Lives in:  Bethesda, MD. 

Why you joined MAA:  I joined MAA to push myself to enter art shows and to challenge myself to do my best work, and to get out of my comfort zone and try new subjects and media.

Media & Subjects:  I use mainly water color but I also do mixed media. When I do zen tangles I use felt tip markers. I love nature and so I like to paint flowers and landscapes. I tend to be very eclectic so whatever inspires me at a given moment becomes my subject. 

Artist Biography:  I have had two careers. I started as an elementary school teacher. Then I went back to school for an MSW and worked as a geriatric social worker. I started painting after I retired and am so grateful to have a hobby that I can pursue at home especially during this pandemic while we have been at home for such a long time.

By Martina Sestakova

Let's create together! One idea, many unique interpretations. If you follow our MAA Members Facebook page, you know we enjoy painting together. This blog highlights our latest project: a seagull photograph by Marti Wells. This activity aims to celebrate the diversity of MAA members' work so join in and show us your artistic point of view. Scroll below to see how our members interpreted the inspiration.

Original photograph; credit: Marti Wells

And here we have our members' interpretations ... 

Anastasia Walsh, 29" x 21", Translucent Acrylic on Glass (Old Window)

Marti Wells, Pen and Ink

Tena Turner, 8" x 10", Colored Pencil on Paper

Montgomery Art Association is excited about the upcoming July “Natural Landscapes” online exhibit and proudly announces this show’s judge, Chawky Frenn. We are looking forward to showcasing our members’ artworks and while July is yet to come, you are invited to learn about Chawky Frenn’s art and career in this blog.

Born in Lebanon, Frenn immigrated to the United States in 1981 having experienced years of civil war in his native country. Its devastating effects would influence his life and work. Frenn received a BFA from Mass College of Art and Design in Boston and an MFA from Tyler School of Art of Temple University in Philadelphia. Having taught at a variety of colleges in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, he is currently an Associate Professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

Frenn’s exhibit history includes shows in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, and Paraguay. In 2017, Frenn was awarded the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Awards and spent 5 months in New Delhi, India, painting and teaching. He has received numerous awards including the Teaching Excellence Award, George Mason University in Fairfax (2009).

Frenn is the author of two books 100 Boston Artists and 100 Boston Painters published in 2013 and 2012 by Schiffer Publishing. Chawky Frenn lives and works in Arlington, VA.

By Martina Sestakova

Let's create together! One idea, many unique interpretations. If you follow our MAA Members Facebook page, you know we enjoy painting together. This blog highlights our latest project: an amaryllis photograph by Susan Farrer who took this photo in early March at the Philadelphia Flower Show. This activity aims to celebrate the diversity of MAA members' work so join in and show us your artistic point of view. Scroll below to see how our members interpreted the inspiration.

Original photograph; credit: Susan Farrer

And here we have our members' interpretations ... 

Ellen Yahuda, 5" x 7", Pastel on paper

Jamie Downs, Digital Painting

Susan Farrer, 8" x 10", Acrylic on paper

Tena Turner, 8" x 10", Colored pencil on drawing paper

Marti Wells, 8" x 10", Watercolor

Joanne Lamm, 5" x 5", Oil on paper

By Bonnie Carlson 

I started to think about chairs on a walk about a month ago. I saw empty park benches, cafes with no one at them, no one in line to buy a movie ticket to sit in the soft, red velvet chairs of a theater, and even, on returning home, the chairs in my own living room, where we sit, but where we can invite no friends to join us.

I wanted to express what those empty chairs meant to me, both for better and worse: the lost jobs, shuttered businesses, the inability to sit with a friend, the loss of a friend to this terrible virus and the chair he or she will never sit in again. I thought of hospital waiting rooms where families cannot wait to see their loved ones, and so many patients coming through and sitting in chairs waiting for a lifeline.

But not all of my thoughts turned to loss. I look at the chairs in my home, or the chairs at the table in my back yard, and I plan for our return to the day when we can safely meet, and think how sweet that time will be – a barbecue, maybe a birthday party, where little kids’ legs dangle from the too-tall chairs, party hats on, waiting for the pizza. It might be a wedding delayed that we can all finally celebrate at together, taking a chair or sliding into a pew next to a beloved aunt, leaning in and taking her elbow to say hello to her as we wait for the bride to come down the aisle.

Some of these chairs are a memorial to those who will not sit in them again, but others are a plan for the return of friends and family. These chairs are an invitation to sit a spell, have a seat, or to enjoy coffee and a slice of cake, balanced on a knee, sitting in the living room with the one you have missed the most.

This pandemic will not last forever. And when it ends, when we have a vaccine or a treatment, there’s a chair here, and it’s waiting for you.

Currently all paintings are untitled. They are 8" x 8" acrylic on canvas.

All rights reserved. Bonnie Carlson. 

 

New Member Spotlight -- Teresa Jarzynski

Lives in:  Bethesda, MD.

Website:   www.teresajarzynski.com

Social Media:   

http://www.instagram.com/teresasstudio

Why you joined MAA:  I joined MAA in order to participate in the Creative Expressions Online Exhibit juried by Lee Newman, whose work I highly admire, and it is as well a great opportunity to become more a part of the regional art community.

Something fun about you:  Something fun about me is that I am first generation Polish-American, with both parents born in Poland, and have spent my life traveling there for family visits every several years. From 1989-1990, in my very early twenties, I lived there working as a nightclub manager for the first Western company (Marriott) to open up in Eastern Europe following the fall of communism. Arriving in Warsaw about a month before the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9th, 1989 was an interesting time to be living there.

Artist Biography:  Working in oils and occasional watercolors, I paint the people, places and things from my personal life experiences as a way to document my presence.  Direct observation is the starting point for most of my work, and usually remains the central approach, but I allow myself to incorporate imagination, memory and photo reference when compelled to do so. I am fascinated with the everyday and the challenge of making the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Teresa received her Associates Degree in Painting at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and her BFA in Studio Art at Lorenzo De Medici in Florence, Italy. She divides her time between her Bethesda, MD studio and her Harlem, NYC studio and has exhibited in both solo and group shows throughout the United States. She is the recipient of the 2015 Best in Show award from the Anne Arundel Arts Council, and recently one of her portraits made the cover of DC’s HillRag Magazine.

Reflections on The Thieving of Orchids and Other             May Flowers 36x24

Love Stories_oil on canvas36x24

   Television Night 11x9

We are pleased to announce MAA's 2020-21 Board of Directors. The term begins June 1, 2020.

Officers:

• President: Alan Rich
• Vice President, Programs: Jennifer Kahn Barlow
• Vice President, Shows / Communications Chair: Elissa Leibowitz Poma
• Treasurer / Paint the Town Show Chair: Anastasia Walsh
• Secretary / Membership Chair: Kathy Tynan
• Past Presidents: Cathy Hirsh, Barrie Ripin

Committee Leads:

• Activities Chair: Hiral Joshi
• College Relations Chair: Dulce Moreno
• Community Outreach Chair: John MacArthur
• Equipment Chair: Joyce Koeneman
• Hospitality Chair: Miguel Mitchell
• Newsletter Editor: James Klumpner
• Newsletter Writer/Children’s Activities: Judith Levine
• Publicity Chair: Kathy Wilson
• Social Media Chair: Martina Sestakova

By Martina Sestakova

Let's create together! One idea, many unique interpretations. If you follow our MAA Members Facebook page, you know we enjoy painting together. This blog highlights our latest project. Member John MacArhur shared a photo of Mount Vesuvius from his trip to Italy in 2018. Scroll below to see how our members interpreted the inspiration.

Original photograph; credit: John MacArthur

And here we have our members' interpretations ... 

Alan Rich, Post It Note, 3" x 3", Pen/ink/colored pencil

Tena Turner, 6.5" x 10", Prismacolor on Borden and Riley Vellum

Ellen Yahuda, 11" x 7", Oil on paper

Susan Farrer, 5" x 7", Collage with hand painted paper

It is sad but true; there will not be a live, three-day MAA art exhibit in the Kensington Armory on Labor Day weekend this year. The town of Kensington has confirmed that the events will not take place due to the pandemic quarantine.

But MAA is getting so adept at putting on online exhibits that we are pressing ahead with six online events to make up for this!

We are keeping the name Paint The Town (PTT) but there are no restrictions about Kensington art this year. Each month from July - December we will conduct a judged online exhibit for a specific category. We will hold an online Zoom reception/award meeting with the judge (each show will have a different judge). We will also hold an online Zoom Artist's Salon during the exhibit to encourage artists to share background about their painting.

Here is the schedule (Reception / Salon dates may change):

Landscape

June 12-19 Call for entries

July 1-31     Landscape exhibit online

July 5          Reception & Awards with Judge

July 19        Artist's Salon

Urban Landscape

July 12-19     Call for entries

August 1-31  Urban Landscape exhibit online

August 2        Reception & Awards with Judge

August 16      Artist's Salon

Plein Air

August 12-19     Call for entries

September 1-30 Plein Air exhibit online

September 6      Reception & Awards with Judge

September 20    Artist's Salon

Portrait

September 12-19 Call for entries

October 1-31        Portrait exhibit online

October 4             Reception & Awards with Judge

October 18           Artist's Salon

Abstract

October 12-19     Call for entries

November 1-30   Abstract exhibit online

November 1        Reception & Awards with Judge

November 15      Artist's Salon

Still Life

November 12-19 Call for entries

December 1-31   Still Life exhibit online

December 6        Reception & Awards with Judge

December 20      Artist's Salon

Registration for each online show will be $5 and will be limited to 1 entry per exhibit. MAA membership is required for participation, and renewals will be needed for the September and beyond online exhibit. As previously mentioned, MAA memberships will be reduced to half price ($25) for renewals prior completed prior to September 1.

Please contact Anastasia Walsh (maatreas@gmail.com) with any questions.

By Martina Sestakova

Several of MAA members undertook a fun project. They captured 'their view' during these times of staying at home. Elissa Poma kicked of the activity by sharing this watercolor capturing the backyard of her home. 

Ellen Wilcox added her artwork in oil on canvas. And what a treat, she is part of the view. 

In his "Quarantined" painting (oil), John MacArthur captured neighbors gathering out front during the Covid-19 pandemic. His piece (sold) was done en plein aire. 

And finally, Jamie Downs added a close-up of bees (acrylic and ink on canvas). She said of this painting, "While isolated in my home, I have been painting the things I look forward to each Spring. For years, I admired bee balm at our family cabin in Pennsylvania and tried to bring it home without success. Now I have it spreading across my yard and can watch the bees and humming birds enjoy it."