The Bay School Community Arts Center announces its 11th Annual Art Speaks Juried Exhibition. The show will feature 68 Virginia artists and will run from April 27 – May 27. It will open with a reception for the artists on April 27 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Art Speaks Gallery at the Bay School, located at 279 Main Street in Mathews. The public is invited to attend. Members and sponsors of the Bay School will have the opportunity to preview the show on April 26.
This year’s juror and judge is Joe Gyurcsak, nationally known plein air painter and the Resident Artist for Blick / Utrecht Art Materials. Gyurcsak selected 76 two-dimensional and three-dimensional pieces to be featured in the show, out of 365 entries. The list of accepted artists can be viewed on the Bay School website at www.bayschool-arts.com/artspeaks. As Judge, Gyurcsak will award cash prizes for 18 winning pieces from the group, totaling $6,350, to the artists at the Opening Reception.
In 1990, Joe Gyurcsak left a successful illustration career to pursue a fine art path.
“I had a born again experience as an artist when I first saw natural light on subjects in the open air. It changed my way of thinking and creating, I had made the leap into the plein air painting experience.”
Since then Joe has participated in the all of the top plein Air events in the US. Atlanta, Door County Wisconsin, Laguna Beach CA, Bucks County PA, Easton MD, Texas and the Plein Air Convention as a faculty member. In 2017 he was awarded Grand Prize winner at Plein Air Easton and Gloucester VA Plein Air Competitions. He is also featured in The 100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic book and Eric Rhodes Plein Air Podcasts.
Joe is a highly regarded instructor who has authored articles and lectured / demonstrated throughout the US at more than 160 major art institutions. He is the Resident Artist for Blick / Utrecht Art Materials as well as a member of the Salmagundi Club, He holds Signature status with the following organizations: International Society of Acrylic Painters, Oil Painters of America and American Impressionist Societies.
The week before the show opens, Gyurcsak will be teaching a three-day workshop, Plein Air Sketch (Plein Air Studies). This class will teach students about the value of doing studies of the same subject from different points of view. Students will learn from Joe Gyurcsak’s demo boards how to create expressive plein air studies, of various angles of the same subject. Successful field painters use this practice in order to create interesting compositions, color combinations and award-winning paintings. Learn from this veteran plein air painter how to avoid the pitfalls of unsuccessful paintings. This class is for beginner to advanced students. Students can register by calling The Bay School at 804-725-1278.
