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Best of Wimberley Winner for 2019!
Cheryl Pritts
Cheryl Pritts Interview
When did you first begin to think of yourself as an artist?
I began like many people, as sort of a hobby. I painted on wood because my husband did a lot of woodworking. We lived in Pennsylvania at that time, and I did a lot of folk art. It was then that I thought, ‘Oh, I really love color!’
After moving to Texas, I started art school with a local artist in San Marcos (Betty Ritchie). She paints in a very classic style, and I really didn’t fit in with the other students because I loved using a palette knife and pure color, unlike most classic-style painters. I don’t like to blend a lot.
I fell in love with this wonderful teacher and stayed under her tutelage. I learned about light, where the light goes in my paintings. I learned more about mixing colors. Through her eyes, I learned to appreciate different genres. She’s definitely a classically western painter. I’m definitely not. But, I do love the western palette and what I learned from her: the use of rust color and the different browns with a little of the blues and greens. And of course, my shadows have to be purple.
I became so different from everybody in my class, including the teacher, that I finally learned my own techniques. I would call myself more of a ‘colorist’, because that’s what I love. I still meet with Betty once a week and paint with her in her studio because we just have so much fun.
Who have been the people that you draw inspiration from?
One lady that really set me on my journey was Lois Griffel. I bought every one of her books and every one of her videos. I couldn’t afford to go to her workshops. But this summer, for the first time, I’m going to her workshop in Wisconsin. She is the leading lady, the Director of the New England School of Art, which is more of a school for impressionist painters. From her books and videos I learned a lot about technique with the palette knife. So, she was really the one that helped launch me into my own style.
You have really diverse subject matter. How do you decide what you want to paint at any given time?
Well, I belong to several art leagues and they have people who come to present different techniques. So, of course I think, ‘Let’s try it!’ And when I try the different techniques, it results in my putting a mix of art styles in the gallery. I’m still true to myself because I still use the palette knife most of the time. I do love different designs and different media.
My favorite subject matter, by far, are landscapes. The large paintings I do are all landscapes. I think, ‘OK let’s have fun with this painting!’ So, I guess in a way, I paint for my audience. I think about that. I go to events like pop-up art experiences, and I start ‘reading’ my audience. They’ll say, “I wish I had something for my little boy’s room or my den”. I don’t take commissions, but I listen to what they want and keep those ideas in mind. I’m a retired teacher so I try to figure out how people think and what they may want.
What did you think was important to have around you to help spark your creativity when you created your studio space?
My studio space is huge. It’s an air-conditioned barn, thanks to my son, who installed the air conditioning unit. So, I can do very large pieces in there. I can do cement in there if I want to. I can do mosaics. I can do cold wax, oil, or whatever. What makes it fun is I have different stations, tables all over the place, for different things I want to try. So, if I get tired doing one thing, I just go to a different area and do something else.
What three artists, living or dead would you like to have at a dinner party?
Van Gogh, Monet, and Alfred Sisley
What’s the weirdest or funniest thing anybody ever said to you about your work?
One time I had a painting at a show, and it was more minimalistic and the person said, “You know what, I saw that in a paint-by-number”.
From this Angle
A New Show About Perspectives Featuring Works by Taylor Dueker, Keva Richardson, and Ronnie Weeks.
Extended By Popular Request until
June 9th!
Janice Mullenax
Interview with Janice Mullenax
When did you first begin to think of yourself as an artist?
I’m still not sure I’m there. I think it’s an ongoing journey. I decided I wanted to pursue art, probably in 2003-2004, after I left corporate America and started looking for somewhere to channel my energies. Since then, I’ve devoted most time to photography. In recent years, I’ve branched out to include painting, but it was always photography first. Initially, I shot family photos: pictures of the kids, grandkids, that kind of thing. And later, I decided to devote the time to study photography, to figure out how to better my skills.
Are there particular people who have been influencers, people that you draw inspiration from?
I studied black and white photography at Glassell School of Artin Houston. Two people there truly inspired me. One was Amy Blakemore, who’s a wonderful photographer! Her work is on display at the Whitney Museum in New York. Amy primarily uses Diana or Holga toy cameras, and produces very large scale pieces. With Amy, I studied photography and darkroom processes. With the advent of digital cameras, I studied with a gentleman named Duncan Ganley, a Scottish photographer, who taught at at Glassell for a couple years. While working with him in the digital format, I decided rather than focus on realism in photography, I would focus more on a contemporary, abstract kind of photography. What appeals to me, particularly, are things that involve motion: reflections and distortions, so that we don’t have a good grasp of the reality we’re looking at…we have to think about the process, what we are viewing.
How do you decide on your subject matter, what you want to photograph at any given time?
I usually have my camera with me and I am always looking for something that I can capture in a non-traditional style. As an example, imagine a stairwell in an old fort. Most people would probably just shoot the fort and the surrounding scenery in a traditional style. I am more interested in how to capture something that speaks to the age of the fort, but that is somewhat abstract. So I would focus on the stairwell, then use it to create an abstract scene that still reveals the age of the fort.
Do you have studio space that you have created for yourself? What’s important to have around you to spark your creativity?
For many years, I had no studio space. I do now. Photography doesn’t require a huge amount of space because most of us are working with digital photography. Now, I have space for photography and also space in which I can set up my easel and paint, to translate my abstract photographs into abstract paintings. Ideally, I would have liked a raised roof in my studio, but basically, we just built a studio in the attic space above the garage. It’s not the ideal space for painting, but I do have light from the east and west, so it works pretty well. I have my CD player in there, all my art books, and others books I like. I also have other creative materials in the studio that I can work with: glass, paint, the computer and the photographs.
How do you envision your work evolving?
I would like to do more painting. I don’t want to contend with the technological challenges of photography, of working with photographs on the computer. We have many good photographers here at Art on12 that do that. When I do use use Photoshop and the computer to process photographs, I typically use only the processes similar to those that I would have used in a darkroom. I don’t use layers or multiple images in a piece, like many who use Photoshop do. Using Photoshop, I’m mostly concerned about the same issues I would have been concerned about in the darkroom: ‘Did I capture a good enough image to enhance it with color and contrast and brightness?’
I’ve recently been thinking that I want reduce the amount of photography I’ve been doing. I have thousands of images, like many photographers, so I have enough photographs to work on, should I wish. So, to get back to your question, I envision myself doing more painting, working with established painters like Lili Pell and Vie Dunn-Harr, because they paint in a more abstract style that I like.
What three artists, living or dead would you like to have at a dinner party?
From a photography standpoint, Alfred Stieglitz, which would probably mean I’d have to invite Georgia O’Keefe (his wife for a number of years). And, gosh, in terms of painting, I love all of the impressionist painters, but especially Berthe Morisot: a woman contemporary painter married to Edouard Manet’s brother Eugene. She used lots of heavy brush strokes, while layering the colors. She’s not necessarily contemporary, not necessarily modern, but I like the way she handled the brush. It would be fun to see her do that. And, then, of course, there’s Mary Cassatt.
What’s the weirdest or funniest thing anybody ever said to you about your work?
I have a painting that was hanging in the Art on 12 gallery for several months, an abstract sunset view with lots of color. I painted it while on our deck here in Wimberley in a neighborhood called Paradise Hills. So, the title is ‘Looking West from Paradise’.
A gentleman came into the gallery, and, referring to the fires in Paradise, CA, said ‘Oh, you painted that?’ He thought it was a fire scene from Paradise, CA. It was funny, but sad.
Rowdy Winters
When did you first begin to think of yourself as an artist?
I always grew up around art. My father was a full-time painter ever since he was in college. So, by the age of five I was going to art shows and traveling with him, helping him set up his booths and watching him paint. But, it wasn’t until I was 20, in my sophomore year at Texas State, before I started considering art as something I should do. I was starting to get into traveling and wanting to find a job outdoors. Around that time, my Dad was really pushing me toward photography. He had an inkling it would be something I would be interested in. It was the week before Christmas …we went out to Big Bend. He gave me his camera and we just hiked and took photos. After that I was starting to look back at my images and edit, and he actually let me make a big canvas print and put it in his gallery. It was around that time that I thought. ‘Oh this would be awesome! What a dream to travel and just take photographs and share that with other people’.
How do you decide on your subject matter ?
I do a lot of art shows in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and here in Texas. Even showing my work in Art on 12, here in Wimberley. I think, as far as photography, people really like to see the beauty of their own back yard: local subject matter: Big Bend or even the bluebonnets here in the hill country. Or thinking about Colorado: the mountains, the aspens; or the deserts in Arizona. I’d love to go to Europe or California or Wyoming. But the places I tend to go to the most are the places where I think I can eventually sell that work.
What artists were inspirations or mentors for you?
First and foremost, my Dad, without a doubt. He taught me about composition and lighting as well as framing and presenting your work. A picture is just a picture on a phone or camera screen. But once it’s on the wall, that’s when it becomes a work of art. Other photographers that have inspired me? In high school I went to the Peter Lik gallery and seeing that work was just mind blowing. Even though I didn’t think about being a photographer at the time, I remember now looking back how impressive that was. I’ve read multiple books by him. Also, Paul Zizka, a Canadian photographer in Banff. I did a workshop with Dustin Lefevre in Salt Lake City that was my first hands-on workshop.. so important…far more valuable than reading or a YouTubevideo.
Have you created a special studio space for yourself?
Well as a photographer, doing digital makes things simpler. As far as doing the landscapes, the outdoors is kind of my office. My studio – the post processing – is real easy. So, I just can work on the computer in my room. I try and keep the post-processing minimal. The majority of the work is beforehand… planning the shot, making sure I’m getting the lighting right, and then executing. The post studio work like framing comes pretty easily.
What three artists, living or dead would you like to have at a dinner party?
Ansel Adams and Georgia OKeefe – those two paired together for sure, because they’ve traveled together throughout New Mexico, where I’m from originally. Seeing their work and what they’ve done, especially in the southwest where I typically go the most. Definitely, there would be a lot of subject matter to talk about there. Probably Paul Ziska. He does phenomenal digital photography, especially the Northern Lights. He’s one of the top mountaineers as well. He’s probably one of my biggest inspirations… the amount of work he has to go through to take those photographs is amazing.
What’s the weirdest or funniest thing anybody ever said to you about your work?
I’ve had a lot of interesting conversations. When I’m at an art show, crowded with people, you kind of want people to engage with you and your work, but not waste too much of your time. Because there are other people you want to engage with. I mean, you’re a salesman at that point. So, I’ve had times … there’s always a person that will bring up …’Oh, beautiful photo’… and then they ramble on for 30 minutes about tangential stuff. But, then again, whenever people come in and enjoy your work and strike up a conversation, it’s still very flattering.
Robert Anschutz
When did you first begin to think of yourself as an artist?
Well, my Dad got me a little box camera when I was in high school. I was going to the drag races and I’d take my camera because I liked the way the old cars looked. That was the impetus, early on. But I didn’t really explore photography any more than that until I got out of college. I was studying marketing in college and that kept me busy. Later, I met a fellow who became a mentor and he had this complete darkroom setup in his house. He decided to sell it and he made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. He offered it all to me at a discount price and co-signed a note at the bank for me, so I was off and running. I photographed Aqua Fest in Austin and other kinds of events like jazz and music festivals. That was kind of the beginning.
Later, I had a little darkroom where I could process black and white film. It was in what had been a dentist’s office and it had a reception area with a receptionist. It was about 6-8 blocks from the University of Texas (UT) campus on 19th street, now MLK. I was in that office, when, on August 1, 1966, the receptionist came and got me out of the darkroom and said “we’re gonna go down the street.” Somebody on the UT tower was shooting at people. I had a large 500mm lens on loan that attached directly to a tripod, and the camera would attach directly to the lens. So, it turned out that I could really ‘hone in’ on the tower as the police fired bullets up there. I never saw Whitman. But, I did have a press pass and got in the next day and photographed where all the bullets hit the walls as he would fire down into the stairwells to keep people from coming up. I saw the bullet holes where they had finally shot him.
After college, I began working with ad agencies and home builders. The home builders needed what they called a ‘PR story’ on their new additions. Of course, they’d say, “Get out there, we need to make the paper in two hours.” That’s life when you are working with ad agencies. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines.
I later met a fellow who became a friend and he played in a band. He also booked bands. At that time, I had a small studio and business on Barton Springs Rd. in Austin, and while there, I photographed a lot of different music groups. I was at that studio for eight years and then I moved to South Congress Avenue, and after that move, photography was no longer my primary focus. For several years I was doing graphic artwork for ad agencies. I sold my small business in 1993. I didn’t really have much choice. When people started using computers to design ads they didn’t need someone to enlarge or set type, so typesetters and graphic arts businesses were pretty much out.
Back into photography, I shot one event every year for 52 years. In 1967, while doing a photo shoot in the Capitol of Texas building, I was approached by the Director of Bluebonnet Girl’s State. It’s part of the America Legion Auxiliary. They focus on civics classes for young women who were at top levels in their school. The Director asked if I’d be interested in photographing an event. I said yes. I mostly photographed young ladies in various group settings. I’ve done it every summer since 1967, until 2018. It was a long ride: 52 years. They honored me for my photography of the event. I was thinking. ‘“Well, this might be a good time to wrap”.
How do you decide on your subject matter…what you want to photograph at any given time?
Photography was my primary interest when I moved to Wimberley in 2014. I got the first digital Nikon in 2015. I started going to the butte called ‘Old Baldy’, would hike up 218 steps, then watch the sun go down and watch the sun come up. Then I discovered River Road in Wimberley, and I’d go on there on early Sunday mornings just to get that first light. That’s what drives me: coming up with that ‘magic-hour’ shot when the light is just right.
Then, I starting photographing longhorns. Usually, I would photograph them through a barbed wire fence, and these photographs are some of my best sellers. I met many of the owners later, and we became friends. Some would allow me on their property to shoot.
I continue to do a lot of shooting at Zilker Gardens in Austin, especially in the fall when the butterflies are there. It’s about getting that perfect shot of the butterfly on a flower. I’d get there around 11 a.m. during the day in spring or late fall. The light filters through the trees, so I get this nice pattern of light.
What’s the weirdest or funniest thing anybody ever said to you about your work?
I use Photoshop and print the images on canvas. People often ask if I painted them, or if I painted them and then photographed them.
Cristina White-Jones
When did you first begin to think of yourself as an artist?
Well, I’ve kind of always considered myself an artist, because I’ve been painting since I was 8 years old. But, I guess seriously maybe college… after college. My degree is in painting from Texas State (Southwest Texas at the time). I’ve painted my entire life. My Mom owned a gallery in Dripping Springs, so I was around artists all the time. My Mom is a photographer. After she sold her gallery she went on to do her photography… commercial photography. I was just lucky to be exposed to all that and to have parents who were open to the idea of me going into the arts.
Who have been the people that you draw inspiration from?
I’ve always loved Frida Kahlo … her spirit and her work obviously. Georgia O’Keefe. Joan Mitchell. But I have a style of my own. I started out doing florals. Then moved to this abstract style about twenty years ago. I had a professor in college and he kind of pushed me toward more abstract and mixed media work and I fell in love with it. Sometimes I have an image in mind. A lot of time it’s just colors in mind. I always start with my textural aspects first. The way I put them down … I conceive where I want it and then the colors come after that.
What did you think was important to have around you to spark your creativity when you created your studio space?
I have a nice big table… several tables… because I teach out of the studio also. It has big doors that are open to the outside because I like to have the fresh air in when it’s a nice day. There is a lot of color around me. We moved into this house four years ago. There was an artist that lived there before. He was a metal sculptor and he had built this space already. So, I was super excited about it. Before I was in-and-out of one room in our house, and the garage which was not too inspiring. Before that we lived in Corpus. I did have a designated studio in that home in Corpus. But this has been much better. It’s quiet and out of the house and away from the noise of my life.
What three artists, living or dead would you like to have at a dinner party?
I think Frida because she was amazing. Then I had a professor at A&M Corpus: Bruno Andrade. He passed away a few years ago. He’s kind of the one who inspired me to follow my dream of becoming a painter. He was one who really said, ‘Go out and you can do anything you want to’.He really inspired me. His work was gorgeous, kind of Matisse-like. Beautiful, colorful… (I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional). I only had him for a couple of classes, but he was one of those professors that really had an impact on me. And that was before I was even an art major at TexasState later. There are so many people… maybe somebody like Joan Mitchell because she was so influential. She was one of the first women to do something like this… a female abstract artist back in the 1930’s and 40’s.
What’s the weirdest or funniest thing anybody ever said to you about your work?
People say all sorts of things like…. ‘I can do that’…or ‘How long did it take you to do that?’. ‘Did you copy that or did that just come out of your head?” People just say stupid stuff all the time. I feel like people think that if you’re doing abstract work that you’re not thinking about it… that you’re just throwing it down. That’s a little frustrating.
Guest Artist Exhibition May 4 – June 25, 2019
Call for Artists to Exhibit at Art on 12
May 4 – June 25, 2019
Submission for the Exhibition
– Submission Wednesday, May 1, 10 am to 5 pm, on a first come first served basis. Although, you may fill out the form and mail it along with a check to the address above to hold a space.
*** Make check payable to: Art on 12.
– Reception: Saturday, May 11, 2019, 4 pm to 7 pm.
– Additional forms are available on the website: arton12.com or at Art on 12 Gallery.
– Pickup unsold artwork: Wednesday, June 26, 2019
– Gallery Fee $40 (up to 3 pieces).
– Art on 12 retains 30% commissions on sales.
– Artists with sales will be paid on the 10th of the following month.
Download the Form HERE: Your Art on 12 Registration & Guidelines May-Jun 2019
For more information email info@arton12.com
Art Has the Power to Unite
On July 31, 1968, a young African-American boy was looking at the newspaper when he saw something that he had never seen before. With tears in his eyes, he started running through the house, calling for his mom. He would show his mom, and she would gasp, seeing something she thought she would never see in her lifetime. Throughout the nation, there were similar reactions.
What they saw was Franklin Armstrong’s first appearance in the iconic comic strip Peanuts. Franklin was ‘born’ after a school teacher named Harriet Glickman, had written a letter to creator Charles M. Schulz after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot to death outside his Memphis hotel room in April of 1968. Glickman, who had kids of her own, and having worked with kids, was especially aware of the power of comics among the young. ‘And my feeling at the time was that I realized that black kids and white kids never saw themselves depicted together in the classroom,’ she would say.
She would write, ‘Since the death of Martin Luther King, I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help change those conditions in our society which led to the assassination and which contribute to the vast sea of misunderstanding, hate, fear and violence.’
Glickman asked Schulz if he would consider adding a black character to his popular comic strip, which she hoped would bring the country together and show people of color that they are not excluded from American society. She had written to others as well, but the others feared it was too soon, that it may be costly to their careers, that the syndicate would drop them if they dared do something like that.
Charles Schulz did not have to respond to her letter. He could have just completely ignored it, and everyone would have forgotten about it. But, Schulz did take the time to respond, saying he was intrigued with the idea, but wasn’t sure whether it would be right, coming from him. He didn’t want to make matters worse. He felt that it might seem condescending to people of color.
Glickman did not give up, and continued communicating with Schulz, with Schulz responding each time. This conversation would continue for three months until one day, Schulz would tell Glickman to check her newspaper on July 31, 1968. On that date, the cartoon, as created by Schulz, shows Charlie Brown meeting a new character, named Franklin. Other than his color, Franklin was just an ordinary kid who befriends and helps Charlie Brown. Franklin also mentions that his father was ‘over at Vietnam.’
Although Schulz never made a big deal over the inclusion of Franklin, there were many fans, especially in the South, who were very upset by it, and that made national news. One Southern editor even said, ‘I don’t mind you having a black character, but please don’t show them in school together.’ It would eventually lead to a conversation between Schulz and the president of the comic’s distribution company, who was concerned about the introduction of Franklin and how it might affect Schulz’ popularity. Many newspapers during that time had threatened to cut the strip. Schulz’ response: ‘I remember telling Larry about Franklin. He wanted me to change it, and we talked about it for a long time on the phone, and I finally said: Well, Larry, let’s put it this way. Either you print it just the way I draw it, or I quit. How’s that?’
Eventually, Franklin became a regular character in the comic strip, and, despite complaints, Franklin would be shown sitting in front of Peppermint Patty at school and playing center field on her baseball team.
Because of one brave school teacher who decided to ask a simple question, and because of one artist named Charles Schulz, people around the world were introduced to a little boy named Franklin.
From the Jon S. Randal Peace Page
https://www.facebook.com/The-Jon-S-Randal-Peace-Page-1172578609429017/