A few last minute signatures on the prints that will be in the show at Kennedy Gallery on Market Street during the month of March.  I always love the challenge of going through the archives to find some quality stuff.  It’s a great exercise to realize what you’ve learned and how your eye has developed.  I realized that I might cringe at some of my older shots – but I have that much more appreciation for the challenge of shooting regularly and posting every day, as I’m sure I’d be doing more of the same work if I wasn’t trying to grow.  We narrowed the selection down to sixteen of my favorite scenes from the Seacoast that would look beautiful on a wall.  I hope to see you on Friday night and hear your thoughts!

A few details on the opening:

What:  Art ‘Round Town

Where:  Kennedy Gallery | 41 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH

When:  Friday, March 2nd from 5-8pm

There’s a new gallery in town (on State Street across from Agave and Dos Amigos)…and I had the pleasure of stopping in to explore some of the work from Latin artists featured in the gallery.  Visit WireNH for a great article on the new establishment and its founder, Catherine McLaughlin-Hills (who was very kind and helpful as I meandered around).  It only took a matter of seconds upon walking in to realize that this wasn’t your typical seacoast gallery, which was a welcomed surprise.  As someone who has very clearly made his practice photographing the beauty that surrounds us here on the New Hampshire seacoast, I most certainly appreciate more diversity in our art scene.  Also, as someone who is marrying into a Cuban and Colombian family, I think I’ve developed a greater appreciation for art outside what I’m typically seeing/enjoying.

I strongly encourage you to stop in and explore for yourself.  The gallery is full of fascinating and vibrant pieces of work…well worth a few minutes of your day on a stroll towards Prescott Park.

(Be sure to click the image – I really dig how this one looks on the black background)

The latest installation at The Gallery at 100 Market is now hanging through April 15th.  Do yourself a favor and go visit to see some incredible paintings, photographs, and of course – my series that I selected specifically for this show: “Above & Beyond”.  The shot above is a glimpse of the series hanging on the 3rd floor, which have been mounted in gorgeous custom cherry frames with some anti-glare glass and featuring a few of my favorite photos.

Also, as a thank you to all of my supporters over the past couple years, I would like to invite anyone to use this coupon code for 15% off any purchase (for the next 30 days).  If ordering through http://philipcasecohen.com use the code “1000″.  If ordering through the “Buy Now” button on the website, use code “561B67″.  I hope to keep you coming back for more engaging images for a long time to come!

PhilipCaseCohen.com code: “1000″ (no comma)

TheDailyPortsmouth.com code: “561B67″

This welcoming storefront belongs to Three Graces Gallery on Market Street downtown.  The gallery’s location on Market Street usually gives it gorgeous sunsets, with rich intense rays of sunlight reaching down Hanover Street to hit the storefront for a few minutes before retiring for the day.  The shop also has a gorgeous hanging sign, but there’s something about a straight on shot of a store with a good door that I can’t get enough of.  More shots to follow of the hanging sign and of the window soaked in sunlight to follow another time…  If you love art, do yourself a favor and stop in to see the one of a kind items featured in the gallery.  Currently, the Teeny Tiny Art Show VIII is featured and well worth a visit.

In 2011 I’ll be starting a new series featuring the Storefronts of Portsmouth.  Today’s image captures many things I love about Portsmouth.  A quaint storefront of a local business, a richly painted entrance, a shop nestled up against others alongside, a brick sidewalk, the warm glow of a shop where you can meet people (not a robot on some website).  Gus & Ruby Letterpress is a cool stationary and invitation boutique on Congress Street, which moved during 2010 from its former location of a little spot on Market Street near the salt piles.  It’s always a great thing when a business needs to move to a bigger space in order to meet the needs of its customers…it means business is thriving.  I had the chance to visit the shop a few months back, and loved how much detail and thought went into decorating the interior.  I love capturing detail, though I’m not always the best at creating it – so it’s always fun to see what folks come up with.  Stop in to see them sometime.

Today’s image is representative of the wet weather we’ve been having this week (when I got stuck in the worst downpour of the day on my way to Googie’s for lunch).  It’s also representative of the city itself – a fitting image for an evening when we’ll take a look at the last year and a half of images that have graced the screens here at The Daily Portsmouth, in an hourlong slideshow at The Music Hall at this month’s Scene @ Five!

The fog begins to clear on the Memorial Bridge, as its fate became a bit more certain this fall with a commitment from various parties to replace it entirely.  The Martingale Wharf building has received its brick face on Bow Street, and the green screen shields the waterfront side of the building before it gets its exoskeleton.  The Moran Towing tugboats stand as stoic as ever docked in their home, and The Heritage remains quiet – docked for the winter season until harbor cruises return with warmer weather in the spring.  I had a blast gathering images (good and bad) dating back to the early days – and I hope you give yourself a chance to come watch the show in the fancy Founder’s Lobby at The Music Hall.

I’ll be raffling off a 16″x24″ gatorboard (ready to hang) print and also a 20″x30″ print on Thursday night – with all proceeds to benefit The Music Hall and The Portsmouth Museum of Art!  It’s important to support our local cultural spots who strive to bring us opportunities to experience and engage in arts of all kinds.  I’m thrilled to raise some money for some worthy institutions. Raffle tickets will be $2/each or 3 for $5.  Buy a few and maybe you’ll have a nice holiday gift for that special someone!  Hope to see you at the event.

You are cordially invited for an exciting event on November 18th at historic The Music Hall in downtown Portsmouth!!  The Music Hall is a cultural treasure for the Seacoast and New Hampshire, and I’m proud to announce that I’m part of this month’s Scene @ Five event – it’s a two hour event starting at 5 in the gorgeous new lobby.  The night will start with some mingling as the lobby opens at 5, and at 5:30 we’ll take a look back at the last year and a half to see what things looked like here at The Daily Portsmouth.  In putting together the slideshow that will be shown, I’ve realized how many things have been in the process of changing throughout downtown, and how my shooting and photography has changed since things started back in June 2009.  I’m very excited about the event and hope that you can make it to say hello and check out The Music Hall (in case you haven’t seen it).  Thanks to everyone who continues to tune in and for all of the feedback from the great people I’ve been able to meet through my photographic endeavors.