For artist Richard Sullivan, painting is necessarily a solitary endeavor. “Ninety percent of the time, I like to be alone in the studio,” he said.
He is about to fill the other 10 percent, as we the public are invited to see what’s behind the curtain during the fourth-annual Open Studio Weekend, or OSW. It’s where the magic, also known as hard work, happens.
The more-than 70 studios on the OSW tour turn into public fundraisers for Louisville Visual Art’s Children’s Fine Art Classes and UofL’s Hite Art Institute’s Mary Spencer Nay Scholarship Programs. And during the self-guided tours, not only will visitors get to meet artists, they have the option to buy the art they see.
Sullivan will open his studio for his first OSW, and “I’m excited for people to see my work, about the positive energy.”
Artists Jessica Olberz Singleton also is a first-timer. Singleton will be displaying her photography and watercolor paintings. She decided to be on the OSW tour because “it seems like a great way to introduce myself to the art community in Louisville. Though I’m always making art in my spare time, I’ve been focused on getting my yoga studio [Trilliquin Center] up and running the last few years and now I’m ready to put the time and energy back into sharing my art with others.”
Although this is her first time on the OSW, she has been a member Louisville Visual Art, or LVA, since 2011. “They do great things all around the city, bringing art to kids who may not otherwise experience the joys of painting and drawing,” she said. Singleton should know; she took classes there when she was in high school.
Sullivan, former minor-league player for the Atlanta Braves baseball team, specializes in sport paintings in watercolor, has a studio in the old Portland Christian School. Portland is one reason he’s on OSW, as he wants “to connect with patrons around Louisville and grow awareness for the arts in the Portland area.”
Fiber artist Maria Tinnell, who specializes in coiled baskets, is back for a second round of OSW. She said she likes LVA’s work with the children’s art.
OSW starts off with an exhibition and launch party at UofL’s Cressman Center for Visual Arts, 100 E. Main St., from 6-8 p.m. during the Nov. 4 Republic Bank First Friday Hop. Many artists and their work, will be in attendance (the exhibition closes on Dec. 2).
The studios will be open to visitors on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 6 from 12-5 p.m. Tickets are for sale at Louisville Visual Art, Cressman Center, Commonwealth Bank & Trust, Kentucky Fine Art Gallery, Preston Arts Center, Nitty Gritty, Revelry Gallery Boutique and Silica Ceramic Studio. •