Events

14th Biennial National Art Exhibition

The Biennial NAE is one of my favorite art exhibitions, this being the fourth one that I have participated in.  Babeldown was accepted into the 2024 show.  

The NAE always has something interesting going on, my favorite being poetry night.  Area poets are invited to tour the exhibition and submit poems based on selected works.  About ten are chosen to be read by the authors at a special event during the show.  At the 2020 show, A Conversation In Cordova was so honored.  The poet's perspective was so different from my own, and yet right on target!  Quite a learning experience!  You can view the painting and the poem here.  Enjoy!

Event Date: 2024-02-16 12:00 AM - 2024-04-12 12:00 AM
Event Location: Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda, FL
ADD TO CALENDAR

32nd Annual All Florida Juried Art Show

I love venues with class!  The 32nd annual All-Florida show is held in the historic Martin County courthouse in Stuart, FL, right on the edge of the Atlantic ocean:)  Not only did the curators of the show manage to negotiate Hurricaine Ian, the juror gave Phobos first place!!  There is a virtual artists' panel discussion on October 25th at 6:00 pm.  Here is a virtual tour of the exhibit.

Event Date: 2022-10-11 12:00 AM - 2022-11-18 11:00 PM
Event Location: Martin County Court House Cultural Center, 80 SE Ocean Blvd., Stuart, Florida 34994
ADD TO CALENDAR

Art Center Manatee Spring/Summer Classes

The Romance of Oils.  Wednesday nights, five week sessions, 6-9:00 pm, at the Art Center Manatee.

So yes, I'm a nut about oil paints.  If you are too, or just interested in finding out more, come join me on Wednesday nights at the ACM:)  There is something hopelessly romantic about this 600 year old medium that attracts us, that connects us to all those who have gone before.  We paint, yes, beginner to advanced.  We talk art history, our personal experiences with the medium, physical qualities of the paint, special techniques, etc.  No pressure, no agenda.

Here is a link to the ACM website.  Keep tuned in.  We are scheduled to April 2024; hopefully continuing on from there and adding new times/classes as there is a need.

On Dec 13th, 2023, I will be hosting a one session class for 11-15 year olds spotlighting the art of Jacob Lawrence, which he called "dynamic cubism".  Students will create a three panel story in Lawrence's style, and will get a chance to try making and using egg tempera.

Event Date: 2023-04-12 12:00 AM - 2023-08-09 12:00 AM
Event Location: Art Center Manatee, 209 9th St W, Bradenton, FL, 34205
ADD TO CALENDAR

Ayinza trip to the village

Ayinza is a group of people from Africa and from the USA who have bonded across the Atlantic for the benefit of a village in Uganda. We view our relationship as multi-generational, committed, and egalitarian.  This is a single community separated by an ocean.   Ayinza is committed to visiting Mpongo twice a year; however, COVID-19 has played havoc with that!  The airport at Entebbe has reopened to "tourists", so we are tentatively planning a trip this coming June or July. Trips are open to all with a heart that longs to get to know those different from ourselves.  Trip initiatives depend upon the skill sets of the participants and the needs of the community. To get involved at any level, contact me or Ayinza.

Event Date: 2021-06-01 12:00 AM - 2021-08-01 12:00 AM
Event Location: Mpongo, Uganda
ADD TO CALENDAR

Create

Since moving to Bradenton, FL, in June 2021 I have had many pleasant surprises.  Perhaps the most pleasant is the Art Center Manatee, a well-rounded community resource dedicated to the arts and the artists in our area.  Three of my paintings were accepted into 'Create', an annual event that kicks off the exhibition season.  Crossroad was given Best of Show!  Here is a video of the awards ceremony.

In 2022, three paintings were accepted into the show, and Revelation 18 was given Honorable Mention:))

Event Date: 2021-09-06 12:00 AM - 2021-09-28 11:00 PM
Event Location: Art Center Manatee
ADD TO CALENDAR

Elevate

Webster Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to promotion of art in the St Louis, MO, area, sponsored a national invitational show with the following call:

At Webster Arts, we say "art elevates life." In these trying times, we believe art can bring people together. For this themed exhibition, we invited artists from across the country to submit artwork that uplifts, inspires, and elevates us all. Elevate was juried by internationally recognized St Louis artist, Cbabi Bayoc.

Both 'Testimony' and 'Crossroad' were chosen out of 541 entries for acceptance into the show; and 'Crossroad' was judged Best of Show by the juror!!  A virtual opening reception was held the evening of 03/16/2021 and is available on YouTube

Event Date: 2021-03-16 12:00 AM - 2021-04-30 11:00 PM
Event Location: Webster Arts, Webster Grove, MO
ADD TO CALENDAR

Embracing Our Differences

Embracing Our Differences is an annual event held at Bayfront Park, Downtown Sarasota,
Ringling Boulevard & Bayfront Drive/US Route 41, Sarasota, FL 34236

For 2021, fifty chosen works from all over the world were displayed in the form of large banners; 12 feet tall and 16 feet wide.  Of the 15,912 works submitted, I am proud to say that 'Thurman By Firelight' was one of the works chosen!!

More so, I have studied all the art that was on display and came away with a feeling of hope--real hope for our world.  You can view all of the art here.  See if you come away with the same feeling I did:)

Atfter the Bayfront Park show, a generous grant allowed the show to be moved to Benderson Park where it remained on display until the end of August, 2021.  All told, the show had over 488,000 views.  An artist can't ask for more than that.

Event Date: 2021-01-20 12:00 AM - 2021-04-02 12:00 AM
Event Location: Sarasota, FL
ADD TO CALENDAR

I'll Be There: An Exhibition About Love

The painting, 'An Audience', was accepted into a 2 1/2 month long exhibition at this lovely facility in Solomons, MD, near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.  The Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is owned by the people of Calvert County, MD.  The thirty acre park is maintained by the county and the state of Maryland.  The park is dedicated to connecting people to art and nature.  Truly an honor to be some small part of this local treasure:)

Event Date: 2022-06-10 12:00 AM - 2022-08-28 12:00 AM
Event Location: Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center, Solomons, MD
ADD TO CALENDAR

Marianne Oberg Foundation for the Spiritual Arts (MOFSA)

The Marianne Oberg Foundation for Spiritual Art (MOFSA) is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to inspire, encourage and support the creation of spiritual art, which deepens us, fosters healing and wholeness, and catalyzes growth and transformation. MOFSA pursues its educational mission through grants to artists and exhibits of spiritual art.

In February of 2020 I found that the Spiritual Art Grant for 2020 had been awarded to me!!:0  Since then COVID-19 has played havoc with schedules and plans, and the show has been pushed back into 2022.  The work of the grant has not been inhibited, however; as I have been freed up to pursue the discipline of spiritual art and all that means.

Here is a link to an interview the MOFSA board created regarding the grant and my participation.

Event Date: 2020-09-30 12:00 AM - 2021-09-30 12:00 AM
Event Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
ADD TO CALENDAR

MedMic Spring Visual Arts Contest

MedMic is an online platform dedicated to "conversations, culture, amd creativity from the healthcare community".  One of the paintings from the Pandemic series, Untitled 2021, was the winner of the spring visual atrs contest and is currently being displayed on the MedMic homepage.

MedMic has asked for images of the entire four piece Pandemic series, so hopefully we will be seeing more of this artwork appearing on the site.

Event Date: 2023-06-30 12:00 AM - 2023-07-31 11:00 PM
Event Location: online at MedMic
ADD TO CALENDAR

On Neutral Ground

The call for this exhibition intrigued me from the start.  Our world is polarizing by the minute, it seems.  We have descended a long way from 1996 when Sen. Bob Dole consistently referred to the incumbent Bill Clinton as his 'opponent' --not his 'enemy'.  Now I can have a new enemy just by using the wrong hot-button word in a conversation.  How to change the tide?  Maybe we could consider judicious neutrality, the call suggests.  Artists can create using neutral situations, neutral tones, neutral responses.  What a great idea!  The Spectator was accepted into the show, which runs the month of June.

Event Date: 2022-06-04 12:00 AM - 2022-07-01 11:00 PM
Event Location: Vestige Concept Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
ADD TO CALENDAR

Race in America

Since the pandemic and social unrest of 2020, art shows are adapting to the new reality.  Many have gone online.  More have asked the question: 'What does art have to offer in times of social unrest?'  This show, curated by Professor Rebecca Miller, invited artists from across the nation to address the question.  I am proud to have had three paintings in the show:  Crossroad, Rosa's Angels, and Thurman by Firelight.

Psychologist Rollo May asked the question: 'What if imagination and art are not frosting at all, but the fountainhead of human experience?'  Our nation is looking for comfort, looking for answers.  Art, in its many forms, has always been about explaining mystery.  I'm thankful that Dr. Miller and Drury University recognize this.  Here is a link to a piece that KOLR10 news did regarding the show.

 

 

Event Date: 2020-11-06 12:00 AM - 2020-11-25 12:00 AM
Event Location: Drury University, Springfield, MO
ADD TO CALENDAR

The Bakhita Prize for Visual Arts

Dappled Things, a Catholic arts magazine, sponsored a call to artists based on the following:

We find ourselves wondering what we can bring to the table during our country’s current crisis. The shocking death of George Floyd has shaken not just the United States but the whole world, reminding us starkly of how far we still are from seeing each other’s infinite dignity as children of God.

Most tragic of all is realizing that, if Floyd’s death has led to a great societal outcry, it is because he is only one among so many who have lost their lives in similar circumstances. Like many others, we are asking ourselves questions of how to respond to violence and the violation of human dignity, including persistent racial violence that has been directed especially against the black community.

Dappled Things is calling on visual artists to help us see more clearly: to help us honor and highlight the infinite worth inherent within each victim of racial violence. To do so, we are establishing the Bakhita Prize for the Visual Arts, which will be awarded for a photograph, painting, illustration, or sculpture that helps us better see the humanity and God-given worth of victims of racial violence. Saint Josephine Bakhita, after whom the prize is named, was a Sudanese slave brutalized by her captors, who later became a religious sister renowned for her joyfulness, gentleness, and charity. Today she is the patroness of Sudan and survivors of human trafficking. 

I am happy to say that 'Thurman by Firelight' was chosen for publication in the magazine and for inclusion in a physical show at an undetermined time in the future pending developments with Covid-19.

Event Date: 2020-11-14 12:00 AM - 2020-11-15 12:00 AM
Event Location: Online
ADD TO CALENDAR

Tribute to Velazquez. The second global painting and sculpture competition for international artists

What an interesting exhibit!  This is the first year that the tribute to Velazquez has been opened to internationals.  Previously it had been open only to Chinese nationals.  The exhibition is co-hosted by the Spanish and Chinese governments, dedicated to connecting Chinese contemporary art with the Western art world.  The exhibition is looking for contemporary art created in the tradition of Velazquez, with particular attention to tenebrist qualities.

Thurman by Firelight was selected for inclusion in the tribute; one of 567 paintings and sculpture selected out of 2356 entries from 42 nations.  You can read more about the tribute here.

Event Date: 2022-01-01 12:00 AM - 2022-05-31 11:00 PM
Event Location: Shanghai, China and Barcelona, Spain
ADD TO CALENDAR

We're Doing It ALL Wrong, Third Annual

This online and in-person national juried exhibition was created to highlight issues, both great and small, that are just plain wrong and have persisted far too long.  The goal is to have conversations that lead to new ways to approach old problems.  Art can open the discussion, if in fact art is the "fountainhead of human experience" that psychologist Rollo May envisioned it to be.

Tower Rock has been invited to the party.  The event is hosted by Edward A. Dixon Gallery in Dayton, Ohio.  Once the show is live on August 3rd, all the invited pieces will be available online.  For now, here is a link to the show and gallery.  The gallery's facebook page is linked here and Instagram here.

Event Date: 2023-08-03 12:00 AM - 2023-09-30 12:00 AM
Event Location: Dayton, Ohio
ADD TO CALENDAR