Spy Art Review: American Modernist Blanche Lazzell by Steve Parks
Blanche Lazzell never achieved great fame – or fortune for that matter. But she was widely admired by fellow artists, several of whom she studied with or were tutored in her signature technique, which is captured in several of her woodblock prints in the Academy Art Museum exhibit of her wide-ranging works in “Becoming an American Modernist.” […]
Mid-Shore Arts Plein Air Easton and ESLC Pair Up to Promote Land Conservation
Plein Air Easton introduced a new collaboration during its just-concluded 20th anniversary festival with the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. This invitational for past and current PAE artists was intended to connect art to the cause of – guess what? – land conservation. Eighteen artists participated in the exhibit that ran through the end of the […]
Spy Theater Review: Tennessee Williams’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
The Factory describes itself as a “community arts project [providing] creative space for individuals to explore their passion for the performing arts.” And although I didn’t get a chance to see this stunning company debut in the “evocative atmosphere of our open-air venue,” I can say that the performance lived up to The Factory’s promise […]
Plein Air ‘Meet the Artists Party’ and More by Steve Parks
Among the 58 artists competing in the 20th anniversary Plein Air Easton festival, one who planted his easel along a water view from the sumptuous greens of Wye Heights Plantation, was John Brandon Sills of Cockeysville, making his 17th appearance in one of the leading events of its kind in the United States. Of the […]
Easton Art Galleries Host Plein Air Shows by Steve Parks
On Plein Air Easton/s opening night, July 12, Trippe Gallery celebrates with its “Variations 3.0: 1 Photograph, 15 Painters” exhibit and party. This third annual “Variation,” like its predecessors, is in part a contest involving both artists and appreciators. Fifteen painters participating in the Plein Air festival create their own interpretations of a single photo […]
Concert Review: Chestertown’s National Festival by Steve Parks
The National Music Festival, now in the orchestral phase of its two-week residency at Washington College, performed one of its signature apprentice-and-mentor concerts Saturday night, anchored by Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, better known as “The Scottish Symphony,” conducted by festival artistic director Richard Rosenberg. Most of the players in these symphonic concerts are talented […]
Concert Review: Chamber Music Fest Opening Night, by Steve Parks
The Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival celebrated its 39th annual opening night on Friday with a diverse medley of classics performed by its longtime lineup of globally acclaimed musicians along with scene-stealing guest artistry by a young Grammy-nominated string quartet known for its dressed-for-fun virtuosity. The only apparent hitch in the evening had nothing to do […]
Dar Williams & Friend Together in Song at the Avalon by Steve Parks
“I won’t forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand I said I was a boy I’m glad he didn’t check I learned to fly, I learned to fight I lived a whole life in one night.” –“When I Was a Boy,” Dar Williams She was born Dorothy Snowden Williams. One of […]
Spy Art Reviews: From Heirlooms to Master Antiquity Prints by Steve Parks
Heirlooms are defined in dictionaries as “valuable objects that belonged to a family for generations.” The word “valuable” in that description is highly subjective. Such objects likely have value to family members or descendants. But they may or may not have monetary as opposed to sentimental value. “Darlene R. Taylor: Heirlooms,” at the Academy Art […]
Spy Review: They’re All Winners in this Contest by Steve Parks
A trio who got together barely nine months ago – late in the summer of 2023 – came away with the top prize of $10,000 in the 11th biennial Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition Saturday at Easton’s exquisite Ebenezer Theater. The Amara Trio, who met at Manhattan’s prestigious and hugely competitive Juilliard School, performed a […]