Sharon Menary's Student Show: A Wild Success

One week ago, Sunday, HAA Events Coordinator and artist member Sharon Menary hosted her first student exhibition at Giovanni's Pizza in Henderson, NV, and the result was wonderful. These are photos from the reception. Great pizza and self-expression. What could be better than that? The work is still on display. If you're in the area, check it out. There will be many more shows upcoming featuring student and professional work. Keep your calendars open. Stay creative.

HAA May General Meeting Revisited

Photos of our May Henderson Art Association general meeting, captured by HAA artist and resident photographer Nabila Khanam.

As artists, through our work and our stories, we are committed to making the world a more beautiful place. Heather Abel, Green movement evangelist and artist in her own right, is committed to doing the same in her own creative, eco-conscious way. This past Tuesday, at our May general meeting, artists and other attendees found out just how committed. Heather spoke extensively and enthusiastically on Green advancements here in the southern Nevada region. She covered a range of artist opportunities and had meeting attendees create their own recycled sculpture masterpieces on the spot. Even the most creative among us can get stuck or have our process become routine. This was a great way for folks to do something interactive and break conventions of what art can be and where it can come from.

HAA artist member Boo Witzman shared artwork as this month's curtain raiser and HAA President Deb Mays covered off on all other agenda items. Thank you for attending. Hope to see you next month. There may be a mixer in June instead of the general meeting. Different day, time, and venue. Stay tuned. Details to come soon.

See the entire collection of photos on our Facebook fan page: Facebook | Henderson Art Association

Direct link to album: Facebook | HAA May General Meeting

Paintings and Pizza

HAA Events Coordinator and artist member Sharon Menary is also an instructor, and this weekend she's organized an exhibition for her students at Giovanni's Pizza. A few months back Nevada Watercolor Society President Vina Curtis had a great show in the same location. This one looks to be equally successful. The work of Menary's students has been hanging since May 16th and will remain on display until June 15, 2010. There will be a reception this Sunday, May 23rd, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Giovanni's is located in the shopping plaza on the southeast corner of Eastern and Warm Springs. View a map and get directions here: Giovanni's Pizzeria - Google Maps

Hope many of you can make it. Bring your appetites and a friend.

This Week HAA Speaks Green.

Please join the HAA this Tuesday evening in welcoming Heather "GoingGreen Girl" Abel as the seventh speaker in our Guest Speaker Series. Heather is an ECO consultant and special events coordinator who will be speaking on the growing green movement here in the Las Vegas Valley and Henderson areas, and relating its benefits and implications to artists. She will cover recycling, up-cycling, artist material resources, artist material donations, the Green Gallery, First Friday, and other engaging and relevant topics. Attendees will design and build a sculpture using recycled materials as a demonstration of her recycled art projects currently being implemented with a youth audience as educational outreach. This is one you won't want to miss.

Tuesday, May 18th, 7:00-8:30 pm, at Findlay Toyota in Henderson. 7733 Eastgate Rd., Henderson, NV. Hope to see you there.

Henderson Artfest: Another Huge Creative Success!

These photos taken by HAA President Deb Mays at last Sunday's ArtFest do a wonderful job of highlighting the events of the day. Among winners of the chalk art competition, Vegas Artists Guild President Roberto Rico. See the full gallery of photos here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/debmays/artfest

(If you don't already have a Kodak Gallery account, you may be asked to create one. Free. Takes 30 seconds. Piece of cake.)

HAA May General Meeting One Week Away

Mark your calendars, please. Another great Henderson Art Association meeting is upon us. There will be music, food, art, familiar faces, and always a surprise or two. Details on the curtain raiser and guest speaker to come. Check back here soon. There are always a few stray easels lying around the room. Feel free to bring a piece of your latest work or two, so people can see it. Why not? Art is meant to be shared.

HAA general meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on the 2nd floor of Findlay Toyota, 7733 Eastgate Rd, Henderson, NV. There will be no meeting July, August, or December. There will be meetings all other months and if you're not there, rest assured, you're missing out.

HAA April General Meeting Revisited

Two weeks ago, an enthusiastic crowd gathered for another general meeting of the Henderson Art Association and the sixth speaker in our ongoing Guest Speaker Series. HAA President Deb Mays set the stage. Then HAA treasurer and artist member Shirley Jeane shared her work and the journey of several years it's taken her to master her painting style, which emulates results that might ordinarily be achieved digitally. It was a great walk through her process.

Caricaturist Popeye Wong then did a wonderful job of deconstructing his digital technique. Before ever taking to the computer and moving from mouse to Wacom tablet, Popeye mastered traditional airbrush art. His pieces are primarily erotica but he has an incredible gift for recreating just about any likeness. The attention to detail and number of steps from start to finish are a testament to his painstaking level of perfectionism. Above are just a few of the images from that evening. See more at our HAA Facebook fan page, linked here: Facebook | Henderson Art Association

May's HAA meeting will be held at the same time in the same place. Tuesday, May 18th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at Findlay Toyota in Henderson. All HAA meetings take place there on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise specified. No meeting July, August, or December. There's music, food, refreshments, good company, and artistic enlightenment. The next one promises to be even better than the last. Feel free to bring friends. If you have interest in membership, volunteering, or being a guest speaker, contact us here: artistsinhenderson@yahoo.com

Featured Artist On the Blog Today? Michael Ambrose

It's been a while since we've featured an artist on this site. Well, we're back at it. The tradition continues. HAA artist Michael Ambrose has been waiting a long time (very patiently, I might add) to have his work displayed here, but the wait is over. Above? A small sample of his paintings. Below? An accurately paraphrased version of his bio. Enjoy.

In 1989, Michael took a class in painting portraits in oils, in the UK. He was planning to spend the next few years sailing the world's oceans and had decided he needed a new project to take with him for the mental exercise it would provide.

While at sea, he did very little painting as he quickly discovered that sailing, provisioning, boat maintenance, and all the fun things to do in each new port left little time for anything else.

So it was not until he decided, in 2004, that he was getting too old to be roaming the world's oceans, sold his sailboat, and took up residence in Henderson, NV, that he began to paint in earnest.

He joined the Henderson Senior Center's Art Class, which meets every Monday for two and a half hours, and has continued painting there ever since, under the expert tutelage of Icel Mitkiff.

Later that year, he applied and was granted membership within the Henderson Art Association. He has remained a member and displayed work at various HAA exhibitions.

In 2006, Michael took a 2-week art course at the renowned art center in St. Ives, Cornwall, England at the advice of an artist relative. As a result, he has broadened the subject matter of his paintings, which were almost exclusively portraits. Now his body of work also includes street scenes, beach scenes, animals, and seascapes.

Upcoming April HAA General Meeting

Please join us this coming Tuesday, April 20th for our monthly general meeting of members, artists, and aspiring creative people. Cartoonist Popeye Wong will be the 6th speaker in our Guest Speaker Series, speaking about his work and demonstrating how to cartoon. There will be a 50/50 raffle, refreshments, music, and curtain raiser Shirley Jeane will take the floor first to speak about her work and "warm up" the audience.

7:00-8:30 pm at Findlay Toyota in Henderson, NV. 7733 Eastgate Rd. 2nd floor. All HAA meetings take place there on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise specified. No meeting July, August, or December. Feel free to bring friends.

Upcoming HAA Guest Speaker: Popeye Wong

Talented cartoonist and airbrush artist Popeye Wong will be speaking about his artistic career, creative technique, and the erotic art he creates at our April HAA General Meeting. Don't miss. it. Tuesday, April 20th at Findlay Toyota in Henderson. 7733 Eastgate Rd., Henderson, NV. 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Refreshments will be served.

City Lights 3rd Juried Art Show: Great Turnout. Winners Named.

Another stellar crowd descended upon the Water Street District's City Lights Gallery Saturday, one week ago, to raise each other up and give out some much-deserved praise and recognition to Henderson's and Vegas' growing body of artists. This was City Lights' 3rd Juried Fine Art Show. Lynda Whitehairr took Best of Show with "Desert Passion." Several HAA artists received recognition as well:

Ed Klein (also City Lights Art Co-Op & Gallery President): 1st place

Colin Pringle: 1st and 2nd place

Aileen Dike: 3rd place and Honorable Mention

Georgia Lawson: 3rd place

Sharon Menary: 3rd place

Jan Schaeffer: 3rd place

Andrew Maioli: Honorable Mention

March HAA General Meeting: Another Great One.

HAA member Kathy Mullinnix and guest speaker Brian Paco Alvarez dazzled Tuesday evening's group of artists and attendees at our March general meeting. Mullinnix shared stories of her transition from the Bay area to the desert and from commercial artist to fine artist. Alvarez spoke lovingly of Las Vegas art history and with promise for its future. If you didn't make this one, you missed out, but there's always next month. April's guest speaker and meeting agenda will be shared here in the coming weeks. Check back early and often. See more photos and become a fan, member, and active participant at our fan page on Facebook: Facebook | Henderson Art Association. Stay creative.

HAA General Meeting TONIGHT!!! (Tuesday, March 16)

Don't miss it. Join us for music, refreshments, a raffle, and good company and conversation. Cultural arts enthusiast, historian, and curator extraordinaire Brian Paco Alvarez will be the guest speaker, preceded by HAA artist Kathy Mullinnix who will set the stage as this month's curtain raiser.

Brian is a cultural force to be reckoned with. We are honored to have him take the stage. Visit his website and see an earlier brief post about him here on our site:

http://www.lvartsandculture.blogspot.com/

Creative Henderson: Brian Paco Alvarez

Kathy is a member of the Las Vegas Art Guild and Nevada Watercolor Society as well. She has worked for many years as a commercial artist and is currently enjoying art as a means of self expression. The past 5 years for her have been an exploratory journey in finding her own style and developing her own unique artistic voice. Here are two pieces of her work. Hear more from the artist herself this evening.

7:00 pm at Findlay Toyota in Henderson, NV. 7733 Eastgate Rd. 2nd floor. All HAA meetings take place there on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise specified. No meeting July, August, or December.

Jane Fielden to be guest artist at next Meridian Show. Tradition of generosity from local business couple continues.

In true fashion, Henderson's RAFI Architecture will host yet another artist's reception this Thursday evening from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. This time there will be even more reason to attend. For the first time, artist Jane Fielden, wife of RAFI Architecture owner Bob Fielden, will be showing her work and recognized as the HAA's guest artist.

In the absence of a formal gallery space, RAFI has in many ways become the unofficial home of the HAA, allowing our artists to line their walls with work from one month to the next. This is just another testament to the couples' dedication to art, the community, and support of local business. Jane and Bob Fielden were recipients of last year's 29th Annual Governor's Award in the Arts.

Again, the reception will take place Thursday, March 18th (also Third Thursday) at 155 S. Water Street in Henderson, NV. Even if you don't have work hanging, this is one show not to be missed.

Learn more about RAFI Architecture at their website: RAFI Architecture and also here in the most recent Water Street District (WSD) Spotlight: waterstreetdistrict.com

A brief bio and Artist Statement of Jane Fielden can be viewed on our Facebook fan page.

Facebook | Henderson Art Association

Direct link: Facebook | HAA: Jane Fielden

Henderson artist Vina Curtis sells another piece.

Vina Curtis is an HAA artist. She's also the HAA Secretary. Her list of credits doesn't stop there. She's a signature member and President of the Nevada Watercolor Society and Promotion Director of the Boulder City Art Guild.

She recently had a show and sold the piece shown above titled "Sunflowers," described by Vina as a wax resist on mulberry paper floated in a 16" x 20" frame.

Her show (at Giovanni's Pizzeria, 7380 S. Eastern #110, LV) is up for another three days, until March 14th. Check it out if you can. See more of Vina's work here: Art by Vina Curtis