Impact Artists Gallery features 3 solo shows.

The month of August is mine. At least at Impact Artist's Gallery it is partly mine. The first long wall, shown above, around the corner and then another wall and you will see all my favorite flowers, vegetables and various botanicals. Along with Paulette Jurek and Joan Hambleton we have filled the gallery with our three person show titled "Empower".

'Fourth Friday at Trimain' was our artist reception with the standard table of brownies, cheeses, wonderful dips and pita which kept several people in the gallery for longer than usual, it was a classic hot August evening, but I just felt cool, finally seeing these particular pieces displayed together. Lots sent their regrets as it was a big night for events in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, but I was still pleased to have had visitors coming in steadily for the entire time of the reception. Lucky for me, Bobbie, Chris and Sandi, along with one of her roommates also were there and they got to visit the Buffalo Artist Studios area as well.

Kenan biennial 'Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit'

  Last summer my wrist and hand overdosed with pastels. In fact, I damaged tendons by having three summer residencies where I painted all day, even painting nocturnes. Actually it was 2 1/2 residencies, the third was not completed due to overuse of my gripping thumb. How the lovely colors and sensual marks of my loved pastel sets could become so difficult is still hard to understand. 

By Fall, I began wearing a brace and figured out novel ways to handle a paintbrush as well as a palette knife, but the pastels stayed in storage while I worked carefully with oils. Eventually, I was wearing the brace 20-22 hours a day, and not improving much, visiting hand specialists who administered different shots (some worked for a while) and various tests for carpel tunnel and other injuries.

After several months I retrieved a pastel commission from storage and slowly completed the late winter gorge scene. Such joy to commune with my colors! After delivering it, I needed to do this new pastel painting for myself. Views of the curve of Niagara Falls always intrigue me, individual boulders and favorite islands have been repeated in plein air yearly in paint and pastel. I just needed to be a pastel artist again.

I usually complete a large work in about a week's worth of studio painting, but this took more than two months. I paced the use of my hands, experimenting with working left handed, always aware that I didn't want more pain, but enjoying the pastels, the sound of mark making and richness of pigment and texture. I loved the process and the painting and entered it into the Kenan biennial 'Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit', one of my favorite local shows. 

Accepted, this work of ...what, a year?....hangs proudly in the Kenan dining room, right near a digital collage by Carl Schifano until August 29.

Horseshoe Racing, 22x28 pastel 2014

Save the date!

  

 

Saturday night, be at the NACC for the opening reception, 6:30-9. My painting, top left was selected for the postcard. This is an annual juried show, the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center has an open house, presentations, openings, and lots more.

Beyond the Barrel 2014

The annual NACC summer show, 'Beyond the Barrel' always seemed to be a show that would not have Falls images (BEYOND the barrel, get it?). Of course, there were always falls images somewhere in the show, it is only a dozen blocks from the great cataracts. I decided last year to put in an abstract consisting of the water crashing into a boulder at the precipice and it was received well, so this year I am showing that boulder from the back side. I know the location well because I usually site the rock for a landmark when I paint the Horseshoe Falls water.

Another Surprise on the Path, 16x20 oil, c. K. Schifano

 Both of my entries are plein air but they are totally different in size, color, subject, location and even application. A painting trip last month to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for the juried Camp Hill Plein Air event was different for me as it was a new location, hilly and summery, with unknown streets and buildings to navigate. There are several bridges spanning the Susquehanna River, one of them has an exit to 'City Island', home to a baseball stadium, vintage train ride, beach, ice cream stand, miniature golf and more. From an empty parking lot I saw the brilliant colors of these stored mini buildings, probably used for cotton candy and roasted nut sales in summer. They were gathered on a small hilltop while a massive Sycamore tree raised up from the ground level close to the lot. The humor of little houses, big tree struck me and I spent a pleasant afternoon painting the scene.

Put the Little House Behind the Big Tree, 16x12 oil, c. K. Schifano

It seemed like millions of birds were chattering in the thick bushes behind me, but I just listened. When the painting was nearly finished, I leaned back on my car to contemplate the scene and my painting. At that moment, a pair of orange Orioles flew to my feet, my dark sneakers had bright green laces and pink trim. Orioles like oranges and other fruit, I guess they were tempted by the colors but nearly surprised me off balance. Every painting has its own story and special memories.

The show will be up for the summer, the opening is on Saturday, June 21 6:30-9, with awards given that night. Open to the public.

New plein air frames

I usually order my frames custom sized from a wholesale frame company, but I couldn't resist these plein air frames and birch panels from Blick, all on sale and delivered to my door. Now I am ready for the Camp Hill Plein Air week. I am expected to paint on location, and return several finished paintings, framed and wired for the awards judge and display for the public exhibition.

For two days I gessoed the panels, with white on the 'back' and two coats of clear on the front. They may need a third coat and a light sanding, but this gesso brush hand is on hiatus for a while.

Often people ask how long a painting takes...does the answer include all this prep time, the travel, packing materials and the sketches? Or is the real answer 30 years?

Plein Air Camp Hill Art Festival

These photos may look a bit busy or hectic, but I believe they are from the final day last May at the  Camp Hill Plein Air Art Festival near Harrisburg, PA, and most likely the judging for QuickDraw, a timed outdoor event. That involves artists painting within a designated area for a block of time, perhaps two hours, to create a painting from life, frame it and return to the display area. These works are usually a lot of fun, very fresh and never overworked.

I pulled these photos off their website, as I am selected as one of 45 artists for the week long event, and I am thrilled to be included. Selection involves an application fee, a set of recent plein air paintings and bio information and waiting a long time for the judges' decisions. This 5th year celebration includes activities for the whole town, including paintouts and a scavenger hunt for kids as well as the professional artist component. Friday night's gallery opening is a gala collector's preview and awards with a public reception for paintings displayed on Saturday and Sunday.

Time to buy a new hat.

Waiting for a Better Answer

Early June heralds the third annual Plein Air Competition in the Finger Lakes, hosted in Canandaigua. These three lovelies went into my application. Results are in, I am selected as an alternate, one of two, I believe. Certainly not hoping for another artist to have a calamity, but rather a conflict. This event is something I REALLY want to do, it is three days of art and artists, a quick draw and a show of all the work completed. Of all the applicants, 40 were chosen. I would hate to be the 'first loser'.

Roiling 12x16 pastel

Rocks at Bog Falls, 9.5x12.5 pastel

Solstice Sun on the Flume, 12.5x9.5 pastel

Wine on Third

What does one do on the most lovely of summer evenings in Niagara Falls? Why not sit around with a glass of wine on Third Street. How about adding my french easel full of oil paint and a bunch of other artists working together for a NACC fundraiser.

The Niagara Arts and Cultural Center will be auctioning donated art this fall and a group of artists got together to create the work for that evening.

It was time for me to do a summer nocturne and all the stars were aligned. At least the stars were, the nearly full moon did not appear over the restaurant until about a half hour before I completed this plein air. Such serendipity!

I am wondering if this will be my donation, looking at it, I can still hear the music that livened up the night for me. The wine, food and music at Wine on Third is always excellent.

Wine on Third, oil 12x9

First Prize

I enjoy the challenge of painting water.

Once in a while a plein air show is juried. Our NFPAP annual show is an art exhibition, but this time the Impact Artist Gallery put a call out for plein air art work, to be judged for entry as well as for prizes.

I spent quite a while deciding which paintings I should put in, frequently changing my mind, until I determined to choose these favorites, as neither had been shown before.

Lo and behold, at the reception I was awarded First Place, with a prize of a solo exhibit for my ocean panorama, but also was given Honorable Mention for my flume. This was the pastel I did in the rain, standing on a huge round boulder, surrounded by poison ivy. When the water seeped through the fabric of my umbrella I realized I should get out of the rain and poison ivy and dry off, preferably in a safer spot as the water coming down the creek was steadily increasing. Quickly finishing the forms was all that was necessary in this Adirondack scene frequently painted by the Hudson River School Painters.

This Long Island jetty was my subject for a week last summer, and the fisherman was there whenever the tide was right for fishing. The largest work I completed in oil, it has a calm but humbling mood to it. When he saw my painting, he offered his lunch to me, sticky rice and seasonings wrapped in a leaf and tied with thread and was quite tasty. I gave him some of mine, which was probably PB&J. We didn't share languages but had a fairly good conversation about the day, our camera and painting. And then I took a first prize for my experience.

Slippery When Wet, pastel 12.5 x 9.5
FIshing for a Big One, oil, 12x24

Youngstown Yacht club 'Art on the River'

Last week, the Youngstown Yacht club hosted 'Art on the River'. I often paint there, so I joined the event with some samples and had a lovely evening. After setting up I took a little cruise along the river to find a new spot to paint a sailboat commission. I'll be back next week to do that, and next year to set up at the club!

Allentown Association Art Exhibition

The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site preserves the elegant Ansley Wilcox house  on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo. There is also a lovely restored carriage house which will showcase paintings of the Allentown area in early August, with a reception on Friday, August 2. This show is sponsored by the Allentown Association for its 50th anniversary and includes works of the area's features by artists who live, work or paint in Allentown.

One of my two paintings is this driveway side view of an elegant victorian home on Pearl Street, just a few buildings down from Allen Street. Painted this year, I was intrigued by the tans and browns of the structures hi-lighted by the forsythia bush and its glorious yellow presence.

I like to feature yellow flowers in paintings, it is a challenge for me, but it also holds its own on some of our drearier days, the yellow in nature paintings sparkles through the gloom of a long winter afternoon.

The second painting in this show is a colorful blue corner porch with morning glories winding up the column. It is a pastel, framed to 20x16. Pretty little bits of Allentown are making their way back to Buffalo from Grand Island for this exhibit.

Pearl Street Spring 14x11 oil,  2013

2 Paintings in North Dakota

Bismarck Art & Galleries Association sponsored a Square Foot Show in their gallery for the second year. These two paintings were sent to North Dakota for the exhibit which runs from August 6 to 30. If you happen to be in our nation's breadbasket, the BAGA opening reception is at E. Front Ave from 5-7 pm. Let me know how the show looks and if I have a nice location for my work, I have to be here to paint in Olcott!

They are on 12" by 12" stretched canvases and the 1" deep sides are painted to continue the image around the corners. This is often called Gallery Wrap. Each is a wonderful painting and I am proud to have them represent me there.

Both of these florals were completed in the studio, started from my drawings on location. The rose was painted from a conte drawing I had wanted to use in a painting, while the peonies were started en plein air at my picnic table and brought indoors for development. The flowers changed as I watched, and the breeze moved the flowers and branches just enough that I kept losing my place in the big bush. There are so many flowers this year, I am hoping the farmers have as much success with their fruits and vegetables as I am having in our lush gardens.


Summer Glory 12x12x1 oil, 2013
Peony Riot 2, 12x12x1 oil, 2013

Carnegie Art Center Paintout on the canal

Saturday's intense gusts almost took out this setup several times, a collection of bungee cords attached everything in winds up to 50 mph. I set up in the shade of the railroad bridge, not realizing that I put myself into a windier place than an open site. I eventually moved under a tree and still had to fight the wind, all my available equipment was used to weigh down the easel. The red line in the sky is a hook attached to my easel drawer. I chose to paint the Remington Tavern because of the historic architecture [formerly Remington Typewriter] that was adapted to become a great restaurant, but also because of the beautiful flowers bursting forth from their canopy.

Working in shade allows colors to be recorded more accurately, if someone paints in sunlight, especially when the sun is on the canvas, the image appears dark when indoors.  Often my huge artist umbrella protects art in progress and the palette more than me. I could not use it here due to the high winds; otherwise boaters would be fishing me and all my supplies out of the Erie Canal.

The Carnegie Art Center sponsored this paintout in the North Tonawanda area to coincide with Canalfest. This Remington Tavern painting was displayed in the beautifully restored Riviera Theater where the giant organ was played to the delight of the crowds.

Breezes at Remington, 11x14 oil.





This is a link to a newspaper article by Jill Keppler, click to read it for my 'quotes' and a little bit of background on the day.

	Chasing light, catching shadows Source: tonawanda-news.com There are life lessons in plein air painting: It's all about location. Life keeps moving. Travel light. Embrace imperfection. Roll with the punch

Art Dialogue Gallery Members Show, 2013

The first shows of the year are often group exhibitions at many galleries. In fact, group show season starts with December gift exhibits, when galleries carry smaller works and crafted items for holiday gift giving. One of my favorite 5x7s got away from me this year and I have no photo of it, anywhere, at all. I can't even find it listed on my OCD calendar of what was painted when, size and media. It was nice to carry home a check, but I wish there was a photo of it in my camera. I usually have wonderful record keeping skills but I let it slip through the studio before it was documented!

That little jewel was a plein air of the front of Beaver Island Casino, showing just the garden and in a furniture grade mahogany frame. If you saw it in my studio you know why I call it a jewel, I expect the new owner is very pleased with their purchase.

On the other hand, the current show at Art Dialogue Gallery is self selected; artists choose one work to represent them for the month of January. It is usually very interesting to see different work from artists at this show, often pieces are experimental, different media or subjects. I chose this stately tree trunk painted at Sonnenburg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY last June. It was raining hard when I started so I nestled under an elegant archway in the Japanese gardens section. This tree was gripping the ground with the knowledge of a century, pulling up the earth and dwarfing boulders at its base. The sun came out at the right time and created contrast between the wet rocks and tree trunk and long shadows in the sunlit grass. Water continued to drip all around me from giant trees, but I remained dry with my pastels in the shelter

Aging Gracefully, pastel 16x12, 2012

Lewiston Art Festival Ribbon 2012

Although I participate at several individual events each year, they are usually indoors. My big 'sell it on the street' in a tent is also the nicest WNY art showcase. Artists apply for admission in the winter and their work is juried by a committee of artists. The jurors limit the number of artists and keep the show 'fine art' without work that is commercial or reproductions. It is a huge amount of preparation for me, and exhausting, but it is also the biggest social event, I see EVERYONE all in two days. Students, coworkers, neighbors, customers and acquaintances all come to chat and catch up. 

There are hundreds of artists and tens of thousands of visitors in Lewiston for the weekend. This photo by Carl shows Mary Grace Ohrum, a wonderful artist who started painting with Carl in the Artwheels program, and former neighbors from our first home on 3rd street, Niagara Falls, a lifetime ago.

Cooler weather prevailed for the annual weekend festival in Mid August, we always get rain in Lewiston but this year had only a brief downpour with a few minutes of sprinkles several times on Sunday. The sun shined brightly on my work though, as I was awarded a prize and an Honorable Mention ribbon in painting for this plein air, a view to the west side of Tuscarora State Park, looking across the creek, the water had a Caribbean color in brilliant sun which reflected into the spring trees.

Tuscarora Caribe, oil, 11x14 2011

Flying wet painting

The Towpath Plein air weekend paintout was held in Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, in the area of the Erie Canal. My painting named 'Morning Canal',was donated to Partners in Art Gallery for the Carnegie Art Center fundraiser, and was sold. Making the spirit of painting work, by supporting local projects is a goal to keep in mind.

The day this was painted was fairly windy and I often put my hand up to keep the easel steady in the gusts. Frequently, we step back from our work to see how it is progressing, one of those times it took off in a gust, tumbling end over end like a miscast frisbee and landing about 10 feet away, 'butter side' down on the lawn. A boater, watching just below me on the dock stood frozen with two hands up to her face as she watched it take off, muttering loudly, 'ooooh, ohhhh'. To me, it was just another plein air event to deal with and the painting bears some evidence of its adventure, a little dirt and some grass lines that add to the honesty of the art. I suppose if I was painting a bit closer to the canal I would have learned whether old wood houses can float.

Morning Canal, 10x8, oil, 2012

My most recent art show!

 Burchfield Penney Art Center invited area member artists to display their creative art work, naming the show 'Artists Among Us'. 669 responded to the call for work and a great opening night on May 18th featured crowds of artists and guests from one end of the huge building to another. Both Carl and I are included in this show, due to stay at the museum for a few months.

I took the pictures before we found our pictures, my tall vertical composition 'Shadow on the Pulpit' is nearly visible in the second photo bottom right, next to the portrait. Carl's digital collage, 'The Path' is right around the corner attracting a large crowd of admirers!

K. Schifano 'Shadow on the Pulpit'

Partners in Art Gallery show

NFPAP, the Niagara Frontier Plein Air Painters, group show at Partners in Art Gallery in North Tonawanda is under construction.
I visited with Paulette Jurek as we waited for our fellow artists to deliver and sign in their plein air paintings. We enjoyed seeing the works they selected especially when they were sites that I had also visited and painted. Being at the receiving desk gave me a chance to talk to everyone and catch up after a winter of studio work. Artist friends are the best!
The show opens with a reception March 3, 4-6:00 and continues until March 23.
Partners in Art Gallery
74 Webster Street
North Tonawanda NY
11am-5pm Tues-Sat

My 'November Plume' (1/6/12post) and 'Rock of Ages' are on the left side of photo.

Niagara Holiday Market

Downtown Niagara Falls has a new look, the Holiday Market is blooming, the ice is ready for your skating and there is a tree lighting every night. On black Friday Carl & I went to the market, I had delivered some art there on Wednesday and the carpenters were still assembling walls and installing windows and doors. On Friday it was still in progress, but many of the shops were open and doing a lot of business, the crowds were amazing.

464 Gallery has a double sized white tent-with heat-and they are carrying a number of my printed works, framed and in mats, calendars and cards. I plan to restock some things this week and expand the number of framed prints on the wall. The original Gallery is located at 464 Amherst Street in Buffalo, so this annex will be a whole new adventure for my Niagara Falls friends. Don't forget to stop in, come back to the market several times and shop these small businesses!