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NOW SHOWING: Cincinnati Art Club’s Signature Members Christmas Sale

December 5, 6, 12 ,13, 19 and 20,……….. 12:00 — 5:00 p.m. week-ends.

Stop in and check out the original art work for sale from 25 of our Signature artists! You won’t be disappointed!

First three weekends in December. Cincinnati’s best kept secret.

The Cincinnati Art Club Holiday Sale by CAC Signature Members.

Saturdays and Sundays ……………..Noon to 5:00 p.m.

Open to the public. Come meet the artists! Find that perfect, unique gift of original art. All price ranges and many sizes. There is nothing like original art. Oils, watercolors, pastels, and acrylics. Treat yourself to a stop at our Holiday Sale!

Link:  http://www.cincinnatiartclub.com/

You might also be interested in a preview.  The work of nineteen artists who will be exhibiting at the Francisco’s Farm Art Festival at Midway College will be on display at First United Methodist Church, 211 Washington Street, Frankfort, KY through June 25.  An artists’ reception will be held on Sunday, June 7, at 5:00 and includes a talk by Event Coordinator, Marcie Christensen, about this award winning fair.  The event is free and open to the public.

There were several good answers from the audience such as light, color, composition etc.  I mulled over this comparison when I got home and remembered an anecdotal experience I had about 20 years ago.  I was doing an outdoor art show in Gig Harbor, Washington one summer and an elderly gentleman was looking at my art and telling me how wonderful it was.  You always meet different kind of characters at these events.  He proceeded to tell me that he was the art critic for the Boston Globe, but now retired.  He said he had contacts with Mill Pond Press and that I should send my work to them.  He took my card and I didn’t think much of it afterwards.

About a week later I got a letter from him proving that indeed he was who he said he was and he gave me a name at Mill Pond, one of the biggest print publishers in the country.  So I sent my best stuff with high hopes of being among my heroes Robert Bateman, Carl Brenders, John Seery-Lester etc.  The response wasn’t what I expected, but it was very revealing to me as an artist.  The reply was that I was as good as their stars, but what else could I do that was different.  They wanted something from another angle.  I wasn’t picked up by Mill Pond, but from that day forward, I had the revelation that whatever I paint had better knock the socks off the person looking at it.

I think that’s the challenge for most artists today, whether they paint plein air or in the studio.  By the way, I’ve tried the outdoor thing and the sun moves too fast for my satisfaction to do things right.  Plus there is wind blowing things around and flies that love to land on wet paint.  Got tweezers?  Someone in the audience asked Ms. King if most plein air artists touch up things back in the studio.  I overheard a comment, “Probably about 15 hours worth.”  I guess there’s a romantic mystique to saddling up one’s easel and trekking into new vistas.  But, I will stick to the familiar ambiance of my studio sweet studio.

I will appreciate the art of the past and even contemporary masters.  However, the times for good art are never over as long as the artist sets his or her sights on the incredible and beautiful imagery that God has bestowed upon His Creation.  For some reason, the artist is unlike the average citizen and happens to be at the right place at the right time to capture something no one else can.  This is the gift of creativity that just keeps giving.

A painting of a farm in Utah

Mark saw this farm while taking an Amtrak ride through Utah. This is a 16X20 on hardboard, and is a companion piece with another painting, which has already been sold. Mark recently entered The Homestead in the 2009 Oil Painters of America juried competition.

“Flossie”

"Flossie"

This sturdy little lady was a charmer when we saw her in Leavenworth, WA. Mark is currently working on a companion piece named “Floyd”, another hard-working hitch horse that we saw in Charleston, SC when we visited the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. 11X14 hardboard. Prints available.

“Supper Time”

Horses overlooking the hills of Kentucky

We’ve taken several day trips around northern Kentucky and SE Ohio. These two horses were getting their final meal of the day when we found them. They didn’t mind sharing the wonderful view of the Kentucky hills. 12X16 hardboard.

“Venus on the Half Shells”

Painting of a frog

This little fellow took up residence in our goldfish pond this year. 8X10 hardboard; prints available. On exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Club’s Signature Members Winter Exhibit February 13, 14, 15, 21, 22. Mark will be attending the artist’s reception on February 13th.

Cable Mill, Cades Cove

We spent a week at the Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee, where one of the main attractions is Cades Cove. Cades Cove is a valley within the park that has original 19th century pioneer homesteads with barns, businesses, pasture and farmland. This 11X14 painting of the Cable Mill is on hardboard. Prints available.

“Smoky Mountain Elk”

Smoky Mountain Elk

Mark’s rendition of this magnificent creature in Cades Cove at the beginning of the autumn rut. 11X14 oil on hardboard. Prints available.

For all of my patrons, students and connoisseurs of traditional realism, a very big Happy New Year for 2009.  After three years in the ‘Bluegrass’ state my wife Debbi and I are getting somewhat acclimated, but still miss our old Pacific Northwest home.

Last April I was in a Staples store making color copies and a lady noticed my artwork and was very impressed.  She invited me to a meeting of the Cincinnati Art Club, which has a social hour, sit down dinner and a guest artist.  I especially enjoyed Indiana artist C.W. Mundy’s presentation.  It was a delightful evening at their own clubhouse/gallery with over 50 people in attendance.  To my surprise, I learned that the CAC is the second oldest art club in America being founded in 1890.  I was encouraged to join, through a jury process, and because of my art background was accepted and advanced to ‘Signature Member’ status.

The CAC hosts an annual national juried exhibition called Viewpoint and this year’s judge was Dr. Julie Aronson, Curator of American Painting and Sculpture at the Cincinnati Art Museum.  Earlier in the year, I had started a 24×36 tropical piece for a gallery in Chicago.  The gallery owner wanted a preview of the painting when it was only half way done.  I could tell he was not impressed, so I did a little bit of surgery and painted it for myself.  This painting turned out so well, that I decided to enter it in the Viewpoint competition.  I received a letter of acceptance and a few weeks later got a phone call asking me if I was going to attend the awards reception.  I was thinking about it and was told it would be a really good idea if I were there.  The reception at the club’s gallery was packed with 150-200 people and I had to park two blocks away.  They even had valet parking attendants.  Wine and hors ‘dours were top notch.  Then the awards ceremony began with about 20 recipients.  The show had a lot of sponsors and prizes, like Artist magazine which is published in Cincinnati.  Finally, it got down to the top three cash awards and my name had not yet been called and my heart was beginning to pound.  I was not called for second or third place and I figured they lost my name or I’ve won this thing.  I won it!  This win is definitely a big boost to my career and helpful to gaining a foothold in the local art scene.

Nationally, the juried competitions have been mixed.  These days, with so many artists vying for accolades and prize money, especially with the down turn in the economy, it is an accomplishment just to get into these shows.  I was disappointed in not getting into some, but was happy with the ones I did.

There were three major exhibitions that I participated in.  The old ‘Arts for the Parks’ is now defunct, but has been replaced with the ‘Paint the Parks’, in which I have been selected for the Top 100 twice.  The same organization promotes ‘Paint America’, a national competition having two paintings from each of the 50 states.  I have one representing Kentucky and the other Tennessee.  I was also pleased to be showing in the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS) that went on tour at four different venues and sold.

I have new paintings with horses, elk, an old grist mill with a water wheel, landscapes and I’m even painting a cute little frog that likes to invade my goldfish pond.  These new works will be uploaded to our website soon.

Again, thank you all for your love of art and continuing support.