Petoskey, MI
Crooked Tree Arts Center, June 8-August 31
Lisa Skelly, Golden Harbor, pastel, 6 x 12.
This story was featured in the June 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art June 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
COUNTLESS ARTISTS throughout history have demonstrated that small paintings can have a big impact, and today there are many more painters who are creating a bounty of similar evidence. Just look to the American Impressionist Society’s third annual Impressions Small Works Showcase, which opens at the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey, MI, on Saturday, June 8, with an awards ceremony and reception at 5 p.m. Unlike the group’s national exhibition in the fall, where entries can be as large as 30 by 30 inches, its juried Small Works Showcase offers members a unique opportunity to exhibit paintings no larger than 200 square inches.
“Most pieces are 12 by 16 inches, and some works are as small as 5 by 7 inches,” says AIS president Debra Joy Groesser. “They are beautiful little gems.” Because of the smaller dimensions, she adds, the AIS can accept considerably more entries into this show-case than appear in the national show. This allows more members an opportunity to display their work with the group for the first time. “It’s wonderful exposure for our artists, especially our new members,” says Groesser.
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- Michael Holter, Waiting for Breakfast, watercolor, 16 x 12.
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- Michael Clark, Summer Memories, oil, 12 x 10.
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- Mark Daly, Snowy Shadows, oil, 12 x 9.
A whopping 180 paintings were juried into the showcase this year, creating an expansive exhibition that includes landscapes, still lifes, interiors, portraits, and more. Master-level members, board members, officers, and founders such as Mark Daly, Huihan Liu, and William Schneider contribute about a dozen additional pieces. It all adds up to a beautiful display of representational styles ranging from California Impressionism to post-Impressionism, says Groesser.
This year’s showstoppers include a soothing skyscape by Jill Basham, a bright and emotive portrait by Jerry Salinas, and an expressive landscape by Toni Williams. In addition to these and many other oil paintings, there are noteworthy works in watercolors, gouache, and pastels. One of the group’s newest members, Lisa Skelly, brings a luminous harbor scene completed in pastels. “We are seeing a lot of new names this year,” says Groesser, “and that keeps the show exciting.”
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- Albert Handell, Forest Wonder, oil, 12 x 16.
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- Camille Przewodek, Glance at Setting Sun, oil, 14 x 11.
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- Jerry Salinas, Abuela, oil, 16 x 12.
Beginning on Wednesday, June 5, an all-member paint-out takes place for three days throughout Petoskey and in the charming waterfront community of Harbor Springs. Freshly completed pieces are then whisked away to a wet-wall show and sale at the arts center that Saturday. AIS Master Camille Przewodek is this year’s judge of awards. —Kim Agricola
contact information
402.592.3399
www.americanimpressionistsociety.org
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- Dawn Whitelaw, When the Cows Come Home, oil, 16 x 12.
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- Vladislav Yeliseyev, Narrow Street, watercolor, 15 x 11.
This story was featured in the June 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art June 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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