Junction Arts Festival 2009

Call to Artists
Junction Arts Festival
September 9 to 13, 2009

Innovations, future visions and hopes and dreams are just a few of the elements that make up the Junction Arts Festival’s theme for 2009. 

We are currently accepting applications for the following:

Juried Visual Art Exhibit – Deadline: June 5, 2009   Notification:  June 30
    - Painting/drawing
    - Sculpture
    - Photography

Completed online application form and all required support material must be submitted by June 5, 2009.  Exhibiting work from Wednesday September 9 to Sunday September 13.  Visit www.junctionartsfest.com to complete the online application.

Juried criteria pdf download is available online.

Academy of Realist Art and other exhibition venues and prizes to be announced by the end of June.

Please contact us with any inquiries prior to submitting proposals.

Executive Producer:   Michael Menegon
416 767-5036
junctionartsfest@bellnet.ca

ARC Salon Top 100

ARA student Yevgeniya Savosta's still life 'Bon Voyage' was chosen as one of the Top 100 Finalists in the Art Renewal Center’s 2008/2009 International ARC Salon.
The painting was judged to be among the best out of 1,600 entries received from around the world.  It is featured on their site www.artrenewal.org.  Additionally, the image will be reproduced in their full color salon catalogue.

See the other ARC finalists at:  www.artrenewal.org/articles/2009/Salon/winners5.asp

Juried Portrait Exhibition in London, UK
 
Yevgeniya has also been invited to participate in the prestigious Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition.  Over 200 portraits by some 100 artists will be hung in this exhibition. Also some famous portrait painters will have their new works on display.  June Mendoza is exhibiting her new painting of the noted conductor Sir Mark Elder. Sue Ryder is showing a group portrait of the Deacon family. Sergei Pavlenko’s portraits of HRH Prince Michael of Kent and HM King Abdullah II of Jordan will also be displayed. Several of the artists displaying work have also gained fame as previous winners of the BP Portrait Award.  The exhibition will take place in the refurbished Mall Galleries which is a fresh, contemporary and exciting new gallery space.

Date:  May 7 to 23, 2009
Location: 17 Carlton House Terrace (In the center of London in between Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar square)
Telephone: 020 7930 6844

Private viewing of the exhibition to be opened by the Right Honorable Baroness Betty Boothroyd on Wednesday May 6th,  2009. 

Painting: Portrait of Janette Woodroffe by Yevgeniya Savosta

About the Royal Society of Portrait Painters:
Since 1891 the Society has been devoted exclusively to the art and development of portrait painting which, continues to thrive and enjoys increasing popularity with artists and commissioners alike. The enormous diversity on display in its annual shows both from its members and from the open selection make it the perfect destination for those wishing to commission a portrait or wishing to explore contemporary life through the eyes of the artist.
One of the first members of the society were James McNeill Whistler, George Frederick Watts and Sir John Everett Millais.

Congratulations and good luck Yevgeniya!

Yevgeniya's website:  www.savart.ca
info@savart.ca

ARA student Matt Sissel has recently completed a dramatic portrait commission. 

The portrait is of Filip, the owner of Phil's Espresso at the intersection of Dundas & Keele.  Matt executed the portrait in carbon pencil on cold press paper.  The drawing measures 16X22 inches.  The portrait now hangs proudly in his cafe.  Enjoy an expresso and the portrait next time you are at Phil's.

Matt met Filip earlier in the year while at the cafe and introduced him to his realist work.  Fil immediately wanted a portrait of himself after seeing one of Matt's grandpa's.  Matt is now currently working on the details of a second commission of a historic urban scene.

About Matt Sissel
Student at the Academy of Realist Art - Toronto (at cast painting level)
He is originally from the US. 

Matt was formerly a combat medic for the US Army and served for 2 years in Iraq.  He was part of a small team charged with training and advising the Iraqi military.

Matt indicates that he has always been interested in realistic art, having grown up with a wildlife artist as a father.  He took an art class for 2 weeks in college and dropped it, realizing they were never going to teach him what he wanted to know.  Matt thought 'because I didn't think I was that good at art, I didn't pursue art as a career until discovering the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto.  Based on the student work at the school and their promise that art is a skill that can be taught, it was clear to me that I could get a world class education in realistic art.' 

He soon left school and home and headed to Toronto as soon as it became feasible.  Well done Matt!

Matt's personal website:  www.mattsissel.com

Congratulations to Diliana Popova who recently graduated from the ARA program.

Diliana has been a student with us for a number of years.  She teaches the ARA children's program as well as various workshops throughout the year.

Well done D!

About Diliana:

Painting for me is a ritual. It provides for me a window of perception which is unequalled by any other act. I find my inspiration and drive in the often imperceptible nuances of personality and the endless capacity for expression and meaning found in the human form.

My work consists mainly of studies of the human figure and portraiture. It is through these subjects that I have found the greatest freedom within my craft. My aim, every time charcoal touches paper or paint canvas, is to capture the unseen through the obvious; the tiny mechanism of the internal clock that all put together, show the uniqueness of a subject.

My greatest influences are found in El Greco and August Rodin for their unparalleled ability to animate the human figure.
I have been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember and have always been attracted to the more traditional side of the art spectrum. To me craft has always held a high place in the hierarchy of creating and the communication of the visual narrative. This led me to study Art History and Traditional Painting and Drawing techniques.

Diliana's website:  http://dilianapopova.com/painting/

Date:  April 2 - May 4, 2009

Location:  Joseph D. Carrier Gallery - Columbus Centre (901 Lawrence Avenue West, Toronto)

Gallery Hours:  Monday to Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Exhibit:  Praxis:  'Beauty and Truth' - The Inaugural Salon of Classical Realism in Canada

The show will run for 6 weeks and highlights Canadian graduates of Florentine Academies and professional Canadian classical realist artists.

Many graduates and former students of the Academy of Realist Art are in the show with some of their best work.  These include Matthew Mancini (shown above with his still life), Juan Martinez, Katherine Stone, and David Gluck to name a few. 

More information can be found at

http://www.villacharities.com/carrier/carrier_main.asp?View=Events

or view the show online at

http://www.underthemoon.ca/Praxis beauty and truth.htm

The Portrait Society of Canada will be having their 8th anniversary exhibition on March 5th, 2009 titled 'The Canadian Portrait'.

ARA student and society member Diliana Popova will be at the show along with her portrait of Joe Deagnon.  Many other society artists will be at the show with their work as well. 

Event:  Opening Reception
Date:  March 5, 2009
Time:  6:00 to 8:00 pm
Location:  John B. Aird Gallery - 900 Bay Street (Bay and Wellesley) - Toronto

http://www.portraitsociety.ca/

The Academy of Realist Art in Boston offered its’ first class at the beginning of January.  Sean Krajnik was the first student to enroll. He learned about the school from the Art Renewal Center website and called to book a tour for later that same day. No hesitation for Sean – he signed up on the spot.

Encouraged to draw at an early age by his father, Sean knew he wanted to study the classical method
of art from the age of 16.  On the advice of his parents he attended a local community college to pursue a liberal arts degree but quickly realized he wanted to follow his passion for art.  After 1 year at the  Massachusetts College of Art he realized he wasn't confident in the work he was producing and decided to quit school and study under the painter Dana Levin at the New School of Classical Art in Rhode Island (Dana’s school closed in December).

Sean always shows up to class at ARA with an enthusiastic attitude and a eagerness to learn.  His favorite recent discovery is the
importance of the Adductor Magnus muscle on the upper leg – he can’t stop talking it!

Sean is currently working on a 300 page graphic novel. It is an ambitious project with over 1500 painted panels planned. This project gives a focused concentration to Seans’ commitment to become the best draftsman he can.  He has complete faith that the Academy of Realist Art program will help him do it. Sean says" In my opinion, academic training such as what ARA offers, grants students not only an intelligent approach to picture making, but also bestows a sense of confidence and sureness of procedure and concept that is difficult to find in conventional art school settings."
 

 Portrait Society of Canada
ARA Graduate Katerine Stone wins 1st Prize

The Portrait Society of Canada held it's bi-annual International Portrait Arts Festival and Competition, December 4th - 7th. ARA Graduate Katherine Stone won 1st prize and the Peoples Choice Award for her painting "The Paint Brush".

The Portrait Society of Canada is dedicated to showcasing and augmenting professional portraiture in Canada and has been growing steadily since its inception only a few years ago. A number of our current students and teachers, as well as former students are members of the Society and have won prizes in the previous competitions.
http://www.portraitsociety.ca/index.php 

Students and teachers will show and sell their classical drawings and paintings at the Academy’s Holiday Open House.  Visit with us and browse in the gallery, or shop for a beautiful, absolutely unique gift!  Just drop in, no RSVP required.

Marcelle Turenne, a current ARA student, has one first place in The Artist Magazine prestigious student competition.  The competition is detailed in the Jan-Feb 2009 edition of the magazine now on sale. 

Marcelle won the competition on submission of her first still life titled 'Eve'.  This is a fantastic accomplishment.  Congratulations Marcelle!