Virtual Tours of 3 Major Art Exhibits

The Art Renewal Center International Salon (Photo by ARC)

We are so excited to share with you the adventure we had recently!

Last time, we mentioned we would take you on a virtual trip to see Adam's painting in a New York City art show. Well, as you'll see, that trip grew into an even bigger adventure. Due to a very unexpected surprise, we were able to attend 3 major art exhibits in 2 cities in just 24 hours!

Come along with us for the ride! First stop: New York City…

There and Back Again:
An Unexpected Phone Call

Despite careful planning, our family vacation to New York City with Adam's parents did not go as expected.

We had scheduled our trip around the private opening of the Art Renewal Center (ARC) International Salon, an exhibit that included Adam's painting "Knitter's Gift." Little did we know, we would not make it to that opening!

On our 4th night in NYC, Adam received a phone call that took his breath away.
 

"Book Club" by Adam Clague
Oil, 23x32

Now, a couple months prior, another of Adam's paintings, "Book Club," had been accepted into the Oil Painters of America (OPA) National Exhibition. The phone call this evening came from an OPA officer to notify Adam that his painting had won a top prize at that event! She was wondering if Adam might be able to come to the awards ceremony to receive the award in person.

We were ecstatic, but there was just one problem—the OPA awards ceremony was the following night—the same time as the ARC opening—but in Cincinnati, Ohio!

 

Art Exhibit 1:
Oil Painters of America
National Exhibition
Cincinnati, OH

As you can see, we decided to go to Ohio! We left the next morning and arrived at the reception just as it was opening.
 

(Photo by Eisele Gallery of Fine Art)

See the Entire OPA Show

Adam was all grins as he received his award: Dorothy Driehaus-Mellin is one of today's most generous patrons of representational painting. Mrs. Mellin funds awards for 4 OPA competitions every year. This includes a $20,000 cash prize given at each annual OPA National to an artist of Dorothy's choosing. We are grateful beyond words that this year, she chose Adam! Mrs. Mellin started this prize to give artists "the unique opportunity to embrace his/her full potential as an artist unencumbered by financial constraints." Needless to say, this award is a tremendous financial help to us, a career milestone, and an incredible blessing from the Lord. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Mrs. Mellin! Although we missed the ARC private opening that night, there was another opportunity to see that show—a second, public opening the very next day from 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.. We just had to get back to NYC in time!

Art Exhibit 2: Art Renewal Center International Salon New York, NY Fortunately, there was a 6:20 a.m. flight back to NYC. But since the flight was so early and the OPA festivities had ended so late, we decided there was no point in getting a hotel room. We spent the night at the Cincinnati airport! It was a dinner of Snickers bars from the vending machine and a night of spotty sleep. We're such crazy art nerds! We made it to the ARC opening at the Salmagundi Club around noon the next day, where we rendezvoused with Adam's parents. What an incredible show!

See the Entire ARC Show

Adam's painting "Knitter's Gift" received a Purchase Award in this competition. This means the Art Renewal Center purchased Adam's piece for its personal collection. In the Fall, this exhibit (including Adam's piece) will travel to the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, Spain. Us with Adam's proud parents :)   God has especially blessed us through this painting. Prior to this event, the piece received 2 other awards— 2nd Honor Award 2014 Portrait Society of America International Competition   Best of Show 2016 American Impressionist Society National Exhibition Due to our REM-deprived night at the Cincinnati airport, we were absolutely exhausted by the time the ARC show closed at 3 p.m.. And yet, the day was still young! Besides, you can't go to NYC and not visit the MET!     Art Exhibit 3: The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, NY We had visited the MET once before, but one of the most famous paintings by one of our favorite artists was not on display. This time, it was!    Madame Pierre Gautreau ("Madame X") By John Singer Sargent We soaked up artistic inspiration at the MET until 8:30 p.m., when we had to admit we were completely spent. Andrea nearly fell asleep standing up—twice! Our exhaustion matched our excursions—it had been quite an incredible adventure! Did you know the MET's website has thousands of high-res images of its masterpieces you can download for FREE? Just click the button below and search for your favorite artists! You're welcome :)

Browse Hi-Res MET Masterpieces

•••

Thanks for joining us on this virtual tour!
—Andrea and Adam

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Art of the Portrait Conference

Us (right) with TJ and Julie Cunningham, our
friends from PCC. TJ won Fifth Place this year!

Andrea and I had an amazing weekend at our first Portrait Society of America "Art of the Portrait" Conference! The conference faculty members are some of the most highly skilled painters in the fine art industry. Attendees glean from their experience as they lecture and demonstrate during the four-day event. The conference culminates in the Awards Gala Banquet, where the winners of International Portrait Competition are announced. This year, the annual conference was held in Reston, VA, outside Washington DC.



Face-Off
Activities commenced with the annual Face-Off event. Fifteen faculty members painted portraits from life for the roughly 750 attendees. See all the face-off portraits at Underpaintings Blog.

Face-Off Demo by Jeff Hein

Faculty Demos
Throughout the conference, faculty artists shared their knowledge through informative demonstrations. On several occasions, James Gurney set up off-stage and painted these artists as they demoed (see video below).

In-progress demos by Jeff Hein (left) and Quang Ho

In-progress demo by Mary Whyte

In-progress demos by Robert Liberace (left) and Rose Frantzen

Recreational Painting
TJ had the great idea to do some portrait painting in the host hotel's lobby. Why not! At first, it was just us. Then little by little, more artists joined in until we had quite a crowd.

Tim and I painting artist Isaiah Hoppe

A crowd gathers!

Gold Medal Award for Lifetime Achievement
This year's award went to master artist Joe Bowler. Because he is handicapped, he was not able to attend the conference. His former protégé Brian Neher presented his award while conference attendees watched via the Internet. Bowler's recognition was meaningful to Andrea and me because Bowler's portraits of our college's president and his wife provided continual instruction and inspiration while we pursued our art studies. You can view Bowler's work at his website here.

 
Congrats to the finalists!
Click names to visit artists' websites • Click here to view finalists' paintings 

William Draper Grand Prize
A Father's Dreams and a Son's Love
By Bryce Billings

Draper Grand Prize & People's Choice: Bryce Billings
1st Place Painting: Tony Pro
1st Place Sculpture: Alicia Ponzio
2nd Place: Jeff Hein
3rd Place: Kelly Carmody
4rth Place: Aron Belka
5th Place: TJ Cunningham
1st Honor Award: Seth Haverkamp
2nd Honor Award: Adam Clague
3rd Honor Award: Olga Krimon
Certificates of Excellence: Paul Batch, Aimee Erickson, Gavin Glakas, Kristy Gordon, Barbara Kiwak, Sandra Kuck, Clement Kwan, Ricky Mujica, Aapo Pukk, James Tennison, Wesley Wofford

Knitter's Gift
Oil on linen • 30"x30" • Available 6/7/14 at the OPA National
(To inquire, contact the Bennington Center for the Arts)

I praise God for allowing me to win the 2nd Honor Award for my painting, Knitter's Gift! I am so humbled and honored.

Andrea and I had a blast at the conference, and are looking forward to attending the conference next year in Atlanta!

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• Also keep me informed of workshops and other art instruction

Babysitters

Babysitters
Oil on linen • 18"x24" • Sold

The scene in my recent painting Babysitters was a real-life moment I never would have been able to stage. Andrea and I had been visiting friends, and all of us were exhausted one day after a long drive. I was considering a nap, when I wandered into our friends' sitting room to find them already dozing. Mommy and Auntie were sound asleep, but our friends' 2-year-old son was held in the fringes of consciousness by a video on Auntie's iPod. Topping off the touching moment was the beautiful, cool window light bathing the trio. I knew I had to act quickly if I wanted to capture this tender-but-fleeting scene!


I grabbed my gear and set up as quietly as I could. Sooner than I had hoped, the girls stirred, the little guy moved, and rest-time was over. Fortunately, it was not before I had noted some values on my canvas and taken a few photos.

Scottsdale Salon ad in Nov. issue of
American Art Collector Magazine

I count it a great privilege to have my painting accepted into the Scottsdale Salon of Fine Art at Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. The exhibit runs 11/7/13 through 12/31/13. It was a tremendous surprise and honor to learn my painting had received the Southwest Art Magazine Merit Award! Thank you, Southwest Art Magazine, for sponsoring this award, and thank you so much, Bob and Curtice McCloy, for choosing my painting. I praise God for enabling me to paint this piece and for this incredible blessing!

Updates 

2013
"Babysitters" received 3rd Place, Oil Painters of America Fall Online Showcase

2015–2016 
"Babysitters" received Purchase Award, Art Renewal Center Intl Salon • Exhibited at the Museum of European Art Modern in Barcelona, Spain and at the Salmagundi Club in New York City

Work In Progress (click thumbnails to enlarge)

3"x4" preliminary sketch

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Be the first to see our latest paintings

Subscribe to Our Latest Artwork & Adventures email newsletter below to see our new work before the general public. If a painting catches your eye, you'll have first dibs on purchasing.

Email Address

First Name

Last Name

• Also keep me informed of workshops and other art instruction

Brush Creek Art Exhibit Opening Tomorrow!

Roadside Planter by Andrea
Oil on gesso board • 12"x9" • $540
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center.
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

An exciting plein air art exhibit opens tomorrow night, October 3, in Kansas City, Missouri!

Between September 13 and 15, over 70 artists set up their easels along the city's Brush Creek to paint its beautiful views. A selection of these works will be displayed and for sale at the 2nd Annual Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit, October 3–24 at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center (3700 Blue Parkway). The Opening Reception is tomorrow night, Thursday the 3rd, from 5–8pm at the BRWCC. Andrea and I are honored to have paintings in the exhibit, and we hope you can make it out sometime to see the show!

Update Oct 4, 2013
Andrea and I were so honored to receive awards at the opening! There were 4 "zones" along Brush Creek in which artists could paint. 1st, 2nd, and Honorable Mention awards were given in each zone. Andrea was awarded an Honorable Mention for her "River Bass," and I received a 1st and 2nd for my "Passing Through" and "River Rock." We are so grateful to our juror, Eva Reynolds of Eva Reynolds Fine Arts, for selecting our pieces, and we praise the Lord for enabling us to paint them!

It was a great opening night, with amazing refreshments by Succotash. We say big thank you's to Anne Garney for organizing the event and to Eva Reynolds for jurying. Congrats to all the winners! Pictures of the artists and their winning paintings can be seen on Brush Creek Art Walk's Facebook timeline. Be sure to check them out!

River Bass by Andrea
Oil on gesso board • 10"x8" • Sold
Honorable Mention
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center

River Rock by Adam
Oil on gesso board • 8"x10" • $400
2nd Place
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center.
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

Passing Through by Adam
Oil on gesso board • 9"x12" • $540
1st Place
----------------------------------------
On display Oct 3–24
in the Brush Creek Art Walk Exhibit
at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center.
To inquire, email Contact@AdamClague.com

Congrats to Patrick Saunders, winner of
the $500 Quick Paint Purchase Award!
Presented by David Field Oliver

Kimbell McCurry
(See his beautiful work here)

Check out more great event pics in Brush Creek Art Walk's Facebook albums: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3