MacGown Art at the Prairie Arts Festival - 2 September 2017

This Saturday, 2 September 2017 from 9 AM to 4 PM, Joseph and Joe will once again have a booth full of art at the Prairie Arts Festival in West Point, Mississippi.  This will be our third consecutive year to participate in the show!  Come see us. We will be set up in the grassy area near the water fountain. We will be the jokers with the weird to semi weird art. Some originals and plenty of affordable prints. Thanks again to our friends at Chalet Arts for their wonderful framing and printing!! 

A 2 x 4 ft triptych on wood I have been working on! 

There is so much going on with the arts in our area lately! Awesome!! The Greater Starkville Development Partnership has a "Night Market" planned for this coming Friday evening, 1 September from 7 to 9 PM at the Fire Station Park on Russell Street. A $20 ticket will get you free food and beer samples, a few artsy vendors with be present, some local retailers, etc. Last year they had music, though it's unclear if they will this year. It a pregame sort of get-together, and lots of MSU Bulldog apparel clad fans are sure to be present. That same night, at Mary Holmes College in West Point will be the 22nd annual Black Prairie Blues Festival starting at 5:30 PM! You don't want to miss this wonderful event!!! On the same day as the arts festival in West Point there will be an art walk in Meridian, which we obviously can't do. On Thursday, 14 September, from 5:30-7 PM, the Starkville Area Arts Council will have a reception for the Abstract Show at the Greater Starkville Development Partnership Gallery at 200 Main Street in Starkville! Both Joseph and I will have 3 abstract pieces in this show for sale. The following day, Friday, 15 September, the Bulldog Bash will be happening in downtown Starkville with art, food, and other vendors present from 2 to 6 PM, then free music that evening!! We are planning on having some of our MacGown art there for that. The next Sunday Funday in the Cotton District is slated for 17 September from 12 to 6 PM. On Thursday, 28 September from 5 to 7 PM, we will be participating in the Columbus Artwalk. Thanks to our  friends at Books & Boards on Main Street for inviting us to set up in their Store. The following Saturday, 7 October, we will be back in Meridian for the art walk downtown from about 10 AM to 2 PM. Following the art walk, we will head a couple blocks over to the Meridian Museum of Art for their annual BiState Competition reception. I had two pieces accepted into that show. October and November look to be equally busy! 

"Here 4 you//Interdimensional larval caveman" by Joseph MacGown 

A few pieces on wood in progress by Joe MacGown

PopUp Art Show at Wild Rose Studio in Starkville, MS - Sat., 11 March 2017

Local Starkville artist Laurie Burton is hosting a small group popup show from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM this coming Saturday (March 11) at her Wild Rose Studio and Gallery located at 302 South Jackson Street in Starkville, MS. The combined gallery and studio area comprises the front part of her beautiful historic house, which is right beside the Rosey Baby restaurant. Parking is limited at her house, so visitors may need to park in one of the nearby parking lots. 

Laurie Burton home and studio on S. Jackson St. 

This one day only art show will include 2D and 3D works by Laurie Burton, Joe A. MacGown, Joseph H. MacGown, Carly Melton, Gerard Woods, John Bateman, and Allison Julien. Whether you want to buy art or just look at it, we invite you to stop by and hang out with us. Artists will have a variety of originals and reproductions for sale and viewing. 

Standing in front of some of my prints! 

As for myself, I plan on having some smaller more affordable originals, including studies, sketches, and ink paintings on wood. I will also have a variety of high quality prints ranging in size from 5 x 7 inches to 24 x 30 inches with prices from $3 to $50 each. I'd love to get some of my weird art into your homes, so make a deal with me! 

Some small originals that I will have on hand. 

"Goldfish" by Joe A. MacGown

"Twirly Ear Mites" by Joe A. MacGown

Art Expo Fun at Rick's Cafe Americain

This past Saturday night (14 January 2017) from about 8 PM to 11 PM, Joseph and I were at local hotspot and bar "Rick's Cafe Americain" in Starkville, MS selling some art! This was a very cool experiment for Starkville with an art sale at a bar, along with a DJ (DJ Glotron) playing grooves, girls dancing with lighted hula hoops and weird winglike fabric on stage, and live painting by several artists!

In addition to our MacGown Art table, there were several other local artists presenting their wares such as Joseph Garland (MSU student), Libby Cagle (abstract painter), Paul Buckley (abstract painter), Blaine Gerrard (wacky dude), Paisley Hamilton (handmade hippie fashions), and several others.

Overall, the event was a huge success with lots of folks showing up to see the art and talk to us about it. We sold quite a few prints, and I noticed several folks leaving with art from other artists too, so it looked like a successful evening for them as well.

Prairie Arts Festival Wrap-up and SAAC Abstract Show and Studio 230 Oberfest openings coming up

Prairie Arts Festival 2016 - Wrap-up

The Prairie Arts Festival, which was held in West Point, MS on Saturday, September 3, went pretty well for us. It was another hot day! But, we met some cool folks and saw lots of friends and art appreciators. We did not make as many sales this year as the previous year, but we attributed that in part to MSU having a midday football game, which meant that most of the folks in the age range who typically buy our art were not present at the festival. But, even so, it was worth the trip over. Also, I won first place in the Drawing/Mixed Media division of the Juried Show with my "As Above, So Below" piece! 

Our  tent, just after we set it up

A wonderful young family who  appreciated our art. Thanks!

A picture that appeared in the local Columbus Dispatch Newspaper. Thanks!! 

"As Above, So Below". 1st place in Drawing/Mixed Media!

SAAC Abstract Exhibition

This Thursday, the Starkville Area Arts Council Abstract show opens at 200 Main Street, downtown Starkville, MS. Check it out. Some cool and colorful art! Joseph and I both have two pieces in the show. Mine are both small pieces with one being a very abstract acrylic painting with even the frame painted (called "Five"), and the other one (Baxter's Journey) is a print on canvas, which I touched up with a pen. Each of these are only $100! I had planned on bringing the original "Baxter's Journey" for the show, but after posting it on FaceBook, I sold it almost immediately. Below are images of these pieces.

"Baxter's Journey", by Joe A. MacGown, 2016,  9 x 12 inches, print on canvas, $100 

"Baxter's Journey", by Joe A. MacGown, 2016, colored ink & pen on clay board, SOLD 

"Five"(framed), by Joe A. MacGown, 2016, 9 x 12 inches, Acrylic paint on illustration  board, $100

Joseph's has two nice pieces in the show with my favorite  being a 2x2 ft painting on wood entitled "Overlapping Forms" ($225) and a nice little pastel piece called "Organic Improv" ($125).

"Overlapping Forms", by Joseph H. MacGown, 2016, 24 x 24 inches, spray paint, acrylic  paint on wood, $225

"Organic Improv", by Joseph H. MacGown, 2016, 11 X 14 inches, oil pastel on paper, $125

Oberfest Exhibition at Studio 230 in Cleveland, MS - Opening 4 pm Oct. 1, 2016

I have five pieces in an exhibition at Studio 230 in downtown Cleveland, MS. Opening reception is set for 4 pm on Saturday October 1, 2016. Looks like an awesome show if you can make it! The artists in the show include Sammy Britt, Floyd Shaman, Gerald D. DeLoach, Tommy Goodman, Bill Lester, Thad Brewer, Robin Whitfield, Katherine Pearson, Selena Nause,Nanette Long, John Campbell, James Moss, Cetin Oguz, and Joe A. MacGown. 

Here are the pieces I will have in this show. 

"Biogenesis", by Joe A. MacGown, 2016, 12 X 12 inches, colored ink & pen on wood, $750

"Birth", by Joe A. MacGown, 2016, 12 X 12 inches, colored ink & pen on wood, $750 

"Evolution", by Joe A. MacGown, 2016, 12 X 12 inches, colored ink & pen on wood, $750 

"Organic Cosmic Lock", by Joe A. MacGown, 2016, 24 x 24 inches, watercolor & pen on illustration board, $3,500

"Vent", by Joe A. MacGown, 2016, 24 x 24 inches, acrylic, colored ink & pen on wood, $1000

"No Body, No Evidence, Right?" Exhibition at Luminarte in Dallas, TX

Yo ho ho! Just got some art delivered to the LuminArte Gallery in Dallas, Texas for the upcoming exhibition called "No Body, No Evidence, Right?"  The show opens on 24 January and runs through 14 March 2015. The opening reception will be at 7 PM on the 24th of January. The show is largely Abstract in subject matter and should stimulate the viewers' imaginations! 

Detail from my piece entitled "Zabulation"

One of the pieces that I sent was "Zabulation," which I did back in 2009. This is a crazy watercolor and ink painting/drawing on illustration board that took a long time to finish. Partly due to my excessive need for detail, and the size of the piece being 21 X 29 inches, but also because of the numerous layers of watercolor washes that I used to build tone. I like this picture a lot. Kind of dark I guess, at least to some people, but full of random detail that basically came about on its own with just a bit of guidance from me. 

"Zabulation" by Joe A. MacGown

This exhibition includes a wide variety of  internationally recognized artists including Ron Burkhardt, Irene Neal, Puneeta Mittal, Robin Antar, Paul Lorenz, Keiko Gonzalez, Gina Rossi, John and Elli Milan, Durand Seay, Shawn Man Roland, Carmelo Midili, Bonnie Teitelbaum, Diane Sanborn, Joe MacGown, Cristina de Castroand, and  Steve Smith, as well as  Texas artists Elizabeth Schowachert, Michael Broussard, Antoaneta Hillman, Leanne Venier, Trent Mann, Judith Seay and Awadh Baryoum.  

This will mark the second showing of my work in the LuminArte gallery. My Californian art buddy Steve Smith will also be exhibiting his finely crafted art here for the second time! Steve and I have similar ways of producing artwork in that we both let the art flow without conscious thought. Steve calls his way of doing art "automatic drawing" and I call my method "subconscious meandering," but really, its the same idea. I am seeing more and more of this type of art. I believe its a response to the chaotic times we now live in. Steve has a great blog about the upcoming show on his blog site. 

One of Steve Smith's "automatic" drawings!

This exhibition will flow into an upcoming figurative show entitled "Mnemosyne" in which I will also have some art in. So, thats some awesome news!