Sandra Corpora is a member of Oil Painters of America where she won an Award of Excellence. She Studied with Nelson Shanks and is a member of the Portrait Painters of America where she was a finalist in the Members Competition last year. She’s also a member of the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters of America. She is an avid plein air painter and was invited to compete in the first New Hope Plein Air Event where she won the award for Best River Painting. She has studied in workshops with Kenn Backhaus, William Scott Jennings, John Phillip Osborne and T. M. Nicolas. She was a finalist in the Artist Magazine Competition in the Landscape Category and a Finalist in the ARC Salon International Competition this year. Her still life was selected by Richard Schmid to be part of his Fine Art Auction this year. She had three solo exhibitions and a teaching residency in 2011. She is inspired to constantly improve her skills as a painter in all subjects, figurative , still life and landscape.
Sandra Corpora has a BFA in painting from Kutztown University, receiving the award for top fine arts graduate. She was creative director at Rodale Press, and is an award-winning home designer. She also teaches and conducts workshops. Her commissioned work includes portraits, landscapes and still lifes. She resides in historic Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where she maintains a studio. Her work is in private and public collections in Italy, Canada, Norway, and the US. She is represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS / JURIED SHOWS / AWARDS
2012 Featured Artist for Historic Bethlehem
2012 Finalist in the Artist Magazine Annual Competition for Landscape
2012 Finalist in ARC Salon International Competition
2012 Invitational Plein Air Competition, Local Color, New Hope, PA AWARD for BEST RIVER PAINTING
2011 American Artists Professional League Juried exhibition at Salmagundi Club, New York
2011 Wayne Plein Air Festival juried competition
2011 Awarded a Teaching Residency at the Swain School in Allentown, PA
2011 Solo Exhibition of Still Life Paintings at the Swain School, Allentown, PA
2011 Solo Exhibition, Sandra Corpora: A Year of Painting, at the Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
2011 First Place Award, Moravian Archives, "The Art of Thy Countenance"
2011 Portrait Society of America, Finalist in the Members' Competition for Still life
2010 & 2011 The Philadelphia Sketch Club 147th Annual Juried Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings
2010 Plein Air Easton, Maryland (one of 47 international artists juried in to compete)
2009 Finalist Award in August 2009 FineArtViews Contest for "Peonies in a silver pitcher"
2009 Solo Exhibition, Baum School of Art, Allentown, PA
2009 Oil Painters of America National Exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
2008 American Artists Professional League Eightieth Grand National Exhibition, NYC
2008 Historic Yellow Springs Annual Art Show and Sale (Juried in for 12 consecutive years)
2008 Bethlehem Palette Club Spring Juried Exhibition at Moravian College, (Award)
2008 "The Magic of Light" still life workshop taught in Bethlehem, PA
2007 Solo Exhibition Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia
2006 Peoples First Choice Award, Bethlehem Palette Club All Members Exhibition, City Hall Rotunda
2005 "Moments in Time" Juried exhibition, Payne Gallery, Moravian College, PA
2005 Bethlehem Palette Club Juried Exhibition, Allentown Art Museum , (Award)
2005 “Allentown Impressions: Views of City Parks” Allentown Art Museum, Invitational
2004 Oil Painters of America Thirteenth Annual National Juried Exhibition,
(Award of Excellence)
2002 “Best Loudoun County Artist” award at Waterford Red Barn Art Exhibit, VA
2002 Artist in Residence, Inn at Spry Point, PEI, Canada
2002 Gallery 222/Loudoun Academy of the Arts Foundation Juried Show, VA
2002 Historic Yellow Springs Annual Exhibition, PA
2002 Summer New Works Exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Solo exhibition, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 “Best Loudoun County Artist” award at Waterford Red Barn Art Exhibit, VA
2001 Featured workshop instructor, Lehigh River Sojourn 2001
2001 Public Commission, Castel di Lucio, Italy
2000 “Riverscapes: Paintings from Lehigh River Sojourn 2000”, Artist in Residence Lehigh Valley
Wildlands Conservancy, Emmaus, PA
2000 Bethlehem Palette Club Juried Exhibition at the Allentown Art Museum , PA(Award)
2000 “The Amazing Animal Show”, Salon des Amis, Valley Forge, PA
2000 Phillips Mill 71st Juried Art Exhibition, New Hope, PA
2000 Kutztown University Invitational Alumni Show, Open Space Gallery, Allentown
2000 Philadelphia Sketch Club, 137th Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings (Award)
1999 Featured Artist: Artists of the Lehigh Valley , Lehigh Valley Hospital , Allentown
1999 Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works, New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA
1999 Phillips Mill 70th Juried Art Exhibition, New Hope, PA
1999 Yellow Springs Art Exhibition/Sale, Historic Yellow Springs, PA
1999 Phillips Mill 70th Juried Art Exhibition, New Hope, PA
1998 Solo exhibition: “Plein Air Paintings”, Northampton Community College, PA
1998 Phillips Mill 69th Juried Art Exhibition, New Hope, PA
1998 Solo exhibition: "Recent Paintings", Bethlehem City Hall Gallery, PA
1998 Yellow Springs Art Exhibition/ Sale, Historic Yellow Springs, PA
1997 Featured Muralplatz Artist, Musikfest, Bethlehem, PA
1997 "River Reflections: Images of the Lehigh in Art", Sand Island , Bethlehem, PA
1997 Mayfair Regional Art Exhibition, Allentown, PA
1997 Art Association of Harrisburg, 69th Annual Juried Exhibition, Harrisburg, PA
1997 Lehigh Art Alliance , 62nd Annual Spring Juried Exhibition, Mountain Top
Campus, Lehigh University , Bethlehem, PA (Award)
1997 The Philadelphia Sketch Club, 134th Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings,Philadelphia, PA
1997 "The 3 of Hearts" Juried Group Show, Artzon Coop Art Gallery , Orefield, PA (Award)
1997 Woodmere Art Museum , 57th Annual Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
1997 "The River As Muse" Juried Group Show by the Contemporary Arts Corridor,
at Williams Center for the Arts, Lafayette College , Easton, PA
1996 The Baum School of Art, 7th Bi-Annual Juried Painting Exhibition, Allentown, PA
1996 Berks Art Alliance 19th Regional Juried Exhibition at the Reading Museum , Reading, PA
1996 Tenth Annual Art Exhibition & Sale, Lehigh Valley Hospital , Allentown, PA
1996 "Art in the Garden", Rodale Institute Research Center , Kutztown, PA
1996 Binney & Smith Mural Competition for Three Rivers Landing, Easton, PA
(Finalist and Second Prize)
1996 Woodmere Art Museum , 56th Annual Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA
1995 Faulty Beagle/Blue Orchid Invitational Fine Art Exhibition, Mertztown, PA
1995 The Salmagundi Club 18th Annual Non-Member Juried Art Exhibition,
New York, NY
1995 Mayfair Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Allentown, PA
1995 "Beginnings" Open Juried Exhibition, Pearl S. Buck Foundation, Inc., Dublin, PA
1995 Lehigh Art Alliance 60th Annual Fall Juried Exhibition, Bethlehem Rotunda, PA (Award)
1995 "Art in the Garden", Rodale Institute Research Center , Kutztown, PA
1995 Ninth Annual Art Exhibition & Sale, Lehigh Valley Hospital , Allentown, PA (Purchase Award)
1995 Solo exhibition: "Figures & Landscapes", Design Accent Gallery, Allentown, PA
1994 Lehigh Art Alliance 59th Annual Fall Juried Exhibition, Allentown Art Museum ,
Allentown, PA (Best of Show)
1994 Eighth Annual Juried Art Exhibition & Sale, Lehigh Valley Hospital ,
Allentown, PA (Purchase Award)
1994 Everhart Museum , Nay Aug Park , Scranton, PA
1994 39th Hazleton Art League Open Juried Show, Hazleton, PA
1994 "Visions of the Landscape", Kutztown, PA
1994 "Art in the Garden", Rodale Institute Research Center , Kutztown, PA
1991 Mayfair Regional Juried Art Exhibition, Allentown, PA (Third place award)
PUBLICATIONS
American Artist Magazine, "The River as Muse", July, 2001
Lehigh Valley Magazine, "Sandra Corpora at the Baum School of Art", Sept./Oct. 2009
"Each subject I choose to paint attracts me in a particular way and the challenge lies in making the painting feel authentic to that. Sometimes I want to capture the grace of a human figure or animal, or the "person" in the portrait. In the landscape I look for the specific light, color and shapes unique to those places. Those elements are created by the roll of the land, or time of day, or the atmosphere that sharpened or softened the colors. My still life paintings are mostly inspired by the harvest of fruit and vegetables grown inb our garden. Being able to watch these subjects grow and mature gives me a connection with them and an anticipation of what I want to convey in painting them.”
RECENT ARTICLE:
Paintings of Italy: Plein Air Painting
Award-winning artist Sandra Corpora has created a stunning collection of paintings depicting the wine country and coastal regions of Northern Italy. Well-appreciated for her exquisite landscapes and breathtaking still-life fine art oil paintings, Ms. Corpora has taken the “en plein air” style of painting to a level of perfection in her newly available collection. Perhaps you will recognize the unique beauty of painting in the open air from many of the works of impressionists such as Monet and Renoir, both of whom were keen advocates of working in diffused natural light. Plein air painting has long been celebrated for realism, use of natural subjects and vibrancy of colour.
The picturesque village in “View of Calamandra” is representative of the fresh-air feel of this collection. Using the medium of oil on canvas, the rich floral colours in the foreground offset this view of the Piedmont Region in the Province of Asti. In “Turquoise beach, Bonassola,” in the coastal region of Liguria, one is struck by the spontaneity of this lovely work of art which captures the essence of a seaside escape perfectly. With emphasis on the unspoilt region near Genoa, “Morning Mountains of Savignone” possesses an authenticity that compels one to slip away for a long walk amongst the olive trees and flowers.
Ms. Corpora has said in response to her subject choices, “Each subject I choose to paint attracts me in a particular way and the challenge lies in making the painting feel authentic to that. In the landscape I look for the specific light, color and shapes unique to those places.” Certainly this is indicative of her collection, as the artist has chosen certain times of day, as well as locations in response to her creative attraction. The validity is unmistakable.
This amazing collection of paintings of Italy brings the serenity, purity and “delicate sapore” of wine country and the coastal shore along with them to embrace your senses and soothe your soul. Ms. Corpora’s artistic genius is never more apparent than in her sensitivity to detail and texture. That having been said, her vital use of colour is what truly creates a whimsical mood of fancy that draws one into every scene. Do take your time and peruse carefully as each painting is quite unique and the locations in Italy vary. The website offers an option to view each work enlarged for an essential view of exquisite detail, along with additional information and individual art pricing.
Sandra Plein air painting in Pennsylvania
