First Friday - March 1

How They Met
acrylic painting on paper
by Jane McElvany Coonce

I spent the early morning setting up my new studio space.  Although I'm in the same area, I've rearranged things and it looks totally different.  You've got to see it.  It looks great!

I am officially inviting everyone to first Friday at Stifel and Capra.  Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served.  I have a whole wall of oil paints on one side and a whole wall of my contemporary acrylic paintings on the other side.  The painting above "How They Met" is a diptych.  This means you get two paintings under one frame.  I was inspired by the song "Bus Stop" by the Hollies (this is a 60's song so some of you won't remember! )  The song told about a guy who met his future wife at the bus stop.  He asked her if she'd like to share his umbrella while they waited for the bus.  My painting show 2 people each with their own umbrella, but in the next scene they are both under one umbrella. So this painting is a tribute to Bus Stop, the Hollies, and the 60's music.  The best music ever!

2 Receptions in one Weekend!

Hounds and Huntsmen
pastel
by Jane McElvany Coonce
at 7 East Art Gallery in Woodstock

Tomorrow, I will drive to Woodstock and hang my solo show entitled "A Slice of Life" at the 7 East Art Gallery, 123 S. Main St. in Woodstock, VA.  It will feature landscapes, figures, animals and still life that depict the life in the country.
My dear friend, Barbara Randel, is going to help me hang the show. Then on Sunday, I will drive back up there for the reception from 1-4.  If you feel like taking a nice ride out into the countryside, please join me.  I'd love to see you.

If it's a bit too far for you (and it is about an hour and 20 minutes from Washington), then come to first Friday at Stifel and Capra on Friday Evening.  It's in Falls Church at 260 West Broad St. from 5 - 8 pm.  Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served.  I'll be there from about 5 - 7.  Stop by if you get a chance.

Key Bridge and M St. in Georgetown
oil
by Jane McElvany Coonce
At the studio in Falls Church

 I'm rearranging my studio tomorrow because my studio mate, Sandi Parker, is moving out.  I will now share the space with Linda Donaldson.  So the studio will look a bit different.

Gosh, with 2 receptions in one weekend, I will barely have time to breath.  But it's always fun seeing your friends and patrons.

Upcoming Shows:

"A Slice of Life" - Solo Show at 7East Art Gallery,

123 S.Main St. Woodstock, VA.

Wed-Sat 11 am-5 pm

Sunday 1-5 pm

Reception: Sunday , March 3, from 1 - 4 pm

Reflections of Key Bridge

Reflections of Key Bridge
by Jane McElvany Coonce

One of the places I show my art work is at Cassatt's Kiwi Cafe and Gallery.  It's at 4536 Lee Highway in Arlington at the Lee Heights Shops.  Every month, the Arlington Artists Alliance changes the show so that new art work can be seen.  This month, I put in this Key Bridge painting.  I was pleased to get an email today saying that it sold!  Now, I will have to take another painting up there to put in it's place.
Cassatt's is a great place to have lunch or dinner ( and breakfast, too, for that matter.)  Not only do you get to enjoy good food, but you have the visual stimulation from the art work that is there.  Hope you'll stop by sometime.

Imagination Squared

Key Bridge Squared
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Vienna Art Society is having a show this month called "Imagination Squared".  All paintings that were entered into this show had to be 10 inch squares. There are about 100 pieces in this show.   I entered two paintings.  One of the Key Bridge and the other of New York.
Both are oil paintings.  The show hangs until the end of the month.  It's interesting to see a show where all the paintings are exactly the same size.

Vienna Arts Society is located at 513 Maple Ave. W., Vienna, Va.  The exhibition can be viewed Tuesdays - Saturdays from 10 am - 4 pm , February 5- March 2.

New York Squared
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Black Lab

Black Lab
by Jane McElvany Coonce

"Black Lab" is a demo I did in class last week.  We have been working on animals and fur in preparation for the art show coming up in April at the Northern Virginia Art Center.  They are doing a fundraiser for the Animal Welfare League.  I'm trying to get my students to try their hand at animals and to enter the show.

This dog is my neighbor's lab.  She actually has two dogs, so I'm not sure which one this is.

This one will be in the show in the shrink wrap bins.  Shrink wrap means it is matted but not framed.  I will have both framed and unframed pieces in the show.  The show will hang for the month of April.

Sudoku Anyone?

Sudoku Anyone?
by Jane McElvany Coonce

In May, I'm going to have another solo show at the Northern Virginia Art Center at Crystal City.  I have about 8 big paintings, but I'm trying to do a few smaller ones so that there is something for everyone.

I just finished 2 in the last two weeks.  The first one is called "Sudoku Anyone?"  I steamed some crabs last summer and set up a still life.  I took lots of pictures.  In this painting, the streamed crabs are laying on newspaper with a Sudoku game at the claws of one of the crabs.  (Maybe I should have put a pencil in his claw?)
It does look like this crab wants to try his hand at the game of Sudoku.  In the back ground is the old basket my dad and I used when we went crabbing down at the Chesapeake Bay.  My grandparents lived in Norfolk, so we spent many an afternoon throwing out a trot line and catching bushels of crabs.  It's not a large painting; it's 9 x 12 inches.

Live Crab on Deck
by Jane McElvany Coonce

The other one I painted was when I first brought the crabs home from the market.  I let one of them out on the deck and took a bunch of pictures of him.  (This one is just before he met his untimely death by falling into a pot of steaming water.)  It is a very small painting,  5 x 7 inches.

Once again, if you have better titles for me, please let me know.  The show is not until May, so I have plenty of time.

Cat on Quilt

Cat on Quilt
by Jane McElvany Coonce

The Northern Virginia Art Center is sponsoring a fund raiser for the Arlington Animal Rescue League in April.  There will be a show featuring animal art.  A certain percent of the sales will go to the League.  So in preparation for this, I am having my students learn how to do animals:  fur, eyes, etc. and I am doing demos in the class.  This is a demo I did in pastel.  It was coming along so nicely that I decided to take it home and finish it up.  I think I will put this in the show.  If you can think of a catchier title, let me know.  That's my weakness, and my goal, this year, is to improve on naming my paintings.  All of you are my teachers in naming a painting, so please feel free to submit some ideas.
Thanks!

Under the Elm

Under the Elm
by Jane McElvany Coonce

I'm beginning to decide which paintings will go into the solo show at the 7East Art Gallery in Woodstock, Va.  I made a list a while back, but it was a bit too long, so I'm trying to pick pieces that reflect the country life.  Since the show is called "A Slice of Life", I want to include scenes I've painted from the countryside as opposed to my city (Key Bridge) scenes.  This is a painting I did one summer out in Indiana.  The wanted to practice working on trees.  The horse wasn't holding still while I painted him.  He wasn't even there.  I just added him later because I thought the painting needed a little more interest.  That's the great thing about being an artist...if you don't like reality, then change it!

Solo Show Coming Up in March

King of the Hill
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Last night's reception at the Northern Virginia Art Center was a huge success.  Thanks to all of you who made it.  The show will be up for the month of February.

Now, I must get ready for a solo show that I am having in March.  The show is called"A Slice of Life", and it will feature both landscapes and still life.  The gallery is the 7East Art Gallery , 123 S. Main Street in Woodstock, VA.    It's about an hour and 20 minutes from D.C.

For a solo show, the gallery gives me one big wall to hang paintings.  I will feature some of the paintings in the next few blogs so you can get idea of what the show will look like.  There will be a reception on a Sunday afternoon, March 3 from 1-4 pm.  So if you feel like taking a ride in the country, come on out for the reception.  There is an excellent Italian restaurant, Sal's,  in the next town of Edinburg, just 4 miles down the road. Tom and I plan to eat there after the reception!  Can't wait!

Chocolate and Wine

Cafe in Naples
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Don't forget tonight is the reception for "Chocolate and Wine" at the Northern Virginia Art Center.  I will be there tasting the chocolate and sipping the wine, so come and join me.  It's from 5 pm to 8 pm.  There is free parking in the garage.

Receptions are always fun.  It's like going to a cocktail party and looking at beautiful art.  I have 5 pieces in the show.  The show will hang until March 3, but why wait?  Also, there are lots of good restaurants in the Crystal City Area, so make an evening of it!  Hope to see you there!

The Northern Virginia Art Center is located at 20th St. and Crystal Drive.

Honorable Mention for The Red Hat

The Red Hat
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Today was a good day for me, as an artist.  I entered the juried show that was sponsored by the Arlington Artists Alliance.  The show was entitled "Walk the Line".  All paintings entered were to have an emphasis on the line in the painting.  I entered 3 pieces .  Two pieces were selected, and "The Red Hat" won an honorable mention.  It was an acrylic painting on paper where I left a lot of the lines of the drawing showing and didn't cover them up with paint.

There were 105 entries and only 47 were selected.  So I feel honored!

Pears by the Stained Glass Window
by Jane McElvany Coonce

The other painting that was accepted was an oil painting called "Pears by the Stained Glass Window".  This one emphasizes line by having the pears line up as well as the stained glass panes that line up across the background.

Juried shows can be disappointing if you aren't selected.  And it doesn't mean the piece wasn't any good.  It's all up to one judge and it's their opinion.  It's nice when you get in!

The Gossip

The Gossip
by Jane McElvany Coonce

I just finished "The Gossip" last week and got it framed in time to enter it into a juried show called "Walk the Line".  It's a show sponsored by the Arlington Artists Alliance.  This painting is done in acrylics.  I took a photo at the beach last summer with a whole line up of these seagulls.  However, I only painted the 3 on the end.  I liked how it looked like they were chatting.

The Red Hat
by Jane McElvany Coonce

The other one I'm entering is "The Red Hat".  This is also an acrylic painting.  It won a prize down at The Art League at the Torpedo Factory, so I thought I would try my luck with this juried show.  First, I did an abstract underpainting and let that dry.  Then I did a line drawing with water soluable crayons. I allowed a lot of the underpainting to show through, so her blouse is just the underpainting showing through the drawing.  I added a little paint to the hat and the face and the shadow on her neck.  Everything else is the abstract underpainting peaking through.

I loved how this painting turned out.  I am thinking about putting  it at the beach house.