Thursday, March 20, 2008

Looking for inspiration?

If you are thinking about entering the 2007 Paint the Parks100 or Mini50, a good source of inspiration would be last years winners! Order your viewbook today to gain that little extra motivation you need to be on the cover of the 2008 Paint the Parks viewbook!
Visit the PaintAmerica website to order.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Friday Featured Artist: Thomas Marcotti

Thomas Marcotti, a PaintAmerica Signature Member, has had five paintings juried into PaintAmerica competitions. "Springtime in Wiscasset", top left, was the 2007 PaintAmerica MiniTop50 Grand Prize Winner! He also had a painting in the Top100 this year; "Church Row", middle right. "Cromwell Brook", top right, was apart of the 2006 PaintAmerica Top100. And in the First Annual Paint the Parks Competition, Marcotti had two paintings, "View From Ocean Drive", middle left, and "White Mountain National Forrest", bottom.

Tom is basically self-taught in the fine arts and has successfully made art a life-long endeavor. He has involved himself with many facets of art. In all of his work from graphic art and commercial printing, to being a portrait artists at Disneyland, to his many commissions, to the stunning acrylics and watercolors he produces today. Through his sharp eye for detail he lets the viewer immediately relate to the painting. This is exactly what he wants in his work… “When people view my work I would like them to be able to relate to some part of the painting. Perhaps it is the peacefulness, a feeling that they wished they were there, or a remembrance of time spent in a similar place. My paintings are the places and spots I wish I could see or be part of every day.”

Looking at his work you can tell he has achieved his goal. Using acrylics as the versatile medium it is, and working with canvas, board, or paper yields a variety of opaque textures and transparent washes. Working with watercolor, one of his favorite mediums, he works with the white of the paper to produce clean, translucent colors. He uses photography as a tool to obtain reference material, allowing the capture of a moment in time and space so he can later produce with accuracy the detail in like and shadow, the colors, and the positive and negative space.

Friday, March 7, 2008

PaintAmerica Top100 First Friday Art Walk at Westboro Fine Arts

Tonight Westboro Fine Arts in Topeka, Kansas will welcome another large crowd to the PaintAmerica Top100 Exhibit. Every first Friday in Topeka art galleries welcome crowds to enjoy an evening art walk. They are looking forward to showing the beautiful art to even more art lovers!

Friday Featured Artist : Suzanne Ellis

This Friday's Featured Artist is Southern Wisconsin artist, Suzanne Ellis. PaintAmerica has been lucky to have three of her paintings juried into our competitions. Her "Ghost of Wildcat Mountain" (above center) was juried into the 2007 Paint the Parks. Suzanne's "Heart of the Mountain" (above right) was recently juried into the 2007 PaintAmerica MiniTop50. This years PaintAmerica Top100 Grand Prize Winnner was Suzanne's "Badger State of Mind" (above left).

Suzanne Ellis paints with acrylics and uses her own photos for reference. Her father was a writer and a naturalist. He was her first teacher. The painting Suzanne completed for one of her father’s books, “Notes from Little Lakes”, won the Addy Award for best book cover, 1995-1997, in Madison, Wisconsin.

She had her first solo show, July and August 2004 at the Richard C. Anderson Gallery, Land’s End in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Another show followed in July and August 2006, at the UW Arboretum, Madison, Wisconsin. She has taken workshops with John Seerey-Lester, Paco Young, and Julie Chapman.

"I paint wildlife and nature because I want to share the mystery and unbelievable beauty of the natural world. Painting is how I pray for and celebrate what I love." - Suzanne Ellis

Thursday, March 6, 2008

2008 PaintAmerica Scholarship Recipient


PaintAmerica is proud to announce our 2008 PaintAmerica Scholarship Recipient! Caitlin is a high school senior from Cincinnati, Ohio. She enjoys creating beautiful, fun, and often unreal things. She is a member of her high schools art club. She plans to earn a degree in Illustration.

"Caitlin is one of those students a teacher hopes to have. She not only challenges herself intellectually to broaden her technical skills, she has the ability to integrate creativity in a broad range of school activities... She has solid technical skills and understanding that wonderfully compliments her creative style."
-Michele Rivera, High School Art Teacher

Congratulations Caitlin and we look forward to hearing about your success!