5th Annual Juried Art Show Reception

Once again a huge crowd came out on this lovely spring day to attend the opening reception for the 5th Annual Belmar Arts Council Juried Art Exhibition. After reading the juror statement from Marie Maber (who had the difficult challenge of choosing these 87 works out of almost 300 entries), visitors could check out the show. Shown above are the various award winners. From top to bottom-

Best in Show- Paul Qian By the Beach (oil painting)

Honorable Mention Sculpture/Fine Crafts- Freya Gervasi Centurian (stone)

Honorable Mention Painting- Barbara Edelhauser Out of the Tangle (oil)

Honorable Mention Photography/Digital- Vicky Culver One's Point of View (photo)

Honorable Mention Mixed Media- Ralph Katz Through the Black (mixed)

Honorable Mention Graphics/Drawing/Printmaking- Melissa Dayton Adam (pastel)

In addition to all the art, visitors could enjoy the usual wine and cheese and our guest musician for the day, Susan Lavin playing the harp.

Juried Art Show Preview

The night before the official opening of 5th Annual Belmar Arts Council Juried Art Show, the Boatworks hosted a special preview reception for the trustees and some special guests. Tasty food and beautiful music from Keith Calmes were there, along with the 87 artworks that were selected for the show. As for the art, stop by the Boatworks on Saturday April 4th from 3 to 5 pm for the exhibition reception, or on Sunday April 5th from 5 to 6 pm for our open house, or during regular gallery hours through May 1, 2009.

Art and Music All Weekend at the Boatworks

The 5th Annual BAC Juried Exhibition is up at the Boatworks and ready to be seen. And you have 2 great opportunities to do so this weekend.

First, there is the official opening reception on Saturday, April 4, from 3 to 5 pm. Come see all the work selected by the juror for the exhibition, while you enjoy the harp playing of Susan Lavin and our usual great wine and cheese spread.

Then on Sunday the BAC will be winding up the Belmar ArtWalk with an open house from 5 to 6 pm, featuring the keyboard music of Tim McCorry. The ArtWalk is from 12 to 6 pm, with events at 18 different locations around downtown Belmar. A schedule of events and map of locations is available at Artifacts Boutique, 1012 Main Street.

And The Winners Are...

Visitors to Saturday's opening of the first annual "En Plein Air" exhibit at the Boatworks chose favorites among the 31 paintings on display. Works by (top to bottom) Bobbie Crane, Trevor Bryan, and Jim Ferrier were among those awarded prizes.

The show features oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings done outside, in direct contact with the environment being depicted, rather than in the studio from sketches and photographs. "Plein Air" painting was popularized in the 19th century by the French Impressionists.

Plein Air Reception

Another weekend, another big crowd at the Boatworks. Outside it was a cold gray February day, but inside everything was bright and sunny. Because today was the opening reception for the En Plein Air exhibition, with dozens of landscape paintings created outdoors in warmer times. Not only could everyone in attendance enjoy the art, but there were the usual tasty refreshments, the return of local band James and the Giant Peach, and the opportunity to vote for the best piece in the show. The winners will be announced on this blog soon. The exhibition will remain on display during regular gallery hours through March 19th.

Trackside Art

It's a great time to be riding a train through Belmar. If you're on the side of the train facing east, you get a great view of the murals we have on the two sides of the Boatworks. And now if you're sitting on the other side of the train with windows facing west, you get a great view of these abstract paintings created by members of the BAC and recently installed at Belmar's train station. The top photo shows the whole set, and the other photos show the four diptychs in more detail. Not taking a train trip any time soon? Just walk up to them and get a good look.

Abstract Art at Belmar Station

This afternoon 8 BAC abstractionists were at the Boatworks, painting large panels to be displayed in the windows of the Belmar Train Station, a special request from the town. All the artists started with a theme of spring, with the resulting work ranging from stylized realism to non- objective. Today's participating artists were Susan McLean, Sandy Taylor, Merry Brennan, Colleen Lineberry, Leslie Ovechka, Jean Larson, Lorraine Madsen, and Kathryn Paul. The panels will be installed later this week, on the southbound side. Give us enough time, and we'll cover the whole town with art.

(photos courtesy of Pat Hutchinson)

Call For Entries- Plein Air Exhibition

The Belmar Arts Council is hosting an exhibition of Plein Air paintings, work painted outdoors with a focus on rendering the effects of atmosphere and light in nature. While the show is inspired by the Plein Air group that includes several of our BAC members, anyone can enter this upcoming exhibition.

All works must be original creations by the artist, painted outdoors, and must be show ready and wired for hanging. Artists may enter up to two works each, with a maximum of one per artist that may be chosen for the exhibition. Acceptance into the show is not guaranteed. Entry fee is $10 per piece for BAC members, $15 per piece for non-members. Work must be dropped off for jurying by the hanging committee on Saturday, February 21 from 1 to 3 pm. Unaccepted work should be picked up during office hours Feb 25 - 27.

The exhibition will open with a reception on Saturday, February 28, from 3 to 5 pm. People who attend the reception can vote for favorites, with People's Choice Awards announced at 4:45 pm. The show will remain on display through March 19, 2009.

Four Artists Reception

This afternoon we had another great art reception at the Boatworks. This was for the exhibition of the 4 winners from last year's Annual BAC Juried Show. The four artists can be seen in the top photo (from left to right- Catherine Dentino, Marge Levine, Bobbie Crane, and Trudy Maran). Many people came through over the course of the afternoon to enjoy the art and the great spread put out by the artists. If you missed it today, you can see the show during regular gallery hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 1 to 5 pm, through February 20th.

And if you are interested in being part of the next Annual BAC Juried Show, the prospectus is available at the Boatworks, or can be downloaded from the main website. Art intake is March 27th and 28th. Don't miss it!

Four Artists Setting Up

Earlier today at the Boatworks a whole lot of art was being installed by four artists, the winners of last year's Annual Juried Art Show. The artists are Trudy Maran and Catherine Dentino (both photography), Bobbie Crane (oils and acrylics), and Marge Levine (pastels). The exhibition opens with a reception on Saturday, February 7 from 3 to 5 pm, and remains on display during regular gallery hours through February 20.

BAC 5th Annual Juried Art Show

Get ready, because the 5th Annual BAC Juried Art Show is coming soon. Open to works in all media. Entry fees are $10 per piece for members/$15 per piece for non-members (a good excuse to join the BAC), with a maximum of 2 entries per artist. Work can be dropped off for jurying at the Boatworks on Friday, March 27 from 5-8 pm and Saturday March 28 from 10 am to 1 pm. The juror will be Marie Maber, the Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Brookdale Community College. Acceptance/rejection notification will be the following week, and work not accepted for the exhibition can be picked up during office hours April 1-3. Entry forms are available at the Boatworks, or can be downloaded from the main website.
The 5th Annual Juried Show will open with a reception at the Boatworks on Saturday, April 4, and remain on display through May 1, 2009.

Abstract Painting Group

Today was the latest meeting of the BAC Abstract Painting Group. The artists meet every Sunday from 2 to 4 pm at the Boatworks. There is no instruction, but each week various methods and approaches to abstract painting are discussed, and there is group critique at the end of each session. The ongoing workshop is open to any interested painter, whether you have a lot of experience with abstract painting, or have always wanted to give it a try, and participation is free. Easels are provided, but artists bring their own canvases and paints.

The group will meet Sundays through March 15, take a break for several weeks, then resume on May 10.

Update- For the February 1 meeting of the group the theme will be the work of Richard Diebenkorn, with special attention to his cigar box lid paintings, and participants will have the opportunity to do a lid painting of their own.

Table Top Reception

Although we have been enjoying the great tables created by some of our artists for a few months now, we had not yet done anything official to celebrate those artists or the tables. So for that reason (or maybe we just wanted an excuse to have a party), tonight was set aside for an official reception for the Tabletop Artists. As people arrived they were greeted by music performed by James and the Giant Peach (top photo) and tables covered with food provided by volunteers. Soon there wasn't a seat left in the house and yet more people kept coming. Several of the honored artists were in attendance. If you haven't had a chance to see the tables in person yet, just come to a future art reception, musical performance, movie night, member meeting, etc.

More BAC Classes

The Belmar Arts Council announces more upcoming art classes.

On Tuesday, January 20th at 7 pm, the BAC is hosting a combination Art Class Presentation and Inauguration Celebration. Come learn about art classes by Keith R. Mills (watercolor painting) and Kathryn Paul (oil painting). After a preview of the new classes, a celebration of the Inauguration.

Then on Tuesday, January 27th, our own John Hutchinson will be presenting a class in Basic Design Rules for Graphic and Other Things. The class will provide participants with simple rules and guidelines for effective graphic layout. Not only helpful with designing more creative postures, brochures, and web pages, but also may help you improve the structure of your paintings and photographs as well. The class meets at the Boatworks from 6:30 to 8:30, and costs $10 for non-members, $8 for members.

Winter Movie Nights

With the holidays passed, movie nights have resumed at the Boatworks. This past Wednesday a nice crowd braved the cold weather to come out and enjoy a selection of Little Rascals shorts from the late 1930's, including the above film Our Gang Follies of 1938, featuring Alfalfa's famous "Barber of Seville" performance.

There are two more Wednesday movie nights to come in the current series.

January 28 Bathing Beauty (1944 color) starring Esther Williams and Red Skelton

February 10 An Evening with the Chairman of the Board starring Frank Sinatra.

Movies start at 7 pm. Admission is free. Look for future announcements of our next movie series.

Figuratively Speaking Exhibition

Lots of snow around New Jersey, but not in Belmar, so we had a nice turnout for the opening of the Figuratively Speaking exhibition. The show features art from many of the participants in the figure drawing workshops held at the Boatworks since 2007. Media included pencil, charcoal, conte crayon, watercolor, and paint. A few dozen people came by to check out the art. Meanwhile, in the back room people were enjoying some classic 1950's science fiction films.

The exhibition remains on display through January 31. Admission is free.

For those who might be interested in participating the figure drawing workshops, the next meeting will be Wednesday, January 21 from 7 to 9 pm. There is a $10 fee to pay for the model. Easels are available, but artists need to bring their own materials. No instruction, just the opportunity to work from a live model.

Lizzie Schippert Demo and Class

At tonight's monthly members meeting we received updates about a bunch of upcoming art shows, the movie series, and a big spring music event, details of which will be posted later.

The highlight of the night was the appearance by Lizzie Schippert and Sven Widen, who will be teaching a series of classes called Drawing and Beyond at the Boatworks in January, February, and March. The course is designed to bring an active understanding of the foundations of visual language of drawing and painting. Through hands on still life exercises in drawing and painting, students will become comfortable drawing or will refresh and expand skills in any drawing or painting media. There are 2 sessions of 5 classes each running on consecutive Thursdays from 3 to 5 pm. The first session runs from January 22 through February 19. The second session runs from February 26 through March 26. The price for a 5 class session will be $140 for BAC members and $160 for non-members.

At the demo tonight Lizzie Schippert demonstrated drawing a still life. She started with a pencil sketch, then went over it with a pen to create an ink line drawing. She then used watercolors to color the drawing. The above photos show the process. Just an example of the kinds of things that will be covered in the class. To sign up, stop by the Boatworks or call (732) 749-3360

January Monthly Member Meeting

The next monthly membership meeting of the Belmar Arts Council will be on Thursday, January 8, at 7:30 pm. In addition to all the usual business, we will have a special presentation from Lizzie Schippert, regarding an upcoming series of classes she will be teaching with Sven Widen called Drawing and Beyond.

Art Goes In and Out

Today was one of those busy days around the Boatworks, with members coming in to pick up art left over from the Small Treasures show, while others were dropping off work (shown above) for the upcoming Figuratively Speaking exhibition. Some were doing both. Quite a bit of the Small Treasures work did not get picked up yet, so if you have something there, make arrangements to get it soon.

As for the next show, Figuratively Speaking features artwork related to the figure drawing sessions hosted at the Boatworks. The art was either done in or was inspired by those sessions, and includes work in a variety of drawing and painting media. There will be an opening reception on Saturday January 10 from 3 to 5 pm, and the show will remain on display during regular gallery hours through January 31.