Meet Artist Courtney Wise, Ironstone Spring Obsession Accepted Artist

Courtney Wise

Artist Statement

O023  "Birds and Flowers"  by Courtney Wise  collage  11x15  $375

 For as long as I can remember I have loved to create art, take photos and figure out how things work. My hands are rarely idle. I listen best when I can sit and draw. While attending graduate classes or sitting in church my notes are covered with little doodles of things I see or things I make up. Art is an outlet for me; it is time when I get to sit and think, express things that are going on in my life or just a way to unwind from a busy day.

One of my fondest memories in Kindergarten was when my teacher allowed me to stay at the paint easel and create artwork past the time when everyone else was finished. From the time I was five I was encouraged to pursue a career in art.  With that encouragement and support from my family I continued to draw, paint and sculpt my way into college.  I earned a Bachelors of Art in Art Studio from Sonoma State University in 2001. Planning on becoming an art teacher I moved to Sacramento to earn my teaching credential and worked part time, but plans to teach started to change with my desire to own a business.

O-027  "Wedding Headress"  bu Courtney Wise
pencil  7x13  $225

Scrapbooking has always been a huge passion of mine; I am my family's photographer. I love capturing moments in time, people's expressions along with being able to look back at all of the memories. In 2002, I opened Scrapbook Dreams in Stockton, CA which I designed and built from the ground up. I ran and operated my business for three years. It was a dream come true, to be able to create my own schedule, create scrapbook pages all day and help others design their memories in an artful way.

I am a person who likes change and a challenge, so after three years of hard work, I sold my business to become a teacher. Teaching has always been a passion; my original plan was to become an art teacher, but I again changed paths because I wanted more job security. I earned my multiple subject teaching credential and have been teaching for eight years. I also have earned my Masters in Education and I am highly qualified in History. I love to bring art and creativity into the classroom and inspire my students' imaginations.

Art is a passion, a past time, an outlet, an expression, and a part of who I am. For me creativity can be found in an old broken down barn, on my nieces' faces, from a photograph, from a comment, from a cloud in the sky or simply from a thought.  I look forward to bringing color to a blank slate that will make a statement, make someone think or question, or bring a smile to someone's face. Art is and always will be a part of who I was created to be. 

O-025  "Eight Days of Sunshine"  by Courtney Wise  pen/wc 11x15  $275

Meet Artist Marilyn Wear, Ironstone Spring Obsession Accepted Artist

Marilyn Wear    NWS, WW, CWA

O-138  "Amid the Manzanita" by Marilyn Wear  watercolor  11x16  $850

Biography

Marilyn was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design.  She worked as an advertising artist/illustration until 2003, then left her last job in commercial art to pursue her dream of becoming a full time fine artist. Her work won immediate recognition, winning awards in juried shows around the country.  In 2005 she was selected as a signature member of the National Watercolor Society. She has since earned signature memberships in Watercolor West and California Watercolor Association.

O-139  "Bridalveil Fall"  by Marilyn Wear  wc  16.5x11  $950

Although she also paints with oil and acrylics, her favorite medium is transparent watercolor, where she uses a technique of layering many glazes of watercolor to create richness and depth, while retaining a glowing vibrancy.  She finds some of her best subject matter close to home in her garden and in the Sierra Nevada mountains, particularly the dramatic landscapes of Yosemite National Park. She has a special interest in painting birds, and most recently the flora and fauna of one of her favorite places in the world, Hawaii. her style is realistic with an emphasis on capturing the light, color and mood of her chose subject.

She is currently represented by First Street Gallery in Turlock, CA

http://www.firststreetgalleries.com and Cedar Street Gallery in Honolulu Hawaii http://www.cedarstreetgalleries.com

Meet Artist Martha Wallace, Ironstone Spring Obsession Accepted Artist

O-106  "Pink Peonie"  by Martha Wallace  wc  18x21  $425

Martha Wallace

marthawallaceart@att.net

My journey with watercolors is an ongoing adventure and after 30 years I still get excited whenever I start a new painting.  The possibilities of this medium are endless as long as you are willing to experiment, which means failure along with success.  As I tell my students, "It's not the destination, it's the journey".

My paintings are about my surroundings and life experiences. I sometimes work in a series of paintings and take my subject to the limit, going in as many directions as possible, adjusting mostly in my mind the composition, color, shape, texture, sunlight and shadow.  If I work from a limited sketch, I check for technical correctness, then it's "playtime". Continuing series include birds, nests, shells, leaves, window boxes, fruits and vegetables, flowers, plants and pottery from the Southwest.

O-105  "Trio of Lemons"  by Martha Wallace  wc  19x23  $525

I divide my time painting for myself and the galleries, teaching private classes to children and adults in my Murphys studio, and traveling to public schools to teach in the Arts in Education program. My paintings can be found at Tea Antiques and Art on main in Murphys, CA.  "Everyday I get to do something I love."

Meet Artist Marti Walker, Ironstone Spring Obsession Accepted Artist

MARTI WALKER

www.MartiWalkerFineArt.com

O-041  "Delta River Bend"  by Marti Walker  pastel  16x20  $800

After living and studying abroad prior to her high school years, Marti Walker spent many years on the East Coast of the United States (Virginia & Boston). She attended University of Colorado where she majored in Languages & Anthropology. She flew for TWA and Pan Am Airlines for seven years after college. In 1978, she settled in Sacramento, California.
Initially, her pursuit of art was an antidote to the rigors of corporate life. Her passion for painting landscapes grew as she devoted her recreational time to exploring and painting the surrounding wetlands, rivers, and mountains, and traveling throughout the world. Studying with carefully selected artists over the years, she has learned her craft from such notables as Gregory Kondos, Lady Jill Mueller, Ning Hou, Susan Sarback, Gary Pruner, Zoltan Svabo and Calvin Liang, among others.
"My art combines my passions for painting and travel. I paint to record the sensation of a moment in time, to create in the viewer a palpable feeling of being transported into the scene. Using vivid colors and contrast to push beyond the image, I attempt to evoke the vibrancy and immediacy that comes from being in that place and time.  Each scene is carefully chosen to evoke a silent rhythm designed to transport one to a place of quiet meditation, to capture the serenity that being in nature gives me. I want the viewer to have the reverential sense of being along in the scene and at peace with themselves."  

O-043  "Yellow Boat"  by Marti Walker  pastel  9x12  $325

"Marti Walker is a listener. Her close observation of nature advances her capacity of doing paintings of great interest." - Gregory Kondos

Selected Exhibitions
2012 Ironstone Vineyards Spring Obsession Award of Merit
2011 East Sacramento Clunie Celebrations - East Sacramento, CA COUNCILMAN'S AWARD
2011 International Paint Out - John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA - 3RD. PLACE AWARD
2011,2010,2009,2008,2007,2006,2005 - California Landscape Exhibition - John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA - 1 of 10 Demonstration Artists
2011 Winters Plein Air Festival - Briggs & Co. Winters, CA - 2ND PLACE AWARD
2010,2009,2008 S12 Gallery, Sacramento, CA. On going shows from January - December
2010 Winters Plein Air Festival - Briggs & Co. Winters, CA
2009 Winters Plein Air Festival - Briggs & Co. Winters, CA 3RD PLACE QUICK DRAW AWARD
2008 Paint the Town - Briggs & Co. Winters CA. 1ST PLACE PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
2007 California Wanderings - John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis CA. - SOLO SHOW
2007 Cigar Box Show - John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA - Group Show
1995 League of Carmichael Artists Open Show - MERIT AWARD - Carmichael, CA.