Jim Jones Documentary and New Paintings Premiered at SUU

I was fortunate to attend the opening of the new Jim Jones exhibit last weekend at Southern Utah University. The show included a number of new large landscape paintings of Zion National Park and The Grand Canyon. Wow, what a spectacular presentation from a fantastic artist. I loved the quote by a young girl who commented "I like your paintings because I can see so far." That pretty much sums up the vistas that Jimmie Jones portrays in his enourmous oil paintings. Prior to the show we attended the premiere showing of a new documentary film about Jones' life and work. Jones recently donated his estate home on the cliffs above Rockville, along with a suite of 14 new paintings to Southern Utah University. The university also unveiled plans for the new Southern Utah Museum of Art to be built on the campus.

Above: One of Jones' big landscapes of the Grand Canyon

Dick Brown Watercolor Workshop

Our local painting group, the Southern Utah Watercolor Society, sponsored a landscape workshop with artist Richard Brown. He demonstrated his unique and thorough method of designing a painting from initial sketches to the application of successive watercolor glazes.


Dick begins with a tracing paper value study, followed by a more complete value study. He then does an 8 x 10 colored pencil study to develop his color relationships. These preliminary studies along with 12 x 18 photo enlargements of his reference photos provide the road map for his finished painting. In the photo above you can see studies along with his painting in progress of the Kayenta cliffs near Ivins, Utah.

The class watches intently as Dick Brown describes his techniques.

St. George Gallery Art Walk

The downtown St. George art venues got together over the weekend and held a very successful Gallery walk. With hundreds of people turning out I'm sure it will become a regular event. Guests started at the St. George Art Museum and the "Visions of Zion" show where they received a punch card. After visiting all the galleries they turned in their cards to participate in a drawing for a free Roland Lee original painting. Gallery artists were demonstrating at each location and live music made it even more enjoyable.

I worked on my newest painting of Lake Powell at the Mission Gallery during the Art Walk. Literally hundreds of guests stopped by to ask questions while I was working. This painting will be on display at my art show in November.

Artists Roland Lee and Craig Fetzer at the October St. George Art Walk


Artist Dilleen Marsh works on a landscape painting at Impressions Fine Art Gallery during the St. George Art Walk

Click here to download a PDF map of the gallery walk locations

Eccles Gallery Spotlights Two Local Artists

There are lots of opportunities to enjoy the visual arts in St. George. We are blessed with many artists and some wonderful venues to show their work. Currently on display at the Eccles Gallery at Dixie State College is a three-part exhibit featuring photography, watercolors and three dimensional art. I attended an art talk tonight at the gallery and was intrigued with the depth of thought and meaning behind the work on display.

In the west foyer Mexican-born artist/photographer Ernesto Perez presents a series of black and white photos in an exhibit called "Footprints of Humanity." Perez focuses his lens on little seen images that are all around us but probably go unnoticed. It's a fun exhibit.

In the east foyer is an exhibit called "Feminine Archetypes Around The World And Through The Ages," featuring mixed media, three-dimensional depictions of goddess figures by Pamala Bird. Pamala discussed her paper-casting process which takes over 100 hours to complete. Her artwork celebrate womanhood by drawing from historical images used by many cultures over countless years.

Art professor Glen Blakely gave short vignettes on some of the artists featured in the watercolor display from the Dixie State College permanent collection. The exhibit, curated by Kathy Cieslewicz, is a stunning display of work spanning many years.

October Painting Workshop

My October workshop concentrated on Painting the Red Rocks of Utah's Canyon Country. A group of great artists joined me as we explored ways to paint the unique characteristics of the sandstone mesas. Myron Laub, Joan Bly, Catherine Jenson, Linda Yokom, Janet Taylor, and Vicki Clayton all created great looking paintings as we went outdoors for on-location study at St. George's red cliffs.


Linda Yokom works on her painting of the red sandstone cliffs near St. George


Joan Bly purchased my class demonstration painting at the conclusion of the workshop


Catherine Jenson during the studio portion of the workshop


Myron Laub hard at work on a painting


Janet Taylor


Vicki Clayton

Click to see more photos of the October 2009 Workshop "How to Paint the Red Rocks"

Sketching the Autumn Leaves at Duck Creek

With word that the southern Utah mountains would be blanketed with snow tomorrow, I grabbed my camera and sketchbook and headed for Cedar Mountain this morning to take in the fall colors. I was rewarded with fantastic (but windy) weather, and a visual feast of yellows and golds as I explored Duck Creek, Cedar Breaks, and Bryce Canyon.


Late afternoon at Duck Creek. The light made the colors explode.

BYU Exhibit "Paintings From the Reign of Victoria"

Yesterday I had a chance to see the new traveling exhibit of "Paintings from the Reign of Victoria" on display at Brigham Young University Museum of Art through October 24, 2009. This exhibition includes over 60 nineteenth century paintings acquired by Thomas Holloway for the women’s college he had founded in 1879. All I can say is, "Wow!" The paintings are generally very large and stunning. As a big fan of realism, and genre paintings from that era, I was deeply moved by the work. If you get a chance see this exhibit before it is gone.

The painting above called "A Highland Croft" was painted in 1873 by Peter Graham.

Visions of Zion Art Exhibit

Last night I attended the opening of the new art exhibit "Visions of Zion" at the St. George Art Museum. This exhibit is a regional juried show in all media and is the concluding art event in the year-long Zion National Park Centennial celebration.
I was impressed by the wide variety of styles used to interpret the Zion National Park experience. While the paintings were wonderful, I especially enjoyed the fantastic photography and the three-dimensional pieces. If you get a chance, stop by and see the show. It will remain on display through January 2010.

Plein Air Painting at Brooks Pond

The weather was great yesterday and today so I took my September Watercolor Class outdoors to do a little plein air painting. We went up to Brooks Pond which is a quiet little spot in town ringed with cottonwoods and reeds. A few ducks made the picture complete.
Left: Mary Jane Grow from Provo, Utah sets up her easel.

Gayle Alger does some sketching at Brooks Pond in St. George.

Lillie Jones, from Central Valley Utah works on a watercolor painting in the studio at A Passion for Painting Art Shop.

All my ducks lined up nicely for painting at Brooks Pond.

The $800 Cash Prize Goes to...

ME! This afternoon they announced the winner of the $800.00 cash award from yesterday's "Quick Draw" Competition, and it turned out to be my painting "Flowers and Stone." I was thrilled to win the award, and the painting was purchased as well at the Thanksgiving Point Plein Air Festival.

We met lots of wonderful people during the festival and became better acquainted with some of Utah's best artists. I also had a number of artists sign up for my workshops this fall. Now we head home for a painting workshop Monday and Tuesday.