A Pop-up Exhibit

So "pop-up exhibit" is probably not an official term, but when thinking about the exhibit I was juried into today I felt like I had just experienced one.  I guess it is because I've been hearing about pop-up businesses that open quickly in a temporary location, intentionally operate for a short time and then close.  Having just announced a reception one week before the event, I thought well here I go again.  However, this time I truly didn't know I was going to be in the exhibit until one week before the reception.

Messengers by April M Rimpo

Now this is not a new thing in the art world, an organization decides to have people deliver art to their gallery for an exhibit, the pieces are juried, then the artists are notified whether they got into the show or if they have to return to pickup their art because it was not accepted.  When I've participated in these exhibits before, the time between dropping off and picking up unaccepted work was several days.  Today I dropped off my painting just before noon and by 4:30 I knew my painting had been accepted.  The quickness of the process made me think of "pop-up".  I admire how organized this group is to be able to collect a large amount of work in a short time and decide the results so quickly. Congratulations to the talent of their jurors.

The organization holding this exhibit is Artists' Gallery of Columbia.  It is a cooperative gallery that once a year, for the last seven years, invites people who are not members to submit art for an exhibit called "Local Color".   The reception will be on Friday, August 8th from 6 - 8 pm, in the American City Building, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, Maryland 21044. 

I submitted my watercolor "Messengers",  This painting traveled to Louisiana earlier this year for the Louisiana Watercolor Society for their Annual International Exhibition, but I believe this is the first time this piece will be shown locally.  I'm look forward to sharing it with local friends.  

You can read more about Messengers here.

"Messengers", 22" X 11" watercolor

Messengers by April M. Rimpo

Messengers speaks to a tradition in Guatemala practiced on All Saints Day.  Many Guatemalans are very faithful Catholics and as a result All Saints Day is celebrated with a parade in which they pay tribute to Christ and Mary.  It is also a time when they celebrate the living and their ancestors.  The Guatemalan's visit their cemeteries in throngs, spending the day visiting with each other and with those departed.  It is a celebration, not a sorrowful event. Flowers are everywhere and kites are sold so families can tie messages to the strings and sail these messages to their ancestors.  The recipients may no longer be here in this life, as represented by the empty chair, but you get the sense that these conversations are a vital part of life.

Messenger

watercolor

22" X 11" image

28" X 17" brushed silver frame

$725

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE HERE

Technical Tip

It's important to watch demonstrations and to attend workshops every now and then.  If nothing else it reminds you of things you've learned but they have fallen into crevices of your brain that you don't seem to access any more. During the demonstration Frank Webb did for the Baltimore Watercolor Society this week, he used Phthalo Green, which is a color I have not included on my regular palette in a very long time.  In fact I'm not sure it has ever been a regular part of my palette.

I loved the colors he achieved with it, so I decided to use it in the dark regions in one painting I finished last week;  I also incorporated Phthalo Green in "Messengers."  I really enjoyed the result and will likely make it a regular color on my palette.  It was fun to rediscover a pigment I owned but hadn't used for a while.