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"Colors Of The West" Art Gallery Showing
The Artist Viginia Beale Story
Column Provided By: Debbie Fox
Posted: 12/05/10
Virginia Beale began painting in 2005. To expand her knowledge of the techniques of oil painting, she enrolled in art class in Ojai. She soon realized that, in order to grow, she should take more comprehensive classes. In the spring of 2005, she enrolled in Bob Moskowitz's beginning painting class at Ventura College where she learned a lot and has continued to take classes.
Her desire as an artist is to take the viewer to a beautiful place and remind the viewer of the beauty that surrounds us
wherever we may live.
Virginia Beale has always been creative: first as an accomplished seamstress, then, she later created and sold her high-end collectors line of Teddy Bears. Later, Beale was "smitten" with painting, and has never looked back. She is awed by California's stunning and diverse scenery, and strives to bring the sensations and feelings of the outdoors into our homes.
During this time she has had many accomplishments:
- Recipient of the Bonita McFarland Scholarship 2006
- Ventura College Merit Award 2006
- Ventura College Award of Excellence 2006
- Ventura College Honorable Mention 2010
71 Palm Show 2009
- Ventura City ArtWalk 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Buenaventura Art Association Solo Show 2007
- Buenaventura Art Association Award of Merit 2009
- Buenaventura Art Association Best in Show 2009
- Santa Paula 73rd Art & Photography Exhibit 2010
1st Place Peoples Choice Award
2nd Place Judges Award
- Douglas Shively Award of Excellence
Her works are currently hanging in Saint John's Hospital, Buenaventura Art Gallery and Ventura College, as well as in many private collections. You may view her work on her website, virginiabeale.com, and on her Facebook page.
Posted: 12/05/10
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"Colors Of The West" Art Gallery Showing
The Artist Judith Crowe Story
Bios By: Judith Crowe
Posted: 12/05/10
Judith Crowe did indeed start drawing and painting when she was five, thanks to Uncle John and Aunt Dottie, who were both artists (Dottie passed away just last spring at age 92). As a young wife and mother, living in New Hampshire, Judith was actively working with her art, doing paintings and collages, and served as president of the Amherst Art Association.
Crowe moved to California in the 70's and immediately took a class in watercolors through a Moorpark College extension offering. Her degree, however, was in education, and that was her "day job" - teaching elementary school in the Conejo Valley.
During the 80's, she taught and sometimes sold her watercolor paintings. She also went back to school to get her master's (CLU) and doctorate (U of LaVerne). This educator taught computer applications and teaching methods classes at CLU for the next fifteen years.
Meanwhile, Judith Crowe became frustrated with her own work in watercolor. She couldn't seem to get enough intensity of color into her paintings. Upon visiting a pastels show, she was struck by how the use of pure sticks of color allows the artist to work without mixing or diluting. Of course, pastellists carry huge amounts of color sticks, since every nuance of color needs a stick of its own. Crowe has been working with pastels for ten years, now.
Judith Crowe is a member of Thousand Oaks Art Association (have served on the board for eight year - currently membership chair). She is also a board member and director of membership for the Arts Council of the Conejo Valley. Other memberships include the Pastel Society of the Gold Coast, Westlake Village Art Guild, Buenaventura Art Association.
Crowe exhibits at a number of venues monthly and has won many awards. She tries to be at the Ojai Art In The Park in May and the Thousand Oaks show at the Civic Arts Plaza in September of each year. Those are her favorite outdoor shows.
She teaches classes monthly at the Red Brick Gallery in Ventura. One of the most enjoyable experiences she has each year is being "booth artist" for UArt paper at the Pasadena Methods and Materials show in October. Judith fell into that because she loved using the paper, which is sanded and holds pastel beautifully, but can also be painted on. She emailed the sales director in New York several times with questions and comments and he asked her to paint at the UArt booth for the three days of the show in October. That has led to a number of commissions and other opportunities.
This artist paints every Wednesday with a group of ten other pastellists at Bert Collins' Studio in Ojai. This commitment is helpful; because, it keeps her working even when she believes she has no fresh ideas then eventually a new one comes along. They also critique each others work, and that always provides new insights. This year Crowe began to work again with water media. She's using acrylic paints as thinned for watercolor paper and thicker on canvas, and is enjoying working with brushes again. I often do a pastel and an acrylic of the same scene.
As an artist, she still works mostly on landscapes; they are her favorite even though she uses colored pencil for portraits of her grandchildren.
Her husband, Gary Talbot, is a photographer, and this past September, they went to a painting and photography workshop in France that was absolutely delightful. They stayed in an old French farmhouse owned by a British couple - a painter and photographer - and each day the group would get into two cars and go out top to paint or photograph the countryside. Afterwards, all met back at the farmhouse in the late afternoon - an afternoon that was followed by a swim, bike ride, or hike, piling back into the two cars and off to dinner they went. What a treat! Judith Crowe has several paintings completed from that trip and ideas for many more.
An article that Nicole D'Amore wrote a couple of years age referred to Judith Crowe's art as, "tranquility". People who see her works constantly comment on how they feel like they can go right inside the painting. Meantime, others say it leads them in like meditation.
Paintings by Judith Crowe reflect tranquil-serene vistas. When Crowe was teaching, she always wanted to be the dynamic, laughter-inducing, inspiring kind of lecturer - a lecturer who kind of put on a show. That's the style of presentation she most enjoyed as a student. But no - her evaluation feedback from her students was, "she is so calm. She makes me feel I can learn it. She lowers my anxiety."
Very positive, however, not what she had planned. Finally, she had to realize that the IS in her style is "tranquility", and that realization happened when her paintings began to be described in the same way.
Judith says of her painting, "I do not paint disturbing, dynamic scenes, although I hope there is strength as well as beauty in my work. For many years I have worn the same perfume, and when I saw it described as "a calm, peaceful scent" I gave in - that's who I am."
Much of Crowe subject matter comes from her experience. Many of her paintings are of Thousand Oaks and areas of the Conejo Valley. Many more are of the central coast, because her husband and she had a weekend place in Pismo Beach for many years.
Others are of travels - all across America (hence Colors East and West" at the Fox gallery) and also England, Ireland, France, Greece, Italy, Australia and Hawaii. Judith Crowe loves to travel and to paints.
Posted: 12/05/10
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POST ROCK
"A Journey Through Time"
Column By: John Parker
Photography By: Donna Wieckowski
Artists' Union Gallery Sculpture Exhibition:
November/December 2010
What do cows grazing in a Kansas field have in common with visitors to the Artists' Union Gallery's upcoming December exhibit? Both are held captive by ancient limestone fence posts. Quarried from a windswept corner of America's heartland where timber is scarce, these relics of stone, fossil and barbed wire make a unique sculpting material. Presented as "Post Rock: a journey through time", the weathered sentinels are featured in the upcoming Ventura exhibit, reincarnated as fine art.
Curated by Paul Lindhard, this innovative look at an inspiring new medium opens November 6th, running to December 12th. Lindhard, acclaimed area sculptor and creative force behind this exciting "Journey" brings together talented stone carvers from Ventura's Art City and beyond, such as Ojai Dentist turned sculptor Fred Whitman. Initially drawn to the glow of these limestone pillars glimpsed in late-day sunlight (see photos), the seeds of the project were planted in Whitman's imagination.
Sculptor and featured artist, Fred Whitman above, speaks: "First Friday Gallery Walk" at Artists' Union Gallery...Friday, November 5th
330 South California Street, Ventura 93001
As the concept grew, Lindhard's creative vision blossomed into an exhibition of enthusiastic and accomplished sculptors.
Originally from the bottom of the sea, the stones now return to within earshot of the surf, converging in Artists' Union Gallery, situated on scenic California Plaza (just off Ventura's Promenade where California Street meets the Pacific Ocean). Attend the opening November 6th or check Gallery hours to experience the limestone time travelers in their new lives, as the masterfully crafted figures, faces and shapes of fine art.
(805) 643-3012
www.venturaartistsunion.org
info@venturaartistsunion.org
Posted: 11/04/10
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FALL '10 / WINTER '11
GALLERY AT THE CROWNE
Art Below By: G. Segismundo
Column Below By: Terry Bray
Posted: 10/10/10
The new 'FALL '10 / WINTER '11" show is fully installed at GALLERY AT THE CROWNE! The Artists' Reception for this show will be on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28th from 6:00 P.M.-8:00 P.M. in the Aqua Lounge located inside of the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel, 450 E. Harbor Blvd, Ventura. Where California Street meets the sea! This event is FREE and open to the public! (Fee for parking). The hotel will provide some hot and cold finger food and have drink specials commemorating this Artists' Reception. Come meet and congratulate the artists for a job well done!
"FALL '10 / WINTER '11" has over 75 fine art works representing 13 different artists! This show is very diversified in the mediums used and the subject matter reflected. Inclusive are: (1) photographs that are aerial shots of Ventura taken from a remote control mini-helicopter, (2) other photographs showing the natural prismatic colors produced by sunlight refracted onto live flowers, (3) to original impressionistic paintings of the many beautiful landscapes of Ventura County, and (4) pinpoint detailed paintings of oceanic underwater scenes complemented by contrasting boldly executed abstracts! This show is the brightest, most colorful fine art display GALLERY AT THE CROWNE has hosted yet!
Once again the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach hotel is a proud Sponsor of the annual Ventura Harvest Artwalk! This two-day citywide event will be taking place on the weekend of October 16th from 1 P.M.- 9 P.M. and October 17th from 12 P.M.- 5 P.M. You can get all the details by going to the website at www.venturaartwalk.org or by calling (805) 658-4720. GALLERY AT THE CROWNE is #28 on the designated listing of locations to visit on the ARTWALK MAP
On Saturday (only), from 1-5 P.M., there will be a stage and live music performed in the C-Street Plaza just outside the doors of GALLERY AT THE CROWNE! Envision arts and performing arts all at the same time. A fun filled time to be had by all! I will be personally attending the gallery at various times on both days. I hope to see you then!
GALLERY AT THE CROWNE, "FALL '10 / WINTER '11" Exhibiting Artists:
- SANDRA E. CHU
- RAYMOND CUEVAS
- PAT RICHARDS DODDS
- RANELLE ESTRELLADO
- DOUGLAS FINCHAM
- LOIS FREEMAN-FOX
- CARRIE GORDON/DAWN
- TIM LASKI
- TINA OBRIEN
- BEATRIX ROHLSEN
- GERARDO SEGISMUNDO
- RICHARD D. WILBORN
- GERALD ZWERS
All of the art is available for public viewing 24/7, from September 25, 2010 - January 15, 2011. Everything in the show is for sale! I hope to see all of the currently exhibiting artists during the Artists' Reception on Thursday, October 28th. This is YOUR reception!
For any questions please feel free to contact me!
Terry Bray, Curator
Gallery At The Crowne
terry@tbrayart.com
(805) 795-6076
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