Meet Artist Ronald Houck, Ironstone Spring Obsession Open Division Accepted Artist

Ronald Houck
Lodi, Ca
www.rounaldhouck.com

Artist Bio:

Ronald Houck was born in Salem, Oregon, but grew up in the greater San Francisco Bay Area of California. Ronald received a BA in Studio Art from California State University San Francisco in 2010.

During his high school years he developed a love for both art and misic. After high school he continued to develop as an artist, while also becoming a professional musician, singer and songwriter. He then formed a vocal trio with his wife and brother and preformed throughout Northern California and Nevada for more than eight years.

He is best known for his expressive and figurative oil paintings that capture the mood, emotion, and spirit of people in a variety of environments. Blending traditional and contemporary painting techniques, the artist compels viewers to uncover the mysteries and narratives within his work.

Ronald has been privileged to work with several nationally and internationally renown artists throughout his education, such as Craig Nelson, Warren Chang, Tae Park, Dean Larson, Zackary Zdrale and Baoping Chen.

Ronald has done commissioned portraits for prominent patrons in Central California and is beginning to achieve national recognition as an artist through his award winning work displayed at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, CA in 2010 and through gallery exposure.  Ronald is a member of Oil Painters of America and is currently teaching life drawing, foundational drawing, and color theory at The Art Institute of California-Sacramento and The Art Institute of California-Sunnyvale.  After raising three sons, he currently reside in Lodi, CA with his loving wife Suzanne.

Meet Artist Susie Hoffman, Ironstone Spring Obsession Open Division Accepted Artist

Susie Hoffman,
Copperopolis

     Now exploring art after retiring from teaching English and history, Susie considers herself a "professional art student". She and her husband, Larry, created the art center Town Hall Arts in Copperopolis where she has enjoyed classes by many foothill artists over the last four years.  From oil classes to mosaics, she is always eager to learn something new.
    Susie first started this art journey ten years ago in watercolor.  Happy to retire early, she discovered a wonderful East Bay watercolor group that even traveled to southern France to paint in the small towns of the Dordogne region.  Since opening her art store, she has branched out into oil, graphite, collage and pastels.  She also sells many of her photographs at Town Hall Arts.
    She lovers trying new media and tries to find something unique to teach at the Copper Art Club, a group she started out of her home when she and Larry moved to Copper seven years ago.  The club now meets weekly at Town Hall Arts.
    Painting in oil is her challenge right now. "I love the freedom and color that can be achieved in oil, but I also enjoy practicing drawing skills with graphite portraits of my grandchildren," Susie said.  She always takes several photos and sketchbook along on trips to create what she calls "airplane art" - small graphite portraits done "en route".
    Honors include awards at the Mother Lode Art Show, Delicato Show, Calaveras County Fair, Riverside Carriage Show, and Oakdale Transportation Show.  Her graphite portrait, "I Hope You Dance", appeared on the 2012 program cover of the Ironstone Spring Obsession Show.  Susie's artwork and photographs are displayed at Galerie Copper in Town Hall Arts, under the clock, in Copperopolis Town Square. She is currently program director for Mother Lode Art Association.

http://townhallarts.com/

Tulips, Tulips and more Tulips!

Gold discovered by Marty!

Marty Davis, while on a business trip today to the Sysco Foods Show here at Ironstone, stopped in to pose next to the 44 lb crystalline gold specimen.

Marty, who works at La Contenta Golf Course in Valley Springs ( http://www.lacontentagolf.com/ ) as the Golf Course Manager, was working for Sonora Mining Company at the Jamestown site back in 1992. 

Marty, hearing the alarms go off on the belt, was the first to see this amazing specimen as it came up the conveyor belt. Marty claims as he picked it up, he was surprised by its weight, at that time total weight around 66 lbs. Today, after cleaning, it weighs in at 44 troy pounds of gold weight.

Glad to have Marty stop in today!

Celebrate!

We have decided to celebrate Easter with a 50% Sale on very special Gold in Quartz, Silver in Quartz and Turquoise jewelry. 

Many of these hand selected pieces are one of a kind stunners!  

I tried to take a photo of my favorite piece, not bad for a phone photo!

OK, so it's sideways, but you can see what an awesome piece it is... You should see the rest!

Gold in Quartz is a very unique stone. Using dense pieces of quartz with gold veins, the jeweler slices the stones into  slabs which are then cut into stones for setting into either 14 karat gold settings or sterling silver settings. Most quartz you find doesn't have the density to hold up to this type of cutting. The quartz used by OroCal's designers comes from the old Sixteen to One Mine of Northern California.

Nice way to celebrate your California heritage or take home a conversation piece from your travels to California.

At least come by and have a look see for yourself.  

Easter at Ironstone

It's Easter Weekend at Ironstone!  The flowers are stunning everywhere you look!  As the daffodils fade, out burst the colors of the tulips! Almost sensory overload!

Check out The Garden Guy's blog for more complete update details! http://ironstonegardens.blogspot.com

Meet Artist Scott Hamill, Ironstone Spring Obsession Open Division Artist

Scott Hamill  

Scott feels fortunate to have found an outlet for his artistic expression in the plein air tradition. As a native Californian Scott has lived most of his life in and around the ocean and mountains of this beautiful state. He has developed a strong connection to the water and land while surfing along the Pacific coast and fishing,  backpacking and canoeing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Scott's goal is to share this connection with those who view his art.

In his plein air paintings Scott hopes to capture the mood or essence of a place and allow the viewer to enjoy the beauty of our natural world. He uses a limited palette of colors in oils, which helps harmonize the painting as well as adding the challenge of mixing all other colors from these few.  Scott's painting gear fits into a backpack, which allows him the freedom to get off the beaten path while scouting for locations to capture on canvas.

Scott live in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and two children.

Meet 1st Place Winning Artist, Debbie Gualco

O-075 Pompano and Circumstance by Debbie Gualco  oil  9x12  $375 

Debbie R. Gualco

ARTIST STATEMENT:
Debbie R. Gualco fell in love with California when visiting from her native state of Texas in 1989. Upon relocating to California, she received her degree in architecture from UC Berkeley. She founded Reynolds Gualco Architecture & Interior Design, (www.rgaid.com) specializing in residential projects. In addition to her busy schedule as principal of an award winning design firm, she paints and teaches art professionally. In 2011, she opened Capital Artworks Studio & Gallery (www.capital-artworks.com).

Preferring to paint/draw only from life, she enjoys all subject matter including portraits, figures, still life, and landscapes.

O-074  Lupines  by Debbie Gualco  oil  9x12  $375

Debbie has studied under Carolyn Anderson, Jeffrey Watts, Terry Muira, Don Hatfield, Kevin Courter, Randy Sexton, Fongwei Liu, Fred Dalkey, and Ramon Froman, a prior student of Robert Henri. She is a member of the Northern California Arts, California Art Club, Oil Painters of America, Sacramento Plein Air Painters, Roseville Arts, San Francisco Figurative Artists, and the Portrait Society of America.

O-078  Anticipation by Debbie Gualco  oil  14x18  $750

EDUCATION:
BA, Architecture, UC Berkeley

PREFERRED MEDIUMS:
Oil, Watercolor & Pastels

AWARDS:
2013 Ironstone Spring Obsession - 1st Award!
2013 Ironstone Spring Obsession - Merit Award
2012 Magnum Opus XXIII
2011 Pence Gallery - Curator's Award
2011 Winters Plein Air - Artists' Choice Award
2011 Magnum Opus XXII - Special Award
2010 Bold Expressions - Merit Award
2009 Bold Expressions - Shepherd Award
2009 SFAC Members Show - Best of Show
2008 Magnum Opus XIX - Gold Award

REPRESENTATION:
Capital ArtWorks, Sacramento, California
School of Light and Color, Fair Oaks, California

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Email: drgualco@rgaid.com
www.debbiegualco.com