Today Penny & I went on an eight hour road trip visiting three art shows, two of which were mine. My painting, Jaune, is included in this fabulous juried show at Main Street Arts, 20 W. Main Street, Clifton, Springs, New York 14432.
This exhibition is brilliantly installed with fun, themed vignettes, which was a very creative way to create cohesive salon style walls. It really is a must see. I am honored to be a participant!
The show continues through December 23, 2026. Many of the paintings sold at tonight’s opening but there are hundreds more that are reasonably priced – take two, they’re small!!!
I am honored to be a part of the latest exhibition at Main Street Arts, 20 W. Main Street, Clifton Springs, New York 14432. Titled Horse Power!, it will be on display until July 15, 2026.
My painting is called Mustang Dance (see above).
The horse theme was inspired by the Chinese New Year celebrating the year of the Fire Horse in 2026. And – OMG – there are so many wonderful pieces of art representing horses (and donkeys, zebras and even unicorns). People and their horses, am I right???
Paintings, drawings, sculptures, fiber art, mixed media – so much to see and enjoy.
The show is the brainchild of Executive Director Heather Olson (*) who is a total shining star. Her positivity is infectious and the atmosphere during the art reception today was truly heart warming.
It is a fabulous exhibit. The artwork occupies two floors in this gorgeous little gallery. YOU HAVE TO GO TO THERE – to experience this amazing energy and also to buy something. There is an adorable gift shop in addition to all the art that is for sale. And donations for this non-profit organization are welcome, as well.
Heather Olson joined Main Street Arts as Executive Director and Gallery Curator in January of 2025. An equestrian and lover of places, ecosystems, and the plants and animals which define them, her painting and photography work explores storytelling, erasure, movement, freedom, memory, and amends. Inspired by her summer-long artist residency at Chautauqua Institution and studies in Florence, Italy she weaves historically-driven narratives anchored in place. After living across regions of the US and Canada, Olson has a broad professional lens-bringing programming, planning, grant-work, business-ownership, teaching, and design experiences to Main Street Arts. She has public and private K-12 and college-level teaching experience. Heather earned a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art (honors), a Masters in Landscape Architecture, a Masters in Art Education, and has hours towards an MFA. Heather is building upon the exceptional programs and events developed by our prior director. She curates and hangs gallery exhibitions and works directly with artists, instructors, and our community for programs and events.
This year Anita Welych and Jeremy Randall picked the artwork. Over seventy works were selected from four hundred entries.
*from the Schweinfurth web-site
Jeremy Randall has been working in clay and making decorative and functional pottery for over 20 years. He received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Syracuse University in 2000, and his Masters of Fine Arts in ceramics from the University of Florida in 2005. Currently he lives in Tully, New York, and owns and operates his studio/teaching and retail business Papavero Clay Studio in Marcellus NY. Jeremy’s work can be found in galleries across the US, has shown in numerous national shows, and has had the privilege of teaching workshops across the United States and internationally. In 2017 he began an apprenticeship program in his studio, looking for ways to offer traditional/non-traditional education experiences for emerging artists in a ceramic studio setting.
Serving as the executive director of the Kirkland Art Center in Clinton, NY, Anita Welych is also a practicing visual artist. She received her BFA at Cornell University and completed an MFA at Syracuse University. In between, she pursued graduate coursework in painting and lithography at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá on a Fulbright Grant. She subsequently returned to Colombia on a teaching Fulbright, lecturing across the country.
Welych taught in the Studio Art program at Cazenovia College for over thirty years, developing the major in Arts Management and serving as its director. She served on the Syracuse Public Art Commission for three years and was a founding board member of ArtRage Gallery, both located in Syracuse.
Welych has exhibited nationally and internationally, working in book arts, collage, printmaking, painting, and installation. Her lifelong interest in social and environmental issues drives the content of her art.
I attended the opening art reception on Saturday. The exhibition continues through May 16, 2026. The Schweinfurth is located at 205 Genesee St. Auburn, NY 13021.
Cooperstown, New York is the most beautiful town in the summer. There is so much to do and see. Lots of museums and shopping. There’s family fun, romance and culture. It’s just the best, especially on a beautiful summer’s day.
I was there on Friday at the art reception for the Cooperstown Art Association’s juried exhibition. I’d never been there before. Their gallery is located at 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York 13326, known as the Village Hall, which also houses the library, and a gallery shoppe.
*(from the web-site)
This Year’s Juror
Thomas Sarrantonio About… Thomas Sarrantonio studied Painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia where his teachers included Wil Barnet and Sidney Goodman. He also holds degrees in both Biology and English. His paintings have been exhibited widely and he is the recipient of numerous honors including a Pollock-Krasner Award, a Visiting Artist Residency in Normandy, France and an Artist Residency Fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ballycastle Ireland. He taught Art and Art History at SUNY New Paltz for over thirty years and he maintains a studio in Rosendale, New York where he lives with his family.
Every year there are different judges with different tastes – is that the right word? Maybe the word is aesthetics. Another artist choosing what they hope will be a cohesive show from the hundreds of entries from artists of the region (it may have been advertised as a national juried show but I only met artists from New York State).
It was a lovely affair with monetary awards announced and a full house of grateful artists and friends, board members, possible patrons, food and music. The only thing missing was an air-conditioned building.
I noted a lot of paintings of birds, and a lean towards vibrant color (yellows!) and innovative uses of texture.
Also dispersed throughout were figurative pieces, many with pretty ladies surrounded by abstraction.
And landscapes.
Learn more about the Cooperstown Art Association here.
The exhibition runs through August 16, 2024. The artwork is for sale. Contact the gallery at gallery@cooperstownart.com for more information.
Every year the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center does a Made in New York (MINY) juried exhibition. This year’s show – what can I say? A lot of eggs and phallic symbols, am I right? OMG – round circular objects with the center piece sculpture filled with actual eggs. And every other sculpture is sporting the dildo-esqueness of a you-know-what.
LOL, so great! I wonder if this was the intent, or am I being fresh?
Sixty-nine artists were selected….
Shari Werner, New York, NYChristina Bang, Pittsford, NY
Actually, the great thing about this exhibition is that artists must produce new work for it and everything looks very fresh in that sense of the word. It is all so colorful and curvy, clean, linear, firm and innocently provocative.
It’s a great show!
Jean K. Stephens, Honeoye, NY
MINY will be on display through August 7, 2021. Check out videos of the artists sharing their respective visions here.
Sharon Louden is an artist, educator, advocate for artists, editor of the Living and Sustaining a Creative Life series of books, and the Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution. Louden’s work has been exhibited in numerous venues including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Drawing Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Weisman Art Museum, National Gallery of Art and held in major public and private collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, National Gallery of Art, Neuberger Museum of Art, Arkansas Arts Center, Yale University Art Gallery, Weatherspoon Art Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others.
George Afedzi Hughes is originally from Ghana and studied painting at The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, College of Art, Kumasi, Ghana, where he earned a BA in Art: Painting and Drawing (1989) and an MA in Art Education (1991). He later received an MFA in Painting and Drawing (2001) from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, U.S.A. His paintings, performances, and installations have been featured in several museum exhibitions: Perez Museum, Royal Ontario Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Football Museum, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and Museum voor Zuid-en Noord-Beveland. The following museums have collections of his work: Royal Museum of Ontario, Harn Museum of Art, Iwalewahaus and the Ghana National Museum.
Hannah Frieser is the Executive Director for the Center for Photography at Woodstock, an arts organization that features exhibitions, residencies and other artist-oriented programming. With over twenty years of leadership experience in the visual arts, she has curated countless solo and group exhibitions with contemporary photographers, including Suzanne Opton, Adam Magyar and Barry Anderson. Her essays have been featured in monographs and publications, such as Contact Sheet, Exposure, and Nueva Luz. Prior to joining CPW, she was Director of Light Work in Syracuse, NY.
Lauren Bristol, Syracuse, NYJohn Fitzsimmons, Syracuse, NYCharles Compo, New York, NYEmily Kenas, Geneva, NY
MINY Artists
Carolyn Abrams Liz Alderman Robin Arnold Patricia Bacon Christina Bang Howard Bartle Madeline Bartley Mary Begley Marna Bell Tammy Renée Brackett Paul Brandwein Lauren Bristol Andrea Buckvold Susan Byrnes Carlos Caballero-Perez Nancy Callahan Eva Capobianco Stephen Carlson Kevin Carr Tara Charles Sage Churchill-Foster Fernando Colón-González Charles Compo Cynthia Cratsley Carole D’Inverno Lisa DeLoria Weinblatt KP Devlin Lisa Donneson Audrey Dowling Robert Doyle Sharon Draghi Leonard Eichler John Fitzsimmons Faithanne Flesher John Galt Jacq Germanow Cora Jane Glasser Julia Graziano Raechelle Hajduk Barbara Hart Laural Hartman David Higgins Lee Hoag George Hrycun Bob Ievers Emily Kenas Dale Klein Tom Kredo Timothy Massey Becky McNeill Valerie Patterson Beth Pedersen Judith Plotner Rose Popper Jim Quinn Steve Rossi Amy Schnitzer Catherine Shuman Miller James Skvarch Jason Smith Jean K. Stephens Susan Stuart Jane Verostek Kim Waale Mary Pat Wager Shari Werner Katharine Wood Hope Zaccagni Leah Zinder
Julia Graziano, Manlius, NYJim Quinn, Williamson, NYKim Waale, Manlius, NY/Nancy Callahan, Gilbertsville, NY
The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center is located at 205 Genesee Street, Auburn, New York 13021. For more information, including hours of operation, call (315) 255-1553 or visit their website here.
Paul Brandwein, Rochester, NYRobin Arnold, New Paltz, NY/Timothy Massey, Spencerport, NYCharles Compo, New York, NYCatherine Shuman Miller, Williamsville, NYAndrea Buckvold, Syracuse, NY/Patricia Bacon, Lyons, NYMary Pat Wager, East Greenbush, NYCora Jane Glasser, Brooklyn, NY,#coach #tashkovski #rebeccataylor #ragandbone
