Portraits

Reception: Friday, October 7, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit remains through November 13
Gualala Arts Center

Self-portrait by Mike Henderson

Come into the Gualala Arts Center Burnett Gallery to see a world of faces and become on an intimate basis like the artist with his subject, from October 7 to November 13, 2011. The opening reception is Friday, October 7, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with appetizers. Meet the portrait artists and find out what has inspired them.

A portrait artist must capture in his or her work the fleeting mood or the essence of a subject, whether realistic, abstract or romantic, in his chosen medium.

Portrait by PT Nunn

A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. Some portrait artists dispense with a sitter and rely on photographs or memory.

Some portraits are so unrealistic that there is a separation between reality and artistic convention. Think Picasso. Portrait artists can embellish or take away. Even a photographer must meditate on the subject with his camera and develop the photo to give an illusion. From "Scream" to the "Mona Lisa," portraits tell us something. It could be in the artist's interpretation or the viewer's. The unconscious is unknown but something wells up in each of us.

Gualala Arts has held a number of workshops in the past years encouraging students to learn the finer techniques of drawing and painting the human figure. Concentrated workshops have featured learning to draw hands and faces. Local students are looking forward to showing their progression.

Portrait by Hal Martin Fogel

Portrait by Bruce Jones

"Portraits" will be a juried exhibit with prizes being given depending on the number of entries. Entry deadline is August 8, 2011. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Gualala Arts website.

Update: There has been an addition to the rules for entering the October Portraits exhibit at Gualala Arts. Your registration form (due August 8) now includes the rule:

"Each entry must be entered by a living artist who created the entry within the past two years. Entries must never have been exhibited at Gualala Arts before."

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Join us in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Gualala Arts, 1961 - 2011

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.