Opening Reception: 12th Annual National Miniature Exhitibition

Show Opening

 

If you did not get to the opening reception for the 12th Annual National Miniature Exhibition, you missed a really great time! The refreshment table was overflowing, the coffee was hot and the conversations sizzled!

 

Oh, and the art on the walls was not bad either!

 

Well, the art is great. Really.

 

With 70 entries into this show, it is our biggest little exhibition to date. But no all of it is on the walls, we have a nice showing of three-dimensional art as well.

 

At times, it was so crowded, you could barely move in either room of the Renaissance Art Gallery. We so enjoyed talking to old friends and meeting so many new artists to our community. This show had the largest number of newly emerged artists. So many have never shown before. It is really encouraging to see them take this step into the greater art world.

 

It was also nice to welcome old friends back and see how they have progressed.[Some of our artists who were not able to attend this year have been noted as missing - we always miss your smiling faces. We wish you well and hope to see you again next year .In the meantime try to come by and see the exhibit before it comes down December 9th .

 

We the artists of the Renaissance Art Gallery, want to thank all the artist-participants and patrons for making this such a spectacular show.

Judy Ferguson

Huntington, WV

Judy entered three pieces in a series, entitled “America I, II, and III”. “America III particularly caught my eye. The use of complementary colors and opposing vertical/horizontal lines makes this a particularly interesting composition.

Judith E Bayes and Pears

Judith E Bayes

Treasure Island, FL

What is it about a pear that intrigues artists? We all seem to be drawn to them. They are the fundamental shape in so many still life paintings. Here they are the total of the still life. “Scarlet Harvest” is the contrast between the soft red-ripe luscious texture of the fruit and the hard grain of the floor. The underlying harmony of the colors, both rich warm colors and the striking differences in texture make this small painting worth a second look.

Debi Davis

Take-off 

in graphite

by

Debi M. Davis

Raleigh, NC

To so may people, artists included, pencil drawings are just for preliminary art. Not a finished art medium. Debi Davis of Raleigh, NC proves them wrong. For such a small work, the depth she has gotten with this very small miniature is a real accomplishment. The water almost seems to shimmer on the paper. The feathers seem to move as these birds prepare to take off. Although little more than the birds and water are shown, the feeling is of a much bigger venue.



This drawing holds it own against the more color full paintings.

Three-dimensional Miniatures

Whimsy seems to dominate the sculptural entries this year. And we are all delighted!

Guy Purcell of Ashland, KY calls one of his Bass woodcarvings, “Deep Thought”. Such concentration!

Barbara Gray of Glenwood, WV presented us with wood-burning plaques that combine three-dimensional work with drawings of outdoor life.

Husband Earl Gray gave us a two-faced statue, appropriately named, “2-sided animal, along with a fine piece of West Virginia Sandstone, reminiscent of the monstrous heads of Easter Island, “Jimmy D”

Again this year potter Brennan Cleary of Ironton, OH graced our show with her whimsical tiny jars, “Venus”, “Vincent” and “Jack”.

Karen Chamblin

Belmont, WV

We all know the rules about composition, and are aware of how bright colors draw the eye. I remember one artist being told by her gallery to “put something red in it” to boost her sales. While this might be a good marketing strategy, few artists follow the dictates of marketing when planning their artwork.



But we do know the rules of composition, and generally, we don’t center our focus. Karen shows she not only understand these rules, and knows how to use them, but also when to ignore them. All three paintings entered into this year’s miniature shows she does understand composition, the use of color and has more than mastered the still life. But to me, and many others visiting the Renaissance Art Gallery, her oil painting “Bathing Sparrow” shows true understanding of just what a miniature is all about. Miniatures should draw you in. Over and over I have seen people lean forward to take in the subtle details of this fine painting. It is almost a monochromatic painting, depending on both the use of value and texture to show us just how the little sparrow looks while bathing. We are drawn into this painting, despite, or even because of the lack of detail anywhere but on the bird. We “see” the story. Experience the quality of wet feathers in a shallow pool.

Both “Golden Roses” and “Cantaloupe & Rose” are fine paintings, but the really outstanding piece in this collection is “Bathing Sparrow”.

Dolores Andrew

“Looks like a place I would like to live”

was a comment made by one person of Dolores Andrew’s watercolors. Both “Apothecary Morning” and “Old Bank Barn” have that almost idealized country look. However, “Sketch Class” will have a definite pull on any artist. This outline drawing could be of any drawing class, like the ones we all have attended.

Dolores is from Baltimore, MD.

Sylvia Jackson

Consistency and competence is what distinguishes the work of Sylvia Jackson of Catlettsburg, KY. I have admired her work for years. But this year I had the chance to meet and talk with her when she brought her work into The Renaissance Art Gallery.

Each of her lovely watercolors could stand alone, but together they create an unforgettable presence at the gallery. “Cardinal on the Fence” “Winter Cardinals” and “Cardinals II” hang together as complimentary works. While each is complete in itself, together each adds to the impact of the others.

Favorite Painting Miniatures 2011

“Gotchya” – Acrylic
Wayne Chunat, Malvern, OH





 

I love the colors and drama in this detailed painting. The painting tells a story and makes me wonder what happens next.

~Pati Payne

Note: I voted on this painting for the People’s Choice Award.

Bobbie Stout

Most improved Artist




Bobbie Stout was a student of both Bowersocks. Through the years, and we are so excited and pleased about her improvement as an artist. Lillianne especially likes “At Peace” and Bruce “Country Road, WV”. Bobbie exhibits exactly the dedication and perseverance necessary to succeed at any endeavor.



~ Lillianne Bowersock

"A painting should take you to a place you cannot go on an ordinary day!"

Comments on Art in the 11th Miniature Show

There has been a lot of talk about the artwork this year entered into the 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition. Just like people the art is eclectic. Opinions vary as do tastes, but that is what makes a great show.

The work of
Behzad Fallahi

Some people like the more exotic art.

"I enjoyed seeing the paintings by Behzad Fallahi from Esfahan, Iran. They are so beautiful and show the different culture and painting style of that country.

It is a fantastic art show and I am so proud of Renaissance for having it."

~Pati Payne

Others enjoyed getting deeper in the imagery.

"One that stood out for me was Levade by Janet Laird-Lagassee. At first glance, this looked as if it might have been a painting of an equestrian monument with a turbulent sky in the background. Closer examination indicated that it was a still life of a small equestrian statue with glass containers (wine glasses?) in the background. The dramatic sky and rearing pose of the horse got my attention, then the glasses made me realize that there was something else going on."

~Linda Harbison

Levade
by Janet Laird-Lagassee





55 Artists On Display

All in one room! That is 165 pieces of fine art!




How?



Miniatures!



Miniatures Make It Possible To Assemble A Real Art Collection In One Small Space.

3 works by
Pati Payne

In a decade long tradition, The Renaissance Art Gallery has hung it’s 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition. Actually, it is now an International Exhibition with artwork coming in from other countries. That is how big this little show has grown! We still bring in the best of the Tri-State, with many local artists bringing their work in, but now it hangs side by side with the best from across the country.



What An Opportunity For You!



The miniature as an art form is one that many people want to hold in their hands like a jewel or something precious. It is a much more intimate format than the large monumental pieces often seen at museums. These small pieces simply beg to be looked at from all angles, to be marveled over and admired. No other format seems to be so personal. These are indeed, concentrated images that please all who see them.





3 works by
Karen Chamblin



The current miniature show at The Renaissance Gallery in Huntington continues to amaze anyone who views it. Miniatures would make a wonderful holiday gift and very detailed paintings are very small (some less than 2 inches by 1 ½ inches). An original miniature from the show could become a collectible artwork. Over 17 states and 2 countries are represented. With 150 pieces of art remaining, the diversity of subjects and styles is amazing too.

Renaissance Art Gallery 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition Juror’s Statement

Juror’s Statement

 by Robert P. Hutton

Amazing technique, impeccable craftsmanship, exquisite compositional design, and fine draftsmanship—these are some of the strongest impressions that I have taken away from this exhibition. For these considerations alone, I believe that most of the works deserve recognition and appreciation.



Beyond that, the greatest challenge is for each artist to go within, discover a compelling subject or image and then transform it into a personal vision that reflects moods, feelings inner states of mind and even passions. To a varying degree, many of the works in this exhibition reflect that inner self.

I would encourage all artists, of whatever persuasion to continue striving towards an art that embodies their own personal spirit as fully as possible. In doing so we will not only imitate nature or even interpret our world, but as Andre Malraux suggest, we will “rival the scheme of things:



Personal note:

The miniature is an art form I want to hold in my hand like a jewel or something precious. It has the feel of an intimate secret that wants to be looked at from all angles, and up side down, or with a magnifying glass to explore even deeper into the nuances of it making. Sometimes I try to imagine the works filling a whole wall, in many of these concentrated images, I discover a power and presence that surpasses monumental artworks.

Miniature Show

The Renaissance Art Gallery opened its 11th Annual Miniature Exhibition Sunday, November 6, 2011 The Miniature show is our most exciting show of the year. It was one of those rare fall days where everything seemed perfect. The sun was out and the remaining leaves were beautiful

Our juror, Robert P. Hutton, said about the artwork that it showed

"Amazing technique, impeccable craftsmanship, exquisite compositional design, and fine draftsmanship__ these are some of the strongest impressions that I have taken away from this exhibition".

Quite a variety

At the reception, we all got to enjoy mixing with friends and talking about the various miniatures on the wall and more. We also have many 3-dimentional pieces this year, which include stone carvings and wood burning.

Of course, the award winners were announce, but there is more to an art opening reception. You get to experience the artwork with others who also enjoy looking at and talking about artwork.

But if you are interested in who what what, you can visit the gallery website and see the award list:

The Renaissance Art Gallery Website


And there was cake!

A Decade Long Tradition



For over 10 years The Renaissance Art Gallery has been presenting original artwork to the people of the tri-state area. This year we of The Renaissance Art Gallery bring what is the finest of our miniature shows and happily present it as a present to the people of West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio. Take a few minutes to enjoy some of the images presented here.

Please come and join us in viewing and enjoying this, our 11th Miniature show. The Miniature Exhibition will be hanging in The Renaissance Art Gallery until December 12, 2011. The Renaissance Art Gallery is located in the former Huntington High School, ground floor.



The Renaissance Art Gallery

900 8th Street, Suite #20

Huntington, WV 25701



Gallery (304) 525-3235

Appointments: (304) 453-3187

gallerywv@yahoo.com

www.orgsites.com/wv/renaissance



http://twitter.com/wvgallery

http://renaissancegalleryart.blogspot.com/



Gallery hours are:



Friday & Saturday 12-4 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm

Studio hours Monday 10-Noon, Wednesday 1:00-7:30 pm and Saturday 10-Noon

Taking In- Miniature Show and more!

Taken in




The miniatures have come in for the 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition.

Shea Ashworth and her
"Whimsical Airedale"

Friday, Saturday and Sunday saw a rush of artists into The Renaissance Art Gallery bringing this year’s show. Kept us hopping too! There are works from all over the country as well as our valleys. We filled the receiving table up 3 times with works of art.

Now the work of photographing, hanging and cataloging all this magnificent work is before us. It will be a busy week!



Speaking of taking in, we have taken in a new artist at The Renaissance Art Gallery. She is Laurie Shanholtzer. Laurie specializes in portraits in pastel. As a full time professional artist for over 30 years, Laurie Shanholtzer has established a sound reputation as a portrait artist and pastelist. Over this time she has literally painted hundreds of commissions. These paintings grace homes, offices and public institutions both nationally and abroad.



You can see Laurie’s work on her websites:


http://www.laurieportraits.net/?r=20110613153908


http://www.etsy.com/shop/laurieshanholtzer?ref=si_shop

Ron Haeberle took in the Wednesday art classes this past week, and introduced them to watercolors. Each student got a chance to work with Ron and do a watercolor painting of water! Classes painted a wave!

Miniature Show Submissions, Down to the Wire now

Down to the wire




The Renaissance Art Gallery will start receiving works for the 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition October 14th at 12:00-4 pm at The Renaissance Art Gallery 900 8th Street, Suite 20 in Huntington, WV. This is the old High School on the corner of 9th Avenue and 8th Street. Extra Prospectus will available.

3" x 5 "

The 11th Annual National Miniature exhibition is open to all adult artists, 18 and up. The show features all fine art media except photography. Maximum size of paintings, 25 sq inches, 3-dimensional work cannot exceed 8 inches in any one direction.

1/2" x 2"

Artists Gary Lapelle and Susan Tschantz will be on hand on Friday. Work can also be brought to the gallery on Saturday Oct 15th where Fern Christian and Linda Helgason will be on hand to accept your art. Sunday Oct 16th 2011 we will all be there. The Gallery is open 12 noon to 4 pm on Friday and Saturday, 1-4 on Sunday.

Miniature show coming up



The 11^th Annual National Miniature Exhibition is coming up fast. Submission dates for local artist is October 14-16, 2011. The show itself will run for the month of November into the first 2 weeks of December 2011 at The Renaissance Art Gallery in Huntington, WV. This show is an open entry show, open to all adult artists 18 and up. Works shipped to The Renaissance Art Gallery should be postmarked by October 12, 2011, to insure they arrive on time.

Traditional forms

Miniatures are the original portable art. While any work at 1/6th scale is technically a miniature, The Renaissance Art Gallery show, like most miniature shows does place size restrictions on entered work. This is the challenge. But it is also the tradition. While royalty and great nobles could commission huge paintings, real people created work in scale with their lives.

The first miniatures were often done on the backs of playing cards, easily hand held! And don’t forget small portraits in lockets! Jewelry is a natural outlet for those working in miniature.

Miniatures at sea

Miniature art is portable art. People from all walks of life have practiced it for centuries. Sailors at sea would fill long hours with scrimshaw carvings of available materials, often the teeth and ivory of marine mammals like whale teeth and walrus tusks. Woodsman in Appalachia simply used the natural material around them to whittle both practical items and small fun figurines.

Size matters

For miniature competition, size does matters. All shows have their own restrictions, but The Renaissance Art Gallery has adopted the same standards used in the major American miniature associations of 25 sq inches, or 5x5, but any configuration that gives you up to 25 sq inches is accepted. Last year we had one artist who works on 1 inch x 8 inch pieces. This is the maximum size, but not the required size. The most traditional size is still the size of a playing card, 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches (or the size of a baseball card) We have had much smaller pieces and enjoy them! Don’t forget that miniatures can also be sculpture! Three-dimensional pieces cannot exceed 8 inches in any one direction. Again, any art format is welcome, ceramics, stone, pottery or metal.

National show



The Renaissance Art Gallery’s Annual Miniature exhibition is a nationally recognized art show. This is why we strictly enforce the size requirements. It is also why photography and other mechanically reduced formats are not acceptable in this show. Our show draws the best from across our nation, and for many of us this is the only opportunity we will have of entering a national art competition. And it is fun.



There is still time



Now is the time to create wonderful small works of perfection and time to enter the 11th Annual National Miniature Exhibition. If you have never tried to work in miniature, now is the time! Help is available at The Renaissance Art Gallery on Wednesdays. Studio hours are from 12:00 until 7:00 pm. Artists are available to answer your questions and to help you work small!



The Renaissance Art Gallery

900 8th Street, Suite #20

Huntington, WV 25701



Gallery (304) 525-3235

Appointments: (304) 453-3187

gallerywv@yahoo.com

www.orgsites.com/wv/renaissance



http://twitter.com/wvgallery

http://renaissancegalleryart.blogspot.com/



Gallery hours are:

Friday & Saturday 12-4 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm

Studio hours Monday 10-Noon, Wednesday 1:00-7:30 pm and Saturday 10-Noon

Miniature Show: People's Choice Awards

People’s Choice Awards




Director Fern Christian Count the Vote

 People attending the 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition were handed ballots when they came into the gallery to select what they felt were the best entries in this years Miniature Exhitition. There were to select works in two catagories: Most Elegant Entry and Most Creative Entry.

There were tons of worthy choices and it was hard to narrow it down to two.. But choices had to be made.


And counting the ballots was a much bigger job this year, due to the record number of people gracing our gallery with their visits.The stuffed to overflowing ballot box was finally opens and the votes tallied this week at The Renaissance Art Gallery by director, Fern Christian.



The voting was close, but choices were made.The final tally did reveal clear winners however.



Linda Rossin’s “Elegance in Motion”. The beauty of the rising flamingo captured the attention of the most guests for the Most Elegant Entry Award, while Sandi Worthington’s 1inch by 11 inch “Going To Water” won the Most Creative Entry Award.





Artwork Choosen by the Public,



Congratulations to both Sandi Worthington and Linda Rossin on their selection by the guest of The Renaissance Art Gallery for this year’s People’s Choice Awards.

Reception for the 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition

It was crowed—too crowded for a head count. People were standing at the door before 1:00 pm waiting to get in. these were serious art lovers!

Judy Taylor puts the finishing touches on the table





 The reception wasn’t supposed to start until 2:00 pm, giving us in theory an hour to get the coffee made, cake cut and in general make sure all our ducks were neatly in a row.

Good thing so much had been done ahead of time!

Gary Taylor and Bruce Bowersock go other infomation before reception.



Yes—most of our regulars were there, but we also had a good number of visitors who had never been to The Renaissance Art Gallery before. That is always satisfying to introduce our art to people who have had little exposure before.



Gary Greets the First guest.





We had one dignified older gentleman come in who has been doing miniature sculptures on his own for years, but has never been exposed to any other artists who also did miniatures, or to any kind of gallery and organized show before. He had read the preview in the paper and the invitation there and came into see others who work in miniature. It was a very rewarding experience for him, connecting with other local artists for the first time.



Six people attending the reception won a free art class. These will over the next few weeks will enjoy a very personal introduction to art.

Voting for the people’s choice award was strong but will continue through the end of November to allow those who did not get a chance to cast their votes to do so. It really was that crowded!

Working Up the 10th Annual National Miniature Exhibition



3 Onions,
Esther Marie Versch

 Now that the show is hung, you would think things would settle down, but that is just the tip of the iceberg for a show like this. Wednesday October 27, Director Fern Christian and Susan Tschantz worked at tagging the artwork by entry number, making sure the entry number matched the artist’s entry information.

Thursday gallery artist Gary Taylor was on hand to welcome and assist our juror, Marshall University professor Don Van Horn, Dean of the Fine Arts College.

Gary also did a bit of proofreading, Susan Tschantz can do many things, but spell is not one of them. And we are all grateful for Gary’s keen eyes!

Saturday, both before and after our figure drawing class (which went great) we started putting up the identification tags. Since the judging was all over except for the shouting, we can now mark whose is who’s with the miniatures.

Year of the Small, Really Small!

3 Small Pieces

This year that presents a special problem. This seems to be the year of the small, really small! Our miniature exhibition has always been restricted more on size than content, but this year we relaxed the limits slightly to reflect the National Society of Miniaturist and the world Federation of Miniature Artists, so really expected a few larger (for miniatures) works. The opposite seems to have happened. While one of our soapstone sculptures comes in right at eight inches, another is the smallest we have ever gotten, at half an inch by 2 inches. We did get a mixed media painting at less than an inch.

So while we have more pieces and more artist than last year, they actually take up less room! We have 3 tiny works of art on a small shelf.

This year we also have more three-dimensional pieces than last year. Some really interesting sculptures and several pots and stoneware pieces have been entered.