Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, hosts its Small Works show this December, once again bringing collectors a variety of superb artwork on a smaller-scale. These miniature masterpieces, with their often more affordable price points, open new doors for the beginning collector and create interesting, alternate pathways for the veteran collector seeking to build their collection.
This year’s Small Works exhibition includes the talents of such artists as Jill Basham, Anna Wypych, Stanley Bielen, Megan Seiter and Celia Liberace. 
Anna Wypych, Roses Shouldn’t Be Treated Like That, oil on panel, 8 x 6"
Basham comments on her landscape Hill Pass, which will be in the upcoming show, “I visited the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia not too long ago and was able to see the world from a higher perch. I am drawn to expansive views, and painted Hill Pass from my memories of a broad mountain vista. What struck me in particular is the verticality of the nearby trees framing the extensive distant hills and mountains beyond. The passage between the trees allows the viewer to put themselves in the scene, as they might walk the pass, and see what is beyond the next hill.” 
Jill Basham, Hill Pass, oil on linen, 20 x 24"
Celia Liberace, Portrait of Peter, oil on copper, 4 x 4"
She continues, “My paint application is purposefully thick in the foreground grasses, working to add a sense of depth to the work. I prefer to leave a certain sense of mystery within my paintings, hoping to allow others to complete the story.”
“I have never been interested in eroticism as such,” Wypych reflects. “When I painted the naked figures, I saw them rather as a pure idea, intention, or as a deep, unfettered emotion—not something exciting in a bodily form. However, recently I thought, ‘why not?’ To tell the truth, I have something very contrariness in nature, so the fact that everywhere in social media artistic acts are equated with cheap pornography...contributed to the beginning of this series. So I painted a painting out of sheer contrariness...Portrait of the Boobie. I liked the theme and went a step further by painting Roses Shouldn’t Be Treated Like That.” 
Megan Seiter, Marge, colored pencil, watercolor and pan pastel on pastel paper, 21 x 12"
Stanley Bielen, Roses Illume, oil on paper mounted on panel, 8½ x 7"
Bielen’s painting Roses Illume depicts “a classic old garden rose…named after Empress Josephine’s famous residence in the outskirts of Paris,” he says.“I have tended this rose in our community garden for over 25 years. Beautiful in all its phases from bud to full bloom, with a wonderful fragrance, it never ceases to inspire new paintings.”
The exhibition will remain on view through January 4. —
Principle Gallery
208 King Street • Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 739-9326 • www.principlegallery.com
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