Coming Up


April 2024
Sunday, April 7, 2024
General Meeting
Madison House, Madison, NJ
2pm-4pm
Demo Artist: Renee Leopardi



About the Artist

Renee is an award-winning pastel painter residing and exhibiting in New Jersey. She was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. After high school, she immediately joined the work force and began attending night school at the University of Cincinnati, earning an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts while working at Proctor & Gamble in the IT department supporting clinical trials.  During those years, she met many wonderful people, one of which is her husband, who grew up in southern New Jersey.  In 2002, she relocated to New Jersey to start a family.

From early childhood, she was interested in art and found ways to create during her free time. In 2008, she took an Advanced Painting workshop at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia.  From then on, she knew her focus had to change.  Since that first workshop, she has continued to further her art education through workshops and independent study.

Her newest works are primarily pastel paintings of local scenery and people.  Through her studies, she realized that painting with pastels has pushed her to explore and create more than she thought she could.  Working with pastels can be quick and expressive in a way she was not finding before and has given her painting style a turn toward impressionism. 

She finds inspiration while teaching pastel painting classes and workshops as well as the local seasonal landscapes of southern New Jersey; from the ocean and marshes to creeks and woods to farmland. 

For more information about Renee’s current body of work, exhibition locations, awards and current class schedules, visit www.ReneeLeopardi.com.

"Crash"
6" x 9"

"September Sunset"
11" x 14"

"Orchid Drama"
10" x 20"

Past Meetings/Demonstrations

October 2023
Sunday, October 22, 2023
General Meeting
Madison House, Madison, NJ
2pm-4pm
Demo Artist: Laurie Harden: Upside Down Portraits

Artist Statement

Painting and Drawing are an addiction for me- I HAVE to create. For many years I have been interested in expressing the universal emotions, concerns and hopes of all peoples across the globe. I hope to express our commonality in an effort to promote compassion and empathy. 12 years ago I was exploring this theme with my friend, photographer Pam Hasegawa, in an exhibit called "Around the World", which we took to several galleries. We followed that up with another traveling exhibit, a few years later, called "Faces of the World".

 I think an artist needs to continue growing and exploring so they don't stagnate. Experimentation can be exciting and playful, frustrating and fulfilling- but necessary for the growth of the artist. I love being able to switch mediums from oils to pastels to mixed media to charcoal- as it keeps me fresh. I have dabbled in many forms of expression including printmaking, illustration and collage. As an Art Teacher I primarily teach Drawing, Figure Drawing, Portraiture, Oil Painting and Pastels to adults- but with my children's classes we have tried everything, which is as inspirational to the teacher as to the student.

I have been exploring different techniques and modes of expression which have led to 3 new series. I like to work in series as they prompt me to thoroughly explore a subject and to see where each new work will take me.   I have tried to merge aspects of these series in order to continue the exploration.   I have always enjoyed painting colorful portraits, but have taken this style in a bolder & more dramatic direction.

The impulse to drip paint led to the joy of splattering canvases with acrylic paints and then painting oil portraits on top, while trying to integrate the abstraction and colors into the figure. Colors carry meanings, emotions and moods with them, so it was natural for me to express a variety of emotions through my portraiture.

I have always tried to express the Universal Humanity and Commonality of People. The “Black Lives Matter” movement gave impetus to my endeavor to express the emotions we all feel, while doing so in a colorful, dramatic way.

April 2023

Two-day workshop with Jory Mason for PSNJ



General Meeting April 30, 2023
Madison Community House
Demonstrator: Brian Bailey
2pm-4pm

 


January 2023
Zoom Demo: Mark Ivan Cole
"Mountain Wonders"
1pm Eastern Time
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Meeting ID: 826 2211 0548
Passcode:437842

Artist Statement 

I am an avid explorer of the outdoors, and that experience informs and influences my creative work. I want my paintings, music and writing to convey the emotions I feel in a specific place, breathing the air and taking in the surroundings. My work also explores my “Inner Visions,” scenes created from my imagination. These, too, are based on observations and my responses to both natural and man-made environments. I hope that my love of the natural world inspires others to cherish this planet on which we live.


General Meeting, Sunday, October 30th, 2022
1:30pm-5pm
In person : Madison House, Madison, NJ
Demonstrator: Cecile Houel: Portrait from Life

The demonstrator for our in person General Meeting is French-American artist Cecile Houel. Cecile divides her time between Iowa and France. She has dedicated her life to her art, always pushing technical limits but always staying true to her own artistic identity. Her fascination with Humanity is expressed in her sensitive portraits. She has reached international acclaim in the world of pastels and is known for her project “Nobel Peace Prize Collection: Peace Starts Within.” Cecile has developed a special technique for her portrait painting that she will share.

Meeting ID: 881 9854 5297