Hey, gang! This Sunday I met up with some of my MSCA co-horts out at the Memphis Jewish Community Center off Poplar to hang our latest art show, “The Art Of The Game“.
The art show is on display at the Shainberg Gallery at the MJCC. When you walk into the main lobby of the MJCC, it’s ahead and on the right just as you go up the stairs on the right.
There’s lots of local art celebrating all kinds of games in our collaborative art show, including some handcrafted wooden art pieces by the late Irvin Serenco. He was an incredibly talented woodworker- and former president of the Memphis Jewish Community Center.
I’ve got 4 pieces in this art show- “Playing With Your Head” canvas print, “Fallout/Ghoul” marker illustration, “Kick Me” acrylic print, and my most recent airbrushed “Tron/Sark” painting (played by David Warner in the original “Tron” movie).
For this “Sark” painting I started off projecting the image up on a 20″x24″ canvas using my Artograph Super AG 100 opaque projector and a pencil and Sharpie. Then I airbrushed some black and grey to start working out the image.
I use acrylic Createx airbrush paint, a Paasche VL-3 airbrush, and a Craftsman 6gal air compressor. I took this one out of the box this summer to paint my Bela/Dracula painting this summer. I had bought the “pancake” compressor back around the pandemic, but just haven’t airbrushed since then.
I currently have to airbrush outdoors on the back patio. It’s fine when the weather is nice, but not so much when it’s cold, windy, or wet- and the weather didn’t want to cooperate with me on this one. The paint consistency was a bit thick and the compressor tank built up condensation because of the cooler temps. It made the brush spit and sputter from time to time, and I was constantly cleaning off the tip. Of course as soon as I finished this painting I found my moisture trap that I took off my old compressor when it died. Oh, well- I’ll have it installed for the next painting I do for my “Family Portraits” art show at Playhouse on the Square this June!
I kept working back and forth spraying the black and grey Createx paint.
I had to wait a few days because of rain, but was finally able to get back to it and work on adding some details.
Once I had the greys to this point, I started adding some Pearlized Red to the painting for the glow effect. It’s got an iridescent/metallic/pearl appearance that have a color shift from a lighter hue on direct view to a darker hue on side-cast views. They come in a wide range of colors.
Once the red was added, I did a bit more shading with the black, and added some white highlights. I then sprayed some Pearlized Blue to the background and left a little black showing. It kinda helped make the painting look a bit more 3D.
I had the sparkly blue and red left over from some previous Orpheum Theatre chairs I painted a while back. Glad the paint was still good! (Click HERE to see how I painted those chairs.)
I did a bit more work to the face and then called it done on this painting. After all the struggles outdoors on it I was glad to see it hanging in the art gallery!
The art show runs December 22, 2025 – January 30, 2026 and we’ll have an Artists’ Reception on January 8, 2025 from 5-7pm. The art show and reception are free to attend, and you can see the art during open business hours of the Memphis Jewish Community Center at 6560 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN. From I-240 take Poplar (East) past Ridgeway towards Germantown and MJCC will be on the left before Kirby Pkwy. Additional parking can be found in the rear of the community center.
Art of the Game: Irvin Serenco and The Mid-South Cartoonist Association
In the Shainberg Gallery: December 22–January 30
Artist Reception: January 8 • 6:00–8:00pm
Free event and open to the public (handicap accessible)
Gallery Hours:
Monday-Thursday 8am–8:15pm
Sunday 8am–5:45pm
6560 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38138
(901) 761-0810
www.jccmemphis.org/
Thanks to Jonathan McCarter (MJCC Program Director for Cultural Arts), the Serenco family, Kevin L. Williams (MSCA prez), and all those who helped hang the show and are participating in it. I hope to see you there.
I’ll be back on Friday for another art show post. Nicki, Lex, Lena, and I hope you all had a Happy Hanukkah, and have a Merry Christmas!
Lin