St. Augustine, FL Cutter & Cutter Fine Art, March 1-31
This story was featured in the March/April 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
THE BEST OF the best from the world of representational oil painting across North America converge at Cutter & Cutter Fine Art in St. Augustine, FL, on Friday, March 1, for the opening night of the Virtuosos of the OPA show and sale. All of the 150 paintings in the show were created either by Master Signature members—such as Ned Mueller, Joyce Pike, Roger Dale Brown, Huihan Liu, Kathy Anderson, Jeff Legg, and Zhiwei Tu—or by Signature members. A highlight of the evening reception is the announcement of awards worth a total of $10,000. Internationally acclaimed figure and still-life painter Daniel E. Greene, who himself proudly bears the Master Signature designation, serves as the juror of awards.
Founded in 1991, the OPA dedicates itself to advancing traditional representational art through a range of activities that include workshops, seminars, demonstrations, critiquing programs, online showcases, annual regional shows, and the prestigious annual national exhibition (coming to St. George, UT, in May). The Virtuosos show, however, offers something different.
“Masters are automatically accepted into the show without a jurying process,” explains Louisville, KY-based painter John Michael Carter, an OPA past president, current board member, and Master Signature member. He is represented in the show by his recent painting ROMANCE, a beguiling scene that portrays a young woman reading on the floor, her head and elbow supported by pillows and her foot propped up on a chair. “I’m looking for a play of objective and nonobjective shapes here,” he says of the way his presentation combines realistic renderings with intriguing touches of abstraction.
In that same spirit, current OPA president Kurt Anderson, who’s based in Tucson, is showing SUNFLOWERS II, a lively, vibrant image that represents his recent, less conventional approaches to the still-life genre. “For juried exhibitions,” he explains, “I’ve [usually] been represented by the more traditional still-life style, but this time I’m going to show a more contemporary painting.”
One of the most recently minted Signature members in the show is Karen Budan of Scottsdale. Retired in 2007 after 38 years as an educator, and a longtime amateur artist, she became a full-time professional in 2009, joined the OPA in 2013, and received the letter notifying her of her elite new status in the organization in January. “Needless to say, I’ve told all my friends,” she laughs. “It’s just great to be among people I’ve admired for years.” Her photo-realistic oil POOL SHOTS—a captivating composition of billiard balls, striped paper, and reflective silver shot glasses—suggests the variety and range of exceptional works that are on display.
Beginning and seasoned collectors alike can find prices in the show ranging from just under $1,000 to more than $10,000. But whether visitors are purchasing or just looking, they’ll come away, notes Anderson, having seen the latest creations from “the top tier of representational painting today.” —Norman Kolpas
contact information904.810.0460www.cutterandcutter.com
This story was featured in the March/April 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
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