Art in Alexandria

Today I decided to become familiar with the free things to do on an average weekend day in Alexandria.  The first thing was to find free parking.  I know that there are paid garages, but I'm from NYC --so I still prefer to find unpaid street parking!  So I drove up Union Street and found a free spot up the street. 

After that, I walked through the park, along the water, and into the Torpedo Factory.  First of all, the Torpedo Factory is a piece of art itself.  In the underside of the spiral staircase, I found figurines.  On a platform circulating around the second level, I saw little zoo animals.  And then I found some of my favorite studios there.  In Studio 13, I found kimono prints which were very intriguing.  The artist was not there, but her card was.  If you'd like to see a website of her work, and a photo which I couldn't fairly take, you can go to: http://www.marciajestaedt.com/.  I also found beautiful paintings of local beaches by Marian Van Landingham.

Principle Gallery
Next I walked up King Street to the Principle Gallery, where I found two artists that really resonated with me: GC Myers, whose signature is a red tree with Japanese wood block influence.  Myers lives in upstate New York and is a self-taught painter who began the art after an accident left him debilitated.  He has a great blog named after his tree called the Redtree Times (http://redtreetimes.wordpress.com/).  Myers uses beautiful colors in all his artwork.  I also saw artwork of Lynn Boggers whose subject was not just natural in subject, but also painted outdoors!  Mr. Boggers lives in West Virginia, uses a palette knife and cement trowel, and provides instruction on his methodology.  He will be giving a demonstration on the afternoon of August 14th. 

P&C Art
My next stop was up the street at P&C Art, a completely different gallery than the last.  This gallery is the largest in the area for contemporary international art.  From artists around the world you can buy art of people, famous places such as Paris, familiar Alexandria and Georgetown sites, and Dr. Seuss artwork.  

There is great, enjoyable art and creativity in Alexandria.  I strongly recommend to anyone with empty wall space a trip to Alexandria.  There is great, beautiful, and varied art there.  Enjoy!