Meridian Bi-State Art Competition

We went to the reception for the Bi-state juried competition at the Meridian Museum of Art tonight (March 21, 2009) from 6-8 PM. This is a cool regional show open to Alabama and Mississippi artists. I was glad to have had both of the pieces, "Nine Panes of Thought" and "Cooperation", that I entered accepted. I won one of the three achievement awards with Nine Panes of Thought. There were also three merit awards and three purchase awards given, including the best of show purchase award. I was not eligible to win any of the purchase awards because I did not agree to sell my pieces for the purchase award amounts (if I were to have won), because the prizes was a fraction of the price of either of my drawings. Unfortunately, I did not know this at the time, otherwise I would have entered something of a more appropriate price. That was a bummer, and apparently I was not the only person who did not agree, but if I enter another year, I will know! And, either way, I won some money and can enter the same drawing in another show.

My one man show at the Bly Fine Arts Center in Eupora, MS from 25 April to 2 May 2009 is soon approaching! The reception will be on 25 April from 6 to 8 PM. I have everything framed and ready to go. I also have some prints that I am planning on bringing by to sell, if anyone is interested. A print of my drawing "Infinity" is matted and framed and will be given away in a random drawing. The frame alone is worth a good bit, so come on out and maybe you will leave with a cool print!

The landscape show (of which I have two pieces in) at the Greater Starkville Development Office at 200 Main Street in Starkville, MS will remain up for a few more weeks. If you happen to be in downtown Starkville, stop by and view the wonderful artwork. It often surprises me how many talented artists we have in our community.

Joe MacGown Art News

Getting closer and closer to my one man show at the Bly Fine Arts Center in Eupora, MS from 25 April to 2 May 2009. The reception will be on 25 April from 6 to 8 PM. I have everything framed and ready to go. I also have some prints that I am planning on bringing by to sell, if anyone is interested. A print of my drawing "Infinity" is matted and framed and will be given away in a random drawing. The frame alone is worth a good bit, so come on out and maybe you will leave with a cool print!

The reception for the Bi-state juried competition at the Meridian Museum of Art will be next Saturday March 21 (2009) from 6-8 PM. For those in this area, this is a great show and there is always some good artwork to peruse. I highly recommend you make it to the opening, as a lot of the artists should be present. I was fortunate to have both of the pieces that I entered accepted. Maybe someone will buy one (or both), although, they are not really priced to sell!

The landscape show (of which I have two pieces in) at the Greater Starkville Development Office at 200 Main Street in Starkville, MS will remain up for a few more weeks. If you happen to be in downtown Starkville, stop by and view the wonderful artwork. It often surprises me how many talented artists we have in our community.

I started a new site where I can sell prints and offer originals for sale at Fine Art America. The site is quite professional, and I recommend it for those wanting to buy fine art prints or for artists wanting to show off their work and maybe sell some prints.

Vacation this week! We are going to spend a few days in a cabin at Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama. Plan on doing some hiking, maybe canoeing about in the lake, taking pictures, etc. Hopefully the weather will be nice.

I have been working two pieces lately that are taking some time. They are both watercolor and ink mixed media pieces. One is basically through and the other is close. I will upload them soon!

Upcoming MacGown Art News

The Mississippi's Best Grassroots Concert and Art Show at Lee Hall at Mississippi State University on 10 February 2009 went well. There were tons of people present and I got to talk to a bunch of them. My art appeared to be well received, and I even had people hanging around for long periods of time checking it out. Because I was a participant, I had a backstage pass and had a chance to meet all of the musicians, including Paul Thorn, who has become an internationally known singer. For more info about the event, I have a site with some pictures up at: http://joemacgown.com/artexhibits/MississippiBestGrassrootsConcert.html

I just received news that the two pieces I submitted to the 36th annual Meridian Bi-State Art Competition at the Meridian Museum of Art (MS) were both accepted! This is a great show, and I was happy to hear they were accepted. Unfortunately, although my art will be on display during the duration of the show from March 14 - April 18, 2009, my art will not be judged for the best of show purchase award because the two pieces I entered are priced much higher than the amount of the purchase award. In not agreeing to sell the art in case it was to win, I forfeited the right to be included in the judging. It was a difficult decision, and I probably would have entered something different had I known about this in advance. Nevertheless, it is a great show and lots of people will be attending the opening.

I will have two landscapes on display in a group show at the Greater Starkville Development Foundation Gallery from 2 March through 1 May 2009. One of the paintings is an acrylic landscape called "A Cloudy Day in Sessums", and the other painting is a watercolor entitled "Tree in Winter". I am still trying to get ready for my upcoming one man exhibition at the Fine Arts Center in Eupora, MS from 25 April to 2 May 2009. I also need to start thinking more about the reception on 25 April from 6 to 8 PM. Lots to do! Come to the show if you can!

I had three of my drawings published recently in an art and poetry book entitled "Harvests of New Millennium", which is published in India. The three pieces are "Infinity" , "Self Searching 5" , and "Facing the Future" . The book is a paperback on glossy paper, but is not as good quality as I had hoped. However, the artwork in it is wonderful, and I can tell you that I don't mind having art in the same book as Peter Gric and other comparably talented artists!

I am submitting three pieces to the Cotton District Arts Festival Juried Competition held in Starkville, MS on 18 April. I have had good luck in this show the last three years having won 3rd, 1st, and 2nd overall. This show has grown by leaps and bounds and now it has become a regional event. It has been named one of the 2009 top 20 events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. Of course, that means getting artwork accepted is much harder and means a lot more. Wish me luck. I will also be judging the High School Juried Art Show for the festival, which should prove challenging.

In other interesting news, I am on the senior thesis committee for an art student in the Mississippi State University Art Department. Although I am not associated with the art department in any way, both the student and his advising professor are apparently fans of my art work and wanted me on the committee. After two meetings so far, I am finding the experience to be quite rewarding, and hopefully my input has some meaning!

Upcoming Exhibition at the Fine Arts Center in Eupora, MS

My next show will be a one man exhibition at the Fine Arts Center in Eupora, MS. The show will be from 25 April to 2 May 2009 with an opening reception on 25 April from 6 to 8 PM. I plan on having at least 40 framed drawings in the show, and maybe more depending on what I can fit in. I will also have some prints for sale. I plan on giving away a framed print of "Infinity" (see the picture above) in a random drawing. I hope to get lots of people from Starkville to make it to the show, as Eupora is a small town. However, they do have a gallery, so that is definitely a step in the right direction!

In other news, I just found out I will be one of the featured artists at an event at Mississippi State University called "Mississippi's Best Grassroots Concert." The event is from 6 to 9 PM on 10 February 2009 at Lee Hall on the MSU campus, and it is free. Various artists in the region will have several pieces of their artwork on display for that time period with the first hour devoted to viewing the art, and the remaining two hours will be filled with some of the best music from north MS. The music will include a variety of genres having origins in our region including blues, bluegrass, jazz, gospel, and other styles.

My current show at the Meridian Museum of Art and other news

My 2-man show with Cetin Oguz at the Meridian Museum of Art is up for two more weeks. The opening on January 3 went well, especially considering the fact that it was raining like crazy! I was fortunate to have a nice contingent of people from my home town of Starkville make the trip to Meridian just to see the show. Thanks guys! The response from viewers was great, and I had tons of questions asked. Additionally, both Cetin and I gave a short talk about our art with a questions and answers session. Although, I did not list prices on my work at this show, I still managed to make a nice sale of my drawing "In the Beginning"! I met some wonderful people at the show who showed great interest in my art, and all and all it was a wonderful event. For more info and some photos of the show go to my web page about the show (link).

I had a couple of wonderful write-ups about me and my art in the Columbus Dispatch and Starkville Daily news. The Starkville paper was especially nice because I was on the front page in full color! Very cool.

In other news, I donated a framed print to our local arts council fund-raiser auction (the Starkville Area Arts Council) where we raised over $10,000! The awareness of the arts in our relatively small town has really increased in recent years. I also have some prints on display and for sale at the Creative Warehouse in Starkville (MS). If you are in town, check them out! This week I framed two drawings and am finishing another that I still need to frame for an upcoming International Imaginative Arts Association (IIAA) group show in Los Angeles that should be opening hopefully sometime in the spring. I have a big one man show coming up in late March at the Fine Arts Center in downtown Eupora, MS. This is a small MS town, but yet another one focusing on the arts. I was able to get a grant from the Mississippi Endowment of the Arts to help pay for framing for this show. I hope to have a good crowd on hand and in addition to the original artwork, I will have prints for sale. I hope to enter at least one, and maybe two new works in the upcoming Cotton District Arts Festival juried show in April. This is a wonderful event with many great artists from the Southeast competing for cash prizes. The last three years have been good for me there as I have placed 3rd, 1st, and 2nd overall during that span! I also plan on entering two pieces in the Meridian Museum of Art Bi-State Juried Competition this spring.

MacGown and Oguz Art Exhibition at Meridian Museum of Art

Well, it is definite now. I will be having a two-man show with Cetin Oguz, an art professor at Delta State University, at the Meridian Museum of Art from January 3-31 2009 with an opening reception on January 3rd from 6-8 PM. I will have two gallery rooms to exhibit my surrealistic art. I plan on having between 60 and 70 framed drawings and mixed media images. My artwork should work well with that of Cetin's. His works are somewhat abstract mixed media representations of his beliefs, history, and ideas and perceptions of life.

Upcoming art show and recent news

6 Oct 2008,

My art show at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, MS went well. Lots of folks attended the reception, and I got a chance to talk to a bunch of them about my art. As result of this show, I am now going to be part of a three man show at the Meridian Museum of Art opening on January 3rd, 2009! I will be able to include even more pieces in this show than in the show at Scooba. The gallery features 3 large exhibition rooms on the first floor and one larger room on the second floor. The other two artists and myself will each have one of the rooms on the first floor to display our artwork. This is very exciting, as Meridian has a large group of people who support the arts. I will update this when I get more information.

In other news, I was volunteered to be the assistant coach for the newly formed 7th - 9th grade cross country team at Starkville Academy. My son Joseph is in 7th grade and is on the team. We are an exceptionally young and inexperienced team, but the kids are making great headway and are getting in much better shape. They did exceptionally well at our last meet hosted by Pickens Academy in Alabama. Joseph won the junior varsity (junior high) boys division and our other junior high boy came in 2nd place. Our only junior high girl entry took 3rd place. We had four varsity girls in the top ten and their team came in 2nd place, and we had one varsity boy in the top ten.

Joseph won 3rd place in a photo contest at the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge for a photo of a buckey butterfly he took! He also won first place in an art show at the Prairie Arts Festival in West Point, MS earlier in September in the 7th - 9th grade division!