Allen Lawrence Fine Art

I'm having a home show at a friend's house in Washington, DC.  There is a reception both Friday and Saturday evenings.  Above is the Friday invitation.  If your calendar is bare for this weekend, I hope you will join us for some wine and cheese.  The above invitation says it's Friday night, but we are going to have a repeat performance on Saturday evening, too.  Hope you'll stop by.

Collections Under the Stream
watercolor by Jane McElvany Coonce


Tomorrow, we hang a new show at Cassatt's.  It's a great cafe with great art hanging on its walls.
I will be putting in a piece I did in watercolor.  Thanks to my mentor, Gwen Bragg.
I've come a long ways in my journey with watercolor.  I'm not quite as comfortable with it 
as I am with oil, but it is getting easier.
This is a large piece that I did in one of Gwen's workshops.  She's famous for this technique.
It was a real challenge, but I had fun painting it.
Hope you'll stop by Cassatt's and see it this month.  It will be up until July 19.
Cassatt's is located at 4536 Lee Highway in Arlington, VA.
  

Prized Winners Announced!

Jane McElvany Coonce accepting 2nd place

Prize winners from right to left

Today was the day that Porsche of Arlington announced the winners of the Art Contest.  There were probably 30 entries.  I was thrilled to win 2nd place.  I've posted the winners so you can see my competition.

It was a fun experience and I'm thrilled I won the honor of 2nd place!  There were lots of good art work.  The competition was tough.  In the end, it's in the eye of the juror.

1st place
by an art student

2nd place
by Jane McElvany Coonce

3rd place by Dennis Crayon

Porsche of Arlington Grand Opening Art Showcase

Life in the Fast Lane
Original oil painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

The Porsche of Arlington has sponsored an art contest.  The art work can be in any medium , but it must include the Porsche brand, the Porsche of Arlington building or a Porsche vehicle of any model or year.  Artists had to submit  art work by digital entry and the dealership picks 30 entries to be in the show.  The prizes are fantastic with the top prize being $2,000!

I went over to the showroom and photographed cars from every angle.  I picked this view and painted it.  I have to say it was a fun painting to do!  All that shiny paint and the reflections.  I've had it sitting in my living room waiting to see if it made the top 30, and my youngest son, Brian, and his friends have been drooling over it.  I'm not sure if they are drooling over the car or the painting.  Maybe both!

I made the top 30, so I delivered my painting yesterday to the showroom.  The dealership is having a grand opening of their new showroom and will display all of the paintings that were chosen for the show. The dealership is located at 3100 Jefferson Davis Highway in Crystal City.  On Sunday, the winner will be announced.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

June 2015 Juried Show at The Art League

The Pigeon Lady
watercolor by Jane McElvany Coonce

I entered the June juried show at The Art League.  I was thrilled that my piece was selected.  It
is a piece that has an old woman with her cane, feeding the pigeons on the street.  Behind her are bicycles and cars... things that can move much faster than she can, yet without help, they can't move either!  She needs a cane to navigate the streets; the bikes and the cars need people to ride or drive them. Everything and everyone need some type of help.  But together, we make things work.

If you get a chance, go down to the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria and see the show. It's there for the month of June.

A Week of Watercolor Workshop

California Harbor
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Sorry I haven't posted lately.  I was in a watercolor workshop last week with a California artist named Frank Eber.  His work is very atmospheric, and I've been following him for a while.  I talked him into coming here.  He conducted a 4 day workshop for 15 artists and showed us his style of wet into wet.  It's not an easy thing to do and one feels totally out of control.  It was a stressful week, but I learned a lot and am glad he came and shared his knowledge.  These are two examples of what I did in the workshop.  I am looking forward to practicing what I learned.  It's going to probably take a lot of failures before I can master this technique, but that's what I plan to do this summer.  I'll keep you posted with my attempts.  

Azalea Garden

Sit a Spell
watercolor by Jane McElvany Coonce

I've been doing lots of painting, both plein air and in the studio.  The flowers and gardens are so beautiful this time of year.  There are no bugs and normally it's not hot in May, so it's the perfect time to paint on site.  My friends, Claire and Ward deGroot, have the most beautiful azalea garden, and they allow me to come and paint every year.

The past 2 weeks, I've done both oil, pastel and watercolors of this beautiful oasis.  Here are the two watercolors I did this week.  I'll post the oil and the pastel paintings on another day.

Can you imagine having a garden like this?  And it's located in Arlington!

Backyard Azaleas
watercolor by Jane McElvany Coonce