Sunday, May 23, 2010

WAL General Meeting - May 27th

Just a friendly reminder about this week's Woodlands Art League General Meeting with our special guest, Veranne Graham. The meeting begins at 6:30pm and will take place at the Community Center on Lake Robbins Drive (next to the South County Library). Past participants of Ms. Graham's workshops are encouraged to bring their "workshop paintings" to the meeting for all to see.

IMPORTANT - as Alice is diligently trying to ensure that all videos are transferred to DVD and Fred is cataloging each version for a comprehensive guide to all of the resources available to our members, it is vital that all videos that are currently checked out be brought to the meeting on Thursday. If you are not planning to come to the meeting, please email Alice Widmier at alicewidmier@yahoo.com (or tel. 281 362 0108) so arrangements can be made to return them.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Press coverage for LSAG and Anne Walker

Woodlands oil painter dominates convention


Dalhart Windberg gets a closer look at a sculpture as judge Keiko Yasuoka looks on during the judging portion of Saturday's Lone Star Art Guild show at the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe.

By Matt Stephens
Updated: 05.15.10
Anne Walker believes her talent as an oil painter was a gift from God. She marks all of her paintings with a cross and writes “To God be to glory” on the back of each one.

“He put this crazy love in my heart, and it’s what I want to do,” Walker said.

The 54-year-old resident of The Woodlands was awarded “Best of Show,” “Mayor’s Choice,” first and second place oil painting and an honorable mention for four of her works presented Saturday at the Lone Star Art Guild’s 49th Annual Convention at the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe.

“I’m very overwhelmed,” she said. “There’s so much beautiful work here.”


The LSAG is an organization of 21 art leagues and approximately 2,000 member artists within a 200-mile radius of Houston. The event presented 730 pieces of artwork from 376 Southeast Texas artists in categories of various painting mediums, three-dimensional mediums, drawing and photography.

“We are always excited to see our artists enjoying the process of showing and selling their artwork at our annual convention,” said Theresa Thornhill, second vice president of the guild. “This show represents the best of the best from our member leagues.”

Thornhill said there were no specific criteria for the three judges who awarded artwork, but they had to agree on “Best of Show” and some of the other awards.

“They talked back and forth and argued, but eventually they all agreed,” she said.

Two of the three judges for the event, artists Larry Dyke and Keiko Yasuoka, said Walker’s work was so successful at the convention because of how technically sound it was. Yasuoka, an accomplished painter and calligraphy artist from Japan, said Walker’s work also manages to tell a story despite its simple components.

“When you can see a painting that tells a story, that’s the most important thing,” Yasuoka said “If you can see a story in a still life, then it’s very successful.”

Walker’s still life of a bowl of fruit titled “Classical Fruit” won the overall “Best of Show.”

Dyke, a well-known landscape painter, said that even though judging art is completely subjective, he praised Walker’s technique as being “above reproach.”

Three more of her works won awards, including a painting of her golden retriever, which received a second-place ribbon, and a portrait of her 23-year-old daughter Sarah, which received a first-place ribbon, as well as the “Mayor’s Choice” award.

“My daughter is so incredibly gorgeous on the outside, but also gorgeous on the inside,” Walker said. “She’s got the prettiest heart you’ve ever seen.”

Although she has only been painting for 12 years, a number that surprised many fellow artists who complimented her work, Walker has been interested in art for much longer. A Conroe High School graduate in 1973, she attended The University of Texas, where she studied art history and excelled at drawing.

Walker said she doesn’t have a great story about her sudden desire to start painting in 1998. She just knew she wanted to try.

“I just wanted to paint,” Walker said. “I went to my local art store and asked, ‘What do I need to paint?”

It didn’t take long for her to get noticed. In 1999, her work was published in an art magazine and noticed by Sen. Hillary Clinton. Walker was named one of America’s top 200 craftsmen and a folk painting she made of the White House was placed in the Blue Room.

“It’s probably still sitting around in the basement there somewhere,” Walker said.

Matt Stephens can be reached at mstephens@hcnonline.com.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Call to Artists

(You will need to copy this document into a Word Processing program in order to print.)
Dedicated to supporting the Fine Arts at The Woodlands High School

The Ann Marie Hopkins Art Alliance Art Show and Auction
Thursday, May 2oth, 2010, 6:00pm – 8:30pm

Artist Name ______________________

Address_____ ________________

Phone Number_________________

Artwork ________________________

Description ___________________
Value ____________________
About the Artist
Job Title/Business/Employer______________________
E-mail  and/or Website address ______________________________
Universities, Colleges, or Schools Attended & Location  and Year (s) of Graduation _________________________________________________
Written Statement/Bio (whatever you would like to tell us about yourself that we can include about your work, the style you work in, why you do what you do, etc.)








please email or mail completed form and work of art to:

Jim Kitchen
c/o Ann Marie Hopkins Art Alliance Auction Committee
The Woodlands High School
The Woodlands, Texas 77381

For questions please contact me at 832-647-5680
Your contribution is tax-deductible under Group Exemption #5382. For supporting documentation please go to http://www.conroeisd.net/; select: Parent/Student; select : PTO/PTA; review documents: CISD Educational Support Groups Determination Letter; Group Exemption Approval Letter; and CISD Group Exemption Members. Pease keep a copy for your records. 

Friday, May 7, 2010

Frames For Sale!

Wanda Jordan will have hundreds of frames for sale in Conroe on Satruday, May 8. Her contact info is 936-756-0944 or tjwlj@consolidated.net. I believe this is one day only.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

May 2010 issue of the WAL Journal Available!

This month's edition of the WAL Journal is now available for viewing either by following this link (http://www.woodlandsartleague.org/files/Wal_Journal_1005.pdf) or by visiting the Woodlands Art League website (http://www.woodlandsartleague.org) homepage and finding the link to the May 2010 issue near the bottom of the page.
Please help us track how you access the newsletter by sending a short email to tony@sculptours.com to let him know what option works best for you. As technology progresses, we are striving to ensure you are receiving the information from WAL as quickly and as easily as possible without forcing one option over another.
Happy Mother's Day to all who can wear that hat!

Object d'Art Exhibition

2 Objects- 20 Artists

Opening Reception: May 21, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
(refreshments served)
Exhibit Time: May 22, 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.


The event will be held at Market Street, in the space next to Dionysus Salon near the Borders Book Store.


Artists include:
Abby Salazar - Alice Widmier
Annie Walker - Betty Kersh
Beverly Chemin - Cherie Bright
Cheryl Pilgrim - Elissa Fletcher
Fred Hulser - Howie Doyle
Kim Abbati - Laurie Adams
LaVera Grant - Lesley Humphrey
Pat Meyer - Shannon Burchett
Susan Hotard - Susan Jensen
Terri Harris - Theresa G. Thornhill

The show is the result of a year-long project by 20 of our artists. Two objects were passed along from one artist to another, and each artist was inspired to paint one or more paintings of the object(s) in whatever medium they chose. There will be about 35 paintings exhibited. For more information, please contact Terri Harris at 936-273-3021.