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Two Nova Scotia men are painting a new mural in downtown Sudbury in the Mikmaq Eastern Woodlands tradition

A couple of Halifax-based visual artists are enjoying Sudbury's summer weather thanks to being invited to the city to paint a fresh mural downtown. Chris Mitchell and Greg Mitchell, twin brothers of Mi'kmaq heritage, were commissioned by Sudbury's Up Here Urban Art + Music Festival.

They have been painting a new mural on the old building adjacent to Sudbury's downtown YMCA. The mural is a depiction of Canadian wildlife in the popular eastern woodlands style that many Canadians would recognize.

"Well, yeah, this is because I did a drawing originally and then we just freehanded this based on a drawing I did. It is just a woodland style okay, because we're from a Woodland Nation from East Coast Mi'kmaq," Greg explained.

"So this is similar to Mi'kmaq petroglyphs. The moose is very common. So this is a moose and a bear. The black bear is important in Mi'kmaq spirituality. And then also they're both animals that are, you know, native to the area," Greg said.

The painting style, with the bold strokes and vivid colours, abstract form and nature themes has some similarity to the work of the late Norval Morrisseau, the iconic Indigenous artist from Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation in the Lake Nipigon area of Northern Ontario. Greg said Morrisseau was indeed the grandfather of that popular style.

Chris remarked it was one of the reasons for their choice of paint. He said their choice was to use a heavier duty outdoor house paint with strong colours.

"It requires just one layer. You can do it a lot quicker and it's way more vibrant. So, we actually use the same paint we use in the studio or on canvases for fine art," Chris said.

He added that the colour palette is reminiscent of colours used by Indigenous artists half a century ago.

"We wanted that to look kind of like red ochre. We use those kinds of colors and we're going to throw some royal blue in here to make it pop, but kind of give it that like Woodland arts style from the 60s and 70s. That's kind of the main inspiration," Chris said.

Painting murals in the outdoors has its own level of attraction, the brothers said. Normally, they are confined to a studio working on canvas producing fine arts. Chris said that has its limits.

"You just can't work in there for a long period of time. So it's nice. We get a breeze here. And we love to see somebody come by to talk which is nice. Yeah, I like the outdoors more because I like fresh air instead of being, you know, cooped up indoors all day," Chris said.

Greg said murals have become part of the urban landscape in many North American cities.

"I mean I see it in Ontario for sure. You go to Toronto, and there's graffiti or street art everywhere. And it's kind of like it's almost a tourism thing, in a sense, like a graffiti alley," Greg said.

He said doing murals is not a mainstay for their artwork like some painters. Greg said in most cases it is because someone likes an image they have already created and the mural work is basically transferring that image to a larger canvas, or in this case, a brick wall.

Chris said he sees murals becoming an urban art form that will only increase in popularity in the coming years.

"It's because for so many cities and towns in Canada, they're only 100 years old or so," said Chris. He said looking back at all those buildings, all he sees are so many square shapes and rectangles.

"So okay now years later, when we realize that all these boxes are soul-crushing, it's like well, we can paint them. So I think nowadays when people realize, oh, let's make these flat boxes look more visually appealing."

The Mitchells have a website for their art business at borninthenorth.com .

Len Gillis is a reporter at Sudbury.com. Bold is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.

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Bold: Painting in the outdoors is nice work when you get it - Sudbury.com

Manchester rapper Aitch has apologized for painting over a mural of late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, apparently inadvertently, with an ad for his new album Close to Home, and promised to get this [situation] fixed pronto.

As noted by Stereogum, the ad went up Wednesday in Manchesters Northern Quarter on Port Street ahead of Aitchs albums release on Friday.

Its come to light that the iconic Ian Curtis mural on Port Street has been painted over with my album artwork, Aitch tweeted. This is the first time Ive heard of this, me and my team are getting this fixed pronto. No way on earth would I want to disrespect a local hero like Ian. He added that he wasnt aware the ad would be placed over Curtis portrait, and said the situation is being remedied as we speak.

Thank you, Joy Division bassist Peter Hook replied on Twitter.

Aitchs management posted that it has been in touch with the murals painter, Akse P19. As soon as we found out what had happened, we contacted @Akse_P19 re: recommissioning of the original mural and were working closely with @ManCityCouncil, they wrote. Wall owners permission needs to be obtained before original mural can be reinstated.

The Curtis mural was unveiled in October of 2020 and was painted by graffiti artist Akse P19 (from a photo by Philippe Carly) in an effort to support mental-health awareness via an initiative from Manchester City Council.

Curtis was just 23 when he committed suicide in 1980, but the two albums and multiple non-album tracks he recorded with Joy Division have cast a long influence over the decades of rock music that have followed. The other members of Joy Division continued as New Order.

Akse wrote on Instagram: So my mural of Ian Curtis based on the original photograph by @philippecarly has been painted over to promote the release of a new album, personally I dont have anything against hand-painted advertising as this is how I make a living, but this mural was painted in collaboration with @headstockuk and supported by @manchestercitycouncil and @sweetnothingmcr to raise awareness for Mental Health and support @giveusashoutinsta a free text messaging services to help people with mental health issues, it had become a cultural landmark and meant so much to people from Manchester and beyond; it doesnt take much common sense to understand that this mural should have remained for what it represented and stood for.

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British Rapper Aitch Working to Fix Manchester Mural of Joy Divisions Ian Curtis That Was Painted Over for His Album Advertisement - Variety

The Guggenheim Museum in New York City Stan Honda / AFP via Getty Images

Every work of art that hangs on a museum wall has a story behind it, and that story isnt always pretty. Museums around the world are grappling with legacies of theft, violence and colonialism in their collections. In New York, a new law aims to confront the painful legacy of the Holocaust: The states museums are now required to acknowledge if a work of art was stolen by the Nazi regime.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law on August 10 as part of a legislative package aimed at honoring and supporting Holocaust survivors. Beginning immediately, museums will need to prominently place a placard or other signage acknowledging Nazi-looted art. Hochul signed two other bills as well: One requires schools to provide high-quality Holocaust education, and another requires the states Department of Financial Services to publish a list of banks that waive fees for Holocaust reparation payments.

As New Yorkers, we are united in our solemn commitment to Holocaust survivors: We will never forget, says Hochul in astatement. These are individuals who have endured unspeakable tragedy but nonetheless have persevered to build lives of meaning and purpose right here in New York. We owe it to them, their families, and the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust to honor their memories and ensure future generations understand the horrors of this era.

The Nazis looted some 600,000 artworks from Jews during World War II. Though the Holocausts atrocities occurred many decades ago, their legacy still reverberates in the lives of survivors and their familiesmany of whom are still not in possession of what was once theirs. The Louvre, for example, holds around 1,700 Nazi-looted works of art.

Advocates for Holocaust survivors have long been calling on art institutions to do better. In 2018, the Louvre opened an exhibition of art stolen by Nazis, claiming that the goal was to find the works rightful owners. But restitution scholar Marc Masurovsky told the Washington Posts James McAuley that these efforts were far too little, far too late. The museum, he said, should be more proactive about identifying the rightful owners of the works in its collectionsa vital step in restitution that museums around the world struggle with.

Uncovering the provenance of a piece can be slow work that sometimes never reaches resolution, wrote Jackie Mansky for Smithsonian magazine in 2017. Thats especially the case when art is swept up in war or political instability.

In 1998, 44 countries signed the Washington Principles, a set of international guidelines for returning Nazi-looted art; since then, countries like Austria and Germany have returned tens of thousands of stolen items, as Stuart E. Eizenstat, who spearheaded the agreement, noted in a Washington Post opinion piece in 2019.

And in recent years, some restitution battles have made headway. French museums returned 15 works of Nazi-looted art to Jewish families earlier this year.Just a few months ago, the London-based Commission for Looted Art in Europe managed to return a 1683 painting to a 101-year-old Dutch woman named Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck. And in April, the United States Supreme Court unanimously sided with the Cassirer family, which was seeking to obtain a Nazi-looted painting from a Spanish museum.

But along with wins, there have been losses. As Suzanna Sherry reported in April for SCOTUSblog, though the Supreme Court sided with the Cassirer family, they still may not obtain the painting any time soonor ever. On a longer timeline, as Eizenstat wrote, Russia and a handful of other European nations that supported the Washington Principles have largely ignored or barely implemented them.

The New York legislation does not address restitution, which has been an issue in the state. In 2009, after settling for an undisclosed amount, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) and the Guggenheim kept two Picasso paintings that historian J. H. Schoeps had claimed were rightfully his, Christine Kearney reported for Reuters. A different Picasso was at the center of a legal battle between the family of Paul and Alice Leffmann and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; in 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a previous decision siding with the Met.

New Yorks new law also doesnt acknowledge art that was stolen outside of Europe, Elizabeth Shwe points out in Gothamist. The governors office did not respond to Gothamists inquiries about art stolen from non-European countries.

So far, per Gothamist, the Met, the Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMa, the Guggenheim and the Brooklyn Museum have not released information on how they plan to comply with the new laws requirements.

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Was That Painting Stolen by Nazis? New York Museums Are Now Required to Tell You - Smithsonian Magazine

There are unique play structures and play equipment with colorful and textured pathways to create a wheelchair and sensory-enriched accessible playground.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. Sacramento's Southside Parkgot a makeover today that is out of this world.

It is National Painting Week and Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars partnered with Sherwin-Williams and the City of Sacramento to give Southside Park's playground a much-needed fresh coat of paint.

The theme of Southside Park's playground is "Universal Universe," and many rides, swings and structures revolve around the solar system theme. There are unique play structures and play equipment with colorful and textured pathways to create a wheelchair and sensory-enriched accessible playground.

Since 2011, Sherwin-Williams has partnered with community organizations around the country through its National Painting Week Program. Also, since 2019, Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars has worked rain or shine to restore the playground at Southside Park.

Now today, employees from Sherwin-Williams and volunteers from Jonnie and Friends repainted an interior part of the playground and touched up walkway graphics, adding bright colors to a once dull sidewalk.

"Today was a symbolic day," said Marc Laver, founder of Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars. "This is the collaboration to bring in more special kids and all kids to unite."

Laver was inspired to "reach for the stars" when his son, Jonnie, who struggled with meningitis complications, could not play in the park in his wheelchair when he was younger. Once he and his son came to that realization, the Laver family became advocates for adding accessible play features to the playground.

"Every child regardless of their abilities deserves to have fun and deserves a safe place to play," Laver said. "'Universal Universe' gave my son and his friends exactly that."

After his son passed away, Laver dedicated his time and energy into the community, not only making the playground accessible in memory of his own son but for other kids who deal with the same accessibility struggles.

Since it started, National Painting Week has completed more than 15,000 projects using more than 35,000 gallons of donated paint.

The future plans of Jonnie and Friends include raising private donations for more sensory-enhanced features that kids of all abilities can benefit from, partnering with the community, and developing trainings and workshops to support integrated play.

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Southside Park gets fresh coat of paint for National Painting Week - ABC10.com KXTV

FARMINGTON Nearly every evening, Carlton Rollins can be found selling paintings, sitting next to his car in downtown Farmington.

Rollins, 73, is a big numbers guy: he estimates that since the 1970s hes sold over 5,000, perhaps 6,000 paintings and over 2,000 rock paintings; he can clock in at up to 24 paintings and 50 rock paintings a day, he said.

Rollins hails from Harpswell, where he taught himself how to paint when he was around 10 years old. He quickly discovered art was a wonderful way to form connections and cope with the hardships of life.

In 1974, he moved to Franklin County to study art and English at the University of Maine at Farmington.

In the nearly five decades that have followed, Rollins has spent his time writing poetry and painting canvases, rocks and murals across the county in particular at his home in New Sharon and out of his car in downtown Farmington.

Rollins said his artwork has reached all 50 states, 30 countries and five continents. Hes sold to locals, Mainers, travelers and exchange students. His artwork has also sat on the walls of galleries in New York City and Farmington.

From my dooryard in New Sharon, Ive reached the world,' Rollins said he likes to say.

Hes especially proud of those figures because his favorite part of being an artist is sharing things with other people.

I love that they get uplifted, find some happiness in the poetry and art that I make, he said. I love being out in public, meeting people.

Thats one of the reasons why Rollins moved his gallery to downtown Farmington, where he can reach more people, he said.

From 5-7 p.m. most weekdays, Rollins sets up shop along the sidewalk downtown. He lays out many of his paintings atop the windshields and roof of his car, with more placed on the ground certainly a refined system.

Rollins backseat is filled with boxes of paint, other art supplies and countless more paintings many of which are works in progress.

One woman said to me, you got a whole art studio in your car!' Rollins exclaimed.

His artwork focuses on a variety of subjects whatever comes in my head, he said. He describes his artistic style as surreal impressionism.

Sometimes, he paints abstracts and landscapes, sometimes flowers, sometimes figures.

Back again to the numbers, Rollins said hes painted over 400 paintings of Clearwater Lake in Industry, 30 of Smalls Falls near Rangeley and 24 of Mt. Blue all in high demand from his clientele.

Lately, though, his favorite thing to paint is puffins and lighthouses.

However Rollins is happy to paint whatever people like which is why Clearwater Lake can be found in the many paintings for sale around his car.

Painting is in some ways a means to an end for Rollins particularly with recent rising costs of living. But Rollins said that the connection with others might sometimes come first.

He recalled a day when a group of elderly women were admiring his paintings but expressed they couldnt afford them. Rollins said it was a simple decision to give some of his paintings away to the group.

Generosity is important in all aspects of my life, he said.

A downpour begins but Rollins not leaving anytime soon; his paintings are all waterproof.

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Meet the Farmington man who sells his paintings next to his car downtown - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel

The GAF Cool Community Project recently finished a task that saw it paint 1 million square feet (92,903 square meters) of roads, playgrounds, and parking lots in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Pacoima.

Although the group invited artists to paint some murals on the ground, the need for roads not being distracting means that, for the most part, drivers might not notice a change in color. They may well feel the effects of the paint, though, according to Fast Company.

Thats because the paint used is made by Streetbond, a subsidiary of GAF, and is called Invisible Shade. It promises to reflect sunlight off the streets and, hopefully, cool the community down.

Read Also: There Are 8 Parking Spots For Every Car In America, So Cities Reconsider Their Rules

The paint is being used to combat something called the urban heat island effect, in which cities become hotter than nearby rural areas. The phenomenon happens as a result of a number of factors, including the lack of trees to provide shade, the heat of human activity, and more.

One of the culprits behind the effect, though, is the vast quantities of concrete and asphalt in cities, which absorb and trap the heat, making cities feel hotter. Its a widely felt phenomenon and has led to cities like New York painting the roofs of their buildings a reflective white in order to help push out some of the heat.

The Invisible Shade paint being used for this project, though, is even cleverer. The manufacturer says that it not only reflects light in the visible spectrum, but light in the infrared spectrum, too, which is where the majority of the suns heat comes from.

Reflective paint, no matter how clever, wont solve global warming, but it can make cities feel more livable. The results of this project are just anecdotal, but so far, the paint appears to have contributed to cooling the surface of painted areas in Pacoima by 10 to 12 degrees. The company will now spend the next two years studying the effects of the paint more closely to see how successful it is.

The ultimate goal is not just to lower the ambient temperature of the community but to see how it impacts the livelihoods of people in the community, says Jeff Terry, vice president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at GAF.

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LA Covers 1 Million Square Feet Of Roads Will Special Paint To Cool The City Down - CarScoops

Richard Schloss has been painting in Santa Barbara for 50 years.

Now hes completed another creative endeavor one 20 years in the making.

Mr. Schloss has released his first book, Painting in the Light. Mr. Schlosss book is a treatise on the way people perceive light and atmosphere and how he has painted it.

The unique thing about his book is that it is a scientific analysis from an artists perspective. It is more aesthetic than technical. His book is 160 pages long and contains more than 150 paintings.

I have been painting for 50 years in Santa Barbara. Ive never written anything except college papers, Mr. Schloss told the News-Press.

In the 1990s, one of his counselors challenged him to try something different. Youve been painting for a long time, said his counselor. So Mr. Schloss tried different styles of painting.

Mr. Schloss then had the idea of writing a book. For Mr. Schloss, his book was an idea of self-expression, a sort of a completion for me, a synopsis of what I have done.

I have taken an interest in light and the way light works and how we paint it, he said. The book is about how I approach painting the light, and how artists paint light.

During COVID-19, I started writing, and then it sort of came together. Initially it was about expressing myself and how I paint and what interests me in painting. It turned into a book so I started putting it together as a book with about 150 paintings, said Mr. Schloss.

When Mr. Schloss finished his book, he sent it to a publisher in Wisconsin. His book is based on a series of nine teaching workshops in the early 2000s. I did nine little studies representing different lighting situations as an illustration. When I wrote the book I used those nine paintings as the basis of the book, said Mr. Schloss.

The News-Press asked Mr. Schloss what he wanted readers to take from the book, and he cited a comment by local author and art critic, Richard Payatt: It is fascinating. The text is marvelous. I have learned Richard Schlosss views on light and color, and probably wont ever look at landscapes the same again. I am about halfway through the book, and the images are lovely.

The News-Press asked Mr. Schloss how he hoped his book would influence other artists: I didnt intend for it to be for artists. Artists develop on their own and have their own unique way of expressing themselves.

I dont want to tell people how to paint because it ruins their uniqueness. I wouldnt want to formulate an artist and tell them how to work, but I like the idea of an artist looking at it and seeing something different, he said. I look at the light and the space of the view. Where is the light coming from and how does the atmosphere affect it? Instead of drawing where you paint, you start with an abstract creation of light and dark, defining the space and then finding the objects in the space.

Mr. Schloss was born in 1953 in Fort Worth Texas, but worked and showed in Santa Barbara since 1972. He completed a master of fine arts in painting in 1979 and a bachelors in Italian in 1981. He initially explored many different styles and mediums, but focused on painting outside in the landscape in 1976, which he continued to do exclusively until the mid 80s. Today, he continues to paint en plein air on small paintings, but does most of his work in the studio on large paintings.

In 1980, he spent a year painting in Europe on an award-winning scholarship. In 1992, he was chosen to paint the diorama backgrounds for the Cartwright Interactions Hall of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. He has done numerous commissions for public spaces, including Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara Historical Museum and The Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

In 2015, he was offered a large, one-man show at the Museum of Ventura County. His work is included in four museums in the central California area: the Santa Barbara Historical Society, Ridley Tree Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Ventura County.

Mr. Schloss is the only known living artist in Santa Barbara whose paintings are found in four museums, and he has been a member of Santa Barbaras Oak Group since its inception in 1986.

Mr. Schloss explained how his career influenced the writing of his book.

I think everyone should write a book because everyone knows something, he said. When you write, you crystallize in your mind what you are good at and what you know. When you write a book, actually having to write it down in a concrete way that makes sense crystalizes what you know.

Mr. Schloss explained that his book was never meant to be a financial endeavor.

It was something I wanted to do.

email: kzhender@newspress.com

FYIRichard Schloss will sign his book, Painting in the Light, at these Santa Barbara locations: 6-8 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Santa Barbara Fine Art Gallery 1321 State St. (next to the Arlington Theatre). 4-6 p.m. Aug. 28: Book Den, 15 East Anapamu St.6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at Chaucers Books, 3321 State St.His book is available for sale at the Santa Barbara Fine Art Gallery, Book Den, Chaucers Books and santabarbarafineart.com/product-page/painting-the-light-by-richard-schloss-book.

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Painting in the Light - Santa Barbara News-Press

When he came into the NHL, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was already a household name and potentially even the second Wayne Gretzky. And since then, hes taken the NHL by storm. He is not only the top center in the league, but arguably the best in the world. And, its possible that a 1645 painting could have predicted that McDavid would exist right?

Either way, Twitter user @marria19 pointed out that at El Museo del Prado in Madrid, theres a painting that is a spitting image of McDavid. And looking at it, it flat out is.

This is the Portrait of Francisco Lezcano, or the Nio de Vallecas, painted by artist Diego Velquez. Lezcano was a jester in the court of Spains Philip IV. Since 1819, the portrait has been in the museum.

Last season, McDavid led the NHL with 123 points through 80 games, marking his fifth 100-point campaign over the last six seasons. The 25-year-old also led Edmonton to the Western Conference Final.

In his monumental career, McDavid has accumulated 697 points (239 goals, 458 assists) in 487 career games in orange and white.

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This 1645 Painting Is A Spitting Image Of Connor McDavid -- And It's Almost Scary - Washington Hockey Now

Tucked away in a discrete warehouse off Oleander Drive, a husband-and-wife duo makes and packages a product sought after by DIYers around the world.Saltwash is a powdered trademarked formula that can be added to paint to create a weathered look on furniture and other items. The secret recipe which includes sea salt, the only ingredient disclosed is crafted and poured into cans for distribution in the Wilmington warehouse by Jamie and Carol Hunter.Jamie and I do everything, said co-owner Carol Hunter. We have an auger that we mix all the ingredients in with specific ratios. We fill each can by hand. We package everything, and we ship it out all over the world.In 2010, the couple was spending time at art markets selling products from their joint home decor line, Saltwater Salvage Designs. Before creating Saltwash, they would scope out historic homes set for demolition to salvage pieces to be incorporated into new designs, seeking out a particular weathered, rustic look. Eventually, interest in purchasing this type of wood piqued, and finding it became more expensive and difficult, Carol Hunter said. Plus, continued exposure to lead-based paint had the couple thinking twice.Once we kind of got a little weary of that, we thought, Weve got to figure this out or weve got to do something else, she said.Sanding down painted wood wasnt creating the same effect the couple had previously hunted for. What we were missing was all those layers of paint and all that texture that really authentic look, she said. We needed to replicate and figure out how to get that look.The Hunters toyed with formulas in their garage and began using a version of what later became Saltwash to recreate an antique feel. Pieces for their dcor line crafted using this formula attracted attention at markets, Carol Hunter said. People were blown away, she said. So we thought, Lets package this.Using taped-on labels drawn by Jamies cousin, the couple filled cans with their Saltwash recipe and placed them on a small corner booth at a market. A Rosie the Riveter-esque pinup logo with a signature turquoise blue caught plenty of eyes.The next market, our art was in the back corner and all the Saltwash was in the front, she said. We realized thats where we needed to put our focus into because it was getting a lot of interest and gaining traction fairly quickly.With their priorities shifted, the Hunters quickly moved to submit applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They were eligible for a patent, but because doing so required disclosing the full recipe, they opted to seek only a trademark, granted in 2016.Early on, competitors even reached out under false pretenses, acting as a customer asking about the formulation to check for allergy concerns, Carol Hunter said. People were on our heels We knew to stay ahead. To try to keep up with these big companies, we needed to move fast.During their first year, Jamie Hunter said they hand-filled 400 cans. After purchasing a machine to help fill the cans, the couple sold 10,000 by their third year.We experienced our highest growth rates during those first three years, he said.Growth continues at an organic pace; online arts and crafts creators with large followings regularly share videos using the product. One of the original sharks from Shark Tank partnered with the team in 2017, and HSN featured the product in a segment in 2020.With support from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, Saltwash landed a distributor in Ireland, which helped spur its growth in Europe. That first year we grew from selling to nobody to being in 50 stores, Carol Hunter said. Today, she said Saltwash is sold in about 200 stores in the U.S. and roughly 200 internationally. About half of all sales come from retailers and half are direct-to-consumer from the brands online shop.One of her favorite qualities about the product is how easy it is for beginning crafters to use, Carol Hunter said. It doesnt take somebody whos really experienced to use the product, and you dont have to be somebody whos always painting and always crafting and DIYing, she said. It can be very satisfying.SALTWASH

2605 1/2 Oleander Drive,28403

Number of employees:

Year founded: 2013

Top local officials: Carol and Jamie Hunter, co-owners and founders

Company description: Saltwash is a manufacturer of a paint additive that creates an authentic aged effect. The paint additive explores various faux effects weathered, rusty, vintage applied to furniture and various surfaces.

Products made locally: The original product, Saltwashs powdered paint additive, is made and packaged in the Oleander Drive warehouse. Saltwash offers various sizes, kits and accessories.

Product distribution: Carol Hunter: We have distributors set up in Europe, in Australia, Dominican Republic, New Zealand we have a lot of distribution.

What made the company decide to make its goods locally? Hunter: When youre starting out small and youre a small family business, it was cheapest for us to work right out of our garage ... Eventually we grew out of the garage and we expanded, we started doing sales worldwide basically, and so we looked for bigger workshops. Its so nice to be able to work in Wilmington Were fortunate to be able to make it work here.

Whats your target market? Hunter: Furniture flippers, a lot of DIYers, crafters, furniture painters using it to create different faux effects. Anything along that creative market outlet for anybody. Its easy to use so it takes some of the guesswork out of it.

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MADE: Paint additive becomes salty success - Greater Wilmington Business Journal

This week at Crooked Tree Arts Center in Traverse City, weve been putting on Paint Grand Traverse, our plein air (outdoor) painting festival and competition. Now in our fifth year, Paint Grand Traverse features outstanding artists from across the country. They come to Traverse City to paint, sell artwork, and compete for major awards. The week also features events for spectators, students, art collectors, and kids and families. The mission of Paint Grand Traverse is to celebrate the beauty of our region, and to make fine art fun and accessible to all.

The term plein air is French, and translates to in open air. Plein air artists work outside in natural light to capture the mood and atmosphere of a scene. While the practice of making art from life goes back millenia, the plein air movement really took off in the early 1800s. Developments in pre-mixed oil paints and portable easels collided with the French Impressionists interest in depicting light and natural, candid scenes. Today, plein air painting enjoys enduring popularity with artists and art lovers around the world. Paint Grand Traverse is a relatively new entrant among national plein air events, but it is quickly becoming a bucket list festival for professional plein air painters and art collectors alike.

Over the course of this week, our 36 featured artists have created well over 200 paintings depicting scenes from Leelanau County, Old Mission Peninsula, Traverse City, and Elk Rapids.

Paint Grand Traverse includes several featured painting locations, which are great places for spectators to catch artists at work. Featured locations this week included The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park, Black Star Farms, Dougherty Mission House, Suttons Bay Ciders, Twisted Fish Gallery, Delamar Resort, and more. When the artists werent at one of these locations, they were free to follow their bliss, and seek out their own inspiring views and vistas.

The marquee event of the week is this evenings Collectors Gala. Tonight, we will unveil the juried collection of artwork, and announce our major award winners. Guests will also enjoy creative tasting tables, wine, live music, and have the first opportunity to shop the collection. As of press time, Gala tickets are still available and can be ordered through our website at paintgrandtraverse.com/GALA.

Tomorrow, Saturday, were debuting a new Paint Grand Traverse event, an art-themed Community Block Party.

Its a full day of free, family-friendly art activities at Crooked Tree Arts Center and Hannah Park on Sixth Street.

The day includes a Pint-Sized Paint Out for Kids in the morning, Quick Paint Competition in the afternoon, live music, food, and a street fair. Its also the public premier of the Paint Grand Traverse week artwork in our galleries. We couldnt think of a more perfect way to wrap up our fifth annual event than to throw a party for the friends, neighbors, and visitors who have helped make Paint Grand Traverse a great addition to summer in Traverse City!

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Creatively Centered: Paint Grand Traverse wraps week with gala, block party - Traverse City Record Eagle