Painting

Party Smart, a new party supply and party planning store at 333 N. Brand Blvd., is inviting student artists in the fourth, fifth and seventh grades to participate in a window-painting contest at the storefront at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 19. A cash prize of $250 will be given to the winning school. The winning artists each receive a free Halloween costume of his or her choice. There is no cost to participate. To compete, each school must submit a preliminary color painting of its Halloween window design on 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper.

SOUTH GLENDALE — Sitting across from the painting that started it all, local artist Micheline Abounassar is overwhelmed by her recent fame. Her oil painting “The Savior,” a haunting depiction of the face of Jesus Christ coming out of the darkness, caught the attention of religious officials in Jerusalem who saw it on her website. The officials contacted the 28-year-old artist, who goes by Micha, who donated a copy to be presented to Pope Benedict XVI during his May 12 visit to Jerusalem to be displayed at the Vatican.

Micheline E. Abounassar is hoping to spread peace and love around the world with her paintings — starting with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. A copy of her oil painting, “The Savior,” which depicts Jesus Christ, is on her website. Religious officials in Jerusalem saw it there and contacted the Glendale artist. “They liked it so much and thought is was a great gift for His Holiness,” Abounassar said, who goes by Micha. “And Pope Benedict has a book about Jesus of Nazareth and his spokesman thought my painting depicted the one in his book.

As artist Sang Young Bang gently dipped his brush into an oil palette, art enthusiasts sat watching his every move as he carefully brushed strokes of paint on his canvas. Bang demonstrated basic life drawing techniques during a workshop titled "The Art of Figure Painting" at the Forest Lawn Museum, on Sunday. "We are having this class because of our new exhibit," Matt Aaronson, the museum's educational program coordinator, said. "We make our workshops complement what we do in the museum."

Pam McDonald is living proof of the value of the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try again." Her second efforts have taken her to an international ice-skating competition and a national juried art show. Twenty-five years ago, the Burbank resident took an oil painting class in North Hollywood. But early in the semester, the teacher made an example of her, really tearing into the work, she said. She never returned to the class. Two years later, she started taking watercolor classes with Glendale resident Jane Friend at the Burbank Creative Arts Center.

Kadija Dada Behary’s painting style is all about color — which is what she says sets her apart from other members of the Foothill Artists League. “Our group style is Impressionistic,” Behary said. “We paint loosely. One woman in our group is very detailed; but for me, vibrant colors say more about a subject than the fine detail accomplished with a brush.” Behary usually depicts a quiet mood with her subjects but uses bold colors, said Margot Lennartz, the league’s facilitator.

For his vibrant use of color and design, Vladimir Atanian earned a Juror Award for his oil painting “Dance of Metamorphosis,” in the Fine Arts Federation of Burbank’s Membership Show of mixed media works. The show is taking place at the Creative Arts Center in Burbank through March 20. Members of the arts federation, a support group of the center, each enter one piece of artwork. The Glendale resident’s winning abstract painting shows figures dancing.

A group of academic standouts took on pottery Thursday at Jefferson Elementary School, with varied results. Students in the school’s Gifted and Talented Education program have been participating in after-school pottery classes for the last three weeks, which have been a joy, they said, even though some were more suited for books than art. “I like it even though I’m bad,” said 9-year old Erica Garcia, who was painting...

Martin Mondrus, a professor of art emeritus at Glendale Community College, received an award of merit from the California State Fair last week. Mondrus received the award for his watercolor painting, "Around the Bend." The painting will be on display from Aug. 16 to Sept. 2 at the Cal Expo in Sacramento. The state fair exhibit is one of the largest and oldest art competitions in the state. Mondrus' painting was one of 173 selected from 1,689 works submitted to the 2002 California Works exhibit.

Artists showing works in the international exhibition at Glendale's Silvana Gallery of Fine Art and Crafts have produced contemporary pieces using a wide range of media — sculptures in wood, bronze, clay or copper, paintings in oil, acrylic, or watercolor and handcrafted jewelry. They are expertly presented by gallery director and founder Silvana Ambar. Many artists in this exhibition are of Russian or Armenian descent. Before the 1980s, Russian artists were employed by the state and their art was restricted, conformed to a rubric, that did not include self-expression or iconography.