MFCA Show Highlights
As always, the MFCA show offers a truly stunning assembly of flats, rounds, toy soldiers and even canvas art for the show-goes to enjoy. This year was no different. One exciting thing for me was meeting two gentlemen from Scotland, one of whom is a member of the Society. Thanks for making the trip, guys!
Some random highlights: Bill Merklein, noted sculptor, has been trying his hand at sculpting flats. His painting style is somewhat impressionistic, and the figures look quite good and more to the artsy side.
There was some excellent canvas art, including my favorite by Walt Damon, still life with bullets. Penny Meyer’s Napoleon and Buttercup (Cow) was executed on a rough surface that reminded one of the walls of an old house.
Catherine Cesario Poisson was not present this year, but her husband Richard brought her latest work: Nymphea, which was nothing short of spectacular in both execution and subtlety. Charles Gravallese got the best flat award for his Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Penny Meyer’s “Byzantine” is a flat mounted on a piece of translucent mineral rock. Penny says it combines her two interests: painting and minerals. The effect is stunning. Penny also did a demonstration on painting using the grisaille technique (black and white under painting with oil colors on top. The gallery shows two examples of how a grisaille looks about half done.
Walt Damon gets my “Thinking Outside the Box” award for his humpty dumpty, which started life as a lapel pin which was painted then mounted in relief on an oil painted background. His Jefferson is a composition of some wood he found in a carpenter’s scrap pile, a bias relief figure of Jefferson, and some very expert background painting of the Virginia state house through the window of a room. Note also Jefferson’s quilted vest. Some great painting and thinking went on here.
Just some of the flats-related highlights from the show.
Please visit my gallery in the Gallery section of this site for pictures of these pieces.
Link:
http://www.intflatfigures.org/index.php?action=gallery;cat=43
