A Local Exhibit

Jan and I were included with four photographs each at an exhibit organized and run by a local real estate company, RealPro by the Water Art Gallery in Pawtuxet.

A few weeks ago, our friend Jim stopped for a cup of coffee and mention to us that he had visited the new realtor in the village. He said they use their wall space to highlight local artists. It sounded intriguing and when I took Jan to the village for her haircut, I made a quick stop at RealPro.

Their very spacious office had lofty ceilings and expansive walls that ran around the offices at the center. Much of the wall was covered with various forms of art, paintings, photographs, and some 3D work. I gave my card to the young lady at the reception and wandered around. Before I knew it, I was talking to the owners, Clarissa, and Eduardo Marines. They both warmly greeted me and showed me the rest of the complex.

It happened that most of the hanging pieces would be due for rotation, and they were inviting new works. I gave them a quick tour of my Web site, Clarissa asked if we could have a meeting the following Monday. I went out, picked up Jan and we came home.

On the day of the appointment, we took a couple of pieces for each of us, some bound folios showing more work, and went to meet Eduardo and Clarissa. Eduardo was quite enthusiastic about the pieces he saw, and we left it at that I would get four of Jan’s works he selected printed and bring more of my work.

On following Monday, November 29, a week after our initial meeting, our pieces were in their hands. I had dropped my pieces on Sunday and brought Jan’s prints on Monday. My local go-to printer, Printmakers in Pawtucket printed and mounted all four on short notice.

There were new paintings on the walls, different 3D art pieces, and some of my dye sublimated on aluminum prints were on the wall as well.

About the Exhibit

RealPro on the Water is committed to supporting local artists. They are also working to start a foundation dedicated to this cause and to supporting charities. The gallery commission they charge on sales is reasonable, 20%, and this time around, they are donating their commission to Special Olympics Rhode Island.

Visiting Hours

If you wish to visit the gallery, you may do so during their working hours:

Monday – Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM
Saturday, 9 AM to 1 PM

They kindly ask that all, but especially those who are not vaccinated wear a mask. You can find their realty Web site and the Eventbrite announcement to learn a little more about them.

Our Photographs

Here are the four pieces of Jan’s abstracts:

Click on the images to see them larger, uncropped, and read their titles.

These are from my Sacred Spaces Large and Small collection:

Visit the Day Before

To give visitors an idea about the gallery, I visited the RealPro offices and, with their permission, I took some photographs before the opening crowd. All the art was on the walls, and they were ready for the visitors to enjoy the show. This collection below shows the RealPro on the Water Art Gallery and hints at office spaces. Congratulations to all participating artists. (Click on the images to see them larger)

The Opening Reception

Yesterday was the opening reception at the gallery. Jan and I went there around 5 PM equipped with our masks. Early on, it was not too crowded, and we walked around without our masks on and had a couple of photographs in front of our work.

After saying hello to Clarissa and Eduardo, we decided to sit down a little on the benches in the front lobby. We watched the visitors come in, walk around, chat, look at various art on the walls. The traffic was getting heavier. We decided to put our masks on although the lobby was not too crowded.

We saw our friend and a gallery owner himself, David DeMelim arrive and we walked with him towards the area where our work was hanging. After chatting with him a while, David wanted to take another walk around and then leave. We settled on the couches once more. Then we bid goodbye to Clarissa and left a few minutes before 6 PM. The visitors were still arriving as we left. All told, they had a good opening. Congratulations to all the artists once more and thanks to Eduardo and Clarissa for a nice show.

Below are some more photographs from the opening. You can click on them to see the full image.