Artist Critique and Converstion at the Maitland Art Center.

Posted on by Thor

The quarterly Artist Critique and Conversaion took place in the Germaine Marvel Building (210 West Packwood Avenue, Maitland, FL). Critique and Conversation is an exciting initiative to assist in the professional development of local artists.  A bar was available with beer, wine, water and soft drinks. Artists of every medium and skill level are encouraged to participate in the critiques. Each critique reviews up to 9 artists, and all artists must sign up in advance.

The June session focused on commercial art. Illustrators, graphic designers and commercial photographers were invited to have work reviewed by our guest panelists. Everryone was invited to hear the panelists’ insights and learn how they balance artistic vision with client expectations.

The guest panelists were

Doug Berger (REMIXED, Agency Partner). Remixed is a full service, multi-disciplinary marketing design agency that develops marketing strategies and brands. They incorporate a ten-step process to develop comprehensive marketing initiatives with award-winning designs that meet strategic goals.

Scott Donald (Art Director) – Donald is an illustrator, painter and designer. His works are part of a larger narrative involving myth, inherited memory and transient glimpses into nature’s connectedness.

Jim Hobart (Commercial Photographer) – Jim is the man behind Macbeth Photography, a distinctive studio that provides portraits, architectural, product and commercial photography, with offices in Orlando and New York City. His passion for architecture is reflected in his fine art photography.

Angela Henson, an interior designer, showed photography of Roman ruins. The best show depicted the huge shadow on a sculpted angel on the walls of a church. Mike Tipso who shoots event photos for the Orlando Weekly, had some vice photos off a farm to table event that took place during the golden hour as the sun set and everything turned to gold. Delores Haberkorn showed a large painting of a dancer gesturing towards a bird surrounded by Greek columns. Steve Parker, I believe is the artist depicted in my sketch. He showed a painting of a friend of his who has a phobia of moths. There were moths all over the man’s red shirt and around him as well. Some moths were painted so photo real, that they seemed to be standing on the surface off the canvas.

The Cottage at Lake Lilly

Posted on by Thor

Dawn Shreiner took over the Artist Critique and Conversation series at the Maitland Art Center from Josh Garrick. Dawn asked me to be a panelist on the evening of January 28th. The Facebook invitation said that the Critique would be at the Cottage at Lake Lilly, 701 Lake Lily Drive, Maitland FL.  I decided to get to the cottage early and sketch. As the sun set, it projected wonderful golden beams across the lawn. Big ugly ducks waddled right up to me to see what I was up to. Maybe they thought the paint was food. They eventually lost interest.

I found it odd that no one entered the cottage as I sketched. It was getting close to the start time of the critique as I finished up. Dawn finally arrived and I joined her on the porch. A small card was taped to the door that said the location had been changed to the Maitland Art Center. “Josh darn it!” Dawn said and she took off. I shouted out that I would be there soon.  I threw down a few more washes on my sketch then packed up to head over.

This artist development series offers artists a unique opportunity to have their work reviewed by a panel of professional artists. Camilo Velasquez was the other panelist. Ironically Camilo was the guest panelist the last time I was a panelist over a year ago. There were only three artists who wanted feedback on their work so the session was quick and to the point. Delores Haberkorn showed a large painting of a Christ like figure floating in space cradling a fetus in his out stretched hands. He stared out at the viewer in an unnerving way. We stressed the need for some soft edges and warmth in the fetal form. I pointed out that Christ should probably look at the child in his grasp. This painting was a big departure for Delores, so it was exciting to see her tackle new ground. Dawn offered insightful feedback on composition and maintaining a center of focus. Another artist showed paintings done from photos and there is always a sort of uncommitted calmness to work filtered through another photographer’s lens. Another artist showed a sumi brush painting of a horse. I thought it was direct and bold but would become simpler and more direct after she did several hundred of them. I encouraged her to find a horse barn and do these brush paintings from life. Camilo advised her not to mimic a culture that developed the style over hundreds of years.

Camilo ended by saying there was plenty of love seen in all the work shown. Our comments were meant to help guide the pieces towards completion, but as long as each new painting was approached with love, then the artist is on the right track.

The next critique takes place on Tuesday, March 25th at 6:00 PM

Featuring Lead Panelist Rebecca Sexton Larson

March Guest Panelists: Famed Gallerist Mindy Solomon

 LOCATION THIS MONTH: GERMAINE MARVEL BUILDING

210 W. Packwood Avenue, Maitland

The Art & History Museums – Maitland (A&H) proudly hosts Artists’ Critique & Conversation,
an exciting initiative to assist in the professional development of
local artists.   Artists’ Critique & Conversation is held
bi-monthly, on the 4th Tuesday of every other month at 6:00 p.m.

Artists’ Critique and Conversation is FREE and the
public is encouraged to attend. A bar is available with beer, wine,
water and soft drinks.  Artists of every medium and skill level are
encouraged to participate in the critiques.  Each critique will review
up to 9 artists, and all artists must sign up in advance. Interested artists can sign up in advance for one of the nine slots by emailing rebecca@artandhistory.org.