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. 

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.

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.

Meet Artist Katerina Rutherford, Spring Obsession THEME & OPEN Division accepted artist

Katerina Rutherford

T-019  Festival of Life I  gouache  18x18.5  $450

  

Paintings "Festival of Life 1" and "Festival of Life 2"


This is my 3rd Obsession and 4th Theme Division. for this year's Spring Obsession I wanted to create a joyful painting, one that celebrates the creative events put forth every year by the Ironstone Winery.

For the connection between wine and art, I tried in both paintings to express through a wonen-themed allegory of dancing in tulips, playing inside vineyards of daffodils in a wine glass.

I reducted my color palette to two tones to get more expression out of the painting. Finally, I used cubist abstract forms I found while being inspired by cubist artist Vaclav Spala (1885-1946), who comes from my home country, the Czech Republic.

T-020  Festival of Life II  gouache  18x20.75  $550

Angels Camp and San Francisco motifs accepted into the OPEN Division 2015

I am a plein air painter. Over the past 10 years I have focused more and more on plein air painting. My major topic on canvas over the last five years has become cities.

Angels Camp:

O-125 Gold Rush House  oil  15x18  $800

Angels Camp is an amazing gold rush town in Northern California, situated right on top of the Mother Lode of gold. Angels Camp was founded during the Gold Rush days in 1849/50.

O-126  Main Street Angles Camp 2014  oil  26x19  $1200

Walking along Angel Camp’s famous frog jump sidewalk on Main Street has a feel like time stopped during the Wild West days, except for one difference: you will not see horses and buggies, but big American cars and pickup trucks. This contrast of big cars and trucks and the Wild West architectural styles became a new approach to my plein air artistic visions.

San Francisco:

O-127  Powell Street in San Francisco  26x21  $1500

In May 2014 I spent one week painting in downtown San Francisco. During that one week I worked on only two motifs, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. My experience of painting cityscapes has personally been worth it!

Powell Street is one of San Francisco’s typical, breathtaking streets that winds up and down the city’s hills…cable cars snaking up and down, appearing and disappearing again at the top of another hill. Next to the cable cars are vertical and horizontal lines of cars and swarms of people busily moving about the city… I found this to be a perfect morning motif.

I realize that except for San Francisco’s buildings, everything else is in motion. I simply became an animator trying to capture the blink-of-an-eye on canvas over the course of five mornings. The City by the Bay’s fickle weather blessed us that week with consistent, warm sunshine.

If you would like to see more of my artworks, please go to my websites: www.katerinarutherford.com :or www.skolavideni.com under my name. Both websites are in English, German and Czech.

Meet Artist Connie Romano, Spring Obsession THEME Division accepted artist

Connie Carson-Romano  

T-003  Daffodil Rays  acrylic  16x20  $240

    Art is an expression of the way the Artist views the world in which he lives. Through my paintings, I try to communicate the emotions that made the subject something I wanted to share with others whether it is joy, serenity or the excitement of the beauty of nature. I know I have succeeded at my Art when someone looks at a painting or drawing and says, "That  painting makes me feel ... "
    
    Expressing myself through art has always been a form of meditation and relaxation for me, although until 4 years ago I never shared my passion for painting with anyone. My husband encouraged me to show my paintings and I found that people enjoy what I have to share.

T-002  Dreaming Big on the Lip of a Tulip  acrylic  16x20  $260

    Acrylic paint, with its forceful colors was my favored medium for years. About a year ago I began experimenting with oils. The difference in the mediums is very exciting to me as it allows for a varied representation of subjects.

    The colors that are present in nature are phenomenal and I love trying to create the same shades. Having been raised in the mountains of New Mexico I found myself immersed from an early age in the amazing palate of nature and the challenge of trying to recreate that on canvas. Now as a resident of Northern California, I am awed at the diversity of landscapes we live in and the unlimited array of challenges awaiting my brushes.

    Two Artists looking at the same object or same landscape will create completely different expressions of what they see. I find it is amazing and exciting that so many different interpretations of the world around us are available through the eyes of Artists. I love visiting galleries and museums to view the varied presentations of life as expressed by different individuals. It is my pleasure that I am able to add my own personal expressions to this collection.

CarsonRomanoGallery.com.

Meet Artist Barbara Young, Spring Obsession THEME Division accepted artist

ARTIST STATEMENT FOR BARBARA (BARB) YOUNG

T-027  Wine and Spring  watercolor  11x20  $400

Since coming to Sonora in 1990, Barbs ART has expanded to include many sales and now, participation in local galleries, In 1996 she took a watercolor class from Dianne Starnes, while recovering from heart by-pass surgery. Since that time Barbs choice of medium has bee WATERCOLOR.

She has a prolific way of depicting old and historical buildings and capturing life like realism in her paintings of landscapes. And as well as doing watercolors, she has a special touch with her Sharpie Pen Sketches of rocks and trees, and pinecones, and other things that depict the Sierras.

Now retired, Barb can spend more time on the things she loves: painting and drawing, and Therapy Dog WORK with her doggies Happy BURITTO, & Kristy both Chihuahuas.

Barb has done some commissioned paintings, with unique challenges. She also has sold a lot of her paintings and sketches, as well as cards made from her paintings and sketches. You can find Barb around the Sonora and outlying areas sketching and taking pictures, and observing the many views and buildings. She also spends a lot of time in the Sierras.

Barb has come a long way from her beginnings in ART as a teenager, copying comic book characters and doing paint by - number Paintings. Her hearly works were sad and gloomy (which expressed her early life); and now, her work has taken on a "lightness, and colorfull expression." Barb credits her abilities as a God given talent.

Barb has won many awards at the MLAA shows in Oct. Her work can be seen at the ALOFT Gallery, Sonora. At Twain Heart's All That Matters; Pinecrest Gallery in Pinecrest and Sonora Blue Print. Barb has entered the Ironstone show many times.

bar-bar-a@att.net

Meet Artist Marilyn Wear, Spring Obsession THEME Division accepted artist

Marilyn Wear NWS, WW, CWA

www.marilynwear.com

T-017  Daffodil Explosion  acrylic  18x24  $900

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 has been painting professionally since 2003 and has earned signature membership in three major watercolor societies: National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West, and California Watercolor Association. 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. Her favorite subject matter is landscapes and natural wildlife.

She is currently represented by:
First Street Gallery, Turlock, CA * http://www.firststreetgalleries.com
Cedar Street Gallery, Honolulu Hawaii * http://www.cedarstreetgalleries.com
Sparrow Gallery, Sacramento, CA * https://sparrowgallery.squarespace.com

Marilyn can be contacted at 209 277-1922, or by email at marilynwear@aol.com or through her website at http://marilynwear.com