It’s almost time for the 2nd Annual Potomac Wildlife Art Show and Auction! I’ll be participating with other artists of the Potomac River Region, and I’m looking forward to a great night. Hope to see you there.
For tickets, visit the Charles County Community Foundation or call my studio at (301) 246-9900.
The show opens today. A few months ago, I was contacted by the Carroll County Arts Council and learned that I had been chosen to represent Charles County in a state-wide art exhibit. I was very excited to find out that the show would feature one Artist from every county in Maryland, and my artwork would be displayed with 23 others.
The dilemma was trying to choose which artwork to send to the show. I enlisted the help of my family and friends. The final votes determined that my portrait of businessman and Charles County native, Howard Bowie, would travel to Westminster, Maryland for the two month exhibit.
This portrait seems to be everyone’s favorite. I love it, too. I wasn’t sure about sending a portrait for the exhibit, because the artwork at Restating the Arts will also be offered for sale. Most portrait paintings and drawings aren’t sold at shows or galleries, they are commissioned. I decided that since there was only one spot at the exhibit to stand in for Charles County and me, this portrait was a good choice. It is one of my favorites, and Howard Bowie was an important part of Southern Maryland history with the development of Charles County in the 60s and 70s. He was also extremely important to my own development and history. So, to honor my Grandfather, his portrait will be exhibited to represent Charles County from now until June 7, 2008.
The exhibit opens with a champagne reception Friday, April 4th. The Tevis Gallery is located in the Carroll Arts Center, Westminster, Maryland. For more information, call the Center at 410-848-7272.
OK, I’m in trouble now! A few weeks ago I planned to start a mural in my son’s room. I told everyone in the Southern Maryland Business Network that they could check the progress at the ArtNews page of my Tracey Harris Art website. Well, I got distracted with other projects and deadlines, and so far, this is the state of the Motocross Mural:
Nice shade of blue, isn’t it? This is the wall where I will eventually be painting a portrait of Alex on his dirtbike bursting through the wall! So we’ll call this STAGE ONE: MX MURAL. Stay tuned for STAGE TWO….
Now, I haven’t been totally idle. I have some cool projects coming up. I recently was chosen by the Charles County Arts Alliance to represent Charles County in a Maryland state-wide art show called Restating the Arts. The show will feature one artist from each county in Maryland. It is sponsored by the Carroll County Arts Council and is taking place in Westminster, Maryland from April 3 - June 7, 2008. There will be an Artists’ Reception on Friday, April 4, 2008 from 5:30 to 7:30. If you’d like more information, just contact me or call our studio at (301)246-9900.
Another Special Project I’m working on is the 2nd Annual Potomac River Wildlife Art Show and Auction to benefit the Community Foundation of Charles County. I’m really excited about this show! The Community Foundation is bringing back an upscale Wildlife Art show to Southern Maryland. It will be Friday, June 20, 2008 at the Waldorf Jaycees Community Center. I’ll give you a link to their website where you can find out more, but first you have to take a peek at a new piece I’m working on for the show…
The working title is Vegas Turtles. This is the beginning of the second stage of my painting. I love turtles, and these guys remind me of Spring. One of the first signs of Spring, for me, is to see the turtles come out to bask in the sun. These particular turtles were basking in a very unlikely place… The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas! Irving & I were in Vegas for a photo convention with Irving Harris Photography. We had seen enough of the loud, bright, obnoxious scenes of the Strip, and went in search of something that would fit our tastes a little more. Right in the middle of the noise, filth, and bling of Vegas we found this sanctuary of serene beauty! We spent a lot of our time between classes at the Flamingo’s mini jungle, taking pictures of the natural wildlife.
To see the finished painting, sign up for the Potomac Wildlife Art Show & Auction. See you there!
There’s still time to visit the Charles County Commissioners’ Gallery in La Plata, Maryland. This is a solo exhibit of the nature-inspired artwork of Tracey L. Harris. The art will be on display from December 1, 2007 to January 30, 2008.
Hand-signed giclee prints and note cards featuring the River Life artwork are available for purchase by contacting Harris Studios at 301-246-9900. Send an email directly to the artist at info@traceyharrisart.com, or post a comment right here. The Commissioners Gallery is located in the Charles County Government Building at 200 Baltimore Street in La Plata, Maryland.
I know! I’ve been pretty slack when it comes to keeping up with my ArtNews blog! The photo studio, Irving Harris Photography, has kept me busy with weddings, high school senior portraits, school pictures at SMCA, and Family Portrait Month!
Here’s some other stuff I’ve been doing:
Motocross of Nations at Budds Creek: Sketch from the race will be posted soon! I took my son, Alex to the race with the 85,000 other MX fans from all over the world! It was crazy! I’ve never seen anything like it! And, yes, I sat there with my dorky sketch book and tried to catch the action.
Annual Lobster Festival: The Rotary Club of La Plata had their Lobster Festival at the Charles County Fairgrounds on Sept. 30th. My husband, Irving Harris, is a member, so we spent the day listening to Deanna Bogart, enjoying lobster & beer, and catching up with old & new friends.
Autumn Business to Business Expo by the Charles County Chamber of Commerce: As a member of the Southern Maryland Business Network (smbn), my job this year was to help design the booth for our group. It was lots of work, but also a lot of fun! Thanks for all the compliments, sorry we didn’t win this time!
CSM Celebration of the Arts: Two of my giclee prints were auctioned off at this black tie event on September 22nd. If you were an auction winner, make sure you contact me! I’d love to know where my artwork is making its new home. The two pieces auctioned were In a Mother’s Arms and Native Buffalo. Thanks to Toni Kruszka at the College of Southern Maryland for contacting me to participate in this event. She sent me this photo of my artwork at the Auction:
And finally, my nephew, Trey said he saw me in the Independent on Friday, October 5th….
There I was, in black and white, painting faces at the Ironsides Rescue Squad’s Annual Cow Chip Bingo! God, I love Southern Maryland!!
Here’s the link from the MD Independent: “Cow chip bingo is udderly vulgar, but it moooves people”
So, there ya go! That’s a sampling of the things that have kept me away!
Looks like we’ll be buying our own crabs this summer! The winner of the Southern MD Business Network seafood feast was Petra Richter.
Congratulations, Petra! We hope you enjoy every part of that incredible summer party!
SMBN raised over $8000 for the Humane Society of Charles County with the raffle!
Thank You to everyone who purchased tickets and donated toward this fund raising effort. To learn more about Southern Maryland Business Network, visit our website at http://www.smbn.org
No weddings or Art Shows or Motocross Races this weekend….
Just a CHURCH FULL-A KIDS for Vacation Bible School!
Irving, Alex, Brooke & I are members and active volunteers at First Baptist Church of Welcome. We spent the past few days teaching Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grades for Vacation Bible School! More importantly, we lived to tell about it! It was the largest turnout of children and volunteers
our little church just west of La Plata has ever had! Our class had 21 kids!
Irving, Alex & I had a great time with all of the “athletes” at Game Day Central. We had some challenges as we adjusted to our small space, but we worked it all out and made lots of new friends. Brooke was an assistant coach in the recreation field house, which was everyone’s favorite part of the day.
(Well, if you don’t count snack time!)
Thanks to all the parents who sent us your children! We worked long hours to put it all together
and make it a fun time. We’ve already started making plans for next Summer! (Hint… we’ll be heading to the Islands next time)
It’s been a busy week, but here are some photos of Saturday’s Artist’s Reception at the Cobb Island Art Gallery.
This was the first time I had been inside the Cobb Island Gallery. It’s really a cool place! Linda Riggs, the owner, has done a great job creating an open, friendly and beautiful place for the community to go for local art. Its much more than just an Art Gallery, though. There’s something for everyone. There are sitting areas for coffee & snacks, wireless internet access, Yankee Candles, hand made jewelry, pottery, scarves… definitely a unique and welcome find in Charles County!
This is Mary Agnes Swann of the Mattawoman Creek Art Center, Tracey (me), and Therese Theideman of the Charles County Arts Alliance.
Its always good to have support, and these two ladies work endlessly to promote local artists! I’ve known Mary Agnes since I was a little kid in 4-H!
This is another one of my favorite people. Elaine and her husband, Bill came out to the reception to see my artwork. I’ve been teaching Elaine how to paint in watercolor recently. Its been difficult to coordinate our schedules, but she really doesn’t need much help from me! She’s a talented artist already.
I’m glad I put forth the effort to be a part of this show. I was inspired and encouraged to see so many people visit Cobb Island for an art show opening.
It’s not too late to visit! This show will be on exhibit through August 16th. The gallery is open and the coffee’s ready!
Here’s the web address of the gallery:
www.cobbislandgallery.com
How would you like to celebrate summer with a Southern Maryland feast delivered right to your door?
I’m selling raffle tickets with my business group (Southern Maryland Business Network). The winner will have the feast delivered anywhere in Charles County!
If you win, you’ll get all this:
1 Bushel Steamed Crabs
5 lbs. Large Steamed Shrimp
2 dozen hot dogs & rolls
2 dozen Homegrown Corn
Watermelon
Desserts
The tickets are only $5 each! We’ll be drawing the winner on July 31st, so get your tickets now before they’re all gone!
We’ll be at PetsMart in Waldorf this Sunday, July 22nd to sell the last of the tickets. Don’t miss out! All proceeds will be donated to
the Humane Society of Charles County. Good Luck!
Visit the Cobb Island Gallery between July 16th and August 16th to see my artwork along with lots of other Artists of Charles County. Hand-signed prints and Original artwork will be available for sale.
I’ll be there Saturday, July 21st for a wine & cheese reception from 4 - 6 p.m. Come by & visit!
The Gallery is located just over the bridge on Neale Sound Drive in Cobb Island. You can also call the Gallery at (301) 259-4900.
Post a comment & let me know if you’ll be there!
