Juried Shows in Terre Haute, Fall 2021

December 17, 2021mayhewjnm Leave a comment

Swope Art Museum, 77th Annual Juried Show, Nov. 6, 2021-Jan. 9, 2022

I was delighted this year to once again have a painting selected for exhibit in the Swope Art Museum Annual Juried Show. My painting ‘Flying 2020’ was chosen by Juror Drek Davis from Louisiana. In his comments he said,

“While there is no specific theme for the exhibition, it seemed to me that the vast majority of the works submitted in one way or another spoke to the moment that we find ourselves in. Nina Simone is famously noted as saying “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” And while it is debatable whether that charge is an actual duty, per se, the works assembled here suggest that numerous artists in the Wabash Valley understand it as an opportunity to address some of life’s persistent emotional, social, and psychological issues. In the times that we find ourselves, for this moment, that’s important I think.”

That was exactly how I felt at this moment in the airplane! I sat there with my face almost totally covered, one mask required by the airline, one mask desired by me, and thought, “This is a strange situation we’ve come to in the world”, and was motivated to capture the moment in paint.

Flying 2020, 9 x 12 Oil on Canvas panel

Arts Illiana Small Art Show 2021

I was also pleased to have two paintings selected for the Annual Small Art Show at the Arts Illiana Gallery, this fall.

As The Earth Spins, 6 x 8 in, Oil on canvas; Hugging the Weeper, 6 x 8 in, oil on canvas

The works submitted for this Show must be less than 12 in in any dimension. It is a varied and interesting Show.

Mask II

May 22, 2021mayhewjnm Leave a comment

I wanted to portray the amusing idea that children have of not being visible if nothing is visible to them!

This painting was based on a photo of my granddaughter in one of her special dresses, although in the photo she was wearing large green glasses frames. I bought this children’s ‘llama’ sleep mask especially for this project and modeled it on myself, taking selfies in a similar light to the photo. It was fun.

Once I’d finished the painting I gave her the sleep mask.

Arts Illiana ‘Masks’ Exhibition

April 22, 2021mayhewjnm 2 Comments

I was happy to have two paintings accepted for the current ‘Masks’ Exhibition at the Arts Illiana Gallery, Terre Haute, March 5-May 21, 2021. The first one I painted is a self-portrait, although I am so masked that it could not truly be called a portrait!

We flew to Albany, NY twice in Dec 2020, first to visit a sick relative and then to attend her funeral. I wanted to have a rest on the flight, so I put on my eye mask, and then thought this was peculiar–my face was now totally covered! With some experimentation I was able to take some selfies with my phone and painted from these after we returned home.