Margaret Ellerman, February 2012 Featured Artist - Visit with the artist Saturday, Feb. 4th, 4-6:30pm

Margaret Mays Ellerman, a painter and art educator from Winnsboro, is the featured artist for February 2012 at Ouachita River Art Gallery. Her show, “Memories of Childhood” contains paintings from events that happened during her young years in Franklin Parish. Margaret has briefly recalled the story of each event in an abstract manner, using watercolors on rice paper and watercolor papers, and acrylic paint on canvas and in writings displayed with each painting. Her show opens Wednesday, February 1, 2012 and will close on Wednesday, February, 29. There will be a public reception on Saturday, February 4, from 4:00 until 6:30 PM.

     Ellerman, who has been featured in Louisiana Life Magazine, has exhibited in juried competitions in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi , and Georgia. She and has had one-person and two-person exhibitions at The Old Post Office Museum, Winnsboro, Schepis Museum, Columbia, Snyder Museum, Bastrop, and the South Arkansas Arts Center in El Dorado, AR.

 The Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, invites you to come see this special show. Admission to the gallery is always free.  When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information.

Melanie Douthit, January 2012 featured Artist of the Month

Melanie Fitzgerald Douthit from West Monroe, Louisiana is the featured artist for the month of January 2012 at Ouachita River Art Gallery. Her show, "Secret Garden" showcases vibrant acrylic floral paintings with a bit of whimsy. You can meet the artist and discuss her works at a reception for the artist Saturday, January 7 from 2 to 4 PM.

 

Melanie completed her first oil painting in her late teens and since then she has ventured into watercolor, pen and ink, conte crayon, colored pencil, acrylic and paper collage creations. She’s studied under Claudia Nice, Marlene Gremillion, Ronnie Barnes, M. Douglas Walton,  Sharon Teel Bennett, and Margaret Ellerman. She started selling her original art online in 2000 and has sold paintings to collectors in all fifty states, France, Greece, England and other various countries across the globe. Her “Mardi Gras Dachshund” paintings hang nationwide in over 30 Mimi’s Café Restaurants, and remains one of her most collected scenes.  Her current creations depict French Quarter architectural art, colorful florals and whimsical collage pieces.

 

From 2006-2010, Melanie expanded her creativity by working within the paper craft industry. She worked on the design teams for scrapbook manufacturing companies (Flair Designs, Dream Street Papers, Paper Salon, and Piggy Tales) creating scrapbook pages, cards and altered items for promotional use. She has sold her designs and articles to various leading craft publications including Crafts n Things, Paper Crafts Magazine, Cards, and Just Cards. Since becoming involved in the paper craft industry, she started merging both of her loves - paper and paint, and many of her paintings combine both of those loves.

 

Melanie has exhibited her art work in various Northeast Louisiana exhibits including the 102A Bistro in Ruston, and most recently, Art With A View. Her work as been in galleries in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Arkansas.. She currently has art at the Great Artists Collective Gallery on Royal Street in New Orleans, LA, as well as locally at Brazzell and Co.Home, and The Ouachita River Art Gallery where she is a juried member. You can see more of her work at www.melaniedouthit.com

 

The Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, invites you to come see this special show during the entire month of January. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 f

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Marlene Gremillion, November Featured Artist

Multi-media artist, Marlene Gremillion , formerly of West Monroe, now residing in Hot Springs, Arkansas, is the featured artist for November at Ouachita River Art Gallery. Marlene was a founding member and past president of ORAG, and she still enjoys being associated with the group. She loves contact with other artists, displaying her works at ORAG and throughout the state of Arkansas.  

Marlene is an accomplished artist who works in many mediums and says she enjoys each one because she feels like she is always playing and having fun. Besides painting in watercolor for over 25 years, Marlene also designs jewelry using Argentium Sterling Silver, and 14 Karat Gold wire with semi precious stones, and she creates fused glass pieces. This show will be an eclectic mix, from paintings to jewelry to glass work. 

Gremillion is a signature member of Mid-Southern Watercolorists and Louisiana Watercolor Society and Publicity Chairman of Brush Strokes in Hot Springs Village, AR.  Marlene enjoys sharing her knowledge by teaching at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, at the National Park Community College Continuing Education (Hot Springs, AR) and a number of workshops throughout the state of Arkansas. She says, “Teaching is so enjoyable, especially watching others get excited when creating a piece of artwork.”  She will be teaching a painting workshop, “Mixed Media on Yupo” at ORAG, February 18, 19 & 20, 2012 and a mother/ daughter jewelry class on March 24, 2012. You can see Marlene’s work on her web site at: www.marlenegremillion.com

The Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, invites you to come see this special show during the entire month of November. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information.

 

Nancy Shutt, October Featured Artist

They Talk by Cell Phone, mixed media.
The artist being featured at the Ouachita River Art Gallery during the month of October is Nancy Shutt of Monroe, Louisiana, who is originally from Montana. Nancy holds a BFA from Louisiana Tech in Interior Design. She has won several awards in area shows and is a charter member of the Ouachita River Art Gallery. Nancy is also the president of River Cities Art Association.

Always one to try new mediums, for this show Nancy is painting figures in abstract backgrounds on gold gesso with gouache, an opaque watercolor. The gesso is very forgiving so changes can easily be made during the painting process. It is the back and forth of “try this, try that” which makes the process fun. However, before the fun of painting begins, she must figure the problem-solving aspect of art and feels this needs to be the curriculum in all schools along with basic subjects. Art enables students learn to problem-solve.

Nancy says: “Growing up in Montana, I was fortunate to be introduced to two fine western artists. Leroy Greene, a family friend, was well known for his western landscapes and Indian portraits. Clyde Aspevig,a realistic landscape painter, lived across the street from my parents at one time. Exposure to fine art gave me an appreciation for and a desire to pursue art throughout my life.”

The Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, invites you to come see this special show of Nancy’s work during the entire month of October. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information.

September Featured Artist - Linda Snider Ward

Dancing to a Silent Tune, oil on canvas.

Linda Snider Ward is Ouachita River Art Gallery’s Featured Artist for the month of September, 2011. Her exhibit, For the Love of Horses & all Creatures, is a new series of oil paintings created specifically for this exhibition. "The title of the show reflects not only the subject matter of my blog, my website, and my Etsy shop but also my booth at the New Orleans Arts Market each month."

      "The majority of works in this show are painted ala prima, painted in one sitting. I enjoy working small and quickly. It’s a challenge to me to complete a painting in one sitting, to see the final results in just a few hours. As I work, I try to stay as loose as possible, painting shapes and values and trying not to “fuss” too much over certain areas. My palette is limited and includes only two reds, two yellows, two blues, and white. I mix all of my earth tones, blacks, and neutrals."

     "It is only recently that I’ve begun to paint what I truly love, animals. I have loved animals all of my life, especially horses. This love, I’m sure, came from my father who was a veterinarian. He taught me to love and respect animals. He also taught me how to draw at a very young age. My father drew animals very well, and I would sit on his lap and beg him to “draw a horse…draw a pig…draw a dog.” He would draw, and I would labor over copying the drawing exactly as he had drawn it. For the Love of Horses & all Creatures is dedicated to my late father Dr. George Thomas, Jr., whose compassion for all creatures (human too) influenced my art and my life."

Linda Snider Ward holds a Master of Fine Arts (drawing and painting) from Louisiana Tech University and a Master of Art (English/creative writing) from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Linda is a member of Daily Paint Works, the Colored Pencil Society of America, and the Eye Twenty Group.

September Featured Artist - Linda Snider Ward

Toodles, an 8" x 8" oil painting on gallery-wrapped canvas.

Jerry Jones, ORAG August Artist-of-the-Month

The featured artist for August at the Ouachita River Art Gallery is wildlife and landscape artist (and local television broadcaster) Jerry Jones of West Monroe, Louisiana. “When I was a kid I was amazed at the artwork and illustrations on the covers of Outdoor Life.  I would wait until everyone was asleep and slip into the living room with some paper and a pencil and draw until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”

Jerry didn’t take formal lessons until he returned home from the Navy in 1973. He had a full ride with the G.I. Bill but no idea what he wanted to do with his life.  “My older brother teased me saying I had no marketable skills, so I majored in the only thing I knew I had talent for, art.”  It was while in college that he developed a love for painting. Life, work and raising kids took him away from art for several years. In 2000 he was commissioned to do a mural in Columbus, Mississippi. He spent the next three years painting over 1,000 square feet of walls with a palette knife. Since completing that work, he hasn’t let life interrupt his desire to create. His “day job” has moved him around the country, and while living in Montana, he was drawn back into the world of wildlife art. Now back in his native South, Jerry has found a fascination with the various flora and fauna of the Louisiana bayous.

       

“This is a beautiful world we live in.  I am awestruck by the design, texture, color and emotion that I see and feel in creation; the raw power of a fast approaching thunderstorm; the constantly changing light and color of an old Tom turkey in full strut; the drama of shape and form of almost anything that throws off an interesting drop shadow.  Did I mention color?  If I could be outdoors every day, I would.  I would walk for days into the wilderness or just sit for hours taking in the beauty of it all.  That’s why I like to draw and paint wildlife.  I like what I see out there and I want to take a piece of it home with me.  I start out by saying, ‘Good job, God.  But, how did you do that?’  Then I try to capture the essence of what He has already produced, first in my heart and head, then on paper, panel or canvas.  During that process is when creating begins.  We all have some of the Creator’s nature within us, and my “spark of the Divine” leads me to venture off the natural course as I follow the shapes and colors on the canvas.  When I finish a piece it feels like a small miracle.  And then I begin to think to myself, ‘Not the best you can do, Jones’ and I start all over again.”

 

Jerry received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern Mississippi with emphasis in Drawing and Painting.  He has displayed his work at Southern Breeze Art Gallery, in Jackson, MS (2001 to 2004), the Paradise Gallery, in Gardiner, MT (2008 to 2009), Carbon County Arts Guild and Depot Gallery, in Red Lodge, MT (2006-2009), and currently is a participating artist/member of the Ouachita River Art Gallery, West Monroe, LA.  Jerry has been accepted in the following juried exhibits: 2008 Rocky Mountain Regional Juried Exhibition, 2008 Arts in the Beartooths, and the 2007 Yellowstone Art Museum Small Works Exhibit. 

The Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, invites you to come see this special show of Jerry’s work during the entire month of August. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information.

 

Jane Dixon, July 2011 Artist-of-the-Month

Three Geese Swimming

Has Monroe painter Jane Dixon “flown over the coo coo’s nest,” or does she just love birds?  

Dixon will be the Ouachita River Art Gallery featured artist in the month of July. As Jane looked back over the paintings she has done over the past three years, she found there was a common theme: Birds. Her last few paintings have been based on birds found in her son’s and daughter-in-law’s backyard in Trout, Louisiana. You may think you have entered a bird sanctuary as you view her display of pelicans, bluebirds, grosbeaks, and much, much more.

Jane was born and lived in Texas for the first 30 years of her life.  She and her husband landed in Broussard, Louisiana first and then in north Louisiana where they operated a computer business for over twenty-five years. She began painting approximately three years ago and says, “It is a long way from what I used to do, which was teaching people how to use their computers.” Many of you may remember her helping you learn your word processing program.

Jane has a variety of interests when it comes to painting, so she will also include in her display portraits of various family members which is a real favorite of hers. A few months ago she became interested in still life and will include a few of those, also.  She says she is an “artist still attempting to find her niche, because there are so many things to paint.”

Jane believes God provides blessings at different points in each life as they are needed. She had really never attempted to paint until after her husband’s death, and it has helped fill a void and provide a lot of enjoyment. She has received “Best of Show” awards for two consecutive years in the Ouachita Parish Senior Olympics, Best of Show in the Adult II Painter’s Pallet show, and Best of Show in the Ouachita Parish Public Libraries' competition “Capture the Beauty”.

Her exhibit may be seen for the entire month of July at the Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information.

Donna McGee, June Artist-of-the-Month

What do you Know about Dragonflies? (mixed media on paper)
    The featured artist in June at Ouachita River Art Gallery is artist Donna McGee. The paintings in her exhibit, Vision Manifested, are visions or “landscapes of the mind”, born of McGee’s experiences with nature. Quoting Kahlil Gibran, “Art arises when the secret vision of the artist and the manifestation of nature agree to find new shapes”.

    McGee works both directly and indirectly from nature. According to McGee, “The works in this show began as pure exploration of the medium, for the most part with no objective image in mind. The action of time and energy flow and their effect on nature are inspiration for most of the works. I was trying to express the visible and not visible properties of earth, air and water, but at some point images that directly reference nature do become a part of each work”. This exploratory approach to painting is what McGee enjoys most because to her it is the purest expression of creative insight. It is a way of revealing what is internal rather than depicting what is external. However, she also enjoys plein air painting because it gives her the opportunity to directly interact with nature, changing light and seasons.
    Regardless of the approach, McGee says that she tries to remain focused on the formal aspects of art as a balance for the seductiveness of the media and various processes used to create the image. She loves to explore and experiment and is always seeking new pathways to personal expression.
    Donna McGee has always sought a spiritual connection with nature through gardening, hiking, and travel. She looks to the natural world for entertainment, discovery, adventure and peace. McGee says, “I have wandered forest trails, trod high steep mountain paths, drunk from cold refreshing streams, eaten food cooked in the wild, (that tasted much better there than at home), laughed and groaned with like-minded friends, contemplated the meaning of existence, and found peace for pain of loved ones lost. I have seen the face of God in wild places and am richer for it. Sometimes I have found mystery and darkness, sometimes humor and light. The natural world is complex and sometimes unpredictable, but honest in a way that man is not”.
    Donna McGee is a signature member of the Louisiana Watercolor Society and the Mississippi Watercolor Society. Her oil, watercolor, and mixed media works have been included in numerous regional and national exhibitions. She has taught art at the university level for 20 years and is currently Head of the Department of Art at Grambling State University.
    This exhibition may be seen for the entire month of June at the Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, which has been designated part of the Cottonport Historic Cultural District and is sales tax free on purchases of original art. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information.