Open Studio Weekend – First up, this coming weekend is the Vermont Crafts Council Open Studio Weekend. You can visit my along with more than 230 other Vermont artists studios.  It is always a great weekend and I enjoy welcoming everyone who stops by.   This coming Saturday & Sunday, May 28th & 29th, 2011 – 10am to 5pm both days.  My address is 206 Crescent Blvd, Bennington, Vermont.  Click here for a google map.

Solo Exhibition – Izabella’s Eatery, Bennington, Vermont - A summer long exhibit of some of my recent work opens at Izabella’s Eatery in downtown Bennington. The Opening Reception will be held Sunday, June 5, 2011 from 1pm – 5pm.  Izabella’s is located at  351 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont. Click here for Google map and place page for Izabella’s

Cranford, New Jersey “Paint the Town” Plein Air Competition – For the second year, I’ll be participating in this juried plein air painting event & exhibit.  Twenty-eight seasoned plein air painters will decend on the quaint community of Cranford for 5 days of intense plein air painting followed by an Opening Reception, a 2-hour Quick Draw, and a Grand Exhibit.   All of this takes place June 7 – 12, 2011 in and around Cranford, New Jersey.  For info, directions etc. check out the Paint the Town Home Page.

Look forward to seeing you at one, two or all three events!  For more information, questions, directions, etc. contact me by: email at tc@tonyconner.com,  or by phone at 802-375-5548.

I enjoy welcoming visitors to my Studio Gallery. It is open by appointment – please contact me to arrange a visit.

Sign up form for my email list for News, Events, Exhibits & Classes

"Glass On Glass"

What, then, to do when the usual subjects are not inspiring me at the moment?  The solution generally is to do something different.  In this case placing a group of wine bottles in front of my studio’s picture window with the intention of painting some compositions.   This work “Glass on Glass” is the first painting completed.   Glass is difficult due to its combination of transparency and reflectivity.  In the case of this painting, I focused more on the transparency and worked on capturing the various value and color shapes created by the overlapping of the transparent bottles and the areas where the opaque labels blocked the transparency.  Shapes colors and values were all simplified and some realism was sacrificed  in favor of pattern and rhythm .

Another choice made in order to mix things up and get the creative and inspirational juices flowing was to work on a different surface.  In this case,  I painted on Arches 140lb hot press paper.  I generally use this paper for architectural illustration work as it has the advantage of being relatively correctable.   It’s press surface prevents the pigment from settling down into the paper fibers.  The effect is to enhance transparency – a perfect attribute for a subject such as glass.

This work will be framed and on display in my studio for Open Studio Weekend, May 29 & 30, 2010.

Below is a quick prep sketch done in a watercolor sketchbook and from a different point of view.

The bottle arrangement is still set up and another painting is underway – more to come.

Contact me if you have an interest in this or any other paintings on the site. Email me at tc@tonyconner.com or by phone at 802-375-5548.

Sign up form for my email list for News, Events, Exhibits & Classes

"Early November"

Vermont’s natural scenic beauty is enhanced each spring when the work of Vermont artists and craftspeople can be seen firsthand during Vermont’s 17th annual Open Studio Weekend May 23-24.

My studio will be open from 10am – 5pm both Saturday and Sunday, May 23 & 24.  I’m looking forward to again  welcoming visitors my studio, showing new works and discussing my work, materials, processes etc.

Open Studio Weekend is a statewide celebration of the visual arts and the creative process. Bennington County, Vermont is home to many fine artists and artisans including the other members of The Artisans of Southern Vermont. The other twenty-nine members of the group will also have their studios open this weekend.  The fine work represented by this group includes other paintings, jewelery, pottery, furniture, sculpture, and more.

Take the Artisans of Vermont Open Studio Driving Tour and be eligible to win a $150 gift certificate to the artist’s studio of your choice. Simply visit at least 8 of the 30 Artisans of Southern Vermont studios, get the artists signature and then leave the form at one of the open studio locations. Drawing to be held on June 15, 2009.  Open Studio Driving Tour map, instructions and “Studio Sleuth” form downloadable here.