Sharon Galligan’s Paintings Featured at the AmadorArts Gallery during March

Sharon Galligan, Jackson resident and a professional artist painting in watercolor, oil, acrylic, monoprint and mixed media, will be featured in AmadorArts Gallery for the month of March.  Also on exhibit will be jewelry by Karen Crane and photography of local scenes by Cynthia Dunn-Selph. The opening date is 11:00 am Saturday March 5 during the 1st Saturday Amador Art Trek, with a free and open-to-the-public reception from 3 until 6 pm.  Meet artists, enjoy refreshments and be the first to buy their newest works.  AmadorArts Gallery is located one block off Main Street in Sutter Creek at 11-A Randolph St., next to the Monteverde Store Museum.

Sharon Galligan has studied art extensively, both in school and with renowned artists.  Her travels and workshops in the United States and Europe are a constant source of inspiration and subject matter for her art, with her style ranging from realism to impressionism, to occasional abstract art.

Galligan says she loves the freshness and spontaneity of watercolor but experiments with new media and techniques. As a result, she is a consistent award winner in National and International shows. Galligan is a respected statewide art juror and long time member of the AmadorArts Board of Directors, guiding the non-profit with her knowledge of art, artists, and techniques of exhibiting. Her memories of handling arts council shows at the Old Schoolhouse in Sutter Creek, as well as her one-woman shows in Carmel, never fail to amuse.

Working diligently to prepare for this AmadorArts show, Galligan will be exhibiting new works, as well as some from her collection of public favorites. Galligan will welcome her friends and collectors at the AmadorArts Gallery during the reception on March 5, 3-6 pm.

This show continues until March 27. AmadorArts Gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm (until 6 pm on 1st Saturdays).  During the week it’s best to call ahead (209) 267-9038. For more information visit www.amadorarts.org

"Fishing Boats"

"Sutter Creek"

Sharon Galligan

March ACAA meeting features Ceramic Artist Kathryn Devlin - Wednesday, March 9

Ceramic artist Kathryn Devlin will be demonstrating her techniques at the Wednesday March 9 at 7PM meeting of the Amador County Artists Association (ACAA).  During the 2015 Amador County Fair, Devlin won the fair theme Best of Division with a vignette featuring a guitar-strumming cow accompanying singing flowers and animals.  Her first ceramic show was with friend Cathleen Berglund at the Amador County Arts Council in September 2014. Her second show was at The Artistic Edge in Sacramento in October 2015, where her current work continues to be shown.  “It is my belief that every person is an artist in some form or another.   I’m thrilled to have found my passion in clay where the possibilities are virtually endless!” she exclaimed.   

Devlin’s interest in art began in Southern California as a child digging in clay deposits in her family’s orange grove. After attending college at San Francisco State, she moved to Calaveras, then Amador County, teaching primary grades at San Andreas Elementary School for thirty-one years. Her interest in ceramics was encouraged by two colleagues, Ken Winebrenner and Lori Kelly.  After retiring, Devlin began working in clay in earnest, taking various classes from local artists as well as several in Tucson, Arizona.

“My work is influenced by all my years of being with children, seeing the world through their eyes.  Whimsical, detailed, fanciful are words used to describe my style,” she explained.   

The ACAA meets the second Wednesday at the Senior Center, 229 New York Ranch Road, Jackson.  The public is invited and new members are encouraged. For more information about the ACAA, visit www.amadorcountyartists.org

"Black-Headed Grosbeaks in Spring"

"Peter Rabbit"

"Sam Scarecrow" Vignette

"Miss Kitty"

"All Dressed up for Trick or Treating"

Local Plein Air Artist Denise Gilroy is Gallery 10’s Featured Artist in March

Local artist Denise Gilroy will be the featured artist for March at Gallery 10, 15 Eureka St. in Sutter Creek. A reception in her honor will be held on Saturday, March 5, 2-5 P.M. at the gallery. Her paintings will hang throughout the month. The gallery is open 11-5 Thursday-Monday during March.

About Denise Gilroy...

In a sense, fine art had to knock twice before Denise opened the door. She had always loved art, but as a young woman chose the practical over the creative, spurning art school for a finance degree. But art kept tugging at her, and most of the “jobs” she held over the years had a decidedly creative bent to them—first as a graphic designer with clients throughout California and later as a decorator and owner/operator of two furniture stores. None, however, satisfied her completely.  So, in the summer of 2006, she closed her furniture boutique and started painting full time realizing that was what had been missing for so long. With no formal training in painting she took a workshop in plein air painting, which both embraces the beauty of the natural world and allows her to work outdoors.

Denise currently lives in Pioneer, California which provides easy access to the Sierra Nevada where she paints the majority of her work.

Education

University of Massachusetts, Bachelor of Business Administration

Exhibitions and Awards

2014 Small Works Holiday "Deck the Walls" Segil Fine Art, Monrovia CA

2014 Honorable Mention Stockton Art League, Haggin Museum

2014 Yosemite Renaissance, Yosemite Museum, Yosemite Valley, CA

2014 Best & The Brightest, Scottsdale Artist School, Scottsdale, AZ

2013 Holiday Treasures, Debra Huse Gallery, Balboa Island, CA

2012 Honorable Mention Stockton Art League, Haggin Museum

2012 Honorable Mention SourceTek Online Catalog Cover Contest

2012 Salon International at Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX

2011 Award of Merit, Mother Lode Juried Art Show, Placerville Art Assoc., CA

2011 "Less Is More" LPAPA Show at the Randy Higbee Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA

2011 Honorable Mention 7th Annual "Best of Plein Air" Juried Show, Laguna Beach, CA

2011 Salon International at Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX

2011 Best & The Brightest, Scottsdale Artist School, Scottsdale, AZ

2010 Stockton Art League Exhibit at The Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA

2010 North Tahoe Plein Air, Northstar At Tahoe, CA
2010 Salon International at Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX

"A New Path"

"October Moon"

Sutter Creek Gallery presents "Spring Ahead" Show in March

"Colors of the Rainbow"
Jim Glanton

Are we finally leaving winter behind?  While we’re grateful for all the rain and snow, the arrival of spring and warmer weather is welcome.  To celebrate the new season and time change, Sutter Creek Gallery has mounted a member show entitled “Spring Ahead.”  A reception to mark the opening of this exhibition will be held Saturday, March 5, from 4 to 7 p.m.

March is when sports enthusiasts turn from hitting the slopes to rigging the sails.  When spring birds return and baby animals make an appearance.  When flowering trees blossom and poppies dot the landscape. Daylight Savings Time returns and Easter is celebrated.  It’s a good time to head outdoors and breathe in the new sights and scents. It’s also a good time to stroll through Sutter Creek Gallery to see the unique pieces created by member artists to celebrate this theme.

This cooperative of local artists is located in the heart of Sutter Creek at 35 Main Street. Besides original paintings and photographs, Sutter Creek Gallery offers many affordable items including prints, cards, jewelry, gourds and fiber arts.  The gallery is open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  For additional information, call 209-267-0228, email suttercreekgallery@gmail.com, or visit www.suttercreekgallery.com

"California Poppies" - Judy Regnier

"At Play in the Bay" - Sandra Campell

"Almond Blossoms" - Wendy Rogers

"Doe & Fawn" - Laurie Williams

February ACAA Meeting features Jewelry Artist Karen Crane - Wed Feb 10

Karen Crane will be demonstrating her jewelry designs at the February 10 meeting of the Amador County Artists Association.  The designer and owner of Karen Crane Jewelry Designs creates jewelry from gemstones and wire, using a technique that makes her pieces unique.  ACAA meets each month on the second Wednesday at 7 p.m., in the Senior Center, 229 New York Ranch Road, Jackson.  The public is invited and new members are encouraged.  For more information visit amadorcountyartists.org.  

Gallery 10 February Show: "All Things Wine" - Reception on February 6

Gallery 10 will be showing artwork in February related to the theme, “All Things Wine.”  Our artists are busy with painting vineyards, still life, and many creative ways to express our love of wine.  Amador County is developing into a premier wine destination for people from all over the world, and Gallery 10 wants to showcase our beautiful location and award-winning wines.

Please visit the gallery at 15 Eureka St, Sutter Creek, open Thursday-Monday, 11-4 during the month of February, to see what we have in store for you!  The reception to celebrate our love of wine will be held on Saturday, February 6, 2-5 P.M., as part of the Amador Art Trek.  We look forward to seeing you!

"Creekside Vineyard" - Julie Trail, Watercolor

Photo by Dorothy Magoffin

Sutter Creek Gallery features the Mosaic Collages of Anje Olmstead in February

Anje Olmstead, a multi-facted artist, has designed needlepoint tapestries, painted with watercolors and colored pencils, and created paper mosaic collages. The latter medium is her favorite and will be prominently displayed during her show in February as featured artist at Sutter Creek Gallery. The show, entitled “Up and Over, Down and Under, and Within,” explores how we view the world.

Olmstead has been exhibiting her varied media works at Sutter Creek Gallery for the past several years.  In her first year there, she presented a series of needlepoint tapestry narrative pieces.  She had discovered “glow-in-the-dark thread” and several of the pieces had flights of birds or butterflies that glowed when the lights were out.   Last year she created a series of watercolor and colored pencil cats and dogs for the Phantom Gallery at Petco in Martell. Along with her paper mosaics, she has been showing plein air watercolor work from a fall trip to Minnesota.

One of Olmstead’s paper mosaics was judged Best of Show at the 2014 Amador County Fair.  In 2015, she was commissioned by the Jackson Rancheria to create a mosaic of the late tribal leader Margaret Dalton. This 9-foot by 8-foot piece was installed at the Rancheria at the entrance of Margaret’s Café.  Olmstead is a member of the Amador County Artists Association, the Arts Council, FineArtAmerica.com, the Phantom Gallery, and Sutter Creek Gallery’s We Art You.

The gallery invites you to meet Anje Olmstead at the reception in her honor on Saturday, February 6, from 4 to 7 p.m., as part of the region's First Saturday Art Trek.  She is one of the local artists exhibiting at the cooperative located in the heart of Sutter Creek at 35 Main Street. Besides original paintings and photography, Sutter Creek Gallery offers many affordable items including prints, cards, jewelry, gourds and fiber arts. The gallery is open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (209) 267-0228, email suttercreekgallery@gmail.com or visit www.suttercreekgallery.com