Members I Prize Show at Concord Art Association

Surf I & II by Whitney Heavey

I was pretty happy to hear that I got not one, but two pieces in the Members I Prize Show juried by Larry Powers at the Concord Art Association  . As an artist,  you always hope your work gets accepted into the show, otherwise you wouldn't have entered.  Sometimes you get in and sometimes you don't.  If you and I were given 300 pieces of art and told to whittle it down to just 75 or 80, there is no possible way we would pick the same 75 pieces. NO WAY. 

When you do get accepted,  it feels good.  Someone chose my work!  I couldn't go to the opening for this show (I was at a professional artist series on blogging hosted by the Danforth Museum).  The day after the opening, I was able catch the show.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a red dot on each of my paintings.  I was even more pleased to hear that an artist (of whose work I really admire) had purchased them.  Seeing the show by the light of day and without the usual crowds of an opening gave me a chance to really take in this show and walk around at my own pace.

My first reaction was one of happiness.  Perhaps it was the optimistic palettes and contemporary takes on realism.   This was a show that appealed to my love of bright color.  I found myself admiring the bold use of color and light.  There were also several pieces which seemed to appeal to my interest in the use of white (perhaps inspired by my recent visits to see John Singer Sargent's watercolors at the MFA in Boston).  This New England landscape painter found it to be a pleasing show that really seemed to flow nicely as a whole.  Hanging a group show is always one of the most challenging shows to hang.  The hanging committee did a nice job of putting together works by many different artists.  If you are looking for a bright moment in a cold New England winter, I would recommend popping in to the Concord Art Association.  It reminded me that spring isn't too far around the corner.  

I had taken several snapshots of my favorite pieces  and wanted to post them (low resolution with links to their websites) all here, but then got concerned some artists might not want me to do that without permission.  Do you have an opinion on this issue?  If someone posted a picture of one of your works from a show  (in a positive way), how would you feel?  Should the blogger contact you first for permission? 

The following images are quick snapshots I took of some of my favorite pieces from this show.  They are not perfect photos and do not represent the entire image.  The artists shown here have given me permission to post here.  If you can't make it to Concord, you can also see the show here on the Concord Art Association website, though it is always a much better experience in person!

Just a few of my favorites...  

www.robinherrpaintings.com

www.jimminot.com                         www.bjconstantine.com                   www.rebekahlordgardiner.com