Jeepers

Last week Solomons Island hosted a number of Plein Air artists and I noted their sense of community. On that same “community” theme, the inaugural Tiki Trek & Jeep Show event sponsored by Patriotic JeepsSupporting Public Safety (PJSPS) and the Tiki Bar was held yesterday. There were tons of jeeps on view vying for prizes in several categories, but the bigger picture was again one of community.

The non-profit PJSPS connects creates events for jeeps with the express intent of raising money for Public Safety organizations.  Yesterday’s event was raising funds for the Calvert Advanced Life Support Team.

I had a chance to talk to a few of the folks at the event and found them very willing to talk about their community. The SOMD Jeepers were well represented. This is a FaceBook based club for jeep enthusiasts that has no hierarchy and no dues. I spoke to one (of the 1400+ members) and gathered a few good comments that speak to the code these folks live by. A few other clubs were out too – Pasadena and Chesapeake were two that I noted.

The guy I spoke to was confident that should he ever break down on the side of the road there would be other jeepers there in a heartbeat to lend a hand. It felt like the musketeers in a way – One for All and All for One. Another story was of, well I’ll call it an intervention. It’s always a good idea to have a designated driver, or a plan to get home when you may have indulged a little too much. The tale is of a club member that shouldn’t be driving home, so his buddy hitched up a trailer and went and not only picked up his friend, but also towed his rig home as well.  NOW THAT’S COOL!!

Many of the jeeps had names and or emblems on them that were fantastic. A few had custom plates as well. A husband and wife team had two jeeps – Jekyll and Hyde. How awesome is that!

There were plenty of Wranglers of all varieties – most prevalent were the Rubicons. There were Saharas and Willy’s, and a couple old Cherokees. The WJ (newer Cherokee) really caught my attention – it was the only one in the crowd and I admired its uniqueness. There were even a Liberty and a Patriot – though I’m not as much of a fan. Prince Frederick Jeep even brought down a new Renegade. If you want to see some heavily modified rigs and talk running boards, lights and winches this was the place to be today.

lining up for Grill Sargent BBQ

 The gloomy day didn’t dampen the spirits of this crowd, there was a country duo playing near the front of the Tiki Bar, and Grill Sargent BBQ was serving up some good grub to a hungry crowd.

I have to admit, if you couldn’t tell already, that I’ve wanted a Jeep for years, but it never seemed like the right fit for our needs. This event and the sense of community has me considering it yet again – and Deb’s already given the green light provided the motorcycles go…  hmm, guess I need to do some thinking.

Lots of photos of the amazing rigs:

Liberty and Justice .... get it?

Really liked this Cherokee

Supercharged!

one of the brighter colors on display

This is just one corner of the lot filled with jeeps!

Leonidas - Spartan warrior King!

This one had great paint!

They had a drone taking pics!

Fab name

Great comparison

"Old School"

Community at its best, and supporting local Public Safety Organization.

Is it really a Jeep if there's no MUD?

Solomons Plein Air - Gala

The capstone Gala was held later Saturday evening at Carmen’s Gallery. This is where up to two submissions of each artist are evaluated by the judge of the event. Hiu Lai Chong of Rockville Maryland had the honor and difficult task of selecting the best of the best. After the awards were handed out, potential collectors wandered through the gallery admiring the works, talked with the artists and purchased their favorites. It was what I might call a casual chic party. The gallery and grounds were set up beautifully, and a Latin Jazz band from the College of Southern Maryland played in the background.

Mick in the center, he took it all so well!

There were a number of special awards, and I apologize for not remembering all of the titles, so I’ll call them Honorable Mentions.

Mick McAndrews won an award that I easily recall. Nearly all of the artists had completed multiple pieces, but had to choose two to submit for judging. The judge looked at all of the unsubmitted works and gave out the ‘knucklehead award’ to the painter that may have left his/her best work out of the contest. Mick won based on this ‘Beacon Marina’ piece.

One of Luc Herbots works

Another award paid tribute to Luc Herbots who passed away in June of this year. He was an amazing artist/illustrator. Neal Hughes garnered the award given for a work that emphasized architecture.

Neal Hughes

In the pace of the awards, and my lack of memory, I think I missed the next two honorable mentions, though I'm pretty confident in saying the second one is Greg Johannesen's piece notable for his use of color - particularly the blue in the water.

Carole Pierson won an Honorable Mention for her interpretation of what appears to be an old abandoned house. It has a deep mysterious and yet tranquil feel for me.

Stephan Giannini received an award for his nocturnal painting of the iconic Tiki Bar. Its use of light and dark was just gorgeous.

Debra Howard's effort

Debra Howard received an “Out of the Box” award for her amazing take on some jelly fish. My guess is that she was at the Calvert Marine Museum to see these creatures. The use of color and contrast is wonderful.

Raymond Ewing's piece being shown

Raymond Ewing earned the coveted Artist’s Choice award, which is voted on solely by all of the artists in the competition. His painting of a sailboat in a slip has great depth to it.

John Cagianno took a Third Place Ribbon for “No Strings” rendition of a boat in the Calvert Marina Boat Yard.

John on the left with a big smile

JoEllen Murphy captured the Second Place Ribbon for a piece showing a sailboat at Zahniser’s Marina. It’s a very strong composition.

Patrick Lee earned the First Place Blue Ribbon for his waterfront painting. The judge, Hui Lai Chong, had been giving gracious descriptions of the merits for each previous award. It was getting a little late by this time and guests were arriving. I’ll paraphrase Hui Lai’s summary as saying; “you just did everything right.” Very well done Patrick, very well done.

Bruno Baran

The next story arc speaks volumes of the artists’ community. There was a family tragedy early in the week of one of the artists causing them to drop out of the festival. There was a very special tribute just prior to the awards with Bruno Baran sharing some very caring words. Beyond that though, was an incredible gesture unfolding during the evening.  An easel with paints was set up next to a small table with a glass of wine. Each and every artist present painted just a small portion of the tableau. The end result was beautiful. The painting was delivered to their colleague on Sunday. It’s a stunning example of what community can be.

Elissa Gore

Ray Ewing

Crystal Moll

Just one artist was left to finish the work.

Carole Pierson signing the back of a painting

The rest of the evening was spent mingling and nibbling on the amazing spread of heavy hors d’oeuveres.

We did come upon Deb's twin - Tara Will. Great minds think alike. Aren't they gorgeous!

Deb and I left the event with a deep sense of gratitude for being a witness to all that went on through the week.  Can’t wait to do it again next year!