diane feissel

The unbearable likeness of being.

2012-01-30T23:14:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder - three days until the opening of a fantastic portrait show here in Philly! I'm honored to be included in a show alongside some great people and amazing artists, including alumni and faculty of PAFA and Studio Incamminati, as well as artist Alexandra Tyng, whose portrait of Louis Kahn was recently acquired by the National Portrait Gallery (see my post on this here). Hope to see you at the opening this Thursday night - here are the details again:

"Likeness"
A group exhibition showcasing portraits - curated by Brooke Hine, sponsored by InLiquid
February 1st - March 28th, 2012
Opening Reception: February 2nd from 5:30 - 7:30

Location: Philadelphia Board ofEthics
The Packard Building
1441 Sansom Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102

Participating artists:
Rachel Constantine
Kerry Dunn
Stephen Early
Diane Feissel
Katherine Fraser
Amy Kann
Jon Laidacker
Carlo Russo
Alexandra Tyng
Lea Wight

smoke, 20"x20", oil on canvas, by Diane Feissel

Principle Opening - "From What I Remember/From What I Forget"

2012-01-22T17:27:00.001-05:00

Despite unexpectedly wintry weather in Alexandria, VA, there was a great turnout of wonderful people for the Broad Street Studio-curated exhibition "From What I Remember/From What I Forget" at Principle Gallery! Here are some photos from the reception last Friday night - if you missed it, the show is up through the middle of February, check it out! Here are some photos from the reception:

Artist Elsa Muñoz with her painting "Half-Light"

Me, at left, with Mario Robinson and his painting "The Novelist"

L-R: artists Scott Kiche, Mario Robinson, Alia El-Bermani

L-R: Artists Mario Robinson and Judith Peck, and a guest

Artists Elsa Muñoz and Alia El-Bermani

L-R: Artists Diane Feissel, Jason John, Mario Robinson

L-R: John Feissel, Diane Feissel, Alia El-Bermani

Painting by Jason John to the left of the fireplace, painting by Josh Suda above the fireplace

Thanks so much to Principle Gallery for hosting this great event, and to Broad Street Studio for putting together a great show! I was super-honored to be included!

Fate.

2012-01-20T20:00:00.000-05:00

Internet, I must tell you how excited I am about the most recent painting by friend and fellow artist Terry Strickland!! Terry has created a fabulous painting centered on the mythological Three Fates, using none other than we three Women Painting Women contributors (myself, Alia El-Bermani and Sadie Valeri) as models! It's a touching and beautiful tribute to the spirit of "Women Painting Women," and completely fitting as we were all fortunate to get to know Terry through the Women Painting Women exhibition and painting expedition in Charleston, South Carolina in 2010. Here's the link for more info on the painting: http://www.terrystricklandart.blogspot.com/2012/01/three-fates-complete.html

The Three Fates, 30"x40", oil on panel, by Terry Strickland

Congratulations to Terry on another amazing painting!! Check out more of her work here, and stay tuned for more information on the exhibit at Principle Gallery this April, "The Expedition and Beyond," which will feature this painting as well as work from the 13 other artists on the Charleston, SC painting expedition of November 2010.

Don't forget to remember.

2012-01-20T00:08:00.000-05:00

It's less than a day until the opening reception for "From What I Remember/From What I Forget" - the group exhibition centering on personal narrative, curated by the awesome painters of Broad Street Studios - Jason John, Josh Suda, and Brian Martin. Principle Gallery is the venue for the show, and they now have the work included in the show up on their website - for a sneak peek, click this link!

Below is the painting I have in the show - hope to see you at the opening!

the path chosen, 12"x9", oil on panel, 2011, by Diane Feissel

Likeness.

2012-01-11T22:45:00.002-05:00

I'm happy to share with you, dear reader, that I have finally finally updated the "news" section of my website! Yay! Here's the link, and here's some info on an upcoming show right here in Philadelphia, PA, in which I will be participating this February/March:

"Likeness"
A group exhibition showcasing portraits - curated by Brooke Hine, sponsored by InLiquid
February 1st - March 28th, 2012
Opening Reception: February 2nd from 5:30 - 7:30

Location: Philadelphia Board ofEthics
The Packard Building
1441 Sansom Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102

Participating artists:
Rachel Constantine
Kerry Dunn
Stephen Early
Diane Feissel
Katherine Fraser
Amy Kann
Jon Laidacker
Carlo Russo
Alexandra Tyng
Lea Wight

dans le noir, 12"x9", oil on linen, by Diane Feissel

Capital.

2012-01-08T13:17:00.001-05:00

I was in Washington,D.C. yesterday, on my way down to Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA to dropoff work for the upcoming group show, “From What I Remember/From What I Forget,”curated by the fine folks at Broad Street Studios. The opening reception forthe show is Friday, January 20, 2012 from 6:30-9pm; please stop by and check itout! American Art Collector magazine has a preview in its current (January2012) issue, check it out at your local bookseller/magazine store.

Some of the images included in the "From What I Remember/From What I Forget" exhibition at Principle Gallery

While in D.C., I stopped by the National Portrait Gallery for a brief bit, which I haven’t visited in faaaaar too long. Imagine my great pleasure when the third painting I encountered once inside the museum was by none other than Philadelphia’s own Alexandra Tyng! The National Portrait Gallery recently acquired Alex’s portrait of her father, the late architect Louis I. Kahn – here’s an image:

Portrait of architect Louis I. Kahn by artist Alexandra Tyng

Cambridge Street Studios!

2012-01-02T22:05:00.001-05:00

Hey, you! As you're welcoming in 2012, don’t forget to check out (andmaybe lend some monetary support to?) a wonderful new art academy here inPhiladelphia – Cambridge Street Studios!

As a resident of Philadelphia interested in high-quality artistictraining, I'm so, so thrilled that artist Angela Cunningham and her colleagues have come to the city to start up this great school (which offers part- and full-time options, as wellas Open Studios sessions for local artists to come work from the live model) – it'sa great place, and needs your help! There are many improvements which need tobe made to the physical space, which are outlined in their fundraising page, atthe following link:

http://www.indiegogo.com/CambridgeStreetStudios

Here's a sample of a painting by school founder Angela Cunningham:

Jazmine by Angela Cunningham

2012.

2012-01-01T22:53:00.002-05:00

Happy new year everybody!!! Been busy, updates on recent paintings and upcoming shows soon!

Art viewing, paintings brewing.

2011-12-11T21:10:00.001-05:00

A couple of extremely brief trips up to NYC of late have rewarded with some excellent painting-viewing – though, of course, there’s a lot going on up there right now, and I didn’t even get around to half of it. A couple of weeks ago I caught the opening for Julio Reyes’ show at Arcadia Fine Arts. It was a fantastic show – his work is really quite amazing. Also, I had the pleasure of finally meeting in person Candice Bohannon Reyes (married to Julio), whose own paintings knocked my socks off at the Women Painting Women exhibition last November in Charleston, SC. Two very talented and hard-working painters, check out their work ASAP.

Dominion, 2010, oil on panel, 36" x 69", by Julio Reyes

I also finally got up to see the most recent show of friend and fellow Philly painter Alex Kanevsky, whose show at J. Cacciola was having a second opening reception, thanks to a mid-exhibition relocation on the part of the gallery. The space is great, and the work even better – check it out, it’s up through the end of December.

J.F.H. with Pigs, 2011, 5”x16”, oil on board, by Alex Kanevsky

And as for me, I’m hunkered down here in the studio with my Liquin and my winter hat… finishing up commissions, and taking absolutely forever to work through some other painting projects. I do feel like it’s been a really long time since I’ve posted much of anything, though, so let me post a little sneak preview of a painting I’ve started of fellow Philadelphia artist Steve Layne, sculptor extraordinaire. This is a detail of a larger (18”x24”) piece I’m working on – stay tuned, folks. More Steve ahead:

Detail of an in-progress painting of sculptor Steve Layne

More soon!

Still here. Chuggin' along.

2011-12-04T23:14:00.001-05:00

Hey there! You'd never know it from the lack of posts here, but yes, I have been busy and doing stuff lately - pardon the long blogging absence. This year is flying past us all with a big WHOOOOOSH, here it is already December of 2011 and all WHOAH. Crazy! Time's a-flyin'. I've been busy here in Philadelphia, painting and looking at art and giving thanks and cat herding and whatever else. I'll have some updates soon on exciting shows for 2012 and such - including some sneak previews of paintings - but for the moment, let me leave you with a quick little eye sketch I did a couple of weeks ago of my friend Alia:

eyeball sketch - 6"x6", I think?

Arnot.

2011-11-09T23:12:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to let you know, dear Internet, that I have some pieces showing up in New York state at the Arnot Art Museum, as part of their 73rd Regional Juried Exhibition - and one of them even won a prize! Yipeeee!! Here are the two pieces which will be hanging in the show until the beginning of February 2012:

leaving California (2), oil on linen, 12"x9", 2011 by me, Diane Feissel

the uncertain silence, oil on linen, 12"x9", by me, Diane Feissel

Currier post.

2011-10-29T12:54:00.001-04:00

John and I made an extremely pleasant day trip up to Manchester, NH this past Wednesday to visit some family; while there, we checked out the Currier Art Museum. It's a pretty small little collection, but a nice one - here's the photo recap of some of the highlights from the museum:

Did you know that Alma-Tadema's second wife was also a painter? I didn't. Live and learn! This is a painting by Laura Alma-Tadema, "A Knock at the Door":

I have recently become aware of Joseph DeCamp, and I realize that I love his work. This one above is "Carnation and Black"

Robert Henri, always a delight.

A somewhat unusual-seeming (to me, at least) Edward Hopper painting - entitled "The Bootleggers." Shady stuff going on here.

My father with a painting by William Merritt Chase.

I've only ever seen one other painting by Lilla Cabot Perry at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, in DC... it was nice to see another. This one is called "The Black Hat," though maybe it should be called "The Surreptitious Middle Finger," given the funny position of the subject's right hand...

Raeburn! I love me some Sir Henry... let's hear it for the Scot.

Rothko! I lked this one less that most Rothko paintings I've seen, but it was still nice to see, nonetheless.

Sargent! Jackpot. From the description, it sounds as though this was the last portrait Sargent completed before his death.

A close-up of that groovy Sargent painting, of "Grace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston" (that's quite a title, no?)

Another close-up of that groovy Sargent painting, of "Grace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston"

A painting by Philadelphian John F. Francis, entitled "A Squirrel Eating a Nut." SQUIRREL!

Edmund Charles Tarbell - "Mercie Cutting Flowers"

Edmund Charles Tarbell - "Summer Breeze." I challenge you to not get that Seals & Crofts song stuck in your head.

WYETH!!! Boooyeah. Andrew, that is. Beautiful. Haunting.

It’s not late, it’s Early.

2011-10-28T12:19:00.000-04:00

Fun things of late: been doing a bit of modeling at Studio Incamminati,where there are a good number of super-talented painters roaming around betweenthe students and instructors. Here’s a painting done by Stephen Early, one ofStudio Incamminati instructors:

Painting by Stephen Early

Go West.

2011-10-19T18:51:00.000-04:00

Just back from a great little trip to the West Coast – inSan Francisco, to be more specific – hanging out at the studio of fellow artist(and fellow Women Painting Women blogger) Sadie Valeri. Sadie invited a guest artistto hold a workshop at her studio; that artist was Timothy Jahn, who also madethe trek across the country to San Francisco to give this workshop - in hiscase, from New Jersey. Tim studied with Anthony Waichulis at his studio andwill soon be heading up the Anguilla location of Waichulis’ Ani Art Academy.Here is my favorite painting of Tim’s, though he has many, many other amazingpaintings and drawings at his website here: http://www.jahnstudios.com/

The Transported Man, 11"x14", oil on panel by Timothy Jahn

Here are some photos from the painting demo the night ofOctober 13^th and the workshop itself on Friday, October 14^th:

Tim setting up for the demo, with Sadie's dog Ripley helping out.

Tim explaining his painting methods in the still life demo.

Tim's painting demo of a still life.

Attendees at Tim's demo in Sadie's studio.

An in-progress shot of Tim's still life demo.

Tim's examples of the exercises we learned in the Friday workshop, all part of the methods of the Ani Art Academy Waichulis.

Tim Jahn, Sadie Valeri, and Anthony Waichulis, who was also in town for the weekend...

While out west, I got to see the Trompe L’oeil show at JohnPence Gallery in downtown San Francisco, with work by many wonderful artists,including Anthony Waichulis and some artists who have studied with him. Check out more info on the show here: http://www.johnpence.com/visuals/painters/trompe.htm

Four paintings by Anthony Waichulis.

Painting by Adam Vinson.

Painting by Carl Dobsky.

Paintings by Zack Zdrale.

Painting by Helen Crispino.

It was a great workshop, a greta show at Pence, and it was great finally seeing Sadie’sbeautiful studio, (link is here: http://sadievaleri.squarespace.com/studio-photos/)and to have a wee bit of leisure/ painting time back in San Francisco. I livedthere for nine wonderful years, but it’s been a while since I’ve been back tovisit. Here’s a little photographic recap:

The stairway leading to the apartment building in Russian Hill, where John and I lived in the early 2000s. We were living here when we got married, and when we met our beloved cat Huey. Good memories associated with this place! Yep.

Possibly rabid raccoon - fortunately taxidermied and therefore harmless - at Loved to Death on Haight Street.

Sadie's crazy cute little dog, Ripley.

Tim Jahn channels The Fly at Will Wilson's studio

One of two decidedly sub-par little paint sketches I did on the streets of San Francisco - this one is on board, about 4"x4"

Me with that wonderful ole San Francisco Bay. Ah, the Bay.

You know you're in California when the trees start looking like this.

The Curious Sofa, anyone?

Some of Sadie's amazing work, on the wall of her studio.

En plein air.

2011-10-11T14:42:00.001-04:00

The weather here in Philly has been wonderfully, gorgeously,truly beautifully amazing lately… so where better to paint and draw thanoutside in this beautiful weather, right? Right ON!

I've been obsessed with this one tree on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, not far from the lovely Fisher Fine Arts library. It's a fantastic tree, really, very shapely, really, for lack of a better word. Here are a couple of sketches I've done of this tree - a painting will have to come soon:

There's this beautiful church here in Fishtown, on Girard Avenue - it's a Presbyterian church, I believe, but it has the most unusual dome atop the church, with a very distinctive shape which can be seen from a great distance away. It's lovely, and I've begun trying to capture it:

In addition to these sketches I’ve done on my own, I alsoparticipated in the first of this year’s painting sessions to benefit theCamphill Special School (see my blog post on the 2010 show here). A group ofartists is invited out to paint on the grounds of the school and the school’sworking farm out in Phoenixville, PA, with the end result being a show of thepainter’s work, with proceeds benefitting the School. It was a great day, witha ton of artists including Joe Sweeney, Richard Ranck, Alex Tyng, Alyce Grunt,Kerry Dunn, Patrick King, Garth Herrick, Charles Newman, David Lee and manyothers whose names I did not catch (oops). Here are some of the painting sketchesI came up with from the day; I’m hoping to go back for more painting later inthe year:

Philly's phinest pheatures.

2011-09-28T19:00:00.001-04:00

So, I think every time I have friends or family in town to visit, I need to take a photo of them in front of the Shepard Fairey mural near our house, on the exterior of Rocket Cat Cafe, like so:

The other option, of course, is to take them all over to the newly-minted Lenfest Plaza, next to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), just north of City Hall in our phair city of Philadelphia. As you may have heard, artist Claes Oldenburg - he of the giant clothespin (also here in Philly) and other delights - has installed a giant paintbrush on this plaza. Aaaaaaand here it is:

I still think that paint blob on the ground is highly suspect. Not sure it "works." Really not sure the whole thing "works," actually... please come to Philly to visit and give us your honest critique on our latest public art product.

Crossing the (state line over to) Delaware.

2011-09-28T18:24:00.002-04:00

Hey Internet! Just wanted to share with you that I had a fantastic time last week trading portrait poses with a really great person and fellow painter, PAFA grad David Shevlino. I hopped on the train (thank goodness for SEPTA! When it shows up on time, that is) to travel down to David's studio in Wilmington, Delware, and we had a great time painting - here's what we came up with:

David Shevlino's painting of me

My painting of David Shevlino

This was totally fun! And challenging! I so rarely get the chance to paint a portrait from life these days, so that was a definite treat.

It's always a pleasure to hang out with other artists, and the Philadelphia/NJ/Delaware area has a lot of them. David's work is particularly gorgeous - you can see some more of his work on his website, of course; also, he has two great videos outlining his painting approach - you can find them at this link on his website. You can get a preview of these videos on his YouTube channel, at this link.

Viva Nueva York.

2011-09-18T20:30:00.008-04:00

Hey there Internet! Long time no see. I wanted to let you know: I had a really lovely day in NYC this past Thursday started with a trip to the Met – always a good way to start any day, in my opinion. In addition to visiting some old favorites - such as Jules Bastien-Lepage’s “Joan of Arc”, Franz von Lenbach’s “Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria” and Eugene Carriere's self-portrait - I found a few gems I had somehow missed on my past visits. Particularly because I missed the recent show of his work at the Neue Galerie, I was thrilled to find one of Messerschmidt’s crazy head studies:

Sculpture head in tin alloy by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt

In the process of trying to hunt down another old favorite – Sargent’s Madame X (which was not actually on view, sadly) – I found some Thomas Wilmer Dewing pieces, and these two Sargent sketches in the compressed mezzanine space where they were housing the American collection during construction on the 2^nd floor:

Sargent painting

Sargent painting of the same subject

Also: I really liked seeing this painting from Irish painter William Orpen:

Self-portrait by William Orpen

Next: on to the main reason for the trip northward to NY: two really great shows of contemporary painters! First, I met up with some friends from PAFA and we headed up to see the Jenny Saville show at GagosianGallery. Our posse - consisting of Mike Manley, David Campbell Wilson, Lexi Thomas, Will Sentman, Alina Osipov and myself - made our way uptown from Chelsea and were lucky enough to arrive at the opening early and have some quiet, up-close time with some of the drawings and paintings. Also: Chuck Close was at the opening! How exciting. Anyway, here are some photos from the opening, bravely taken by othermembers of our posse other than myself:

Paintings by Jenny Saville at Gagosian in NYC

Last was the Vincent Desiderio show at Marlborough Gallery in Chelsea. It was PACKED. But, it was also amazing. Absolutely gorgeous, compelling pieces – the magic combination of technical skill and depth of content. Hurray. I was brave enough to sneak a few shots at this opening, so here are some photos… you should really go see them in person yourself, though!

Painting: Dumb Mouths by Vincent Desiderio - Marlborough Gallery, Chelea, NYC

Painting: Sink by Vincent Desiderio - Marlborough Gallery, Chelea, NYC

Afterwards we refueled and headed back to Philly. Good times! Here's Lexi sketching Alina in the burger joint we stopped at for dinner:

PAFA students never rest.

For more recap on the day (and more photos), please visit Will Sentman's blog over here, and Mike Manley's blog over here.

Sprick!

2011-08-22T20:48:00.003-04:00

My brain is hopelessly full right now from an awesome couple of days – I took a weekend workshop with Daniel Sprick at Studio Incamminati here in Philadelphia. I’m not going to lie: IT WAS AMAZING. His demo was amazing, his lecture about his work was amazing, and he’s an amazing individual to speak with on a personal level as well. Some painter friends of mine flew up from North Carolina for the workshop, and the lovely and talented artist Rachel Constantine was a gracious host for some extra painting and drawing time (and social time) in her studio. There was such a great vibe in the class all around, with some really super-great people in attendance, including PAFA students Mike Manley and Will Sentman, Studio Incamminati instructors and painters Lea Wight, Natalie Italiano, Jen Hagen, Steve Early, Leona Shanks, Vanessa Fenton and Peter Kelsey, North Carolina artists Alia El-Bermani and Sue Lyon, local painters Rachel Constantine, Catherine Carney and Luiz Vilela, Massachusetts painter Stuart Dunkel, and others. Below are some photos from the weekend – and you can click this link for more photos from Will Sentman’s blog, which include photos of Daniel Sprick’s drawing demos:

After painting with Daniel Sprick at Rachel Constantine's studio: Sue Lyon, Daniel Sprick, Rachel Constantine, Alia El-Bermani

After a lunch break on day 1 of the workshop: Rachel Constantine, Sue Lyon, Alia El-Bermani, Lea Wight.

Daniel Sprick's first drawing demo of the morning

Daniel Sprick's second drawing demo

My drawing from the afternoon session, day one

Exhausted artists after the workshop's end, enjoying a visit from painter Alexandra Tyng

Me with two beautiful ladies from North Carolina, Sue Lyon and Alia El-Bermani

Much of his workshop - and what spoke to me in particular from the workshop - had to do with edge quality, and judicious treatment of edges and line. We were also lucky to have enjoyed a presentation by Daniel on his own work... and, seriously? The man is amazing. Here's an example, if you're unfamilar with his work:

Painting by Colorado artist Daniel Sprick

******

Wait: there's more! Fellow artists and workshop attendees Will Sentman, Mike Manley and Alia El-Bermani have also posted blog entries about the workshop; check them out here, here and here, respectively. Also: check out these works produced by Alia El-Bermani, fellow North Carolina artist Susan Lyon and myself during the workshop:

Ron, drawing from class by Alia El-Bermani

Paint sketch by Susan Lyon

Drawing by me on day #2 of the workshop

The King.

2011-08-11T16:47:00.002-04:00

I had the pleasure of hanging out and painting with fellow Fishtown artist David Ohlerking last week - he has this great studio over the Rocket Cat Cafe, a couple of blocks away from us, so we met up and swapped painting sessions. He is amazingly fast - he got in two large-ish sized paintings of me in about the time it took me to lay down the paint on my palette!! Haha, not quite - but almost. Here are some photos:

The first painting David did of me.

David with the second painting of me - not life-size, but definitely sizeable. He's speedy

My sketch of David. Gonna try again soon...

Michael + Michael + cake.

2011-07-27T08:04:00.004-04:00

This past week has been a blast! I spent some time up in upstate NY in the Adirondacks with Michael Schoenig, a great painter and one of my old studiomates from San Francisco – what a gorgeous landscape up there, between Lake Champlain and the Adirondack mountains themselves and all the rural goodness in between:

Essex, NY

More tranquil Essex loveliness

Michael at High Falls Gorge. As advertised, the falls were high.

More of High Falls Gorge, in all its majesty.

Me with lots and lots of gushing water.

Lovely cloud formations seen from the ferry riding across Lake Champlain.

Michael 's house! Haha, actually, no.

Wee duckling at Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, snacking on algae.

Moon over Lake Champlain

After that I came back down to NYC to take a week-long drawing workshop focusing on the portrait and structure of the head at the Janus Collaborative. As I mentioned in my previous post, the workshop was taught by artist Michael Grimaldi. Here’s a demo from the class, done by the instructor:

Portrait demo by Michael Grimaldi

And here’s the drawing I came up with over the week - we had a great model:

Portrait of Tram, by me

Here's an absolutely adorable and amazingly friendly cat in one of the apartments I stayed in while in NYC - it's the awesome cat of super-awesome photographer Gavin Thomas:

Here's a view of the East River from the Roosevelt Island tramway, wheeeeeeeeee:

Also: in honor of some recent birthdays, there was some cake with friends, at a great little place in Harlem:

NOM NOM NOM

YAY FOR CAKE!!!!

..and YAY for the great state of New York. HURRAY!

Summer in the City.

2011-07-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

Hey Internet, I'm going to be up in NYC all next week, taking a drawing workshop with Michael Grimaldi at the Janus Collaborative. Summertime in the city! Admittedly, not my favorite time of year to be in NYC, but studying with Michael Grimaldi will be so worth it - of this I am certain. My internet access will be limited during that week, so while I may not be able to post immediate updates - hopefully I'll be able to post a recap soon. I can't in any way guarantee it will be a coherent or well-written recap, however; for that, I turn to my friend Sadie, who is far more adept at processing and articulating what she has taken in from workshops than I will ever be; see this link on her blog with her thoughts from a Michael Grimaldi drawing workshop she took a couple of years ago out at BACAA, out in the the San Francisco Bay Area... and see below for a painting by Michael Grimaldi (incredible, no?):

Painting by Michael Grimaldi

Manayunk.

2011-07-10T20:02:00.000-04:00

Hey there, just wanted to let y'all know, I have two paintings in a juried exhibition at the Manayunk-Roxborough Art Center, in the northwest corner of the City of Brotherly Love, good ole Philly. Manayunk is really interesting, and surprisingly vibrant and charming. It's up a big hill from the Schuylkill River - I love towns built on hills. Anyway, the show is up through July 31 - check it out if you're here in the city.

From what I remember...

2011-07-07T12:52:00.000-04:00

Hey there,

Just wanted to give you a heads-up about a group show I will be in next January, with a bunch of exceptional artists, at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. The three artists of Broad Street Studios have pulled together an exhibition around the theme of "From What I Remember/From What I Forget..." about personal narratives and memory. Here's the link with examples of work from all of the artists included in the show (not necessarily the work which will be in the show, but just a representative example):

http://www.thebroadstreetstudio.com/remember.html

Down with the DPC.

2011-07-04T00:07:00.001-04:00

Hey there Internet, Happy Fourth! I've been celebrating our nation's independence by... painting!!! Whooop! No fireworks for me, just the explosive magics happening in the art studio! Or... something.

Anyway, on Saturday I did some outdoor landscape painting - definitely still frightening and uncharted territory for me - with a groovy group of people from PAFA, including Mike Manley, David Campbell Wilson, Alina Osipov and Lexi Thomas. Mike has a great recap on the blog for their painting group (the "Dirty Palette Club"), so I'm going to be lazy here and link to his post, add a few photos of my own, below, and then call it a day - an independence day, in fact! Woot!

Mike in the comfy chair

Alina and her painting

Painters in action

David being all arty

Au Canada!

2011-07-03T23:10:00.001-04:00

John and I made a great little trip north to Montreal last weekend - what a fun city! Here are some photos:

On the way into the city, on a seriously foggy morning.

An art installation of giant air-freshener trees.

Notre Dame: c'est obligatoire.

Giant chess boards.

Funky murals, cool architecture.

Juste pour rire/just for laughs

Elaborate graffiti

Likewise, more elaborate graffiti

John, going with the flow

On the right: the movie that we saw. I love Isabelle Carré

John au Restaurant Les Pyrénées

Along the St. Lawrence River

Fancy metro station

On the way up to Parc Mont Royal

Telephone booth at the top of Mont Royal. John has entitled this photo "A Call of Nature."

A little snailfriend we made on the top of Mont Royal

The ugly Croix de Montreal. Ugly! Ugh.

Us chillin' in the Parc de Mont Royal

Leaning birches on the way down from Mont Royal

More crazy graffiti

Under Pressure! more graffiti.

Oh la la! Indeed.

More graffiti/murals... I think I spy Alfred Hitchcock in there.

A perfect example of Montreal's architectural schizophrenia...

Et voila, des fleurs. C'etait un bon voyage! Merci et bonne nuit!

Two score, no more.

2011-06-28T21:44:00.001-04:00

I am busy today trying to celebrate a slightly nauseating milestone in my life, so I'll catch up with y'all here in a few about our recent trip to Montréal, Québec. In the meantime, here's a pic from the trip - me hangin' with James McGill of McGill University:

Heavens to Etsy!

2011-06-20T20:49:00.002-04:00

I am happy to announce that I finally have set up an Etsy shop, where I will be selling fine art prints of paintings from my "fabrication" series (like the painting below) - here's the link to the shop, be sure to visit!

http://www.dianefeissel.etsy.com/

impossibilitea, 12"x16", oil on printed fabric. Get a print of it here!

KC.

2011-06-19T19:57:00.001-04:00

Hey! Been busy. More updates soon. In the meantime, here's a recent sketch of a friend from NC:

sketch of KC, oil on canvas, 12"x12"

Loving the City of Brotherly Love.

2011-06-16T14:56:00.001-04:00

Now that we're finally having decent weather here in the Northeast (i.e. not 100-degree days with full-on humidity), we've had some occasions in which to enjoy that which spring has to offer here in the City of Brotherly Love. We took some time to enjoy the outdoors a bit this past weekend while Gus – my father-in-law and a talented photographer – was in town, with a little jaunt toward the northwesterly region of the city. A lovely ride along Kelly Drive, right up against the Schuylkill River, led us out to historic Laurel Hill cemetery; below is a view from the heights of the cemetery overlooking the river:

We then ventured out toward the Chestnut Hill region of Philadelphia, driving through the lush overgrowth of Fairmount Park along the way. I love that you don't have to leave city limits to get a great amount of tree exposure. Yay for Fairmount Park! Anyway, in Chestnut Hill we lunched at the French Bakery, grabbed some treats for later from the Night Kitchen, and spent the afternoon wandering the grounds of the lovely Morris Arboretum. Here are some shots:

Identity crisis.

2011-06-14T16:55:00.002-04:00

Given all of the recent creepy hoaxes involving bloggers faking their online identities, I just wanted to assure you, dear reader, that I am who I say I am! No fakes! Just as the header to this blog proclaims, I am Diane Feissel, an artist living and painting stuff in Philadelphia. Why, just the other day I had someone take a picture in the studio while I painted our cats, just so I could prove the veracity of my claims, behold:

A wholly accurate* record of the happenings in the Feissel studio - June 13, 2011.

*However, I don't usually wear a beret.

Go Fisher!

2011-06-09T15:46:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it has taken me more than year and a half since returning to live in Philadelphia once again to discover the fabulous Fisher Fine Arts Library out in West Philadelphia, at the University of Pennsylvania. Besides being housed in a fantastically lovely Furness building, the library has also wooed me considerably with its plethora of monographs on some of my 19th-century favorites: Carolus-Duran, Eugène Carrière, Jules Bastien-Lepage, Gustave Caillebotte, Wilhelm Leibl, Franz von Lenbach, Max Liebermann, John Everett Millais, Gwen John, and oh, so many more. It's like heaven. And it's pretty - check it out:

Sans titre.

2011-06-05T23:46:00.001-04:00

Hola Internet, all is pretty busy - and therefore currently pretty sleepy - chez Feissel... but before I turn it in for the night, I just wanted to share a little piece I'm working on currently (amongst many others) - more posts soon, once I get caught up on some sleep and everything else:

as-of-yet untitled painting, 12"x9", oil on linen, by Yours Truly, Diane Feissel.

ACOPAL.

2011-05-26T19:40:00.003-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I may have witnessed the most impressive gathering in one single location of the artwork of more living, talented representational artists than I have seen in a heck of a long time. Though it is on view only very briefly (May 17-28), if you’re near NYC you have this great opportunity to view the inaugural exhibition of the American artists who were invited to exhibit as a part of ACOPAL (America China Oil Painting Artists League) at the National Arts Club, plus the work of the three winners of an international painting competition held by this newly-formed organization. It was definitely an extravaganza of awesomeness… it’s difficult to even start mentioning the names of participants whose work was included, because I know I’ll leave out someone else’s work which was equally amazing. I’ll still highlight a few things, though - including the following, one of my favorite pieces in the show:

Portrait of the Artist's Wife, by Joshua LaRock

Also: there were paintings by Daniel Sprick and Michael Grimaldi, both amazing artists – and YAY, I will be taking workshops with both gentlemen this coming summer. Yipeee!! Speaking of workshops, one of the 3 winners in the ACOPAL competition was the fabulous Michelle Tully of Studio Escalier, where I was fortunate to study for month-long stints in 2007 and 2008. She’s an amazing painter and an amazing teacher, and a truly great person – I was so happy to see her painting get some props, and to see how great it looked in person! Even though online images don’t completely do justice to the original, I will still post it, below:

JMP2 by Nicole Michelle Tully

Also: A shout-out to my former home state of North Carolina, home to the dynamic duo of Scott Burdick and Sue Lyon, who were represented in the show! Here’s an image of Sue’s painting:

Painting by Susan Lyon

Also: A shout-out to my current home state of Pennsylvania, and the amazing Anthony Waichulis of Ani Art Academy. Here I am with Anthony and his painting, with a look of “OMG AMAZING PAINTING RIGHT HERE” on my face. He’s a super-great guy with crazy-amazing painting skills:

Me and Anthony Waichulis

In short: ACOPAL! = GREAT!

Rejection.

2011-05-22T22:54:00.001-04:00

A couple of paintings of mine were not accepted (in other words: rejected!) for an upcoming portrait and figurative show (insert sad face here)... so I guess I'll just exhibit them here! Sigh. One of them is a painting I posted in an earlier draft-y form in this post; I worked on it some more since then, and here it is:

leaving California (1), oil on linen, 12"x9", 2011 by me, Diane Feissel

The second is a painting of one of my favorite people to paint, fellow painter and friend Juliette Lemontey:

leaving California (2), oil on linen, 12"x9", 2011, by me, Diane Feissel

Alas, you can't win them all. But you can keep painting! Painting until your hand falls off... or until you finish the 8,000 paintings you have in progress (I may be speaking for myself here).

PAFA ASE!

2011-05-15T15:07:00.000-04:00

Last Friday evening a friend and I went to check out the Annual Student Exhibition (or "ASE") at the venerable Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (or "PAFA") right here in Philadelphia. This event constitutes a Big Deal here in our fair city of brotherly love, as this represents the work of the best and brightest products of the institution known far and wide as this nation's oldest fine art museum and school. Pomp! Publicity! Prizes! And, hopefullly most importantly, Art.

While there was a great amount of work on display, from not only the 3rd and 4th year certificate program and BFA students but also the MFA student body - therefore making for an interesting but slightly overwhelming viewing session - I have selected out a few of the pieces which grabbed me upon first viewing to mention here. First off was Alabama native Christina Weaver, whose wall of work centered on paintings and charcoal drawings of bridal gowns. While bridal gowns wouldn't normally strike me as a compelling subject, the artist's superior painting and drawing skills, paint handling, use of composition all conbined with spooky atmospheric effect of the works made her wall immediately eye-catching. Here's one of the paintings:

Brides and Accessories, 49"x35", oil on canvas, by Christina Weaver

Another series of pieces which stood out for me were a series of eye paintings (how curious that I would be drawn to eye paintings, ha) by artist Mark B. Goodson. The idea behind the paintings is that they are "The Critical Eye of PAFA," in other words, close-ups of the eyes of all of the faculty critics in the MFA program. See them all at this link on Mark B. Goodson's website or see this one below as an example:

The Critical eye of PAFA 2010 - a series of 12 paintings

(this one above is of Tom Csaszar)

2010, oil on canvas, each panel (as above) 6"x 12"

by Mark B. Goodson

The last series of pieces which struck me as memorable were graphite drawings on illustration board by Karen David, an MFA student for whom I can unfortunately find no website (so I'll have to post my crappy photos from my crappy camera). They were delicately rendered and utterly disturbing in a kind of 1920s Dada-ist vein, but wonderfully so - here are photos of her work taken by me, a terrible photographer with a terrible camera:

Drawings by artist Karen David

There was, of course, much more to the show... this guy's work, and this guy, for example, etc. etc., but, as I mentioned, so much work quickly became visual overload. And I don't want to have blog post overload either! So that's all I'm posting. If you're in the Philadelphia area, go check out the show yourself, it's up until June 8th. Check out http://www.pafa.org/.

Time to go get some painting of my own done, people! Peace out.

Mission: acquisition!

2011-05-13T14:58:00.002-04:00

Much as I had done in this previous post, I wanted to take a moment to gush about yet more recent art acquisitions in the (very lucky) Feissel household! Yay! The week before last John and I acquired two pieces from two of the artists from the Charleston, South Carolina “Women Painting Women” expedition last November – one is a sketch done of me during that trip by Linda Tracey Brandon, an Arizona-based painter:

Me, all happy with Linda's sketch

…the other is a painting also done on that trip by Alabama painter Terry Strickland, of the beach behind our rented house on Sullivan’s Island:

Painting of beach at Sullivan's Island by Terry Strickland

It’s so great to have these pieces by these amazing artists, and to have the memories of that great week in SC!!! Booyeah!!!!

Dacia Gallery opening! A brief review in pictures.

2011-05-11T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hey there, so I mentioned in this previous blog post that I was going to have some paintings in a group landscape show in NYC this month. John and I toddled up to the opening reception this past Saturday, and it was great - lots of things happening on the lower east side this weekend in particular and these days in general - lots and lots of galleries, restaurants, and generally cool places to hang out. John and I tried this tea place/eatery called "Teany" and we highly recommend it, if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood (checking out my work in Dacia Gallery, of course. Haha.) Anyway, here are a couple of photos from the show...

Dacia Gallery owner Lee Vasu addressing the gallery visitors

Dacia Gallery! Check it out.

Some critics discuss my painting of Alex in the Irish landscape (critics = friend and fellow Philadelphia painter David Campbell Wilson, and John)

Check out the show if you have a chance! It's up through May 28.

Drawing group.

2011-05-10T13:27:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been going to this really awesome drawing group here in Philly at the studio of painter/sculptor Angela Cunningham. Here's a sketch from last week's session - I'm trying to decide whether I will try to do a painting of this same pose over the next 3 weeks of this pose... hmmm.

sketch of model, 4 hours, charcoal and white chalk on toned paper

PSoA.

2011-05-10T00:41:00.000-04:00

I'm about ready to turn in the brushes for the night, but first, let me post a couple of quick pics from the Portrait Society of America conference from last weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. Good times! Good people! Great sessions with some great artists. All around a great event, I'm glad I joined the Society and happy to have attended the conference and met some wonderful people. Next year the conference will be held right here in my own backyard (so to speak), in Philadelphia, PA. Hurray!

Painters! L-R: Alia El-Bermani, Susan Lyon, Sadie Valeri, me

More painters! L-R: Alexandra Tyng, Terry Strickland, me.

Yet more painters! L-R, back row first: Sadie Valeri, me, Terry Strickland, Alia El-Bermani, Cindy Procious.

Painting by Tony Ryder from the "Face Off" portrait painting competition

My favorite piece from Atlanta's High Museum, the last painting by artist Joseph De Camp.

Painters and sculptors! L-R: Amy Kann, Alia El-Bermani, Anne Nelson Sweat, Amy Lind, Terry Strickland, Lea Colie Wight, Mardie Rees, me, Alexandra Tyng.

(this photo courtesy of Anne Nelson Sweat).

Dacia, dahhling.

2011-05-05T21:27:00.000-04:00

I have a ton of things I want to blog about – including last weekend’s Portrait Society of America conference in Atlanta, GA - but first I want to mention that I will have three paintings in a landscape show at Dacia Gallery in NYC this month. The opening reception is this coming Saturday, May 7 from 6-10pm; if you are in Manhattan, please stop by and say hello!

Here’s one of the paintings which will be in the show:

the high road, oil on panel, 16”x20’, by me, Diane Feissel.

Connecting with Disconnect.

2011-04-17T08:42:00.000-04:00

The most incredibly great thing just came to us in the mail - the following painting by mind-blowingly amazing Pennsylvania painter Josh Suda:

Disconnected, oil on panel, 12"x16", by Josh Suda

I don't know how to say it more plainly: I LOOOOVE this painting. It's simply incredible, even more so in person. And it's mine now!!! Hooray!!!

Check out more of Josh's work at the Broad Street Studio website or at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.

Vision to Hand.

2011-04-15T09:25:00.000-04:00

I've been super-lax on the blog posts lately, been busy painting and seeing paintings and thinking about paintings. But not writing about paintings, apparently! Haha. Anyway, more soon - just wanted to quickly mention this blog post by painter Matthew Innis on Alexandra Tyng's painting of me, entitled Vision to Hand, which recently received a Certificate of Excellence from the Portrait Society of America. Check out the piece at this link: http://underpaintings.blogspot.com/2011/04/psoa-certificate-of-excellence.html.

Vision to Hand (Diane Feissel), oil on linen, 36" x 28"
by Alexandra Tyng

Sprick in the spring.

2011-03-21T23:20:00.008-04:00

Hello there! Spring is finally here, and my chilly fingers are thawing out and here to bring you some more blog-related goodness. The latest: a quick trip up to NYC (again), this time to re-visit the Sorolla murals at the Hispanic Society with friend and fellow painter Alia El-Bermani, and to check out some gallery shows, including the opening for the Daniel Sprick exhibition at Arcadia Fine Arts. Here's a quick photo recap:

Artist friends Greg Baldwin and Alia El-Bermani in front of the Sorolla murals at the Hispanic Society

Time, 12"x12" oil on panel painting by Justin Taylor, found at Eleanor Ettinger's gallery location in Chelsea

Man in Profile, oil on panel, 5"x7", by Zack Zdrale, also found at Eleanor Ettinger

I finally got to see a painting by Lucong in person - this one is Tabitha #8, oil on panel, 18"x18", found at Gallery Henoch

This one is a David Kassan piece - Artist's Mother, oil on paper on panel, 25" x 24", also found at Gallery Henoch

We ended the trip with the opening of Daniel Sprick's show "Flesh and Bone" at Arcadia Fine Arts - a combination of mind-blowingly good still lifes, figurative paintings and interior scenes.

It figures.

2011-03-09T23:32:00.000-05:00

Hey there! Here are some figurative paint sketches I've done lately:

OMG NYC FTW!

2011-03-07T21:16:00.001-05:00

Along with everyone else, their brother, their Mom, their dog and their 50 closest friends, John and I went to the Armory show in NYC on Saturday. Boy, was it packed. Yikes! Before we headed to the Armory we actually went to Pulse first, mostly to check out my former studiomate Michelle Muldrow's work at the booth for Jen Bekman projects:

Delirium, 10" x 20", casein on clay panel, by Michelle Muldrow

Great stuff! Pulse was definitely more manageable size-wise than the Armory... and out of the eight thousand million gazillion booths at the Armory, I can easily narrow down my magical favorite moments to just a couple of pieces:

I got to see a painting by British artist Justin Mortimer, at the booth for Mihai Nicodim Gallery - amazing in person.

I can't believe I had never heard of this artist before, a Belgian artist named Michaël Borremans

This is only the second time I've seen a Kehinde Wiley in person...

And here are some other works in the show:

This one really spoke to me.

Fabricate, emulate, the truth dilate, special date

2011-03-03T16:34:00.005-05:00

Hey Internets, I'll be showing some of my series of paintings on printed fabric (entitled "fabrication") right in my own backyard, so to speak - more specifically, at a neighborhood cafe: Rocket Cat! Yes, it's the same Rocket Cat Cafe mentioned in this previous blog post of mine - the one with the Shepard Fairey mural on it. So, Rocket Cat will have Fairey on the outside, and Feissel on the inside! It's a big faireyfeissel sandwich! Sort of. Anyway, if you're remotely in the vicinity of Philadelphia and especially if you reside in Fishtown, you simply must come out to celebrate tomorrow night, First Friday, March 4, 2011, from 6-9pm. You must.

As you will see from this post on the Frankford Avenue Arts Corridor website, there's a ton of other great stuff happening in the neighborhood tomorrow night as well - come on out to play, people! It's almost spring! Whoo!!

duck duck duck duck duck duck duck GOOSE, oil on printed fabric, 24"x30" by me, Diane Feissel

Building an arc.

2011-02-25T20:44:00.000-05:00

Oh MAN, I can't believe I forgot the painting below when I wrote this post, trying to compile a list of my longtime favorite paintings... I absolutely adore this painting, and could linger in front of it for hours. Lucky for me, it's only 100 miles away from my adoring eyes, at the Met up in NYC:

Joan of Arc, oil on canvas, 1879, 100" x 110", by Jules Bastien-Lepage

Mmmmm. I love those naturalist painters, yessir I do.

Fairey ironic?

2011-02-24T19:42:00.002-05:00

Ok, this one is a case which has me very, very torn, not unlike the issue of the moving of the Barnes Foundation from Merion, PA into Philadelphia... anyway, here's the deal: last year street artist Shepard Fairey created a mural on the side of Rocket Cat Cafe, a couple of blocks away from our home in Fishtown. Recently, however, I noticed that another street artist tagged the mural... and now someone is working painstakingly to remove the tag (see the article at this link). Now, to me, it seems kind of ironic and only natural, in a way, that one work of street art (or, as it is sometimes known, "graffiti") would be covered up by another... the fact that someone is taking the trouble to remove the newer tag, in my mind, raises all sorts of interesting questions about the value we place on particular instances of "street art," or any art, really, over any other piece of art - why is Shepard Fairey's art deemed conservation-worthy and the other "artist's" work not? Is it because he's famous? Because someone paid money to have the mural painted? Because it's "better" art than the tag which followed? Why is the tag not simply allowed to be a part of the work, a "street work" in progress? If we were to apply the same judgment to Fairey's work as to the subsequent tagger, would Fairey's work ever be as valued as it is? Because long before he did the Obama "Hope" poster and all that, Fairey was just another tagger himself, in a sense, putting his art up on property which didn't belong to him? Anyway, I don't have all the answers, but I'd be curious as to what others think of this whole issue. It frankly has me stumped, and somewhat amused...

Me, in front of the Shepard Fairey mural outside Rocket Cat, months before the tagging

(photo taken by the lovely and amazing Alison Overton)

PSC encore.

2011-02-23T11:42:00.001-05:00

Went to a presentation last night at the Philadelphia Sketch Club by painter Paul DuSold. He gave a preview of his new DVD on portrait painting, produced with the help of fellow painter David Shevlino, whose own DVD I discussed in this post. In his portrait-painting approach, he prefers a limited palette, works on the painting from light to dark after laying in the initial tonal range (which I found interesting, I always work in the opposite direction), and emphasizes the two main painting issues as that of tone and temperature - which seems a simple breakdown until you try painting! You can see a demo/talk he gave on Sargent's method of portrait painting at this link.

Arthur DeCosta, oil on canvas, 46"x36", by Paul DuSold

NYC art lessons!

2011-02-22T14:20:00.000-05:00

Hey - for anyone who is looking for a really good, private art instructor in NYC, you should try Reiner Hansen, a fellow artist who has just relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area: http://reinerhansen.com

Here's an example of instructor Reiner Hansen's work:

The Seed, oil on panel, 2003, 8" x 10", by Reiner Hansen

Love and death, and painting.

2011-02-13T21:00:00.003-05:00

For some reason, I was thinking recently about the paintings that I’ve looooved for years, the paintings that grabbed my attention as a youth and really stuck with me – sometimes to the point of making a special pilgrimage to see them in person. The leading ones are the three below… and I only just realized, upon collecting these images, what a seriously gruesome group of paintings this makes. Am I really that morbid? Yikes.

David Holding the Head of Goliath, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, oil on canvas, 1610, 49”x40” (at the Galleria Borghese)

La Mort de Marat (The Death of Marat), Jacques-Louis David, oil on canvas, 1793, 64”x50” (at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels)

Ophelia, John Everett Millais, oil on canvas, 1851-1852, oil on canvas, 30”x44” (at the Tate Britain in London)

For those who are keeping track, that's a body count of three (although I guess there's no actual Goliath body in the Caravaggio one, is there? So maybe that one doesn't count...?).

Boy, I was a weird kid.

Mindblown.

2011-02-12T09:59:00.002-05:00

Okay, Internets. Are you ready? I have to share with you something that blew my mind the other day when I saw it at this link:

Richard (detail), oil on canvas, 28"x26", work in-progress (as of 2/1/11) by artist Jacob Collins

For real, it blew my mind. Jacob Collins has serious painting chops. If you have any interest in studying with this guy, get your butt down to the Grand Central Academy of Art, post-haste.

Sigh. Back to the easel.

Narcissiste!

2011-02-06T21:43:00.002-05:00

When I was showing some of these paintings in Paris back in 2005, a French man came through the show, came up to me, and said "Narcissiste!" It was a comment on the fact that all of the paintings were paintings of myself (well, yes! I'm a cheap and readily available model), which apparently was the leading symptom in the diagnosis. So, now that we've established that I'm a raging narcissist, let's talk some more about me, shall we? More specifically, a recent acquisition of a painting of me by another artist - woot!

Maine artist David Graeme Baker was in the city this weekend for a show at Artists' House Gallery here in Philadelphia. I am super-pleased to share with you a painting of me by David from waaaaay back 15 years ago, done in 1996 and featuring some vintage Diane:

Diane Rollins, oil on panel, 1996 by David Graeme Baker

Yay! It was good to see it again. And by the way, if you haven't checked out David's work at Artists' House Gallery,you should do so this month! You can also find his stuff in NYC at Gallery Henoch, or in Maine at Courthouse Gallery.

But wait, there's more! I'm not done gushing about other artists' paintings of meeeeee... Philadelphia artist Alexandra Tyng recently completed this painting, which I absolutely luuuuuurve:

Vision to Hand, oil on canvas, 36"x26", by Alexandra Tyng

This painting was done in the wake of the Women Painting Women expedition to Charleston, SC last November... which is where this sketch of me was done by Arizona artist Linda Tracey Brandon:

Sketch of me by Linda Tracey Brandon

And I know I've posted these before, but let's revisit these other works of me by awesome friends/artists:

Diane with Kitten, oil on panel, 20" x 16", by Alia El-Bermani

And this:

Pastel painting by Philadelphia artist Scott Noel

I know I'm being silly about the whole narcissism thing... maybe. But really, I'm super-honored to have sat for all of the above excellent artists, and find it really fun to see the various interpretations of my Self by other artists. Cooool.

And, since it's all about ME, I'll throw in a recent sketch of ME by ME :

sketch: leaving California, 2011, oil on linen, 10"x8", by ME.

Haha. Enough about me. So, do you want to paint me? Let's talk about that.

Charleston revisited.

2011-02-03T12:25:00.001-05:00

Hey, I keep forgetting to post a video which was created by Charleston Today back when we were on the Women Painting Women expedition in Charleston last November... whoever shot the video of painters painting in the Charleston Fine Art Dealers Association's Painting in the Park event that chilly Saturday caught a couple of us Women Painting Women painters, including myself, Shannon Runquist, and Katherine Stone. They captured me at different stages of creating this painting, take a look at the following link:

Charleston Art Today video

Cold weather = staying indoors and painting.

2011-01-27T12:30:00.001-05:00

What better way to spend the long winter months than hunkered indoors inhaling paint fumes? Right? Of course. Here are some paint sketches I've done over the past month, in addition to working on some commissioned paintings and some projects of my own:

sketch: jl, pink kimono, 2010, oil on paper

sketch: jw, kimono, 2011, oil on canvas panel

The following are a couple of sketches I did back when the weather was still condusive to outdoor painting:

quick color sketch of a tree in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC (from November, actually)

sketch: bridge in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC

More soon once I have some better photos of what I've been working on!

Eye sketch.

2011-01-17T20:23:00.000-05:00

Here's one of many recent paint sketches I've done:

eye (m.b.), oil on panel, 2010, 8"x8"

Christmas commission.

2011-01-09T22:29:00.001-05:00

Hey! I've been busy painting and such - one thing I was working on before the Christmas holiday was a commissioned painting of a sweet little dog - here it is:

Millie, oil on panel, 14"x11", 2010

More soon!

New year's elf.

2011-01-01T20:51:00.001-05:00

Spent the first part of the new year with our cousin, hat-building. Here are the results:

2011.

2010-12-31T16:32:00.001-05:00

Yeeesh, that sounds like a science fiction movie: 2011. Or a zombie movie where the undead roam desolate, urban streets in a quest for braaaaaains. Instead, it is merely our future, as of tomorrow: 2011! Let's embrace it, shall we?

Well, Libby is not quite on board with that...

But I, dear reader, wish you all the best in 2011 and hope you have a lovely and safe new year's celebration... I'll be posting some more on my recent painting activity in the new year! (Finally! Jeeez.)

HueyArt.

2010-11-29T20:28:00.000-05:00

Still feeling inarticulate regarding the passing of our little buddy Huey... so allow me to speak through images instead, namely the various paintings I've done which were inspired by Huey's cuteness:

I did the following pencil sketches on Saturday 11/27/10, our last day with Huey:

The one's a ballpoint pen sketch of his cute widdle feet:

Huey: beloved pet, devoted friend, excellent art model.

Huey.

2010-11-28T20:45:00.001-05:00

I'm completely at a loss as to how to adequately eulogize our phenomenal cat Huey who passed away today. Maybe in the next couple of days I'll post something, but in the meantime I'll steal the words of my husband (Huey's "cat dad") in posting this:

Obituary:

On Sunday, November 28th, and approximately 1:15 pm, Huey, our beloved cat, passed away as a result of chronic kidney failure. He was our sweet little boy, and we will miss him dearly. If there ever was an instance of innocence and tenderness incarnate, he was it. A creampuff of an angel. Good-bye, my sweet boy. Words will never express how much we love you, and how much we will miss you.

Huey Feissel

1997(?) - 2010

our sweet boy.

"Women Painting Women" Paintings...

2010-11-27T22:15:00.000-05:00

The following two paintings of mine are in the "Women Painting Women" exhibition - on exhibit until the end of this month - at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, SC; both paintings have sold, yay!

fenêtre, 2010, oil on canvas, 16"x20"

penitence, 2010, oil on linen, 11"x14"
(both paintings by me, Diane Feissel)

Art all over the place.

2010-11-20T11:48:00.002-05:00

Hey! Just wanted to let you know that a couple of my landscape paintings will be out there in the world tonight, trying to raise some funds for two great arts organizations!! I have a painting in the silent auction at the 9th Annual Collector's Gala, a benefit for Artspace in Raleigh, NC:

backroads twilight - NC, 2009, oil on linen, 8” x 10”

by me, Diane Feissel

I also have two plein air paintings from rural France in the 9th Annual Legacy Show and Art Sale to benefit the programs of the Philadelphia Sketch Club:

path 1 (Argenton-Château, France), 2007, oil on panel, 7"x5"

by me, Diane Feissel

path 1 (Argenton-Château, France), 2007, oil on panel, 7"x5"
by me, Diane Feissel

If you're in Philadelphia or Raleigh, get on out there and support two wonderful arts organizations that provide great support for us artists!!

Women Painting Women/On Expedition in Charleston, SC!

2010-11-19T22:41:00.005-05:00

The South Carolina WPW trip - part deux!

The WPW crew being HARDCORE! Painting at 9am the morning of the opening reception for the show

So even in the midst of the excitement surrounding the "Women Painting Women" show at Robert Lange Studios, 12 of us painters decided we were going to take a week and paint like crazy. Paint paint paint! It was a blast - we went in on a rental house on Sullivan's Island, just across the way from Charleston, SC, and planned a week of plein air painting and painting from the model at a variety of locations, including Magnolia Cemetery, Magnolia Plantation, the marshes at Shem Creek, various marshes around Sullivan's Island and the Isle of Palms, downtown Charleston, and the home of the lovely and amazing Charleston painter and WPW show participant Shannon Runquist. Phew - that's a lot of painting!

The whole group painting from the model

Rachel Constantine and Katherine Stone painting at Magnolia Plantation

Sadie Valeri's painting and setup in downtown Charleston, in Philadelphia Alley

Sadie Valeri and her painting at Magnolia Cemetery

Alia El-Bermani and her painting at Magnolia Cemetery

A whole group of us painting at the home of Charleston artist Shannon Runquist

Catherine Prescott painting in Magnolia Cemetery

Painting at the house on Sullivan's Island

Cindy Procious' sweet painting setup on the beach at Sullivan's Island

Beach painting - Sullivan's Island

Stefani Tewes and her painting

Linda even found volunteer models amongst the others in the house...

Linda Brandon drawing Alia El-Bermani

Linda's sketch of me - done in about 45 minutes!!

As the week progressed, the number of paintings stacked up, and we overflowed the original designated drying area for paintings... art everywhere!! So fun and interesting to see everyone's work as we tackled the landscape and figure in different locations and different times of day...

paintings...

more paintings...

yet more paintings...

whoa yes, more paintings...

So! Many! Paintings!

In addition to all the painting we had planned for ourselves, a group of us also signed on for the Charleston Fine Art Dealers' Association's (CFADA) Painting in the Park event at Washington Park in downtown Charleston at 9am that first very chilly Saturday morning!! We bundled ourselves up and painted our fingers off (nearly literally - it was cold!) and made paintings to be auctioned off that evening to benefit Charleston public school system high school art programs.

Me and my painting of St. Michael's Episcopal church's steeple at the "four corners of law" in downtown Charleston

My painting, all framed up and ready for the auction...

Mia Bergeron painting artist Stanka Kordic in Washington Park

Linda Tracey Brandon painting artist Stanka Kordic in Washington Park

But lest you think, dear reader, that this whole week was all work and no play, please know that there was MUCH fun to be had at the WPW house... and much great food to be eaten!! Between group dinners at the house, side trips to art shows and generous hosting (including a magnificent oyster roast) at the hands of Shannon Runquist, the WPW crew were well-fed both nutritionally and spiritually by great food, conversation and art (though possibly not well-rested - it was a very busy and exciting week!)

Oyster roast!!! Thanks to Shannon Runquist for her incredible hospitality!!!

Linda Tracey Brandon, Alexandra Tyng and Terry Strickland at the home of Shannon Runquist

Alia El-Bermani shucking oysters at Shannon Runquist's

Rachel Constantine making an amazing brownie cake for Cindy Procious' birthday

We were also fortunate to be in a great town with tons of great art - so we eagerly took advantage of opportunities to check out other shows in town, including the amazing Mary Whyte watercolors at Coleman Fine Art:

Artist Mario Robinson with his work at Ann Long Fine Art

Mia Bergeron admiring work by Robert Liberace at M Gallery

A ton of talent here: l-r, artists Stanka Kordic, Mario Robinson, Mark Kelvin Horton and Shannon Runquist at Horton Hayes Fine Art

What an amazing week - one of the best I've experienced in a long time! Great company, great talent, completely inspiring and amazing group of people. I want to go back!

Alexandra Tyng and Catherine Prescott

Alex Tyng, Terry Strickland, Mia Bergeron, Alia El-Bermani, Cindy Procious, Linda Brandon

Kate Stone and Alia El-Bermani

Linda Brandon and Mia Bergeron

I love these guys!

What an amazing trip!! Sigh.

P.S. You can read my fellow WPW on expedition participants' blog entries as well - they've been gathered at the following link:

http://womenpaintingwomen.blogspot.com/p/on-expedition.html

Women Painting Women/Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, SC!

2010-11-15T21:33:00.004-05:00

Wow. How to cover the events of the last week and a half? I don’t have a sufficient supply of adjectives to describe the whole experience – I’ve just been saying “amazing” and “awesome” so frequently of late that I kind of want to slap myself. Most of all, though, I just feel super-duper lucky to have spent time in a gorgeous city, as part of work in a gorgeous show at a gorgeous gallery and to paint for a week with 11 gorgeous, talented and wickedly fun fellow painters.

I think in order to wrap my head around the entirety of the experience of the last 1 ½ weeks, I’ll have to start with the “Women Painting Women” group exhibition at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston and then in a future post I’ll have to address the subsequent “Women Painting Women” painting expedition wherein a sub-set of 12 of us artists who went in on a week-long beach house rental on Sullivan’s Island and painted up a storm. So, without further ado…

What a show!!!

50+ female figurative artists, all with incredible skills, all bringing their unique spin on the depiction of the female figure. There were so many amazing works, it would be hard to point to any one to call it my favorite… and as a bonus, many of the artists were able to make it in for the show – from California, from Illinois, from Ohio, from Arizona, from Oklahoma! We even had the work of some international artists – Scotland, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden were all represented with some truly beautiful work.

It was a sort of dream come true for the three of us who have contributed to the “Women Painting Women” blog, posting stellar figurative works by outstanding female artists in the hopes that somewhere out there in the virtual world, *someone* was taking notice of all of these talented (but often under-recognized) artists out there around the globe. This exhibition and the buzz which surrounded the exhibition mounted by Robert Lange Studios were really incredible validation of the need for exposure for all of this amazing talent. Here is a link to some of the great press the show has received, due to the efforts of Robert Lange Studios and fellow WPW founder Alia El-Bermani:
http://womenpaintingwomen.blogspot.com/p/press.html

Artists Stanka Kordic (at left) and Shannon Runquist (center)

The gallery has a great record of photos of opening night, which was PACKED. They wisely planned the whole event to coincide with the Charleston Fine Art Dealers' Association’s Annual “Fine Art Weekend” event, so the visual art scene in the city was definitely sizzling and crackling with energy (picture a strip of bacon here. I mean that in the most delicious way possible). The visiting artists in the show were warmly greeted not only by surprising numbers of art lovers in Charleston, but also by the wonderful and extremely talented artists represented by Robert Lange Studios... you can see a list of them at this link.

l-r: Cindy Procious, Rachel Constantine, Mia Bergeron, Linda Tracey Brandon, Sadie Valeri, and Kerry Brooks

I’m going to leave you with some photos of the artists with their work… it was such an enormous exhibit – really, museum-scale – that it’s difficult to record it in its entirety. Robert Lange Studios did post this video walk-through which is a rough approximation of the live experience, though.

Click here for a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SaCwrXEAKM

And here are some of the artists with their paintings:

l-r: Katherine Stone, Diane Feissel, and Rachel Constantine

Stefani Tewes

More soon on the painting expedition on Sullivan's Island... 12 painters? 1 house? No problem!

Doing the Charleston.

2010-11-02T20:38:00.000-04:00

Most of my energy over the past week or so has been turned toward getting ready for the Women Painting Women exhibition and painting retreat this week and next in Charleston, South Carolina. The show - which features 50 women painters working figuratively - promises to be an amazing event! And I'm really looking forward to a week of painting the South Carolina landscape with 11 other of my fellow artists.The weekend before last, fellow painter and "Women Painting Women" contributor Alia El-Bermani and I had a sneak peek at some of the works in the show as we travelled down to Charleston to drop off our work (and that of fellow exhibition artist and Philadelphia painter Abby Heller-Burnham). Only a small fraction of the works in the show were there in the gallery and uncrated - but already we could tell it's going to be one hell of a great show!! Here's a sneak peek (and more at this link):

I'd like to give a shout-out to Charleston artist Shannon Runquist for her kindness and hospitality in showing Alia and I around the area, so that we might have an idea of what spots we'd like to paint in the coming week. Also, Charleston artist Hilarie Lambert is kindly hosting several of the artists coming into town for the opening reception on Friday, November 5. They're the living example of Southern hospitality!

More updates will come over the next week and a half - expect lots of photos to be posted here and on "Women Painting Women." Of course there has also been much press about the exhibition, which can be found at this link. And for a great interview about the work of one of the artists taking part in the exhibition, Alia El-Bermani, please listen to the interview she gave on the radio show "Triad Arts Up Close" in conjunction with a show at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art. It's a great interview, and Alia is excellent at articulating her intent in her work; she also speaks specifically about one of the paintings which is on exhibit in the "Women Painting Women" exhibition, entitled Simbi (see below) - it's definitely worth a listen.

Simbi, oil on canvas, 2007, 28"x22", by Alia El-Bermani.

Stay tuned!

Frankly, Mr. Shanks.

2010-10-21T19:19:00.001-04:00

Hey, how did I miss this feature in Friday Arts on WHYY about Studio Incamminati? Duh! Check it out!

Watch the full episode. See more Friday Arts.

More can be found at this link.
There's also a little extra video about Nelson Shanks' portrait of Princess Diana at this link.

A post about POST.

2010-10-20T21:31:00.002-04:00

I'm backtracking a bit here, doing some coverage from the weekend-before-last - Open Studios in Philadelphia! Or, the second weekend thereof. Previously I've only witnessed the Open Studio deal back out in San Francisco, where I participated for maybe 6 or 7 years or so. Here in Philadelphia, it is organized similarly, with the production of a comprehensive guide and the schedule of studio openings divided amongst the different neighborhoods - Philly only covers two weekends, however, by splitting the city in half, whereas San Francisco divides the city into four sections and takes up the whole month of October. So, in this case, the second weekend of Open Studios covered the neighborhoods east of Broad Street... which, if you look at a map of Philadelphia, is a pretty broad area! (pun intended) so, i didn't get very far. But I did get to see some great stuff at 915 Spring Garden Studios - here's a bit of what's there:

-The incomparable Amy Kann! Sculptor extraordinaire, who tackles - among many other projects - the extremely difficult task of bas-relief sculpture, and has won many awards for her efforts... I know from personal experience that relief is a unique challenge, and Amy handles it superbly. Please check out her website here: www.amykann.com.

Amy Kann's bas-relief of painter Rachel Constantine

- Insanely cool and intriguing artist Brooke Hine, who is creating amazing sculptures and ceramic pieces - some of which include cat whiskers!! She promises that the cat whiskers are ones that have already come off the cat... no tweezing involved. Promise.

One of Brooke Hine's zany and awesome ceramic creations

- The greatest surprise? Andrea Mihalik's studio: "Wild Chairy", where she refurbishes and reupholsters antique chairs, making crazy and beautiful creations which I covet dearly - please check out her website at the following link: http://www.wildchairy.com/.

A fabulously refurbished chair from Andrea Mihalik of Wild Chairy

- Sculptor Stephen Layne is in this building, but sadly was not open for Open Studios. His work is definitely worth taking a look at, check it out!

A detail of the sculpture "Philadelphia" by Stephen Layne

Other artists to check out at 915 Spring Garden Studios:

Donna Backues
Patrick Crofton
Susan O'Reilly
Kaitlin Pomerantz
Robert Couch
The Sleepwalkers Collective
Charles Newman

As mentioned, the scope of this particular weekend of Open Studios was so vast that I couldn't hit everything... I definitely spent some quality time at the studio of the lovely and talented Rachel Constantine, and even managed to get a print of one of my favorite drawings of hers... yesssss!!!!!. She also has prints available of a couple of her wonderful paintings, including this, this and this.

Michaela, drawing by Rachel Constantine - available as a museum-quality print

I also made a brief stop at Part Time Studios, up in Fishtown. I fell in love with the following painting, by Kyle Fisher:

“Delicates”, acrylic on birch, 19"×28", 2010, by Kyle Fisher.

In summation: Philly! Art! Yay!

It's the principle of the thing.

2010-10-17T22:25:00.004-04:00

There has been much art-related goodness around of late, I'm just woefully behind on posting about it. I still haven't gotten around to downloading from my brain what I soaked in at the second week of Philly’s Open Studios. But in the meantime, I'm just back from the D.C. area, where I saw a most fantabulous show in Alexandria, VA at Principle Gallery: the artists from Broad Street Studio, Jason John, Josh Suda and Brian Martin. Incredible show! Amazing skills! And good people. Part of what I like about this group is that not only are they sporting some serious technical chops, but they also seem to have found their own unique voice and vision, that which brings a fresh and modern angle to the realist scene. Not that I don't have complete respect for some of the hardcore classical realists out there today – it's just that sometimes I need to see a little more in a painting than a deftly rendered lady lounging in her birthday suit, y'know? Anyhow, here are some samples of the work of the Broad Street Studio crew:

Hyperfocus, 14" x 11", oil on panel by Jason John

Birth, 10.5" x 10", oil on panel by Joshua Suda

The Approach, 9" x 12", oil on panel by Brian Martin

phillyphotos

2010-10-13T21:44:00.002-04:00

Some shots around town... nobody does urban decay quite like Philly! So charmingly...

I just read an article about the recent sale and development plans for this building at 12th and Vine - no more broken windows! Hopefully.

Don't forget your Ex-Lax.

The view from the 915 Spring Garden artist studios building.

Even Philly gets the blues

Women blogging about Women Painting Women.

2010-10-07T16:32:00.006-04:00

Excitement is building for the Women Painting Women show this November at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, SC! Charleston Art Magazine has an article in its October issue, and has put show participant Terry Strickland's art in the cover! Robert Lange Studios has also put up a "sneak peek" link to the work which will be exhibited in the show, at this link. Also, here are links to participating artists' blog posts about the show:

Candice Bohannon Reyes
Terry Strickland
Alexandra Tyng
Alia El-Bermani
Sadie Valeri
Amy Lind

Candice Bohannon's powerful painting Dementia, 2008, oil on panel, 38" x 48"

More soon!

Plein Air for Camphill.

2010-10-06T23:30:00.001-04:00

Last night I checked out the exhibition "Plein Air for Camphill" at Rosenfeld Gallery. The exhibition is a benefit for Camphill Special School, a school for youth with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Glenmoore, PA; a portion of proceeds from sale of works benefits Camphill's education and care for children with special needs. Cool, huh? The majority of work at the exhibit was created on-site at a day-long plein air art-making event this past August at the school. There were over 50 artists represented, so there was a lot of great work (and a ton of people at the opening!) – here's but a tiny sample:

Apple Tree Three, 11" x 14", oil on panel, by Stephanie Lieberman

Fairview Road, 15” x 16.5”, oil on panel, by David Shevlino

Shed, Woods and View, 14" x 18", oil on linen, by Alexandra Tyng

Women Painting Women Exhibition!

2010-10-05T23:18:00.005-04:00

Please click on the hypertext for the latest update on the "Women Painting Women" exhibition at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, South Carolina this November. I'm really thrilled to be a part of this exhibition, and excited to see the show in its entirety! The image below is of one of the paintings included in the exhibition:

Voice of the Tiger, 33" x 32" oil on canvas, by artist Terry Strickland.

PhiladelphiARToverload.

2010-10-04T20:54:00.015-04:00

Whoa! It's been a good week for cramming in art-related things. Besides working on my own painting - which is an ongoing, never-ending lifetime project - I've had some great art encounters this past week.

• Number one: Bambi! (A gallery here in Philadelphia in the Piazza) It never fails to delight. This past time around, I caught the very tail end of the show "Lil Pus" by Joseph Hasenauer - an absolutely awesomely silly series of women hanging out with... an octopus. Ha ha. I loved the idea and the paintings so much, that I bought a print (more within my price range than an original painting, sad to say.) This isn't the print I bought, but it's a good example of the series:

A painting by Joseph Hasenauer from his "Lil' 'pus" show at Bambi Gallery

• Eggs! I learned a great deal about egg tempera this week, part of that through a presentation at the Philadelphia Sketch Club by artist Jeff Gola. He showed us his work and discussed his path as an artist, and his methods in working with egg tempera. Though I'm personally a disaster with pretty much any fast-drying media, and I'm terribly impatient with the slow build-up process involved in using this particular fast-drying medium, I have to say I'm rather intrigued by the notion of using such a natural painting medium... never mind the potential for toxicity in the raw pigments! Anyway. Here's one of his egg tempera paintings:

Two Sheep, egg tempera, 16" x 20" by artist Jeff Gola.

• Speaking of eggs, I brought some new paintings over to Square Peg Artery & Salvage the other day – here's one of the newer pieces:

who's first?, 2010, oil on printed fabric, 10"x10", by me, Diane Feissel.

• Friday night I ambled on over to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for the US Artists show, and caught a ton of great stuff within a relatively small space – lots of galleries and artists represented from a fairly wide time range. Many of the galleries present were showing the usual Philadelphia-area suspects: Stuart Shils, Randall Exon, Bo Bartlett, Nelson Shanks, Andrew Wyeth, Al Gury, Maxfield Parrish, some Peales in there, etc. Arcadia Fine Arts was there representing some of the non-Philadelphia area usual suspects: Jeremy Lipking, Malcolm Liepke, Ron Hicks, Brad Kunkle, Robert Liberace, Joseph Todorovich, Daniel Sprick, etc. "Where are the women?" you might ask... I was definitely asking the same thing. It was a challenge, but I did manage to find some representation from the other half of the population (some of them even still living!) in works by Christine Lafuente, Nancy Depew, Anne Harris, and Kerry Brooks... Cecilia Beaux and Mary Cassatt were there, of course, representing the 19th century.

I have to say, out of all of that Great Art, this one particular painting by Anne Harris - who we've featured on the "Women Painting Women" blog to which I contribute – nearly blew my mind; it positively glowed. I'd never before had the good fortune of seeing her work in person, and I'm so glad I did:

Portrait (Pink), 2010, oil on linen, 44 x 30 inches by Anne Harris.

• Afterwards I remembered that it was First Friday, and that there were a couple of galleries I wanted to check out down at the Piazza in Northern Liberties. I stopped by Bambi again for the new show, which included a personal favorite, photographer Anna Tas (who, I just learned, is based here in Philadelphia... yay for Philly!!). I also checked out Vincent Michael Gallery, which I still haven't made up my mind about overall... but they definitely have some interesting work; check out the info on the current show here.

• The rest of the weekend I studio-sat for fellow artist Mark Bullen during the first weekend of Philadelphia's Open Studios. While there I stopped in to the studio next door to check out the latest work from artist Tom Kohlmann – here's a sampling, photos courtesy of fellow artist Garth Herrick:

Paintings by artist Tom Kohlmann, pics by artist Garth Herrick

Phew! Now off to do some of my own painting... haha. More on that soon!

Inspiring figures.

2010-09-30T00:01:00.002-04:00

Continuing on the theme of women painter-related activities and exhibitions (from yesterday's post), I want to give props to the women who are exhibiting in The Butler Institute of American Art's "Inspiring Figures" exhibition, a project of the Cecilia Beaux Forum of the Portrait Society of America. One of the exhibiting artists is the Philadelphia area's own Alexandra Tyng, who will also be in the "Women Painting Women" exhibition and on the painting expedition in South Carolina this fall. Below is the painting Alex has in the "Inspiring Figures" exhibition, and this link will take you to her recap of the opening reception for the exhibition which she posted on her blog; her blog's main page is http://alexandratyng.blogspot.com, take a look!

Claude and Pamela Frank, oil on linen, 52" x 48" by artist Alexandra Tyng.

The women who are Women Painting Women.

2010-09-29T22:54:00.005-04:00

It occurred to me the other day that I haven't yet fully explained Part Deux of the Women Painting Women exhibition events this November in Charleston, South Carolina. I'm very, very much looking forward to the exhibition at Robert Lange Studios of more than 50 amazing artists from around the country and abroad... but I'm also really very much looking forward to our very first "Women Painting Women" painting expedition on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina (just northeast of Charleston itself). A dozen of us - all artists also showing at the Robert Lange Studios show - will be gathering for a week of plein air and figurative painting. Yay! And I realized this picture from last week in NYC outside of Kelley and Ping includes 1/3 of our posse...

Left to right: Alia El-Bermani, Alexandra Tyng, Sadie Valeri, and Diane Feissel - photo by Garth Herrick.

It's going to be a great time, we've got a great group! The rest of our dynamic dozen, not pictured above, include the following artists: Catherine Prescott, Cindy Procious, Katherine Stone, Linda Tracey Brandon, Lisa Gloria, Mia Bergeron, Rachel Constantine, and Stefani Tewes.

Sorolla + Sadie.

2010-09-24T18:21:00.011-04:00

Had a lovely day yesterday checking out some art in NYC!

Friends and fellow Women Painting Women contributors Sadie Valeri and Alia El-Bermani and I checked out the Hispanic Society of America, where the Sorolla murals of life in Spain have recently been re-installed. The pictures I took came out terribly, as usual – but I'll throw one or two out here just to give you a sample:

These murals and their re-installation were the motivation for the trip to the Society, but the building itself in addition to the rest of the (small-ish) permanent collection definitely had significant appeal:

A gorgeous Diego Velázquez painting, poorly photographed by me (sorry)

A painting of, not by, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres…

Sadie and Alia on the second floor

Afterwards we went down to Soho for the opening of Arcadia Fine Arts' Small Works Show - Sadie had a beautiful piece in the show - entitled "The Wave" - pictured below:

PhiladelphiART.

2010-09-20T21:04:00.006-04:00

You may actually know this already, dear reader, whoever you are, but I would like to share with you nonetheless that Philadelphia is chock full of really great artists. I say this here because I feel as though Philly and its awesome residents don’t always get their due. So let's give them their due, shall we? We shall do.

Always a source for great discoveries, I stopped by Artists' House gallery over the weekend, here in Philly's Old City neighborhood. The last time I was there, I fell in love with the work of painter Patrick Crofton; this time around, I was blown away by the work of painterSamuel Evensen. I love low-contrast studies in white, and this guy delivers the goods with some serious skill:

Snow, 10" x 10.5", oil painting by Samuel Evensen

Also excellent to see was a show by Philadelphia artist Asya Livshits at PII Gallery in Old City:

Girl with Cat by painter Asya Livshits

More posts on this front to follow, no doubt, Stay tuned. And – come to Philly and see some art, fer chrissake!

Women Painting Women: The Exhibition

2010-09-19T22:32:00.007-04:00

Stay tuned for more information on a very exciting event in which I will be participating this November! I will be one of approximately 50 women painters from around the globe exhibiting at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, South Carolina for their "Women Painting Women" exhibition. The exhibition concept was inspired by friend and fellow painter Sadie Valeri's "Women Painting Women" blog (to which I am a contributor). Here's some information on the show and the participants on the Robert Lange Studios blog... more info coming soon!

Here is the first press coverage for the show - more to come!
• Charleston City Paper

Poof!, 2010, 30" x 30", oil on birch with map fragments and ink, by Austin, TX painter Jennifer Balkan

Richeson.

2010-09-07T20:08:00.005-04:00

One of my paintings of friend and fellow painter Juliette Lemontey (who makes a great model!) is a finalist in the Richeson 75 Figure and Portrait Exhibition for 2010. You can see the paintings which made it into the show at this link.

I've posted the painting to this blog before, it's this one:

the search, 2009, oil on panel,
12"x12", by me.