Louis Vega Trevino- Second Saturdays Boerne, Art & Wine Crawl Feb 8 2014

Get out of the cold and into the warmth of JR Mooney Galleries! "Join us for our Second Saturday events in Boerne spotlighting San Antonio artist, Louis Vega Trevino." Saturday, Feb. 7, 2014 4 pm - 8 pm    "Once known for his large scale stripe paintings, Trevino comes alive with a break from simple geometric alignments from the previous signatures and invites the viewer into his world of artistic movement, optical illusion and irregular “Frank Stella-ish” shaped canvases –all making amusingly clever arrangements."   - Gabriel Diego Delgado Louis Vega Trevino's painting reflects a deep understanding of historical precedents.  Without any derivative step, he has built upon a number of important, painterly languages to evolve a style that is instantly recognizable as uniquely his own.  Trevino's painting recalls not only the atmospheric color fields of Mark Rothko and Julies Olitski, but also that indeterminate margin where color field interests merge with the geometric and optical abstraction of Gene Davis and Richard Anuszkiewicz. It is in that margin that Trevino's work finds its form, an area once explored by Morris Louis and which Trevino's color-charged compositions have revived and redefined.  Trevino's painting is something of a paradox:  balancing cool analysis with a hot pursuit of color relationships in which he blurs the distinction between color, line and form such that those elements seem to merge and deconstruct in an astonishing blend of earthy umbers, orchids and sienna's deployed against jewel-like hues that are only primary in relation to one another. Trevino's daring approach to color relations breaks new ground in the history of colorists, a tradition in which he is rapidly establishing a secure and intriguing position." Louis Vega Trevino is a trained architect having graduated from San Antonio College with degree that spans both architecture and art; granting him an unusual perspective on the two industries; forging an uncanny ability to create work that is influenced by a variety of architectural parameters.  Louis is neither tied to formalities of pictorial definitiveness like perspective, detail or anatomical renditions. Taking more freedom in pictorial placement, shaped canvases are purposefully arranged in a way that is neither fluid nor geometric, but teeters on the brink of symbolic. With no one canvas sharing a common axis, each section can be angled to a distinct degree; making for matching corners, but obsessively evident is the reference to negative space contemplations if work is arranged where no one side touches the other and small sliver of space is left to exist between the edges.  Louis was recently featured on the "Where's Cleto" Morning show. Watch the video here: www. news4sanantonio.com A prolific San Antonio painter, Louis Vega Trevino’s signature artwork is/has been on display in many prominent public places: the Terminal B building at the San Antonio Airport, Main Street Plaza, Chamber of Commerce, and various City Administrative and Mayoral Offices. Come and meet Louis Vega Trevino at the J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne Saturday Feb 8, 2014  4 pm - 8 pm Second Saturday Art & Wine Shuttle Service provided by: Summer Poole at the Shabby Bus www.shabbybus.com

Louis Vega Trevino, San Antonio Artist on WOAI's "Where's Cleto" morning show

2-3-2014--



JR Mooney Galleries, Boerne Artist, Louis Vega Trevino was featured on the "Where's Cleto" morning show for his two month solo exhibition at the San Antonio Children's Museum

WATCH THE VIDEO OF LOUIS AND CLETO HERE!!!

CLICK LINK

www./news4sanantonio.com

Look for Louis Vega Trevino's Feb 2014 Second Saturday spotlight exhibition at the JR Mooney Galleries, Boerne

A Tale of two artists’ driven passions for business success as seen in Company/Comapny MD Magazine

(click image to read Company Magazine)

Artist -noun [c] Creative Entrepreneur

A Tale of two artists’ driven passions for business success

In the world of art galleries, art museums, non-profits, co-ops, and various other art showing venues, the life of an artist isn’t all about making art in the studio – a mythic life of a reclusive non-conformist.  Today’s artist has to be a smart businessman/woman, taking into account all the corporate models followed by successful small business owners and tweak the industry standards to fit their own unique “products”; utilizing all social medias, networking and market evaluations. 

Local San Antonio artists, Cliff Cavin and Russell Stephenson, have individualistic outlooks on how to run their successful art careers.  Cliff Cavin, a regionally recognized mid-career impressionistic painter has logged more than 35 years of being an artist, while Russell Stephenson is a younger emergent contemporary sensation, currently represented by 5 galleries in Texas.  Both know the competitive nature of the art business and constantly strive to be flexible in the ongoing rollercoaster we know as the economic climate of the art business.

Still in high school, Cavin knew he was better at art than anything else.  After graduation he enrolled in the Warren Hunter School of Art, a private two year program under the renowned San Antonio painter, Warren Hunter.   Landing a job as a commercial artist, Cavin spent the next 4 years being a commercial artist, not a studio artist.  With a small stint in the valley working on the sidelines of the art world, Cavin entered into the family trade- United Tile, a business run by his father; only to retire from that same business in 2013 with about 40 years of Project Management in construction.  Now what does that have to do with art? -- Nothing.  That’s the point.  For Cavin, the financial demands of a family warranted the need for a day job that “paid the bills”; meaning economic stability.  His initial emergence in to the art world of San Antonio was not financially stable.  “I sold paintings here and there, but I remember selling my first big painting in 1988 for $3,000 at 37 years old”, he says.

1988 was a turning point for Cavin.  His first trip to New Mexico transformed everything.  “I fell in love with New Mexico, the colors were spectacular; my paintings changed overnight”, Cavin recalls.

Cavin went from being a draftsman to a watercolorist to an oil painter in the mid to late 80’s. “I knew I could make more money from oil paintings”, he confessed. “There were a lot of watercolorists in San Antonio at the time, and it was everywhere. I visited an exhibition of the Cowboy Artists of America and saw that their paintings were going for $50,000 and $60,000 to $100,000, so I decided to change my tactic. I knew I could paint great pictures of the things I was already painting in watercolor.”

With a host of gallery representations including Nanette Richardson Fine Art, San Antonio; Mountain Trails, Santa Fe; Southwest Gallery, Dallas; Bill Zaner Studio & Gallery, Boerne and J.R. Mooney Galleries, San Antonio/Boerne, among several others – Cavin painted what he found inspiring, seeking success by way of “painting what I liked”.  “You don’t have to worry about styles, you just do it. As you grow you will see people always copy other people’s art, that’s part of learning, but eventually you develop your own style…even without knowing you did”, he explains.  

“I found the colors of my surroundings, Texas and New Mexico to be my muse and hoped my audience felt the same; evolving in style and aesthetic along the way.”

With an artistic resume that spotlights exhibitions at the Dallas Heritage Museum, the Briscoe Western Art Museum, the Kerrville Cultural Center, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, Mexico; and 14 years with the Alamo Kiwanis Club Western Art Invitational coupled an 8 year history at the National Western Art Foundation Night of Artists: Museum Exhibition, Cavin’s history showcases clients from McAllen to Dallas, from San Antonio to Mexico City. 

“I have a love for painting, for art. I think people are born with it. I love doing it”, he states. “When I have too many commitments, my paintings suffer; it becomes a job not a dream world where you can create. You become directed by your obligations”, he confesses.  However his understanding of whom he is and where he wants to be are completely justified in his mind.  “There are a lot of people better than me {at art}, but I am a lot better than others”, he insists.

That understanding is what has made him successful. Cavin knew if he was in larger galleries, he would not float to the top of the pool, but by being in more intimate galleries, his work would have more opportunity.  “If you start selling in the $100,000 price bracket, you limit yourself to a certain demographic, but if the price of the art is lower, theoretically there are more people who can afford your work”, he concludes.

Russell Stephenson, on the other hand, is beginning to establish his business models and understand the unpredictable demands of the art market.  Born into art, Stephenson was always drawing and coloring; insisting these are “developing aspects of mark making and creativity. “It is a primordial urge…my parents encouraged me and I did it for fun, but with time I got good at it. I never thought of art as a career and business”, he says.  He started selling drawings in the 4^th grade to classmates for lunch money.  In the later part of high school he fell deeply in love with art and that was the only thing he wanted to do.

After high school Stevenson applied to the Art Institute of Seattle, Washington and received a full scholarship.  Being a commercially driven art program, he felt his passions were elsewhere. “This was the beginning of commercially designed graphic technology in the early 1990’s”, he says. “I had never worked on a computer art, never experienced a commercial art environment, and I found myself wanting to explore the more traditional art methods and explore a more personal interpretation of the work around me”, he attests.   He left the Art Institute after a year, opening his own art studio and lived the starving artist life for a few years in Amarillo, Texas. 

  After researching art schools that lent themselves to the curriculum he desired, Stephenson arrived at Pacific Northwest College of Art with a duffle bag, suitcase and a portfolio.  He married in 1999 and graduated in 2001.  With a spousal tradeoff of school/job dealings , Stephenson and his wife planned out their life goals, roadmaps, and career potentials; formulating relocations, stability, and security while expecting their first child. “I worked in various galleries doing framing and in construction for extra money”, Stephenson admits.  “I went back to school at UTSA in their Graduate studies for printmaking to get my Master’s Degree so I could teach. I played by the rules, if I wanted to make art as a career I had to get the advanced degree to be able to pave the way to where I wanted to go”, he explains.  After graduation, Stephenson found a job as an Adjunct Professor at the International Academy of Design and Technology teaching the fundamental like Color Theory and Drawing. “As a professor, I have the flexibility to be in the studio, and be serious about what I want to do with the work, I am not dictated by my sales”, he says.

“However I understand I have to be always researching, learning and knowing what galleries would be a good fit for my work…sure I went through the make work, make work, make work and show work stage, you have to in order to get your name out there; but there is also a time when you become more selective of where you exhibit.

With exhibitions at Bihl Haus Gallery in San Antonio to Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum as well as formulating an art collective, the Texas Cannons of Proportions, Stephenson launched himself into the San Antonio art community and within five years not only developed his voice but garnered the attention of gallerist Lisa Ortiz and Ana Montoya. 

However, as an artist making artwork in a era of social media, Stephenson knew the need to address all avenues of online marketing.  “I had to go to where the people are” he quips. “They are on Linkedin™, Facebook©, Instagram©, Pintrest™, so I knew I had to be on there as well. With an internet presence it is real easy to refer people to your artwork, to your gallery, to your images” he says.  “When we look at the new generation of business models with new technology and the need to model our own art businesses out of these models we have to utilize these advances.”

Coupled with this online existence, Stephenson saw a need to educate the public as well as the art collectors on his new type of contemporary work and explain the bridging of traditional impressionism and abstraction with his neo-contemporary landscapes.

Debunking the stereotypes of an artist, Stephenson knows the fundamentals of any business; the follow-ups, the need for punctuality at appointments and meeting, stating your attitude is as good as your work.

With branching out to galleries in  Dallas, Amarillo, Houston as well as San Antonio and Boerne has increased Stephenson’s demand, but has allowed a certain flexibility in making several bodies of work that are individually successful in different cities and markets. He began to learn valuable lessons on demand, rotation of inventory, client relationships, among other necessities. “How much can you do without compromising the work”, he comments as he discusses inventory levels and supply and demand across Texas.

Fighting being pigeon-holed, Stephenson knows his art will change as life changes, as he changes, and understands most of the work will be developed through the process of making it.

“I learn to let go, to let the painting be the teacher”, he says.

Once again Stephenson and his wife set realistic goals for education and career advancement. He says he will start researching his next level of art making and gallery representations, and teaching.

Cavin and Stephenson both are aware of how to promote their artwork, aka business, but with generational concerns --each striving to become a successful business person; whether it is through technological advancements in communication, word of mouth, or branding namesake.

Although the art market is sometimes unforgiving, Cavin has met challenges and has kept his artistic integrity, still painting the beautiful landscapes awarded by Texas and New Mexico, staying true to the initial love of painting and sticking to what he likes.  Stephenson lays out the road ahead --formulating and balancing his career advancement, family life, and studio time in confidence; giving rise to various bodies of artwork that have a proven track record throughout Texas –evolving, experimenting, and creating.

“There is always something I borrow from the last painting and add it to the new discovery”, Stephenson says.

I think that is what makes us all successful, we learn from our own lessons and keep moving forward, financially as well as metaphysically—the life of an artist, I mean business owner and leader.

By: Gabriel Diego Delgado

J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne Gallery Director

830-816-5106

www.jrmooneygalleries.com

Charles Pabst, Walpi Morning

Charles Pabst

Walpi Morning

36” x 36”  

$3,000

Frame included

Artist, Charles Pabst, invites the viewer of Walpi Morning on tour of the Pleat Indians and the unique landscape of Arizona.  One can take the first step on the lower right corner of the painting to walk through an incredible village that exists today.  

Comforts of home?... No! There appears to be no running water or electricity and the inhabitants live as their forefathers and honor traditions unique to them.

There is quiet majesty in the unadorned dwellings and the inhabitants who do not embellish or litter the simplistic environments with fences or plantings.  The village exterior wall repeats the cliff formations with strong linear crevices found in the canyon side.  The timeless earthen structures are adjoining and the architecture offers benefits of mutually advantageous living.

The time of day is early morning and only three persons are beckoned to enjoy.  The three figures, solitary in stance are warmed by the warm morning rays of sunlight.  They are wrapped in blankets and are small in contrast to the village and vast landscape.

Charles Pabst selects vibrant contrasting color as the visual tour continues on this crisp morning.  There is refreshing blue sky and stratus cloud formations painted in medium tones of amber, violet and blue.  The colors are dramatic between the light source and the vastness of the West.   Charles Pabst uses the large canvas to advantage as he illustrates the large rock formation, large village, and the spacious sky as the morning light cascades across the canyon. 

The visual tour is twofold.  The plateau and the village appear secondary in importance to the canyon and sky.  The painting is both personal village and greater landscape as the tour continues historically and hourly as the twenty-four hours in a day produce the break of day at the top of the Walpi. 

© Betty Houston,

J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne 

Mooney Makes Sense column in the Jan 2014 edition of Boerne Business Monthly

See the newest edition of Boerne Business Monthly and our column called "Mooney Makes Sense" as we discuss the need to expand the traditional art collecting methods and how to mix and match genres in your home.

http://bluetoad.com/publication/?m=5721&l=1

http://bluetoad.com/publication/?m=5721&l=1

When Old can become new with a Twist

Western to Contemporary – the Home Curatorial Trend

From Architectural Digest to Veranda, interiors worldwide are showing the placement of seemingly conflictive aesthetics in close proximity to each other, disbanding the pigeon-hole effect of singularities based on palette, artist, or genre.

The “bridging” of styles, genres, and styles is being utilized by interior designers, gallerists, and artists to curate homes, rooms and interiors with an ever evolving eclectic mix of imagery that is beyond the norm for traditional hanging rules.

Western with Abstract and Minimalism with Landscapes; the age old concept of like items that complement each other have been thrown out the door. The New Year brings new changes, ones that are catching on with ever increasing popularity.  The diversification of peoples’ selections has driven a contemporary movement in the way homes are hung to accommodate undoubtedly diverse tastes; creating a natural flow of imagery that is both easily digestible and visually stimulating.

For example -- Boerne Western artist, Bill Scheidt’s concepts are dependent on composition.  Are we drawn into the landscape? Do we understand the relationship between the cowboy and his herd? How does the subject fit within the arrangement of all pictorial layers?  Do we believe in his vision?

Contrasted with San Antonio Minimalist Stripe Painter, Louis Vega Trevino, the composition is the work. Are the edges of the stripes complementing each other? Do we feel intuitively that the color combinations work? Are the angular arrangements cohesive to the fundamental integrity? Are the hues dependent on each other for intrinsic value? Is there a color theory concept that functions on a subversive level that creates energy?

With such questions that we ask ourselves, we begin to understand the work more, to appreciate the cleverness, the underlying principles of the art and see how both artists are driven by the same principles applied by different means.

Cowboys next to minimalism can work in the right context when we see how vertical and horizontal compositional elements in a landscape seem conversant with simplified lines and stripes that are essentially that – compositional elements that tie a work together.

Education is a tool to expand horizons, in this case art collections. Now let’s go out don’t be afraid of new concepts, new art, and new concepts in decorating the home.

With so many artists in the area and so many paintings to choose from we should not censor our collective purchases to fit a predetermined mold of how things should fit together. Don’t be afraid to mix and match, take chances and risks and feel free to purchase art not only on investment value but trust your instincts; if you like it buy it—and you will find a place where it will work.

-Gabriel Diego Delgado

Gallery Director, JR Mooney Galleries- Boerne

Weekend in Boerne :Transformation of a small town (NHOME Magazine Jan/Feb 2014)

See J.R. Mooney mentioned in the Weekend in Boerne article in the same issue...discussing the contemporary tranformation of a small town.

Weekend at Boerne -A Contemporary Transformation of a Small Town ~Special to NHOME~ Settled by German immigrants over 150 years ago, Boerne, Texas remains a sleepy stronghold on the I-10 corridor going north from San Antonio.  But, change is afoot!  With the introduction of contemporary sensations to various pockets of the town including: salons, fashion, art, buildings, and gardens there is even more to see in Boerne. Established in 1859, Ye Kendell Inn provided travelers, ranchers, and weary patrons the first hotel experience in the area.  The nine-acre property features airy porches, fully restored cottages, a 19th century chapel converted in to a bridal suite, spa services, a tavern and 36 guest rooms, suites and cottages.  However, the Ye Kendell Inn had remodeled their signature bar in August 2013.  As of January 2014 they will reopen the newly remodeled kitchen which was redesigned to serve a minimalistic and quaint menu of tapas and appetizers. If your rugged cowboy needs a bit cleaning up, get ready for Boerne’s new male spa experience. The faux paus of man pampering is no more. On September 16, 2013,GENT owner, Ben Schooley brought a new trend to Boerne, Texas; the ‘man cave’ day spa -- complete with cigar humidor, liquor, private manicure and pedicure stations, straight razor shaves, and big screen T.V’s. “Kendall County is home to a large number of professional gentlemen, and we felt that there was no business that truly catered and provided them a service that was custom tailored with them in mind.  We provide a ‘styling session’ that is unlike anything that most men have ever experienced: a personal consultation, professional scissor cut, hot towels, hand massage, and razor shaves all provided in an environment that is specifically designed with fine gentlemen in mind.”, says Schooley. Texas Treasures Fine Art Sculpture Garden was opened April 11, 2013 by Texas Fine Art Treasures Gallery owner, Johnny Rosa. From bronze to metal to kinetic wind sculptures, Texas Fine Art Treasures has over 19 sculptures on the premises. Open and free to the public, the sculpture garden is enjoyed time and time again. “Even though this space is commercial and for the sale of these sculptures and artwork, it is also for the enjoyment of the public”, says Gallery Director Aaron McWilliams. “The sculpture garden is a showcase for art to be sold, but it is also a wonderful place to spend some time and gather your thoughts in this increasingly fast pace world we live”, he adds. Is there contemporary fashion in Boerne, Texas? Tres Bella Salon offers a contemporary flair unlike any in Boerne.  “We are a salon whose staff has been trained by the ‘best’ in the industry in France and Europe”, says salon owners Pam Wiese and Allyson Murphy. “We are a hair studio offering the highest quality color techniques, haircutting, special occasion styling, make-up (from every day to runway), and waxing”, adds Murphy. Not only is Tres Bella dishing out exceptionally contemporary looks for teens to moms to retirees -- they are environmentally conscious while doing it. “We choose to be a Davines exclusive line because it is a sustainable company based in Parma, Italy. The Davines line includes professional and retail products that are environmentally friendly, and is a socially conscious company that gives back to the world community through various charities”, says Wiese. And, we can’t talk about transformations without addressing the contemporary fine art coming out of J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art, Boerne. With a new Gallery Director in the Boerne Gallery location, Gabriel Diego Delgado is bridging the gap in visual aesthetics, showing you can collect, hang, and curate your home with a complementary mix of traditional and contemporary artists. “It’s a delightful trend (diversification of art collections) that is here to stay”, says Delgado.  “There has to be a conversation, a trust factor and a certain level of fine art education; reassuring everyone its ok to mix and match.  Ideally, there would be the historical lineage from Cezanne to Vives-Atsara to Harvey to contemporaries like Guus Kemp, and illustrating the direct correlation between styles, genres and eras, and how it all makes sense conceptually, visually and aesthetically in their home.” J.R. Mooney Galleries wants to introduce Boerne to contemporary art like Abstract Expressionist, Guus Kemp; provide an introduction to the sublime and tranquil abstract landscapes of Russell Stephenson; grant an avenue to showcase the organic stone-carvings of Cody Vance, and spotlight the Minimalistic paintings of Louis Vega Trevino. Come for the charm but witness the progress. Great things come to those who wait, and Boerne’s wait is over. The town who is “Unique as its Name” has something for everyone!

Mix and Match of Genres article in NHOME Magazine Jan/Feb 2014

J.R. Mooney Galleries artists Bill Scheidt and Louis Vega Trevino are featured in the new Jan/Feb 2014 edition of NHOME Magazine http://issuu.com/nhometx/docs/nhome_janfeb2014_issuu http://issuu.com/nhometx/docs/nhome_janfeb2014_issuu Article Text as seen in NHOME Jan/Feb 2014 edition Mix and Match Juxtaposing of Genres  -Gabriel Diego Delgado   An ever increasing trend in interior design and home decor is the “bridging” or mixing of genres, styles, aesthetics and artists in the fine art placements. The diversification of peoples’ selections has driven a contemporary movement in the way homes are hung to accommodate eclectic tastes. Westerns and traditional landscapes can be hung side-by-side with contemporary; conceptual or abstract, creating a natural flow of imagery that is both easily digestible and visually stimulating. From Architectural Digest to Veranda, interiors worldwide are showing designers who are constantly perfecting the placement of seemingly conflictive aesthetics in close proximity to each other and disbanding the pigeon-hole effect of singularities of wall ornamentation based on palette, artist, or genre. With so many artists in the area and so many paintings to choose from we should not censor our collective purchases to fit a predetermined mold of how things should fit together. Don’t be afraid to mix and match, take chances and risks and feel free to purchase art not only on investment value but trust your instincts; if you like it buy it—and you will find a place where it will work. Two such painters in the Greater San Antonio area who are completely opposite in all manners of artistic integrity can easily be differentiated and contrasted, but also can be inexcusably paired and coupled to an existing collection; bearing a sensible enticement of visual appeasement are Western painter, Bill Scheidt and Minimalist, Louis Vega Trevino. Each artist is known for a signature style, mentored by significant artists of reputation and each has had previous careers that helped shape their present artistic success. Bill Scheidt is a level 5 certified Texas Professional Farrier (a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming, balancing and the placing of shoes on their hooves), and is a member of the Texas Professional Farriers Association, giving him an incredible insight for his artwork on the anatomy of horses,  livestock and the cowboy lifestyle.  While Louis Vega Trevino is a trained architect graduating from San Antonio College with degree that spans both architecture and art; granting him an unusual perspective on the two industries; forging an uncanny ability to create work that is influenced by a variety of architectural parameters. Together, Bill and Louis are at extreme opposites with one depicting an uncanny sense of realism; example being the wild horses in the New Mexico Badlands -- while the other dismisses subject matter altogether for compositional 1960’s minimalism. Known as a colorist stripe painter, Trevino explores simple geometric alignments with hard edged and blurred line, verticals and horizontal selections that invite the viewer into his world of artistic movement, optical illusion and irregular “Frank Stella-ish”shaped canvases –all making amusingly clever arrangements.  Trevino's painting recalls not only the atmospheric color fields of Mark Rothko and Julies Olitski, but also that indeterminate margin where color field interests merge with the geometric and optical abstraction of Gene Davis and Richard Anuszkiewicz.  It is in that margin that Trevino's work finds its form, an area once explored by Morris Louis and which Trevino's color-charged compositions have revived and redefined. On the other hand, Bill Scheidt is a current/ former member of the American Plains Artists, Oil Painters of America and has exhibited in the Museum of Western Art.  He has studied at the Scottsdale Artists School; taken workshops with: artist, Roy Andersen; CAA (Cowboy Artists of America) artist, Joe Beeler; CAA artist, Jim Norton; CAA artist, R. S. Riddick and Bruce Greene; and attended various other Cowboy Artists of America workshops.  Bill Scheidt is also a Signature Member of the Artists for Conservation Foundation, “Supporting wildlife and habitat conservation, biodiversity, sustainability, and environmental education through art that celebrates our natural heritage.” Stoic in his intentions, Scheidt is a revered and well respected artist by several Native American tribes for his renditions of Native American Culture. Showcasing the unique characteristics of members of the Taos Pueblo (Tiwa or Tewah tribe) and Apache tribe, Scheidt is true to form in capturing this indigenous way of life.  Also as a sign of gratitude and respect for his craft, Scheidt was presented a highly prized wovenNavajo blanket by Native American, Joanna Purley which is on display in his personal studio – as a reminder of his servitude to an entrusted legacy. Contrasting such strict realistic restrictions, Louis is neither tied to formalities of pictorial definitiveness like perspective, detail or anatomical renditions, his paintings are something of a paradox:  balancing cool analysis with a hot pursuit of color relationships in which he blurs the distinction between color, line and form such that those elements seem to merge and deconstruct in an astonishing blend of hues that are only conceptual in relation to one another. Taking more freedom in pictorial placement, shaped canvases are purposefully arranged in a way that is neither fluid nor geometric, but teeters on the brink of symbolic.  With no one canvas sharing a common axis, each section can be angled to a distinct degree; making for matching corners, but obsessively evident is the reference to negative space contemplation if work is arranged where no one side touches the other and small sliver of space is left to exist between the edges. However, Scheidt walks the line of storyteller and conservator, careful to capture details;  allowing the viewer to see the wrinkle lines on subjects’ faces, the taunt muscle tones of the animals’ bodies and the magnificent and majestic skylines of Texas, New Mexico, and the Great Plains. We gather a sense of shamanistic and cosmic energies set forth by the Native American portraits, feel the warming sun of the evening luminescence and gravitate to the awe-inspiring mountains and expansive plains. Now let’s see why they are compatible. Scheidt’s concepts are dependent on composition.  Are we drawn into the landscape? Do we understand the relationship between the cowboy and his herd? How does the subject fit within the arrangement of all pictorial layers?  Do we believe in his vision? With Trevino, the composition is the work. Are the edges of the stripes complementing each other? Do we feel intuitively that the color combinations work? Are the angular arrangements cohesive to the fundamental integrity? Are the hues dependent on each other for intrinsic value? Is there a color theory concept that functions on a subversive level that creates energy? With such questions that we ask ourselves, we begin to understand the work more, to appreciate the cleverness, the underlying principles of the art and see how both artists are driven by the same principles applied by different means. In other words, in order to understand how to play the early Bebop Jazz, musicians had to learn the fundamental aspects of music in order to dismantle the theories and build up a conceptual defrayment of structural arrangements.  The famous splatter painter, Jackson Pollock was a trained realist, evolving from traditional landscapes. Cowboys next to minimalism can work in the right context when we see how vertical and horizontal compositional elements in a landscape seem conversant with simplified lines and stripes that are essentially that – compositional elements that tie a work together. Of course color plays a role in interior décor, and once we understand lights and darks cool and warm, we can play with winter landscapes next to abstract blue or whitish abstracts. Education is a tool to expand horizons, in this case collections. Now let’s go out don’t be afraid of new concepts, new art, and new concepts in decorating the home.    http://issuu.com/nhometx/docs/nhome_janfeb2014_issuu http://issuu.com/nhometx/docs/nhome_janfeb2014_issuu http://issuu.com/nhometx/docs/nhome_janfeb2014_issuu

Jan. 11, 2014 Second Saturday Press Release

For Immediate Release:

Gabriel Diego Delgado

Gallery Director

J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne/ 830.816.5106

In Stephenson’s Panoramic Texas Series we can meditate on the horizontal fixations that represent such cosmic altruisms, rich with beauty, but toned with hues variegated into a hazy manifestation.

--Join J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne on Jan. 11, 2014 for the monthly Second Saturday Art & Wine art walk as we spotlight San Antonio artist, Russell Stephenson--

Russell Stephenson, a Texas painter, in an unrelenting approach has mastered the gorgeous godliness of our great state in his Panoramic Texas series paintings. Radiant browns and various tones of burnt sienna seem to meddle 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, and intuitive automatism all play a role in Russell Stephenson’s new paintings titled, “Panoramic Texas Series”.  A tribute to the Texas sky, the flat plains of Midland/Odessa, the rolling Hill Country, and the wide open plains to Pan-handle typography, Stephenson depicts all that is our great state of Texas in minimally rendered but systematically charged abstracted landscapes. 

Who:

J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art Boerne, Boerne

What:

Second Saturday Art & Wine Art Crawl

When:

January 11, 2014 4 pm – 8 pm

Where:

JR Mooney Galleries of Fine Art 305 S. Main Street Boerne, TX 78006 (830) 816-5106

For more Contemporary Artist and signature traditional artwork of JR Mooney Galleries, Boerne, contact Gallery Director- Gabriel Diego Delgado at 830.816.5106

Boerne Gallery Interior shots 1-7-2014

This is the current temporary layout of the J.R. Mooney Galleries, Boerne interior.

Please join us for Second Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014 from 4 pm - 8 pm as we showcase San Antonio artist, Russell Stephenson