Local artists and residents gather in Annandale for Artopolis

Dozens of local residents and art enthusiasts gathered at Beanetics Coffee Roasters in Annandale Dec. 7 for the first day of Artopolis.

This free event featured paintings, conversations with the artists, and music by the Parklawn Ramblers.

Artopolis continues tonight and Saturday, 6-9 p.m., with a different group of artists each evening. Beanetics is located in the Annandale Shopping Center at 7028 Columbia Pike.

The organizer, James Albright, hopes Atropolis will ignite more cultural activities in Annandale. He launched Artopolis “to build on the strength of the Annandale community and explore what it would be like to build an art community here.”

Albright paints “things that are important to me and places I know.” The paintings he brought to Beanetics include a vibrant scene from a trip to Havana, a minor league baseball game, and a display of cakes at Breeze Bakery in Annandale.

Another of the artists at the opening, Chris Parker, displayed a realistic painting of the Grand Canal in Venice – with a self-portrait as a gondolier relaxing in his boat – and paintings of Lego creations built by his grandchildren.

Daren Shumate brought a couple of paintings of old cars and one of the house he grew up in in Kansas. “Like every boy growing up, I liked to draw cars,” says Shumate, who also plays the banjo and cello with Parklawn Ramblers and serves as the Mason District representative on the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

Mahnaz Weldy, who left everything behind when her family immigrated from Iran in 1979, says her paintings of daily life reflect human resilience. “Everyone wants the same thing in this world – peace, love, and security.”

The Artopolis exhibit this evening will feature oil paintings of flowers by Rebecca Morrison, watercolors by Jill Wallis and Marvel Adams, and complex abstracts by John Ballou.

Artists presenting their works on Saturday evening include former art director for Prince Steven Parke, presenting photos of Prince; landscapes by Andy Shallal, owner of the Busboys and Poets restaurant group; paintings by Helen Pappas and Lynn Fulling; and ceramics by Lisamarie Adams.