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“Art for me is a process of experimentation, discovery, design and color. My goal is to create art that is inspiring and a delight to the eye of the viewer. I create with a Mixed Media genre new to the Art World, i.e., using melted crayons and fabric paint. Shaving crayons onto a canvas, a household iron is used to melt, combine and shape the colors in a pleasing way. The side of the iron and the pointed end of the paint tube become my brush. Bright colors, a 3-D effect, action, texture and a lot of passionate fun culminate in a work of art”. Gondwe, a self-taught artist, gets in touch with her heart and with Nature to create beautiful art. Trees, mountains, and sky are her themes. As an abstract artist, imagination leads her to paint underwater caverns, a conference of fishes, dragons, zebra trees or imaginary insects. "The March of the Dancing Zebra Trees" won Best in Show at the Fluvanna County Annual Art Show in 2015. The judge said its merit was in the artist's unique style of painting. In 2018, "The Healing Tree" earned the Artist Choice Award at the annual show of the Page Valley Arts Council in Luray. 
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I have finished the mural at the car wash. It was quite an experience. I did enjoy the physical nature of the whole process. And it was fairly cold a lot of days by the time the scaffolding was up. The contract had required the company hiring me to have the scaffolding put up for me. My husband was a huge help. I hadn't realized that the rented platforms had to be moved around from section to section. He did that. And he also refused to let me be there alone since I was so high up. He was afraid I'd back up to look and step off the platform. Gradually, he realized that I was okay. It was the heavily pitted concrete block which made up the wall that was the challenge. I ended up using rollers with brush work to smooth edges. And after the grid was set up with contractor's pigment line I did the outline in a midtone gray. Then working on the stars section took quite a while. My husband actually did a lot of the stripes for me as I told him which section was what color while I carefully painted the white stars. Anyway, all of the work painting it went well. It took about six weeks of selected decent weather days (45+ degrees C. and no wind or rain). I framed the painting I had made of the mural at the beginning for the company at their request after the mural was done. There is actually soooo much more to this project with all of the paint purchasing, color mixing ( 25+ containers of shades of various colors established by ratio), materials to work with. I am not detailing all of that process here. My prayer is that the mural will depict the feeling of people in our country working together and getting along. The faces of the first responders will be showing diversity racially. (Diverse ethnicity to be understood.) Next, I made numerous sketches to figure out what might work. I sent the images of my ideas to Rex. The first image was of the off white car wash wall with the darkened windows located at the lower part of it so that they could see the size of the mural they had requested in relation to the whole wall. All was shown on that sketch in correct proportion to the finished mural wall. That is very helpful to get certainty that the finished mural is exactly what is wanted. Then I finalized what they preferred in a sketch and created a painting by planning the appearance of the wall mural to match it, all the while sending images for color agreement and any small preferences at this point. Thirdly, I prepared a contract and met with Rex to share it and be sure that all was agreeable. I want to share my experience that I have recently had with mural painting in Charlottesville. This is my third mural opportunity but first one to be outdoors. Here are some thoughts on the experience. First of all, I love the physicality of the work. Climbing on ladders and scaffolding does not bother me. And I enjoy working outdoors. Secondly, I don't mind the paint-by-number aspect of actually painting what is planned on the wall which follows the preliminary painting of the scene. These are two considerations which anyone who might want to do mural painting should keep in mind. I began by meeting with the Tiger Fuel representative, Rex Legg, to survey the location, a car wash on a busy city street. Deciding the size and location on the wall was to be the hiring party's choice, of course, but offering advice is a big help to them for what may actually work and will look good. I came away from the meeting with an idea of the size and of what the party wanted on the wall which was a mural of the American flag and silhouettes of first responders. I took photos of the location to gain perspective of the project. Here are a couple of images of the beginning of the work. Zainab Haider resides in Northern Virginia and has been a member of BozART since 2006. Her works include oil and acrylic paintings in abstract or realistic depictions, though her favorite medium remains to be acrylics. She finds inspiration in the world around her and her works often symbolize scenes from daily life, social commentary, or represent depictions of the human mind and emotion. Zainab finds meaning and joy in being able to mix colors and work her brush to create reality from imagination. She particularly enjoys creating abstract paintings as she finds that abstraction provides a unique freedom for expressing thoughts and ideas, and provides the audience with the freedom of interpretation. Zainab has displayed her work in solo and group shows at various galleries across Virginia over the years, including BozART, La Galleria, and McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville and several galleries in Northern Virginia.  Loving Cup Vineyard Exhibit thru December 9th Enjoy the beautiful artwork and sample organic wine. Just 8 miles south on Rt. 29. First road on right past Plank Road and Pippen Hill Vineyard. 3340 Sutherland Road, North Garden, VA Open on weekends Fri - Sun 11 - 5 PM. Works by Randy Baskerville, Betty Brubach, Terry Coffey, Matalie Deane, Judith Ely, Frank Feigert, Sara Gondwe, Anne Hopper, Julia Kindred, Julia Lesnichy, Brita Lineburger, Craig Lineburger and Shirley Paul.  City Space Exhibit thru Nov 30 Thirteen members in this show with their best works on display. City Space overlooks the downtown mall at 100 5th Street, NE, Charlottesville. The space is open Mon - Fri 9 - 5 PM. Image above: work by Frank Feigert, Shirley Paul and Terry Coffey Images below (L-R): work by Randy Baskerville and Sara Gondwe also art by: Carol Barber, Betty Brubach, Matalie Deane, Joan Dreicer, Judith Ely, Anne Hopper, Julia Kindred, and Barbara Ryan  Julia Lesnichy works in oil and pastel, doing primarily plein air landscapes and outdoor still life. She is a painter of light and color. Her goal is to study colors of light. Her palette changes with the rapid changing of light in nature. Both in oils and pastels Julia uses a broken-color technique applying layers of colors. She applies oils in thick strokes using a palette knife and brushes creating multi-layered paintings. Julia also works in in oil pastels and often does oil pastels sketches when traveling. Occasionally she does some figurative work and life drawings in oil/pastel. Gallery representation: Cabell gallery, Lexington, Va; The Little Gallery, Moneta, Va; For Art's Sake gallery, Henrico, Va; C gallery in Raleigh, NC;Bella Arte gallery in Midlothian, Va. Affiliations: American Impressionist Society, Pastel Society of America, Southeastern Pastel Society, Northwestern Pastel society, Midatlantic Pastel society. http://julialesnichyart.com "Whether it was to escape classroom boredom or standout among the crowd, creativity has always been there in my life. I started drawing in my teens and moved on to painting before going off to college for a degree in studio art. I realized very quickly that I was probably not going to make a living in art so it became my avocation. My real job afforded me time to pursue art on the weekends. I have worked in many mediums but have settled on oil paints. My subject matter ranges from landscapes to people, still lifes and pets. As a pet lover I suppose I enjoy painting them the most. I try to paint in a realistic style as it simplifies things. If I put the right amount of paint, color in the right location then I have done the subject justice and provided some "truth" to the art. Being able to draw and paint is an incredible gift and I am grateful for it on a daily basis." - Richard Bednar My latest artwork reflects both my recent travels and some still life work in my home studio. Mainly, I paint to preserve memories of what I value in life. This often takes the form of beautiful scenery in places visited or even object I enjoy assembling in my environment. I usually work in oils, though sometimes in acrylics or gouache when traveling due to their speedy drying and ease of packing. My favorite tool is the palette knife because of the fun of texture when using thick paint; I also enjoy the freedom of expression through quicker rendering and brilliant colors. This summer I had the distinct joy of hiking a piece of the Camino in Spain, a long dream of mine. I hope to paint many of scenes of this beautiful pilgrimage. My husband and I again returned to Maine this year during several of Charlottesville’s hottest weeks. Both locations, as well as Virginia itself, provided opportunities for me to create art. When home between travels, I always love to put together still lifes in my studio, several of which I’ve enclosed with this email. September 5 - October 27 2018 Sixteen members will show oils, watercolor, acrylics, photography, mixed media: Carol Barber, Randy Baskerville, Rich Bednar, Matalie Deane, Joan Dreicer, Judith Ely, Frank Feigert, Sara Gondwe, Anne Hopper, Julia Kindred, Julia Lesnichy, Brita Lineburger, Craig Lineburger, Carol Martin, Barbara Ryan and Barbara Wachter. Photo above is an oil landscape by Barbara Ryan.  AND....  |
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