on Friday evening and a "Critic's Luncheon" with juror Craig Srebnik Saturday afternoon.

From over 600 entries, the 108 final pieces were on display in the beautiful Walter Greer Gallery of the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. One very nice touch they included that I really liked (and had not ever seen done before) was the inclusion of a few-sentences-long statement provided by the artist to the work's information card, in addition to the usual title, size, medium and price. It provided a connection point with the viewer and an insight into the artist's mind and, I believe, really enhanced the show. All the cards were of a uniform size and made for a very impressive overall display.

The Saturday Critic's Luncheon was also a nice addition that I'd not seen before. It allowed the juror an opportunity to speak at length on his judging criteria. He also went step by step through the award winners explaining why each piece worked and why he's ranked them as he had.

Our day wrapped up with a visit to Morris & Whiteside Gallery. WOW! It was like getting a private tour through a small but exquisite museum.

The photos included above are: the obligatory award ribbon shot (you can also see the artist's statement/information card here), Charles and juror Craig Srebnik at the awards reception, and Charles chatting with Best of Show winner Ron Barsano (with both of their paintings in the background) after the Critic's Luncheon on Saturday.

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The Art League of Hilton Head
2009 National Juried Art Exhibition
May 2 - 24, 2009
Walter Greer Gallery, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
14 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head SC 29928
843-681-2399 - http://www.artleaguehhi.org/

Third Place at the Historic Buford Plein Air Fest

The weekend of April 24th saw Charles prowling around the back streets and gardens of Buford, Georgia, with a paintbrush and a big ol' hat. He and 44 other artists were in town for the 3rd Annual Historic Buford Plein Air Festival.

Everyone met bright and early Friday at the Tannery Row Artist Colony for check-in and orientation. Canvases were stamped, maps were distributed and then they were off!

Charles' first stop was the garden of one of the historic homes across the tracks from downtown and from there, on to the gates of the city's gem, the Bona Allen Mansion. I was able to accompany him on Saturday when he set up his easel on the sidewalks of East Main Street.

By 4:00 Saturday all the artists were delivering their wet paintings to the Tannery Row's gallery for the exhibition and judging. Being exhausted and starving (and also sunburned, in my case) we went to eat, returning at 6:30 to find the die-hards set up and painting the evening sun as it fell across the Tannery Row buildings.

The weekend produced 78 paintings for the exhibition, which was very well presented in the Tannery Row's gallery space. (I had been somewhat curious as to how they were going to deal with so many wet paintings - "framing not necessary." The unframed pieces were propped along display shelves and since most everything was small, it worked out well.)

The hallway and lobby were packed for the reception and awards presentation - artists, guests and quite a few local collectors. Charles' first painting of the weekend, "An Enchanted Place," was awarded Third Prize! (9 x 12, oil on panel)

We both had a wonderful time at the paint-out. The casual and convivial atmosphere among the artists was great to be around. Everyone was in high spirits and the weather was beautiful. (Did I mention my sunburn?) We definitely plan to be back next year.

If you're interested, the show will remain up until May 30th at the Tannery Row Artists Colony in Buford.

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3rd Annual Historic Buford Plein Air Exhibition
April 24 - May 30, 2009
Tannery Row Artist Colony Gallery
554 W. Main Street, Bldg. C, Buford GA 30518
770-904-0572 -- info@TanneryRowArtistColony.com -- http://www.tanneryrowartistcolony.com/