Upcoming Shows

Happy Memorial Day.
I have a few current and upcoming shows I thought I should mention.

Manifest Gallery

2727 Woodburn Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio

7th Annual MAGNITUDE 7
Drawing Room and Parallel Space Gallery
Exhibit continues: May 28 - June 24, 2011 
 
Every year Manifest calls for little works of art from around the world. Each exhibit brings in hundreds of powerful yet diminutive masterpieces for our jury to consider. Inevitably we end up with a gallery full of diverse, compelling, and exquisite little gems. Manifest’s patrons eagerly await the Magnitude 7 event, thrilling to discover the variety and charm of so many little creative treasures.
We are delighted to offer this annual exhibit of works no larger than seven inches in any dimension - our collection of visual haiku.
For this seventh incarnation of the project 349 artists submitted 801 works for consideration by Manifest's rigorous jury process. Forty-one works by the following 24 artists from 15 states and the Bahamas, Canada, and China were selected for presentation in the gallery and catalog. Works on view throughout two galleries will include paintings, mixed media, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, digital drawing, and more.
401 East 4th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 

University Club of Cincinnati
401 East 4th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Above is an illustration I did for the last show I was in at the University Club. My lovely wife Laura posed for the personification of art and beauty for the cover of the catalog. I did portraits of all the artist as well- my profile pic on this blog is one of those portraits. 

It is a great place to show work and it has a great history. I also get to wear a tux to the opening.  I will have around ten paintings in the show.

This is a group show that opens on the June 4th. The opening is for members only, but after that you can visit the show at the club down town. As it is a private club, they have a dress code. I think men need a jacket to get in the club. Don't drop in without a shirt wearing flip flops. I suggest you call first- 513- 721-2600.
This show will feature other noted Cincinnati Artists, Jeff Gandert- current artist in residence of the club, Carl Samson, Bruce Petrie and Clem Robins. 
The club also has a wonderful permanent collection- I think they even have a painting by my buddy in the photo below. I think this show will run for about 2 months.


Duveneck & Friends
Cincinnati Art Galleries

 Here is a very nice photo of Duveneck and I. We will be showing together downtown. It really is quite and honor to show with Mr. Duveneck. 

225 East Sixth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
(513) 381-2128 
A show of select paintings from Cincinnati Art Club members.
I will have a diptych in this show- two small still life paintings. The Club will also display several Duveneck paintings from the permanent collection. 
The opening is June 10th, 5 to 8 pm. The show runs through July 8th. 

Elevating the Figure

I have been wanting to build a new model stand for a while. The one I had in the studio did the trick, but it was too small, a bit rickety, and was just not fancy enough- it's main fault being that I did not build it. I wanted the new one to be a bit bigger for reclining poses- so I got to work.
I am a bit of a pack rat. I have a room in the basement that is basically an old furniture grave yard (this room is right around the corner from the stone, glass, and tile room and the old frame room). Part of my collection of junk were some wonderful old carved legs, just the right height for a model stand. I am guessing they are from a pool table. I found them in a house that a friend bought at a police auction. The previous owner had just walked out one day and it was left full of junk. The thick wood top I found on a drive home one day sitting in the garbage. One great reason to drive a van. The drawers are from a very old priest's wardrobe I got out of an abandoned convent that I was looking into renting for studio space. This wardrobe had 7  huge drawers- 53 by 35. I had them all stored up in the rafters of my garage. They were very old and in bad shape, so I had to bust them apart and use the parts to make new drawers which ended up being 24" wide and 32" deep. A great size for storing drawings. Everything had to be sanded down and refinished. The sides and back of the basic box of the stand are made with 2x4's. I sanded and filled them and did my best to fancy them up with face frames and  trim.

Is that not an awesome drawer?

Below is the model stand before I stained and clear coated it. I believe the top is poplar, 2x4s are pine and the legs are some sort of mahogany. I had to stain it in layers and use a tinted polyurethane to get an even color. 

The only thing I had to buy for this model stand was a sheet of plywood  for the bottom platform and large bolts to attach the legs to it. Everything else was reclaimed wood. It is a very Green model stand.
I am looking forward to putting it to use this Tuesday.
The basic dimensions of this stand, if you are interested in building your own is 35" deep, and 58" long. It is 20" tall, a great height for portrait, as the seated model will be at eye level.
Just looking at this beauty makes you want to disrobe and pose on it's finely finished surface.  Feel free to stop by the studio and do so.

Signature Member Show

I am in a show at the Cincinnati Art Club. I submitted a small still life. Stop in and have a look. I have mentioned before just how fancy it is to be Signature Member.

SIGNATURE MEMBER SPRING EXHIBITION AND SALE 
==========OPEN TO THE PUBLIC=========

Friday, May 13 .........6:00 to 8:00 p.m.    Opening reception
Yeah, I know, we missed it. 
But........
The Show continues Saturdays and Sundays:   

May 14, 15, 21, 22, 2011 .....................l:00 - 4:00 p.m.

The Cincinnati Art Club is located at the foot of Mt. Adams at the corner
of Parkside Place and Martrin Drive.  Our nearby neighbors are Playhouse
in the Park and Krohn Conservatory.

Use www.Mapquest.com for directions from your home
to 1021 Parkside Place, Cincinnati, Oh 45202

Here is the painting I entered:

 The Force And A Can Of Soup, 8 x10, oil on panel, 2011, © Richard Luschek

Turning Japanese

After 12 sessions with a great model and new friend, I did my best to finish up a portrait I have been working on sporadically for the past few months. I would have like a bit more time as I was just starting to figure things out but I feel pretty good about the results.
I learned a few things while working on this portrait- first, the sessions with the model would probably be best if they were shorter. Posing is hard work, and the model starts to get tired towards the end. So, two hours seems to be the limit- of course the other option is to work three hours but use the last hour to paint the clothing and surroundings while the model struggles to stay awake- and most sitters seems to do so.

I also learned that I still am not seeing "big" enough. I still am looking in, painting stuff rather than shapes of values. It's a life-long struggle I suppose.

The other thing I had a tough time with on this painting was the control of edge quality. I still feel, the edge under the chin is a bit too strong. I may go back in and soften that edge a bit.  

 

Midori, 20 x 16, oil on linen, 2011, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2011

Here is the charcoal drawing I did the first session. You can see it has been a while and her hair has changed a bit. I just moved things around till I was happy. I liked her hair a bit longer and the strand of hair was distracting, so I took it out.