Studio 706 celebrates 20 years during First Friday

At a loss for Valentine’s Day gift ideas? Show someone you love them with the gift of art during the First Friday Art Walk on Feb. 3. Galleries all over town have a variety of paintings, pottery, jewelry and more to provide one-of-a-kind shopping just in time for the big day.

The First Friday Art Walk runs from 5 to 9 p.m. at businesses in downtown Great Falls and throughout the city. Many locations provide refreshments, and all events are free unless otherwise stated.

STUDIO 706 is this month’s featured stop on the First Friday Art Walk at its new venue in the Times Square atrium, 225 Central Ave. From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., seven artists share the spotlight celebrating 20 years as a guild.

Paula Evitts is a potter who hand-builds bowls and cups, adding whimsical figures to bring smiles to friends and customers.

Sharon Hansen started out using watercolor, but lately she has been experimenting with rice paper and wax resist.

Lynn McLeod combines acrylic paints and ceramic tiles with unique colors and textures, then coats each in epoxy-resin for added dimension.

Monika Miller rediscovered her passion for art after taking classes in oil, watercolor, and photography. She loves to capture Montana's nature, landscapes, and wildlife.

After taking beading classes for a number of years, Linda Nelson began designing and selling jewelry that incorporates unusual beads she finds in bead shops.

Sherry Tuss is a local artist and instructor in watercolor and pastel specializing in Montana scenes in miniature, Perfectly Preserved Pet Portraits, and florals.

Steve Tilleraas paints from his photos in oil and acrylics, creating a variety of Montana scenes, animals and flowers. His photos will also be on display.

Art Center Great Falls, 5505 62nd Ave. S.W.

Visit ACGF in person or online for information about its art classes.

Brian Morger’s Studio, #6 7th St. S.

The art of Brian Morger includes original paintings, sculptures, experimental art prints, litho, jet ink and giclee.

Brush Crazy, 315 Central Ave.

Open paint from 1 to 9 p.m. Join in for some unforgettable fun, friends and fine art at your walk-in painting party studio, where you BYOB and snacks and they provide the ceramics and canvas.

Creative Center/Four West Art League, 1601 2nd Ave. N., Fourth floor

Four West features Elaine Dirkes, art teacher at Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby, displaying art created by her students at the prison. The work covers a wide variety of topics. Following the theme of “Who Do You Love?” Art Walk participants can stencil the names of their loved ones on a community art piece, put their names on hearts, decorate heart cookies and see the Love Potion #6 mixture of images from the community of artists and students at the Creative Center.

Electric City Coffee, 319 Central Ave.

ECC’s collaborative show by 12 Arts Association of Montana features a Western art theme and work in a variety of media that highlights the wonderful talent in this group. The show will be up for four months with different artists featured each month.

This month, it also features new work by Anita Ronning and Marcia Ballowe, a meet and greet reception starting at 5 p.m., plus music from 6-8 with Rob Kohler Jazz featuring Betty Jane. A portion of sales for this First Friday will be donated to the Great Falls Make A Wish program. Reservations recommended; call 452-4529.

Gallery 16, 600 Central Ave.

Gallery 16 presents an artist reception for “Synonymous,” paintings by Montana artist Jeremy Paul on display through February. Paul is currently “working more abstract to balance out (his) more structured lifestyle.” Meet the artist and explore the gallery during First Friday.

Great Falls College Montana State University, 2100 16th Ave. S.

GFC MSU hosts a reception for artists whose work is currently on display in the Administrative Suite. The event features live piano music from Cynthia Stevens, cookies and punch.

Hotel Arvon and Celtic Cowboy, 118 1st Ave. S.

Have a pint as you peruse displays of local artwork in both the pub and the hotel. Visitors will have the opportunity to sample some wine and tour rooms of this restored historic building.

Mighty Mo Brewing Co., 412 Central Ave.

There is no featured artist this month at the Mo, but the public is invited to stop by during the art walk and enjoy music from Jeff Carroll as part of the annual Charity Sing-Off. The competition runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings throughout February, and your tips for the musicians go to two local charities.

Montana Mosaic, 525 Central Ave.

Mosaic celebrates the Art Walk with a Super Bowl Party. Wear your team colors and make an in-store purchase, and you’ll be entered into a raffle for fabulous prizes. Football-themed refreshments are available.

Wrangler Gallery, 316 Central Ave.

Wrangler Gallery features past and present masters. The David Humphreys Miller collection is currently on display, featuring 122 paintings and numerous photos depicting the survivors of the Battle of The Little Bighorn and beyond.

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Traci Rosenbaum at 791-1490. Follow her on Twitter @GFTrib_TRosenba.
Resource: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/entertainment/2017/01/31/studio-celebrates-years-first-friday/97313068/

Arts Calendar

Lifestyle & Arts Editor Raina LeGarreta compiles listings for the arts calendar. If you would like an event or show to be included, please send details via email to raina.egcitizen@gmail.com and write “Arts Calendar” in the subject line. Include as much information as possible, including dates, times, ticket prices, address and details on purchasing tickets.

Teen Center USA has opened registration for the Teen Idol 2017 singing and performance competition. Now in its 13th year, this annual competition is open to amateurs in grades 7-12 and encourages the best teen soloists, duets and groups from Elk Grove, Sacramento and surrounding regions to compete. Vocal auditions begin on March 3, and registration can be done online at www.teencenterusa.org. The semi-finals will be held on March 31 and the finals will be held on April 7, both at Lifepoint Christian Church in Elk Grove. Cash Prizes will be: $1,000 First Place, $500 Second Place and $250 Third Place.  Pre-registration required. This event is sponsored by Laguna Sunrise Rotary of Elk Grove and the City of Elk Grove.

The Elk Grove Fine Arts Center will be presenting the following workshops during February at the Arts Center, 9080 Elk Grove Blvd. 95624, in Old Town Elk Grove. February Session: Tuesday, Feb. 21 and 28, 9:30 am - 11:30am each day; Acrylics with Margaret Munson, 2 Sessions: Thursdays, Feb. 23, 11- 2:30 p.m.; Painting in Oil with Mary Meacham, Fridays, Feb. 3, 17, and 24, 12-2:30 p.m. each day; Steampunk Metal Jewelry with Frank Barrera Feb. 11, 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.; Anyone Can Draw with Judy Knott 1 Session: 2 Wednesdays and 1 Saturday, Feb. 15, 18 and 22, 1-2:30 p.m. each day. All classes and workshops held at the Elk Grove Fine Arts Center. Pre-registration and payment required. Check website www.elkgrovefineartscenter.org to sign up and pay online, call or come into the Arts Center. Complete listing with details is on the Events page.

The Elk Grove Fine Arts Center will hold their First Saturday Art Reception on Feb. 4 from 4-7 p.m. at 9080 Elk Grove Blvd. in Old Town Elk Grove. The show “In the Light: Watercolor and Pastel” will feature well-known local and regional artist Terry Steinbach-Garcia. This show continues through Feb. 22, Wednesday – Saturday 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. During the reception, member and community artists will be showing and selling a variety of art media. Also featured that evening will be the ongoing Tile Glazing Fundraiser. Come out and support the arts for $15 per tile. Donate your hand-glazed tile for installation on front entry walls, one more to go. This event is free to the public with refreshments and free parking lot south side of Elk Grove Boulevard at School Street. For more information, call (916) 685-5992, email egfinearts@frontiernet.net or visit www.elkgrovefineartscenter.org, Facebook: Elk Grove Fine Arts Center.

Nina Kuhl Productions will be hosting karaoke at following the following Elk Grove businesses: Tuesdays: All ages karaoke at Lola’s Lounge, 9085 Elk Grove Blvd. from 7-11 p.m. The kitchen will close at 10 p.m. Wednesdays: All ages at Double Nickel Smokehouse, 3443 Laguna Blvd. #150 from 7-11 p.m. The kitchen will close at 11 p.m.

Elk Grove Adult and Community Education (EGACE)’s Always Learning program is offering a variety of art and photography classes this spring. The list includes: Beginning Drawing, Sketching and Color Drawing, Beginning and Intermediate Oil Painting, Introduction to Photography and Digital Photography. Visit the EGACE website for more information: egusd.net/egace or call (916) 686-7783.

The Elk Grove Fine Arts Center presents the following ongoing art studios and private art tutoring. Open Watercolor Studio- with Teresa Steinbach-Garcia, Instructor – Studio Fee: $10, last 2 Tuesdays of each month, 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm (916-955-6759), Open Watercolor Studio- with Kim Smith, Instructor – Studio Fee: $10, first three Thursdays, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (916) 687-8951. Private Art Tutoring- with Stacy Maeda, Instructor, $30/hour of instruction, Ages 7 – Adult, stacymaeda@yahoo.com, www.stacymaeda.com. Please contact Class Instructor for more information.

Elk Grove Artists, Inc. (EGA) Each month, the Elk Grove Artists, Inc. engages established and recognized guest artists who conduct workshops, presentations, demos, critiques and more, often sharing stories and experiences that inspire their creativity.  To sign up for future workshop notices, call (916) 715-3749, (916) 591-7446 or elkgroveartists@att.net.  

Elk Grove Adult and Community Education/Always Learning is now registering for fall classes. Classes being offered include: Beginning and Intermediate Watercolors, Beginning and Intermediate Oil Painting, Beginning Drawing, Introduction to Photography, Photo Editing for Beginners, and Photographing Nature Scenes. For information on the fall schedule and to register, students can visit the new EGACE website: www.egusd.net/egace or call (916) 686-7783.

View artwork from Elk Grove at: http://www.elkgrovecity.org/city_hall/city_government/commission_and_committees/committee_for_the_arts/elk_grove_art_guide. The Committee for the Arts has created a virtual Citywide Art Guide for the benefit of the residents and visitors that includes a comprehensive inventory of art pieces and art events in Elk Grove. There is also an interactive map that displays the art and events in Elk Grove. Only citywide annual art events are included. If you know of a piece or event missing from the guide that should be included, contact Mona Schmidt (916) 478-3633.

Sacramento Theatre Company is proud to present, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” through Feb. 12.  As the second longest running off-Broadway musical of all time, this popular comedy celebrates that contemporary conundrum known as “the relationship.” Traveling through dating and waiting to commitment and marriage, from the agonies of the in-laws to trips in the family car, this episodic musical pays tribute to both the trials and the triumphs of love. This hilarious revue pays tribute to those who have loved and lost, those who have fallen on their face at the portal of romance, and to those who have dared to ask, “Say, what are you doing Saturday night?” Sacramento Theatre Company is located on the Pollock Stage at 1419 H Street in Sacramento. Tickets are $15-38 and discounts available for students, seniors, and military. For tickets and times, visit: tickets.sactheatre.org, call (916) 443-6722, or visit 1419 H. Street.

Alpha Fine Arts Gallery welcomes Robyn Brakel’s exhibit “Evolution,” through Feb. 25. Robyn received her Bachelors of Arts degree from University of Texas San Antonio in 2011 and worked full-time as a potter and ceramic artist after graduation.  In 2014, after a recent move to northern California, she began concentrating on ceramic sculpture and applied to graduate school to continue her exploration.  Robyn is now in her final semester for a MA in Studio Art at California State University Sacramento. The arts gallery is located at 4675 Aldona Lane, Sacramento.

The Crocker Art Museum will present “JapanAmerica: Points of Contact, 1876 – 1970,” a beautiful and diverse display of nearly 200 works of art and design that have played a role in artistic exchange between the two cultures on Feb. 12 – May 21. Following the “opening” of Japan by the United States Navy in 1853, traveling expositions introduced communities around the world to the exquisite craftsmanship of Japanese objects, with each work affording a new insight into the Japanese way of life. Focusing on Japan’s place in major exhibitions held on the American continent from 1876 onward, and finishing with a look at the first Japanese World’s Fair in Osaka in 1970, JapanAmerica examines the influence of Japanese aesthetics on painting and printmaking, ceramics and metalwork, graphic design, advertising, bookbinding, and illustration. The show also features Japanese objects of industry that were influenced by the West, highlighting the pride that Japanese makers took in adopting Western forms and manufacturing techniques while retaining the high level of craftsmanship and detail for which they were famous.  For many Americans, the objects served as an introduction to Japanese culture, shaping their perceptions of the land and its people. At the international fairs, a culture of exchange was born. Japanese objects became the focus of admiration by Europeans and Americans alike, provoking a cult of emulation in the West and, in Japan, an important industry creating objects to appeal to Western tastes. Per the Crocker Art Museum’s chief curator, Dr. Scott A. Shields, the influence of Japanese art on American Artists cannot be overstated. The exhibition was organized by the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, and is accompanied by a beautifully illustrated, 296-page scholarly catalog.  

The Northern Californian Filmmakers Coalition (NCFC) is based in Sacramento, and was created to encourage individuals in filmmaking or film related areas to meet on a regular base and explore the various aspects of the film industry. Meetings are held each Wednesday from 6-7:30 p.m. at Access Sacramento 4623 T. St. in Sacramento. For more information, visit www.ncfc.tv or contact P. La Marr at (916) 502-7068 or info@tru-talent.com, or G. Bell at (916) 384-5796 or bellg777@gmail.com.

Lodi’s Art Hop is held on the first Friday of each month. For the list of participating venues and their featured artists, visit http://www.lodiartcenter.org/Art-hop.html.

Luna’s Café offers a variety of poetry, spoken word, and arts and entertainment at 1414 16th St., in Sacramento. For more information, call (916) 441-3931 or visit www.LunasCafe.com.

Resource:http://www.egcitizen.com/lifestyle/arts-calendar/article_f88150d6-e806-11e6-9f23-2b37d5ed8912.html

Tripura engineer with a yen for art to make live painting of Dipa Karmakar today

He is training to be an engineer. But Anmoy Saha’s first love is art.

This young man from Agartala will be under the spotlight on Tuesday evening at a live art show that will include sand art and live painting of Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Tripura’s two martyred jawans – Sambhu Satmura and Chittaranjan Debbarma who were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir in November, and Bollywood actor Om Puri at Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan in Agartala.

A clutch of five companies is funding the young man’s live art show.

Unlike using painting brush and colours, he would make the live paintings of Dipa and the two martyrs with glue, rangoli and glitter and paper-cut painting of Om Puri.

“I will sculpt a tribute to the Indian Army first and then I will highlight vital issues such as women’s safety, importance of child education, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan etc. through sand art. Later, I will go for the live paintings,” he told HT.

Dipa Karmakar and her coach Bishweswar Nandi, eminent artist – Swapan Nandi, Samir Dey are scheduled to attend the show.

He had debuted in sand sculpture in his college function in 2015 with his work on former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Anmoy who is in his final year of Civil Engineering in Sanskriti Institute of Management and Technology (SIMT) in Mathura, also has a knack of working with waste materials.

He had earlier made miniature replica of the Taj Mahal using matchsticks, a Durga idol with chalks, Lord Buddha using a total 7,500 soft drink bottles’ caps and a model of the London Bridge with shaving blades.

Last year, he had crafted Durga idol along with her children – Kartika, Ganesha, Saraswati, Lakshmi with newspapers for Agartala’s Agragami Club. The exercise was aimed at spreading the message that one could enjoy pollution-free Durga Puja and avoid toxic chemicals to build the idols.

“I am always hooked to making designs out of waste products. In my college too, I spend most of my leisure time trying to design something new. After all, engineering also requires creativity,” he said.

Anmoy would be graduating as an engineer by June this year. But he is not quite eager to join the rat race of the job market.
“I did only a few creative designs due to my study pressure. But once I complete my course, I don’t want to appear for any job interview and want to devote my time to creative art. Also, when you are passionate about something, you would not mind devoting your time to it,” Anmoy said.

Resource: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tripura-engineer-anmoy-saha-with-a-yen-for-art-to-make-live-painting-of-dipa-karmakar-tuesday/story-2Mp5MGSPQQf2tJoWV2Br0I.html

Bracing the elements for the sake of art

Cedarburg — The air was frigid, the snow was falling and the wind was brutal. But that didn’t stop Pamela Ruschman and Lynn Rix from doing what they do best that fateful winter day in 2015.

Instead, the dynamic duo braved the elements on Lake Michigan to paint the scenery.

“I just remember we were out there on the lake painting in blizzard conditions and we saw this ominous cloud coming,” Ruschman recalled. “We both looked at each other and nodded and painted on.”

The result is a painting Ruschman speaks of among the most fondly of any of the work she’s done.

“Every painting tells a story,” she said. “The interesting thing about that one is it includes ice crystals. You just don’t get that in a studio painting.”

The pair, who live within a couple miles of each other in Mequon, picked up winter painting together in 2010, and have since produced dozens of unique pieces throughout the brisk winter months. Yet both cite that day as one of their most memorable painting together thus far.

“I just remember us looking at each other like what are we doing?” said Rix. “We knew we were crazy to be there, but we also knew if one of us blew away the other would be there to rescue each other.”
Painting the Winter Muse

Fifty-five of their pieces will be featured in the upcoming “Painting the Winter Muse” exhibition at the Cedarburg Art Museum.

Starting with an opening reception Saturday, Jan. 28, the exhibit will run through mid-March.

“This is a story of two artists who really embrace everything about the winter season,” said museum curator Mary Chemotti, “but it’s also a story of friendship. These two painters truly enjoy each other’s companionship and simultaneously paint the subtleties of the beauty in nature.”

From the shores of Lake Michigan to the country roads along the north shore, Ruschman said they consider no spot off limits and no temperature too cold to paint.

“There’s this saying that there are no bad weather days, there are only bad clothing choices,” she joked, as she shared she would be layering up and heading to a local farm to paint the next day in a high of 19 degrees.

It’s really become a lifestyle for her, and you can hear the enthusiasm in her voice as she talks about the back hallway of her home where all her supplies are stored.

“Lots and lots of layers are key,” she said. “But also having things like warm, winter boots with cleats is a must.”

“Winter really is the season I couldn’t live without,” Rix added. “It’s funny, we both dress up like the kid in the Christmas Story when we go out.”
The art of friendship

For both of them, winter painting has become much more than an admittedly unconventional hobby. It’s become a way to express themselves while enjoying the company of a great friend.

“We started at a time when I desperately needed to get out and rebuild my life,” Ruschman said. “So it started as a shared passion for painting outside and has really evolved into a wonderful friendship.”

Rix said Ruschman has become one of her best friends through the years, something that may not have happened if not for their mutual appreciation for the art of painting in the elements.

“If not for (Pam), I can’t say I would always get out there as often or as frequently as I want to,” she said. “But we encourage each other, we coach each other, and she has honestly become one of my closest friends.”

Rix started painting outside in France more than 20 years ago, and said there was no turning back after she and Ruschman first painted together in a beautiful snowstorm a few days after Christmas in 2010.

“That was my first winter painting excursion and I was hooked,” she recalled. “I just remember the beautiful sunny day and the beautiful snowfall and thinking I want to be out there doing it as often as possible.”

The two stay in touch during the other seasons, but see each other to paint as often as two or three times a week in the winter.

“It’s funny; in the summer we rarely see each other,” Ruschman said. “But when it comes down to it we’re both Wisconsin girls and winter is a time we love.”

Not to mention the unique experiences they have shared.

“We find something new every time, but honestly there are times when we just lose ourselves in the experience of it all,” she said. “It’s like painting on the moon.”
Rug Hooking show also opens

Friendship is a common theme of the art featured in Cedarburg this spring.

In addition to the “Winter Muse” exhibit, the Cedarburg Art Museum will feature “The Art and Craft of Rug Hooking,” which opens at the same time.

Featuring the works of a group of eight rug hooking enthusiasts who call themselves the Thrum Chums, the rug hooking exhibition will showcase both traditional and contemporary pieces.

Both new exhibitions will be open to the public through March 19, during the regular museum hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Cedarburg Art Museum, W63 N675 Washington Ave.

For more information about either of the exhibits, call 262-377-6123 or visit www.cedarburgartmuseum.org.

Resource: http://www.myozaukeenow.com/story/news/2017/01/20/bracing-elements-sake-art/96843942/

SriLankan unveils Speculo 2017 painting, visual art competition

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier, inviting the country’s talented youth to artistically elaborate their perspective on the airline, unveils its ultimate creativity inspiring endeavour, Speculo 2017.
This painting and visual art competition brings together artists across the country, ranging from school children, university students and amateur and professional artists.

Held under two categories, the art competition will be open for entries till February 20, 2017. The theme of the competition will be ‘MySriLankan perspective’.
The school category is open for students between the ages of 16 and 18 years and all their entries should be certified by either the principal or the teacher in charge of art of their respective schools. 

The open category is for any art enthusiast who intends to showcase his/her artistic abilities. For both categories, the size of the painting should be 18x24 (inches) and one competitor could submit only one entry using any medium of their preference, which has not been sent to any other competition before. 

Under the veteran category, artists are invited to forward their creations of visual arts within the size of 2x2 ft-10 ft. The theme for the veteran category will be ‘The pulse of the national airline, carrying the nation’s pride higher in the sky’.

The winners of each category will be selected by an independent panel of judges and will be awarded valuable prizes and air tickets. Additionally, 10 judges’ choice awards will be presented.
Speculo 2017 national painting and visual art exhibition will be held at J.D.A. Perera Gallery on February 24, 25 and 26, 2017 for the viewing pleasure of the public and art enthusiasts.

The paintings could be sent to: Speculo 2017, Marketing Department, SriLankan Airlines, Level 21, East Tower, World Trade Centre, Colombo 1 or handed over to the SriLankan Airlines sales offices islandwide.

Resource: http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/SriLankan-unveils-Speculo-painting-visual-art-competition-122515.html

Ciel Bergman, Berkeley-born painter and art professor, dies

Ciel Bergman, a Berkeley High School yell leader who once modeled for a Norman Rockwell painting, then later became an acclaimed postmodern landscape painter in Santa Barbara and Santa Fe, has died at 78.

Ms. Bergman, born Cheryl Maria Olsen, died last Sunday in a Pleasanton care center. The cause of death was lung cancer, said her daughter, Bridgit Koller.

“She could move paint across a canvas like nobody else,” said Ron Stevenson of R.B. Stevenson Gallery in La Jolla (San Diego County). The gallery had represented Ms. Bergman since a show called “The Last Sunset of the 20th Century,” for which she made a painting of nearly every Santa Fe sunset of 1999.

Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Oakland Museum of California, among others.

“She was a painter of unique abstractions deeply felt and masterfully executed. A human response to the world of nature,” said Peter Selz, professor emeritus for the History of Art department at UC Berkeley. “The adjective ‘beautiful,’ abhorred by most contemporary critics, identifies her work.”

Once a registered nurse who worked in a hospital psychiatric ward, Ms. Bergman was a struggling single mom of two when she couldn’t resist the pull of her art. In 1969, she entered a painting in the Jack London Invitational, an art contest in Oakland, and won first prize. This compelled her to enroll at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she earned her master of fine arts with honors in painting.

Upon graduation, she became a lecturer in painting and drawing at both UC Berkeley and California State University Hayward (now Cal State East Bay). In 1975, she got a SECA Award in painting from SFMOMA and was also featured in the 1975 Whitney Biennial, an exhibition of contemporary American art hosted every two years at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

As Ms. Bergman was gaining acclaim for her art she was hired, in 1976, for a full-time faculty position at UC Santa Barbara, where she taught for 18 years.

In 1982, she was included in the group show “Fresh Paint — 15 California Painters” at SFMOMA.

Her most notorious show was called “Sea of Clouds What Can I Do.” Ms. Bergman had been appalled by all the litter on the beach, so she and her students went out and collected enough trash to fill seven garbage bins and installed it at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum.

“She felt like we were killing the planet with all this trash,” Koller said. “That was the show that transitioned her into a stronger focus on the environment in her work.”

On her 50th birthday, Ms. Bergman legally changed her name to Ciel (pronounced C.L.) Bergman to honor her maternal grandmother from Sweden.

While on the faculty at UCSB, Ms. Bergman traveled to China, where she had an epiphany to only make paintings of beauty from that point on.

She had once visited New Mexico, to meet her hero, artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Ms. Bergman fell in love with the raw landscape and eventually gave up her tenured position at UCSB and bought 280 acres of high desert in the New Mexico wilderness.

She later moved to Santa Fe, where she was to remain until she became ill last year.

“She was a very generous and loving person, a great friend and supportive of all artists, which is very refreshing,” said Stevenson. “Artists are usually about ‘me, me, me.’”

Ms. Bergman spent most of her childhood in North Berkeley, where she attended Thousand Oaks Elementary and Garfield Junior High School. In 1956, she graduated from Berkeley High School where she was head varsity yell leader, which led to a brief stint as an art studio model.

While on a trip through New England with her mother, Evelyn Givant, they had a chance encounter with Rockwell. Givant bragged that her daughter had been a cheerleader and soon enough, Ms. Bergman was posing in his studio in Stockbridge, Mass.

She forgot all about it until she appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on Nov. 23, 1961. Ms. Bergman never framed the cover, never talked about it, and never used it to advance her position as an artist.

“She was warm and enthusiastic about her surroundings, about beauty, about nature,” said her sister, Janice Leiser of Piedmont. “She painted things with great poignancy, and she loved life.”

Ms. Bergman remained vibrant and active until May, when she was diagnosed with cancer.

Her final show was a pop-up exhibition at her Santa Fe studio in July. Her final drawings, a series of a dozen anatomical hearts, were completed in August. She has a show opening in Southern California in February, which will go on as planned.

“I have strived to create work that is sensuous, luminous, alive with emotional heat, honest and transcendental,” Ms. Bergman stated on her website, www.cielbergman.com. “To pulse with heart, psyche and soul.”

Ms. Bergman’s marriage to Lynn Bowers, her high school sweetheart, ended in divorce in the 1960s. She never remarried.

She is survived by her partner, Dr. Edward Okun of Santa Fe; a sister, Janice Leiser of Piedmont; daughter, Bridgit Koller of Pleasanton; son, Erik Bowers of Northridge (Los Angeles County); and five grandchildren. Services are pending.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SamWhitingSF Instagram: @sfchronicle_art

Resource:http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ciel-Bergman-Berkeley-born-painter-and-art-10873299.php

Cats and dogs: Bogart artist finds niche in painting pets

Debbie Payne began seriously producing artwork about four years ago when she found a rather friendly niche. She paints pets — cats, dogs and even birds.

This past holiday the popular item was a Christmas tree ornament with a painted portrait of the buyer’s pet.

“A lot of people want white ornaments, but sometime they’ll send me a photo of a white dog,” Payne said.

“OK, I’ve got to get this white dog to show up on white,” she said with a chuckle. “But I have managed to do it.”

Payne works in the basement studio of her home in Keeneland subdivision near Bogart, where she said she turns on the background music, either country or Christian, and delves into her work.

Here she paints pets on the ornaments using acrylics, and if she does a pet painting on canvas, she uses oils.

Dog lovers are by far the people who most often commission the art, although there are plenty of cat owners who contact her as well.

Payne is married to pharmacist Ricky Payne. Their son, Jeremy, who graduated Prince Avenue Christian School, will soon get married. The couple are University of Georgia fans as Payne’s nephew, Christian Payne, is a fullback for the Bulldogs.

Since 2012, she has been spreading word about her art, which also includes paintings of other subjects from flowers to wildlife and landscapes. She has one piece of work at Sunshine Village Art Gallery in Watkinsville. Besides having a Facebook page and a website, she also markets on the website Etsy, which is popular with artists and crafts makers.

Once Payne began selling to people across the country, she took a map of the U.S. and began coloring each state to show where a piece of art was sold.

“I’m trying to get an ornament or a canvas placed in each state,” she said, adding she has already sold to residents of more than half the states and in Canada.

Payne has been interested in art since she was a child. She grew up in east Athens, a daughter of the late Donald and Marquerite Wood. Her father was manager of food services for UGA’s Georgia Center of Continuing Education, where he, and sometimes with the help of Bud Davis, would create the ice statues that were popular during banquets and wedding receptions held there.

Her father, who also had leaned toward art, enjoyed wood working as well, she said.

“In high school I always tried to take art, but I couldn’t because it always filled up,” said the 1981 graduate of Cedar Shoals High School. “In my junior or senior year, I finally got into art.” One of her pieces was selected from a class project for an exhibit at the Georgia Museum of Art.

Payne never tried selling a painting until several years ago. She was working at a bank in Oconee County and decided to paint scenes on Christmas tree ornaments for her dozen coworkers as gifts for Christmas.

One of the employees had adopted a puppy and Payne had photos of the little dog. She decided that for this young woman she would paint a portrait of the puppy.

“When everyone saw the one with the puppy, they started asking me if I could do one for them,” she recalled.

“I sort of built it up from there,” she said.

“I also do portraits on canvas. I did one for an attorney in Oconee County after I put up a flier at one of the vet’s and he saw it,” she said.

She is mostly self taught, but has taken some art classes in an effort to learn new techniques.

During the week of Christmas, one of her customers drove to her home from Greenville, S.C., to pick up an order of painted ornaments to ensure she had it for Christmas day, Payne said.

Payne’s husband has also given his wife some work. He has three UGA Bulldog mascot concrete statutes — the type kept as yard art — that were all faded.

She is restoring the paint jobs and giving Uga a new white body and a fresh red coat.

“When I hit on the pets, I really hit on something,” said the woman who paints cats and dogs.

Resource:http://onlineathens.com/oconee/2017-01-20/cats-and-dogs-bogart-artist-finds-niche-painting-pets

Madonna shares Scottish artist's Donald Trump painting

A Scottish artist's painting of Donald Trump as King Kong has been shared thousands of times online after postings by singer Madonna.

Michael Forbes' art portrays the US President-elect and also Madonna, who is shown as the Statue of Liberty.

Black Isle-based Forbes created the piece this week.

Madonna, who opposed Trump's election campaign, has posted an image of the painting on her Facebook and Instagram pages.

Her post to Facebook has had more than 57,000 "likes" and her Instagram post more than 40,000.

Pop surrealist artist Forbes is part of the Tripping Up Trump movement which protested against the building of Trump's golf resort at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire.

The artist painted a mural on a barn of a farmer, also called Michael Forbes, who refused to sell land to Trump for the golf course.

Artist Forbes has a gallery in New York and his work in Scotland includes posters for the Highlands' Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, created his painting of Trump this week.

Among the latest Trump piece's references are the US election's popular vote won by Hillary Clinton. She lost the election due to the electoral college system.
American comic book superhero and pop culture icon, Superman, also appears in Forbes' piece.

Madonna features because of her views on Trump and also Forbes' admiration of her activities in the gay community in the US.

The artist, who in his youth worked as an assistant to British Pop artist Gerald Laing, has been amused and pleased with the reaction to his Trump painting.

He said: "After Madonna posted it on Instagram my phone has been ringing repeatedly with people telling me about it."

President-elect Trump takes the oath of office on Friday with an estimated 900,000 people expected to gather in Washington for the induction and related activities.

Resource:http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38662225

Painting sale will benefit Art on the River

The Art on the River Committee got something more permanent than what organizers had bargained for when they contracted with Traverse City artist Tess Tobolic for the 2016 show.

Tobolic was supposed to do chalk art for the event, said Trina Kern-Avedesian.

"She asked me if she could do a painting," Kern-Avedesian said. The organizers' reaction, she said, was: "That's even better, because we get to keep it. It won't be washed away by the water."

The committee won't be keeping the painting much longer, however — it plans to auction the large canvas in May and is selling prints of the painting in several sizes to raise money for this year's Art on the River, June 10 and 11 in Port Huron.

The committee paid for Tobolic's work with a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County.

"She brought an 8-foot by 4-foot canvas, took it off the trailer and did this in two days," Kern-Avedesian said.

The painting shows a perspective of the Black River looking east with multiple yachts and sailboats crowding the Port Huron Yacht Club side of the river. The Pere Marquette rail bridge towers in the background.

"The reason I wanted her to do that is because of all the controversy about the train bridge coming down," Kern-Avedesian said.

The yacht club, which has owned the property since December 2011, has wanted to remove the train bridge so it can develop the property at the mouth of the Black River.

Kern-Avedesian said Tobolic, who is a medical illustrator, did a wonderful job with the painting.

"She went beyond our wildest expectations of what we thought this was going to be like," she said.

She said the prints of the painting will be on sale, ranging in price from $60 to $125. Information about how to order a print will be available on the Art on the River Facebook page and the Art on the River website at www.artontheriverph.com.

Mark Paul John, who is known as the Freedom Artist after creating paintings of firefighters raising a flag at Ground Zero in New York, will be the featured artist at the 2017 Art on the River, Kern-Avedesian said. People will be able to watch over his shoulder as he works.

"He wants to do the (Fort Gratiot) lighthouse with one of the military ships, the Bramble, the Greyfox or the Hollyhock, coming in from the lake," she said.

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.
If You Go

Art on the River will be June 10-11 on the north bank of the Black River west of the Port Huron Yacht Club.

The organizing committee in May will auction a painting of the Black River created by artist Tess Tobolic.



The committee also is selling prints of the painting. For more information, visit the Art on the River website at www.artontheriverph.com or the event's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ArtontheRiver/


Resource: http://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/local/port-huron/2017/01/18/painting-sale-benefit-art-river/96709878/

Second Old Master Painting a Fake, Sotheby’s Says in Lawsuit

AMSTERDAM — A painting attributed to the circle of the 16th-century Italian artist known as Parmigianino has been determined to be a modern fake, according to a complaint filed by Sotheby’s auction house in United States District Court in New York on Tuesday.

The company filed the complaint against the collector Lionel de Saint Donat-Pourrières, who consigned the painting to Sotheby’s for a 2012 auction, where it sold to another collector for $842,500. Last year, Sotheby’s asked the buyer to send the painting back for testing, after receiving information that the artwork may have passed through a source under investigation before coming into Mr. de Saint Donat-Pourrières’s possession.

Through testing of paint samples taken from the oil painting, the auction house says, it has determined that the portrait of “St. Jerome” contains pigments throughout the paint layer that were not invented until the 20th century.

According to the complaint, “Each and every one of those samples (none of which were taken from areas of restoration) contained the modern synthetic pigment phthalocyanine green, which was first used in paints nearly four centuries after Parmigianino died.”

This is the second painting that has been deemed a fake in what may be a widening old masters’ forgery case that could go back several years. In October, Sotheby’s announced that a painting attributed to Frans Hals that it had sold for around $10 million could not have been painted in the 17th century because it also contained 20th-century pigments.

“St. Jerome” was tested using similar methods by Orion Analytical, a materials analysis firm specializing in art, which Sotheby’s acquired late last year.

Sotheby’s is refunding the buyer in full, according to the complaint, and is seeking damages from Mr. de Saint Donat-Pourrières of $672,000, the amount he received from the sale. Mr. de Saint Donat-Pourrières, an art historian who lives in Luxembourg, could not be reached immediately for comment.

“As was true in the recent case of the fake Frans Hals painting, Sotheby’s is honoring its guarantee and fully reimbursing our purchaser,” Sotheby’s wrote in a statement emailed to The New York Times. “We have also exercised our contractual right to cancel the sale, which requires our consignor to reimburse us.”

Sotheby’s also said it had confirmed a “St. Jerome” link to a European art collector named Giuliano Ruffini. Mr. Ruffini previously sold the work attributed to Frans Hals to the London-based art dealer Mark Weiss in 2010, Mr. Weiss confirmed.

Mr. Ruffini has subsequently been the subject of an investigation by the French police, who seized a painting attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder that was in the Prince of Liechtenstein’s collection that had formerly been part of Mr. Ruffini’s collection.

No charges have been filed against Mr. Ruffini, who continues to say that he never claimed that any of the works were authentic.

Mr. Ruffini’s lawyer, Philippe Scarzella, confirmed in an email to The New York Times on Tuesday that the Parmigianino was owned by Mr. Ruffini, and that “there was a dispute about this painting between middlemen and Mr. Ruffini around 15 years ago.” He called into question the validity of Orion’s scientific investigation, adding “I have a thick file on this painting and many experts have declared the ‘St. Jerome’ was genuine.”

“St. Jerome” was exhibited at the Galleria Nazionale of Parma and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 2003 as an original Parmigianino. Later, it was downgraded to “circle of Parmigianino” because of scholarly debate about its authenticity. After Sotheby’s sold it, it was lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from April 2014 to February 2015.

Bob Haboldt, a dealer in old masters art, said in a telephone interview from Paris that the filing in New York was “a wake-up call, and it’ll make people look at what they have on the wall or what’s on consignment or what’s been purchased in the recent past more closely.”

He added, “People are scrutinizing what’s in their collections, and I think that’s an ongoing process. I don’t think it’ll shake up the market more than it already has, because if you notice, the sales results at auction and in the market haven’t changed.”

Johnny van Haeften, a London-based dealer in old master paintings, however, said he was not concerned that the market might contain more such fakes.

“All the pictures are so different, they all need to be taken on their own merit,” he said in a telephone interview. “As far as the other pictures are concerned, the jury is still out.”

He added, “ One should be very careful about making a general observation; each one should be taken on its own merits.”

Resource: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/arts/second-old-master-painting-a-fake-sothebys-says-in-lawsuit.html?_r=0

Controversial Capitol painting by former St. Louis student taken down; Clay promises appeal

WASHINGTON • The controversial painting “Untitled #1” was removed early Tuesday from a Capitol wall and now hangs in the congressional office of Rep. William Lacy Clay, who says he will challenge its removal from a prominent passageway.

Clay, D-St. Louis, did not say what, specifically, he planned to do, but he said the Supreme Court has held that art expressions are protected by the First Amendment.

The painting by former St. Louis high school student David Pulphus was removed sometime over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., who petitioned for its removal, said Friday it would be taken down by the Architect of the Capitol’s office, which ultimately determines the art that hangs on the walls of the congressional art competition.

Not only was the painting gone, but the placard describing it was removed, too. That had stayed throughout a controversial 10 days in which the painting was removed and returned to the wall several times.

Former Cardinal Ritter senior Pulphus’ work won Clay’s high school art competition last spring, and the piece hung for six months in a Capitol tunnel passageway with more than 400 other pieces of art before a conservative website took note of it.

Critics said the painting’s depiction of police as piglike animals denigrated law enforcement and that the work provided a false “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative of the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in August 2014.

Supporters, including Clay, said the painting was a First Amendment-protected expression of the experiences of a young black man who grew up amid high-profile cases of black men killed by police.

Several Republican members of Congress removed the painting and returned it to Clay’s office, who then rehung it in the tunnel every time.

In a statement, Clay called the Architect of the Capitol’s decision to remove the painting “unprecedented and unconstitutional.”

Reichert’s office said the architect cited rules of the contest that require winners of congressional art competition to avoid controversial, contemporary political issues. The House of Representatives is largely on hiatus this week in preparation for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.

Clay’s statement, issued by his office in St. Louis, said the removal of the painting has “sent a chilling message to young Americans that their voices are not respected, their views are not valued, and their freedom of expression is no longer protected in the U.S. Capitol.”

Clay’s statement went on: “The assertion that the painting did not comply with the rules of the Congressional Art Competition is arbitrary and insulting. Like the other 400-plus entries, this painting was accepted and approved by the Congressional Art Competition last spring, and it has been peacefully displayed in a public forum for more than six months.”
Resource: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/controversial-capitol-painting-by-former-st-louis-student-taken-down/article_5be72f3a-5a97-5eb0-9620-853fae415e7b.html

Marine artist chosen to paint outdoor mural

John Horton will first complete an original canvass painting for city hall to commemorate Canada 150 -

Renowned, award-winning maritime artist John Horton has been commissioned by the City of Richmond to produce a special new painting to be displayed at city hall. The piece will be replicated for an outdoor mural.

The $75,000 project is to commemorate Canada’s 150th anniversary. Horton will produce a painting that has multicultural and “working river” themes.

The painting is to reflect Richmond’s “rich tapestry of cultures, recognizing the original First Nations residents, early European settlers and the immigrants from a multiplicity of cultures that have since made their homes here,” according to a report to city council from public art planner Eric Fiss.

Horton, an official Canadian naval war artist, said he was honoured to take on the project and is considering painting the docking of the SV Titania — a clipper owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company that loaded the first shipment of canned salmon to Europe in 1889 — in Steveston.

Pending approval, the painting will hang outside of council chambers, above a couch. The mural site has yet to be determined. Horton will assist young, emerging maritime painters in painting the mural to the standards of the 24x36-inch framed, oil on board painting.

Coun. Harold Steves has taken issue with a number of public art projects in Richmond recently and has even called for the development-backed art fund to be disbanded with money put toward affordable housing.

Among his criticisms is the fact many of the artists commissioned are not local.

However, he said he is on board with Horton’s work. “He’s one of the top marine artists in the world. We’ll finally have some real art, not some lawn metal they call water,” said Steves, referencing Water #10, a sculpture at the west foot of Cambie Road, along the dyke.

Horton, born in Britain, was a long-time Richmond resident who has since relocated to Delta. He attended the Poole and Bournemouth School of Art in England as a young adult.

At a council meeting Jan. 9, Coun. Carol Day suggested writing up an agreement whereby prints could be sold in order to recoup costs. The city presently has permission to reproduce the painting but only for non-commercial purposes.

Resource:http://www.richmond-news.com/news/marine-artist-chosen-to-paint-outdoor-mural-1.7704602