QUARTERLY QUOTE 

Art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.

Rainbow Rowell

• Most VT communities have low CoViD infection rates, and with warmer weather in sight, VPS artists are getting together in person again.
• Hub activities have continued throughout the winter.
• Three VPS-sponsored workshops are coming in 2023.
• A Juried Show and a Members’ Exhibition are being planned for this year.

 

Continue reading below for more details.

CALENDAR OF SPRING 2023 UPCOMING EVENTS:

Apr 19, 2023: VPS Board Meeting via Zoom

May 19-23, 2023: Tony Allain Workshop, Bennington, VT.

Jun 4-Oct 8, 2023: Members’ Exhibition (ME) at Park McCullough House in Bennington, VT

VPS REGIONAL HUBS UPDATE 

VPS: Central met in January to show everyone the flower paintings they had challenged each other with back at their December meeting which they used to plan for 2023.

VPS: Champlain convened in January to discuss the upcoming ME, then changed gears to talk about what it takes to be inspired to paint on a regular basis, and to share experiences of painting with and without music/podcasts/news in the background. They brainstormed names of artists who they might contact for a VPS-sponsored workshop for 2024. And they came up with another idea to have one of their hub artists do a short educational presentation to the whole hub for upcoming months. At the conclusion, one of the artists shared her experience with her solo show in Quebec. When they gathered again in February, they shared what they were up to individually, then one member gave a brief talk on use of color. This encouraged other members to volunteer for talks to their hub as well, such as what a plein air set up might entail. Finally, they continued planning for the VPS ME they were hosting in June.

VPS: SouthEast gathered in January to review both the Juried Show (JS) they had recently hosted, and their own hub show in November. Paintings by five artists were viewed. They challenged each other to do a new painting to compare with one they had done before.

VPS: SouthWest met in January to continue planning for Tony Allain’s workshop, to coordinate with VPS: CHP for the ME in Bennington, to discuss their hub show this summer, and to look at pastels they had painted. Planning continued during their February get-together followed by a critique of their current works.

VPS: UpperValley is making use of the Thetford Community Center to meet monthly, paint, and provide a critique of each other’s work.

 VPS EXHIBITIONS

This year’s Members’ Exhibition (ME) will be hosted by VPS: Champlain. Because the available venue is in Bennington, VPS: SW is assisting with the local logistics as VPS: CHP coordinates all the other aspects. This will be an historic ME, as VPS members will be exhibiting in a former VT Governor’s Mansion, which has never had any contemporary art displayed in it before. Moreover, one of its residents was a pastel painter herself, so the theme will be “Pastels: Old and New.” The ME will hang for over four months, and during that time hundreds of tourists will visit the historic sight, so our paintings will be seen by many, many people. The final notice for submitting our artwork will be sent out via Constant Contact soon, so please submit one or two pastels to have your work be a part of this unique opportunity.

The Juried Show (JS), will be hosted in October and November by VPS: UpperValley at the Long River Gallery in WRJ, VT. Stay tuned early this summer for all the forthcoming details!!

VPS WORKSHOPS 

Here is who we have lined up for this year’s three workshops:

Tony Allain: “Mood and Atmosphere, May 19-21, and “The Language of Light,” May 22-23, 2023, Bennington, VT;

Karen Israel: “Rocks/Water Reflections/Clouds/Sky,” Jul 28-30 2023, Montpelier, VT;

Nancy Nowak: “Boats and Structures,” Sep 8-10, 2023, Bennington, VT.

VPS BOARD NEWS

At our Annual Meeting in October, we voted to form a committee to draft a policy and procedure for a Signature Member category for VPS members, as some other pastel societies have done. This winter, a group of VPS artists formulated a draft for Signature Member Status and we recently surveyed our VPS members to gauge interest in it. Results of the survey will be presented at the upcoming board meeting.

Our next board meeting will be via Zoom on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 from 7-9pm. Here is the Zoom link for it: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81155471595?pwd=aUhyekVHM09TS2RQdFUwd0Q5VEJCZz09

Please put this date and time on your calendar and plan to attend if you can.

As a VPS member, you are permitted to post two pastels on the website gallery. Remember to check what is up there now and update your images as you make new work. We get over 5000 visitors and 8000 visits a year, and the Gallery of Member Art gets the most traffic, so take advantage of the exposure:

https://vermontpastelsociety.com/participation-in-the-members-gallery/

Also, you can share noteworthy news about your artwork, about prizes you were awarded, about your upcoming shows, about your hub, or about other pastel items of personal interest. Check it out by going to the VPS website and clicking Member News on the drop-down menu or click on this link for submission instructions:

https://vermontpastelsociety.com/vps-member-noteworthy-news/

Don’t forget that you can also rent DVDs for free as a member. The information is on our website.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED PARTICIPATION IN VPS! 

With two VPS-sponsored shows in 2023 to exhibit your works, three workshops planned, and our Hubs meeting regularly, there is great value in being a member of the VPS. Please renew your membership for 2023. We stay strong because of the continual support for our organization which each of you provides. Thank you all so much!

Matt Peake, VPS President