GO ART!

The Batavia Society of Artists will host its kick-off event for 2019-- a free Artist Mixer -- from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at GO ART! 

It is located in the historic Seymour Place building in Downtown Batavia, 201 E. Main St.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a piece of their artwork to display for the evening.

Enjoy some wine and cheese and talk with other artists from the area.

All levels and mediums welcome.

An Art Book Sale will be available to benefit The Batavia Society of Artists.

Dues to join the society are $30 a year for an individual; $50 for a couple; $10 for students; the drop-in fee for events, programs and demos is $5.

The Board of Directors is comprised of: Teresa Tamfer, Nicole Tamfer, Nancy Brown*, Carole LaValley, Shauna Blake*, Amy DiSalvo and Karen Crittenden. They meet on the second Tuesday of the month.

(*New Board Members)

Here's the rest of the year's lineup; all demos (except En Plein Air) are held at GO ART!:

• March 12 -- Colette Savage Demo of warm undertone painting with pastels, 7 to 9 p.m.
• April 9 -- Mike Killelea Demo of adding people and animals to finished watercolors for interest, 7 to 9 p.m.
• May 9 -- Spring Art Show Reception at Richmond Memorial Library, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• May 18 -- Saturday Sketch Out -- Genesee County Park & Forest Nature Interpretive Center in East Bethany, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• June 11 -- Linda Metcalf Hands-on Demo of encaustics, 7 to 9 p.m.
• July 9 -- Picnic at Kiwanis Park & En Plein Air Demo with Sue Meyer -- Bring a dish to pass, 6 to 9 p.m.
• Aug. 15 -- GO ART! Show Reception -- Upstairs in the Batavia Rotary Club Gallery, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Sept. 10 -- Shauna Blake Hands-on Demo of alcohol inks, 7 to 9 p.m.
• Oct. 8 -- Chris Humel Hands-on Demo of caricatures, 7 to 9 p.m.
• Nov. 12 -- Becky Maynard Demo of acrylic pour ornaments, 7 to 9 p.m.
• Dec. 5 -- Winter Art Show Reception at Richmond Memorial Library, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Dec. 10 -- Christmas Dinner Party at Dibble Family Center, $20 per person, 6 p.m. - 'til ?

The Genesee Jazz Collective played at GO ART! on Thursday night as part of GO ART!'s Fifth Thursday night, this time with a theme of Jazz & Jam. The evening featured P&J sandwiches, live jazz and a jazz jam session.

Members of the Genesee Jazz Collective are: Dan Klinczar on Brass, Mike Grammatico on Sax and Clarinet, Andrew Lawton on Drums, Phil Briatico on Bass, And Brian Goeltz on Guitar.

Joining the Genesee Jazz Collective during the jam session on vocals, Stuart McLean.

GO ART! is open for Jazz & Jam tonight (Jan. 31) as part of its Fifth Thursdays series.

The Genesee Jazz Collective will be performing from 7 to 7:45 p.m.

Then from 8 to 9 p.m. the Genesee Jazz Collective will host an open Jam Session.

Tavern 2.o.1 will be open and will be serving flights of jam sandwiches in honor of the Jam Session -- you get to choose from three fruit jams.

Come on in and break your cabin fever!

GO ART! is located at 201 E. Main St. in the historic Seymour Place building in Downtown Batavia.

Dom Grazioplene became the latest Batavia High School Art student with a solo exhibit at GO ART! this week with a well-attended opening reception last night at Seymore Place. In the video, Grazioplene talks about his approach to art.

Also hosting an opening reception Thursday was Don Fryling, a Redfield Parkway resident, and fine art photographer.

Dom Grazioplene

Don Fryling

GO ART! announces its third annual juried art show entitled "Art of the Rural." Entries will be accepted March 7 –  9. No entries will be accepted after March 9.

Exhibit dates are March 14 -- May 4.

There will be an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at GO ART!, located in the historic Seymour Place building at 201 E. Main St. in Downtown Batavia.

This juried show is open to all artists. All works must be ORIGINAL and created by the submitting artist. Previous entries are not permitted. Any media is acceptable, no larger than 3' X 4'.

All entries must be accompanied by an entry form, and dropped off to GO ART! at Seymour Place.

Fees are due at drop off. GO ART! members may submit up to five works for $30; $5 for each additional work. Non-members may submit up three works for $30; $5 for each additional work.

A jury of selection will review all entries and will choose artwork to be displayed in the exhibit. Notification of the jury's decisions will be made March 12. All results will be sent via email unless otherwise requested. Please make sure to provide a valid email address to receive your jury results.

Cash prizes will be awarded and announced at the opening reception.

For questions please call585-343-9313 or email info@goart.org

For application: visit  www.goart.org/juriedshow

• Jan. 10 -- Ricotta Cheese
• Feb. 14 -- (V-Day) Chocolate Truffles
• March 14 -- Irish Soda Bread
• April 11 -- Carrot Cake
• May 9 -- Handmade Fresh Pasta
• June 13 -- Summer Risotto

Gregory Hallock, executive director of GO ART! holds up the winning ornaments from an ornament-decorating contest for GO ART! members. Tammy Hathaway, the left ornament, won in the adult category and Anna Browne won in the children's category.

GO ART! opened its winter members' art show, Heat Wave, on Thursday night.

Best of Show, "Firebird," by David Burke.

A sculpture, "Forest Floor," by Emily Crawford.

Artist Christopher McGee was at GO ART! on Thursday evening for the opening of his show, "The Rhythms of Nature."

Born in Jamestown, the Clarence-based artist said this is the first time he's had a show for this series of paintings.

He began the series in 2008 while observing landscapes while on road trips throughout Western New York. 

He said, "My experience playing drums in experimental and improvisational noise bands helped me to visually express some of the more mercurial, unpredictable elements in the universe: earthquakes, meteor showers, supernovas, and black holes."

The show runs through Dec. 8.

GO ART! has two other shows on display as well:

• The Batavia Photography Club has photos on display by members through Dec. 8.
• The Traveling Ghost by Ryan Gustman is on display until Nov. 3. Gustman was diagnosed with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and ADHD early in his life. He specializes in photographing abandoned buildings.

Thursday evening saw past presidents and members of The Batavia Club honored for their donation of, what is now, Seymour Place. The building at Main and Bank streets downtown was formerly the home of the men's social club and was built as a bank in 1831.

The Batavia Club sold the building to GO ART! for $1.

Gregory Hallock, executive director, of GO ART! has always been very thankful to the club for its generosity.

“If you look around GO ART!, you will see that almost everything here has a plaque thanking someone for a donation," Hallock said. "But there is no mention of the people that actually gave us the building.”

That changed on Thursday when the bar, now called Tavern 2.0.1 after the address of the building at 201 Main St., was dedicated to The Batavia Club.

Fittingly, a plaque now hangs over the bar, which is more than a century old, dedicating it to The Batavia Club. The old club plaque listing all the past presidents was moved to a prominent location in the bar as well.  

Last spring, Hallock also added a permanent exhibit that is an homage to the artwork that used to adorn the walls when it was the men’s club. If you want to see that collection, ask Hallock for a tour on your next visit. 

Photo of Rochester artist Brian O'Neill, courtesy of Batavia Society of Artists.

Information provided by the Batavia Society of Artists:

The Batavia Society of Artists is excited to announce that the demonstrating artist at GO ART! on Tuesday, Sept. 11th, will be Brian O'Neill, a Rochester Art Club Signature Member and internationally known fine art painter.

The artist's contemporary, dynamic and expressive abstract paintings are really fantastic, says Nikki Tamfer, of the Batavia Society of Artists, and he is also known for his oil realism.

The demo will be held in the historic Seymour Place home of GO ART! in Downtown Batavia from 7 to 9 p.m. a week from today. It is located at 201 E. Main St.

The event is free for Batavia Society of Artists' members; $5 for non-members. 

"It's All Abstraction" will consist of an artist talk and PowerPoint presentation. O'Neill will illustrate through a visual presentation how all form can be broken down into simple, dark and light abstract shapes for more believable realism work. And he will offer insights into the inspirations for his abstract painting and relate them to environmental realities. 

O'Neill has a working and teaching studio in the Hungerford Building in Rochester, which is at 1115 E. Main St. His work has been showcased in galleries across the United States, Canada, England and Japan. He's a graduate of the Ani Art Academy apprenticeship program, where he trained with renowned realism painter Anthony Waichulis.

His formal training gave him the freedom to create in worlds both recognizable and imagined. 

In his bio statement, O'Neill, born in 1969, says: “My responsibility as an artist is one that asks me to create not because I want to, but because I have to. My goal with each painting is to infuse my passion for beauty in a language that can be read and felt by all people that view my work. I challenge myself to always remain open to learning and making work at the highest level possible.”

Find more examples of O'Neill’s work as well as student creations here.

Below, "Homestead," oil on canvas by Brian O'Neill.

Below, "Pause," oil, whitegold, gold, silverleaf by Brian O'Neill.

Below, "Turquoise Twilight," acrylic with silver, goldleaf by Brian O'Neill.

Below, "The Chase," oil on canvas by Brian O'Neill.

Bottom, "Winter Glow," oil on canvas by Brian O'Neill.

Submitted photo and press release:

Tomorrow starting at 6 p.m. the place to be is GO ART!, 201 E. Main St., Batavia, where the night's guest bartenders will be Howard Owens of The Batavian and Chris Kalin of WBTA.

Billed as a competition, our goal is to raise as much money as possible for local arts, so come, be merry, enjoy a few drinks, leave tips on the bar.

The Original Red Osier Landmark Restaurant in Stafford presented GO ART!'s 40th annual Picnic in the Park today in Centennial Park. There were many local nonprofit sponsored booths along with food, arts and crafts vendors.  

A variety of bands were showcased on the main stage and Buffalo Aerial Dance performed next to the stage. A kiddie parade kicked things off and children's activities continued throughout the day.

Kelly's Old Timers band

Press release:

The Original Red Osier Landmark Restaurant in Stafford presents GO ART!'s 40^th annual Picnic in the Park on Wednesday July 4, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Centennial Park. It is located at 151 State St. in the City of Batavia. 

It kicks off with a Kiddie Parade. At 10:30 a.m., kids can decorate their bikes, scooters, strollers in red, white and blue (decorations provided). At 11 a.m. the Kiddie Parade will travel down Ellicott Avenue led by Uncle Sam and Betsy Ross, and Rosie the Riveter.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  -- Batavia Concert Band

12:45 to 1:15 p.m.  --  Batavia High A Cappella Group

1:30 to 3 p.m.  --  Bill McDonald’s Old Hippies

3:15 to 4:45 p.m.  --  Kelly’s Old Timer’s

12:30 to 12:45 p.m.  --  Buffalo Aerial Dance

1:15 to 1:30  --  Buffalo Aerial Dance

3 to 3:15 p.m.  --  Buffalo Aerial Dance

Throughout the day there will be children's activities.

• M. Geoffrey Clough -- Cookie Song writing
• Explore Art Tent: Making Recycled Instruments and Music

FOOD VENDORS

Original Red Osier Landmark Restaurant Food Truck

Abbott’s Ice Cream

Lonsberry Concessions Lemonade Stand

Kernel Cravin’ Kettle Corn

Lori’s Cookies

GO ART!  Oliver’s Candy Bars, New York Chips, Beverages, GO ART! Tee shirts

ARTISANS' ALLEY

More than 30 arts & crafts vendors

Demonstrations by Local Artisans

Chris Mc Gee: Mixed Media Painting

Lydia Zwierzynski: Caricatures

Chris Hummel: Cartooning

Rick Platt & Family: Chainsaw Artist, Mixed Media Painting, Wood Working, Fabric Arts

LOCAL NONPROFITS

• Ty's Painted Poles by Ty Dickey -- June 14 -- Aug. 4  /  Reception: June 21 6-8 p.m.