PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX
Art Magazine FREE
May 2015 Issue
Michael Wayne “Brushed by Jesus Christ” Exhibition Review
Cliff Cavin Atmospheric Light
Diane Mendoza Contemporary Religious Iconology
Frame of the Month Jack White
Art Consultant Insights Critique & Analysis
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events
PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX
FEATURES May 2015 Issue No. 3
12 Cliff Cavin Atmospheric Light plays a major role in signature landscape aesthetic
34 Michael Wayne Art Exhibition review of “Brushed by Jesus” show at AnArte Gallery
Framing of the Month
56
Triptych of Jack White’s gold plexiglass paintings
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PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX
IN THIS ISSUE
PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX May 2015 Issue
PUBLISHER
24 IN EVERY ISSUE A Note from the Publisher –P.6 On the Cover—P.10
Gabriel Diego Delgado Contributing Writers Gabriel Diego Delgado Katherine Shevchenko All artwork photography courtesy of J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art Prices are for current artwork, and can change at any time
Contributors— P.11 © 2015 JR Mooney Galleries
Framing of the Month—P.56
305 S. Main Boerne, Texas
Art Consultant Insight—P.22
78006 830-816-5106 Edited by Gabriel Diego Delgado, Marla Cavin, Katherine , Betty Houston Design by: Gabriel Diego Delgado
A Note from the Publisher
“ITS OUR THIRD EDITION OF PLUMAGE-TX MAGAZINE. ANOTHER MONTH OF RAIN MIXED WITH WARM TEMPERATURES AS WE ENTER INTO SUMMER. THE HILL COUNTRY IS ENGULFED IN A MUGGY HUMID HEAT. THE SCHOOL SEASON WILL BE DONE SOON, AND WE WILL SEE SOME OF OUR CLIENTS TAKE OFF TO THEIR SUMMER HOMES AND RANCHES TO WAIT OUT THE HEAT. Again the premise behind this magazine is as follows: There seems to be a void in the local magazines that spotlight the individual galleries and museums; their openings, social programming and artists. PLUMAGETX hopes to use its pages as a vehicle to educate, entertain and enlighten our audience on a variety of topics ranging from reviews, news, artist narratives, interviews, criticism and a cohort of other art related stories from within the gallery walls to the major metro centers. I hope you find this informative and hope you continue to follow the artistic happenings around you in your local neighborhoods. Sincerely,
Gabriel Diego Delgado, Publisher
gabrieldelgadoartstudio@yahoo.com gabrield@jrmooneygalleries.com
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On the Cover
The picture that graces the cover of the May 2015 edition of Plumage-TX magazine was taken along Highway 46 East. While commuting back to the Schertz, Texas area, I discovered Highway 46 provides great scenery to photograph. After a series of downpours and rainy afternoon showers, the evening sunset was very picturesque. I kept one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on my cellphone. I shot blindingly as I kept my eyes on the twisting turns. Manipulated in Snapseed, this is the end result of that one day’s drive home .
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Contributors
Gabriel Diego Delgado is the Gallery Director at J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art, Boerne, Texas. He has spent almost a decade in Nonprofit Art Management- working as a Curator of Exhibitions at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston; Project Manager of Research and Development at the Museo Alameda, a Smithsonian Affiliate, San Antonio; Community Outreach/ Communications Director for an art and education nonprofit in Texas and is a working professional artist. He is a Freelance Curator and Arts Reviewer for several publications. His artwork has been shown in Arco 2012 Madrid, Spain; New York, New York, MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) D.C. as well as numerous galleries and venues throughout the U.S.
Katherine Shevchenko has attended the San Francisco Academy of Art University and the University of Texas at San Antonio where she received her Fine Arts Degree with an emphasis in Painting. Her experience ranges from interning as a curatorial assistant at Southwest School of Art to teaching art to students of all ages. Currently, she is an art consultant/framing designer at the J.R. Mooney Gallery in Boerne. Some of her contributions include writing articles, hosting and editing the J.R. Mooney podcast, "Mooney Makes Sense" and art catalog design. She is also an artist that specializes in painting in oils and other media.
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COVER STORY
Lig
Cliff Cavin Illuminates an Artis
AN EXHIBITION SUMMARY R AT J.R. MOONEY GALLERIE
ght
stic Path for Others to Follow - Gabriel Diego Delgado
International Artist Completes One of his Signature “Terrestrial” REVIEW OF CURATED WORKSPortraits in San ES OF FINE ART– BOERNE Antonio
“Overall, ‘Light’ is...packed full of Cavin’s own preference for stark contrasting shadows …” “Shadows” 16” x 16”
Artist Cliff Cavin and Gallery Director Gabriel Diego Delgado
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The need to address how we see, experience, meditate and exist in the environment is absolute. Where is our place in this world? Why are we here? Where do we fit? Artists often answer or at least attempt to answer these issues in their art through visual and metaphysical means.
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015
A simple landscape painting might not be just that, but a visual epiphany of glorious grandeur as the artist tries to relay his/her emotional and physical renditions of their own experiences; especially in traditional landscape painting. What were they feeling while there? What were they experiencing on location? Can we sense an emotional connection to the land? Have they placed us there with them and transported us to this place to share the experience? In the selected paintings of Cliff Cavin’s “Light” exhibition at J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine ArtBoerne, from May 9, 2015 – June 1, 2015, a broad body of work ranging from earlier oil paintings to the more mature impressionistic
“Morning Light” 12” x 24”
collections spans about 20 years. Cavin’s intent has always been to visually address the atmospheric light of the various topographies, including his “first love”- New Mexico, while addressing the various terrains of his home state of Texas. Overall, “Light” is adorned and packed full of Cavin’s own preference for stark contrasting shadows, playing out across the desert plains and the serene rolling hill county. Painted from photographs of his annual expeditions to New Mexico as he basks in the heroic after-steps of his artistic idols, Cavin will often take thousands of images of Ghost Ranch, Red Rock, Nambe, Santa Fe and other key locations around the Texas/ New Mexico border. “Peaceful Pasture” 30” x 24” Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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“Nambe Light” 18” x 36”
“High Lights” 12” x 24”
“Red Rock Country” 18” x 36”
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This coveted cache of images will be viewed and reviewed as Cavin analyzes them for the perfect angle, contour of countryside and contrasting eloquence. Using the photograph as reference, Cavin paints what he felt, saw and experienced. The paintings bestow an artistic aura that glows with an impressionistic simplification. The technical success of “Light” epitomizes why Cliff Cavin is one of San Antonio’s most underrated artists of San Antonio. These unpretentious landscapes are so articulate in his application of color and tone variances that the simplistic style is actually an acute understanding of the terrain and a painterly technique honed by Cavin over the last few decades as he studied his favorite sites. Riding high on well-deserved bravado from his near sell-out of selections at the Briscoe Western Art Museum’s “Night of the Artist” group show; a featured spotlight Cavin has enjoyed for 14 consecutive years with this institution. He is now preparing for his next museum exhibition at the Nave Museum in Victoria, Texas for early 2016. At J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art- Boerne, Cavin illustrates that he is not side-stepping his signature impressionistic aesthetic, keeping up pace and giving us a full force exhibition with such prized paintings. There does not seem to be one that falls flat or does not give us that artistic allurement into his landscapes. From the cool morning light, to the warm evening glow, contrasting shadows and vibrant hues complement each other in almost all of the paintings. We see how perfect the stretched out and lingering shadows draw us across the composition in “Morning Light”, and how the remnants of thousand year old sand dune fields are evident in hints of sweeping lines found in the forefront of the chamisa in “Shadows”.
“Cavin will often take thousands of images of Ghost Ranch, Red Rock, Nambe, Santa Fe and other key locations around the Texas/ New Mexico border.”
“Ghost Ranch Glow” 16” x 16”
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“September Sunlight” 14” x 18”
The largest painting in the exhibition, “Spring Blooms” is a staggering 48” x 60” landscape of the Texas hill country. Somewhere outside of Comfort, Texas, “Spring Blooms” places the viewer in the magnificent blue bonnet fields of Texas. Complete with Live Oak trees, rolling hills and sporadic cactus, Cavin’s colossal execution of this region epitomizes everything perfect with country living. Bookended by two smaller horizontal landscapes on one of the impact walls of the exhibition, “Spring Blooms” demands attention in an overall intimate exhibition where most of the paintings are not over 24 inches. The MVP painting of the exhibition is centered on the back wall of the gallery. “September Sunlight” is a 14” x 18” landscape painting of New Mexico. Reading from bottom left corner to upper right, we see the landscape ‘light’ change drastically from brisk cool shadows that envelope the small cerulean creek to yellow- ochre vegetation scorching in the high sun to long shadows past the broken fence line, giving us strong horizontal compositional elements to complement the overall stratification of this landscape conformation.
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The background is technical with blue tonal delineations as the mountain ranges fade back incrementally. The cloud formation build-outs repeat the mountain range lines almost perfectly in a celestial billow of atmospheric alchemy. Other highlights of “Light” include several paintings of specially accentuated plateaus of Ghost Ranch. Cavin takes a cue from Georgia O’Keefe and paints the rock strata and its numerous sedimentary bands, dating back eons. Seen from opposing angles, with vegetation and at various times of the day, we see why this place calls to artists! “Light”, an exhibition of select paintings by San Antonio artist, Cliff Cavin runs from May 9, 2015 – June 1, 2015 at J.R. Mooney Galleries-Boerne. An online accompanying catalog will be made available by the gallery. For more information contact J.R. Mooney Galleries at 830-8165106. Right: Artist ,Cliff Cavin and Art Consultant, Katherine Shevchenko Left: Artist Cliff Cavin talking with Boerne Artist, Sidney Sinclair 2015
“Red Rock Glow” 12” x 24”
Art Consultant Insight
In this months edition of Plumage-TX Magazine, Art Consultant, Katherine Shevchenko walks us through her personal interpretation and opinion on a few spotlight art pieces of Cliff Cavin’s “Light” exhibition at J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art—Boerne.
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liff Cavin’s retrospective, “Light” was curated around the theme of exploring the landscapes done over the course of his career featuring the element of light and how it affects the landscape though his eyes. Not only does light reveal, in its absence it can also unveil another layer of topographic poetry that goes unnoticed at a first casual glance. Cavin, in his painting compositions captures and embodies interludes of light and dark in his brush strokes on the natural surfaces of the land; recorded from his journeys. Shadows embodies Cliff Cavin’s ability to paint the landscape of New Mexico in a robust interpretation that is expressed through vibrant brush work and a saturated color palette. The bluish shadows cast by the shrubs are vibrating complementary against the chartreuse shrubs. Painterly imprints directionally lead the eye, weaving in and out of the vegetation guiding the eye throughout the painting.
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“Shadows” oil on canvas 16” x 16”
The rocky dessert ground is rendered in subtle blue tones-emphasizing the coolness of the shadows that are cast on the curving paths. Where the light is strongest, the tops of the shrubs are illuminated in lime green highlights and in golden tones of yellows. The distant hyacinthine mountains are in chromatic unity with the rest of the composition, dominating majestically in the background. One of the intriguing facets of this painting is the aliveness seen in the brush strokes, creating motion throughout the paths, implying a sense of life that is omnipresent throughout this vista. “Morning Light” oil on canvas 12” x 24”
Morning Light is a stunning example of Cavin’s approach to landscape painting that captures the evidence of light and its various effects on the features of the environment. As the sun strikes the New Mexican desert mercilessly, there is an immense stillness, a proclamation of the grandeur of the scale of this endless scenery. The cast shadows stretch out across the sun scorched terrain in the nascence of the day. The earthen tones of the desert reds are pushed forward against the pale blue sky, a backdrop to the drama of shadows intermingling with the glowing orange red rock formations. The extremes between the light and darks contrast to a high degree in the desert visually, prompting Cavin to document what he sees through the language of painting, preserving the memory inspired by the view as he stood before it in that moment in time. © Katherine Shevchenko, Art Consultant, J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art, Boerne, TX
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COVER STORY
M
e a
endoza’s adonnas By: Katherine Shevchenko
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o portray the deep relationship a mother has with her child borders on the intangible. Yet, Peruvian artist, Diana Mendoza effusively paints the Madonna embracing her child in a serene state of maternal intimacy.
"Madonna de la Ternura" oil 10"x 8"
Mendoza’s Madonnas channel a PreRenaissance aesthetic that merges with modern design elements. Painterly additions of gold leaf on certain design patterns illuminate the subjects and act as embellishments, creating a sense of radiating halos and garments. The utilization of this glistening medium references historical applications where it has been implemented in spiritual iconography since antiquity. Madonna Culida is an example of these elements at work, from the floral designs on the infant’s clothes to the precise geometric and repetitive shapes present in the celestial auras and in the crimson foreground. Here, the design becomes more organic in nature.
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The use of gold leaf harkens back to the Pre- Renaissance and Byzantine eras where it was applied in an exalted manner onto icon paintings to represent holiness; bestowing upon the surface a reflective property reminiscent of heavenly light. An example of the prominent utilization of gold can be seen in Mendoza’s Madonna De La Salud. In this painting, the artist affixes gold to the background elements, patterned ornamentations, and throughout on the clothing of the figures. Mendoza says that her inspiration for using the gold leaf actually comes from turn of the century Austrian artist, Gustave Klimt, who was most likely influenced by Byzantine art that he saw on trips to Italy. He began to add gold leaf onto his paintings floridly into his compositions. Madonna de la Ternura by Mendoza is an elegant example where the filigree of the gold is present
“The use of gold leaf harkens back to the Pre- Renaissance and Byzantine eras…” throughout the background of the painting, evident in the star-like array on the infant’s clothing and on the flowers of the Madonna’s dress. Upon closer inspection of a Mendoza icon, one can see the craquelure, tiny surface cracks in the paint that is present in extremely aged paintings- a telltale sign of the aging process of paint. It appears the artist does this intentionally to recreate the appearance of antiquity and further enhance the experience of Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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"Madonna de la Salud" oil 10"x8"
viewing the artwork as homage to the long history of devotional art that has featured the Madonna and Child. The first representations of Madonnas were discovered in the catacombs of Rome. The tradition of icon painting began to take root and flourish in the Byzantine culture. The Madonna had been painted as otherworldly and divine until the Gothic and Pre Renaissance eras when the art of the Madonna began to become more widely humanized; mainly accredited to the Italian artist Cimabue.
“...viewers relate t touch their inner relationship with
Art appreciators are overwhelmingly drawn to the display of affection demonstrated by her subjects. The attention to detail of the ever present eye contact suggests a spiritual communion between the figures that is shrouded in sacredness. In Mendoza’s own words, “viewers relate to my paintings because they touch their inner emotions about their own relationship with their mother or child.” This universal tie that binds mankind, executed with stunning skill with a contemporary touch intermeshed with tradition elevates Mendoza’s art to be of a timeless quality that is immediately approachable in its empathy. Sources: Goltz, Michael. "What Do Icons Mean?" Word Magazine Dec. 2000: 22-23. Web. 13 May 2015. "Gustav Klimt." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Gustav_Klimt>.
--Katherine Shevchenko, Art Consultant J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art
"Robert Paul Galleries." Robert Paul Galleries. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2015.
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to my paintings because they emotions about their own their mother or child.â&#x20AC;?
"Madonna Calida" oil 16" x 12"
COMM
MUNITY
COVER STORY BY: Gabriel Diego Delgado
Michael
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Brushed by Jesus Christ
Wayne Exhibition Review AnArte Gallery May 13, 2015â&#x20AC;&#x201D;June 6, 2015 Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, April 2015,
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M
ichael Wayne’s exhibition, “Brushed by Jesus Christ” is a series of paintings that range from several highly charged underpaintings to overly stimulated and muddy abstractions.
Wayne has a few hits in this series that walk the line of the best of both worlds. With the introduction of stencil letters and numbers in his signature dense textures, Wayne gives a context to his dyslexic disorder; while owning his condition with an “I don’t care” attitude, explaining that the viewer will still be able to read the text on the paintings although the letters are flipped, reversed or upside-down. Although “Brushed by Jesus Christ” has the typical Christian overtones associated with Wayne’s deep religious affiliations, the visual attributes and devout presence in his work are minimal. The titles of these paintings elude more to the biblical passages as they are coupled with Wayne’s own understanding and interpretations of the Word of God. “Brushed by Jesus Christ” as a title of his exhibition is also a play on words. Is it the artist who has been brushed by Jesus, in passing where two shoulders rub? Or, has Wayne been touched by God and is now the divine artistic vehicle by which his audience is exposed to the teachings of Christ? It could be Wayne who has accepted Jesus as his savior channels the divinity, allowing Christ to enter his body and paint the artwork, God and Wayne have become one; allowing God to paint through Wayne’s brush. Metaphorically, is it us, the audience who is now being brushed by Jesus Christ by pure affiliations with Michael Wayne and seeing his paintings. Only Michael Wayne knows.
“Wayne refers to it as showing himself without his makeup, without the wigs and jewelry.”
Yes, there are still subdued crosses, abstract birds, nests, heavenly auras and poetic passages, but overall the exhibition can stand on its own as technical executions of Abstract Expressionism.
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“All Things Are Possible Through Jesus Christ” , Michael Wayne, oil
Overall, there seems to be three major visual aesthetics in “Brushed by Jesus Christ.” First are the underpaintings that reveal process and are considered finished because of pure pictorial integrity, the bearing of naked self. Next are the few spotlight paintings that have everything going for them from wispy lines and contours, silhouettes, lettering and composition; to the overworked painting that were taken to the edge of painterly perfection and lost due to too many colors processes and overmixing. We see the gouged lines, the sweeping brush stroke, the intuitive gestures, and overall compositions; components and foundational elements of any abstract work. Wayne’s preference to create the artwork from the back of the silk canvas first and push the paint through the weave to the front is in itself explosive; a mashing of materials with brunt force, smashing bristles through the fabric; forcing a penetration of color to the other side. Wayne will then proceed to flip the canvas and paint on the front to highlight areas by pushing and pulling the parts he prefers - working in color on top of color, creating windows to the various layers below. However, in three of the paintings, the underpainting is the final product. Wayne refers to it as showing himself without his makeup, without the wigs and jewelry. His artistic moniker for swirling lines and water drop silhouettes are evident in a majority of the exhibition, and there are a few spotlight paintings that have these areas fully worked out. Compositionally, the Wayne “swirls” ground the eye, giving us a path to explore the crevices, the textures and lettering.
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“At This Pow-Wow You Don’t Get Burned You Don’t Have To Pay Just Sit Back Because It’s All Free.” , Michael Wayne, oil Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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“This Has Happened All Before One After One Even If It’s A Garden Your Salad Or Your Soul It Builds Up In Time”, Michael Wayne, oil, detail
This overall compositional and visual aesthetic balance and visual grounding is something that the overworked ones lack.. The largest painting in the show, “The King Will Come With The Sound Of A Blast But It Won’t Last But Just A Second” demands attention but lacks content to hold our attention. Wayne throws all he has into this painting with thick impasto stencil lettering, multilayered composition and pockets of activity, but there is too much to take in and one has to step closer to digest the details, enveloped by the swirling white lines, one struggles for a place
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to rest the eye. While “All Things Are Possible Through Jesus Christ” is a blatant disclosure of Wayne’s spiritual preferences, with words that spell out just what the title says. We do not have to interpret his abstractions to understand his position, allowing nothing to chance. Green for earth and the watery blue highlights for the world mixed with the gold letters for divinity.
“...blood spewed everywhere and he joked he looked like a Picasso painting.” Two paintings stand out as showcase pieces for the exhibition. Poetically, “This Has Happened All Before One After One Even If It’s A Garden Your Salad Or Your Soul It Builds Up In Time”, has the most lyrical passage of all the paintings with a great composition and subliminal religious efforts. The background text is a poem that Wayne chose to honor for more of an inside joke than Christian reference. At the Absolute Art Gallery in Brugge, Belgium, Wayne reminisced about walking right into the exiting glass doors, smashing his nose. From his personal testimony, blood spewed everywhere and he joked he looked like a Picasso painting. The poem was on the wall of the gallery as a panoramic text across the whole interior space. He wanted to pay tribute to that moment. Joining the poem are three crosses of the trinity, made up repeating letters going down the right column of the painting. Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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The color combination is spot on with hits of foreground and background with strong compositional elements that bring the painting together in wonderfully artistic gestalt. The other surprise spotlight for the exhibition is a painting titled, “At This Pow-Wow You Don’t Get Burned You Don’t Have To Pay Just Sit Back Because It’s All Free.” Measuring in at 48” x 68”, this larger fine art beauty eludes to what Michael Wayne describes as the ascension to Heaven with the congregation meeting to accept the path of godly divination, while the burning fires of Hell will scorn you for eternity if you do not accept the free forgiveness of sins afforded to all of us by the accepting of blind faith. Now, let’s artistically decode this hellfire scare. “At This Pow-Wow….” , the red fire and burning embers are located at the lower left of this painting, while the center is a calm white glow of purity; a cross radiating from the center is suggested by a vertical sweeping angle of green undertones and intersected by almost black and white horizontal compositional elements. Absent of the bordered compartments Wayne likes to create. “Pow-Wow…” is a successful abstract painting bringing a rare glimpse of technique to process without the sought after bells and whistles of his signature aesthetic; making for a refreshing pause in a very stimulating exhibition.
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Carriage House Gallery of Artists A Spotlight Featurette On One of Boerneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own Art Galleries That Feature Local Artists. Carriage House Gallery of Artists, located at 10 Rosewood Ave, Boerne, TX, is owned and operated by 12 artist/partners, who create works of art in a diverse array of subject matter and styles. Carriage House Gallery co-sponsors and hosts the Second Saturday Art & Wine event during which art enthusiasts can experience new and exciting works from artists while enjoying wine, hors dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;oeuvres and live music.
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Gallery artists also support and participate in events sponsored by Boerne Professional Artists (BPA), including the Parade of Artists, a festive weekend event that attracts hundreds of art enthusiasts from around the country; and the Texas Hill Country Invitational Art Show & Sale, a three-day event that features the talents of more than 50 renowned artists from across the state. The artists and their broad range of media include: Angie Carney: Oils, photography and encaustics Linda Chalberg: Watercolor Donald Darst: Oils Linda P. Darst: Pottery and hooked rugs Pamela Gardner: Oils, graphite and mixed media Bonnie Mann: Oils Teri Jo McReynolds: Oils Becky Rogers: Oils Doug Roper: Bronze sculpture Charles Schubert: Bronze sculpture, reliefs, watercolor and acrylics Dena Szymarek: Oils and bronze sculpture Nancy Yarbrough: Fused glass and watercolor Located in the heart of downtown Boerne, just off Main Street, Carriage House Gallery is a beautifully charming stone cottage. Shaded by deep burgundy awnings and accented by window boxes spilling an abundance of bright flowers and greenery, it ushers you into a warm and friendly atmosphere. You will always find one of our friendly artist partners to warmly welcome you and show you around, whether you are just leisurely browsing, or you are in the market for highquality fine art. We have works to fit anyone’s taste and budget. Come visit us soon!
Carriage House Gallery is truly “fine art at its finest”.
**Look for upcoming spotlight Second Saturday features of resident artists, Bonnie Mann and Becky Rogers; as shown on following pages Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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Bonnie Mann How much can one learn about an artist by looking at her work? A review of painter Bonnie Mann’s latest pieces reveals a great deal about this soft-spoken artist’s life and passions. Each still life conveys the intense beauty the artist sees in the world around her. Her paintings invite the viewer on a journey to explore a world of color, form and light. Bonnie Mann’s personal journey as an artist began in her childhood. Born in the 40’s in Texas Bonnie always had a leaning toward drawing and creating with color. “My childhood was spent with four siblings in a wonderful home full of love and laughter. I always had access to water color paints and crayons and paper, even if it was the side of a cardboard box. My favorite subjects in school were art and music. But art was where I found my true joy.” In the mid nineties, with the encouragement of friends and family Bonnie decided to take up art full time. As Bonnie began to devote more and more of her time to painting she entered art shows and approached galleries. She was soon gaining recognition and was juried into three galleries. When asked her greatest motivation, she smiles and her eyes light up as she replies, “Art is my therapy of choice. I seek it daily. It fills my heart and soul.” -Bonnie Mann (Text reprinted from Carriage House Gallery of Artists website)
Becky Rogers After visiting the Texas Hill Country in the 70’s, Becky knew this was where she wanted to live. She fell in love with the beauty of the Hill Country with its beautiful landscapes, majestic oak trees, flowing creeks and rivers and its beautiful wildflowers. She was in awe, especially after growing up on the Kansas plains in the middle of what used to be called the dust bowl where trees and water were scarce. Her inspiration is the land she calls home, the Texas Hill Country with its unique displays of Mother Nature. Becky is best known for her Texas bluebonnet landscapes and for her longhorn, cattle and calf paintings. When painting, she tries to capture not only what the scene looks like but also what it feels like. Especially in a field of wildflowers, she wants the viewer to feel that they could walk right into her painting and feel the warm sun on their face and soak up the scent of the wildflowers. When painting cattle, Becky tries to capture a unique personality in each cow/calf portrait that she paints and that the viewer feels that they can reach right into the painting and pet the little calf. Overall, her greatest satisfaction as an artist is when she is able to render her subjects in such a way that the viewer experiences that same emotional response she did and that they fall in love with the Texas Hill Country as she has. “Through my art, I share with others a heightened awareness of the awe and wonder of my world. I feel when we are able to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings, we are enriched. If I can reflect that beauty on my canvas, I have achieved a lifelong goal.” -Becky Rogers (Text reprinted from Carriage House Gallery of Artists website)
Breakin
ng News
BOERNE
New art and cultural initiative, “Third Thursdays” art opening affair launches in Boerne, Texas with local gallery leading the way in midweek events.
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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PLUME-TX Magazine
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015
(Boerne, TX, May 16, 2015) – In an initiative to help relieve weekend event congestion, local art gallery, J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art- Boerne has launched a new initiative dubbed, “Third Thursdays”. As a way to create engaging midweek events that will not conflict with the diverse artistic and cultural events of San Antonio area during the weekend, “Third Thursday” allows the gallery to host a stand-alone art opening, adding something of significance to the daily event roster of activities local families, and art patrons can explore during the week. “Third Thursdays” will be in addition to the established and decades long “Second Saturday Art & Wine Crawl of the Boerne art community and Boerne Professional Artist (BPA). “Third Thursdays” is modeled after the McNay’s Second Thursdays Free Family Night, and the First Fridays, Second Saturdays and Fourth Fridays of various art districts in San Antonio - who lay claim to various weekend days to hold local art attractions on the same night based on general geography. “We decided it was time to address the host of events that people have to decide on doing during the weekend. There are so many activities in and around San Antonio, in not only the art sector but birthday parties, soccer games, outdoor activities and many many other things, that we felt it was in our best interest to not compete with them, but free up the weekend calendar and add an evening event to the weekday; give opportunity for patrons to visit the gallery during a less hectic time”, says Gallery Director, Gabriel Diego Delgado. “We know people are busy, and we thought if we created an event that was not conflicting with the majority of activities people have to choose from on their busy weekend, the more people could attend. During the peak of the NorthStar Mall J.R. Mooney Galleries, we had weekday evening opening, and it was heavily attended. Now is the time to properly address how well received this time slot is for people to get out and enjoy a cultural outing as they begin to wrap up the week and might be looking for something to do.” As J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art launches “ Third Thursdays” the first part of the Fall 2015 season they will commence with a bimonthly exhibition opening schedule, holding events every other month. An exhibition schedule of events will be available in the coming months. “When we have months in-between major exhibition openings, there is a certain amount of flexibility we can offer with spur of the moment possibilities like artist lectures, workshops, and gallery talks”, says Delgado.
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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BOERNE PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art proud to announce the Art Exhibition and Opening Event: “Mindscapes”, a new selection of artwork by San Antonio Artist, Russell Stephenson.
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PLUME-TX Magazine
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015
(Boerne, TX, May 15, 2015) - Join J. R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art-Boerne on June 13, 2015 at 4 pm – 8pm as they feature “Mindscapes”, a new selection of artwork of San Antonio Artist, Russell Stephenson. Stephenson will premier eight new paintings that are a compositional departure from his signature Texas Panoramic series previously showcased by J.R. Mooney GalleriesBoerne. In “Mindscapes” the audience is faced with the artist’s fascination with invented mental constructs of Surrealist inspired Western Landscapes. Russell Stephenson, a Texas painter, has mastered an unrelenting painterly approach to the gorgeous godliness of our great state of Texas. Radiant browns and various tones of burnt sienna seem to intermingle perfectly with contrasting cool slate grays, snowy silvers and wispy whites; where atmospheric amalgamations of colors are ever approachable, digestible and delicate in their ephemeral and abstracted beauty. Bastrop fires, unrelenting skylines, sublime mentalities, conceptual collectiveness, universal experiences, mental constructs and intuitive automatism all play a role in Russell Stephenson’s paintings. A tribute to the Texas sky, the flat plains of Midland/Odessa, the rolling Hill Country, the wide open plains and various Texas Panhandle typography, Stephenson depicts all that is our great state of Texas in minimally rendered but systematically charged abstracted landscapes. “My work is created with loosely rendered and intuitively controlled marks, which simulate infinite illusionary environments. These environments are based on personal experiences, internal places, and translating sound into visual occurrences. I consider these works to be imaginary landscapes, occurrences, and atmospheres and objects that are both created out of expressionism, while conversely leaning more towards systematic formulation. My work is concerned with texture and perception as well as surface and color. Overriding themes in my work involve a flawed or fallen nature, over saturation, urban decay, and meditations on transcendence. As a record of collective experiences, the marks and movements are at once fueled by automatism, and intuitionism. My works serve as a living journal, and transcendental artifacts. My range of materials grows with necessity, and accessibility.” -R. Stephenson
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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BOERNE PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Antonio gallery launches new round of Live Video Artist Interviews on Periscope®. Russell Stephenson will be speaking about his upcoming solo exhibition, “Mindscapes” – opening June 13, 2015 in Boerne. Public driven Q & A session Follow at @JRMooneyGallery
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PLUME-TX Magazine
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015
(Boerne, TX, May 15, 2015) - Join J. R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art-Boerne on June 11, 2015 at 11 am as they utilize the new app, Periscope® and do a live video interview of Russell Stephenson as hosted by Gallery Director, Gabriel Diego Delgado. This live interview session will be the premiere live session J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art has launched. Periscope artist interviews will be added to J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art’s toolkit of marketing and social media applications. Periscope® utilizes the galleries’ Twitter® followers and can be searched on the newly devised application on Android and Mac. As the interview is happening in real time, viewers can ask questions of the artist without being in the gallery. The global reach of this application can bring fine art to infinite homes as people tune into the session and see the artwork of Russell Stephenson at J.R. Mooney Galleries- Boerne.
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FRAM
MING
Framing of the Month
“All You Need, Hombre” 3 serigraphs
JACK
(4” x 5”) Custom framing design done by J.R. Mooney Gallery Staff
J
ack White is a quintessential artist and his accolades and honors include being awarded Texas state artist in 1975 and receiving lifelong membership to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, despite not being a law enforcement member. His portraiture subjects include President Lyndon Johnson, Byron Nelson, Ray Kroc and Tom Landry. His painting career accelerated quickly and he was a top contender in his field as a portrait painter, until his art career was unexpectedly put on hiatus by an auto accident. His focus is now on writing and traveling, being an avid writer of art marketing books and Texas historical fiction.
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PLUME-TX Magazine
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015
WHITE
The Enchruseos (pronounced Ek-Crus-os) are a method of adhering gold leaf to the back of a plexiglass or glass that has been hand printed with a black ink serigraph print. This method was invented by Jack White during the 1970’s. He chose the name “Enchruseo” from a combination of Greek words ek (out of) crus (gold) and ous (having been done) which combined means ‘out of gold having been done.’ His last Enchruseo was produced in 1978.
“All You Need, Hombre’” is a collaboration of the staff at J.R. Mooney Gallery, with the selection of these three Jack White Enchruseos for their subject matter that symbolize the quintessential Texas cowboy necessities, providing a unique opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind art piece by a true Texas original. -Katherine Shevchenko
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May 2015,
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Society Pages
“Light”
Photography courtesy of : J.R. Mooney Galleries
Cliff Cavin
Event Pictures of Opening Night May 9, 2015, J.R. Mooney Galleries Galleries–– Boerne. TX.
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PLUME-TX Magazine
Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, May, 2015
Installation Images of Exhibition May 99— —June 1, 2015 J.R. Mooney Galleries Galleries–– Boerne. TX.
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