Category: Exhibitions

Exhibitions

People’s Choice Award

Sheila

Each year during the Danvers Family Festival, one of the events is the Danvers Places Show, sponsored by the Danvers Art Association. This year the exhibit was held at the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers. All the paintings were of places in the beautiful town of Danvers. I was thrilled when my painting, Midcentury Merriment, was chosen by viewers for the People’s Choice Award!

The painting is a view of Danvers Center at Christmastime circa 1960, complete with the old shops that once graced the town. Classic autos are parked on the street, decorations and a huge Christmas tree brighten the scene. I am not sure what appealed to the people who voted for my painting. Was it nostalgia? Was it the warmth of the Holiday season? Maybe it was cooling to look at a wintry picture in the midst of summer heat. Whatever it was, Thank You Danvers!

The library is located at 15 Sylvan Street, Danvers, MA and the paintings can be viewed during normal library hours.

Exhibitions

Marblehead Festival of Arts 2022

Sheila

The Marblehead Festival of Arts will take place July 1 through 4, 2022 in venues all around the center of Marblehead. Go to www.marbleheadfestival.org to find out details and schedules!

I am excited after several years of Covid to finally be back as part of this fun event. This year I have three paintings in the festival. My painting, Skyline: Boston, acrylic, 28″ x 40″ framed, has been juried into the Painting Exhibit which will take place at Abbot Hall on Washington Street. This painting was inspired by a photograph I took of the Boston skyline one day while I was stuck in endless traffic. I have painted several small studies of the image before finally creating this larger one. The sun was just in the right place to make striking shadows on the buildings and made it, in hindsight, the luckiest traffic of my life.

My painting for the Senior Exhibit is titled Writer’s Block, acrylic, 6″ x 6″. It is done in the Op Art style which is so much fun to play with, in cool shades of blues, purples and greens. I had come upon some of my old dip pens that I used for penmanship in elementary school, and the idea jumped into my mind. The painting is on a chunky canvas which can stand alone, and it is also wired to hang on the wall. The Senior Exhibit will hang in the Unitarian Universalist Church on Mugford Street.

The third painting was done with my favorite MFoA event, Paint the Town, a plein air painting day. This year we enjoyed perfect weather for artists to fan out over the town and find a good local scene to paint. I went to Devereux Beach where scores of people were enjoying the lovely weather under an array of colorful beach umbrellas. Devereux Beach Umbrellas, acrylic, 12″ x 24″ is a scene I have had in my mind to paint for a while, but this is the first time since I had the idea that Paint the Town took place on a good beach day. It was particularly fun because I love working with bright colors. The Paint the Town Exhibit will be shown upstairs in the Marblehead Arts Association building at 8 Hooper Street, Marblehead.

If you come to the Festival, I hope you will take the time to also enjoy the Sculpture, Mixed Media, Drawing, Writing, Youth, Logo, and other events.

Exhibitions

Observance: Inspired by PEM 2022

Sheila

Salem Arts Association members reflect on the Zachari Logan: Remembrance exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum and the Covid-19 pandemic to create works in observance of our personal and collective experience.  Members were asked for work that reflects grief, anger and loss in addition to hope and remembrance.

I chose to concentrate on the remembrance aspect and am delighted that my painting, Free Birds Too, was juried in to the exhibit. This painting represents my memories of rearing my three children through good times and bad. Now that my husband and I are in the autumn of our lives, our children are grown and have flown the parental nest to make lives of their own. They are certainly Free Birds, and at first I was heartbroken to see them go! However, I am happy to have learned that this has given my husband and me a new chance to connect as a couple, to live our lives for and with each other again and remember why we fell in love. It turns out that we are Free Birds Too.

Free Birds Too is painted in acrylic on canvas and is 12″ x 15″ framed. The background is painted with many layers of metallic paints and glazes, inspired by the backgrounds on some of the paintings and panels I have admired in the Asian collection at the Peabody Essex Museum. I like this process because it gives the painting warmth and depth and causes it to look very different in various lights. The three trees represent my three children, who can be seen flying into the distance. The swirling leaves represent the passage of time. And the two blackbirds sitting together in one of the trees are my husband and me, snuggled together, free as birds.

The exhibit Opening Reception will be held Friday evening, July 1, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The Exhibition Dates are July 2 through August 27, 2022. The show can be seen online at www.salemarts.org and in person at the Salem Art Association Gallery at 159 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01907. Gallery and shop hours are Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 6:00 p.m. 978-745-4850.

Exhibitions

Cod Auction 2022 MFoA

Sheila

One-of-a-kind decorated codfish are up for bid in the Marblehead Festival of Arts “Festival of Cod” online fundraising auction which begins June 13 and runs until July 4, 2022. I am delighted that the Festival has again invited me to be one of the artists decorating wooden codfish in any medium of my choosing.

My codfish this year is titled Marblehead Panorama and is painted with acrylic paint onto the wooden cod made by skilled local woodworkers at Ware Pond Woodworks and Redd’s Pond Boatworks who volunteer their time to cut and finish blank cods for the invited participating artists. The Marblehead Panorama portrays the view of Marblehead Harbor looking from Devereux Beach. It was inspired by my 2019 People’s Choice Award painting for Marblehead Festival of Arts Paint the Town plein air event.

I had intended to create a painting of the beachgoers at Devereux, but the plein air event turned out to be a cloudy, drizzly morning. So instead, I stood under the beach gazebo roof and turned towards the harbor. The sky was dark with just a hint of sunshine breaking through the clouds. The water was absolutely glowing a stunning pale green. It is funny how sometimes the best paintings come from unexpected places.

To check out all the codfish in the Cod Auction, go to www.marbleheadfestival.org, scroll down and click on “Cod Auction is Open!”, then click “Auction Site”, and scroll down to the “Bid for Good” button. There you will find all the codfish. Click on the cod to find all the information about that cod and the artist who created it.

 “Marblehead Harbor Panorama” is on display at Spotted Hound, 160 Washington St, Marblehead, MA

Exhibitions

Member Exhibit 5/1-5/11/22

Sheila

Swampscott Art Association is proud to announce the Spring Member Exhibit which is being held at ReachArts in Swampscott, where I am the Featured Artist Registry Member this month. Here is how ReachArts describes themselves on their website:

“ReachArts is an artistic hub in Swampscott where the community creates, collaborates, exhibits, performs, educates and learns.

We transcend difference in culture, age, ethnicity and economy by fostering a passion for artistic expression that can be shared, respected and appreciated by all.”

My entry in the exhibit is my painting, Knowles Landing (acrylic, 16″x22″) which I painted en plein air at the beautiful Knowles Landing in Gloucester, MA. My husband Tom and I spent an idyllic afternoon there on a hot summer day. Tom sat in the shade and read while I painted as fast as I could before the tide went out and the sun changed position too much! Just as I finished folding up my easel and was closing the paint palette, those two beautiful birds flew into view. It is as if they saw that my painting needed a little bit more!

ReachArts, 89 Burrill St, Swampscott, MA from May 1 to May 11, 2022. The opening reception will be held Sunday, May 1 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Exhibitions

Go Figure Exhibit 4/9-5/14/22

Sheila

The “Go Figure” exhibit at Salem Arts Association, is an exhibit of figurative artwork, work that represents something in the real world.  Although the main focus of the exhibit is traditional and non-traditional images of people including portraits and nudes – landscapes, cityscapes and still-lives are also on display.

I am proud that my painting, Moondance (acrylic, 8.5″ x 6/5″ framed, $135.) was juried into the exhibit. It is a joyous little painting that celebrates dance and movement and simply being alive!

#SalemArts is located at 159 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970 in the lovely antique yellow house right beside Derby Wharf where the famous Friendship is moored. The Salem Arts Association Gallery is open weekends from noon till 6:00 p.m. and this exhibit runs from the reception on April 9 until May 14, 2022.

Exhibitions

Go Away Exhibit 4/9-5/14/22

Sheila

Salem Arts Association is proud to announce  “Go Away”, an exhibition of images inspired by travel and transportation. It’s the journey not the destination. During this time when travel has been restricted for so many people, artists were invited to take us on a journey that captures the experience and adventure of going away.

My entry — Starship Tripping, acrylic, 11″ x 14″, $225 — is a lighthearted take on the theme. I painted it using bright colors and a playful style. With the serious events we see every day in the news — war, pandemic, climate crisis — I liked the idea of portraying Earth as a united, welcoming place. From my paintbrush to God’s eyes!

The exhibit is located in the gallery spaces on the second floor of the Salem Arts Association’s beautiful antique yellow house right beside Derby Wharf and the Friendship, 159 Derby Street, Salem, MA 01970. Hours are noon to 6:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The exhibit will run from the opening reception on April 9 until May 14, 2022.

Exhibitions

Salem Arts Show: 3/5-4/2/22

Sheila

Salem Arts Association is excited to open our 2022 exhibition schedule with a showcase of our member artwork. Our current Salem Arts members are exhibiting their best and newest work showing the community what we have to offer in all of our diverse styles and artistic disciplines.

My entry in this exhibit is Changes, a 4-panel acrylic painting of stylized tree branches with each 12″ wide by 24″ high canvas panel showing one of the four seasons. The total size is 48″ wide by 24″ high. The painting was inspired by the Asian panels at the Peabody Essex Museum and the background is done in many layers of different metallic paints and glazes which gives it a rich and varied look as the light in a room changes.

The Salem Art Association Gallery invites you to the Opening Reception on Friday, March 4, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Exhibition dates are March 5 through April 2, 2022. While you are there do not forget to visit our beautiful Gallery Shop located as you come in the front door. So many one-of-a-kind handcrafted treasures by local artists! I have a selection of 8 smaller paintings, miniature original acrylics with tiny easels, and matted prints of my work in the shop.

Salem Arts Association Gallery and Shop are located an antique yellow house by Derby Wharf at 159 Derby Street, Salem, MA. Hours are Saturdays and Sundays 12 noon until 6:00 p.m. www.SalemArts.org 978-745-4850 #SalemArts Info@SalemArts.org

Exhibitions

Member Show: 3/4 – 4/30/22

Sheila

The Swampscott Art Association is delighted to announce that our first exhibit “in a million years”, because of COVID, will be held at the Senior Center in Swampscott -March 4 – April 30! Members of the association will share their best works in a dazzling assortment of styles, mediums, and subjects.

My entry in the show is Snow Berry Cardinal, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 8″ x 10″. Cardinals are such a joy to watch and listen to any time, but they are especially lovely against the snow on winter days. The design on this painting continues around the edges of the extra deep canvas. The painting is wired for hanging, and the depth of the canvas also allows it to stand on its own on a shelf.

The exhibit can be seen at the Swampscott Senior Center Gallery which is located in the back of Swampscott High School. The Opening Reception will be held Friday, March 4, 12 noon until 2:00 p.m.

Exhibitions

Duality Exhibit: 2/11-3/26/22

Sheila

The GALA Call for Art described the theme for their current show this way:

“In this exhibit we are looking for submissions that question or describe duality. 
There are always two sides to every story. Most people have two sides to their personality. You might want to suppress the so-called “bad” side. This leads to repression. Are you angry, sad, disappointed in life, love, etc. What are your conflicts and how do you resolve them? How do you find balance in your life and find joy? At certain points in our lives we have to decide: Should I leave or stay? Should I change my profession? Should I leave a relationship? We are conflicted. How do we resolve these conflicts? There are also broader entry-points to the theme of duality such as: yin and yang, night and day, good and evil, right and wrong, hot and cold, which you could explore. Let’s see how you work this out as a visual artist. Express yourself and it might resolve some issues or connect with your viewer about a deep iconic duality.”

Could there be a more timely theme for today’s crazy world? Artwork in the exhibit will include photographs, painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, and electronic art. All mediums are included: oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel and more. My entry in the exhibit is titled Cadillac Mountaintop View. It was done on location at Acadia National Park one sunny day that turned cloudy in the middle of my painting. So the painting shows the duality of the weather as I worked!

The Opening Reception will be held Friday, February 11th, 5:30pm – 7:30pm. And the exhibit ends Thursday, March 24th. Galleries at Lynn Arts (GALA), 25 Exchange Street, Lynn, MA 01901, 617-909-9211