Welcome

Springfield Art Guild presents

Green Spring Gardens Arts in The Garden sponsored by The Friends of Green Spring

“Garden Dreams”

Art Show and Sale

November 14, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Green Spring Gardens Park, 4603 Green Spring Rd, Alexandria, VA 22312, 703-642-5173
Mon-Sat 9am-4:30pm, Sun 12-4:30pm

Juried Show

Reception at Green Spring Gardens Park: November 19, 2023 1-3pm

The SAG Green Spring Gardens annual art show is a Juried Show with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention ribbons to be awarded as well as the SAG Founders Award. Cash awards will be presented. There is a 30% commission on all sales that will benefit The Friends of Green Spring. The focus of all artwork is on flora, fauna, and local landscapes and historical buildings.

This year the art will be juried in by professional artist, Debra Keirce.

Debra Keirce
Originally from Detroit, Debra Keirce is an accomplished fine artist. In her Northern Virginia studios, she paints traditional scenes and illusions in oils up to four feet tall, with a specialty in true miniature pieces as small as your palm.

Debra has earned several honors in acclaimed art circles. She is proud to be a US coast guard artist, and winner of the 2022 George Gray award. She is the recipient of a rare artist residency at sea with crew on the U.S. National Security Cutter Stone. Also, eleven of her paintings were commissioned and are hanging prominently in the newly remodeled Boston Langham 5 star hotel. Debra is an Art Renewal Center Living Master, (ARCLM) and holds signature memberships in the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society, American Women Artists, Southwest Artists, and Miniature Artists of America.

She is also a juried member of several societies, including Copley Society of Art (as well as their juried portrait registry,) Salmagundi Club, International Guild of Realism, Women Artists of the West, and American Artists Professional League.

Debra had a career as a biochemical design engineer in the 1980’s and 1990’s. She has studied painting and drawing with many instructors and programs over the years, but is currently working through the Ani Art Academies curriculum that was created by trompe l’oeil painter Anthony Waichulis. In 2010 she turned her passion for the visual arts into a full time career.

Judge’s Statement: 
It’s always a very lengthy and considered assignment when I judge an exhibition. By definition, there are more pieces deserving of recognition than there are awards to give. So, I find it useful to have a judging rubric handy for making choices. The key categories in my judging process are so much more involved than what I can write here. This is but a summary.

Impact – Strong shadow and color shapes, bold and inviting abstractions. What’s interesting? What makes you stop and take notice?
Message – Clear sense of what I feel as a viewer. Which senses are engaged? What narratives run through my head?
Creativity – What spin did the artist put into the work? What makes it special?
Presentation – Museum worthy?
The Experience – Does it make me think? Would a series of these be a good experience? Am I learning?
Technical – Well executed. If realistic, are forms, symmetries, etc. consistent? If abstract or graphic or another genre, is it the best it can be in that category?

I recently wrote an article for Bold Brush’s blog, where I described my judging process in more detail. The link to that article is here: https://fineartviews.com/blog/187237/judge-not-lest-ye-be-judged

Please scroll down through this page to see all the artwork.
All artwork is for sale.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the artwork please contact Pat Hafkemeyer at Pat.Hafkemeyer@cox.net