Greetings, you are receiving this newsletter because you are registered for our Artist Round Table Bi-Monthly Zoom Sessions. We will be sending a follow-up newsletter like this after each session to highlight the key points discussed during the roundtable. We hope that you are having a great and art-productive week!
First, we would like to congratulate Karen Budan for receiving the Award of Merit in the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Small Paintings exhibition with her painting, Time and Money . The show is hosted by Principle Gallery in Charleston, SC, and will be on display till June 4th. In addition, Karen’s painting On the Road Again was juried into the Oil Painters of America Salon Show. That will be hosted by the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville, GA. The exhibit opens on June 6th, 2021, and will be on display till August 7th, 2021.
Congratulations to Nanci France-Vaz for making it to the preselection round in the Figurativas 2021 MEAM Museum Barcelona, Spain, with her painting Whatever Tomorrow Brings, Paolo and Francesca Canto 2, 40x30", Oil on Panel. The competition’s primary goals are to celebrate contemporary figurative art and to help usher in the emergence of a rich new generation of living artists.
It was wonderful to hear that Nanci France-Vaz is represented by Kristen Campo Fine Art and Design Gallery, Rochester, NY. Kristen Campo Fine Art is an art gallery that represents contemporary, local and emerging artists. The gallery features sculptural works, original paintings, glass, pottery, and stainless steel sculpture from 30+ artists from around the globe. Brian O’Neill is one of the TWS originals* who is also represented by the gallery. *TWS Original – Anthony Waichulis’ apprentice from his first Studio (The Waichulis Studio/TWS)
Congratulations to Alexandra Tyng on being a part of Woodmere’s Museum annual juried exhibition, Seeing the Story The Woodmere highlights contemporary work in a wide variety of media by artists living within fifty miles of the museum. This year’s juror, David Wiesner, has selected works of visual, narrative art. An illustrated digital catalog will accompany the exhibition. Online opening reception: Tuesday, June 8th, 7 p.m.
We are looking forward to Alexandra’s Tyng solo show later this year! The exhibit is titled The Architecture of Connection , and will be on display at Gross-McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA.
Show dates: December 1-24th, 2021.
Receptions: Saturday, December 4th, 1-4 p.m.; and Wednesday, December 8th, 5-7 p.m.
Shawna Lampi-Legaree launched her first live steam painting video! In the first live stream, Shawna focused on drawing in the Ptarmigan bird and then moved into the early stages of the painting. During the second week, she will put her attention on the background. You can follow Shawna for more updates on YouTube or Facebook.
Debra Keirce has been commissioned by a design firm in London, England to create multiple artworks for the wall of the hotel. The commission is for 8 former presidents of the Federal Reserve Bank when it was located in Boston, and the style similar to John Singleton Copley. The former presidents to be portrayed are W.P.G. Harding, Roy A. Young, William W. Paddock, Ralph E. Flanders, Laurence F. Whittemore, Joseph A. Erickson, George H. Ellis, Frank E. Morris. The Langham hotel building used to be the old Federal Reserve Bank of the US between 1922 and 1977. For more on Debra’s Langham hotel commission, please follow this LINK. For additional information on The Langham hotel and its $200 Million renovations, please click HERE.
Dina Brodsky, described as the “Witch of Instagram” by colleague Julie Beck (Witch in a good way, of course), has amassed over 430 thousand followers. You can see her account HERE. She runs regular workshops on cultivating a strong Instagram presence. Here are a few of her current recommendations:
1. Use Reels. Reels invites you to create fun videos to share with your friends or anyone on Instagram. Record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools. You can share reels with your followers on Feed, and if you have a public account, make them available to the broader Instagram community through a new space in Explore. Reels in Explore offers anyone the chance to become a creator on Instagram and reach new audiences on a global stage.
2. Videos are far better than static images—even better* than multi-image posts. *Better here would be relative to the “algorithm.” The algorithm is a loose term to describe the processes that determine what appears in each person’s Instagram feed.
3. Shorter videos are better than long ones. Brodsky states that the algorithm “promotes” videos that viewers actually see to the end. This may be less likely with longer videos—so being concise can offer a considerable advantage in promoting your content.
4. Engagement time can significantly impact algorithm priority.
5 . Hashtags (#) do not matter as much as many people think they do.
6. Do not add text to the actual images you post. Instagram’s system interprets these as advertisements and thus lowers their priority for promotion.
You can learn more about Dina and the workshop opportunities that she provides HERE.
