Open Sky Art: An Event, An Exhibit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Kim Weiss, blueplate pr
919-272-8615
kim@blueplatenc.com
KIMBERLY ALVIS PRESENTS “OPEN SKY ART: AN EVENT, AN EXHIBIT”
May 13, 2009 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) -- Chapel Hill artist Kimberly Alvis will present “Open Sky Art -- An Event, An Exhibit” in June. On Sunday, June 7, Alvis will host an “en plein air” painting session in her own gardens. By the end of the day, work completed during the painting session will be included in a special exhibit (location to be announced) that will run into July 12, spanning possibly two Second Friday Art Walks.
Joseph Rowand, the celebrated owner and curator of Somerhill Gallery in Durham, will serve as judge for the Open Sky Art exhibit, selecting a first, second, and third-place winner. The first-place winner will receive a cash prize.
“En plein air” painting – French for “in the open air” -- challenges artists to create works outside of their studios, using what they see and feel around them in the land- or streetscape as inspirations for their work. During the Open Sky Art event, participating artists will have Kimberly Alvis’ lush gardens, backyard pond and parade of ducks as potential subjects.
Alvis frequently participates in plein air painting sessions through PAINT NC and Outdoor Painters in Graham, and she recently hosted a small painting session in her gardens through PAINT NC.
“I love plein air painting myself,” Alvis said, “especially this time of year.”
Open Sky Art -- the event and exhibit -- arose from her desire to attract more artists to the process of outdoor painting, to expose their work to a greater audience, and to give participating artists a chance to have their work seen by an expert of Rowand’s caliber.
“I’m delighted that Joe has agreed to serve as our judge,” said Alvis, who is represented by Somerhill Gallery.
Alvis will announce the exhibition location prior to the painting session.
Artists who participate must bring all of their own supplies and prepare their paintings for hanging prior to the exhibit. Rowand will determine the top three winners after the exhibit is mounted.
As the host and sponsor of Open Sky Art, Alvis will not paint during the event or include her work in the judging process, but she will hang a completed painting in the exhibit.
Artists must register to participate in Open Sky Art: An Event, An Exhibit. Registration forms are available for download only on Alvis’ website: http://www.alvisart.com/.
Alvis’ publicist, Kim Weiss of blueplate pr in Raleigh, is assisting in the event and exhibit and can answer any questions. She can be contacted at kim@bluplacenc.com; 919-272-8615.
Kimberly Alvis is an accomplished artist represented in the Triangle by Somerhill Gallery in Durham and the Little Art Gallery & Craft Collection in Raleigh. To see more of her work, visit http://www.alvisart.com/.
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Kim Weiss
blueplate pr
610 Hillsborough St #302
Raleigh, NC 27603
919-272-8615
kim@blueplatenc.com
http://www.blueplatepr.com/
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“OPEN SKY ART” PAINTINGS GO UP AT CARIBOU COFFEE IN CHAPEL HILL
June 11, 2009 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) – Joseph Rowand, director and curator at Somerhill Gallery in Durham, was stunned to learn that the artists who participated in Kimberly Alvis’ “Open Sky Art” event on Sunday, June 7, began and completed their paintings in just a few hours that day. Rowand arrived at Caribou Coffee on 110 West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill late that afternoon to select the top three ribbon-winners among the 8 completed works.
“I thought they started three days ago,” he said as he studied the paintings now displayed on the walls of the downtown coffee shop.
Open Sky Art was an “en plein air” (French for “in the open air”) painting session hosted by Chapel Hill artist Kimberly Alvis in her lush gardens just outside the downtown district. Participating artists chose whatever element or view they wanted to paint on Alvis property, which includes a pond and small wooden bridge, pool, gazebo, extensive gardens in bloom and ornamental trees.
The artists brought their own supplies and painted outdoors from 8 a.m. to around 2 p.m. before delivering the completed works – most of which were also framed – to Caribou Coffee’s West Franklin Street location, where they became part of the Open Sky Art Exhibit to celebrate “en plein air” painting.
An advocate and veteran of open-air painting, Kimberly Alvis contributed three of her own oil paintings for the show, although as host and a member of the Somerhill Gallery stable of artists, her works were not included in the judging for the three winners.
For First Place, Rowand selected an 8x10 piece of the pond and bridge, rendered in pastels, by Linda Wood of Wood Design & Art Studio in Raleigh. The painting is titled “June Garden” and Wood will receive the only cash prize.
Second Place went to Scott Meyers of Chapel Hill, a member of the Orange County Artists Guild, for his 14x17 oil painting of an old Adirondack chair sitting by the bank of the pond.
Third Place went to Tesh Parekh, co-owner of IWP Photography and a member of the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, for a 12x16 watercolor of the pond and surrounding gardens -- one of two pieces Parekh completed that day.
Kimberly Alvis sponsored the Open Sky Art event and exhibit to celebrate “en plein air” painting and go expose artists who enjoy it to a wider audience.
“I’m very grateful to the management of Caribou on Franklin Street for allowing us to display our exhibit there,” she said.
The Open Sky Art Exhibit will remain in Caribou Coffee at 110 W. Franklin Street, Chpael Hill, through mid-July and will be part of the town’s Second Friday Art Walk.
About Kimberly Alvis: An accomplished artist, Kimberly Alvis is recognized for her representational work in oil on canvas, linen and panel. She is represented in the Triangle area for Somerhill Gallery in Durham (www.somerhill.com) and the Little Art Gallery & Craft Collection in Raleigh (www.littleartgalleryandcraft.com.) According to Somerhill Gallery’s Joseph Rowand, Alvis’ work offers “a style reminiscent of the 17th century Dutch and Spanish masters. We encounter with Kim's work an artist who celebrates the past, deploying paint and light to exquisitely delineate her own compositions.” To see more of her work, visit www.alvisart.com.
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