14th Street Artists Represent in Mid City Artists Open Studios Tour

This past weekend Mid City Artists Open Studios took place mostly around Logan Circle, Dupont Circle and U Street. I took the opportunity to check out some of the local artists on 14th Street and U Street. From the three artists I checked out, there was certainly a wide variety of styles displayed. The art above is from Brian Petro. Petro’s Studio is located at 1829 14th Street, NW and is definitely worth checking out.

From some literature I picked up Petro’s work is described as follows: “The majority of the works in this show are created using .5mm graphite, twig and rod charcoal, acid free papers, and a variety of compositions and combinations of raw beeswax.” Below is the artist describing his work to a patron.

This was one of my favorite pieces from Mr. Petro.

Another local artist represented was Regina M. Miele. Her studio is located at 1833 14th Street, NW and she can be contacted at [email protected] or by phone at 202-234-2550. Her work really knocked my socks off. She had an oil painting of 14th Street painted from the roof of her building that was fantastic. Unfortunately my photo of it didn’t come out so you’ll have to visit to check it out for yourselves.

She also did amazing charcoal sketches.

Her work was described in an article from Gallery & Studio Magazine: “Regina Miele works in a manner for which the most accurate term is “poetic realism.” What romanticism exists in her work is created through her careful attention to what actually exists, rather than through imaginative invention or fantasy.” Below is the artist in her studio.

I visited Thomas Drymon’s studio at 1340 U Street, NW. Mr. Drymon explained to me that much of his work was influenced by his time in New Orleans. He recently moved back to DC this past June. Below the artist poses with his piece “Scattered Showers”. This work was so titled because it was inspired by the summer thunderstorms on the Mississippi river that Mr. Drymon witnessed almost everyday from his studio.