Celebrate the Arts...the MUSD students in action

As promised earlier, the video went live on YouTube after it was uploaded and processed.  I don't understand all the steps and widgets involved once they have the video, but it went into a queue with others that took a while to get it processed.  Hint, if you watch it in YouTube you will get a high definition option where you can really see the details.

The event was fun.  MUSD and Monrovia is blessed with some really talented youths.  They will only get better.

Complete and updated Celebrate the Arts set is up on flickr now.

Celebrate the Arts...film at 11

or maybe a bit later...

It all depends on how fast YouTube gets the upload done and processed.  I'm already at the max bandwidth that Champion/Altrionet offers in my area but I need fast upload.  Video was done by 8AM...upload is 2/3 done 2 hours later.

This weekend is the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts Celebrate the Arts.  Its a juried Fine Art Festival that I have been involved with for 10 years now.  9 of it I organized the whole shebang, this year due to stuff I couldn't do it, let alone have a display space for my images there.  Maybe next year.

New to this years show was live demonstrations of art by MUSD students from Monrovia High School and Canyon Oaks High School.  I don't have the video to share, yet, but I will post it when its ready.  In the mean time this teaser from flickr should get your appetite whetted.

They strung me up at First City Credit Union

Yup, one artist flaked and I got to go into the First City Credit Union Gallery today.  6 Pieces all hung, and information tags all done now its there for the public to enjoy until January.  The First City Credit Union Gallery is a joint effort with the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts exhibiting works of its members.

The 6 pieces:
Bodie Blue Window
English Rose Bud
Abandoned Church, Paris
La Tour Eiffel
Wild Flower
Lily

Its a nice selection of photographs, digital art and hand colored negatives.

You can see them Monday through Saturday in the First City Credit Union main lobby. First City Credit Union,404 E. Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016

Art for a cause...raising funds for art education in the schools

This weekends Celebrate the Arts that I'm participating in is more than just an Fine Art Event.  ITS about raising money to bring Art to the community. ITS about raising money to help bring art education to the schools via the Village After School program in the MUSD elementary and middle schools.  ITS about Pallete Grants, mini-grants to SGV area schools for in class art education projects.  You can learn more about what the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts does on their website HERE.

At the Celebrate the Arts we have a few things going on that are dedicated to funding our various art programs in the city.  The biggy is the Silent Auction of donated pieces where 100% of the proceeds go directly into the grant funds.  All of the artists (well most of them) in the Celebrate the Arts donate a piece for inclusion in this auction.  Monrovia High School done in the Orton style is my piece being donated to the cause.

Celebrate the Arts will be held in Monrovia's Library Park the weekend of October 8 &9 2011.  The library address is 321 S Myrtle Ave, Monrovia CA to help you find it via google maps.  Celebrate the Arts will be open 10AM - 6PM both days.  Come enjoy the art and of course bid on the Silent Auction Items that strike a spot in your soul.

Art Walk Saturday 8/27 7-10PM

I'll be there with this new image all framed and ready to go. It is a hand colored black and white negative that is scanned and printed with the help of a PC on archival quality matte paper. The shadow detail is stunning if I say so myself...this is a big part of the reason why I am doing my own B&W work rather than simply converting a digital image to monochromatic.

Silver based materials really do have a depth of gray that you can't match by simply removing color or desaturating a digital image. For the few extra steps needed to bring an image about and get it ready for show the image quality is in another world. Definitely worth the effort.

Enjoy "Wet Lily" and see it in person this weekend at the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts last Summer Art Walk to be held in Old Town Monrovia. I will be near the Paint n Play Art Studio and Gallery and will be available to talk to you about what I do as well as show you what I have both at the Art Walk and in the Paint n Play Art Studio and Gallery. Look for me on the 400 Block of South Myrtle in Monrovia.

It sold...at silent auction

Monrovia Association of Fine Arts had its annual Acknowledge the Arts awards ceremony on this past Saturday evening. This image was among those I donated to the cause and was sold at silent auction. It certainly is a good cause, one I devote lots of time and energy too as its mission is to bring art to the community and foster the creation and appreciation of art. We (I'm the Veep and on the board of MAFA) bring art to the schools in the form of art classes in the Village After School Program.

This image was a digital image. It shot on my Canon DSLR and the subsequent RAW file was converted to Black and White with the help of Adobe's CS5. The image was printed on glossy stock just because I love the quality of contrast on glossy vs matte finish paper.

New image for 7/31 MAFA Art Walk

This is among several new images printed just for the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts Summer Art Walk being held in Old Town Monrovia this weekend. The image is one of several I shot at Missouri's Elephant Rock State Park earlier this month.

To see me and my other images you're welcome to attend the Free Art Walk dedicated to photographic arts July 31, 7PM-10Pm. I will be in the Paint n Play 2 Art Gallery and Studio located at 418 S Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia (91016 if you need a zip for google maps).

MAFA Celebrate the Arts Press Release

I'll only put up press releases here that a)involve me and b) will be shameless self promotion.  Since I am the "featured artist" at the coming Celebrate the Arts show with MAFA and mentioned all over the place in the press release this one will qualify.

The Monrovia Association of Fine Arts, formerly known as the Monrovia Arts Festival Association presents the 45th Annual CELEBRATE THE ARTS, a weekend festival of Fine Arts on October 11th and 12th, 2008; 10:00am – 6:00pm Saturday and Sunday at a new location; the Monrovia Community Center, 119 W. Palm Avenue in Monrovia (right across the street from the old location at Library Park which is currently closed for construction). This event promises to provide fun and entertainment for the whole family and anyone interested in all aspects of the arts. Local oil painters, photographers, sculptors and watercolor artists from Monrovia and surrounding communities bring their artwork to share and display during a two-day festival sure to delight families and children alike.

This year’s Featured Artist is landscape and nature photographer, Frank Zgonc, a MAFA Executive Board Member and past president of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts who has been diligently working to promote the arts in the local community of Monrovia and surrounding areas for many years. Frank Zgonc is a photographer who prefers to consider his art as painting with the tools created for personal digital computers and yet presenting his work in a medium more reflective of traditional watercolor images. His process of printing photographic images on wet watercolor paper produces impressionistic images that enhance the communication of his philosophy, embodies emotions and provides the viewer with a sense of place; “Life is about exploring, art is telling the world what we found”, he states.The watercolor photography is only one area he explores. The digital art in particular has been a significant focus for him in the last year. With this technical skill, Frank intends to go more surreal and impressionistic in the future, obtaining some of his inspiration from his travels in Europe where Frank Zgonc is a listed artist at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Frank Zgonc has continued to expand his exploration of artistic mediums in the technical realm by producing a valuable source of community and pertinent artistic information expressed through his blog: http://frazgomeanders.blogspot.com and he is also a writer with the Metroblogging team where one may follow his escapades at http://la.metblogs.com/author/frazgo. Enjoy a visit to Frank Zgonc’s website at www.mindscapewatercolorphotography.com

Additionally, some of the artists exhibiting work at the Monrovia Community Center and or providing demonstrations include some of the following well-known and continuing supporters of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts: Photographers Doug Gordon, Stephen Coleman, John Houseman and Ginger Van Hook. A variety of watercolor artists include, Betty Glass, Horst Albers, Setsuko Okubo, and Elaine G. Smith. Oil Painters include Roz Newson and Luke Van Hook. Glass artists Christina Hughes, as well as others will be displayed as well as acrylic artist George Schopeck, collage artist Millie Havens, and ceramist Sal Perez.  New artists coming on board are yet to be announced and the event is rallying the whole community to come out to Monrovia Community Center to CELEBRATE THE ARTS!

Monrovia Association of Fine Arts is a nonprofit (501c) corporation with a mission to promote the arts in the local communities. The mission statement is “To enhance the lives of those within our community through interaction with the arts and to increase the opportunities for our children through art education.” Local art is featured in a variety of MAFA supported venues such as the PAINT N PLAY FINE ARTS GALLERY located at (418 South Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia), FOCUS ONE FINE ARTS GALLERY (404 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia), THE AZTEC ART GALLERY (305 West Foothill Blvd., Monrovia), as well as the latest gallery to have joined the art milieu, Route 66 Art Gallery located at 301 W. Foothill Blvd., beside the Aztec Hotel in Monrovia. Art is also displayed on the walls of the popular gourmet sandwich and coffee shop (under new management) at THE MONROVIA COFFEE COMPANY (425 Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia), as well as the very young up and coming artists venue: KIDSART located at (128 East Lemon, Monrovia). California Wine and Cheese, located at 115 W. Foothill Blvd is another special artist venue  and A number of supporting vendors who continue to create an inviting and nurturing environment for the artists and their arts exist all over the Monrovia community.

There you go.  Shameless self-promotion at its best.  I look pretty good in print.  Now come enjoy the show, visit with me and buy something!

Icons and stuff

Nothing screams LA or So Cal in general quite like the Palm Tree. Miami tries to use it, but they keep having hurricanes blow them away.

I have a love hate relationship with them. They do bring drama to a skyline. They do symbolize the old Hollywood of myth and romanticism. Unfortunately when a frond decides to fall they can do some serious damage when they hit something. Rats love them for nesting at the top. They make great torches when a bottle rocket hits them igniting all the dried stuff.

As always this was shot RAW, 3 bracketed frames. Photomatix was used for the HDR file generation and tone mapping. The final wash for the unnatural saturation of the old cibachrome stuff was done with the help of Virtual Photographer.

Am in full prep mode. Processing images then printing. Soon is framing and matting time...ugga.

Don't forget, mark your calenders for the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts Celebrate the Arts on October 11 & 12. At the community center across from the Library Park in Old Town Monrovia on Palm Avenue. I'll have a lot of what you have seen the last few weeks at the show.