News from Billy Monday
Obsessive Compulsion, 2010Show at the Contemporary Art School and Gallery
I’m happy to announce the opening of a show at the Contemporary Art School and Gallery in Hagerstown, MD. Monika Wertman and I both have 9 or 10 pieces on display. At a recent show at CASGI, Monika won “Best in Show - Color” and I won “Best in Show - Black and White”. Subsequently we were awarded a few weeks in the gallery.
My work in the show is all black and white material, from 2009 and 2010. It’s a mix of environmental nudes and studio work, mostly pieces which have not been shown before. One of those images, “Obsessive Compulsion,” is shown here. Monika has assembled some of her beautiful still-lives and some very evocative portraits.
The opening is on Saturday, June 5, from 3pm to 6pm. This corresponds with the Western Maryland Blues Fest, and is a great day to visit Hagerstown! The gallery is located right downtown, at 4 West Franklin Street. I hope to see you there!
Ablemuse Anthology, 2010Ablemuse Anthology
I was glad to be contacted by Alexander Pepple, the editor of ablemuse.com, about his upcoming publishing project. Ablemuse is a site rich in the literary arts but each edition also features inspiring visual art pieces. The combination is stimulating and compelling, and I now find myself reading the site on a regular basis.
Alex was asking about my photography for his upcoming book, Ablemuse Anthology. After some discussion and review of my images, he selected an image for the cover (shown here) and also a couple of images to print inside the book. It sounds like a wonderful project and I’m eagerly anticipating it’s release so I can add it to my shelves. The cover photo features Melissa Troutt, a professional figure model from the DC area. Also in the book will be Arch Rock and Claire #5, both of which can be seen in my slideshow of recent works.
A related development is that I will be Ablemuse.com’s featured artist for the summer edition. Alex has selected 15 photographs for a slideshow presentation and there will be an interview. Keep checking ablemuse for updates, and enjoy the art there!
A Retrospective
Having been approached by a publisher to submit some works for a project, I found myself organizing and going through my more recent images with a new purpose: to present a cohesive overview of my recent photographs. Starting from late 2007, I have gathered 82 images which I consider to be my best and certainly most representative of what I’m trying to achieve.
I settled on displaying the art through an online slideshow, titled Billy Monday | Art of the Female Form.
Making the show was a good exercise, and one which I think I should repeat at least bi-annually. It’s an opportunity to step back and consider the big picture, rather than my usual habit (which is to dwell on whatever the latest image or concept is).
For 2010 and onward, I hope to refine and improve on images like these. Recent successes at shows and contests have buoyed my spirits, the contact list of models is long, and a warm spring is just around the corner. I’m looking forward to showing you my new work!
The 77th Annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon
I’m excited to announce the my image, “The View from Loudon Heights” has won the Juror’s Choice Award at the 77th annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD. The image, along with about 40 other selections, will be on display at the museum through March 22.
I’ve written here about that image before, but I can’t thank Tonya, the model, enough. So again, I must mention that it was FREEZING cold that morning on the mountaintop, and after a steep climb to the location she was very tough and posed for several frames before turning blue. We got out of there while the day was still very young! I saw Tonya the other day, to tell her about the image’s success, and we agreed that (months later) we had forgotten the cold and that we’re happy to have a successful image.
I’d also like to thank Lauren LaRocca from the Frederick News Post for a pleasing article in their “72 Hours” section on Friday, January 22. She was kind enough to meet with me and we had a nice time talking about photography and art in general. She gets to travel all ‘round the region interviewing artists to see what they’re all about. That’s a pretty cool job, if you ask me!
The opening for the show is Sunday, January 24 at 2:30. It would be an honor to see you there.
Autumn Update
It’s been a fantastic summer and fall season here in Maryland. Summer was quite temperate by our standards, and the autumn colors have been brilliant.
Apparently I’m not very good at keeping this news section updated. I should get a bumper sticker which says, “I’d rather be photographing nudes!” But it has been a good season and I feel that I’ve made progress as an artist. I’ve also has good success at finding new models, concentrating on finding subjects in more personal ways than the popular internet connections. I have a number of new subjects who will be appearing in my work over the coming months.
Among the exciting things I’ve been able to capture was the wonderful color this fall. Tonya, a new model from West Virginia, climbed to the summit at the Loudon Heights overlook. It was insanely cold on that mountaintop that morning, but the scene was worth the discomfort.
Another stimulating project has been my “Cave Paintings” series. I’ve found a cave which is more-or-less accessible, and a few intrepid souls who would pose for me in there. Some of the results of the light-paintings done in the cave are in my Cave Paintings Gallery. The image shown is from this series.
I’ll be working in the cave throughout the winter, but I also hope to work on figures with spheres in the studio. So I’m collecting crystal balls, paper globes, any kind of sphere I can find. Hopefully the results will be intriguing.