99. ON THE MOON - Lecture Given July 11, 2019 a Success!

My presentation at the Monroeville Public Library on July 11, 2019 went extremely well. Over 30 people showed up at a time when severe weather promised to keep people away.

I started at 7:00pm and talked about an hour and a half, and then the audience asked me questions for an additional 20 minutes.  The post-lecture discussions continued until the library staff almost had to throw all of out at the 9:00pm closing time!

The audience was quite interested and very engaging.  I was glad to see both old friends and a number of new faces.  One individual even donated to me various Apollo 11 memorabilia she had accumulated as she knew that I would best appreciate these items.  They included a company brochure on how GE Engineering materials had been used on the Apollo space suits and spacecraft, a 45 record by Philco called "Voices from the Moon" and a set of Commemorative Postage Stamps for the 25th Anniversary of the first moon landing.

My many thanks for all the people who attended this meeting.  Special thanks goes to Mark Hudson, Director of Adult Programming at the Monroeville Public Library, who asked me to give this talk and made it all happen.  He also was the one who arranged my talk on this very subject 10 years ago (see old poster).

I plan to transcribe my talk and post it on this blog as I did before, but it may take a little time -- of which I have too little right now.

 

Additional posts related to this exhibit in Monroeville, PA and one in Murrysville, PA can be found in my art blog posts 101, 100, 99, and 98.

Below are news articles published recently about my show.

Click here to see the ON THE MOON exhibit!

98. ON THE MOON - Art Show July 3 - 30, 2019 Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the First Landing on the Moon

Announcing an exhibition of fine oil paintings entitled "ON THE MOON : An artist’s interpretation of the exploration of the lunar surface by Apollo 11 and the missions that followed” by Murrysville, Pennsylvania artist (and space enthusiast) Bob Bickers from July 3 - 30, 2019, at the Elaine Biondi Gallery Space in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

 

• A free public presentation will be given at the gallery on July 11, 2019, 7-8:30 pm, entitled “Apollo 11 - Fifty Years a Memory” in which Bob Bickers, will give his observations and reflections on the first landing on the moon in 1969 and what we have learned about the mission in the years since.

• An Artist’s Opening Reception will be held at the gallery on July 20, 2019, 6 - 8 pm, the actual 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.  It is also free and open to the public.

• A display case will also exhibit Bob’s extensive collection of Apollo 11 memorabilia including newspapers, magazines and collectibles from the first landing on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Gallery hours during the exhibition are: 9:00am-9:00pm Monday-Thursday; 9:00am-5:00pm Friday & Saturday; closed Sundays.  The library will be closed July 4, 2019.

The Gallery Space is located at the Monroeville Public Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd., Monroeville, PA 15146, by the Gateway School. A portion from the sale of artwork benefits the volunteer group, Friends of the Monroeville Public Library.

Directions to the Monroeville Public Library: Take Parkway Exit 84A or Turnpike Exit 57 or Route 22 to Monroeville, go south on Route 48 (Mosside Boulevard). Turn right at the 4th light onto Gateway Campus Boulevard. Then turn left at stop sign to the library.

Bob Bickers has been creating art professionally for over 40 years but he has been a committed follower of the space program for over half a century.  While he has celebrated prior anniversaries of the Apollo 11 mission with his art before, this show represents new artwork inspired by not only the first manned lunar landing, but the subsequent five Apollo landings on the moon that followed.

For Additional information on the Elaine Biondi Gallery Space visit:

http://www.monroevillelibrary.org/gallery-space

Additional posts related to this exhibit in Monroeville, PA and one in Murrysville, PA can be found in my art blog posts 101, 100, 99, and 98.

Click here to see the ON THE MOON exhibit!

97. East Suburban Artists League's 2019 Bi-annual Art Show & Sale at the Elaine Biondi Gallery Space in Monroeville, PA

This members-only exhibition will take place May 31st through July 2nd, 2019.  The Elaine Biondi Gallery Space is located at the Monroeville Public Library, 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd., Monroeville, PA 15146,  off of Mosside Boulevard, in the Gateway School Complex.  A wide variety of artwork in many styles and media including photography will be available for viewing and many will be for sale.  A portion from the sale of artwork benefits the volunteer group, Friends of the Monroeville Public Library. Gallery hours during the exhibition are: 9am-9pm Monday-Thursday; 9am-5pm Friday & Saturday; and closed Sunday.

The  Opening  Reception will be Saturday, June 1st, 6:00-8:00pm and the public is invited.

Formed in 1965 to serve artists of the suburban areas east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the East Suburban Artists League (ESAL) is a non-profit association of artists from communities in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties.  Members include adult artists of all ages who work in all types of media, styles and techniques.  They meet to foster arts and crafts and to educate, inspire and encourage artists and patrons throughout this area.  This is done by lectures, forums, panels and critiques and by League sponsored shows, displays and juried exhibits.

More about the East Suburban Artists League can be found at their website: ESALart.org 

Above is my entry into this show, April Showers, oil / canvas, 16 x 20.

96. Landscape Painting with Oils or Acrylics at the Greensburg Art Center

My class teaching landscape painting went very well with a great turnout! The students try hard and are talented. We had 9 hours of instruction over 3 Saturdays - March 30, April 6 & April 13, 2019.  Here are a few images from each of these sessions. Click on the images for a larger view.

Also, for participating students, you can click here for the materials list, all photos and source materials for these classes. 

 

95. ESAL Art Show at the Latrobe Art Center April 3-30, 2019

The East Suburban Artists League will be exhibiting the month of April at the Latrobe Art Center, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  The Awards Ceremony and Artists Reception will be Saturday, April 13th, 6-8pm.  Admission is free and the public is welcome.

I have entered two new oil paintings for this show.  April Showers (right), oil on canvas, 16 x 20 and Spring in the Mountains (below), oil on canvas, 14 x 18. Hope to see you there!

94. Acrylic Landscape Class in Monroevoille a Success

The Acrylic landscape Workshop I taught on March 23, 2019 at the Monroeville Library was a complete success.   About two dozen people showed up and had a great time painting a summer landscape.  In addition, we had a number of people sign up as new members of the Monroeville Arts Council!  My thanks to all the people who participated and helped with the class and to the Monroeville Arts Council and Nancy Dalverney who made this event possible.   

93. Offering two new Landscape Art Classes

I will be teaching two different landscape art classes in the weeks to come.  The first one will take place Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Monroeville, PA, where I will help a group of people to make their own acrylic landscape painting to take home and enjoy.  The 2-hour class is free (except for $10 to help cover materials, which are provided).  Click on the poster above for more details or visit my website at bobbickers.net.   

The second art class is for the more serious artist.  I will be teaching three different landscapes --in oil or acrylic (your choice)-- in 3-hour classes that will take place on three consecutive Saturdays.  We will be painting a winter scene, a spring scene and finally, a summer vista. This will take place at the Greensburg Art Center on March 30th, April 6th and April 13th.  Students will provide their own materials and the cost is a total of $90 for all sessions.  Click on the poster at left for more details.

For the Greensburg art class, here is the Materials List.

My thanks to Nancy Dalverny with the Monroeville Arts Council and at the Greensburg Art Center for making these opportunities possible.

I hope to see you at at least one of these classes and look forward to slinging some serious paint!

92. An evening with Pittsburgh painter, Ron Donoughe

On March 7, 2019, I had the opportunity to hear Ron Donoughe, celebrated Pittsburgh landscape painter, speak at the meeting of the East Suburban Artists League here in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.  Ron had last paid us a visit in 2006, so I decided to put together two posters commemorating his visit to our club on each occasion.  My sincere thanks to Mr. Donoughe for being our guest this week. I look forward to seeing you again in the future.

91. A Review of 2018

(Detail) Big Bone Wonder; 22 x 28; oil on canvas [Yes, my feelings exactly about 2018!]

This past year has been a busy one for me, filled with traveling and seeing new sights as well as visiting old haunts.  We had a lot of snow in the Pittsburgh area early this year, but kept busy with major renovations to the house (all done ourselves).  

Diane and I took my mother from Memphis on a trip to Miami, Florida, to see my daughter and her family, including my only grandson, Greyson.  It had been a long time since my mother had been to Florida and the opportunity to see her great-grandson and wade along the beach with him was a wonderful sight to see.  Driving from Memphis to Miami and back was itself an adventure as well.

Diane & Bob Bickers

Diane and I then bought a lightweight camper trailer as an alternative to sleeping on the ground in a tent in preparation for our travels in the future. This was a 25th anniversary present to ourselves which we then took to Cedar Point on Lake Erie for an initial shakedown.  In a trip that spanned almost a month, we helped our son move to San Antonio, Texas with the camper, and then continued on to El Paso, Tuscon, Sedona, Gallup, Holbrook and 80 miles west of Amarillo, Texas where our car broke down and almost left us stranded on the prairie with blowing sleet and high winds that almost toppled our trailer.  We eventually made it to Amarillo where we were stranded for three days undergoing repairs (at least it was covered under warranty).  We continued on to Memphis and then back home to Murrysville,  Pennsylvania.

Cactus Medley

View from camper in Tuscon

From Sedona on, we seemed to keep one step ahead of snow and sleet, as we never intended to be out west in mid-October.  At least the heat was not a problem, and the camper's performance was outstanding!  Everywhere we stopped for gas, several people would come up to us to inquire about our curious little camper which was extremely compact, looked sharp, and, apparently was pretty rare (we never saw another one on the road).  It was a true adventure and I have plenty of photos and materials for future artwork.

Diane, the Explorer

I did manage to get a few pieces of art done before the end of the year, including an acrylic landscape of the Conemaugh River Lake area in winter and another oil painting featuring some of the dinosaurs on display at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh.

Great things are lining up already that promise to make 2019 one of my best years for art yet!

Road to Sedona.

Cactus Rainbow

Bob, the Desert Rat

Conemaugh Winter; 16 x 20; acrylic on canvas

Petrified Wood