New Boat Painting and I Made the List!

"Quiet Day at the Marina," oil, 16"h x 12"w, ©2017 Jill Banks

Chosen as one of the Top 9 Painting and Drawing Teachers in Washington DC ... Wow!

Expertise.com looked at 132 Painting and Drawing Teachers in the Washington DC area and picked the Top 9.  Guess who was one of the nine? Jill Banks ... me!

Here's the link to find out how they made their selections and who made the list: 
https://www.expertise.com/dc/washington/painting-and-drawing-classes

Two of my classes started this past week ... Still Life Plus and Plein Air Landscape.  One more, Evening Paint, starts on Tuesday, April 18. You could join any of those ... and I'd love to welcome you to the class. See my listing of all current classes here: https://jillbanks.com/workshops

Student Art Exhibition -- Arts of Great Falls School

Last night was the reception for Student Exhibition for the Arts of Great Falls School.  What a wonderful celebration.  The exhibit is up now until April 26 in the School/Gallery space at 756 Walker Road, Great Falls, VA. It's a beautiful show ... well worth seeing.  Artist Elizabeth Floyd judged the show and presented awards.

1st Place: "Friendly Gathering" by Hannah Huthwaite. Acrylic on Canvas

2nd Place: "Flowers in a French Vase" by Cindi Berry. Oil on Canvas

3rd Place: "Cloud Burst" by Jay Pigeon. Pastel on Paper

Honorable Mention: "Terlingua Texas Farm" by Kyle McAdams. Oil on Canvas

Honorable Mention: "Sky Meadows I" by Alice Nodine. Acrylic and Mixed Media on Paper

People's Choice: "Friendly Gathering" by Hannah Huthwaite. Acrylic on Canvas

Congratulations to all the Winners and students who submitted his/her work.  I received so many comments last night about how great the work was.  I also have a sneaking suspicion pieces were being considered for purchase. Come take a look!

Plein Air At the Marina

A couple of weeks ago, I went on my first plein air painting outing this Spring ... this time at Columbia Island Marina on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.  With fingers crossed, I picked my subject and hoped the boat's owner wouldn't try whisking it away before it was captured on canvas. Phew. Made it.  Look closely too to see two ducks floating past.

The trip to the marina was one of many I do scoping out spots to paint and to bring my plein air class. We travel to a different location each week ... almost always in the Virginia/Metro DC area.  The requirements for the perfect spot include access to bathrooms, a great view with some structures or sign of life, shade, not too much human activity at least until the class feels more comfortable, and an absence of some critters. Have a place to suggest? I'd love to hear it.  This past Thursday we were at Meadowlark Gardens painting tulips which are incredible.

Get more info about "Quiet Day at the Marina" and see other paintings on my web site: www.JillBanks.com. It will be at one of these upcoming events unless you'd like it to be yours sooner.

Spring Art Events -- Coming Up REALLY Soon!

Hope you'll mark your calendars.

April 22-23: Arlington Festival of the Arts, Arlington, VA

April 29-30: Fairfax Fine Art Festival, Fairfax Corners, VA

April 29-30: Great Falls Spring Art Festival at the Atelier (756 Walker Road, Great Falls, VA) and the Grange/Schoolhouse plus more.  My work will be at the Atelier and hopefully I'll have a helper to greet you -- but see me at the Fairfax Fine Art Festival at my booth.

May 5: First Friday Art Walk in the Village Centre, 6-8pm -- Start at the Artists'Atelier, 756 Walker Road, Great Falls, VA. See you there! (The Artists' Atelier is open Wednesdays, noon to 4pm and Saturdays, 10am to 2pm)

May 20-21: Northern Virginia Fine Art Festival, Reston, VA

June 2-4: Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Festival, Philadelphia, PA

June 5-11: Bucks County Plein Air, PA

June 28-July 4: Telluride Plein Air, Telluride, CO


Thank you for reading and your support... Hope to see you soon!

Jill

Best in Show -- BoldBrush Painting Competition, September 2016 for "Daily Special" -- out of 1440 entries.  More info on the competition here.

Finalist -- Sedona Art Prize, January 2017 for "Scene at the Bar" -- see the 12 Top Paintings selected by artist Robert Burridge here: https://www.sedonaartprize.com/about-sedona-art-prize/finalist-paintings/finalist-paintings-january-2017

Top 9 Painting and Drawing Teachers in Washington DC for 2017 -- Selected by Expertise.com.  See the list here.

Blog: For my latest art news and works, visit or subscribe to my blog Life as and Artist at: http://jillbanks.blogspot.com/

Email: jill@jillbanks.com 

703.403.7435

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Sneak Preview: Fairfax Fine Arts Festival

One of the panels to be under the tent

Tops on my (and Randy's) to do list is preparing for this weekend's Fairfax Fine Art Festival. The job ahead is daunting. We purchased a tent ... and have to learn to put it up. I've been selecting paintings and trying them on the screens that take up 3/4 of our family room. It poured, poured, poured rain all day ... so the "dry run" in set up is postponed until tomorrow.

I'm having a heck of a time figuring out what's in/what's not.

Normal angst times three or four.

My favorite panel at the moment that will definitely be there this Saturday and Sunday, May 3 & 4 in Fairfax Corners, VA for the show includes three new, two week old or less painting from Florence and Venice, Italy. Here it is. My Italian wall.

Randy has been working on my display ... and it is outstanding. A gorgeous outdoor gallery in the making!

I hope to see you this weekend. Bring friends (if you want), spread the word ...

Phone: 703.403.7435
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Web: www.JillBanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Subscribe to my Email Newsletter: News from the Easel (This link takes you to the subscription page.)

 
May 3 & 4: Fairfax Fine Art Festival  I'll be under a tent in Fairfax Corners ... surrounded by artwork. Come visit/shop for original art. More details to come on my web site's Events page.

May 27-May 31: Mountain Maryland Plein Air I join 29 other artists juried from around the country to capture Cumberland MD and surrounding areas in this plein air competition and exhibition. Second time around.

May 31 & June 1: Great Falls Studios Spring Outdoor Art Festival  Two days with my work under a tent in the Great Falls Village Centre, corner of Georgetown Pike and Walker Road,  Great Falls, VA. Husband Randy will hold down “the Fort” on Saturday while I finish up at Mountain Maryland and then I hope to see you on Sunday, June 1!
 
March 5 - December: Richeson75 Still Life and Floral 2014  Two of my paintings: "Honey Bunny" and "Garden Girl" were chosen as finalists in this online competition and exhibition. 75 total works were selected for this exhibition from entries/artists worldwide. See the exhibit at http://richeson75.com/stilllife/index.html

Paint with Me in Italy: August 3 to 10, 2014. For more info, itinerary and links to register, see the classes page on my web site. Great folks are signing up to join me on this wonderful adventure. I hope you can, too!