Toledo Area Artists' Exhibition

My painting "Market and Powell - San Francisco," a photographic acrylic on canvas, has been selected for exhibition in the 91st Annual Toledo Area Artists Exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio (http://www.toledomuseum.org/taa.htm). This is my third year being selected. This juried exhibition is presented by the Toledo Federation of Art Societies, Inc. I'm eligible for this show because of my prior residence in Lucas County, Ohio. Previously at one of these exhibitions, I won a Toledo Federation of Art Societies Purchase Award (that collection is housed at the Toledo Museum of Art) and a Third-place Judges Award, both for the same painting. The painting which will be in this year's exhibition previously won first place in the Wisconsin Visual Artists Southeast Chapter Exhibition at the Reuss Federal Building in Milwaukee in December 2007. The painting was also included in the Racine and Vicinity Exhibition at the Wustum Museum in Racine this past Summer and the recent “Go Figure” juried exhibition at Artworks in Kenosha.

Acuity

ACUITY is a rather new painting of a model I hired when I lived in Toledo, OH. Steven was an incredible model. I oversaw a life drawing session at our gallery and was responsible for finding models. Steven knew how to use his body, how to pose and how to use light to its advantage. This is my second painting of Steven. As I looked through my photos, I was drawn to the intensity of this image. The lighting and the facial expression caught my attention. To start the painting, I did something I have never done before... I mixed metallic gold into my mixed black for the background. It gives the background an interesting quality that I feel enhances the image. This painting is small compared to my recent work. The painting is a 12 x 24 acrylic. Once the painting was completed, I was looking for an appropriate name. I felt that the painting showed an intensity of thought or focus. I settled on Acuity, "a quick and penetrating intelligence." I hope you enjoy the painting.