Raritan Valley Arts Association
Newsletter

RARITAN VALLEY ARTS ASSOCIATION est. 1939

Wintry Greetings!

Your editor has just returned from Maui (we were visiting our oldest son) and what a shock to return to cold and gray. I snorkeled 7 times and enjoyed their Aquarium twice. So I may have developed gills by the time of our next meeting, Monday, February 24th, when we all will enjoy a demonstration by our own DOUG AXMANN, who has great things in store for us. (remember how enthusiastic we were about his last demo?) Don't miss this, 7:30 pm at the Somerset County Library, on Feb.24. Diana Patton will be doing the hospitality.

Last month a good crowd enjoyed Steve Zazenski's demo, a scene from Key West, using only the watercolors opera, Naples yellow, and compose green.

Final reckoning on our Holiday Show and Sale---ten artists sold $695. worth of paintings, with Amy Erdman being the "top seller". Again, thank you to all 20 artists exhibiting, to Mary Creasy who helped with receiving, to Doug Axmann, Diana Patton. and Linda Arnold for loaning racks, and last, but certainly not least, Treasurer Barbara Fiorentino for handling all the received moneys and making out our checks. Ten percent will go to the library.

Remember our trip to the Met and the AWS show in April in the Big Apple? Debbie Hughes, who has ably chaired this for years, has Saturday classes now and so we need a new chairperson. Debbie will give you all the details and help you, but can't actually be on the trip. Please call President Linda Arnold at 908/647-3610 if you can be chairperson. The trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the AWS Show at the Salmagundi Club has always been a highlight of RVAA's year.

You can have a presence on the Internet. And it's free. RVAA has its own website and you may post 2 paintings and a very short bio on our webpage. Please go to www.raritanvalleyarts.org and see what we're all about. You don't have to have a computer; simply mail Diana Patton (address at top) photos of 2 paintings and we will scan them in and put them on our website.

You might enliven one of these chill days by visiting the Princeton University Art Museum, right on campus (phone 609/258-3788 for directions and other info). Admission is FREE; hours are Tues-Sat 105; Sundays 1-5. Special exhibitions now include "Invoking the Comic Muse: Toulouse-Lautrec's Parody of "The Sacred Grove" February 9 - June 15, 2008. This focuses on a painting by Lautrec which simultaneously pokes fun of and pays homage to Puvis de Chavanne's "Sacred Grove, Dear to the Arts and Muses", also in the exhibit, as well as related works on paper which point out Lautrec's use of comedy and parody in his work. This is the 125th Anniversary Year of the Museum; a special exhibit of some of the most important works held by the museum are on exhibit and a new guidebook Princeton University Art Museum Handbook of the Collections, the first in over 20 years, is now out (your editor actually has the one from over 20 years ago, and looks forward to a new one, in color). This exhibit "The Educated Eye" runs Feb 23-June 15

I did other things on Maui besides those activities concerning fish, and one of these was checking out art galleries. Those of you with computers (you can always look online at the library) might want to check out several painters I was impressed with-one is a young-37 year old-Russian, Alexei Butirskiy-whose use of light and dark is amazing, in his night cafe scenes after rain, in winterscapes, in all his work-Google his name or go to www.lahainagalleries.com, or www.dolphingalleries.com. Another is Shari Leohone, a Hawaiian woman whose paintings of modern Hawaiians include ghost images of the subject's ancestors-totally fascinating. Google her and/or go to www.findingfineart.com and see her work. Also-airbrush fans-Dennis Mathewson's work-Cosmic Airbrush-I was particularly fascinated with his paintings of jellyfish - www.airbrush.com to look up his work. There are lots of Google articles on him and his work. He also uses sheets of fine metals to make pictures, carves tikis, and oh, yes, he does airbrush detailing on celebrity automobiles. And he gives demos.

Finally, many of you enjoyed Russ Johnson's watercolor demo a while back. Russ is offering an interesting three-day workshop in July, painting both indoors and out in the Princeton area. You will learn about and paint in the style of 3 masters of the watercolor medium, JMW Turner, Paul Cezanne, and Andrew Wyeth. Russ will begin each day with a demo in the style of one of the above and then you will paint on your own with lots of coaching from Russ. At day's end there will be a gathering and daily critique. The cost for the three days is $250. You can get more details on the program from Russ by phoning 609/275-0633, or emailing him at rjwatercolors@hotmail.com Maximum enrollment is 15. (Sounds like a great concept, with new techniques to learn!)

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Oh, no! There isn't any! Unless you want detailed descriptions of all the fish I followed around off the coast of Maui. Please snail mail or email me your news, and thank you!

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