Beautiful Things

NOAPS prepares for the fifth annual Small Works exhibition featuring stunning oil and acrylic works by 175 talented artists.

Now in its fifth year, the National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society (NOAPS) will be featuring some of the finest small-scale representational paintings from across the United States and Canada during the Best of America Small Works National Juried Exhibition. Events include a luncheon, plein air competition and painting demonstrations, with the exhibition hosted at the Beverly McNeil Gallery in Birmingham, Alabama.Gail Greenoe, All Together, oil, 10 x 20"“We had over 1,100 entries for the show this year and chose 175 stunning oil and acrylic paintings,” says Patricia Tribastone, president of NOAPS. “We use five featured artists in a blind jury to score the paintings that will be in the exhibition. It’s a nice blend of all genres, including landscapes, portraits and still life, along with varying subject matter and styles. Work will range from highly impressionistic to some that are highly realistic.”

NOAPS also notes that both well-known and emerging artists will be featured alongside their small works, with dimensions of 320 square inches or less.Robert Simone, Bringing in the Day’s Catch, oil, 12 x 16"For the first two days of the festivities, April 27 and 28, NOAPS will kick off with the Plein Air Paint Out and Competition. Selected artists will be placed in various areas around Birmingham to capture the city’s “rich and diverse landscape.” This includes the region’s woodlands, street scenes and architecture. Following the artists’ completion will be the Wet Paint Sale.

On Thursday, April 28, at 3:30 p.m., will be an awards presentation, followed by an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. “There will be 31 material and cash awards presented including best of show and 10 awards of excellence in various techniques,” says Tribastone. “This includes best use of color, most original, best landscape, still life and portrait, among many others. We will have three esteemed artist judges selecting works in person: Sivananda Nyayapathi from Atlanta, Georgia, and Susan Lindsey and Matthew Cutter, both from Florida. We like to do judging for awards in person because there’s such a big difference between how the paintings look online versus how they present in person.”Cher Pruys, In the Bag, acrylic, 10 x 12"Last year, the best of show award went to North Carolina artist Carmen Gordon for her portrait Humility, depicting a woman gazing upward and dressed in all black with a lace shawl draped around her head. In second place was artist Jeremy Gooding for his painting Light and Form, and third place was awarded to the talented Katie Liddiard for her piece Juliette Roses in August. All past winners are listed on the NOAPS website for viewing. Aaron Schuerr doing a demonstration at the 2021 event.Next on the event calendar, Friday, April 29, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., will be a landscape oil demonstration by North Carolina artist Paula Holtzclaw, which then leads to the luncheon and plein air awards from 12 to 1 p.m. Following will be another demonstration by award-winning Georgia artist David Boyd, from 1:30 to 4 p.m.

NOAPS looks forward to a successful event and exhibition, running through May 27 at the Beverly McNeil Gallery. “I was talking to Jeff Wilcox, owner of Wilcox Gallery,” says Tribastone, “and he noted that the ‘art market has been really strong even through the pandemic. People are still looking for beauty and living with beautiful things.’ Art is one of the great ways to express beauty and people find that at our show.”

All events are free to the public, including the luncheon by signing up online. Visit the NOAPS website for additional information, glimpes of artwork and event details. —

Best of America Small Works National Juried Exhibition
When: April 28-May 27, 2022
Where: Beverly McNeil Gallery, 605 28th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35233
Information: www.noaps.org