Catholic Charities Gala of the Arts Evening

Out of Egg Harbor - Pastel

I thought I would post a couple more of the paintings that were shown at the Catholic Charities Gala of the Arts this past September. It was a great evening with good food, fantastic musical entertainment, and a great crowd. I was able to arrive a few minutes earlier than scheduled and finished hanging all of my pieces very quickly with the help and advice from several of the volunteers helping at the show. Everyone, including volunteers and staff, was very friendly and helpful. During the evening I was able to talk to quite a few members of the crowd and got a lot of excellent feedback related to my art work. I also got several good suggestions on possible subject matter for the future.

Wadsworth Barn - Oil on Canvas

I met several of the other artists at the Gala and enjoyed talking to them and seeing their art. Mark McMahon, Alejandro Romero, and Eddie Corkery all had booths close to mine so we were able to chat from time to time. I enjoyed meeting all of them and picking up a few tips from them on art and art shows. All in all it was a great experience and I was glad to be invited and able to take part. Catholic Charities does a lot of important work with the money they raise during the evening. With any luck we'll be invited back next year.

More to come soon. I have a couple more paintings about ready for the easel and a few pastels stacked on the drawing board. I'm finishing up another large oil of Gil's Rock and have a couple pastels in the works. One of the pastels is a commission. Also working on another painting for the Air Force Art Program.  

    

Final Preparations

Getting down to the final preparations for the Catholic Charities Gala of the Arts at Navy Pier in Chicago on September 9th. Just under a week to go now. All the art is framed and I'm putting together packing containers for each piece. Don and Jane Neville of the Neville-Sargent Gallery in Historic Millburn Illinois did a really great job on the frames. The frames all look terrific and make the art look good too. I've also managed to gather together a few postcards and other "public relations" items using some samples of the art to have at the display during the evening. It promises to be a great event for a good cause and I'm very pleased to be involved.

The watercolor above is of the Pt. Betsie Lighthouse in Frankfort, Michigan. We found the lighthouse (lighthouses are not always easy to find or get to) on a beautiful, sunny day while visiting the Traverse City, Michigan area this past July. I'll be showing this painting and several others in the show next Friday. 

On the right is a recent pastel that I'll also have at the show. It promises  be a wonderful evening with musical entertainment, the art show and sale and dinner all in the historic grand Ballroom at Navy Pier. Can't wait.

Just beginning a blog to bring my work online, see how it looks in the digital world and eventually get some feedback about the work. I currently watch quite a few artists blogs and I'm looking forward to seeing where this blog may lead and what I will learn during the trip.