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.

Local Inspiration for Artists

Photos of Dorrs Pond by John Mitchell

Photos taken with 35 mm Cannon AE1

These photos were taken by John Mitchell a member of Friends of Art Manchester.  John was born in Maine and received his B.S. in Film and Radio Sound from the University of Oregon. John has lived in Manchester since 1984 and has been active in the arts community for several years.

Contact info: John Mitchell jacatols1@hotmail.com

Paintings of Dorrs Pond by Linda Feinberg

Acrylic painting of fall and the Dorrs Pond boatramp.

Dorrs Pond is located at Livingston Park in Manchester. The walk around the pond is about 1 mile.  There is a playground at the park for children and benches to rest on.  It is an easy walk.

This painting is also acrylic of fall at the pond. There are usually ducks there (mallards). Sometimes I see herons and Canada geese there too. (Also frogs and turtles.)

This one is watercolor, pen and ink.  The pondhouse as seen from the bridge over the pond.

While these three paintings are of the fall, the pond has beautiful views to paint or photograph in any season. There are beautiful flowering trees in the spring, interesting snow and ice shapes on the ice in the winter; Lovely reflections in the water in the summer. It is a good place to visit and be inspired.

Contact info: lhfeinberg@yahoo.com

www.lindafeinberg.com

To view full screen photos, just click on them.

Aline Lotter - Plein Air Painter

Aline Lotter is a plein aire painter and has submitted these four images that got her accepted into the upcoming (Sept 27-29) Blackstone Valley Plein Air Festival.  

Aline has recently retired from her law practice and we hope she has more time to enjoy painting and blogging. She also does studio painting. Her blog is currently focusing on nudes: http://paintingsbyaline.wordpress.com/

Blog post by Aline Lotter:

"Musicians at the Farmers Market" was painted on Marco Island, Florida, last February.  We needed shade and the people in charge wouldn't let us use the communal tent to paint in, because they had some artists who bought space for tents of their own.  We found some tree shade, but it was outside the venue, all the way behind the musicians.  Ok, we made the best of it!

"Apples Ready to Pick" was painted at Mack's Apples in Londonderry.  It was part of an International Plein Air Painters weekend.  The painting has been very successful, winning spots in juried exhibitions and even an award.

"Strawberry Field" is the most recent of this group.  I painted it last May in the course of the Bartlett Artists Getaway weekend.  That field between me and Cathedral Ledge is a strawberry field, and lies to the west of North Conway.  It has not been exhibited yet.

The last is the smallest and perhaps the oldest:  "Wentworth by the Sea" from the rear was painted as part of some organized event, and was shown for the rest of the summer by the McGowan Gallery in the Wentworth Coolidge gallery space.  I've always thought it one of my best, yet, like the rest, it remains unsold.

To contact Aline:

603-289-7447
www.paintingsbyaline.com
paintingsbyaline@mac.com

Paul Davidson - Musician & Artist

 When he's not performing, writing, or recording his music and others, you can find Paul Davidson with pen and paper making elaborate drawings of his perception of Life. Starting back in high school, doodling on books became commonplace for Paul and now have taken on a larger form. They now encompass full canvases with hours/days of work. Full of metaphors and symbolism, one can't just view a single picture in a single moment - one has to dig into the depth to understand any meaning.

 Only recently Paul has added more color in his art. Using Watercolors, Acrylics, Spray Paint or just about anything with color, he composes ideas that free form in his head to unique designs on canvas and walls. 

With all this creative juice going on Paul has also created an eclectic Art and Music production called, The OBE Show. It's a collaboration of musicians, artists, metaphysics, food, drink and good spirits. Each person usually leaves with a shared experience and a heightened awareness of oneself through the senses.

  

For more information on Paul Davidson

                             E-Mail - iampaulsmail@yahoo.com

                             Him - https://www.facebook.com/paul.davidson.3914

                             His Art - https://www.facebook.com/PauliArt

                             His Music - https://www.facebook.com/mindsetx

                             His Show - https://www.facebook.com/TheO.B.E.Show

      

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.

A moment in time by guest blogger Debbie Curtin

It is still a vivid moment in time. My poster won 1st prize in our 4th grade safety-themed contest. $5 was put in a savings account at our local bank and my teacher handed me a passbook with my name on it! My interest continued through high school leading to a career choice of Commercial Art in college. During that time there was a call for artists to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of our country. 4'x8' panels were set up in the North Shore Mall. I chose to replicate the 1776 version with the three minutemen  in a huge silkscreen print. It was quite a challenge to make the screen and print a giant image.

 My first real job as a layout artist for the Lawrence Eagle Tribune became the foundation of everything I do as an artist today. Balancing design, type, color, images and other elements to create a cohesive composition is in every piece of my artwork.

Fast forward to my day job where a safety-themed  contest saw me walk away with more than $5. And the murals today on panels throughout Manchester? Who knew I'd be setting myself up back then for more challenges with big ideas!

Copywriting to sell a product or idea has led me into more writing. From years spent crafting 'human interest' stories for a local newspaper to having a current online column, words have continued to play an important part of my creative endeavors. I am a member of the NH Writer's Project, and SCWRI. "Today is the Day", my first completed fiction novel is soon to be published. I am happy to say my children's wordless picture book, "Peril on the High Seas" won honorable mention at the 2013 New England Book Festival.

More good things are on the way!

Contact Information:

Deborah Curtin

debcurtin5@gmail.com

603-247-3267

[Debbie is a new member of Friends of Art Manchester and participated in the meter project. Her meter is pictured in the post of August 12, 2013. It is the yellow one across the street from Copy Express, in the 5^th set of pictures in that post.  Welcome and thanks for your guest post.]

Updates and New Project

The meters have collected $97 so far for New Horizons.  We have been receiving lots of positive feedback about our artwork.

The submission information for the next project is up now. Click the submissions tab at the top of this page to read the details.  We will be donating paintings to beautify the residences run by Families in Transition. For our initial project, there will be six 16" by 20" canvases available and two 8" X 10" canvases.  We expect that this will be an ongoing project as FIT has many buildings and they are happy to have art donated for them.

Contact information is on the form.  Hope to hear from you soon.  If you are not chosen on this first round of paintings, don't worry.  We'll keep your information and notify you when there is another opportunity. We hope you'll join us in our mission to get more art downtown and bring your ideas and talents to our group.