Maryland

Announcing Art Gallery 209

Posted by Janet Fox
Gallery 209 in Rockville, Maryland is open!

Gallery 209 opens doors

I’m taking a break from my art blog for an exciting new effort… Gallery 209! This beautiful 12-artist art gallery cooperative is in #209 of the Artists & Makers Studios 2, located at 12276 Wilkins Ave., Rockville, Maryland 20852.

Our local artists

I’m thrilled to join with local artist Cathy Hirsh, our co-op’s instigator. Our artists create contemporary art in acrylic, collage, encaustic, ink, mixed-media, oil, pencil, sculpture, and watercolor. The other member artists are:

About Artists & Makers Studios 2

Artists & Makers Studios 1 and 2 just celebrated its second anniversary and is part of Rockville’s emerging and vibrant art scene. Three re-purposed buildings include studio and gallery space for about 150 local artists; there’s even an art school and special events, too!

Hours

Gallery 209 is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 AM – 4PM. Our artists will greet and meet you in person from 6 – 9 PM the first Friday of each month as we launch a new exhibit; other A&M Studios 1 and 2 will also be open then and with a reception. Our artists will also be there in person every Saturday from noon – 4PM, for other Artists & Makers or Gallery 209 special events, and by appointment.

I invite you to follow Gallery 209 on Facebook and subscribe for art news and invitations!

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Hoppin’ Around Kensington

Posted by Janet Fox
Image of an encaustic painting by Janet Fox titled "Hoppin' Around Kensington."
Hoppin’ Around Kensington | encaustic (sold)

Hoppin’ Around Kensington

The 2016 Kensington “Paint the Town” Labor Day Weekend Art Show is September 3-5, 2016. One of the requirements for artists participating in this annual show is to create a painting inspired by is Maryland town. The town co-sponsors the event with the Montgomery Art Association.

In recent years, I painted the town clock across from the Kensington train station, the carved wooden eagle statue in Veterans Memorial Park and the old millstone in Flynn Park. I used encaustic for each of these paintings, realistically portraying the subject. This year, however, I decided to take a more abstract path.

About Hoppin’ Around Kensington

My 2016 “Paint the Town” entry is based loosely on a map view of the streets around the Kensington Town Hall / Armory, at 3710 Mitchell Street. I fused several layers of green and yellow shapes, in paper and encaustic representing street blocks in a map view. The green and yellow mirrors the colors on many of street markers and signs around town as well as the town clock.

This painting will be at the MAA’s “Paint the Town, 2016” Labor Day Weekend Art Show. If you’re in the area then, stop on by. I’m also showing 5 other encaustic paintings and many new pieces in my black art bin. Plus, you’ll find many other artworks by artists from the Montgomery County, Maryland region.

⇒  For information about this artwork, contact Janet Fox.

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Squound Hole, Rare Peg

Posted by Janet Fox
Image of an encaustic painting by Janet Fox titled "Squound Hole, Rare Peg."
Squound Hole, Rare Peg | encaustic

Squound seeking rare

Sometimes I feel like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Other times, I feel like a square hole, seeking a round peg. In both situations, the fit just isn’t quite right. When I can stretch myself in the direction of something where I don’t usually fit, I feel like it also gives a little and meets me somewhere in between. And when the squound and rare come together, it feels like magic.

Perfection

Finding “perfection” is often a matter of adjusting my expectations, attitude, and seeing a different point of view. Is that yellow dandelion in my yard a weed to uproot? Or is it a delicate yellow flower that will be in a child’s bouquet? Is the painting finished by a gut feeling, or does my brain tell me I need to add one more spot of paint? Is that pain in my back a curse that torments, or a gift reminding me that I can feel sensations? As in many things I’ve experienced, is it really some of both, rather than one or the other.

Good enough

Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good enough. I’ve heard this many times before. Sometimes adding another small detail would be nice, but I need to stop to do other things. Prioritizing can help, so that I can do what is crucial first, then I can add less important items as time allows. I’ve found that practicing painting with a timer can also keep me from over-thinking things. I’m also practicing “listening to the painting,” letting it tell me when it’s finished.

Now for fun, try saying “squound hole, rare peg” five times fast – it doesn’t have to be perfect!

About Squound Hole, Rare Peg

My encaustic painting, Squound Hole, Rare Peg is inspired by the same dream as was my Dreamers Orb painting, where molten iron was thrown over the edge of a roof, forming a square-round ingot as it rained down. I used my favorite complementary colors, turquoise and rust, highlighted in gold. And creating that perfect fit felt kind of magical!

⇒  See this painting in Gallery 209, located upstairs in the large, third floor gallery at the award-winning Artists & Makers 2 complex, at 12276 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852. The exhibit runs from February 28 – March 27, 2018.

⇒  For information about purchasing this artwork, contact Janet Fox.Save

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