February 2022 Meeting Canceled
We tentatively plan to return for our next meeting on Thursday, March 10, 7:00 pm in the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton. Our meeting will offer you the opportunity for a group critique, no demo required.
May 2020 Meeting
Thursday, May 14
CANCELLED
Again, in light of the COVID-19 developments and acting in an abundance of caution, we have decided to cancel the May 14 West Hills Art League meeting. Stay well all!
April 2020 Meeting
Thursday, April 9
CANCELLED
In light of the COVID-19 developments and acting in an abundance of caution, we have decided to cancel the April 9 West Hills Art League meeting. Stay well all!
March 2020 Meeting
Thursday, March 12
Draw a Dancer from Life
We will draw Sydnee, a young ballet dancer, from life. Please bring drawing materials of your choice, and an easel if you like to use one. If you know someone who likes to draw people, please tell them they are welcome to participate. Sydnee will hold several poses for 10 to 20 minutes during the evening. We will be meeting in the Genre Room gallery, because the large gallery will be set up for our show.
Sydnee Davison is in 7th grade at Lincoln Park. She modeled for us to draw last year, replacing a slightly older dancer who had to cancel because of a dance competition conflict.
She was so young and so little that we called her our “tiny dancer.” But she struck and held wonderful poses for us to draw.
Several of our members gave Sydnee their renderings that they drew of her that night. She and her mom, Michelle, carefully framed each one!
Originally Michelle said they would use Sydnee’s earnings from modeling for us towards her dance lessons, but like most moms, she relinquished and let Sydnee spend it how she liked.
Sydnee, who, apparently, is a bit of an artist, as well as a dancer, used her modeling paycheck to buy herself art supplies! She inspired us and we inspired her!
Sydnee Davison is in 7th grade at Lincoln Park. She modeled for us to draw last year, replacing a slightly older dancer who had to cancel because of a dance competition conflict.
She was so young and so little that we called her our “tiny dancer.” But she struck and held wonderful poses for us to draw.
Several of our members gave Sydnee their renderings that they drew of her that night. She and her mom, Michelle, carefully framed each one!
Originally Michelle said they would use Sydnee’s earnings from modeling for us towards her dance lessons, but like most moms, she relinquished and let Sydnee spend it how she liked.
Sydnee, who, apparently, is a bit of an artist, as well as a dancer, used her modeling paycheck to buy herself art supplies! She inspired us and we inspired her!
February 2020 Meeting
Thursday, February 13
BVA Group Critique plus Merrick Master Q&A
Would you like feedback from other artists about your work? Or, is there something you are working on that is not quite working as you envisioned it? We can be a resource for each other! Bring in one or two of your artworks to share with the group. Explain your intention for the piece, your working method, what you feel is successful, any questions or struggles you are having, or anything else you’d like to share about it. We will encourage you and offer feedback to help you make your artwork even better. We are supportive, not critical, in our comments. Even if you don’t bring artwork to share, you are welcome to participate in the Critique.
November 2019 Meeting
Thursday, November 14
Watercolor & Ink demonstration by Lynn Jaques
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Lynn is a Pittsburgh PA area mixed media artist with over 35 years of experience. She is inspired by plein air painting in nature as well as the urban city views. A particular favorite is traditional Pittsburgh houses on the hillsides.
Her studies include Fine Art minor from Grove City College, and classes at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Carnegie Museum of Art. She has studied with many artists in classes and workshops - Bill Vrscak, Marco Mason, Robert Burridge, and Gerald Brommer. She enjoys doing all kinds of art - acrylic and watercolor painting, collage, mixed media collage, photography, clay and copper wire sculptures. Lynn’s Memberships include Pittsburgh Society of Artists, Penn Art Association, East Suburban Artists League and Allegheny Valley League of Artists. |
October 2019 Meeting
Thursday, October 10
Jack Puglisi will be demonstrating pointillism
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Jack Puglisi was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and has been exhibiting his particular styles of artwork for the past three decades. He is a member of the
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Society of Artists, and other local art organizations. He was a featured artist at the Westmoreland Museum of American Arts in Greensburg, PA, the 49th and 51st Annual Art of the State competition at the State Museum in Harrisburg, PA, the annual national Figurative Drawing and Painting Competition at the Lore Degenstein Gallery at Susquehanna University in 2016 and 2017 and the 2017 National Midyear Exhibition of the Butler Institute of American Art and numerous other exhibitions. Pen and ink is his primary medium. The techniques of pointillism and crosshatching are the two expressions that he favors most. Pointillism is the method of composing pictures from thousands of hand-placed dots of ink, creating colors and shades by the juxtaposition of the dots. A large picture can take over four months and an undetermined number of hours to produce. Crosshatching is the use of overlapping lines, drawn in multiple directions, building shade and texture as you go. He is also a sought-after caricaturist and public speaker on matters of history. |
September 2019 Meeting
Thursday, September 12
Kim Freithaler will be demonstrating oil painting
Kim Freithaler is originally from New York City and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from St. John’s University, where she completed an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has also studied at the Art Students League in Manhattan.
She taught art in Manhattan public schools and currently teaches painting at the North Hills Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is the Executive Director. She is an award winning painter who exhibits her work in galleries, as well as local businesses. Her murals are installed in public buildings both here and in Georgia. Oil portraits are done by commission.
A wider selection of her artwork may be viewed at kimfreithaler.com or on her Facebook page, Kim Freithaler Portraits.
She taught art in Manhattan public schools and currently teaches painting at the North Hills Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is the Executive Director. She is an award winning painter who exhibits her work in galleries, as well as local businesses. Her murals are installed in public buildings both here and in Georgia. Oil portraits are done by commission.
A wider selection of her artwork may be viewed at kimfreithaler.com or on her Facebook page, Kim Freithaler Portraits.
A Selection of Past BVA Programs:
Ron Thurston, Watercolor Painting.
Dianne Bauman, Plein Air Oil Painting.
Hiromi Katayama, Nihonga Painting Demonstration.
Patrick Lee, Charcoal Drawing Demonstration.
Karen Larson, Multi-Media and Mono-Printing..
Ron Donoughe, plein air oil painting.
Elizabeth Betty Douglas, Talk on Merrick Art Collection.
Bill Vrscak, watercolor demonstration.
Joyce Werwie Perry, BVA annual show juror's critique.
Susan Giles Ireton, pottery wheel demonstration.
Jennie Johnstone, still life pastel painting.
Gail Beem, pastel landscape painting.
Joyce Werwie Perry, knife painting.
Peggi Habets, watercolor demonstration.
Elizabeth Damesimo, colored pencil demonstration.
Frank Webb, watercolor painting.
Susan Giles Ireton, burning artwork to CD tutorial.
Jennie Johnstone, pastel painting.
Martha Hopkins Skarlinski, encaustic painting.
Patrick Lee, oil painting portrait demonstration.
William Perry, juror's critique of Beaver Valley Artists Exhibition.
Jane Cerilli, quilting as an art form.
Clair Hardy, oil painting technique.
William Perry, demonstrates watercolor painting.
Tara Zalewsky-Nease, water-based oil painting technique.
Cynthia Shaffer, assemblage art demonstration.
Linda Wallen, pastel demonstration.
Peggi Habets, watercolor portraits.
Bill Vrscak, watercolor technique.
Kathy Bischak, E-Z Carve Linoleum Block-printing.
ChiaLing Bull, traditional Chinese Calligraphy.
Robert Newton, hot wax batik demonstration.
Thomas McNickle, watercolor technique.
Joyce Werwie Perry, Impressionistic knife painting.
Berry Jeter, oil painting methods on illustration board
Bill Vrscak, watercolor techniques.
David Ludwick, pastel painting techniques.
Bill Vrscak, watercolor technique.
Ron Thurston, watercolor demonstration.
Christine Swann, pastel portrait demo.
Bud Gibbons, oil painting techniques.
Yvonne Kozlina, pastel portrait demonstration.
Geraldine McCorr, crayon batik demonstration.
Nancy Bush, innovative watercolor techniques.
Frank Webb, watercolor demonstration.
