Families in Transition-Men's Residence

Our paintings are finally up at the men's residence of Families in Transition.  While they were unable to host a reception for our artists, they gave me a tour and I took some photos.  Each painting has a beautiful label with the artist's name and the title of the painting.  The paintings on the left in the photo above are by Judy Gelinas. The one on the right is by Deb Funk.

The top painting is by Carolina Chauvette and the bottom one by Stephanie Bogalis Byrd.  I think their designer did a good job with arranging the paintings in the common areas.

Painting above is by Paul Davidson.

The designer put some paintings in the entry hallway. The one above is by Anthony Williams and the one below by Debbie Curtin.

All photos by Linda H. Feinberg.

If you missed it, the Hippo had a nice writeup about our laundromat mural at 720 Union Street in their August 7-13 edition on page 21 (The link on left will bring you to the digital edition. If you type Laundromat in the search box, it will give you a link to page 21. You can click on the article to enlarge it and read it.) Thank you, Kelly Sennott.

Libraries and Spring Projects

Three of our members have works displayed at the Derry (NH) Public Library for the month of March. The exhibit is free and open to the public during library hours.

Rabbi Y'Shia by Linda Feinberg
acrylic, 8" X 10"

Mount Washington by Deb Funk, Watercolor

Red Leaves by John Mitchell
Photograph

Two landscape paintings by Linda Feinberg

Good news for spring projects:

We have a commitment (and a donation) for a mural on a building on Union Street.  The mural area of the wall is 30’ long  X 3’ high. We are accepting donations for this project at this time.  Anthony Williams will be in charge of the design and supervision of the painters.  We will be starting the design work this month and hope to do the cleaning up and priming of the wall in the spring.  The actual painting of the mural will probably be done in the late spring or early summer.  We have several artists who will be painting as well as two charter schools and their students who will be helping out.  Please consider making a donation with Paypal or by check to cover the costs of supplies for this project. Thank you.

Our winter project for Families in Transition has been completed and all the paintings were delivered to them for their men’s residence.  They will be having a reception for us when they have completed some interior work in the residence and have our paintings on the walls.

Men's Residence, Rest of the Paintings for FIT

Our second project for Families in Transition is finished.  These paintings will be going into their men’s residence soon. Thank you to the artists of Friends of Art Manchester for painting for this project. Great job!

Yins Yang by Paul Davidson

Acrylic, 16” X 20”

Pony Ride

by Carolina Chauvette

Acrylic, 16" X 20"

(For the clueless, this blogger

 included,this is a Mustang.)

Men's Residence, Paintings for FIT Project #2

Our second project for Families in Transition is almost finished.  These paintings will be going into their men’s residence soon. Thank you to the artists of Friends of Art Manchester for painting for this project. Great job!

Believe by Debbie Curtin.  I think most of you will recognize this guy. 

Acrylic, 8” X 10”

Judy Gelinas had such a good time with the canvas she was given that she decided to make two paintings!

Old Reliable by Judy Gelinas

Acrylic,  8” X 10”

Peaceful Evening by Judy Gelinas

Acrylic, 8" X 10"

Anthony Williams loves to paint in watercolors.  This painting is acrylic on canvas, but you can see the watercolor influence on him. So peaceful and beautiful.

Waterfall by Anthony Williams

Acrylic, 8” X 10”

Deb Funk is just getting back to art as her life has been very busy. 

We’re very glad she joined our group.

Spring Meadow by Deb Funk

Acrylic, 16” X 20”

Reception at Families in Transition

Friends of Art Manchester had a wonderful reception at the women’s residence on Lowell Street last week.  Our art was up on the walls and we were given a tour of the facility.  The residence provides interim housing for 11 families and permanent supportive housing for six chronically homeless individuals.  The interim units serve as a safe space for families to stay as they wait to enter Families in Transition programming.

Paul Davidson’s colorful mandala is hanging on the wall of the second floor.  Paul is also participating in our second project for FIT. We are painting canvases again to decorate the men’s residence. Those paintings will be done in February.

We were welcomed by Karyn O’Neil, Chair of the Board of Directors of Families inTransition. Our Treasurer, Linda Feinberg spoke briefly and introduced our Vice President, Anthony Williams who told us about his vision for more public art in Manchester.  Linda also introduced our new President, Stephanie Bogalis.

Left to right: Anthony Williams, Linda Feinberg, Carolina Chauvette, Paul Davidson.

As you enter the building you are greeted by a painting of beautiful flowers by our Vice President, Anthony Williams.  Anthony is also a muralist and will be in charge of a spring project. You’ll be hearing more about that in a few months.

Carolina Chauvette likes big paintings and this one fills an interior hallway.  She also does commissioned work, painting portraits of musicians on canvas or guitar cases.

Carolina is a member of the Arts Commission and Friends of Art Manchester will be providing art at City Hall in May and June.  

Sunrise painting on left is by our Treasurer, Linda Feinberg. The Birches painting on right is by member Frank Moulin.  These paintings are hanging in the living room.

Paintings by members Deb Funk (on left), Aline Lotter (below) and Colleen O’Connor (bottom) are displayed in the kitchen/cafeteria.  

Art Exhibit

Just a reminder that Families in Transition is hosting an art exhibit (rescheduled from a snowy date in December) this Thursday, January 16th at 136 Lowell Street, Manchester, from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

The artwork that will be viewed was specifically made for the Lowell Street Housing Building and will be hung there permanently for all who enter this building to enjoy.  If you have been following this blog for a while, you will remember that we posted images of our paintings as our artists completed them. Now you can see the originals!

Along with perusing artwork by local artists, this event will include a short program on how Friends of Art Manchester and Families in Transition are making a difference in our community. Light fare and refreshments will be available. 

Families in Transition provides safe, affordable housing and comprehensive social services to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, enabling them to gain self-sufficiency and respect. 

The first annual meeting of Friends of Art Manchester will be held on Wednesday of this week.  If you are a member, you should have received an e-mail with information.  If you did not, please contact our treasurer.

BELIEVE

The word means  "confidence". I chose this as the one word to add to my painting of David Ortiz. On the evening the Red Sox won the World Series we were watching the television as clip after clip of the festivities were broadcast. Before too many moments went by I grabbed my camera (as my husband, Steve just shook his head because he wasn't surprised at my thought process) and began taking photos of the images as they flashed by on the screen. This one of David Ortiz featured his signature sunglasses and speaking to the crowd from the heart. He is a great role model and I was happy to include this as part of Family in Transition's request of art work for the men's living area.

Post and painting by Debbie Curtin.

Deb's painting is part of our second project for Families in Transition and will be going into the men's residence.

A Few Updates

The second project with Families in Transition is going forward.  We are painting canvases for their men’s residence.  All the canvases have been picked up and two of the proposals have been accepted. The other artists will be submitting their proposals soon and then can start painting.  There will be a reception for the artists who painted canvases for the women’s residence on December 17th.  If this sounds like something you would like to do, please consider becoming a member of Friends of Art Manchester and getting involved.

We have a location in Manchester (a restaurant downtown) that will host 3-4 paintings on a monthly basis.  We have already met with the owner.  Now we are looking for someone to chair this committee and be responsible for changing the artwork each month.

We also have a good possibility for a space for a pop-up gallery downtown, possibly for Valentine’s Day.  This space may continue for us to use in the future as well.

We are investigating a spring project, a mural on Union Street. The owner is definitely interested, now our intrepid crew will come up with some details.  This project will probably involve several artists working with the muralist, and possibly some students as well.

You may have noticed an earlier post about painting electric boxes.  We are on the list to be contacted for proposals.  This will also be a spring project. Initially there will be three boxes to be painted.

Hope all our readers had a wonderful holiday weekend and are looking forward to snow! Please send suggestions to us for future blog posts.  Thank you.

Acrylic painting, 16” X 20” by Linda H. Feinberg of snowmobile on the trail in Auburn, NH.  

Our weekend painters

Some of our members participated in the Art in Action event in Londonderry, NH over the weekend. This was held in two different buildings, Mack’s Apples and Shady Hill Nursery.

On the left:  Frank Moulin and some of his beautiful watercolors.

Debbie Curtin looked like she was having fun talking to everyone.

Anthony Williams (our vice president) and author Joe Smiga enjoyed their conversation too.  These photos were taken in the greenhouse by our treasurer, Linda Feinberg.

Some of Anthony's paintings.

And a reminder: Our second project with Families in Transition is going forward and we have six artists committed to paint.  We have one more canvas available.  This will be similar to our last project with FIT except that we will be painting the canvases for their men’s residence this time.  Contact treasurer Linda Feinberg if you would like more information.



Update: 11/12/13: the last canvas has been spoken for. Please contact Linda if you would like to be on the list for the next project.

Final Paintings for Families in Transition Project

Carolina Chauvette painted this beautiful butterfly for our project with Families in Transition.  

The final paintings have been delivered to FIT and we are waiting for them to notify us when they will be having a reception so we can enjoy seeing all the paintings hanging on the walls of the residence.

An interesting mandala by Paul Davidson. Acrylic painting 16” X 20”.

We will be having a meeting on Wednesday evening, October 23^rd and hope to pick our next project at that time. If you need more information, contact our treasurer or president. Contact information

Project Update - FIT

Another beautiful acrylic painting by Frank Moulin. He mentioned that he used a sponge on this one to create texture. Sounds like a fun technique. This one is 16” X 20”

Our newest member, Deb Funk, submitted this colorful bird on an 8” X 10” canvas. This should certainly brighten up the residence walls for Families in Transition.

Our FIT project is coming to a close. We are waiting for the last two canvases and then we hope to have a reception at the residence for our artists and the public sometime this month or next. Stay tuned….more information will be posted when we know the dates.

Project Updates

Finished paintings are coming in now for our project with Families in Transition. This one is by our Vice President, Anthony Williams.

I'm sure FIT will be happy with this horse. Painting by our President, Colleen O'Connor.

Two other paintings were posted earlier, on August 27th.

Our last project, the meters on Elm Street, has raised over $300 for New Horizons. That will pay for about 100 dinners.  Pat Long, the downtown alderman who initiated the project has ordered additional signage to be attached to the posts so people will be clear on why those meters are there. We've received lots of positive feedback on the meters.

Project Updates

Two paintings have been approved and will be donated to Families in Transition for their residences.

The painting “Sunrise, a New Day” is by Linda Feinberg, our treasurer and chief blogger. It is 16” X 20” and inspired by a beautiful sunrise seen in Costa Rica while on vacation.  Linda has paintings, prints & cards on exhibit in September at the Derry Public Library in their display case.

Another painting that has been approved is by Aline Lotter (photo below). It is an 8” X 10” painting. Aline is a new member of Friends of Art Manchester and we will be posting more of her artwork soon.  Meanwhile, she posts weekly to her blog: http://paintingsbyaline.wordpress.com/ and has paintings on exhibit at the Hatfield Gallery and East Colony Fine Art Gallery, both at Langer Place, 55 S. Commercial St., Manchester, NH.

If you are considering joining us for this project, your initial sketch for approval is due this week.  Once it has been approved, you will be notified and you can pick up a canvas to paint.  There is one 8”X 10” canvas left and three 16” X 20” canvases. Proposals are due by the end of August. Paintings are due at the end of September and all information is available on this blog by clicking on the tabs at the top of this blog page.

A little marketing note from Linda: If you are selling cards, prints or originals, make sure you keep track of your customers and collectors.  The Jewish new year (Rosh Hashanah) is next week. I looked back through my past order of Rosh Hashanah card customers, sent out some e-mails with links to images of my current cards and received several new orders.  In business remember, it’s always easier to sell again to an existing customer, they are already happy with your work.