Calvert Artists Guild hosts annual Solomons Boardwalk show

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL Harry Knott of St. Leonard works on some of his wood carvings at the annual Calvert Artists' Guild Gazebo Show Saturday on the boardwalk in Solomons. Knott said he was the newest member of the guild. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Gerry Wood of Lexington Park and Joan Humphreys of St. Leonard (behind sign) put up the guild's sign for the annual Calvert Artists' Guild Gazebo Show Saturday on the boardwalk in Solomons. Wood had watercolors and mixed media in the show and Humphreys had watercolors, acrylics and pastels.

The show, now in its eighth year, was started by Rex Miller a resident of Solomons. Miller, who has been with the guild for 12 years, was inspired to hold the show outside because of Solomons itself.

‘‘There are a lot of venues around, but I was particularly enthralled with Solomons because of the view and I liked the idea of a boardwalk show,” Miller said. ‘‘A lot of people come to the island during the summer. They might be daytrippers, but they come here and look at our work and that is important to us.”

Miller works mostly in watercolors, painting boats and images he sees on the Patuxent River.

The guild was started more than 30 years ago by Gerry Wood, who now lives in Leonardtown. Wood started the guild as a way of expressing herself and others creatively. Miller says that when he brought up the idea of an outdoor show to the guild, the idea was greeted with enthusiasm.

‘‘Gerry liked the idea,” Miller said. ‘‘We get a lot of people looking. The emphasis is not on selling, but on the artistic interchange with the public and the people who come down to enjoy the artwork.”

The show featured an eclectic mix of art from the artists. The mediums included watercolor, mixed media, acrylics and wood carvings from the newest member of the guild, Harry Knott of St. Leonard.

‘‘I’ve been carving for three years now and I was just looking for a place to get together with other artists,” Knott said. ‘‘Part of my problem is mixing the colors to paint on the birds; I really wanted to expand what I was doing and enlighten myself more in the art world.”

During the show, Knott carved out a couple of pieces, including birds, much to the delight of some small children that were passing by.

Another member of the guild is Rosa Valladares of Lusby, who works mostly in print making and mixed media in collage. Although new to the guild itself, she is not new to the art scene.

‘‘I had two solo exhibitions in Washington D.C., one in Virginia and I had many exhibitions in my home country in Peru, along with exhibitions in other countries,” Valladares said. ‘‘I get a lot of people coming up and asking me about my artwork because they are curious about how I make my art.”

Many of the people that stopped to admire the artwork were visitors to the area who wanted to soak up some sun and the local culture.

‘‘We came to visit friends in Hollywood [Md.],” said Shirley Fadden of Centerville, Va. ‘‘We wanted to do some shopping in Solomons and we came over to look at the art show.”

‘‘We were just walking the boardwalk and we decided to come to the show,” said Teri Johnson of Leonardtown. ‘‘I like the photographs of the beach and the water. From what I’ve seen so far, I like the artwork of Joan Humphreys.”

‘‘The guild offers an opportunity to show and work with other artists and that’s important,” Miller said. ‘‘I admire the other artists and am inspired by their artwork.”