Raritan Valley Arts Association
Newsletter

RARITAN VALLEY ARTS ASSOCIATION est. 1939

Late Summer Greetings!

It’s almost Labor Day and once more a gorgeous summer has zippedy-do-da-ed right by (or almost right by). Can't complain though, there's been flowers and fish, frogs and sunshine. And to bring more sunshine into your life, come out Monday night (!), 7:30 pm, September 24th, Somerset County Library, and you will see a demo by Joan Gleason on Icon Painting, and hear all about this interesting art form. Lots to see and learn here, and we thank our President Linda Arnold for obtaining the program. (You know of course, that Linda would like help, either with programs or president-you know that, right? 908/647-3610) October 22 pastel artist Christina Debarry will demo ; November 26 Education Advisor Amy Faris of Liquitex will come and demo and show Liquitex products.

DUES ARE DUE! Please send your checks made out to RVAA to our Membership Chairman Doug Axmann, 16 Schoolhouse Lane, Somerville, NJ 08876. Dues are $30. Individual, $35. Family, and $15. Student (through high school). Dues will get you all these demonstrations, two or three exhibits a year (including our Holiday Extravaganza at the Somerset County Library, which runs a month), the annual Big Apple Trip, the newsletters, a presence on the internet, and last, but not least, lots of camaraderie.

Our website www.raritanvalleyarts.org is looking good, for thirteen of our members are up with two paintings each. The rest of you should really email or snail mail me photos and a short (75 words or so) bio so we can put your work up. No charge for you.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS! Plein air paintout at the Boudinot-Southard-Ross Property in Basking Ridge (135 North Maple Avenue) for all artists-participation is free! Hours are 10-5 on Sat. Oct. 13 and noon until 5 on Sunday, Oct.14. This is all part of Somerset County’s weekend long "Journey through the Past". From last year's experience, your editor is here to say This is fun! You can paint anywhere on the 50 acre property and the buildings are oh-so-picturesque, from handsome barns to colonial mansion, plus fields and woods. And-there are costumed actors (last year Dick Arnold had a very handsome costume!), colonial crafts, kite flying, and as I remember, they even gave us free hotdogs and drinks.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS AGAIN! Briefly, the following items may be of interest.

1) All artists: Lambertville Station is now accepting entries for its Silver Anniversary Art Show, Oct. 25, 2007. You may paint plein air there or submit previously done work. The deadline is Oct. 12. Please contact Dina Hicks at 609/397-8300, ext.504 or email her for the rules.

2) The Resource Center of Women and Their Childrenis soliciting for artwork, as they are having a black tie gala Nov. 2 and want to feature local artists in their silent auction. Please contact Anna Milano at the Resource Center for Women and Their Families, 427 Homestead Rd, Hillsborough, NJ, 08844, or email

3) Call for entries for Patriots’ Week, with a theme of REVOLUTION (which can be a rather an all-encompassing theme) For details on this please call Gallery 125 at 609/989-9119.

HELP, PLEASE! Your editor would dearly love your help-I’m one of 12 finalists in an international children's picture book contest-the winner, who will have their book published in hard cover, distributed, etc-will be decided by online voting, one vote per email address per day during the period 9/16-9/30. If you could email me your email address(es) I would then happily remind/beg you to vote for my book CHARLEMAGNE TO THE RESCUE during those dates. I'm up against the great state of Texas where the company is and where the schools all vote online (many students). I'm trying to get reading "gigs" but it's VERY slow work. Please email me your email address. If you don't have an email address, maybe your children do, or you do where you work. For more details you can go to my websites www.dianapatton.com and click on ABC competition and even my illustration section, and also www.charlemagnethefish.com. It's my hope that adults and children will enjoy the second website, especially, and feel inclined to vote for my book. Please feel free to forward my websites to anyone. You might want to visit www.abcbookcompetition.org as well. Thank you, THANK YOU!

Members in the News

PAT BARNABEO received Honorable Mention in the St. Mark's Show in Mendham in early May.

JOAN MCKINNEY's watercolor "Summer Garden" (which you can see on our website!) is the color picture on the postcard invitation for the Annual Open Juried Exhibit of the Garden State Watercolor Society.

We need your news! Your editor knows some of you were in the juried Sr. Citizens' Show, and some of you will be getting into the juried GSWS and NJWCS shows, and some of you are doing other shows. Please clue us in. Snail mail or email is best.

Previous Newsletters

March 2007 newsletter

April 2007 newsletter

May 2007 newsletter