May 2020 Members' Artist Challenge
"A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"
In this Artist Challenge, JRAL members were invited to express a favorite quote, poem, saying or other inspiring words through visual art, to illustrate that a picture can be, in fact, worth a thousand words. The art created for this challenge will be the foundation and theme for the July 2020 judged exhibit at the Cultural Arts Center-Glen Allen.
Christopher Wynn (www.wynncreative.com) is our guest artist for the critique of this challenge. Because of the current COVID-19 situation, Christopher viewed and critiqued our art remotely on video, which has been loaded online to YouTube. To view the video, click the buttons below.
Christopher Wynn (www.wynncreative.com) is our guest artist for the critique of this challenge. Because of the current COVID-19 situation, Christopher viewed and critiqued our art remotely on video, which has been loaded online to YouTube. To view the video, click the buttons below.
Camera Operator's Note & Disclaimer: These are "amateur" videos, taken with 2 different cameras in multiple clips, and with a learning curve for uploading to YouTube. Please excuse any background noise, focus issues, crooked views or any awkward transitions. Doing the best we can during a pandemic! Enjoy!
May 2020 Art Challenge Gallery
The members' challenge gallery of art, with the inspiration, is below. Click on the art image to enlarge. Enjoy!
The members' challenge gallery of art, with the inspiration, is below. Click on the art image to enlarge. Enjoy!
Danielle Ashbridge, "I Do Not Remember the Days"
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"I Do Not Remember the Days", Acrylic & Collage Danielle Ashbridge Dani says, "This was inspired by the days that drag on and the artist having a period of time where they can’t be inspired." |
Terry Atkinson, "Beauty as Well as Bread"
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"Beauty as Well as Bread", Pastel Terry Atkinson "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." - John Muir |
Carol Baron, "Still Here"
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"Still Here", Oil Carol Baron "This old world keeps spinnin' round. It's a wonder tall trees are not layin down." - Neil Young |
Keiko Bell, "I Wanna b a Cowboy"
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"I Wanna b a Cowboy", Watercolor Keiko Bell Inspired by Koben the Cowboy. |
Dale Berry, "Don't Shop, Adopt"
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"Don't Shop, Adopt", Watercolor Dale Berry Dale says, "My painting was inspired by a photograph of a little hound up for adoption. And, yes, I adopted him!" (Editor's note: his name is Beanie, adopted from Homes Fur Hounds, homesfurhounds.com) |
Bev Bley, "Home At Last"
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"Home At Last", Acrylic
Bev Bley Bev says, "Inspired by "Lassie Come Home" and the story of a rescue dog which finally found the right home. I was captured by this photo which my stepdaughter took of her new rescue dog which truly did find the right family." |
Jane Bodnar, "For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffrey"
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"For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffrey", pastel Jane Bodnar Inspired by the poem "For I will Consider my Cat Jeoffrey" by Christopher Smart. Click here to read the poem. |
Dare Boles, "Dawn's Promising Sky"
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Dare Boles, "Petals on a Pool, Drifting"
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"Dawn's Promising Sky", "Petals on a Pool, Drifting", Collage Diptych
Dare Boles Inspiration from the song "And This is My Beloved" (from Kismet). Click here to read the lyrics. |
Sally Booth, "Man at the Bar"
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"Man at the Bar", Oil Sally Booth Inspired by an anonymous and mysterious photo which Sally found on Facebook which created many questions and possible stories about the figure. Click here to read the story behind the painting. |
David Cheatham, "Margarete in Havana"
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"Margarete in Havana", Oil
David Cheatham David says, "Portrait taken from [a] photograph of my friend Margarete on her second honeymoon in Havana. Her words that inspired me when I said that I should paint this photograph was "I would pay you anything you want". I did it for free." |
Marla Coleman, "Homecoming: Easter 1944"
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"Homecoming: Easter 1944", Oil Marla Coleman Inspired by a family photo taken in 1944. Click here to read the story behind the painting. |
Mary Dean, "Dancing Lady"
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"Dancing Lady", Watercolor
Mary Dean “I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream.” - Vincent Van Gogh “It’s not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures.” - Vincent Van Gogh |
Barbara Duval, "Beach Serenity"
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"Beach Serenity", Watercolor
Barbara Duval Inspired by the quote "A penny for your thoughts ". Barbara says, "My dear friend was doing some deep thinking at the beach. I have always loved this picture I took of her, several years ago." |
Sarah Marshall Elliott, "Rhythmic Beauty"
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"Rhythmic Beauty", Oil on linen panel
Sarah Marshall Elliott Inspired by a photo by E. Luiza Picciano Sarah says, "During this time of Covid-uncertainty, I've sought the refuge at the easel to help calm my growing anxiety. I selected this particular photo because of its energy, color and the rhythmic calm of the waves. Every day it reminds me to breathe deeply and appreciate the universe's beauty and abundance." |
Yvonna Frazer, "Hannah at Rest:
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"Hannah at Rest", Oil on flooring
Yvonna Frazer From Yvonna: "Let sleeping dogs lie" derives from the long-standing observation that dogs are often unpredictable when they are suddenly disturbed. Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the first to put this notion into print, in Troilus and Criseyde, circa 1380, although the belief itself may well be much older: "It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake." |
Mike Haubenstock, "Ode To The Onion"
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"Ode To The Onion", Oil Mike Haubenstock Inspired by the poem "Ode To The Onion" by Pablo Neruda. Click here to read the poem. |
Harvey Hinson, "Love Me Tender"
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"Love Me Tender", Acrylic
Harvey Hinson Harvey says, "The American Bison. Massive powerful animal. I got my first view of them while stationed at Fort Sill Oklahoma in the mid-60's; they were almost extinct. There was a small herd on the range within the post with young calves. Fast forward to 2016 and the birth of my grandson Harvey Harrison Hinson. Painting idea...huge animal protecting a newborn. [I] presented [the] painting to hang in his nursery. The family suggested the name because the female American Bison has a pompadour." |
Elizabeth Hood, "Sun Worshipper"
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"Sun Worshipper", Acrylic Elizabeth Hood "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went." - Will Rogers |
Thomas Hornak, "Safe or Out?"
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"Safe or Out?", Acrylic Thomas Hornak Inspired by Arthur Miller's poem, "Umpires". Click here to read the inspiration. |
Linda Hultgren, "Emma's Words"
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"Emma's Words", Watercolor
Linda Hultgren Inspired by a poem written by Linda's granddaughter, Emma, at age 14. Emma has been a prolific writer from a young age and she gifted the poem to Linda, who then made it into a painting, weaving her words across her figure. Click here to read the story of the inspiration and to read Emma's poem. |
Susan Hutcheson, "The Yolks On Me"
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"The Yolks On Me", Watercolor
Susan Hutcheson Susan says, "This is a play on "the joke's on me" (author unknown if at all). Sunday morning breakfast was being prepared by my husband who called me to the kitchen to see all the double yolks in the frying pan." |
Kaye Jones, "Keswick"
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"Keswick", Watercolor Kaye Jones Inspired by the poem, "Leisure" by W. H. Davies Click here to see the poem. |
Stella Jones, "Hope Springs Eternal"
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"Hope Springs Eternal", Watercolor
Stella Jones From Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Man” (Epistle 3), circa 1733-34. Stella says, "Hope is cited as the only blessing we have as we face an unknown fate. To me, nothing illustrates the endurance of hope more than nesting birds in Spring." |
Mary Kent, "Man at Monticello"
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"Man at Monticello", Watercolor
Mary Kent Mary says, "This is a 21st century man (note the down jacket and iPhone) who is taking a photograph of Monticello (note the weathered herringbone patterned brick sidewalk and foothills in the distance). The man's picture is of a beautiful piece of architecture that was designed by a man who wrote thousands of words that shaped our nation." |
Cathy Kresan, "The Road Less Traveled By"
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"The Road Less Traveled By", Oil Cathy Kresan (formerly Ellis) "Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." ("The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost) |
Margaret Matheson, "Words Move, Music Moves, Only in Time"
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"Words Move, Music Moves, Only in Time", Monoprint Collage
Margaret Matheson "Footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage which we did not take, towards the door we never opened..." ("Burnt Norton I", T.S. Eliot) "Words move, music moves only in time; but that which is only living can only die." ("Burnt Norton V", T.S. Eliot) |
Patty Mochary, "Bad Day"
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"Bad Day", Watercolor Patty Mochary Inspired by the quote "It's a sign of the times". |
Carole Morck, "Love Eternal"
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"Love Eternal", Graphite Pencil
Carole Morck Inspired by Carole's published poem: "Silence in the morning... silence that washes through the air... Without you there to touch, to hear, the memories begin to overflow...Everything is ending... Everything is beginning- then you appear." (Carole E. Morck) |
Jan Murray, "Brunswick Stew"
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"Brunswick Stew", Watercolor
Jan Murray Inspired by this famous quote from MacBeth: "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble." (from "MacBeth", William Shakespeare) |
Anne Negus, "In the Eye of the Beholder"
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"In the Eye of the Beholder", Watercolor
Anne Negus Inspired by the saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Anne says, "I was walking around a flea market and saw this bucket of rusty nails. I gathered these rusty tools and arranged them on a shredded green tarp. Not sure why I thought it was beautiful, but I knew I wanted to paint this. This was one of the most fun paintings I’ve done!" |
Joanna Obeck, "Big Boy"
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"Big Boy", Oil Joanna Obeck Joanna says, "My inspiration was when I went on a safari in Tanzania and saw all of the big five. The Cape buffalo impressed me the most." |
Helen Sanders, "Remembering"
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“Remembering”, Oil Helen Sanders “Wherever you go, go with your whole heart.” - Confucius |
Dale Sawan, "Hiding in the Garden"
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"Hiding in the Garden", Oil Dale Sawan “Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is a gift of grace. “ - May Sarton |
Lois Shipley, "Shopping in Savannah"
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"Shopping in Savannah", Oil
Lois Shipley Lois' painting inspired her to revisit “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran, and this verse “Speak to me of Buying and Selling” speaks to her painting. Click here to read the verse. |
David Snellings, "Elsa"
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"Elsa", Oil
David Snellings David says, "[This painting] was inspired by Elsa the lioness in the movie "Born Free". The scene shows Elsa, bringing her first cub back to be seen by Joy Adamson. The Adamsons had raised Elsa from a new-born cub, orphaned when Joy's husband had to kill Elsa's mother in self-defense. Joy was determined to return Elsa to live wild and free. It took years and the Adamson's never knew if Elsa survived. Until one day, Elsa comes through the grass, carrying her first cub, and brings it to Joy, as if to say "I made it". |
Suzanne Spooner-Munch, "The Old and The New - Temples, Theog, India"
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"The Old and The New - Temples, Theog, India", Watercolor Suzanne Spooner-Munch Inspired by the poem "Past and Future" by Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949), Indian political activist and poet. Click here to read the poem. |
Harriet Vincent, "Fruit Stand"
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"Fruit Stand", Oil Harriet Vincent Inspired by the quote, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." - from Galatians 5: 22-23 |
Gigi Vranian, "A Tribute to Grand Dad"
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"A Tribute to Grand Dad", Watercolor
Gigi Vranian Every year, Craig Vranian smokes a cigar and drinks a beer to honor his grandfather, Reuben Bedros Vranian, who was a survivor of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire Turks in the early 20th century, and who also smoked cigars and drank Budweiser. He led a remarkable life, including riding with T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia), before immigrating to America and coming to Richmond. Click here to read the entire story. |
Deanna Williford, "Allies"
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"Allies", Watercolor Deanna Williford Inspired by a poem by Susan Thornton Hobby. Click here to see the poem. |
Maria Pilar York, "They are in the Heights"
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"They are in the Heights", Oil on canvas
Maria Pilar York “Stone upon stone, and the man, where was he? Air upon air, and the man, where was he? Time upon time, and the man, where was he?” (Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet, Nobel Prize 1971. From his book "Heights of Machu Picchu" (Inca civilization)) |