48. Serving as Juror for The Gallery Space, Monroeville, PA

The Gallery Space, Monroeville, PA Public Library

The public library of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, next to the Gateway High School, is host to The Gallery Space, a special place to showcase artwork by established and aspiring artists from throughout the Western Pennsylvania area.  The gallery is in a lovely setting with a natural stone wall at its focal point and two additional walls to showcase art.  In addition, an exhibiting artist has room for more art behind the front desk and in the snack cafe next to it.  The image above gives a 180 degree view of the main gallery.  The present curator, Sally Wightkin, and a dedicated group of helpers from the gallery's sponsors, The Friends of the Monroeville Public Library, work tirelessly setting up and maintaining the gallery and its many exhibits (a new one every month!) throughout the year --and all as volunteers.  Now that's a labor of love.  Commissions from the sale of artwork at these shows benefit the public library in Monroeville.

Exhibitions at The Gallery Space have been a tradition since 1965.  When I had my first show there in 2001, only six artists would be selected to exhibit each year with each show lasting two months at a time.  By the time I exhibited there again in 2007, exhibits were limited to one month.  While I wasn't pleased by the shorter shows, the fact is that the shorter shows made this forum accessible to twice as many artists and, as I later discovered myself, was quite necessary. In 2008, I was honored when Sally Wightkin asked me to assist her and help select, from the many submissions, those artists (and artist organizations) that would be selected for exhibitions at The Gallery Space in the next two years.  The number and quality of submissions were so overwhelming, we finally decided to extend the period we were judging another year.  It was a very enlightening experience for me.

Another call for artists has been extended by The Gallery Space in which those wishing to exhibit are asked to bring three examples of their artwork (or a CD of 6-10 examples of their artwork) to the Monroeville Library on Friday, April 29, 2011.  Art groups can bring 6-10 original works or a CD of 12-20 images.  Again, I have been asked by Sally to assist in the selection process.

I have been doing serious art for over 30 years and fine photography for even longer.  I've had three shows at The Gallery Space the last 10 years and participated three other times in exhibits there by the East Suburban Artists League.  I have had numerous solo and group exhibitions and my work has appeared in galleries, museums, major corporate headquarters, newspapers and the cover of magazines.  I have won plenty of awards, have taught oil and acrylic art classes for major national corporations and I have served as a judge and juror for a number of local organizations and major art exhibitions.  While there are plenty of artists and art instructors who have done more than I and have better credentials, my point is that I have had some experience in a lot of things, and am independent and confident enough not to be overly worried about the politics in art (and, yes, every human endeavor involves politics), and I hope, at 55 years of age, I've learned to learned enough to keep all of this in perspective.  Anyway, I've been told I am pretty fair and level-headed and I will do my best to remain objective and judicious.  I have to think too that it helps being an attorney where I often and regularly serve as an arbitrator for the Court of Common Pleas in Pittsburgh.

Be sure to get your submissions in for consideration!  I will probably write something afterwards about the whole process.  And thanks again, Sally, for this opportunity to serve again.

UPDATE:  I once again assisted Sally on May 31, 2013 in the selection of artists for the upcoming years through parts of 2016.  Thanks again Sally for letting me help in this process.

 

47. Painter in the Park, 12 x 12, digital photograph, 2011

This image was based on a photograph I took of an artist painting flowers in a park in Boston the summer of 2007.  Click on the image to enlarge.

46. Acrylic Fine Art Class I Taught at Michaels as a Certified Grumbacher Fine Art Instructor in 2010

I am not teaching a fine art class at this time, but I did teach an acrylic fine art class as a Certified Grumbacher Art Instructor at various Michael's stores at several locations in Tarentum, Monroeville and Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 2010.  It was a pleasure being able to teach art classes once again and I look forward to doing something similar at some point in the future. The acrylic fine art program will go on and Grumbacher has replaced me at most of these Michael's stores, so be sure to check with them to see if Acrylic Fine Art Classes are being offered at these locations.

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Other posts about my time working with Grumbacher and Michael's can be found at posts 52, 46, 34, 33, 32 and 31 and on Bob's website here.

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The following are some of the materials and paintings used in the acrylic art classes at Michaels which may assist you in exploring acrylic painting.  While these may not represent some of my more finished work, they are examples of what can be done with acrylics in a two-hour class.

LANDSCAPE

The image at bottom is the reference photo given to me by Grumbacher for the landscape painting, and the other images are paintings I taught.  As the classes moved into autumn and winter, we shifted the landscapes to reflect the outside conditions.

FLORAL
The flowers on the left are paintings and the reference photos are show on the right.  The first reference photo at top and the one at bottom center were given to me by Grumbacher.  The other two photos are mine.

SEASCAPES
Below are the Seascape paintings I taught at Michaels and at bottom the reference photo I was given.  

STILL LIFE
Below are the still lifes I taught with my reference photos at the right.  At bottom is another reference photo which you are free to use to practice painting.  The

 

(Right) My final acrylic art class as a Grumbacher Instructor at Michaels on 12/18/2010.  Pictured with me are two of my most loyal regular students, Wei-Duan Liao at left and Judy Zeman at right.   Sincere thanks to all of my students. It was great fun while it lasted.

45. Duff Park in Winter, 12 x 16, digital photograph, 2011

This was taken in Duff Park in Murrysville, Pennsylvania close to where I live.  The original photo lacked any color and while it looked just fine as a standard black and white image, adding a sepia tone to the picture, I think, definitely makes this photograph stand out.  And yes, it was very cold when I took this. Click on the image to enlarge.

Edited on April 14, 2012:  After looking at this image for a year, I have decided that yellow snow is not all that appealing after all and I like my black and white version much more, especially when mounted in a nice modern chrome frame.  So here it is.  What do you think?

Duff Park in Winter by Bob Bickers, 2011, photograph

44. Winter Fences, digital photograph, 2011

Winter Fences by Bob Bickers, 2011, digital photograph

One of the things I like about living in Murrysville, PA, is the fact that I am never very far from the rural countryside. This view is not far from my house. I digitally altered my photograph in order to make it resemble an impressionist painting.  Click on the image to enlarge.

43. Sun and Shadow, 9 x 12, digital photograph, 2011

Here's another photo I took from the highway in Ohio which I managed to salvage.  Besides the tree catching my eye, I really liked the contrasts in the sunlight and shadows on the winter grass.  Click onthe image to enlarge.

42. Branches, 8 x 10, photograph, 2011

This lonely tree was photographed from the highway while I was traveling through Ohio last month.  Click on the image to enlarge.

41. Acadian Sailing, 12 x 16, digital photograph, 2011

This is my interpretation of a scene taken in the waters off of Acadia National Park in Maine the summer of 2009.  I have many more images from Acadia that will be a source of inspiration for me for many years to come.  Click on the image to enlarge.

40. Cody's Catch, 18 x 24, oil on canvas, 2010

Cody's Catch by Bob Bickers, 18 x 24, oil on canvas, 2010

I begin this New Year by wrapping up a bit of business from 2010.  At right is an oil painting commissioned last year, Cody's Catch, 18 x 24, oil on canvas, 2010.  The person who commissioned the painting had accompanied Cody and his father on a fishing trip to a remote area of Canada a few years ago.  While there, Cody had caught a huge Northern Pike with an ordinary fishing line.  He struggled with it for a long time before bringing the exhausted fish to his kayak.  Unfortunately, the fish got away before any pictures could be taken, thus the desire to forever re-create the moment in oil.  I used photos of Cody taken on the trip, as well as pictures of the lake and I pulled reference photos off the internet ont he fish and the type of kayak Cody was using.  I then had my daughter pose for Cody's body holding a fishing rod and kneeling in a sled.  Eventually it all came together for a complete painting.  I have a page on my website showing the steps I took in creating this painting here.

I had a good time working on this painting and I hope to get more commissioins this year.  Meanwhile, I plan to post each new painting I do right here on this blog.  Most will be a bit smaller than this one, and each will be for sale.

A couple of years ago I tried to post a new painting every week, but stumbled a few months in as I got involved in other matters.  I am going to try to do the same again, although I may need to post one of my photographs once in a while.  I am hoping 2011 will be the start of a wonderful new decade of art!  As always, click on the image to enlarge.

39. Yellow Flowers on the Edge of Darkness, 18 x 12, digital photograph

Yellow Flowers on the Edge of Darkness by Bob Bickers, digital photograph

I read that the original Tron movie was excluded from consideration for an Academy Award for animation back in 1983 because any use of computers was considered by the Academy back then as "cheating", even though most of the movie itself was animated by hand.  Now we view computer-generated images (CGI) as an art form all it own, one that incorporates the skills and talents of hundreds of individuals during a major production.

Given that apparent shift in people's attitudes, I present you with the image at left.  Is it a painting?  Is it a photograph of a painting?  Is it "true" photography?

It is a computer-altered digital photograph made to resemble a painting.  Is it art?  It did take some effort to set up, photograph, and work out my vision on the computer.  It is not an accident or a random creation, like throwing paint at a canvas, but is the end result of an idea or image that first existed in my head and with some effort, was made into a form that could be seen and shared with everyone.  From that perspective, it clearly is art and I am the artist.   

Still, if I were take a brush and painted the exact image by hand instead of using a camera and computer, how would you feel about it?  It is obvious that while we may admire the technical and perhaps even the artistic skills of photographers, and to a lesser extent, computer geeks, we still have a prejudice for the painter who uses his own two hands to create a beautiful image. 

Perhaps it has something to do with the miracle of a person transforming blobs of mere pigment into something that can not only be recognizable, but even move the human heart.  In that sense, and as the late television artist Bill Alexander often said, being an artist is probably as close to being like God as mortals can ever come. Maybe.  And if that is true, then maybe all that comes with being an artist, the ability to acutely observe, see, appreciate and express all the beauty (and the ugliness) in the universe around us, maybe that is a unique and special quality in God that we all should seek in ourselves.  Click on the image to enlarge.