As noted in a couple of earlier posts, this exhibit officially opened to the public on Saturday, October 5 at the Tempe Center for the Arts. However on Thursday, October 3,the exhibiting artists were treated to a tour of the nearby Scottsdale Artist School. The school also provided a delicious gourmet reception. This was followed by a leisurely art-walk tour of some of the most prestigious galleries in downtown Scottsdale. It was a wonderful evening, and I enjoyed meeting many fellow artists and the gallery owners.

Friday, dawned with what proved to be the busiest day of the event starting with a five hour series of seminars and guest speakers. The topics covered a wide range of topics from marketing your work to what galleries look for when evaluating an artist’s work.

Then, with just enough time to change clothes, everyone gathered in front of the TempeCenter for the Arts main gallery entrance to cross over a red carpet for the VIP Private Reception. In attendance were not only the exhibiting artists but a host of art collectors, art magazine executives and other dignitaries. The champagne flowed, and the wonderful hors d’oeuvres never ran out. Several of the art works were sold during the private 3-hour event. In addition, ribbons were awarded to several of the paintings to recognize superior achievement in a number of categories.

Following that hectic but wonderful day, at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, the exhibit officially opened to the public. Hundreds of people strolled through the gallery, talked with the artists and generally enjoyed a wonderful night viewing some of the most beautiful realism art available. As on the night before, several pieces were purchased during the public opening.

Below is a slide show of photographs of the event. Just click on the first photo to open a larger view of each of the photographs. Also, there’s a link to a video of photographs of the event that the Guild put together for YouTube.

International Guild of Realism Video

 Next year’s event is scheduled to be held in Charleston, South Carolina at the beautiful and spacious Robert Lange Studios. Although this year’s exhibit will remain on display through November 30, I can hardly wait to enter a new painting in next year’s exhibit. Wish me luck!