Madison Art Society Highlights September 2013

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News from the President We have successfully survived the summer’s heat and have had a chance to truly enjoy the cool weather to paint outdoors. The Madison Art Society organized a bus trip on June 26 to the Brooklyn Museum to view the John Singer Sargent watercolors on exhibit. Our members truly enjoyed the experience. A special thanks to John Copelin for his efforts to arrange the trip. Once the show is over, the watercolors will be stored for 25 years, so it was a once in life time trip to see them. The Scranton Memorial Library Outdoor Art Exhibition, chaired by Seymour Page and John Copelin, was well received by visitors, but a bit disappointing in sales. We have heard often from members that art sales have been slow this year. The Madison Exchange Club and MAS Art and Antiques show, on the other hand, was fairly successful in the number of sales. Dolph LeMoult’s abstract acrylic demonstration in August was very interesting. It challenges us to continue to grow as artists to view our work in a different manner. On October 3 Jim Grabowski will be demonstrating how to re-use an old painting. I hope you can join us.  Currently, we are just a few members short of our maximum of 250 artist members for 2013 as specified in the bylaws. After reaching this goal, we will keep a list of people who are interested in joining MAS. We are an active art organization and welcome new members to participate and volunteer to support ongoing programs. It is a great way to meet fellow members. In 2007, I became the President of the Madison Art Society. I have been so impressed with the high caliber and dedication of our current board of directors. The organization has grown to 250 members, attained 501(c)(3) non-profit status, and increased the number of educational demonstrations and shows that we offer to members and to the public, while increasing our financial position. It has become a well-oiled machine that functions seamlessly with the years of knowledge and commitment that these board members have given to our organization.   Like any organization, however, changes take place. Six of our 19 MAS board of director members are stepping down. Vice president Don Trownsell, treasurer Joan McPherson, secretary Nancy Chapman, and members at large Penny Chittenden, Ellen Fabian, and Seymour Page will all be leaving as of October. I will greatly miss their input into the running of MAS, but I am looking forward to ideas and energy that new members will bring to the board. Members who have volunteered to serve on the board, to be voted on by the members at the annual meeting, are Sally Brown as co-treasurer, Mike Boyd, Marge Casey, Mike Eagle, Laurel Friedmann, and Sandy Kensler. Please sign up to attend the annual meeting on Monday, September 16, at the Madison Country Club. We would like to extend our gratitude to vice president Don Trownsell for coordinating it once again. It is always fun, the business portion is only about 10–15 minutes, plus it’s free! Come and enjoy the company of your fellow artists and share great food and drinks. Enjoy painting! Beverly Schirmeier President of the Madison Art Society Demonstrations—Sandra Kensler and Mike Boyd, coordinators Sandra Kensler and Mike Boyd, with assistance from Beth Wardwell, coordinate the demonstrations that provide MAS members with excellent exposure to prominent artists and their working methods. We are looking forward to Jim Grabowski’s demo to round out the year. Jim Grabowski, How to Re-use an Old Painting to Create a New Artwork, Thursday, October 3, 6:30 pm, Memorial Town Hall The demonstration is open to the public. A nominal donation is appreciated to offset costs. James Grabowski, a current resident of Marlborough, Connecticut, received his bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University in 1966 and, after serving as the University Art Department’s first graduate assistant, earned his MFA there in 1968. After leaving Central, he taught art for several years, but soon found himself being commissioned for his paintings and collages. For the last thirty-five years, he has devoted himself exclusively to his art, which he creates in his studio in Marlborough. In recent years Mr. Grabowski has received commissions for his abstract paintings from more than one hundred national and international corporations, among them Pratt & Whitney, Connecticut National Bank, General Electric, IBM, Aetna Life & Casualty, Otis Elevator, SNET, and First Jersey Securities. His work has also been sought by non-profit organizations such as Connecticut Public Television, the New Haven Symphony and the Hartford Graduate Center. In each of his large and dynamic paintings Mr. Grabowski seeks to reflect the values of his clients, to interpret their aspirations, and to enhance their working environments. Although known primarily as a painter of expansive abstract canvases, filled with bold color and motion, Mr. Grabowski’s recent work also includes impressionistic landscape paintings that are quieter, often inspired by the Connecticut countryside around his home in Marlborough. Both abstracts and landscapes are included in his exhibit. Pat Seremet, former Java column writer for the Hartford Courant, named Grabowski “Painter to the Corporate Stars.” Display Painting Opportunities The MAS board has been looking into display opportunities for our artists. We believe in collaborating with other non-profit organizations, which benefits the artists financially, increases the exposure of MAS artists’ work, and helps raise money for the organizations—a win for all involved. Bauer Farm, October 19 MAS artists will be painting and exhibiting their scenes of the farm during the Bauer Farm Harvest Festival. Only plein air painters and only paintings of Bauer Farm. Plein Air Painting To be added to the list, email Jay at jbabina@snet.net. Paid MAS members only. Annual Meeting, Monday, September 16, Madison Country Club The annual meeting will be Monday, September 16, 5–7 pm. Please RSVP Nancy Chapman,nacrdc@gmail.com, 203-245-1305. There are beautiful views of the golf course and a porch overlooking it. No cost. Wine, soda, and coffee will be served. I will attend: Yes ____ No_____ I will bring a guest: Yes ____ No____ Name of Guest _____________________ I will bring an appetizer _____ a dessert ____ Elected Artists’ Small Works Holiday Show People’s Bank in Madison has again invited MAS to exhibit Elected Artists’ Small Works Holiday Show in November and December. Over half of MAS members are elected artists. Paintings must be 6 x 8 inches or smaller in any size frame, and all work must be wired to hang. Notify Sara Drought Nebel, saranebel@yahoo.com or 203-245-6081, if you plan to show your work so she can plan the exhibit space. You can bring one piece of artwork to the People’s Bank on Monday, November 4, 9-9:30 am only. She will have tags to fill out and tape to the back of the piece for catalog/price list/identification purposes. No entry fee and no sales donation. The show will run thru New Year's Day. Pick up is Monday, January 6, 2014, 9–9:30 am. Sara also coordinates the People’s Bank Gallery, and there are some openings for the fall for individual artists. No fee or commissions. Madison Town Hall Artists The Madison Art Society presents the artwork of Branford artist Sally Brown and Guilford artist Marge Casey. Their work will be on display throughout September and October at the Madison Town Hall at 8 Campus Road in Madison. Their collection of oil and acrylic paintings and watercolors is open to the public free of charge and can be viewed during normal business hours. Sally Brown, a retired neuroscientist, started painting with acrylics four years ago. Her first Big Wave subjects were the ocean, waves, and rocky coastlines. Her love of nature and birding evolved into painting birds, pets, and other animals in acrylics. Last year, after attending a show of Andrew Wyeth’s watercolors, she studied watercolor painting with Lou Bonamarte. She now prefers the fluidity and translucence of watercolors. She can be seen painting with the Madison Art Society and the Connecticut Shoreline Artists plein air groups in the spring and fall, being the last to abandon the outdoors in the cold of December. Sally is a member of the Madison Art Society where she is on the board of directors, Clinton Art Society, Lyme Art Association, and Guilford Art League. She can be reached at 203-641-0640 orsbrown01@snet.net. Pitcher and Pears Marge V. Casey paints in oils and keeps her palette simple. Living on the eastern shoreline of Connecticut, she takes advantage of the many seascapes and seashore views. Farmlands and local park lands also offer opportunities to paint pleasant scenes. Whenever traveling, she keeps her camera close by in case a scene captures her imagination. Marge is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and Southern Connecticut State College and studied at the Art Students League in NYC. She is an elected member of the Madison Art Society, where she is newly elected to the board of directors, the Guilford Art League, and the Clinton Art Society. All artwork is for sale. Please contact Marge at the phone numbers below, or through emailmvc39@sbcglobal.net or her website margevcaseyfineart.com Contact Marge V. Casey: phone 203/458-8555, cell 203/909-8749 Artists in the News Ellen Fabian won the Exit Gallery Award and she is the featured artist with her show, What Makes Me Happy, throughout September at the Feast of the Senses at the Essex Art Association. The MAS board of directors will be showcasing their artwork at the Scranton Memorial Library, August 31–September 28, during normal library hours. 7 Artists: Objects and Places Art Exhibition will be held at the Essex Art Association October 25–27, 10 am–6 pm. Opening reception is Friday, October 25, 5–8 pm. The artwork of Jay Babina, Laurel Friedmann, Renni Ridgeway-Korsmeyer, Maryanne Rupp, Beverly Schirmeier, Sandy Smith, and Karen Wiesner will be on display. Lorene Sholl’s acrylic paintings are on view at the Madison Scranton Library on the main floor in Madison during September. Patricia Corbett’s Merritt Parkway Bridge was purchased for the University of New Haven Art Collection. She has also opened her own gallery, Camelot Gallery of Fine Art, 310 North Main Street, Wallingford, open Wednesday–Sunday, 12–5 pm. Debbie Temple has her artwork at the Dekn Gallery on Main Street, Manchester. Stuart Lerner’s Lerner Art Gallery is open until November 24 at 22 Scotland Road, Madison. Open Thursday–Saturday, 11 am–5 pm, and Sunday 12–4 pm. Diane Coyle has a solo art show, Faces of Haiti, at the Clare Gallery, 285 Church Street, Hartford, that runs until October 17. Barbara Elliot is the Artist of the Month of September, and Beverly Schirmeier will have her paintings hung in the Liberty Bank in Clinton throughout October. A group of 7 pastel and oil painting artists including Christine Ivers, Maryanne Rupp, and Beverly Schirmeier will have a show called Fusion at Lost Acres Vineyard in Granby from September through the Columbus Day weekend. Congratulations to Laurel Friedmann, Christine Ivers, Claudia Post, Maryanne Rupp, Beverly Schirmeier, and Diane Stone on their acceptance to the Connecticut Pastel Society Renaissance National Juried Pastel Show this October at the Slater Museum in Norwich. Diane is the chairperson of the show. An exhibition of works by Suzanne Burnham, Don Trownsell, and John Tubb is in the Gathering Room at Malone’s Coffee House, 10 Main Street, Clinton, during September and October. Jan Blencowe has several items to share with MAS: Her painting Schoodic Low Tide was awarded First Place, the Margery Soroka Memorial Award, in the Salmagundi Summer Potpourri Exhibition. It was also juried into the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society Online Open Exhibit, the International Society of Acrylic Painters Open International Online Exhibit, the Conn. Artists 69th Annual Exhibit, and the Academic Artists 63rd National Exhibition of Contemporary Realism. Night Sky was awarded second prize in the Connecticut Women Artists Members Juried Show, and it was also juried into the Salmagundi Club Noble Nocturne Exhibit along with Moonlight Over Meigs Point. Carrying Place was designated ameritorious entry in the Richeson 75 Landscape-Seascape-Architecture Exhibition. Congratulations to MAS members who won awards at the Clinton Art Society Juried Art Show—John Copelin, Lisa DeFilippo, Betsey Haigis, Sandra Kensler, and Stuart Lerner.   Patricia and Bill Seekamp are exhibiting paintings at Simply Pearls during September and October. Deborah Quinn-Munson and Patricia Seekamp have paintings in the juried show “Painting New England in Pastel,” sponsored by the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod at the Duxbury Art Complex Museum.