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Finalist in Portrait Society of America Competition

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In 2018, the Portrait Society of America added a new category to its annual Members Only competition: “Animals as Subject”. Since then I’ve entered every year and have been incredibly fortunate to have my work selected either as one of the winners, or as a finalist (top twenty). 

My painting of Harrison was selected as a finalists in this years competition. Thanks so much to the Jurors for selecting my work and thank you to the Portrait Society of America for their dedication to furthering the traditions of fine art portraiture. Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists in the competition! 

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Chicken Painting a Finalist in National Competition

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A few months ago I reached out to my Instagram and Facebook community to help me choose which chicken painting to enter in the annual Portrait Society of America’s member’s only competition. I was having trouble picking and thought there would be a clear favorite. After almost a hundred votes though, it was almost exactly a tie! Even so, it still helped me choose. People were very passionate on either side, but people typically liked the hen because the painting was more unique. For right or wrong, I liked that rational and went with it. I’m happy to share that she was a finalist in the animals category. Perhaps the rooster would have done even better in the competition, but you never know!

chicken paintings by Rebecca Luncan
The rooster or the hen?

Both of these paintings have backgrounds that reference Rembrandt self-portrait’s. I’ve always been a huge fan of his work and wanted to portray the chickens in a formal Dutch Portrait style. I helped install an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum of artwork from the Kenwood House Collection from London several years ago. One of my favorite pieces in the exhibit was his Self-Portrait with Two Circles. This was the painting that inspired the background of my hen. She’s one of four girls that lives in Seattle in my friend Paige’s backyard. As the henpecked bird, she was making a grand show of bring larger and fluffing out. I was very fortunate to actually get a shot of the demonstration during my photo shoot for reference images.

You can find her on display along with the rooster at Winfield Gallery. Go to my Available Works page to see all my paintings currently available in galleries and from the studio.

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Self Portrait – Expecting is a finalist for the ARC Salon 2019!

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My Self portrait painting has been selected as a finalist for the ARC Salon 2019 Competition!

I was fortunate to have my painting, “Admiral Vox” travel for last years exhibition and I couldn’t have been happier with how the Art Renewal Center (ARC) handled everything. It was such an incredible experience to have my artwork hanging alongside so many extraordinary pieces. I traveled to Barcelona to see the final installation of the exhibit at the MEAM which is a beautiful space. It’s inspiring to see so many contemporary artists pick up the tradition and make interesting work that’s relevant today. I couldn’t be happier to have another painting selected as a finalist.

Learn more about “Self Portrait – Expecting” in my previous blog post.

This year they received over 4,300 entries from 73 countries. The number of entries grew by more than 1,000 from last year! Winners will be posted July 1– please wish me luck!

CLICK TO VIEW FINALISTS

About The Art Renewal Center

“Leading the revival of realism in the visual arts, the Art Renewal Center (ARC), a 501(c)(3), non-profit, educational foundation, hosts the largest online museum dedicated to representational art and includes works by the old masters, 19th century, and 21st Century Artists as well as articles, letters and other online resources. The ARC is the foremost and only vetting service for representational art schools ensuring that the teaching curricula and quality of teacher and student work meet our strict standards to become ARC Approved™. The ARC Salon Competition, which is the largest and most prestigious competition in the world for realist artists painting, sculpting and drawing today with eleven categories and thousands of works competing, culminating in a traveling live exhibition of many of the winning works. The ARC works with other ARC Allied Organizations™, artist groups, museums, and publications to become a central news hub for the 21st Century Representational Art Movement. Read the ARC Philosophy written by ARC Chairman, Frederick C. Ross, to learn why ARC is so passionately dedicated to representational art.

Congratulations to all of the finalists!!

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ARC Salon 2019 awards ceremony at the MEAM – Museu Europeu d’Art Modern

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Earlier this month, I traveled to Barcelona to attend the 13th annual ARC Salon at the Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM). During the opening reception, they also had the official awards ceremony. Along with sever other very talented artists in the exhibit, I received my awards (Honorable mention and Arcadia Gallery Award) from Kara Ross, ARC Co-Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. The awards ceremony / opening reception was very well attended and good will and champagne flowed freely. It’s a lot of work to organize a traveling exhibition and the process couldn’t have been more seamless. The Art Renewal Center was exceptional to work with and I’m very grateful to have a painting in the exhibition. A huge thank you to collectors Steve and Carl for loaning the painting for the exhibition. And thank you Art Renewal Center and Arcadia Contemporary for the recognition and to the MEAM for being an exceptional host for the exhibit!  Barcelona is a fantastic city and the MEAM is a Mecca for contemporary realism.

European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM)

February 8 – March 31, 2019

C/ Barra de Ferro 508003, Barcelona, Spain

Rebecca receiving her ARC awards from Kara Ross at the MEAM.

Rebecca receiving her ARC awards from Kara Ross at the MEAM.

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Painting receives award in Portrait Society of America competition. 

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Admiral Vox’s little fan club seems to be expanding! My portrait of this expressive chicken was selected for an award from 1,268 entries in the Portrait Society of America’s 2018 Members Only Competition. The top winning works will be featured in the International Artist Magazine and the Portrait Society of America’s quarterly The Art of the Portrait Journal. The Members Only Competition, held annually, is open to all Portrait Society members in good standing.  Each fall, up to five categories are offered and members can submit up to one artwork per category. Admiral Vox was entered into the “Animals as Subject” category. In each of the five categories awards were given for 1st through 10th place followed by a select group of Finalists.

Pictured Above:

1st Place- Aaron Westerberg, Little Lu, 13×10″, oil on panel

2nd Place- Sandra Kuck, My Dear Angus, 24×24″, oil on canvas

3rd Place- Debra Keirce, Snug As a Bug, 20×23″, oil on panel

4th Place- Shaun Berke, The Outlaw, 24×32″, oil on linen

5th Place- Rebecca Luncan, Admiral Vox, 8×8″, oil on aluminum

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Artist Choice Award

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As customary during their annual juried exhibitions, the International Guild of Realism (IGOR) asks the gallery hosting the exhibition to appoint a guest judge(s) to award ribbons in different categories for outstanding artwork. I’m happy to share that I was awarded the Artist Choice Award for my portrait of my sister in law, painted with oils on aluminum, “Arlington”.

Congratulations to the Winners!

Best of Show – Ed Copley “When the Sun Rises”

American Art Collector Editor Choice – Ed Copley “The Torn Hat”

Bill & Sue Rowett Collector’s Choice – Lee Alban “May the Warm Winds of Heaven Blow Softly upon your House”

Robert Kirkpatrick Best Still Life – Sandra Robinson “Monkeys”

Best Figurative – Duffy Sheridan “The Whale Watcher”

Best Landscape – Lee Alban “May the Warm Winds of Heaven Blow Softly upon your House”

Best Tromp l’Oeil – Jorge Alberto “Allegory of the Arts”

Director’s Choice – Sandra Kuck “My Dear Angus”

Pioneer in Realism Award – David M. Bowers “Animal Instinct”

Creative Achievement – Marissa Oosterlee “The Forever Search”

Artist’s Choice Award – Rebecca Luncan “Arlington”

Best Floral – Jane Jones “Three Graces”

Best Wildlife – Camille Engel “Patient Observer”

Best Drawing – Heather Ward “That was You?”

Take a look at the whole exhibition online on the Sugarman-Peterson Gallery’s website.

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ARC Salon Winner!!

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I am thrilled to announce that my painting, “Admiral Vox” has been chosen for both a Gallery Award and as Honorable Mention in the 13th International ARC Salon.

Gallery Award – Arcadia Contemporary

I’m excited to be chosen as one of the artists for a Gallery Award by Arcadia Contemporary. Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc., New York City, and Arcadia Contemporary, Los Angeles, will both be having an exhibition for selected winning artists in 2018 or early 2019. Each gallery selected a group of finalists who supplied the gallery with additional images to help them make their decisions. From those finalists, the galleries have each chosen artists for a group exhibition and sale. Each artist who participates will be completing a series of new works specifically for these shows. Keep an eye out for the exhibition dates on the blog, or sign up for my Newsletter to get monthly updates on my Monthly Miniatures and exhibitions.

Honorable Mention

Click the link to see all of the finalists and winners of the Animal Category in the 13th International ARC Salon. It’s an honor to be included in this group! This category includes all animal art; any paintings, sculptures or drawings where an animal or animals are the central focus of the work.

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Finalist for the 13th Annual ARC Salon Competition

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My painting, “Admiral Vox” is a finalist for the ARC Salon Competition!

I’ve always been passionate about realism and it’s inspiring to see the genre in the spotlight with greater frequency. The Art Renewal Center aims to lead the revival of realism and each year they gain a bigger and bigger following. The number of entries has grown each year with a 20% increase in just the last year. I think this trend is going to continue and I’m excited to see where it goes.

This year they received over 3,750 entries from 69 countries and approximately 28% have been selected finalists. I was also a finalist last year with my portrait of Nippy. Winners will be posted in mid February – please wish me luck!

CLICK TO VIEW FINALISTS

About The Art Renewal Center

“Leading the revival of realism in the visual arts, the Art Renewal Center (ARC), a 501(c)(3), non-profit, educational foundation, hosts the largest online museum dedicated to realist art and includes works by the old masters, 19th century, and contemporary realists as well as articles, letters and other online resources. The ARC is the foremost and only vetting service for realist art schools ensuring that the teaching curricula and quality of teacher and student work meet our strict standards to become ARC Approved™. The ARC also runs the ARC Salon Competition, which is the largest and most prestigious competition in the western world for realist artists painting, sculpting, and drawing today with nine categories and thousands of works competing, culminating in a traveling live exhibition of many of the winning works. The ARC works with other ARC Allied Organizations™, artist groups, museums, and publications to become a central news hub for the Contemporary Realist Movement of Post Contemporary Art. Read the ARC Philosophy written by ARC Chairman, Frederick C. Ross, to learn why ARC is so passionately dedicated to realist based art.”

Congratulations to all of the finalists!!

IGOR Realist Art Opening at Winfield Gallery in Carmel

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Artist Rebecca Luncan at art opening with her family

Artist Rebecca Luncan at art opening with her family at Winfield Gallery in Carmel, California

The whole family flew down to California to attend the art opening for The International Guild of Realism’s 12th annual International Juried exhibition.

The prestigious Winfield Gallery in the heart of the Carmel Art District is hosting the exhibit this year, held from September 23rd through October 23rd. Artists traveled from all over the world to attend the opening reception. My appearance at this opening gave me the opportunity to meet wonderful artists, as well as the leadership of IGOR. It was also a great opportunity to make new friends that are as passionate about realism as I am. As you can see in the image above, my paintings were in great company. With over a hundred painting’s selected from different guild members, the subject matter varied, but the craftsmanship did not. See all of the works included in the exhibition.

human and animal figurative portraits by Rebecca Luncan

“Admiral Vox”, oil on aluminum, 8″ x 8″ and “Vigil”, oil on aluminum, 15″ x 15″

Two Paintings Accepted

I had two paintings accepted into the show and I was doubly privileged to also receive the “Creative Achievement” award. I usually treat my animal portraits much like my portraits of people and tend to keep them rather formal. Both of these paintings are part of two different larger series of work. Admiral Vox is part of my Into the Country series, which focuses on portraits of a wide array of animals all painted in a classical Dutch portrait style.  Vigil is part of a series of figurative paintings of my lovely sister in law, Molly.

International Guild Of Realism's 12th Annual exhibition

International Guild Of Realism’s 12th Annual exhibition

About the Gallery:

“Winfield Gallery was founded in 1989 by Christopher Winfield. Their principal focus is the representation of contemporary art by established, mid-career and emerging artists whose diverse practices include painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics and photography. The gallery hosts multiple exhibitions a year and maintains a deep commitment to promote our artists’ careers. Winfield Gallery collaborates with museum curators, produce catalogs and books, establish relationships with the press and continue collector education and development. The gallery creates an atmosphere that builds bridges between the creative work, collectors and art enthusiasts at all levels.”

International Guild of Realism Accepted Two Paintings for 12th Annual Exhibition

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Two paintings accepted in 12th annual International Juried Exhibition

Admiral Vox and Vigil, two paintings accepted in 12th annual International Juried Exhibition

The International Guild of Realism

Fashions come and go, and fads of the art world are no different. Realistic painting on the other hand persists through thousands of years of history, although its popularity rises and falls like anything else. It is not a reaction to some ephemeral idea in culture, but an effort to get in touch with some defining part of our humanity.

Part of what attracts me to realistic painting is the deep traditions and techniques that build throughout history. A realistic painting feels more to me like an act of craftsmanship than some kind of personal reaction or a commentary. There is something powerful and moving for me in being part of a tradition, practicing and helping to build on a body of knowledge and technique.

Yet there is still room for expression and exploration, both in abundance at the ‘IGOR’ 12th Annual International Juried Exhibition where my two paintings above showed (Admiral Vox won the ‘Creative Achievement’ award). The International Guild of Realism aims to advance realism in fine art by producing museum exhibitions, gallery shows, workshops and education programs.

Says IGOR of realism:

For us, “realism” ranges from the classical based upon traditional, academic-style painting to the contemporary where cutting edge techniques and a wide variety of subject matter are used to comment on today’s world. Our members represent a wonderful spectrum of styles including (but not limited to) Trompe l’Oeil, photorealism, surrealism, and super-realism.

The International Guild of Realism was founded by a group of leading professional realism artists from around the globe in 2002 with four goals:

  • Recognize the best realists working today.
  • Create gallery and museum exhibition opportunities.
  • Provide advertising and marketing support for IGOR members.
  • Offer a bridge between art collectors and the highest quality realist art, created by our members.
  • We know that as greater numbers of art lovers have access to high-quality realism, the value of these paintings will increase — not just in monetary terms, but in appreciation, understanding, and international attention.

The exhibition will be held at the prestigious Winfield Gallery in the heart of the Carmel Art District.