Come One Come All!

The first annual Gaithersburg Police Foundation Art Auction will be held at the Gaithersburg Hilton on March 6, 2011 from 2 to 5 pm. The foundation is still accepting artwork from artists interested in donating 2-dimensional works of art, including painting, drawing and photography. The auction will benefit the Gaithersburg Police Department.

"I don't know how many people we expect will turn out," said Clark Day, a Board Member of the Gaithersburg Police Foundation, who is organizing the auction. "It could be anywhere from 50 to 500."

Day has set up a website featuring all the artwork submitted to date. More than 35 individual pieces are in the online gallery already.

Online gallery pieces include an original etching by Pablo Picasso and a life-like painting of Judah, the second police dog purchased by the Gaithersburg Police Foundation by Police Officer John Duke. They also include original paintings by local artists, including Natalya B. Parris and Callie Lebo, who have been featured in the Portrait of the Artist series on the Gaithersburg Patch.

Photographs range in depicting local scenes to far away but recognizable iconic views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Day's own photographs are in the auction, as well as paintings and photographs by various Kentlands residents, including Judy Gross, whose upcoming anthology on life in Kentlands was featured on the Gaithersburg Patch last month. 

"The foundation is having me organize this event because I am the artsy one," said Day who is a professional photographer and has contributed to Patch in the past.

The Gaithersburg Police Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization with an 8-person board, aims to increase educational opportunities for police staff, improve retention of officers and increase the quality of police service to the community by raising funds to enable continuous community outreach and the best possible access to resources for police officers. The overarching aim of the foundation is to maintain open lines of communication between the police force and the community and to build trust and safety in the Gaithersburg municipal area.

Participating artists to date include: Bob Drzyzgula, Natalya B. Parris, Linda Sherman, Callie Lebo, Edna Searles, Andrew Murdock, Charles Umanita, Bobbi Schulman, Ralph Jones, Estelle Dawn Zorman, Rosemarie Zannino, Clark W. Day, Melvin O. Miller, Betsy Koepenick, Judy Gross, and Monroe Davids.   

For a sneak peak at the artwork submitted so far, click here.

To find out more about the Gaithersburg Police Foundation, click here.

To find out more about the Hilton Hotel in Gaithersburg and for directions to the auction, click here.