Category Archives: art

abstract, art, art education, art exhibition, Karen Tashkovski, painting

Generations

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Central New York artists are currently exhibiting artwork at Munson (formerly known as the Munson-Williams-Proctor) Museum of Art, 310 Genesee Street, Utica, New York 13502.

Anita Welych (b. 1958) – The former Cazenovia College art professor has created an installation with a focus on printmaking – a study of birds/migration/nature.

Carlie Miller Sherry (b. 1990) – The artist is a visiting professor of art at Pratt Munson. She uses an indigo palette to express a futurism concept – movement that conveys a sense of agitation/unrest.

Lynette Stephenson (b. 1959) – She teaches studio art at Colgate University. Stephenson’s paintings are large scale florals that speak of vibrant color and textural intensity.

Mary Gaylord Loy (b. 1930) – An established painter with seventy years of expertise under her belt, this artist allows herself to unravel the mysteries of mark making. These immense pieces are all new and I am truly inspired – to contemplate such longevity as an artist for myself; to continue to create art and go big – that is the dream of dreams.

Gregory Lawler (b. 1963) – Pratt Munson students can learn from their master – their professor has created puzzles of wisdom juxtaposed as allegory in these visual college oil paintings.

John Loy (b. 1930) – The retired professor is fascinated by the visual language of the elements of art creating tangled paths of line, shape and color to create exciting visual textures.

Ken Marchione (b. 1962) – This Yale graduate and Pratt Munson drawing professor has recently created combines that reflect a sabbatical journey to European cities/museums. There he was exposed to figurative statues and incorporated nameless faces of people he encountered (other tourists and locals) into his assemblages. They are in-progress works as he continues to reflect and digest his time out of the classroom.

Me (b. 1963) – I contributed a work of art to the museum. Bobbi and I had so much fun investigating the nooks and crannies of this amazing place! I drew her portrait in an art activity room.

We stumbled upon a private room with an on-loan from somewhere else Mark Rothko painting. There were also works by Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollack and so much more!

Thank you, Munson, for inviting us to your Art Educators night out. We loved it.

Generations – Artists of Central New York continues through January 7, 2024. View hours of operation on their web-site and other information such as art classes, museum memberships and other opportunities.

art, collage, encaustic, found object, Karen Tashkovski

Fanning

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During the summer, I added two dozen paintings to the series called Sensu, fan paintings I’d created in 2019. They are encaustic & collage.

Last week, I bought new frames for the Sensu paintings and re-worked some of them, and I spent the past few days adding collage items to the new pieces and placing them all in frames.

Next up is to give them titles and upload the individual images here. And figure out where I can exhibit them all. There are thirty-six paintings, all 8″ x 8″.

In my head I heard “make sixty of them” – which would require me to buy twenty-four more canvases and twenty-four more frames, pull out the encaustic supplies and find the time to do it (Chrtistmas break?) – postpone exhibiting them until next summer or whenever.

Do I need to make more though? When I feel like I have to do something rather than wanting to do it, it is not fun.

What is fun though – creation. So fun.

art, art exhibition, art in libraries, painting

Sharon Frost

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I am in love with these “decorative” paintings by Sharon Frost. They are currently on view at the Manlius Library (1 Arkie Albanese Drive, Manlius, NY 13104).

The titles of the work indicate the beauty of this artist’s soul and I truly feel that owning one of these gems will infuse your home with positivity. For more information on Frost, check out her website – www.frostdecorativepainting.com.

The exhibition concludes at the end of August.

Library hours –

Monday10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday10:00 am – 5:00 pm
SundayClosed (Summer Hours)
abstract, acrylic, art, art exhibition, art in libraries, Karen Tashkovski, painting

Process

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A number of these paintings by Cazenovia artist Hon Go David Robertson are sporting red dot stickers on their tags indicating that they have been sold. Great news that a library show can garner sales.

This exhibition is located inside the Cazenovia Public Library, 100 Albany Street, Cazenovia, New York 13035.

There will be a reception for the artist on August 26th, 2023 at 6:00 pm. I believe the work will be up for the duration of the month of August.

In his statement, Robertson refers to the process of creating these incredibly textured acrylic paintings. He considers the creation a celebration of the present moment.

The show is actually titled “Texture Through Time”.

Hours of Operation:

Monday-Thursday: 10am-8pm
Friday: 10am-6pm
Saturday: 10am-4pm
Closed Sunday

Call (315) 655-9322 for more information.

art, encaustic, Karen Tashkovski, oil painting

Encaustic!

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My art studio is a mess right now.

I’m creating two different series of encaustic and collage paintings. I am so excited about these new ideas. Encaustic is a combination of beeswax and oil paint. The action required is deliberate and fast-paced. As soon as you remove the brush from the paint tin (which is resting on a heated pancake griddle), you must plunk it down quickly or it will solidify. It requires incredible focus coupled with an intuitive spark.

So grateful for the rainy day today. I worked in the studio from 9:00 am until about 5:30 pm.

The next step is adding the collage materials. That part is a bit like when a stylist accessorizes a fashion show. I have an idea of what devices I will use, materials that will make sense with the story I am telling visually. Each painting is unique but they must also be cohesive as a group.

I’m in the process of setting up a Patreon page for my social media with the idea that I can have exclusive articles and videos to share with the patrons. And information regarding art exhibitions. Right now it’s a bit overwhelming because my focus is currently on the execution of the artwork. Once that is all settled, I can share the link and reveal what I’ve been doing. Stay tuned.

It’s never a good idea to reveal in progress work unless you really want a critique. My thought is I want to cherish it, keep it to myself and enjoy the process. For now.

Today I said to myself – This is the best day of my life! Creating art is such a gift. Thank you, universe! <3

art, art exhibition, art museum, fiberarts

The Powerful Legacy

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If you need another reason to visit the Everson Museum of Art, Mara Baldwin’s work is there. But hurry, because the exhibition ends on August, 6th, 2023.

Mara Baldwin is an educator, artist and historian, studying the artwork of local female artists like Adelaide Robineau. Baldwin pays attention to the detail and intricacies of Robineau’s carvings and replicates the essence into fiber art that hovers the walls and leaps off into three-dimensional space in this tiny tucked-away-in-the-way-back gallery on the museum’s first floor.

The exhibit is part of a local artist initiative, which is a good thing, but really – why not put the museum store in that space? Tucked away would not be an issue because shoppers can sniff out a store. Everybody knows that.

It would be a shame if visitors missed this show. Mara Baldwin tackles personal and historical conundrums about life and the pursuit of goals, happiness and freedoms while weaving herself into the fiber of that history with modern aplomb.

We are all a part of that collective fabric. Just don’t blink and miss it.

art, art exhibition, art for sale, art in libraries, Karen Tashkovski

Art Guild @ FFL

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Through the month of July 2023, the North Syracuse Art Guild is having an art show and sale in the gorgeous Stickley Mission Oak-filled room at the Fayetteville Free Library, 300 Orchard Street, Fayetteville, New York 13066. What a beautiful place to spend an afternoon!

And if you haven’t yet been to the second floor to visit the Stickley Museum, it is open today!

Win-win!

animals in art, art, art for sale, art gallery, Arts & Crafts, bracelets, ceramics, festival, ice cream, Karen Tashkovski, oil painting, oil pastels, restaurant, retail, shopping

Skaneateles Artisans

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Retail space is at a premium at Skaneateles Artisans. This is the gallery on the lower level of the Old Stone Mill, located at 3 Fennell Street, Skaneateles, New York 13152.

Teresa Vitale is the owner. She is also a very successful artist who creates faux finishes on furniture and fireplace mantles in homes. Some of her work is on display in the gallery as well as paintings, ceramic and glassware, jewelry and trinkets created by over one hundred local artists and artisans.

It is a gift-giver’s paradise.

There is so much from which to choose. I was telling my friend Janine that I was so overwhelmed by it all that I would have to go through my pictures to really digest everything and I would probably see things in the pictures I didn’t remember seeing in person. In that regard, this gallery is a place one must frequent often. That and the fact that stock gets replaced often. It is a cash and carry business, unlike other galleries where the exhibit must conclude before one can take stuff home.

The Skaneateles Curbstone Festival continues today, July 21, 2023, from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. This gallery did not have an outdoor presence but over forty other vendors are sidewalk sale-ing it. In addition, there are magic acts, balloon animal makers, musical guests, sightseeing cruises on the lake and many fine dining restaurants to experience.

We visited yesterday and had such a wonderful adventure of discovery while shopping the numerous stores on Jordan Street and West Genesee Street, as well as Fennell, culminating in a watermelon and feta salad lunch at The Sherwood Inn followed by custard ice cream from Doug’s Fish Fry.

So fun! <3

8th grade art, art, art education, art exhibition, art museum, art resources, Karen Tashkovski, painting

Let’s Be Frank

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Of all the art exhibits I have ever viewed, this one is the one I think my students would like the most. It is so easy to understand the complex clarity of this man as he visualizes it all on the page.

Frank Buffalo Hyde was born in 1974. His artwork reflects a Native American heritage with the modern twist of American popular culture imagery to include the ever-evolving role of modern technology as it relates to his 1980s childhood.

Primary colors, bold brushstrokes juxtaposed with more nuanced ones, figures emerging from the canvases as if they’ve been removed from a photo album of memories and planted here – all offering a sense of pride and joy.

I don’t see social (in)justice, like in the work of Jaune “Quick-to-See” Smith. Her retrospective exhibition is currently on view at the Whitney in New York City. For an art lesson, I used her paintings as reference to create mixed-media paintings using collage to link images of horses with personal message text.

Instead, Frank Buffalo Hyde’s work is autobiographical. The paintings are personal and yet, we can identify with them. I admire him for this – that he can tell this intimate story through a visual language that me and eighth graders can understand. I mean, I think we can. There is always that bit of mystery in everyone.

I want to be like Frank.

Native Americana is currently on view in galleries A and B at The Everson Museum of Art. You have plenty of time to see it. The show is up until September 10th, 2023.

401 Harrison Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315) 474 6064

Museum Hours
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 11:00am – 5:00pm
Thursday: 11:00am – 8:00pm
Friday: 11:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am – 5:00pm

art, art museum, Karen Tashkovski, painting

Problem Solved

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The Partridge Family’s debut was in 1970 on Fridays on ABC. That was about the time I first visited The Everson Museum of Art. We’ve had topsy-turvy weather so far this summer in Syracuse, New York – some air quality issues due to Canadian wildfires then rainy days followed by ninety-three degree heat-wavy stuff.

Currently, Amazon Prime has The Partridge Family series in its entirety available to stream. The weather made me do it. I’ve been inside watching it and now I am at the tail end of it. Some episodes are very memorable, like the one with the Albuquerque runaway, and others not so much (part of the 4th season with a four-year-old guest singer is pretty excruciating). But I am sticking with it. The jokes are so much funnier from my adult perspective. In some respects, the show is dated, specifically as they are handling issues such as women’s rights and race relations. But in other ways, such as Danny’s behavior issues – wow! And the maxi skirt for day looks worn by Shirley and Laurie are timeless perfection. Nostalgia timey-wimey at its finest.

The Everson has offered me something similar. Many of the paintings hanging in the Off the Rack exhibition housed in galleries C and D were hanging on the museum’s walls in the 1970s.

Now the old are juxtaposed with newer pieces, all harmonizing well via color and proportion just as the set decoration and costumes worn by the Partridges had a mix and matchy thing. Although, truth-be-told, David Cassidy and Shirley Jones were the only harmonious singers of the flock. The rest were just posers.

There is no reason to harvest a collection of visual valuables if you don’t take the time to look at them. The Everson Museum of Art has created this salon style cacophony of artwork to solve a storage issue. They are renovating the storage space. Off the Rack is a walk-in closet posing as an art show. But so what? It’s still pretty great!

And what do you know? It’s Friday, it’s cloudy and the museum is open until 5:00pm. It’s a timeless time-traveler’s dream.