Friday, March 6, 2015

Open Division Judge, Kathleen Dunphy


Ironstone is pleased to present Kathleen Dunphy who will be judging the OPEN Division of Ironstone's 18th Annual Spring Obsession OPEN Division.  



Kathleen Dunphy’s rapid success in the competitive art world was predicted when American Artist Magazine recognized her as one of the Top Ten Emerging Artists in 1998, just 2 years after she had closed her floral design business to devote herself full time to painting.  She is one of those rare people who have true passion, dedication, and a gift for transposing nature’s beauty to canvas.

Kathleen’s early art education included workshops by Kevin MacPherson and Dan Gerhartz. In 2000, Kathleen was awarded a full scholarship at the renown Academy of Art University in San Francisco.  She maintains strong ties to the Academy, where she has been offered a faculty appointment and participates in the annual Alumni Auction. Further study with Scott Christensen and T. Allen Lawson helped hone her skills and refine her own unique style of painting.

In 2003, Kathleen designed and built her own studio in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, where the pristine setting of her home provides endless inspiration for her work.  Kathleen’s landscape paintings can now be found in galleries from coast to coast. Her honors are considerable and include important juried shows in California, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, and Maine; Best of Show from the American Impressionist Society; an Award of Excellence from the Oil Painters of America; ten California Art Club Gold Medal Shows; eight magazine articles including being featured in Southwest Art’s plein air issues in 2009 and 2013; the Federal Duck Stamp Competition; Birds in Art; Arts for the Parks; Grand Prize at the Acadia Invitational Exhibition in Bar Harbor, Maine; and many others. In 2014, Kathleen’s painting “The Flotilla” was purchased by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum for inclusion in their permanent collection.  Kathleen has attained signature status with the Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, Laguna Plein Air Painters, the American Society of Marine Artists and Artists for Conservation. Her highest honor to date came in 2013 when she was elected to join the prestigious Plein Air Painters of America as one of only 35 Signature Members. In a short period of time, she has earned an impressive and growing reputation with galleries, private collectors, and art magazines across the United States.  

In the spirit of passing on the gifts of her artistic abilities, Kathleen began teaching in 2005 and is a much sought-after workshop instructor. Her engaging style of teaching and one-on-one instruction garners high accolades from her student artists. 
Kathleen has joined many of Ironstone's other prestigious judges selecting the awards at Ironstone's annual Spring Obsession Art show. 

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Meet Artist W. Vaughn Lew, Spring Obsession THEME Division accepted artist

W Vaughn Lew
Artist
Murphys, California
T-004  In Like a Lion  oil  16x20  $500

I'm originally from Eastern Oregon. My family moved to Lodi in 1961 where I attended Lodi High School, graduating in 1964.
  I then enrolled at Sacramento State College, where I was a Commercial Art Major. De Witt Whistler Jayne was my main influence. He was a renowned commercial artist, illustrator, and portrait painter with a gift for teaching and an eye for perfection. "Mr. Lew", he would say, "so much for a nice beginning, but let's have a finish." I've been striving for that quality ever since.
   Another instructor that had a very positive effect on me was Dr. Tarmo Pasto, an eccentric art psychologist and art instructor who taught the "Space Frame Concept". It was all about space and form.
   After graduating from SSC and getting a teaching credential I was fortunate to get an art teaching job at Elk Grove High School. I taught there for several years, but had an itch to get into construction. That is where I've been until eight years ago, when my wife Glenda, and daughter Melissa and I moved to Murphys.
   One thing that is certain is that art requires a commitment. I feel that I now have the time and space to finally concentrate on my painting. Although I have been producing some art over the years, it is only now that I can continue to the next piece without an extended time period between. Landscapes, townscapes, wildlife, and portraits all interest me. My goal is to create images that bring the viewers into a space that takes them away, and gives them pause to reflect.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Meet Artist Jorune Jonikas, 18th Annual Spring Obsession THEME Division accepted artist

JORUNE M. JONIKAS   


T-026  Three Graces  acrylic  14x18  $195



Discovering late in life that I could create art has been an unexpected gift. Although throughout my early life, I always wished I could draw, I never seriously considered attempting it or taking classes - until I retired.  I retired from a 25 year career in federal law enforcement and decided to explore that persistent itch and started taking every art class that was offered through the Smithsonian in Washington DC. It was a new and wonderful world opened up to me by professional artists teaching the Smithsonian art classes. During my time there, I was privileged to be included in gallery art shows at the Foundry Gallery, Washington DC and at the Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD.

Moving to Sacramento allowed for continued growth-taking different and varied art classes, and getting to know new talented artists.  Painting to me is quiet and contemplative and although I tend toward the realism side, I'm still learning and experimenting with different styles and bolder colors. I paint in oil, acrylic, watercolor and pastel. I find each has its own dynamic and that sometimes a subject matter is better suited to one medium than another. I have a definite fondness for painting animals, both wild and domestic and I have been fortunate to have received commissions for pet portraits. I have paintings in private collections in Maryland, Illinois, Colorado and Sacramento. I have been honored to have been accepted into juried shows at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center in 2012 and 2013, and have exhibited at Citrus Heights City Hall and at restaurants in Fair Oaks and Sacramento. I am especially pleased to have been accepted into the Ironstone Vineyards, Spring Obsession art show for the fourth time. Ironstone has been a wonderful and awe inspiring experience.

Meet Artist Debra Montgomery, Ironstone Spring Obsession THEME Division accepted artist

Debra Montgomery
Fine Metal Sculpture
www.finemetalscuplture.com
Art Piece: RENAISSANCE
Copper and Wood Daffodil
T-028  Renaissance  repousse  7.25x10.75  $1500



ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a welder by trade, having changed careers in 2000. I anticipated pursuing a very practical blue collar career when I went back to school. In discovering the aesthetic versus functional aspects of metal along the way, it has proven to be an unexpected and fascinating detour in my vocational path.

Working primarily in welded steel and the copper forming techniques of repousse and chasing, I value the potential for expressiveness and texture in my work. An integral part of my style is accuracy and tangibility. When people see my work, I want them to be inclined to reach out and touch it.

I do not always have a set plan when I start creating a piece. Of course there are mathematical formulas to calculate factors such as proportions and scale. Other times, the metal surface can, in essence, take on a life of its own, with the shadows from the lights hinting where the next hammer hit should be. A good part of my passion for and the challenge I get out of my work is driven by my finding the way to the end result.

I take great pleasure in utilizing traditional metalsmithing techniques, bringing into fruition, detail-oriented two and three dimensional art that would be considered non-traditional in nature.

As I continue to hone my skills as an artisan, I hope to develop my portfolio into a diverse and extraordinary collection of work that one would not expect to be constructed out of metal.