William E. Elston Logo
William E. Elston: Paintings, vol. 31

March 9, 2019

 

News and Updates

 
Opening Reception, Portraits and Self Portraits by Northwest Artists 1910 - 2018, Cascadia Art Museum. From left to right, Gary Faigin, William Elston and  Aleah Chapin.
Opening Reception, Portraits and Self Portraits by Northwest Artists 1910 - 2018, Cascadia Art Museum. From left to right, Gary Faigin, William Elston and Aleah Chapin. (photograph courtesy Julie Stonebraker Nelson)
 
So much has happened in the past few months, I'm not sure where to begin:

I was invited to be in an exhibition entitled Portraits and Self-Portraits by Northwest Artists; 1910-2018. For details see below.
 

Winter Lectures

 
Winter Lecture (photograph courtesy Julie Stonebraker Nelson)
Winter Lecture (photograph courtesy Julie Stonebraker Nelson)
I conceived, prepared and gave three lectures, the Winter Lecture Series, November 2018 - January 2019. I'm now in the midst of post-processing video presentations of them, based on recordings made during the lectures and the original Apple Keynote slides. The process has included a learning curve that was a bit steeper than expected, since video production is something that I've never done before. However, it does seem that you can teach an old dog new tricks. He just performs them with more slobber and pointless tail-wagging. Copies will be provided to those who attended, and I'm considering making them more widely available.
 
I'm working on a new commission that is destined for a beautiful home in the Seattle area. I will post more about that in a future newsletter. It did prompt me to create a page on my website devoted to commissions, which I describe below.

Dodson's Fine Jewelers, my art dealer in my hometown of Spokane closed their doors February 16, 2019, after being in business for 132 years. The owners, Penn Fix and Debra Schultz, were a pleasure to work with. A substantial amount of the remaining inventory will move to the Museum of Northwest Art and Culture (the MAC,) for their Art Resource program. Art Resource sells and leases art by some of the top artists in the Pacific Northwest. I've been involved in their program for over 20 years. Visit their website for more information: MAC Art Resource.
 

Plein Air Season is Around the Corner

 
I'm looking forward to the upcoming plein air season, which I hope will begin in April. I'm optimistic despite the strange and anomalous weather that we're experiencing of late. I will be announcing a sale for plein air class sessions later this month.
Plein air set up, Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm, Bellevue WA.
Plein air set up, Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm, Bellevue WA.
 

Cascadia Art Museum: Portraits and Self Portraits by Northwest Artists, 1910 - 2018

 
William E. Elston, Self Portrait, NYC, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches, copyright ©1979
William E. Elston, Self Portrait, NYC, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches, copyright ©1979
 
I have a painting hanging in the current exhibition of portraits at Cascadia Art Museum.

From the Cascadia Art Museum's website: "This extended exhibition focuses on the varied approaches Northwest artists have used to portray themselves or other important figures in the Northwest cultural community over the past one hundred years.

For this special exhibition, we are including three prominent contemporary Northwest artists; Gary Faigin, William Elston and Aleah Chapin in a dialogue across the decades with their earlier counterparts such as Mark Tobey (1890-1976) and Louise Crow (1891-1968.)"

My contribution, pictured here, is a self portrait that was done from life using a mirror, and was executed in 1979. It was exhibited at First Street Gallery in Soho, NYC, that same year.

I'm excited and honored to be in this show. Curator David Martin is one of the most knowledgable historians of the region's art. The exhibition opened alongside a major exhibition of early Northwest Impressionism and Modernism.

The exhibition continues until September 29, 2019. Visit the Cascadia Art Museum website for details.
 

Commissions

View From Sauvie Island Bridge II, oil on canvas, 48 X 72 inches, copyright ©2006
View From Sauvie Island Bridge II, oil on canvas, 48 X 72 inches, copyright ©2006
 
Over years past I've done a number of commissions, both for public and private collections. The public commissions have included works for Hewlett-Packard, Ashforth Pacific, Boeing, Chicago Title, Evergreen Hospital, Miller Nash LLP, Seattle University Law School and many others. The range of subjects has included portraits, paintings of homes, regional landscape subjects, etc. I'm currently working on a large commission for a beautiful home in West Seattle, and will be posting more about it in a future newsletter.

I've added a Commissions page to my website, which outlines process and practical concerns, and a Commissions Base Price Estimator. The Estimator permits a collector to enter the dimensions of a desired commission, and the Estimator will display a base price within specific size ranges.

The Estimator does not account for ancillary costs, including travel, research, taxes, shipping, etc. However, it does provide a basis for discussion. I had some help in constructing the Estimator from Rapidweaver developers Paul Russam and Joe Workman, and it's based on Joe Workman's Pi Stack. You can check it out on the Commissions page.
 

2 Prints From Samara Fine Arts

TWENTY-FOUR ROBBERS, lithograph on paper, edition of 100, 27 x 40 inches, copyright ©1988
TWENTY-FOUR ROBBERS, lithograph on paper, edition of 100, 27 x 40 inches, copyright ©1988
 
In 1987 and 1988, I produced two lithographs at Stone Press, with technical assistance by the late Master Printer Kent Lovelace. The publisher was Samara Fine Arts, and both depicted different non-competitive games. The first, FRZ-B, is an image of young adults playing Frizbee at Greenlake, and was drawn with traditional media on a large lithographic stone. The second, Twenty-four Robbers, was drawn on aluminum plate using traditional and non-traditional methods. Both were printed in editions of 100, signed and numbered.

Samara Fine Arts still has availble prints from these two editions. They can be purchased through their website at Samara Fine Arts.
 
FRZ-B, lithograph on paper, edition of 100, 27 x 40 inches, copyright ©1987
FRZ-B, lithograph on paper, edition of 100, 27 x 40 inches, copyright ©1987
 

Edmonds Arts Festival

 
Edmonds Arts Festival logo
 
I've been invited to jury the paintings and works on paper section of the Edmonds Arts Festival this year.

From their website: "The Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to education and the cultural enrichment of our community through the arts. The Foundation gifts more than $65,000 annually in the form of scholarships and grants; over the past 39 years, grants have provided more than $1,000,000 to fund public art installations and large special projects. The Edmonds Arts Festival, held annually in June for more than 60 years, has grown to be one of the most prestigious arts events in the country. Produced entirely by community volunteers, the Festival is the primary fundraiser that allows the Foundation to realize its mission."

For more information, visit the Edmonds Arts Festival website.

Please visit my painting or classes website for more information regarding upcoming exhibitions, events, classes or workshops.

Paintings
 
View my painting website
Classes
 
View my classes website
 

If you have enjoyed reading this please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends!

 
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 William E. Elston


Webversion | Subscribe | Unsubcribe | Privacy