Blue Velvet Studio hosted its third annual “Nudes in November” exhibition on Friday, November 11, 2011, from 6 to 9 p.m., timed to the LoDa ArtWalk crowd, with an artist reception, refreshments and a wine tasting in the Dauphin Street studio.
The group show gathered interpretations of the human form across sketches, paintings, photography and mixed media — presented, as organizers put it, tastefully done. Sixteen artists took part, including A.J. Tompkins, Amanda Youngblood, Carlo Coyne, Casey Howell, David Trimmier, Grant Benoit, Jacqueline Dunsworth, Jeff Byrd, Karen Cassidy, Lucy Gafford, Satomi Kamei, Sharon Welton, Susan Howell, Susan Peele and Tara Spies.
A Studio That Doubles as a Classroom
Blue Velvet Studio had become one of downtown Mobile’s busiest artist hubs by its third year running the figure-show tradition, which drew on the studio’s regular life-drawing practice. The 2011 edition followed strong turnout for the inaugural exhibit and gave several younger Mobile artists their first ArtWalk-night exposure; the studio’s mentorship model paired working artists with students in weekly drawing sessions.
The exhibition opened during one of the year’s most crowded ArtWalks and remained up for viewing at the studio afterward, continuing a November tradition that quickly became a fixture of Mobile’s fall gallery calendar.