Salon at the Triton 2016

April 23, 2016

The Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California, hosts an annual Salon, a statewide competition and exhibition of 2-D work, this year guest juried by Charlotte Eyerman, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Monterey Museum of Art! Out of the 1450 submissions, 124 pieces by 114 artists were selected for the show, my painting Wildflower among them.

The reception for the salon is always packed and is hard to get a good look at all the work while visiting with artists and friends but it always make for a memorable evening! (This is my third year in a row exhibiting – knock on wood).

This year was very special, I was honored to have Aušra, the daughter of Antanas Štarka (the man whose portrait I painted in Wildflower) and partner Ilan attend the reception with Aušra’s niece Laura, straight from her flight from Europe! Aušra is an amazing photographer whose photograph had inspired the painting. It was Aušra too that had made the wreath of Lithuanian wildflowers that he’s wearing in the painting and I was so touched when she brought me a matching bouquet of flowers! One day soon this painting will travel on to Lithuania!

Sometimes I have fun dressing like my paintings – this time my friend, artist Tom Yacoe, unknowingly did… I understand he is even half Lithuanian!

There was just too many people to enjoy talking with to do a comprehensive award report – I’m not even sure who won all the prizes and will have to go back for a quiet, studious look later. But I’ll share a few photos of artists I was able to catch:

Lauren Herzog Schwartz – Exuberance III – charcoal

Denise Howard – Tenuous – graphite on paper, Belinda Lima – On the Edge – collage, Deepali Kapatkar Race Against Time and Juxtaposed – pastel on paper.

Vanessa Callanta – One Breath – charcoal on paper

Peter Carey – Pienza – watercolor on board

Monica Valdez – First Place Painting – Phyllotopsis I, Trametes, T. Versicolor – gouache and graphtie over watercolor, acrylic and monotype

Elizabeth Barlow – Pas de Deux – oil on linen

Nabeela Sajaad – Heavenly Refuge – acrylic on canvas

Also a special year because I got to meet up with my girlfriends and hit a Thai restaurant after!

If you’d like to see the full list of exhibiting artists, please click here for the link.

Holiday Reception – LGMG

December 4, 2015

A very festive Holiday Reception at Los Gatos Museum Gallery last night. Champagne, wine and tapas, many artists, friends, patrons and lots and lots of art!

Tom Yacoe, Marie Cameron, Danielle Dufayet

Stacey Nussbaum

Marie Pascal

David Stonesifer, Ellen Howard and Carole Rafferty

Katy Kindig, Donna Orme

Veronica Gross

Joan Drennan and her patron.

Ellen Howard and Belinda Lima

Pinot making friends with Karen Van Galder’s cat sculpture (realistic enough to growl at earlier).

Santa Baby…..

Champagne and Chocolate LGMG

August 3, 2015

We held a champagne and chocolate reception at the Los Gatos Museums Gallery on Sunday to usher in the new hang. It’s a great way to see the new work and meet the new artists that have joined our ranks!

Here’s a lovely detail from A.D. Ballantyne’s oil, Mother’s Teacup, one of our newest member artists.

I love when life imitates art, in this case artist Rebex Nie was visiting the gallery wearing what could almost have been one of our member artist, Belinda Lima’s, collage paintings!

We should really do this every Sunday! Actually, next Sunday from 3-6 pm Marie Pascal, our featured artist for August, will be hosting a reception for her exquisite watercolors which are hung on this central display above. Her works are so moving they literally brought one lovely visitor to tears. She’s just that good!

The Salon

December 14, 2014

I’m always impressed by the great quality and diversity of work that goes into this annual statewide competition and exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art, work that is made even stronger by the context of how it is paired with other pieces which reinforces aesthetics or meanings by drawing on similarities or emphasizing contrasts.

Amazing color and movement on this wall, topped off by a mixed media piece, Having Fun, by Jeanette Turkus.

Incredibly strong portrait it an interesting color to grey-tone ombre effect.

I think these red shoes (apart from Shards) might have been my personal favorite in the exhibit!

I love the way these prints were hung next to Shards, both works were ocean themed made up of swirling strokes.

Sequins, shells and Shards-Point Alones at the Salon!

Of course the big news of the night is who won the coveted solo shows that the Triton was offering …. this time the honor went to a painter and a photographer.

Stephanie Lam not only won Best in Show for her oil, African Child 3, but also an Honorable Mention for her oil, African Child 1!

Similarly, Yao-pi Hsu (who I know from the Los Gatos Museums Gallery) also won Best in Show for her photograph, Splash and Flow and took a third in photography for a second of three pieces she had juried into the show, Beyond the Surface!

Mei-Ying Dell’Aquila was awarded Third Place for her oil Her Muses.

Ron Dell’Aquila took First Place in photography with Toy Maker, one of two photographs he had int he show.

Kim Newell was awarded an Honorable Mention for her oil, After the Storm.

Cherryl Pape was awarded an Honorable Mention for her charcoal drawing, James.

Jeff Owen was awarded an Honorable Mention for his digital photo, Squeezer.

I see a David Lippenberger painting in the corner.

Great glasses combo on the right!

Belinda Lima with her mixed media piece, Perceived Realites.

Julia Watson with her oil, Nocturne 2.

Lynette R. Cook with her acrylic, All Lined Up (up top).

Vanessa Callanta with her acrylic, Bryan’s Hands.

In the end, there are just so many people to talk with – it was hard to catch everyone I wanted to! There were plenty of artist shots that I missed, and I definitely need to go back for a closer look at all the great work!

Thanks to all my friends who dropped by to say hello- It always means so much to me!

Joyeux Noël!

December 5, 2014

A lovely evening of art, wine, hors d’oeuvres and great company at the Los Gatos Museums Gallery’s holiday reception! It’s so nice to spend the evening with all our local member artists and our fabulous art loving community!

The holiday reception invitation was based on a detail from the painting, Joyeux Noël by one of new member artists, Johane Amirault’s. Her vibrant, (usually) abstract work is a welcome addition to the gallery!

I love the way the community comes our to celebrate with us every year!

The tree was hung with the small treasure paintings, proceeds of which are earmarked for our party fund! Looks like member artist Belinda Lima is working the desk.

Member artists Ellen Howard (who’s new to the gallery this year with her beautiful oil landscapes) and Ed Lucey chatting in the corner.

Member artist Veronica Gross conversing with quests in this corner.

I love when this kind of thing happens, I had gone over to complement this woman on her fabulous taste (loved her vintage style) only to find out that she was the very person who now owns the folding screen that is in the background of my painting Feathers! Her friend, Lisa, had discovered this the month before when she was admiring my painting and brought her to the reception. It was a blast to talk with Shanna and Lisa, who are both portrait lovers, and to hear their fabulous stories of the portraits in their lives. I felt like I was finding members of my tribe!

Member artists Mary Ann Henderson and Carole Rafferty talking with artist Tom Yacoe.

Larry Arzie with guests by the small treasures tree.

Is that member artist Kevin Kasik on the left (I’m not sure as it looks like he’s traded his standard page boy for a holiday fedora)?

Member artists Julia Watson and Nancy deWeess looking to thank co-owners Larry Arzie and David Stonesifer for all they do to make this great gallery possible!

Thanks too to Julia Watson, member artist and part time manager of our gallery for all her hard work making this year a very successful one!

Member artist Sandi Okita who has some beautiful portraits on exhibit.

Thanks to everyone who turned out and to those who volunteered to make this a such a nice event!

Exchange Day

November 15, 2013

Exchange day at the Gallery is always a lot of fun – out with the old and in with the new! I brought in Lily of the Valley with Cows, Rose Mandalas III & IV, Hybrid Tea Rose I, Rose Bud I and Rose Petals I. So great to see what everybody else was bringing in and there’s more coming tomorrow too! Our hanging committee will work on installing the pieces clear through Sunday. Hanging salon style is a challenging and interesting process – I’m sure they could give the home decorator lots of tips about what works and what doesn’t when combining such different styles and media. You could go in and watch them – it’s like a chess match!

Chris Dok’s palette knife floral still life in the window.

Me with my paintings, Lily of the Valley with Cows and Rose Mandala IV.

Lily of the Valley with Cows is looking good on the main wall, at least for now. The hanging crew must shift work around a lot before everything works together.

We must sign in and out all of our work – we may not be high tech but we’re thorough!

We are welcoming a handful of new member artists this exchange – very exciting!

I particularly enjoy these paintings on the floor by new member Stacey Pollard.

Here’s one of Jeff Owen‘s sculptures. The robin’s egg blue ball caught in the branches of the tree is quite lovely!

I see Belinda Lima is bringing in one of her great collages – cropped bridge, cat and woman, intriguing – I need a better look!

The work will on exhibit from November 19 – January 24, (art that sells through will be replaced). Our fabulous Holiday Reception is Thursday December 5, 6-8:30 pm – always a well attended, festive affair!

Belinda Lima’s Shapes

October 22, 2013

Collage artist, Belinda Lima in front of her painting, Abanico, one many dynamic works on exhibit at the Granite Rock Design Center in Cupertino where she is the featured artist through to December 6.

Scenes from the reception on Saturday, including Nancy Wulffe (center), who Belinda had taken drawing and watercolor classes from. There were lots of artists attending the reception!

I know Belinda through the Los Gatos Museums Gallery where we’re both member artists, I love her work, full of print and pattern and texture, her subjects are instantly recognizable, stylized, cropped images, women with an umbrella, a fan, a bag, a dog, or a guitar and her abstracted Golden Gate Bridge, each work has a restrained palette with a hit of color. I was so happy to make the reception on Saturday and I asked her if there was a symbolism behind these very specific objects that appear throughout her work? She gave me a true collage artist’s response – “I like the shapes”. Love it! The collage artist is so physically and intimately aware of shape as they hold each piece of paper in their hands while tearing it just so or carving it out with an exacto blade or snipping aware with scissors. It is all about the shapes. Belinda did say too that she likes her subjects to have some interaction and these objects that have an implied movement work well. I think that her real subjects though are these iconic objects and the figures serve as accessories for them.

Unexpected Reunion, in my personal collection, packs a lot into it’s six square inches! I love how Belinda has used a lot of different textures and patterns but because of her subdued colors, the effect is not at all overwhelming. The delicate tissue she uses makes the light umbrella transparent, which seems to echo the barely discernible features on the woman’s face and hands. Her vague expression helps to create intrigue and there is a a nice physical and metaphorical tension between transparency and opacity.

Belinda’s Bridges are all about shapes too, here the squares of negative space in the bridge help to set up a grid for laying out pieces of the San Francisco skyline. Left to right they are Bridge # 5, The Bridge and Bridge #6.

Belinda Lima’s work can be also be viewed on her website at belindalima.com or at the Los Gatos Museums Gallery.