Garden Artist In National Exhibition
by Hyram Landers
Orchids & Orientals, a still life oil painting by local artist Lillian Forziat, has been selected for inclusion into the Oil Painters of America (OPA) 2008 National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils. According to a statement released by OPA, "Our goal is to assemble the finest display of representational oil paintings that show the highest quality in draftsmanship, color, and composition."

Works were chosen for this fine art exhibition from among entries submitted by artists from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The six week long exhibition will extend from May 2 to June 14 of 2008, and will be hosted by the prestigious Dana Gallery (www.danagallery.com) in Missoula, Montana.

Ms. Forziat works primarily with oils on canvas. Her landscape, seascape, and still-life paintings have found homes in private collections throughout the United States. She is a charter member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and she is also a member of the Art League of Long Island, the Floral Park Art League, and the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in Manhattan. Her works have been exhibited in national juried outdoor shows and festivals in Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York, with Ohio and Georgia being added this coming season. Some of her works are currently on display in the Christopher Gallery (Stony Brook, NY) and the Sunflower Fine Art Gallery (Garden City).

The OPA pamphlet describes Orchids & Orientals as an image of white cattleya orchids in a red cloisonné vase set upon a rustic side board with an oriental fan, two porcelain bowls of fruit, and a lace doily, but pictures do, in fact, merit a thousand words (or more). So trips to www.danagallery.com and to www.artgalleryLF.homestead.com are well worth the taking.