The WSA is happy to welcome new exhibiting member Janet Montecalvo. Her carefully rendered oil paintings depict a sense of place with a well trained eye for composition and color. To see more of her paintings, visit her WSA artist page. Welcome to the WSA Janet, we look forward to meeting you and seeing more of your work.
The WSA is happy to welcome new exhibiting member, Rowan O’Riley. Her distinctive portrait paintings are vibrant and capture the subjects character in the most endearing way. To see more of her portraits, visit her WSA artist page. Welcome to the WSA Rowan, we look forward to seeing you and more of your paintings!
Available as early as November 1, 2022—a wonderful, renovated Howard Street Studios artist space at 162 Howard Street, Framingham, MA. It is approximately 28’ X 10’, has 7 windows, 10’ ceilings, and will rent for $670 per month (it could be shared with someone else!). If you are interested, contact Beth Hurley at Beth@LRconstruction.net or call 508-872-8550.
October Artist of the Month
Meet Randa Khuri
Artist Randa Khuri was born, the youngest of four children, to her family in Palestine. With the formation of Israel in 1948, her family was forced to leave their home and settled in Lebanon, a country that also became very dear to her. She has been interested in both art and music since a very young age. She began playing piano as a young girl and played until college. She now plays the flute and sings with the Dedham Choral Society. She did not have formal art lessons as a child but constantly scribbled and sketched. She sketched anything she saw, including portraits. Khuri ponders, “I have always felt that Mozart is to music what Renoir is to painting.”
When she began college at the American University of Beirut, she had to decide on a major. Between Fine Art and Nursing, she chose Nursing and has always appreciated this training. She married her husband in Lebanon and they moved to the United States for his medical training. Khuri had planned to get a Master’s Degree in Nursing but decided this would take too much of her time away from raising their three young children. When the children were in school, she began taking Sculpture at the MFA with Ralph Rosenthal. There was a watercolor class next door and she began taking watercolor as well. Both mediums lit a spark in Khuri but watercolor remains her favorite means of expression. She also attended the new England School of Art and Design and received a degree in Interior Design. Still preferring to spend as much time as possible with her children, she continued to pursue her painting.
Khuri’s advice to others is to “Do what you love to do.” She was able to follow these words herself and continued to master watercolor painting. She loves to paint still life of fruits, vegetables and flowers, which she finds “so beautiful when you look closely.” Inspired by Georgia O’Keefe, she notes that her biggest fan was her husband who passed away fourteen years ago. “He always had cards of my work printed and made enlarged gallery prints.” His encouragement bolstered her with the confidence she needed to continue producing art. She did several busts before her husband passed-one of him, one of each of her children and one of Mother Teresa. Both her paintings and sculptures have been in juried shows and have won awards.
She has exhibited through the WSA, the Needham Art Association (where she is former board member), the Dedham Art Association (current board member) and the Rhode Island Watercolor Society . She also does exhibits with fellow artists as well as solo exhibits. Her favorite spots to exhibit have been the Grace Chapel in Lexington, the De Cordova Museum and the local town libraries. Khuri has a solo exhibit beginning this month at the Needham Public Library and we encourage all to visit. A video interview with the artist from a past exhibition there can be found on YouTube.
During the COVID pandemic, Khuri developed her first painting block. Fortunately, she took a Zoom class with fellow WSA member Nan Rumpf and found herself cured by Rumpf’s talented teaching. A group very special to Khuri is the Watercolor Connection of which she has been a member for 12 years. “It is not a class but a group of artists who paint together, provide one another with critiques, encouragement and friendship.” Khuri paints for friends and family and has done commission work including one sculpture of a young girl, now grown up. Her 3 children all have her paintings and sculptures in their homes and she notes, “my 16-year-old grandson has several large paintings of mine in his room;” he has asked her to paint these. Art for Khuri has been a constant source of “pleasure and peace.” A quotation from Renoir holds much meaning for this artist: “ The pain passes but the beauty remains.”
The WSA is happy to welcome new exhibiting member Jill Crossman Anderson. She is a sensitive observer, which is reflected in her delicately rendered paintings. Although primarily a watercolorist, Jill also paints in acrylic. To see more of her artwork, visit her WSA artist page .
Welcome to the WSA Jill!
Congratulations to WSA member, Mena Levit who had seven of her pastel paintings accepted into several national/international shows! This includes, In Solidarity – Pastel Society of Cape Cod National Juried Show, Best Friends! – International Juried Show Pure Color 2022, Those Emerald Eyes – Central Mass Pastel Society National Juried Show, Family Treasures – Great Lakes Pastel Society National Juried Show Bowing Gracefully – Pastel Society of New Hampshire National Juried Show, and Fancy Hair Day! and Attitude-National Southwest Florida Pastel Society show.
The WSA is happy to welcome new exhibiting member Pari Ravel. She is a self taught painter who discovered the healing powers of art. Pari’s love of nature and the world around are her inspiration. Visit her WSA artist page to see more of her work.
Welcome to the WSA Pari!
September Artist of the Month
Meet Kristin Conant
This wonderful piece was written by the artist Kirstin Conant herself. I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview Conant. Her art is nothing short of magical, perhaps because she fearlessly pursues different techniques and mediums all in an attempt to bring joy to the viewer. For as long as I have followed her art, she has been gracious and generous with sharing her process. I am also touched by her constant praise and encouragement for her fellow artists. ~ Linda Kinch, AOM Feature Writer
A Lifelong Art Journey
My interest in creating art has been lifelong, beginning with finger painting in kindergarten. My art path took many forms and offered occasional employment in the following decades. I took academic studio art studies in college. I designed, silk screened and sold T-shirts. I maintained sketch books, painted and also drew in pen and ink.
Living internationally for most of my twenties shaped my art and the opportunities to create it. Most restrictive of all was cruising aboard a 28-foot wooden sailboat for four years, sailing from England, through Europe, then crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean, where I settled and helped run a charter sailboat for a year in the British Virgin Islands. The intention was to sail to the United States. While cruising, I worked at various jobs and made and sold art where opportunities presented themselves. This eventually led me to become a self-taught sign painter, specializing in lettering boats. Wishing to improve my work, I learned of an art school in Boston, where I completed degrees in both sign painting and commercial art. At the same time, I met my husband and started a family.
Mostly my art remained dormant while raising two sons. That changed in 2016 when I took a giant leap and rented a studio in Framingham. For the first time, I had a dedicated, official space for creating art. It was a gift that I gave to myself. I’m so grateful to have the time, space and materials to create full time. What was even better was the unexpected pleasure of discovering other passionate artists and becoming part of a large and growing community of them. Community brought opportunities and, especially important, exposed me to the compelling work of fellow artists. I was lucky to meet Margaret Gerding, an especially skilled painter and teacher, and I’ve taken many workshops from her. That has accelerated my learning.
Art is meditative. I love to experiment with a variety of different subjects and materials. Because of the freedom to create what I wish, more and more I seek to express how a subject makes me feel, rather than to accurately depict objects or scenes. It’s gratifying when my work can make others feel something too.
Paint and all types of art materials remain as magical to me as those enticing pots of finger paint in kindergarten! Understanding color mixing and different media is a lifelong pursuit. And as a wise artist friend told me, “It’s not what you see, but how you see” that determines the success of the piece. Painting is often hard work and even discouraging, especially when I’m dissatisfied with the results. At other times the process flows and delights me. Especially important is learning to let go of the inevitable failures. They are part of the learning process, and if I don’t ever fall down, that means I’m not moving forward.
The WSA is happy to welcome new member, Stacey Roberts. When you see some of Stacey’s amazing larger than life paintings, you will quickly be reminded of your favorite childhood candies. She works in acrylic and creates bold paintings using carefully selected colors that leaves the viewer duly impressed. To see more of her artwork, visit her WSA artist page.
Welcome to the WSA Stacey!
If you frequent local beaches during the summer particularly on Cape Cod, it is hard not to be aware of great white sharks. It was nearly 50 years ago when the movie JAWS was released and terrified swimmers, particularly those who enjoyed an evening swim. The iconic image on the movie poster is the artwork of WSA member Roger Kastel. Apparently the original painting mysteriously disappeared in California shortly after winning an award. A recent article in Daily Art Magazine sent out a plea to find the missing painting. So keep a look out for sharks this summer particularly the one in Roger’s missing painting.
