Colorado Governor's Art Show Returns

The Loveland Museum/Gallery is the home once again to the Colorado Governor's Art Show. This is a juried art show that displays works by the top artists in Colorado. It is a wonderful way to see works by your favorite artists and also see high quality art by artists you aren't familiar with.

The 2011 Governor's invitational Art Show and Sale begins this Saturday, April 23. There will be a free demo by painter Sallie K. Smith from 2-4pm on Saturday.

There are almost 250 pieces ready for display including works from 58 different artists. Each artist may display up to 4 pieces. 9 artists are from Loveland. This year there are 15 sculptures including stone and bronze. Pieces range in subject from realistic to abstract.

Pieces are for sale during the exhibition. Any works sold will remain on display for the entire show.

The Governor's Art Show is a fundraiser for the Loveland and Thompson Valley rotary clubs, benefiting the clubs' community service projects and scholarship programs.

The opening night gala is Saturday. Tickets for the gala are $55.

3 works will be raffled off on the last day of the show.

The show will be on display April 24-June 5 in the Loveland Museum/Gallery, 503 N. Lincoln Ave, Loveland Colorado. For more information visit www.governorsartshow.org

Sculptor Fritz White Dies After Long Illness

Loveland lost one of her great sculptors this week when Fritz White died after a long illness.

Like many artists who now live in Loveland, White moved here to be close to the art foundry that was essential to his creations.

Fritz White was one of the founding 5 members of the Sculpture in the Park event that happens each August in Benson Sculpture Park. This annual event started in 1985 with just 50 artists and is now the largest juried outdoor sculpture exhibition in the country and has sales of over $1 million.

I never had the honor of meeting the sculptor in person, but have seen works by this gifted artist around our city...one in particular cannot be missed as you drive north or south on US 287, "Winning the Iron Shirt" which depicts one Native American claiming the war shield from his defeated opponent.

One year when I exhibited at the rival/sister show (depending on who you talk to) Sculpture Invitational I was seated next to a fine sculptor who had studied with White. Greg Todd told me that Fritz made all the difference to him when he said (and I roughly paraphrase!) that art is all about the creating...selling anything is a bonus.

Fritz White left behind a wonderful legacy of art, a fabulous show, many friends and admirers. We can honor him best by creating our work and living our lives to the fullest as he did. As his wife, Ina, said, "Show your work and be proud...Just do it. That's his legacy. He just wanted everyone to just do it."

Photographing Your Sculpture

I have attended a couple of Sculptural Pursuit's BlogTalkRadio sessions and they have been really good.

This one sounds like it will also be exceptional. If you have seen the magazine, you know they know something about photographing art! Beautiful shots.

Photographing Your Sculpture
Sculptural Pursuit
Date / Time: 6/3/2009 4:00 PM (MDT)
Category: Art
Call-in Number: (347) 215-8795


You only have one chance to grab a juror's, gallerist's or editor's attention, so make your digital images the best they can be. Join professional photographer David Hawkinson and SP founder and publisher Nancy DeCamillis as they discuss megapixels, white balance, composition, and more in this interactive half hour. Whether you work with a pro or do it yourself, you'll learn what you need to know to make your images a compelling representation of your artwork. Bring your questions and join us online or on the phone. (Wednesday, June 3. 6PM EDT, 5PM CDT, 4PM MDT, 3PM PDT. 30 minutes.)

I suspect this will be an awesome event for sculptors and other artists!

"See ya" on the call!

Juried Shows

A friend of my was recently juried into a show that was at a Denver gallery. It was her first time in a Denver gallery, so of course we wanted to go and support her.

The show was excellent--an exhibition of Plein Aire paintings. The variety in styles was fantastic. I had two other friends with me, neither of them in the art field. It was really interesting to get their perspective as well.

One of them posed the question to me as to how the jurors decide which paintings win the ribbons. I confess to not really having an answer to that one. I know that a good juror can be more objective than some of us, but so much of art is personal taste. I've been to lots of shows where it is apparent that personal taste had more to do with assigning of ribbons than did mastery of the medium.

How do you decide between pieces of such wide variety of style and subject matter? Most of the pieces were very traditional in approach...and mostly that was what was rewarded. Did that make the more modern approaches any less good?

If you go back in art history, you will learn that many of the painters we view as plein aire masters today (think the Impressionists, for example) were not considered of value during their day. Mostly because they were "different".

So, if you are an artist, don't go for the ribbon. Go for what is in your heart. The market is big out there. I believe that if you paint what you love, and you continue to improve your skills, there is a market there for your work. Your heart will guide you and you will have great pleasure in what you do. That is worth more than a bunch of ribbons.