The North Carolina Azalea Festival Art Unveiling is an annual event held in the Fall where we unveil the Official Artwork for that Festival year.
The unveiling for the 2020 year will take place on November 22, 2019 located at theArtWorks™ (200 Willard Street, Wilmington, NC 28401).
The event will coincide with the Fourth Friday Gallery Walk from 6-9 pm. Join us at theArtWorks™ from 6-7 pm for a glass of wine and the official unveiling of the new artwork by Todd Carignan.
THIS IS A FREE EVENT !
A special thank you to Griffin Estep Benefit Group, Inc. for supporting the official artwork of 2020.
Todd Carignan BIO:
Todd Carignan was born and raised in Wilmington, NC. He attended the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he received his BFA in Sequential Art and a minor in art history.
Carignan works primarily as a portrait artist and gallery fine artist. His favorite mediums are oils, watercolor and charcoal. He teaches drawing and painting classes at the Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum School, with special focus on portraiture, figures and landscapes. Carignan also teaches various drawing and digital classes at DREAMS of Wilmington, a non-profit after school arts education program for children.
In 2017, Carignan traveled to India to document the culture and the work of Homes of Hope, a non-profit that builds orphanages for displaced girls. In fall of 2018, he had a major exposition of paintings from those travels as a fundraiser and awareness campaign for Homes of Hope, and he continues to support them through sales of those subjects.
Carignan is a member of the Portrait Society of America and American Impressionist Society and is an awarded member of the Oil Painters of America. He has judged many art competitions, won multiple awards and has art in collections all over the world.
He lives in Wilmington, NC with his wife, Mailyn, and two sons, Everett and Xavier. He keeps his art studio at TheArtWorks™ Art Village and is represented by New Elements Gallery.
On being the Azalea Festival Artist…
I am honored to be the official artist for the 2020 Azalea Festival. Like people, spring is a favorite subject of mine to paint. From the blooming flowers to the Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Belles with their flower-like dresses, there isn’t a better time of the year for an artist inspired by colors. It is an impressionist’s paradise. And if an artist likes to paint trees, and I do, there is probably none more iconic to Wilmington than the Airlie Oak. So when I was offered the opportunity to paint the Airlie Luncheon Garden Party, it was a perfect fit. Thousands of people come together to celebrate warm weather, southern food and good company. And everyone is dressed to impress. In my painting, I tried to bring the feeling of the party to life, with impressions of colors brightly dancing across the Airlie lawn, under the giant oak, with its ancient twisting limbs and dripping spanish moss. I like that the tree is so big it can’t fit on the canvas, and the party is so expansive that is moving out beyond the picture’s edge to pull you into the festivities. It has been a treat to recreate this event on canvas, and I hope it captures the joyful spirit of this long tradition in the Azalea Festival.