September, 2007Page 1

Demonstrator Corner

Wecome Back to the 2007- 08 Season!

Douglas Brown will be our demonstrator for the Thursday, September 20, 2007, 7:30 P.M.  meeting of the WHAL.  Doug is a WHAL member and his media of choice is watercolor and his style of painting is controlled realism.  He enjoys painting on location but also is a studio painter.

Doug is a signature member and previous president of the Pennsylvania En Plein Air Society.  He attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and had a successful career as a package designer for many years. He has also taught watercolor painting at the Hazleton Art League, Wyoming Valley Art League, Carson County Art League and private classes.  He currently has a new watercolor class in Findley Township Activity Center in Imperial, PA.

Some of you may be familiar with Doug’s work from the Water Color Painting Tips that have been published in the Watercolor Magic Magazine in Summer 1994, Spring 1996, Autumn 1998, and Fall 2000.  He has exhibited widely in many venues of Pennsylvania and also in New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida.  He is locally represented by the Que Sera Sera Gallery at 559 Beaver Street in Sewickley.

Doug will be doing a watercolor demonstration with audience participation so this may prove to be an exciting evening of art for everyone. 

Meeting Location Reminder

Community Center of the Sharon Community Presbyterian Church

522 Carnot Road

Moon Twp., PA  15108

Special thanks to Nancy as our liaison with the Sharon Community Presbyterian Church.  Nancy not only has arranged for he use of the church for our meetings but also helps with the opening and closing of the building!  We all greatly appreciate her dedication, time and attention to WHAL.

WHAL Members Very Busy Summer

And Much More Coming Up!

We are very excited for Kathleen Cochran Zimbicki because she has two paintings accepted into the Chautauqua Institute National show.  This is the 50th anniversary year for Chautauqua and they only accepted 50 pieces for the show so having two pieces accepted is quite an achievement.

Kathy also has two paintings accepted into “The 97th Annual Associated Artists of Pittsburgh (AAP)” show.  The exhibit is juried by distinguished artists, museum directors and scholars and nationally known art critics and scholars.  Kathy has been an active supportive member of the Pittsburgh art scene for many years and it’s good to see her work appreciated. So double congratulations go out to Kathy!  

Dianne Bauman and Cathy Geronimo had a very successful art show titled “Masks and Metaphors” at the Elan gallery in Sewickley from July to September. 

Dianne Bauman, who is an art educator and painter for 20 years, has added masks to her

repertoire.  Incorporating terra cotta, canvas, yarns, gemstones, wire, and hand-dyed fabrics, her creations are statements of love, spirit and peace.  An exciting display that got rave reviews.

Cathy Geronimo, who comes to us from Denver, Colorado where she worked as a jeweler/wax artist had a wonderful display of paintings that are rich in color, fluid and engaging.  Truly a visual delight.  Also art educator in Pittsburgh, Cathy continues to share her talent and skills with her students.

Not one to let any grass grow under her feet, Cathy also has an art show that opened on September 13, at the PTI (Pittsburgh Technical Institute).  The gallery is 1located at 111 McKee Rd, Oakdale, PA 15071.  For more information call 412-809-5100, and ask for Ruth Delach who is the contact person for the gallery.   The show will hang until October 1 and is a great display of acrylic paintings in Cathy’s exciting style. 

Jan Pocernicki, Nancy Bush and Betty Phillips had paintings in the "Big Show" at the 3rd St. Gallery in May.

Betty Phillips received an Honorable Mention for her painting "Celebrate”.  Betty also had a painting accepted for the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society's International Exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, coming up in November.  This is quite an honor for Betty and the show is always top notch so mark it on your calendar as a “must see”. 

Nancy Bush has also been very busy.  She had two sculpture pieces accepted into the Associated Artist Show 707.  The title of the show was Reflections and it was held in July. 

Currently Nancy has two acrylic paintings that were accepted and are hung in the Greensburg Courthouse Cultural Show that is sponsored by the Western Pennsylvania Council for the Arts.  The show is open through January so there is plenty of time to pay a visit to this Greensburg show and enjoy a splash of autumn color along the way.

Speaking of splash, Nancy’s Splash classes are being offered starting September 20th at Robin Hill Cultural Center.  These are fun classes that allow you to express you artistic and creative talents.  Additionally the Beaver Valley Artist group group will be treated to a demonstration of Nancy’s multi-medium Splash technique at their October meeting at Merrick Art Gallery.  Call Nancy at 412-264-4826 for more information about the classes and the demonstration. 

Carol Volz Begley, PSA, has had three oil landscapes nationally published in the Best of America Oil Artists and Artisans, Vol I  2006, published by Kennedy Promotions. She also has had a pastel portrait nationally published in the Best of America PastelArtists and Artisans.  Two pastel landscapes of Carols’ have been accepted into the Mid Atlantic Juried Art Exhibition at the Hoyt Institute in New Castle. One of the landscape paintings won a third place award.  This show opens on October 2 and runs through November 21 with the opening reception scheduled for October 7 from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M.  This show is always an exceptional display of fine art work and congradulations are extended to Carol.

Dan Jimick celebrated his eighth year at the annual One Voice Music Festival at the Hookstown fairgrounds the first weekend in

September.  This Christian music festival offered a "Club Rock" tent that featured music and ministry for the younger generation and also the

"Club Harmony" tent that provided music and ministry geared for those who have been around this world a bit longer.  Though we’re sure Dan could “Rock” with the best of them, he enjoyed participating in “Club Harmony”.

WHAL had a group exhibit at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library during July in the Lower Gallery.  Many thanks to Kim Iyer and Margi Thompson for their efforts in pulling this all together and so many other WHAL activities together.

Zoë Shutka participated in show at Sweetwater Art Center this summer. Zoë is also a staff artist at Sweetwater and teaches classes for children ages 6 – 10.  She introduces techniques used in painting on slate and students are given a brief overview on slate painting: what it is, where it originated and then, they produce a piece uniquely their own.  Zoë’s enthusiasm is infectious and her classes have become very popular with the young crowd. 

Upcoming Events and Exhibits

Autumn is in the Air

The Robin Hill Autumn Festival is on Saturday, October 6th and WHAL will again have a display of artwork and note cards for sale.  The festival will open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 4:00 p.m. The drop-off for the Autumn Festival will be early on Saturday, October 6th, around 8:30 – 9:00 am. and artwork can be picked up after the show at 4:00 p.m.  Special thanks to Kim Iyer who is bringing her Easy-Up tent for the WHAL display.  Kim asks that any members who wish to display and usually use glass would please switch to Plexiglas due to the weight and breakability issues.  This is also of benefit for the patrons who buy our paintings as

it eliminates the risk factor of the glass breaking during transporting the painting.

Also, the ever popular pumpkin painting for the kids will be offered.  This activity area will be

set-up in another tent away from the artwork and note cards.  The kids really missed this and it was a good revenue generating venue for WHAL.  We hope Mom and Dad can look at the artwork and the cards while the kids paint.  Kim is purchasing several card racks to display the cards.  This will make for a much more visible and pleasing display.

Merrick Art Gallery Exhibit - October 7th - 28th.  Important dates and information:

•Drop off/hang exhibit - Oct. 13th, 10 am to 12 noon

•Opening reception - Oct. 14th, Sunday, 1 - 4 pm

•Last day to view exhibit will be Nov. 3rd, Saturday

•Pick-up artwork - Nov. 4th, Sunday,  10 - 12 noon.

•Parking will be on-street with additional parking available on Sundays across the street at both the post office and the magistrates’ office.

•WHAL participating members are asked to supply the reception food and wine. Merrick will supply set up and paper products.

The Gallery  -30, Gateway Newspaper Gallery exhibit is currently open and runs to the end of October.  This is a group effort with a nice variety of media and styles displayed.  Participating WHAL members in the show are Rita Wilson, Elene Page, Ralph Dukstein, Shirley Rowley, Kimberly Kerr, W. Korol Selley, Will C. White, Kim Iyer, Beth Hovanec, Ed Ryan, Nancy Bush, Cindy Gilberti, Gordon Ryan, Georgette Griglia, Audra Zampogna, Cathy Vignolini, Edie Keeney and Margi Thompson.   (Cont. Pg. 4) 

The above group of artists are to be given kudos for putting together such a nice show.

Gallery -30 is located at 533 Beaver Street, Sewickley, PA 15143. The show will run rom  Sept. 1st – Oct. 26th, Monday - Friday  9-5.  

Also Showing

Elan Cordially Invites You

Élan cordially invites you and your guests to a solo exhibit by Christo Braun.  Selections from his breakout "Open Water" and "Riverwaters" series will accompany new work created since his arrival in Pittsburgh one year ago. A recent transplant from San Francisco Christo Braun's work is collected internationally and he is a welcome addition to the Pittsburgh art scene. Élan Fine Art Gallery is located at 427 Broad Street, Seweckley. Gallery hours are: Tuesday-Saturday 11a.m.-6 pm. Call for more details 412-496-1646.

It has been a very productive time for Joan Berenbregge since her opening of Élan.  Frank Webb, a favorite with WHAL members had a showing of his paintings from May 18 to June 8, 2007.  His show consisted of watercolor landscapes and offered a wide variety of subjects from Pittsburgh to other exotic places.  Joan is a WHAL member and we encourage you to stop by and see what she has accomplished in such a short period of time. 

WHAL Annual Show Winners!

Even though it happened last May, it’s never too late to congratulate the winners of the WHAL Annual Juried Show.  The recipients were Cathy Vignolini, Dan Jimick, Betty Phillips, Jan Pocernicki, Will White, Doug Brown, and Carol Begley.

And a special note of appreciation for the judge, Tom Hirata.  He was just superb in not only judging but sharing information with the artists. If you want to know more about Tom, visit his website at: http://www.hiratastudios.com/.  Tom

works with various types of media that include materials such as plaster, wood, and something called dichroic glass.  His work is stunning.  He welcomes questions so visit his website and let him know how much we appreciated him and ask some questions. 

WHAL Website! http://www.westhillsart.org/

Artists Market

Our list of artists showcasing their artwork on the WHAL website continues to grow so visit and see what the site has to offer.  Also, any WHAL member can have their own artist’s page on our website.  All you need is a short bio and JPEG images of your art work.  Contact Kim Iyer @ kimiyer@comcast.net  for additional information. 

Attention All Members

The Coffee House has closed!!

We are sad to report there will be no more exhibits at this venue.  For information please contact: Kim Iyer, kimiyer@comcast.net