For the second year in a row, the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery in Glen Echo is hosting a series of public painting demonstrations at the Chautauqua Tower Studio in Glen Echo Park. During the month of February, Yellow Barn instructors and artists-in-residence will be working on three paintings simultaneously, live, and in a relay format.

Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery instructors have taught over 9000 students since the founding of this local visual arts nexus in 1994. During February, daily painting sessions, featuring individual artists, are open to the public and aim to make the educational resources and artist base of the Yellow Barn available to a wide audience. These public painting sessions provide opportunities to see experienced artists at work, ask them questions and find out what motivates them.

According to Gallery Manager and studio instructor, Jordan Bruns, this is the first year that the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery will host a relay-style series of events. What will begin as three blank canvases on Feb. 2, when Bruns kicks off the series, will transform into three collaboratively designed oil paintings over 26, two- to six-hour, individual sessions. Artists are coordinating their sessions to coincide with days when they teach at the Yellow Barn.

"Instructors can work on any of the three paintings. If it's still a blank canvas, the instructor can decide what we'll be working on then. The paintings should be finished on Feb. 26th," said Bruns.

Participating artists, in order of appearance, include: Jordan Bruns, Christine Lashley, Tom Semmes, Gavin Glakas, Ann Wallace, Martha Spak, Natasha Karpinskaia, Lida Stifel, Eric Garner, Glen Kessler, Daniel Wise, Walter Bartman, and Bonny Lundy. Each artist will lead two sessions.

The series is aimed to provide an extended and interactive open house experience for visitors to the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery and Glen Echo Park.

Beginning Feb. 2, Yellow Barn staff will broadcast the series live through video and photography on the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery website, as well as on the Yellow Barn's Facebook page.

This series of events will culminate in an auction at the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery official Open House on Feb. 26. The auction will benefit the Friends of the Yellow Barn, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports the educational mission of the studio and gallery through fundraising.

A full schedule of the February art relay is available on the Yellow Barn's blog.