Covid, Art, and Change

 Wowzers! What a year. I retired from my job as a scientific illustrator/research technician on July 1, I got remarried on October 10 to Jennifer, a wonderfully creative lady, and we have made lots of progress on building an art retreat at our property located in Sessums, Mississippi. 

Joe and Jennifer MacGown

Yep, I have long wanted to create an art retreat of some type where people can come look at art, create art, participate in art and music events, to enjoy and learn about nature, and even to start an artist in residence program. The idea sounds a bit crazy, but I believe it is feasible. 

the front of our art house

living room area with art on wall and art border

kitchen/dining

We plan on turning the existing house into a place for resident artists to stay while visiting and using other rooms as inexpensive sleeping options for various guests who may be at an event or something. We will be building a small cabin near the pond to live in, which gives us this amazing option! If all goes well, we are hoping to be ready by the fall of 2021. We already have a functioning studio, are about 80% complete on a cool art cabin/studio, have started building a gallery/workshop, and have a cool pavilion on the pond, which would be perfect for musicians to play on! 

pavilion on a snowy  day

art cabin

gallery/workshop started

rafters

studio

One goal is to have an artist in residence come stay for one to three weeks, with perhaps 3-4 artists per year. I would like each artist to leave their footprint on the property in same way such as creating a sculpture, painting a mural (or helping), doing a painting, or some other expression of what they do. Also, I am hoping to have artists conduct workshops in the gallery/workshop building that I recently started building. 

a fun view of studio and pavilion from pond

painting in the canoe! 

I am looking forward to completing these projects so we can get started on hosting art events as well as showcasing our own art! 

current work

love my inks

some of Joseph's whimsical ceramic pieces

Happy new year! 

Arthrobryozoic Naiad heads to the Meridian Museum of Art

So I entered the 46th Annual Meridian Museum of Art Bi-State Art Competition, 2020 and got my Arthrobryozoic Naiad piece accepted. This is a fun piece I did last year that can be viewed at different angles and has lots of cool layers. It is 24 x 48 inches and done entirely with blue ink on primed birch plywood. 

I often enter this competition and have had some luck with awards. It is always a great show with lots of talented artists from Alabama and MIssissippi. As in other years, quite a few art faculty members will have art in the show, which is great! 

This year's juror is Stephanie Smith, an artist, printmaker, and educator. She earned her B.F.A from the Atlanta College of Art and a M.F.A. with Distinction from the University of Georgia in 1997. Smith is a Senior Lecturer at the University of West Georgia where she teaches drawing, 2D design, printmaking and book arts as well as serving as gallery director. In 2005 she co-founded the non-profit arts organization the Atlanta Printmakers Studio and served as President for the first five years. I imagine selection of accepted pieces was not easy with 322 entries by 114 artists entered. At the end of the day Smith selected 65 works by 51 of those artists. 

Definitely come check this show out and the historic museum itself. Exhibition dates are March 10 - May 16, 2020. There will be an awards reception from 2 to 4 pm on Saturday, May 16, 2020. Please come and join us for what I am sure will be another great show. I personally am looking forward to the reactions to my piece, which could be considered a little risque. 

Arthrobyrozoic Naiad

Arthrobyrozoic Naiad, upside down

Arthrobyrozoic Naiad, detail of top area

Arthrobyrozoic Naiad, detail of central area

Arthrobyrozoic Naiad, detail of bottom section, upside down

Arthrobyrozoic Naiad, detail of bottom left area 

Here is the  list of artists who will have work in the competition/exhibition: 

2020 Meridian Museum of Art BiState Artists

Abreeza Thomas

Addie Louis

AlexTownsend-

Andrea Kostyal

Anne O'Hara

Barbara-Ann Carver-Hunt

Bo Kyle

Brittany Davis

Carolyn Norton

Cecelia Moseley

Charlotte Wegrznowski

David Diodate David

David Stevens

Debra Eubanks

Dee Falls

Euphus Ruth

Gail Morton

Gary Howse

George Ann McCullough

Hanna Lewis

Hannah Wegner

Jill Hammes

Joan McRaney

Joe MacGown

Joe Morzuch

Joely Corban

John Bateman

Leslie Burns

Maria Hughes

Mark Brown

Mary‐Saphrona Grey

Melissa Thorson

Michelle Jones

MJ Dobbins  Morgan

Pat Brown

Pat Gavin

Rachel Strain

Randy Hayward Jolly

Rick Anderson

Robert Gibson

Rowan Williams Haug

Sadako Lewis

Susa Nawrocki

Thomas Nawrocki

Tiffany V. McPeak

Tom Wegrzynowski

Victoria Nichols

Virginia Rougon Chavis

Wesley Ortiz

Whitson Ramsey

William T. Dooley

Cotton District Arts Festival 2017 - Recap

Howdy art lovers 

The Cotton District Arts Festival, held this past Saturday, 8 April 2017 from 9am to 4pm in the Cotton District area of Starkville, MS, was a great one. More art booths than ever, a beautiful day, and large crowds. 

Joe and Joseph MacGown in their art tent! 

We had a pretty steady day and sold quite a few prints from postcard size to 12 X 18 inches, as well as a couple originals. This was only our second year of having a booth/tent at the festival, and we are learning a lot. One drawback to being new is that our tent is near the end of the line, and we noticed that many people never made it to us. However, we hope to gradually turn our end into a mecca for weird art lovers by bringing even more and cooler stuff  next year. We may add an additional tent as well, because it was cramped in there. 

Art enthusiasists

Joseph selling a weird painting to the Brasfields of West Point, MS

The wonderful juried show that is a part of the festival was held in the MSU Visual Arts building, which was basically right across the road from our tent! Ruth Miller, talented embroidery artist from the Jackson, MS area, was this year's juror. Each year, the arts council brings in a different juror. I only managed to get one entry of three into the show this year, and I partly blame the ridiculous entry rules for this, which state that digital images (submitted on a CD) be no more than 600 px in longer measurement. This restriction really hurts me because my large pieces are very detailed, and reducing them to that size essentially makes them look like a confusing mass of crazy. Oh well. Despite only having one entry, my "Pentamerous Archetypes" triptych won Best of Show! That purple ribbon is great, but the check that comes with it is even better.  Each year, the show is different, in part due to selections made by the different jurors, but also as a result  of who enters the competition.  Some years we have had entries from several states, with professional artists and various art professors entering. This year, the show seemed to be very local with most of the pieces done by Starkvillians. I thought compared to some years, the show was a little weak due to the lack of more outside entries, but still good. This show has been very good to me, as I have won best of show 5 or 6 times and first in the painting/drawing division multiple times! 

Pentamerous Archetypes, by Joe MacGown, Best of Show

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

Joe MacGown Surreal Art Talk at Gumtree Museum of Art was fun

I gave a roundtable type presentation about my art at the Gumtree Museum of Art this past Saturday, March 4, 2017. Thanks to everyone who came to the talk, for your wonderful questions, and for purchasing prints and books from me! If you couldn't make it to the show, it will be up until March 24, 10am-4pm, Tuesday-Fridays (Saturdays by appointment).

Joe MacGown, talking about his art (Photo by Belle Naugher)

It was especially nice to see faculty and art students from the nearby Itawamba Community College, Mississippi State University,  and even a couple of Starkville High Students there!

art enthusiasts listening and asking questions (Photo by Belle Naugher)

Talking about art (Photo by Belle Naugher)

Thanks to Belle Naugher, Museum Director, and the museum volunteers and board for putting this event together. And thanks again to Chalet Arts of Starkville for their wonderful printing and framing!

Talking with Helen and Ed (Photo by Belle Naugher) 

Ella eating cookies and looking at my book! (Photo by Belle Naugher)

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.

Pentamerous Archetype triptych finished

I started this triptych in April of 2016 and have more or less finished it up about Thanksgiving of the same year. I basically worked on this some every day that I was in town, sometimes in the morning before I went to work, at lunch, then later in the evening. Some of those times I also worked on other pieces, but needless to say, I have a lot of time in this.  The images I have provided below give an idea of what it looks like, but its much more radiantly colored actuality. This a traditional type of triptych done on wood with a center panel and two hinged doors that close. Both the inside and outside of the doors are painted, and the edges are painted with metallic gold paint. After priming the birch plywood, I used layers of colored ink washes and added fine detail with Koh-i-noor Rapidograph technical pens. When open, the triptych is 40 x 24 inches, when closed fully, it is 20 x 24 inches.

Here are some photos of the triptych showing individual panels, the three panels open, and a view of the triptych closed.

Inside 3 panels of Pentamerous Archetypes

Outside panels of Pentamerous Archetypes

"Mystical Scavenger Lord", Inside of left panel of Pentamerous Archetypes

"Inceptor", Center panel of Pentamerous Archetypes

"Perverse Leporid Fairy", inside of right panel  of Pentamerous Archetypes

"Arthropodite", outside of right  panel of Pentamerous Archetypes

"Surrogate", outside of left panel of Pentamerous Archetypes

detail from edge of outside panel

another shot of the outside, taken with cell phone