Welcome to the Community Arts Association
Over 50 Years of Service to the Art Community
CAA’S ARTIST OF THE MONTH:
A.I. is coming to town! watercolor, pen and ink by Jack O’Reilly
Welcome to the Community Arts Association
Monthly meetings at Trinity Episcopal Church
55 George St., Allendale, NJ 07401
For details on upcoming meetings, go to Calendar.
For newsletters, visit Member News.
Our mission is to provide opportunities for artists and those interested in the arts to expand their knowledge, to provide a support system, and to offer a forum for sharing work.
CAA is also proud to offer merit scholarships to any high school senior in Bergen County, NJ or Rockland County, NY who pursues higher education in the visual arts. View 2023 Art Scholarship Winners here.
CAA’s Artist of the Month: Jack O'Reilly
The winning painting was A.I. is coming to town!
A.I. is coming to town! is an illustration created in the spirit of levity for display at our annual Christmas party. It made me sad to think that Santa's elves may no longer be needed to make toys for boys and girls around the world. What will become of them? Will Santa be able to program the toy making robots? What about his reindeer? Will they be replaced by drones? There are a lot of questions about the future of Christmas.
Artist Statement: I refer to my paintings as “Oodles of Doodles”. The majority of my paintings are abstract designs. I also do some traditional watercolor and do experiment with Digital Art.
For my abstract paintings, I start by laying swaths of watercolor paint on paper in a haphazard way. I sit and look at the marks that I just put on the paper. I then try to envision shapes, faces and other designs that I try to bring to life. Primarily using
watercolor paint, pen and ink mediums. I like to use vivid colors and whimsical designs that attract one’s eye.
Most of all, I absolutely enjoy the creative process for the meditative and textural sensations it provides.
Circus of Twisted Dreams
watercolor, pen and ink by Jack O’Reilly
Zoomography of a Restless Mind
watercolor, pen and ink by Jack O’Reilly
Side-Eyed Meeting Under a Blue Sky
watercolor, pen and ink by Jack O’Reilly
Please visit the Gallery pages to view more work by CAA artists.
2025 MEMBER EXHIBIT
The annual Member Show is a fine example of our talented CAA artists working in all media. There are awards for Best in Show, Second and Third Place, two Honorable Mentions, and sponsored prizes. Also presented are two merit scholarships: the Haas Scholarship for Excellence in the Visual Arts and the Lorraine Strangfeld Memorial Award. These scholarships are awarded to graduating high school students who plan to continue their art studies in college.
CAA’S 2025 BEST IN SHOW:
Mythical Kelpies
photo montage by Sharon Klass