Haven on the Lake Spa - 60 paintings on display

By the Stream 24" X 72"  SOLD

Rolling Hills 44" X 58"

Haven on the Lake is a new spa in Columbia, Maryland. Their vision is 

Heal the stress of everyday life.

Boy did I ever need that before I switched my career to full time artist. Stress was the definition of my days.  Even though I am no longer in the high stress world the services at Haven on the Lake sound enticing.  Check out their website to learn more. The spa opens on December 6th for all Wellness Spa Services and on December 15th for Mind Body Movement classes.

Standing Tall  20" X 16"

This new spa has art by area artists on display and for sale. I was one of the artists selected to have three of my paintings on exhibit.  There are about sixty paintings on display for the next six months, then new art will be selected and displayed.  A few other artists who also have artwork included at the spa are: Nancy Lee Davis, Diane Dunn, Debbie Hoeper, Deborah Maklowski, Pat Roberie, Cathy Sawdey, John Stier, Kathleen Stumpfel and Barbara Steinacker. I, for one, am anxious to see the spa and all the art.

The artwork changes periodically, so stop by Haven to see what is currently on exhibit. 

Read more about my paintings by following these links:

• By the Stream
• Rolling Hills
• Standing Tall

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo 2016 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

Haven on the Lake Spa - 60 paintings on display

By the Stream 24" X 72"  SOLD

Rolling Hills 44" X 58"

Haven on the Lake is a new spa in Columbia, Maryland. Their vision is 

Heal the stress of everyday life.

Boy did I ever need that before I switched my career to full time artist. Stress was the definition of my days.  Even though I am no longer in the high stress world the services at Haven on the Lake sound enticing.  Check out their website to learn more. The spa opens on December 6th for all Wellness Spa Services and on December 15th for Mind Body Movement classes.

Standing Tall  20" X 16"

This new spa has art by area artists on display and for sale. I was one of the artists selected to have three of my paintings on exhibit.  There are about sixty paintings on display for the next six months, then new art will be selected and displayed.  A few other artists who also have artwork included at the spa are: Nancy Lee Davis, Diane Dunn, Debbie Hoeper, Deborah Maklowski, Pat Roberie, Cathy Sawdey, John Stier, Kathleen Stumpfel and Barbara Steinacker. I, for one, am anxious to see the spa and all the art.

The artwork changes periodically, so stop by Haven to see what is currently on exhibit. 

Read more about my paintings by following these links:

• By the Stream
• Rolling Hills
• Standing Tall

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo 2016 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

"Through the Trees" 8" X 10" acrylic on canvas

Through the Trees by April M. Rimpo

Through the Trees

Fluid Acrylic on Canvas

8" X 10"

$200

The leaves have fallen but I keep painting them because I hate to admit they are gone.  This year we had pretty good color in the trees here in Maryland. You would think that by now I would have figured out the pattern of when we will have good color in the trees and when they will just turn brown and fall quickly. But no matter how I try to second guess what will happen, I never guess correctly.

Now my husband and I believe we do know when there will be a good crop of acorns in the trees; dry years seem to have a large yield and wet years very few acorns.  But the color of the leaves?  Not so much luck.  I have a feeling it is a mixture of rainfall, temperature, and a few other variables that just allude us.

Being an artist I can just pretend every year is a great year for color and create paintings that celebrate the glory of the leaves.

If you know the answer to the puzzle of Fall's color, please do share.

3" X 3" miniatures - a change of pace

Fire House II, Ferry Boat, On the Lake, B and O Caboose II by April M Rimpo

I've been painting a number of large paintings recently.  The largest was 44" X 58" , another was 24" X 72", and several were 24" X 34", So when I rediscovered these 3" X 3" canvases I decided to do a few miniatures. Some of these miniatures were derivative of other paintings I've done this year. It was fun to figure out how to simplify these earlier paintings so they would work in this small format.

My favorite is the Ferry Boat since it was a subject I've planned to do for a while. I'm so happy with the result I now want to do it larger, but no doubt there will be several other paintings before I actually do the larger version.

Each was painted using Fluid Acrylic on a 3" X 3" Canvas and sells for $40 
Fire House II and B and Caboose has sold. 

Options:

FerryBoat - original 3x3 $40.00 USD OnTheLake-original3x3 $40.00 USD

The reception at the PWS 35th Anniversary International Juried Exhibition

Here are a few pictures from the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's 35th Anniversary International Juried Exhibition. The Pennsylvania State Museum is quite a beautiful venue, as you can see above. The crowd was great, but it is hard to get good pictures when they are all looking at the paintings, so while awards were being presented I ran back to snap some while the view is open.   I've also included a short video of the paintings that were in the same alcove as my painting, ending with an image of mine, Student Brushes. From this small clip you can get a sense for the great variety of art in this exhibit.  So enjoy this glimpse of the exhibit and go see it if you can.  The exhibit runs through February 8, 2015. 

Awards Presentation - John Walker, President, at the podium

 

             

"Winter Snow", 8.5" X 7.5" watercolor

We had our first snow flurry this week and I felt it was time for a painting of snow.

Winter Snow © April M. Rimpo

Winter Snow

Watercolor

8.5" X 7.5" image

20" X 16" standard size mat

$85 plus $12.50 shipping within the United States

Small Wonders group exhibition to benefit the Howard County Food Bank

Laundry Day at Vaison La Romaine a 5" X 7" acrylic by April M. Rimpo

For the last week I've been busy painting miniature paintings in preparation for holiday sales events and for this Small Wonders exhibition.

Laundry Day at Vaison La Romaine is my donation to the Small Wonders exhibit to be held at The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery at Howard Community College.  A gala reception will be held on November 20th from 5 - 8 pm. 

Proceeds from the sales will benefit the Howard County Food Bank and a fund to purchase outdoor sculpture to beautify the Howard Community College campus and share with the community.  Please consider attending the gala and purchasing one of the small works.

Featured Artist and Many Other Thanks

I decided to send out my thanks half way between the Canadian and USA's celebrations of Thanksgiving. There is something about the coming of fall that makes me more introspective. Perhaps it is the changing of leaves to their autumn shades that makes me more aware of time flying by.  So here are my thanks for 2014.

My newest item to be thankful for is the Featured Artist promotion by Artsy Shark.  This is a very popular blog with over 4000 followers.  They share great tips for art as a business, but also feature a couple artists each week. I enjoy visiting the sites of other artists since the variety of art is endless.  Please enjoy my feature and take the time to visit my website.

Special thanks go to the many art organizations that make it possible for me to show my work to such a broad audience.  

Local organizations

Ashley DuRoss & Lillian Bayley Hoover at Building Perspectives

A Rimpo and K Veilis Turan's Art at Building Perspectives

Starting at the home front, I'd like to thank the Howard County Arts Council for curating such a beautiful exhibit, Building Perspective, that included my art and that of four other artists. Samples of the art are shown here.  The care and skill that clearly went into this exhibit was obvious as soon as you stepped into the gallery. The mages are included to give you some sense of this show.

HCAC also sponsors Celebration of the Arts in Howard County where both visual and performing artists from the region are featured. I always include at least one piece of art in the Art Auction that is part of this celebration. Proceeds from the auction are shared by the artist and HCAC.

Robert Tennenbaum & Ashley DuRoss art in Building Perspectives

The Columbia Art Center also held several invitational exhibitions this year in which I was invited to participate. The title of my paintings is listed in bold italic after the event name. The CAC exhibits included: 

• Visions of Hope - Making a Difference
• Things that Scare Me - Trapped

It is so great to have two organizations here in Howard County Maryland who work hard to promote artists in the community. 

The Maryland Federation of Art, based in Annapolis Maryland, offers a variety of exhibitions that are open to artists in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I am thankful to have my art selected for inclusion in three of these exhibitions. 

• Art on Paper - Aerial Bikes II
• American Landscape - Morning in NYC
• Strokes of Genius - Harder Times

The MFA also promotes exhibitions at other venues in the region and my paintings were included in two of these: Gallery B in Bethesda (Aerial Bike I) and MDArt at College Park at the University of Maryland (Freight Yard & Bike Rider).  The MFA is very creative in their support of Maryland artists.  My way to give back is to donate a painting to their annual Collector's Choice Art Raffle, where attendees get to meet the artist, enjoy great food, and go home with a piece of art.

Local art organizations also provide venues for regional exhibitions. I extend my thanks to Laurel Art Guild, which held their 45th Annual Juried Exhibition this year.  My painting, Woman with a Wrapped Hat, received the First Place award. In addition, the Artists' Gallery of Columbia held their annual Local Color exhibit in which they invite non-members to exhibit. They receive paintings, select the pieces to be included and to receive awards, and the show is on display within a couple days.  This was my first time in this exhibit and my painting, Messengers, received a Second Place award. 

Arriving at Kensington, my Kensington entry

Another new venue for me was the Kensington Labor Day Weekend show in Kensington, MD. Each artist must include at least one painting of Kensington in this show. This event is run by the Montgomery Art Association (MAA.) This exhibit is another major feat in organization and volunteering. The Labor Day Weekend Show set records both for the number of paintings submitted, 550, and the number of artists participating, 130, of which 79 of these artists had sales.

Imagine receiving 550 paintings and getting them hung in one day.  Many kudos to the MAA. 2100 people attended the show over Labor Day weekend.  My painting, Ponte Vecchio, received the First Place award in the Landscape category.

Thanks to National Organizations

April's family joins her at the WAS-H exhibit

In addition to the local organizations, there are watermedia organizations across the country that hold annual National or International juried exhibition. I've been fortunate to have my work selected in the following exhibits.  Since I am on the board of the Baltimore Watercolor Society, which holds a Regional Exhibition of the same caliber as these each year, I am aware of the enormous amount of work it takes to hold these exhibitions and my thanks go out to all these organizations for offering these opportunities. 

• Louisiana Watercolor Society's in New Orleans, LA- Messengers
• Illinois Watercolor Society's 30th National Exhibition in Dixon, IL - More Beautiful with Age
• Watercolor Art Society of Houston (WAS-H) 37th International Exhibition in Houston, TX- Morning in NYC
• International Society of Experimental Artists 23rd Annual Exhibition - San Pedro, CA - Moving Up
• Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's 35th Annual International Juried Exhibition in Harrisburg, PA [April received Signature Artist status Jan 2014] - Student Brushes

I am delighted and thankful that I was accepted into just over 50% of the exhibits I applied to this year.

Galleries At Last!

Welcome Since 1772 - Sold at Still Life Gallery

This year I took some time to locate some galleries to carry my art; I added two. 

• Still Life Gallery in Ellicott City, Maryland - sold my first painting in their gallery in less than 24 hours.  It is so great having a gallery represent my work, providing a new path to reach my audience. Open Wed - Sun 11 am - 6 pm. 
• Montgomery Art Association Gallery in Westfield Wheaton Mall in Wheaton, Maryland - A cooperative gallery where the artists run and operate the gallery from Mon - Sat: 11 am - 8 pm, and Sun: 11 am - 7 pm.  Consider stopping by the gallery, where you can purchase original art, prints, and cards by local artists. 

I continue to include my art in Xanadu Gallery's Online Studio - a wonderful venue where Xanadu Gallery includes artists from around the globe to help us promote our art.  Jason Horejs is a very innovative gallery owner who provides many webinars to help artists with the business side of art and hosts the ever informative Red Dot Blog. 

Huge thanks go to the people who have acquired either my original paintings or prints.  

My customers have been a joy to work with. I have never held a job that included as much time working with the public and am happy to report that my experiences have been really positive. Some of my customers are old friends while others I met through my art.  It has been a joy to meet such nice people who are now caring for my art in their homes. Some have also helped me learn more about selling prints that were enlarged from the size of my original paintings.  These were printed on canvas and varnished to protect them from the elements.  It was fun to see my work in a larger format.  I loved how some of the techniques I use in my watercolors look even better when enlarged. Thanks to these customers who helped me grow my business acumen and to Archival Arts for the excellent quality of their prints and the great advise they provide.

The Support of Family and Friends

My husband joins me at the Building Perspectives reception

And last, but certainly not least, I am grateful for the support of family and friends who provide such great feedback and encouragement for my art and my second career as a full time artist. When I decided, nearly three years ago, to start out on this venture as a full time artist I knew it would be an upward climb to get known by the art community and to begin to sell my art to the public. I've learned a lot over the last 3 years, made some mistakes, but also made some great strides as well.  My family and friends have provided the moral support that kept me going.  My husband, Chas, is an amazing person who has picked up the slack around the house, as I spend much of my day in the studio, out shipping or delivering art, working on the computer writing blogs, updating my website, posting in Facebook and Pinning images in Pinterest. Chas encourages me in so many different ways. Thank you, Honey.