marching forth

Time is zipping by! It's March already...not just that, but it's March 4th! I like the fact that today's date is also a command, a call to action. Before I "march forth," I must do a little recapping!

My most recent Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" was on Saturday, February 27th, and it was VANtastic, indeed! The staff at Wyler's made me feel so welcome: thank you, Sylvia, Sharon, and everyone else for all of your help! Visits and hugs from friends (and my very patient husband, Terry) helped to power me through the day, along with some excellent music. I had a wonderful time, and between all of the online and in person raffle ticket sales, together we were able to raise $340 for ArtVan! I'm incredibly grateful for all of the support. Thank you!

my setup at Wyler's! 

The winning raffle ticket was drawn, and on Monday, "Paint Tube" was mailed out to its new home in sunny South Carolina! Thank you, Chris- I hope you enjoy it! 

"Paint Tube"

The tireless Keith Spiro was with me for a huge chunk of the day on Saturday, documenting the event and being incredibly supportive, as usual. You may have seen some of Keith's photos in the papers recently...and if you haven't, allow me to share a couple of them with you!  My press release made it into the weekend edition of the Times Record (the photo is from my "pop-up" show at Cool As A Moose):

woo hoo! 

...and this is from the March issue of The Cryer, featuring photos from the Joy of Art reception at the Topsham Public Library! Clearly I wasn't the only one having fun that day. 

Action shots are all the rage! 

In case you were wondering, my next Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" is coming right up! Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 19th, otherwise known as St. CATrick's Day! Okay, March 19th is not really known as that, but in my little world, that's what I'm calling it! I will be setting up my easel at Wild Oats Bakery & Cafe and painting from 9am-5pm (an early start for me- eek!). This month's charity? The Coastal Humane Society! Here's the Facebook event page in case you'd like to share it: https://www.facebook.com/events/517333668439215/

...and here's the link to the Carii fundraising page! https://www.carii.com/#/fundraising/paint-a-thonst-catricks-day

blogs and news and eggplant

I've been asked to write a bi-weekly art-related blog for Curtis Memorial Library! Below are the links to the two postings I've written there so far. If you're interested, I'll be there every other Wednesday!

http://curtiscreativespaces.com/hello-its-me/

http://curtiscreativespaces.com/everybody-wants-some/

In other news, I'm happy to announce that Kathleen McGee will be joining me once again for my next Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" event (otherwise known as VANtastic!) from 1pm-3pm on Saturday, February 27th at Wyler's! She has been kind enough to sing and play guitar at my two previous Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" events, and I'm so glad she's returning! Yay!

Another "yay": I recently sold one of my little 3" x 3" paintings to my friend and collector, Keith Spiro! When Keith and his lovely wife, Adrienne, bought "Psychedelic Eggplant," they told me there was a story behind the reason why they wanted that particular painting. They were smiling and laughing as they spoke, so naturally, I asked to hear the story...but Keith said, "Well, you're going to have to read all about it! I think I'll write it in a blog post!" A few days later, I got a notification through Twitter letting me know that the wait was over...and now, I'm looking forward to sharing their story with you! Here is the link...I'm sure you will find it just as charming as I do. 
https://keithspiro.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/magical-marketing-of-an-epic-eggplant/

"Psychedelic Eggplant": bite-sized! 

pressing matters

I just sent out the press release for my next event! Let's see if anyone picks it up...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local artist's "Paint-a-Thon" campaign for charity continues

Brunswick artist Maria Castellano-Usery continues her groundbreaking work of "art philanthropy for the budget-conscious (tm)."

On Saturday, February 27^th, to celebrate her growing program, Brushstrokes with Impact (tm), she invites the community to join her at Wyler's (150 Maine Street, Brunswick), where Maria will be having a "pop-up" art show and “Paint-a-Thon," complete with a raffle featuring the finished painting as the prize.

Maria will set up her easel at Wyler's and have a day-long “Paint-a-Thon” during business hours (10am to 6pm, roughly). Raffle tickets for the completed 8” x 8” acrylic painting will be sold both in person and online ($5 each, 3 for $10) with the winning ticket being drawn the evening of Saturday, February 27th. Maria will be donating 50% of the proceeds from ticket sales to ArtVan.  Additionally, 10% of all Maria’s art sales from her "pop-up" show at Wyler's (excluding magnets) will be donated to ArtVan.

This is the third event in her groundbreaking series "art philanthropy for the budget-conscious (tm)," where Maria will be working with other local businesses and various charities that are meaningful to her. Maria started Brushstrokes with Impact (tm) as a "Paint-a-Thon" that took place in December at The Mix and raised nearly $375 for the National Foundation for Cancer Research's "Play4TheCure" program; her second event raised over $200 for the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program's "BackPack Program". If you are interested in creating a future collaboration, please email maria@brushstrokesbymaria.com. 

For more information about this event on Saturday, February 27th, please go to www.brushstrokesbymaria.com (click on “current shows” and follow the links) or you can make a donation online and enter the raffle here https://www.carii.com/#/register/BrushstrokeswithImpactbyMaria and join her community of giving.

That's right: my next "Paint-a-Thon" event will benefit ArtVan! I'm calling it "VANtastic". I'm having a little too much fun with these titles! Anyway, here's the Facebook event page if you'd like to share it: https://www.facebook.com/events/1679660962290648/ ...it's a public event, so please feel free! 

souper cool

Thank you to everyone who supported me in my second Brushstrokes With Impact (TM) "Paint-a-Thon"/SOUPER BOWL! The winner of "Apple" is none other than Paul from El Camino Cantina! Everyone who knows me knows how much I love El Camino, so I'm very happy about this. Congratulations, Paul! 

"Apple"

I had a lot of fun at Cool As A Moose! As always, the staff was friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Major thanks to Caroline Kurrus for agreeing to host me, to Cool As A Moose's marketing coordinator, Emily, for the wonderful job she did promoting the event (check out the sign she made below!), and to Ashley (Emily's "second-in-command") for helping me get the space ready, for being there all day with me on Saturday, January 30th, and for pulling the winning ticket at the end of the evening! 

Great job, Emily! Thank you! 

Once again, live music from Kathleen McGee kept me going from 1pm-3pm (otherwise known as the time when I have to start putting the pedal to the metal, so to speak). Friends and family were kind enough to stop by with hugs and words of encouragement, and I'm always grateful for that! The tireless Keith Spiro was there nearly all day long, documenting everything, selling raffle tickets, and promoting, promoting, promoting...thank you! Three paintings and a handful of magnets found new homes that day, and funds were raised for a worthwhile cause: the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program's "BackPack Program". I am still waiting to receive an official total, but when I get that information, I will pass it along. 

Ever get the feeling you're being watched? 

My next Brushstrokes With Impact (TM) "Paint-a-Thon" is coming right up: Saturday, February 27th! I'm going to be announcing the location and the cause very soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, mark your calendars!

In other show news, the artists' reception for the "Joy of Art" at Topsham Public Library's Crooker Gallery was this past Saturday, February 6th! It was a great turnout, especially considering this was the "snow date". I had my own corner again this year! If you haven't had a chance to see the work in this year's show, you still have time: the "Joy of Art" runs through Saturday, February 20th. 

cornered

feed your head

Mark your calendars: On Saturday, January 30th, I'm having another "Paint-a-Thon"! I will be setting up my easel in the front window of Cool As A Moose (128 Maine Street, Brunswick) and painting from roughly 10am-6pm. At the end of the day, the completed painting will be raffled off, and 50% of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program's "Backpack Program". Raffle tickets can be purchased in person or online (here's the link: https://www.carii.com/#/register/BrushstrokeswithImpactbyMaria) for $5 each or 3 for $10. Plus, I will have a "pop-up" show of my art at Cool As A Moose from Friday, January 29th through Monday, February 1st, and 10% of all my art sales (excluding magnets) from this show will be donated to the MCHPP's Backpack Program! If you haven't heard of the MCHPP's Backpack Program, you can read all about it right here: http://www.mchpp.org/backpack-program/. It's a great cause! 

Being raised in an Italian-American household, food was a major focus for my family. My mom was known for her cooking, and she seemed to make it her mission to feed everyone and anyone who walked into our house. My parents were also very active food bank donors, and they made it a part of their regular grocery store routine to include space in their shopping cart for food pantry staples. Because of this, teaming up with the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program feels like a bit of a no-brainer. I'm grateful to be hosted by Cool As A Moose as well! I was a "pop-up" artist at Cool As A Moose back in September 2014, and I had a fantastic time. I'm looking forward to working with them again. The staff there is so friendly! 

warm memories

Incidentally, if you're reading this and you have a story to share regarding my mother and her cooking, I invite you to leave it in the comments!

snow down, slow down

It's snowing where I am! Sometimes snow days can be rather inconvenient. Sometimes snow days can come at just the right time. Today feels like one of those well-times snow days. Yes, it's true: today's snow day has resulted in a postponement of the artists' reception for the 8th Annual Joy of Art juried group show at Topsham Public Library. While that is a bit of a bummer, the reception has already been rescheduled for Saturday, February 6th, 1pm-3pm, so that's taken care of. The Joy of Art began on January 12th and runs through February 20th. For more information, please visit the Topsham Public Library's website: www.topshamlibrary.org

The beauty of a good snow day is the permission to take things slow, to kick back a bit, to sleep in, to catch up with things that have been needing attention. I've been trying to make this day a healthy combination of all of those things. I still have plenty to do, but somehow, it feels like everything will get done. One of the things on my list was to write a quick blog post to include something I can't believe I left out of my last blog post: I made the paper! 

back page news! 

Yes, my "Paint-a-Thon/Paint4TheCure" made it into the January edition of The Cryer! The article is the entire top half of the back page...pretty awesome, if you ask me! I'm grateful to Keith Spiro for documenting the day so beautifully, and I'm already looking forward to my NEXT "Paint-a-Thon"! Please visit (and join!) my Carii community page, Brushstrokes With Impact By Maria, to find out more! In the meantime, stay warm! 

we can be heroes

To all who were involved in my "Paint-a-Thon/Paint4TheCure": I am overwhelmed and humbled by your support! Thanks to you, today I was able to donate $374.98 to NFCR's Play4TheCure program! This total came about through several different ways: 50% of the proceeds from all of the "Paint-a-Thon" raffle ticket sales, 10% of the proceeds from all art sales from my show at the Mix, and all of your post-raffle donations through my Carii community page, Brushstrokes With Impact by Maria! 

David Bowie's passing from liver cancer on January 10th has affected me in a way I never would have seen coming. Obviously, I did not know him personally, but David Bowie was one of my heroes: a true artist who was always reinventing himself, always pushing boundaries, always evolving, and always relevant. I'm grateful for the incredible music he left behind, and for the inspiration he provided for me personally as well as for so many others. Being able to make this donation to NFCR's Play4TheCure program just days after David Bowie's passing feels like an appropriate tribute.

"Heal" with its new owner: my awesome sister, Addie! 

Would you like to be the next lucky winner? Well, mark your calendars for my next "Paint-a-Thon": Saturday, January 30th! Details to come...stay tuned!