Artist Invite

New Bedford Open Studios is extending an invitation to artists of Martha’s Vineyard to participate in the 2011 open studios event. Island artists may join over 100 visual artists, galleries and museums showcasing their work to the public during the first weekend of October. Vineyard artists can be placed in one of the artist-mill-buildings for that weekend, or create an exhibition in a space organizers will help you find. Performing artists, filmmakers, musicians are also encouraged to participate.

The Old Sculpin Gallery was full of lively energy and a crowd of people on Sunday. It was the show for the scholarship winners of the Martha’s Vineyard Arts Association.

This year’s winners are Isaac Hurwitz and Kira Shipway; the alternate is Tova Katzman.

Each of the three recent high school graduates presented an impressive array of work, stretching across mediums and subject matters.

If you visit the Alison Shaw Gallery during its opening this Memorial Day weekend, you may find yourself among the many who are inspired to go out and make photographs as calmly arresting and as quintessentially Vineyard as Ms. Shaw’s. If this is the case, the best remedy might be a copy of Ms. Shaw’s new book, Photographing Martha’s Vineyard: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them.

Plein Air, Plus Critique

On Thursday, June 30 at 6 p.m., oil painter Meg Mercier will give a brief gallery talk about her plein air paintings on view at the Old Sculpin Gallery in Edgartown.

The evening will also include a constructive critique by folk artist Brian Kirkpatrick for anyone who wishes to bring in a work in progress. Contact the gallery for more details at 508-627-4881, mvaa@verizon.netor or visit oldsculpingallery.org.

Art, Art Everywhere

To be an art lover on Martha’s Vineyard during Memorial Day weekend is to be awash in color, hue, style and substance. Take a stroll almost anywhere on the Island and the sounds of art appreciation, not to mention wine and snacks, will lure you in for a bounty of riches. But why take a chance on missing out on any one artist? Check out the list below and start your motor running.

At first you can’t tell what the paintings are. Then you notice the gruesome red spot on one, the shape of a head on the second, the bodily form lying there on the third; three paintings playing with your perception of a man who has been shot in the head.

The artist is Walker Roman, 21, who is one of four featured artists at Shephard Fine ArtSpace’s show that opened last Saturday.

Arts and Culture

A summer preview of Vineyard arts and culture will be heldat the Grange Hall in West Tisbury on June 7 from 2 to 6 p.m.

A Thomas Hart Benton Vineyard landscape painting will go on the auction block Thursday at the Swann Galleries in New York city. The painting is from Mr. Benton’s early work, estimated to have been painted in the 1920s when Mr. Benton and his wife, Rita, first began summering on the Vineyard. Titled Landscape, Martha’s Vineyard, the painting is oil on paper, circa 1922-24.

The painting’s more abstract look is indicative of Benton’s early to mid-career work, according to Todd Weyman, a Benton expert at Swann Galleries.

A Moment With Ray Ellis

Staring deeply into a painting, first from up close, then from afar, maybe trying a different angle or two to wander amidst the nuance of light and shadow is a beautiful journey. Viewer and art together on a tour of discovery.

But sometimes one desires a steady hand to lead this dance or at least fill in some background information on how art became art: Just what was the original inspiration and how much perspiration did it take to bring this painting to life?

Artists Unite for Japan

This Sunday, June 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. a group of local artists are gathering to help children in crisis as a result of the tsunami in Japan. The artists include Mark Zeender, Hiroko Thomson, Carrie Mae Smith, Elizabeth Cecil, Jocelyn Filley, Meg Bodnar and Greg Watson. Well, most are local. Hiroko doesn’t live here, but she’s a grandmother to locals which means her Island roots are not just deep but most likely spreading good vibes down at the playground as we speak.