Meet 2023 Spring Obsession Artist Bonnie Mae Waldon

 About the Artist Bonnie Mae Waldon

O-042 French Country Harvest by Bonnie Waldon $1200

        Born and raised in Oakland, California, Bonnie Waldon spent many years living in the Bay Area but has spend the last 40 years calling Murphys her home. Bonnie moved to Murphys long before the graceful buildings that line the main street were even a sketch, when the only grocery store was Davie's and Michelson Elementary received all four of her children, who were at the time, in grades K through 8. She and her husband wanted their children to grow up in a place that was safe and the schools in the  city were experiencing problems that she was not going to accept. Bonnie spent the next fifteen years raising all of her kids with her husband Jerry. I was only when her last child went off to college that Bonnie found herself with time to explore a long-ignored creative side. As a young woman she liked to draw, but opportunities to pursue art for as woman in East Oakland in the 1960's were scarce. Now, children grown, Bonnie took an art class with Harrion Rios that immediately awakened her love of painting, specifically with oil paints, as the texture and feel are what really inspire her as she works. Primarily self-taught, Bonnie loves the social connection that can be found when chatting with other artists, and the happiness her work brings to those who receive it.

Meet 2023 Spring Obsession Artist Kim Vagt

 

Kim Vagt Artist:

 

Kim Vagt lives in our wonderous Sierra Nevada Foothills!

O-079 Estuary-in-the Bay by Kim Vagt mm 12x12 $225

Recently retired in 2020 from a career in healthcare, Kim lives in the countryside near Mokelumne Hill in our pristine Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California where she has her art studio.

Kim gains inspiration from the wonder of local landscapes and florals, abstract art compositions, and her true love for color.

She enjoys various mediums and techniques using Acrylic, Watercolor, Alcohol Ink, Oil Pastels, and Encaustic Wax. Every painting elicits pure creative energy for her with a desire to create a unique emotional connection for the viewer. “One piece leads me into the next and brings an exhilarating sense of joy, wonder, and learning”.  

O-080 Alyssum-Fields-of-Glory by Kim Vagt mm 12x12 $325

Her recent judged art pieces showcased at:

·        Crocker Art Museum, Wonderous Wax Exhibit 2020

·        Sacramento Fine Arts Center 54 and 55th National Motherlode Art Exhibit 2020-2021

·        The Gallery 48 at Natomas, Movement, Mastery and Medium Sierra Wax Artists Exhibit, 2021

·        Ironstone Vineyard, 24^th and 25^th Spring Obsession Art Competitions, 2021 and 2022

·        Calaveras Art Council Gallery, A Few of My Favorite Things, Exhibit, 2021

·        Propeller Art Gallery, Layers of Meaning International Encaustic Exhibit, October 2021

·        Roseville Blueline Arts Gallery, California Encaustic Artists Exhibit,  March, 2023

Check out Kim’s website: https://www.kimvagt.com/

Meet 2023 Spring Obsession Artist Paula Tooman

 

O-045 Blue on Blue by Paula Tooman wc 16x20 $250

Paula Gale Tooman Bio

 

I feel like I am coming home when I enter the art show at Ironstone Vineyards. The Gold Country has always been special to me. My husband and I love sitting on the Ironstone patio outside the wine tasting room having a glass of wine and some sandwiches. It’s a privilege to return as a painter to one of my favorite places.

I am Paula Gale Tooman and I’ve been painting since my mid-twenties. I first got interested in water color when I took a class from Muriel Doggett in adult education in Pleasanton, California. It only took six weeks to fall in love with the fluid surprises of painting with water colors. I’ve never been able to pry myself away from this medium – it’s exciting, vibrant, unpredictable, and just plain fun. A friend and I would try to go plein-air painting every few weeks. Sometimes we went to the Sacramento Delta but mainly we painted in the Gold Country. Dogs loved us, and people would meander by to see what we were doing. The spectators seemed to be kind and somewhat envious of the fun we were having.

When I had my first two children I felt I was too busy to paint. But I didn’t know what busy really was until my husband and I adopted twelve Ethiopians between 1994 and 1996. I was too busy to do much of anything. Our last adoption was in 1999 of a handicapped Down’s syndrome baby girl. But … I still dreamed of those days of painting in the Gold Country and wanted to try again. When I was in my late fifties I had only three kids at home – it felt like a vacation.

This last year has been very busy and quite strange because of Covid-19 and many new commitments. But, “God willing and the creek don’t rise”, I’ll be spending much more time in my studio this coming year, and I’m really looking forward taking on new challenges of in my water color painting.

 

O-046 Sunflowers in the Alley by Paula Tooman wc 23x18 $225

Meet 2023 Spring Obsession Artist Michelle Thornburg

T-024 Spring Flowers by Michelle Thornburg acrylic 30x40 $850

 Michelle Thornburg - Artist's Statement

My style of creating artwork is painting from the subconscious. There are no carefully planned sketches, no grids, it is just me and my paint with no expectations of anything but painting. I use my hands to apply the paint directly onto my canvas, no rules, just whatever feels right. The key for me is to let go of the conscious world around me, and just paint, allowing my hands to take the lead. Eventually the painting reveals itself. It's like daydreaming on a canvas.

T-025 Mother Nature by Michelle Thornburg acrylic 36x36 $850

Artist's Biography

Michelle Thornburg is a  California Artist and Art Techer living and working in the Central Valley. She creates dream like paintings from her subconscious using the Surrealist technique of automatism, or automatic painting. Her technique of using mainly her hands to apply acrylic or oil paints to the canvas allow her to connect with her artwork. Her paintings are created by applying paints onto the canvas in various c9olors, patterns, and movements. Her paintings are often reworked and go through many changes before they are completed. These expressive paintings are full of fanciful images and colorful landscapes.