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Open Studio Tours and Adirondack Art Trails
My family likes to take part in art walks and gallery openings in and out of the Adirondack Park. We enjoy the arts and with a beautiful backdrop like the Adirondacks, what better place is there to explore art and nature?
This weekend area artists open their doors for the monthly Saranac Lake Artworks Studio Tours. With live demonstrations, artists create and showcase their original work while visitors take part in self-guided tours. Each month the list of artists alters slightly. The upcoming studio tour days will be July 27-29, August 31-September 2, September 28-30, October 27-29, and November 30-December 2. » Continue Reading.
Riverfront Arts Fest In Warrensburgh Friday
An Adirondack Riverfront Arts Festival will take place Friday, July 27 from 3 to 6 pm at the Warrensburgh Riverfront Farmers’ Market, down by the river on State Route 418.
There will be demonstrations and sales of “Made in the Adirondacks” hand-crafted work. Demonstrations will include blacksmithing, rustic furniture building, paper bead making, basketry, jewelry design, spinning, painting, and more. » Continue Reading.
Film Forum Name Change, 2018 Festival Moved To October
The Adirondack Film Society (AFS) has announced a re-brand of their premier film event, the Lake Placid Film Forum (LPFF), and will celebrate its nearly 20-year history with a gala tribute to the AFS-LPFF’s co-founder on October 25th.
The Lake Placid Film Forum has been re-named the Lake Placid Film Festival, and the stated theme of the 2018 film festival is “Diversity.” » Continue Reading.
Essex County Arts & Crafts Festival August 1st
On Wednesday, August 1, this year’s second Essex County Arts & Crafts Festival will take place at the Essex County Fairgrounds in Westport from 10 am to 6 pm.
Nearly 40 local artists and crafters from 16 towns in Essex County and the neighboring region are expected to exhibit their hand-made creations of use and beauty.
Over 600 visitors attended the last Festival, according to organizers, who said they came from over 130 different zip codes across the country. » Continue Reading.
ROOST Releases 2017 Leisure Travel Study Results
The results of the latest Leisure Travel Information Study concludes a return of $62 for every dollar spent on marketing in 2017. The study also provides comprehensive traveler demographic insight for the Adirondacks’ Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton counties.
For the 14th year, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) contracted an independent third party, PlaceMaking, to conduct a Leisure Travel Information Study, which includes a regional return on marketing investment analysis, plus traveler data for the three counties. » Continue Reading.
Waterski Exhibition, Cardboard Boats Races in Long Lake
For the seventh year, the US Waterski Show Team is coming back to the shores of Long Lake. With new tricks, pyramids, and barefoot skiing, the annual waterski exhibition has spectators lining the shores on July 21 to witness everything from synchronized jumps to quadruple-decker pyramids.
The Scotia NY based water-ski club is also celebrating its 50th anniversary and can be seen weekly on Tuesday nights performing along the Mohawk River, in front of Jumpin’ Jacks Drive. » Continue Reading.
John Casilear’s Love Affair with Lake George (Conclusion)
After a stellar 30-year career as a professional engraver of bank notes, artwork, and other items, John Casilear had left the industry to become a fulltime painter, and a very good one — a creator of lovely, detailed landscapes epitomized by artists of the Hudson River School. Even as the popularity of that genre faded and the American art world followed new paths, he was still the frequent recipient of praise and admiration. General assessments of his artistic capabilities were positive, and even glowing.
“There are very few artists belonging to the American school of landscape painters who have achieved such widespread popularity as John W. Casilear…. Mr. Casilear is a great lover of pastoral scenes, and some of his most notable pictures of this character have been drawn from the neighborhood of Lake George, and the Genesee Valley…. His pictures when sent from the easel are as harmonious as a poem, and it is this perfect serenity in their handling which is so attractive to connoisseurs…. He is one of the most popular landscape painters of the day” (The Art Journal, 1876). » Continue Reading.
Adirondacks National Watercolors Exhibition at VIEW
View, a multi-media arts center located in Old Forge, has announced the opening reception for the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors on Friday August 3rd, 2018, from 5 to 7 pm.
A free public reception will feature hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, and the opportunity to meet with several of the exhibiting artists. » Continue Reading.
Natural Homes: Nests, Burrows, Caves and Trees Art Sought
View, a multi-media arts center in Old Forge, has announced they are seeking artists working in all mediums for the 2018 Natural Homes: Nests, Burrows, Caves & Trees exhibition. Artists are encouraged to creatively interpret the theme of natural homes and will have the chance to receive over $1,000 in awards.
This year’s juror is Jean Stephens, a Rochester, New York native. Jean Stephens received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master’s degree in Art Education from Rochester Institute of Technology. Stephen’s paintings have been selected for national juried exhibitions and are included in private and corporate collections. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Plein Air Festival Marking 10 Years
Who organizes a major event, without ever having taken part in a similar one? An artist would…. we create new things on a blank canvas all the time! I heard about something called Plein Air Festivals over 10 years ago and one day had a brainstorm. It seemed that if you had a scenic location, you could set the dates, invite a bunch of artists, give them a couple days to paint and then hold an exhibit. So without ever having participated in one, I organized the first Adirondack Plein Air Fesitval in Saranac Lake in August 2009.
Why hold a Plein Air Festival? To share the great beauty of the Adirondack environment with new people. Artists who may never have painted in this area, as well as local residents and visitors who may never have considered buying a work of art. A painting of a place you know, or have visited on vacation might be appealing. Or the fact that you could actually watch an artist as they worked, outdoors, on location, and then purchase that very painting! » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Art History: John Casilear’s Commercial Success
In the mid-1850s, John Casilear’s career of more than 30 years as an engraver was gradually coming to an end, leaving him financially comfortable and free to focus on painting. He did just that by taking a second trip to Europe in 1857 to compile a fresh collection of ideas and sketches for future subjects, and to paint. While he was away, pieces of his artwork appeared in the 1858 National Academy of Design (NAD) Exhibition in New York City and earned praise from high sources.
Harper’s Weekly glowed: “Mr. Casilear’s power is in exquisitely delicate, vignette-like sketching…. A dreamy tranquility of atmosphere, with delicate-hued hills, a thoughtful spire, a gleaming brook — beauty in repose, and in detail — these are the subjects in whose delineation Mr. Casilear is so eminently successful.” » Continue Reading.
‘Horse and Rider’ Exhibit: Sport, Pleasure, and Work
Coinciding with the Saratoga Race Course’s 2018 meet, The Hyde Collection will present a new exhibition, Horse and Rider, in its Rotunda Gallery from July 20 through September 9.
Americans have long romanticized their relationship with horses: the majesty of wild mustangs galloping through the plains, the allure of cowboys on horseback driving a herd, the utility of farmers tending their fields with horse-drawn plough, and the grace of racehorses. » Continue Reading.
Puppets For Kids, Adults, Performing At Blue Mtn Lake
The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts in Blue Mountain Lake makes part of its mission to bring arts to the public. Through their traveling Adirondack Lakes Summer Theatre Festival, The Arts Center will bring romantic comedy, the annual free Shakespearean production, and a musical to select Central Adirondack communities.
According to Executive Director Christine Pouch providing art around the Adirondacks is just part of their summer scheduling. At the Blue Mountain Lake Art Center, the summer is packed with craft workshops, live music, and even a fun puppet show with a kid-friendly and adult-friendly version. » Continue Reading.
Gothics and Sawteeth: 19th Century Adirondack Art History
The 19th century paintings and photographs of Keene Valley inspired artists to seek out the depicted images of Nature and experience it for themselves. A number of years ago I fell under the same spell when I looked at the artistic interpretations of the High Peaks as seen from the Ausable Lakes.
Seneca Ray Stoddard (1844-1917) made many photographs of those lakes, including at least two of the view of Gothics and Sawteeth, with and without people. In the version with the boats, the people float within the reflections of the mountains. Stoddard’s guidebook, The Adirondacks: Illustrated, published in 1873 and was reprinted for many years, attracting more visitors to the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
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