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By Peggy Stermer-Cox, 372 contributed posts
View all Peggy Stermer-Cox's posts. About the author: I begin my watercolor paintings with an idea and a drawing. I build the painting layer by layer, drawing lines and shapes, looking for rhythm and feeling. My color sense is a reflection of my childhood in New Mexico fused with colors of my home in the Northwest. My goal is to go beyond the surface to find joy, wonder and a bit of mystery. I have shown my works in galleries, juried, group and solo shows in Washington, Oregon, Montana and New Mexico. My paintings are in private collections in the west, New York and Norway.
To view examples of Peggy's work or to make contact with the artist, please visit her listing at the Southern Oregon Artists Resource.
Happy New Year and New Decade!
I’d like to finish out my micro mini “decade in review” by showing you four watercolor paintings. The paintings represent years 2016 to 2019.
2016.
This painting was an experiment in adding Celtic symbols to help tell the visual story. You might notice the shamrock, Celtic knot and modified triskele. The triskele is on the tea bag’s tab. I used a green dominant color scheme to further support the meaning of “Irish”. As is my frequent practice, I played with different aspects of the cup, hence the enlarged cup handle.
This painting was shown in Rogue Gallery and Art Center’s “Celtic Celebration Art Show” (Medford, OR) and earned two awards: People’s Choice and Staff’s pick. I felt so honored!
2017.
“Considering Kandinsky” was another experiment. Truthfully, most if not all of my work is an experiment. At the time, I was preparing to participate in a watercolor demonstration featuring the figure for the Watercolor Society of Oregon. There were three of us artists and we had agreed on a particular reference photo of a man on a bench. So, as is my usual practice, I played around with some ideas. One thing led to another, and pretty soon I was thinking of the artist Wassily Kandinsky. This was a fun painting for me.
2018.
I started the “Three Minute Egg” series when I was taking a class with artist Gabriel Lipper. I’d like to say that it was a wonderful class on “deconstruction”, working in a series, and going from life to abstraction. So, the first seven paintings I did in his class. However, starting with number eight and onward, I did in my studio. This particular painting earned a Fourth Place award in the Watercolor Society of Oregon’s Spring 2018 Experimental Exhibition.
2019.
And, here we are continuing on with the theme of an egg cup and timer. However, this time I added an espresso cup because I like espresso.
By Peggy Stermer-Cox, 372 contributed posts
View all Peggy Stermer-Cox's posts. About the author: I begin my watercolor paintings with an idea and a drawing. I build the painting layer by layer, drawing lines and shapes, looking for rhythm and feeling. My color sense is a reflection of my childhood in New Mexico fused with colors of my home in the Northwest. My goal is to go beyond the surface to find joy, wonder and a bit of mystery. I have shown my works in galleries, juried, group and solo shows in Washington, Oregon, Montana and New Mexico. My paintings are in private collections in the west, New York and Norway.
To view examples of Peggy's work or to make contact with the artist, please visit her listing at the Southern Oregon Artists Resource.
Hi! By the time the decade hit the middle years, cell phones and smart phones where everywhere. And, today’s paintings for my mini review are all about cell phone conversations.
Cell Phone Conversations And The Cat.
Starting off with “Hang Up And Pet Me” from 2014, we have a woman sitting on a couch in the middle of a phone conversation. Sitting next to her is the cat. Naturally, the cat thinks this talking out loud into a little box is kind of weird. Nuts even. Better yet, the person needs to be petting the cat. Yes indeed.
Inspiration Hits!
This particular painting was inspired by a phone conversation I had with one of my sisters. You see, while she was talking on the phone, I could hear her cat in the background. And, as you might expect, the cat was being vocal and participating in the conversation. It was one of those “aha!” moments; I had a spark of inspiration.
More Conversations
Speaking of inspiration, in the summer of 2014, my husband Robert and I took a trip across the country. Imagine driving from west coast to east coast and back again. It was fun.
While in Georgia, we stopped to visit a niece for a couple of days. She showed us a good time, including introducing us to some excellent cafes and coffee shops.
A Group Of Four & Their Cell Phones.
At one such coffee shop, we watched as two young couples walked in and sat down. Almost instantly, and in unison, they all whipped out their smart phones and started using them! We watched in amusement. And, we wondered, were they texting each other as they sat at the table? And, come to think of it, there were potentially eight people at the table. That is to say, the four who were seated in front of us and the four on the other end of the phone.
Another Flash of Inspiration.
Once again, I had an “aha” moment and was inspired! I had the makings of a new series of paintings involving coffee shops and cell phone conversations. As it turned out, this moment gave me plenty of ideas and I would work on this series for the next 18 months. Happily, 2015’s “Old School, New School” was one of the paintings in the series.
Cell Phone Conversations Everywhere!
As I was writing this article, it occurred to me that there has been a change since 2014 and 2015. Back then, it seemed that it was mainly the younger people who were constantly using their cell phones. Now, it’s all ages. Ahem; that includes me and people my age! We are just as likely to whip out the smart phone as any young person in the coffee shop.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the paintings about cell phone conversations. And, the short trip back to 2014 and 2015.
By Peggy Stermer-Cox, 372 contributed posts
View all Peggy Stermer-Cox's posts. About the author: I begin my watercolor paintings with an idea and a drawing. I build the painting layer by layer, drawing lines and shapes, looking for rhythm and feeling. My color sense is a reflection of my childhood in New Mexico fused with colors of my home in the Northwest. My goal is to go beyond the surface to find joy, wonder and a bit of mystery. I have shown my works in galleries, juried, group and solo shows in Washington, Oregon, Montana and New Mexico. My paintings are in private collections in the west, New York and Norway.
To view examples of Peggy's work or to make contact with the artist, please visit her listing at the Southern Oregon Artists Resource.
Hi! Continuing on in this mini review of the current decade, I’ll touch on 2012 and 2013 today.
Since yesterday I featured works from the Toy Pony collection, I thought we would switch subjects. In 2012 and 2013 I began working with people as subject.
The first painting is from my “Just Sayin’…” series of paintings. My inspiration for this series was our cell and now smart phone culture. Ummm, and yes, I’m one of those people who use one of these mobile phones.
Also, during 2012 and 2013, I was toying with the idea of working fictional or mythical characters. And, eventually, I developed a design for a mermaid that I liked. And, just for fun, I thought of her at night and in the moon light.
Short and, hopefully, sweet today. I hope you enjoy the two paintings! Thank you!
By Brooke Nuckles, 421 contributed posts
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How to Paint a Landscape in Three Different Mediums by Anita HartCarroll
Painting the same scene three different times using a different medium on each painting can be very enlightening and a lot of fun! In our article at VeryCreate.com, I explore using pastel, acrylic and watercolor to paint a distinctive landscape of Vantage, Washington on the Columbia River. I share what I learned and what I would do differently the next time I paint the scene.
The goal of the experiment was to see how different each medium handled the same subject and if the final results were unique enough for me to pick a favorite standout. The knowledge I gained by completing the three paintings really surprised me!
In the acrylic painting, I blew up the scale and went for high drama on canvas. Using thin layers of paint and glazes, I was able to adjust the value planes and colors until I arrived at the point where I was happy with the final painting. In this version it was easier to really pop the colors in the shadows on the cliffs and on the roadway.
Acrylic Painting
With pastel, I reduced the scale to a manageable 11 x 17 inches and went for juicy vibrant pastel sticks that I typically don’t use very often. This painting was the fastest and most intuitive.
Pastel Painting
The watercolor painting was painted with the most direct approach and was painted in about 45 minutes. I think it will make a terrific large watercolor but by doing the smaller study, I definitely learned what I will do differently when that time comes. Not only is this a great time saver, but it is like being your own masterclass teacher! I basically worked out all the buggaboos before committing to a full size sheet of expensive watercolor paper.
Watercolor Painting
Having tackled the same subject three different ways gave me insights and experience that could only have come from my experiment! I will use this knowledge each time I approach a landscape painting and file these tidbits away as golden nuggets.
By Peggy Stermer-Cox, 372 contributed posts
View all Peggy Stermer-Cox's posts. About the author: I begin my watercolor paintings with an idea and a drawing. I build the painting layer by layer, drawing lines and shapes, looking for rhythm and feeling. My color sense is a reflection of my childhood in New Mexico fused with colors of my home in the Northwest. My goal is to go beyond the surface to find joy, wonder and a bit of mystery. I have shown my works in galleries, juried, group and solo shows in Washington, Oregon, Montana and New Mexico. My paintings are in private collections in the west, New York and Norway.
To view examples of Peggy's work or to make contact with the artist, please visit her listing at the Southern Oregon Artists Resource.
Hi! Just for fun, I thought I would do a mini review of the 2010 to 2019 decade. My idea is to share two paintings a day representing a year each. This is an exercise in contemplation, not so much one of critique. In other words “here is where I was then”.
Today, I’ll start the decade review with two from my “Still Life With Toy Pony” series. In case you are not familiar with the series, it is based on a still life I set up that included a toy pony. Hence the name.
The purpose of the work in series was to explore and experiment the elements of composition. Put more simply, I ask myself questions like “what if I do this…?”
So, “Still Life with Toy Pony, #D54” is the 10th painting in the series. And, the 2011 painting “Still Life with Toy Pony #D41” was the 12th in the series.
And, just to clarify, the “D” in the title refers to a design number. So, “D54 refers to a painting based on my 54th design. I did a LOT of drawings, almost 80. But, only about 20 have been been included in the series.
The plan, then, is to share two more paintings tomorrow.
PS. If you’d like to see three more from the Toy Pony series, click on this post:
By Brooke Nuckles, 421 contributed posts
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Join us for the January First Friday Art Walk festivities!
January 3rd from 5 to 8 pm
Ashland Gallery Association Exhibit Openings & Artist Receptions
Stroll the galleries and take in the visual delights in downtown Ashland and the Historic Railroad District. Venture further to explore out-skirting galleries! Enjoy this free year-round community event, filled with a diverse array of artwork, live music, artist demonstrations, refreshments and lively conversation!
January Spotlight Exhibits
Art & Soul Gallery
What a Difference a Frame Makes!
The gallery’s First Friday show also features wine and light refreshments; live music by pianist Anthony Bock, and will be on display from December 31 – February 2.
Peter Stone has been a professional picture framer for more than twenty-three years. He owned the popular Arrowhead Framing shop in Half Moon Bay, CA before moving to Ashland and Art & Soul Gallery.He has long enjoyed the interpretive creative process and the constant creative problem solving which are custom picture framing. Peter loves the unique design opportunity that comes with each new artistic challenge.
“Every custom picture framing project comes with a story,” Peter has discovered. People only choose custom framing when the artwork has special meaning, he said. “And what is more special than our family memories!”
Pianist, Anthony Bock, a senior at SOU and a student of Dr. Tutunov, returns to Art & Soul for the third time. He effortlessly combines classical and non-classical piano music in a free and bright style, which captivates everyone listening.
Peter Stone, “sivo’ham, sivo’ham” (I am Shiva, I am Shiva)
Schneider Museum of Art
TWO GENERATIONS: JOE FEDDERSEN & WENDY RED STAR
On View: January 16 – March 14, 2020
Opening Reception: January 16th, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
This exhibition presents the work of two Northwest Indigenous artists who work across media and whose work responds, on their own terms, to historic and contemporary misrepresentations of Native Americans. Joe Feddersen, born in 1953, is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and has exhibited internationally since the early 1980’s. As a printmaker, basket maker, ceramicist and glass artist, Feddersen combines contemporary materials with Native iconography to create powerful and evocative works that explore the interrelationships between urban symbols and Indigenous landscapes.
Wendy Red Star, born in 1981, was raised on the Apsáalooke (Crow) reservation in Montana. An avid researcher of archives and historical narratives, Red Star incorporates and recasts her research through photography, sculpture, video, fiber arts, and performance, offering new and unexpected perspectives on past, present, and future life. Her work is humorous, surreal, and often abrasive, yet deeply rooted in a celebration for Crow life.
JOE FEDDERSEN BIO:
Joe Feddersen, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, lives and works in Omak, WA and was a faculty member at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA from 1989 until his retirement in 2009. His work was included in Weaving Past into Present: Experiments in Contemporary Native American Printmaking at the International Print Center, New York, Autumn 2015. He has been featured in numerous national exhibitions, including Continuum 12 Artists: Joe Feddersen, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution at the George Gustav Heye Center, New York, NY, curated by Truman Lowe; Land Mark, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA; and was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition and monograph, Vital Signs, organized in conjunction with Froelick Gallery and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University in Salem, OR
WENDY RED STAR BIO:
Artist Wendy Red Star works across disciplines to explore the intersections of Native American ideologies and colonialist structures, both historically and in contemporary society. Raised on the Apsáalooke (Crow) reservation in Montana, Red Star’s work is informed both by her cultural heritage and her engagement with many forms of creative expression, including photography, sculpture, video, fiber arts, and performance. An avid researcher of archives and historical narratives, Red Star seeks to incorporate and recast her research, offering new and unexpected perspectives in work that is at once inquisitive, witty and unsettling. Intergenerational collaborative work is integral to her practice, along with creating a forum for the expression of Native women’s voices in contemporary art.
Red Star has exhibited in the United States and abroad at venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fondation Cartier pour l’ Art Contemporain, Domaine de Kerguéhennec, Portland Art Museum, Hood Art Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among others. She served a visiting lecturer at institutions including Yale University, the Figge Art Museum, the Banff Centre, National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Dartmouth College, CalArts, Flagler College, and I.D.E.A. Space in Colorado Springs. In 2017, Red Star was awarded the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award and in 2018 she received a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. In 2019 Red Star will have her first career survey exhibition at the Newark Museum in Newark New Jersey.
Red Star holds a BFA from Montana State University, Bozeman, and an MFA in sculpture from University of California, Los Angeles. She lives and works in Portland, OR.
CURATOR MACK MCFARLAND BIO:
Mack McFarland is a cultural producer and has worked as Curator for Pacific Northwest College of Art since 2006. Currently McFarland is the Director of the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at PNCA. His exhibitions at PNCA have included commissioned projects of new works from tactical media practitioners Critical Art Ensemble, Eva and Franco Mattes, and Disorientalism. He has also curated a review of Luc Tuymans’s printed works, a group exhibit marking the centennial of John Cage’s birth, and a comprehensive look at the process of the comic journalist Joe Sacco. McFarland’s current question is how exhibitions and artworks can meaningfully link to our shared experience of existing together within the ongoing process of history.
Wendy Red Star, “Winter”, from “The Four Seasons”, Archival pigment print on Museo silver rag, 35.5 X 40 inches, Courtesy of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, OR
Photographers’ Gallery (Ashland Art Center)
Kate Geary – “In the Woods”
Kate Geary’s new show, “In the Woods”, opens on Friday, January 3, 2020, at The Photographer’s Gallery at the Ashland Art Center and runs through the end of February.
Kate’s focus in this show is on the amazing beauty and even humor in the small details of the natural world in the forest. So often the small is obscured by the magnificence of the scene, the towering redwood or roaring waterfall. To pause, to look downward and notice the patterns in decaying bark, the sensuous texture of exposed wood; the beauty of seed pods lying in verdant ground cover, reflections of fall color in a meandering stream, brings a new appreciation to the beauty of detail.
Kate Geary, “Reflections of Season Past,” photograph
Creekside Pizza
Featuring Justin Gordon
Justin Gordon is an artist and musician living in Ashland Oregon who enjoys traditional processes that harken back to the twentieth century before the digital world inundated us with images and sounds and facsimiles of real objects. He can be found driving around in a yellow seventies pick up snapping photos or playing his original songs with his band The Holy Mackerels around town when he is not at work as a carpenter and painter.
Show runs December through January.
Justin Gordon, photograph
For more information about all of our exhibits and to download the January Gallery Tour map, please visit: www.ashlandgalleries.com
Please see “Spotlight Exhibits” and the January Gallery Tour Map.
By Brooke Nuckles, 421 contributed posts
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Detail of I Spy, a magazine collage by Ginny Schaw
Happy Holidays!
Rogue Gallery will be open December 24, 10-2pm.
We will be closed December 25 through January 1.
In the Main Gallery in 2020
Driven to Abstraction: Paintings by
Virginia Andrade & Alx Fox
January 10–February 2
left: Anticipation by Virginia Andrade, right: A Splash of Pinot by Alx Fox
Reception: January 17, 5-30-8 pm
Explore the skillful composition of rich color and exciting texture in this exhibit featuring the work of two accomplished abstract painters, Virginia Andrade and Alx Fox.
ROGUE STUDIO
2020 Winter and Spring classes are on the website.
Would you like to make a year end
donation to Rogue Gallery? Click HERE>>
Gifts made to the Rogue Gallery & Art Center qualify for the Oregon Cultural Trust tax credit program. For more information on Oregon Cultural Trust credit program, please visit www.culturaltrust.org.
The Rogue Gallery & Art Center is the Rogue Valley’s premier non-profit community art center founded in 1960 to promote and nurture the visual arts in the Rogue Valley. The Art Center showcases emerging and established artists, presents fine crafts by area artisans, and offers a broad range of visual art classes and workshops for all ages.
Rogue Gallery & Art Center is located in downtown Medford at 40 South Bartlett Street. We are open Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
We are open for art receptions third Fridays 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
By Brooke Nuckles, 421 contributed posts
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Green Friday Deals!
As we get close to the upcoming spending frenzy for our loved ones, It’s the perfect time of year to be conscious of where we put our time and money! Whether it’s donations to great causes, supporting local businesses, hand-made gifts from the heart or earth-friendly gifts made in the USA, there are so many wonderful options! We wish you a beautiful Winter season and offer you these fabulous discounts on our natural art supplies – hand-made in small batches with lots of love. -The Natural Earth Paint Family
By Brooke Nuckles, 421 contributed posts
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Homeward Bound by Marilyn Zupan. Image courtesy of the artist
Advance Release for December 2019:
Art du Jour Gallery, 213 E. Main Street in Medford will continue it’s seasonal exhibit with a transition to winter. For Third Friday (December 20th, 5pm-8pm) we are planning a special Christmas event presented by harpist Kathy Yeoman. Please go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ArtduJourGallery) for any further updates.
Guest Artist Nancy Graham Returns to Help Art du Jour Usher in a New Year
Nancy Graham has always been passionate about art in all its forms and styles, as evidenced by the variety of subjects she likes to paint and the varied approach to each. She was always encouraged by her mother, who was a well-known artist in California and an art instructor at Dominican College in San Rafael a number of years ago. She paints only with watercolor these days and her current passion is teaching watercolor at Scrappy Craft in Phoenix, where her classes remain full year around. She tells us that the real thrill comes from the delight her students find when the composition comes together and there’s a sudden spurt of confidence. She pushes strong value shifts of light and dark, telling her students over and over, “The deeper the shadows, the stronger the light will be”.
While teaching that there is more to a successful piece of art than the basic fundamentals of art theory, she likes to experiment with a variety of styles and approaches as evidenced by the selection of pieces that will be showing during December and January. Florals, landscapes, abstracts, still lifes and even a motorcycle engine are the subjects she’s chosen to show. She’s always excited to try something new, and is challenged by the possibilities that watercolor brings to her artwork. However, if one were to ask her what she likes to do best, she’d probably reply that she loves to paint the “close-ups” where she can use her small brushes to bring out the finest details of her subjects.
Nancy holds a secondary teaching credential and art degree from UC Davis, and is a member of the Southern Oregon Society of Artists, the Rogue Gallery, a past President of the Josephine County Artists Association and a juried member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon.
Nancy Graham exhibit at Art du Jour December 2019. Image courtesy of the artist.
Featured Wall to Transition to a Winter Themed Exhibit
In the interest of keeping with our theme “Always Something New“, for December a combined exhibit by participating AdJ members will be offering a visual representation of “Winter Wonderland”. Several of our members are anxious and ready to showcase their creative talents in recognition of this special time of year.
Calling All Rogue Valley Artists!!!
We continue actively seeking new artists living in the Rogue Valley region who would like to join our co-operative and display their work to the Medford community. Membership includes an active role in the Art in Bloom festival in May, as well as our monthly Third Friday event. Media to be juried for membership includes pottery, sculpture, photography and jewelry. Contact the gallery by email at [email protected], or log into our website (www.artdujourgallery.com) for full membership information.
By Silvia Trujillo, 307 contributed posts
View all Silvia Trujillo's posts. About the author: With a history in fashion design, Silvia Trujillo has 20 years experience in fine art study, painting, and teaching. She is a master colorist; emphasizing color harmony, and works in impressionist, realist and abstract styles, and teaches plein air and painting workshops. "My goal is to consistently produce paintings that are uniquely original and that express my love of nature." See Silvia's listing at the Southern Oregon Artists Resource to learn more and make contact.
Although we need rain desperately, I have been taking advantage of the dry weather by doing lots of plein air work. Several students and I have discovered new places to paint, and have had lots of fun doing it! Consider joining us while the warm weather lasts. It’s really not that difficult, and it is a great way to loosen up if you’ve been feeling like your paintings seem kind of tight lately.
The ongoing classes I’m offering (Wednesdays from 2–4pm) at Scrappy Craft are going well. There is a core group of artists who attend classes regularly, each working individually and coming up with some intriguing paintings. Plus, Scrappy Craft offers a discount to students who attend classes there. I must say, I’m super impressed with the extensive inventory of “top brand” art supplies; and all at comparable pricing to the big box stores! Come on over and check it out. I have room for more students in this space. It’s a large, well lit classroom – $30 drop-in, or 4 classes/ $100.
Since classes are ongoing, you may start at any time, and complete a 4 class series within a 6 week time frame. *We will not be meeting 11/27, 12/25, or 1/1
Would you like to make a year end
