The St. Michaels Art League (SMAL) is pleased to announce the winners of their Mixed Media exhibit which can be seen at the newly renovated St. Michaels Community Center during the month of January.      

Mixed Media is art that uses at least two different mediums and includes assemblages, collages and more and may use paint, cloth, paper, wood and found objects etc.   

The exhibit was judged by Diane Dubois Mullaly, a well-known local artist known for her contemporary impressionist work using a palette knife. She attended art school at Temple University and is a frequent instructor at the Academy Art Museum in Easton. For more information visit dianeduboismullaly.com.

First Place was awarded to Susan Thomas for “Allegretto,” Second Place went to Susan Schauer for “Flower Vase,” and Third Place to Camille Woodbury for “A Murder of Crows.” Honorable Mentions went to Nancy Lorentz for “With Love from Ireland” and to Irene Martinelli for “I Only Have Eyes For You.”

The St. Michaels Community Center is located at 103 Railroad Ave. in St. Michaels.  The public is welcome to view the exhibit during their regular hours of 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.  Artwork for sale through the artist.  

For more information about this exhibit or other SMAL activities visit smartleague.org. 

The St. Michaels Art League has announced the winners of the 2024 Martha Hudson Awards for excellence in watercolor. 

Martha Hudson was well-known in the community for her watercolors depicting scenes of Eastern Shore Life.  As a young art student, Martha was given a grant to use for the continuation of her studies. In return, she generously left an endowment for an award to be given each year by the St. Michaels Art League to deserving watercolor artists.  

The judge for this year’s exhibit was Stewart White, a nationally and internationally known watercolorist from Baltimore.  After studying at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and serving 3 years in the US Army, he returned to graduate from UC Berkeley with a BFA.  He has won many awards including the Grand Prize of the prestigious Plein Air Easton event in 2009 and Plein Air magazine’s Grand Prize Salon.

First place was awarded to Caryl Ersenkal for her painting “Lighthouse Sundown,” Second Place went to Scott Sullivan for “Reflections of Carefree Summers,” and third place to Sandy Alanko for “Caribbean Blues.” Honorable mentions went to Stacey Sass for “A River Runs Through It” and to Joan Cranor for “Palace Intrigue.” 

The exhibit can be seen at The Blue Crab during the month of December during their regular business hours, 7am-4pm daily.  The Blue Crab serves a variety of breakfast, lunch and beverage items. Art for sale at the venue.  

The St. Michaels Art League (SMAL) is pleased to present a Mixed Media exhibit during the month of January at The Blue Crab in St. Michaels.

Mixed Media is art that uses at least two different mediums. It may include assemblages, collages and more, and use a variety of mediums: paints, cloth, paper, wood, found objects etc.   

The exhibit will be judged by Diane Mulally, an award-winning oil painter known for her impressionistic palette knife paintings. She is a well-known local plein air painter as a member of the steering committee of the Plein Air Painters of the Chesapeake Bay, and as a participant in the prestigious Plein Air Easton event ten times.  She is also a certified Maryland Master Naturalist and docent at Adkins Arboretum. She is a frequent instructor at the Academy Art Museum in St. Michels. In her spare time, she finds relaxation and delight working in collage, fiber and mixed media journaling. Her work appears frequently in local publications and exhibits and can also be seen at The Treasure Chest in Oxford, Md and the Trippe Gallery in Easton Md.  

The Blue Crab is located at 102 S. Fremont Street in St. Michaels.  The mixed media exhibit will be on display beginning January 2nd through January 30th during the coffee shops hours of 7am-4pm daily.  The Blue Crab serves a variety of breakfast, lunch and beverage items.  Work for sale at the venue.   

For more information about this exhibit or any other SMAL activities visit smartleague.org. 

The St. Michaels Art League is pleased to announce the winners of “Capturing Autumn” exhibit which was displayed at the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library during the month of October.  

Laura Era served as Judge.  Laura is an award-winning portrait and landscape artist and owner of the Troika Gallery in Easton. She also teaches classes in pastel, oil and drawing at her studio near Cambridge, MD. The Troika Gallery is in Easton at 9 S. Harrison St. For more information visit LauraEra.com.  

First Place was awarded to Rhonda Ford for her oil painting “Red Maple,” Second Place went to Abby Ober for her oil painting “Golden Tree,” and Third Place went to Maryellyn Lynott for her oil painting “Hayfields on the Choptank.”   Honorable Mentions were also given to the following artists: Cathy Evans for her fabric work “Falling Leaves,” Susan Thomas for her acrylic painting “Frolicking,” Camille Woodbury for her mixed media “Autumn Glow,” Rhonda Ford for her gouache painting “Autumn Sumac,” Beth Wright for her oil painting “Forest Majesty,” and to Irene Martinelli for her acrylic skin work “The Autumn Leaves.”  

The St. Michaels Art League is pleased to announce the winners of a new exhibit “Endless Summer” currently at the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library through the end of September.  

Twenty-one library staff members participated in judging 59 works, each voting for their top three choices. The votes were then tallied to select the top vote-getters.     

 The winners are Rhonda Ford for her oil painting “Ta Da!”, Laura Bishop for her pastel “Afternoon Show,” and Ted Mueller for his photograph “Getting Ready for Crabbing.” 

 The exhibit can be viewed in the library’s meeting room during their regular hours through September. The Easton Library is located at 100 W. Dover St.  Work for sale through the artist.  For more information about the St. Michaels Art League and its activities visit Smartleague.org. 

The St. Michaels Art League (SMAL) is pleased to present an exhibit during the month of October at the Easton branch of the Talbot County Free Library with the theme “Capturing Autumn.”  

Multiple mediums and forms of expression of this flamboyant season are featured – from abstract to realism. 

The exhibit will be judged by Laura Era. Laura is an award-winning portrait and landscape artist and the owner of the Troika Gallery in Easton.  The Troika Gallery is located at 9 S. Harrison St. in Easton, MD. For more information visit lauraera.com or troikagallery.com.  

The library is located at 100 Dover St. in Easton.  The exhibit is free and open to the public. Library hours are Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Artwork for sale through the artist.  

For more information about this exhibit or other SMAL activities visit smartleague.org. 

Join members of the St. Michaels Art League (SMAL) for their biggest event, the annual “Under the Tent” Labor Day Weekend Show and Sale on Saturday, August 31st and Sunday, September 1st at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, located at 304 South Talbot Street in St. Michaels.  The exhibit is free and open to the public. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

More than 30 SMAL artists in multiple mediums are featured. Hundreds of works depicting local scenes and subjects are for sale. Artist demos will also be held during the event. This is the perfect opportunity to purchase original artwork by many award-winning SMAL artists. Meet the artists and learn more about the St. Michaels Art League and its activities. 

Many of the framed designs for the “Celebrate St. Michaels” banners that hang on Talbot Street will also be for sale, as well as original street banners from previous years.  

For more information, visit smartleague.org. The St. Michaels Art League is partly funded by a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council with revenue provided by the Maryland State Arts Council.   

The St. Michaels Art League (SMAL) is pleased to announce the winners of their 2024 Members Show featuring all mediums.

The exhibit was judged by Gail Patterson, Director and Curator of the online gallery spiralisgallery.com which also has a brick-and-mortar location, “The Zebra and Spiralis Galleries” located at 5 N. Harrison St. in Easton.    

First Place was awarded to Rhonda Ford for her oil Painting “Downtime.”  Second Place went to Georgette Toews for her oil painting “Waiting.”  Third place was awarded to Beth Wright for her gouache painting “A Man Walks into a Bar.”  Honorable mentions went to Michael Iandolo for his oil painting “Jazz,” to George Sass for his photograph “Under the Boardwalk,” to Donna Finley for her pastel “Majestic Sanctuary” and to Irene Martinelli for her acrylic painting titled “Geisha.”  

For more information about the St. Michaels League and its activities visit Smartleague.org.  

The St. Michaels Art League is sponsoring a 3-day workshop with award-winning watercolorist Leo Kahl, from Saturday, June 8th- to Monday, June 10th, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels.  

Leo Kahl enjoyed a career as an Industrial Designer for several decades while his love of the visual arts continued to grow.  He worked with several mediums before deciding to focus on watercolor because of its unique attributes: spontaneity, unpredictability, and simplicity.

In the workshop, Leo will demonstrate his step-by-step approach to creating paintings that capture the character and mystery of his subject through the sophisticated use of color, value, and light.  In Leo’s words, “I’ll methodically guide you through this simple but very misunderstood medium.” Visit leokahlwatercolors.com for more information about the artist.

The cost of the 3-day workshop is $300 for SMAL members and $350 for non-members.  To register visit smartleague.org and click on “Classes and Workshops” on the drop-down menu. The registration deadline is May 24th.  Space is limited. For more contact Beth Wright at [email protected].

The St. Michaels Art League is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Banner Artwork Show. This is the artwork used to create the banners displayed on the town’s utility poles beginning each year in April, through November.        

This year’s banner art was judged by Kevin Snelling, artist and owner of the Creative Xpressions Framing Shop and gallery located at 204 S. Talbot St. in St. Michaels. Kevin is also one of SMAL’s partners in banner production as he creates the digital scans of the artwork for transferring to the banners. His shop also sells framed and unframed “Celebrate St. Michaels’ posters.  

First Place was awarded to Maryellyn Lynott for her oil painting “Dreaming,” Second Place went to Mary Ellen Mabe for her oil painting “Justine’s,” and Sharon Thorpe was awarded Third Place for her collage “Summer Feast.”   Honorable Mentions went to Joan Cranor for her watercolor “Balancing Act” and to Sherry Smith for her watercolor “Rockfish.” The award for best representation of St. Michaels went to Kathleen Rosenberger for her painting titled “The Nao Trinidad Visits the Maritime Museum.”  

 Most of the framed original artwork used to create this year’s banners will be on display at “The Blue Crab” coffee shop during the month of June.  The Blue Crab offers a variety of breakfast and lunch items and is located at 102 S. Fremont St. in St. Michaels. Original artwork may be purchased.

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council with revenue provided by the Maryland State Arts Council.  

 

Image: 

Maryellyn Lynott “Dreaming”