Life

Lewandowski artwork selected for international show

ALPENA -- Artwork by Erwin P. Lewandowski of Alpena has been selected for the 18th Annual International Guild of Realism Exhibition.

His entry, "Oceanside I," is a colored pencil drawing depicting an ocean shoreline scene from Acadia National Park in Maine.

The group exhibition will feature 89 artists from across the world from April 10 through May 1 at the prestigious Brennen Fine Art Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"To be part of this exhibition is quite an honor for an artist," Lewandowski said. "What makes this event so special for me is sharing wall space with so many talented artists and knowing that many have become friends during my art career."

This is a dual juried event, with a team from the International Guild of Realism making the

first cut, and the gallery finalizing the artist list.

"Deciding what artwork to send for this competitive event is always an interesting task, and my decision to enter an oceanside scene to a gallery that is hundreds of miles from a major body of water certainly falls into the scope of a high risk move," Lewandowski said. "The drawing is actually part of a new series that I started this past fall. I was looking for something different and challenging to draw, and ocean scenery was something that I had considered for a number of years, but avoided."

He explained some of the challenges he faced during the creative process.

"The hardest thing I had to address at the onset of the series was overcoming my lack of confidence in undertaking scenes that were too complex to draw," Lewandowski said. "There are now four drawings in the series, with the first receiving an award in December and now part of an exciting exhibition. The third drawing was sold to a collector shortly after its completion."

The artist and his wife Mary reside along the shoreline of Lake Huron in Alpena.

To learn more about the artist, visit his website at www.erwinplewandowski.com.