August/September Art show Julie’s Alameda

 

PEDESTRIAN VIEWS
new work by Arty Johnstone
THE WORK:
Recent plein air paintings focused on everyday life in the East Bay. Many of the acrylic on wood paintings began with live observation of subjects. Some finished in one sitting, others refined back in the studio while referencing photographs.
ARTIST BIO:

Arty Johnstone is a part-time barista (at Julie’s!), part-time paint sketcher. He roams the street on bike and foot looking for strong views. Originally from Tucson, Arizona, he has lived in Oakland for the last three years. Arty is available for commissions and live portraiture at events.

You can browse more of his work at: http://arthurjohnstone.tumblr.com/
ARTIST STATEMENT:
I approach paintings like a hunter-gatherer setting out with my backpack loaded with the tools necessary to catch the elusive scene. While on a plein air hunt, I bring:
Primed wood panel
Tupperware palette (to keep the paints wet)
Grip of acrylic paint tubes
Several paintbrushes
Paint rag
Jar of potable water (it’s thirsty work)
Jar of paint water (doesn’t taste so great)
Headphones
Cellular device (for audiobooks and photographing)
I am looking to craft a “there-ness.” To capture the scene as it is, as it feels to inhabit it at that point in time. I create these scenes in the hopes that it will stir a reaction of specific placement in the real world. Whether it was hot or overcast, noon or sunset. I strive to achieve a viewer response of “Oh yeah, I’ve been there before.” That being said, there is some trickery that goes into establishing the “mood” of each piece. If I was feeling pumped or groggy, content or overheated, these and other situational factors determine the color palette and the subject treatment.

Show runs through October 10th

June/July Art Show-Lisa Rigby

FOREST AND FOG
by LISA RIGBY

Julie’s Coffee and Tea Garden presents Forest and Fog, a new solo exhibition by Lisa Rigby. Forest and Fog is a collection of new paintings that recreate the haunting beauty experienced amongst the coastal fog and redwood forests of Northern California’s diverse landscape.

OPENING PARTY: July 14th 7-9pm
Show runs June 9th-August 7th

Bio:

Lisa Rigby is an artist currently based in Oakland, CA. Originally from North Carolina, she moved to the Bay Area in 2016 to escape the harsh east coast winters and enjoy the abundance of nature year-round. The bold abstractions that previously defined her style gave way to lush and gestural landscapes after her west coast arrival. A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, MD, Lisa has been exhibiting work professionally since 2008 in group and solo shows across Baltimore, Philadelphia, Greensboro and Oakland.

Artist Statement:

January 2016 marked a new chapter in my life–becoming a Californian. The months that followed seduced me with the natural beauty of the hills, forests and waters in which I am now immersed. Countless hikes yielded constant inspiration, which were followed by many dedicated hours in the studio, working nearby my fellow creatives. I am pleased to share my newest series in Forest and Fog, paintings which explore the diverse Northern California landscape, depicting rolling hillsides, majestic redwood forests, and the sensual fog that engulfs the coastal region in winter.

lisamarierigby.com

March/April Art Show-Ginny Parsons

Damon Slough
new work by Ginny Parsons

An intuitive painter using everything from castoff house paint to peanut butter, Parsons’ recent work focuses on Damon Slough, the part of the bay where most trash gathers.  As seen from a kayak on San Leandro Bay, these landscapes rely on paint left on her Alameda porch, discards from people who care about the earth.

www.ginnyparsons.net

May/June/July Art: Gregory Moore

Acrylic paintings on found objects
by Gregory Moore

ART PARTIES:
Friday May 13, 7:00-9:00 pm
Friday July 8, 7:00-9:00 pm

Gregory Moore’s art making process begins with rummaging through salvage yards and dumpsters in search of discarded metal objects to paint on. He seeks out objects that are unique in their configurations of stains, rust and damage and he lets those characteristics guide each painting, overlaying imagery that integrates and honors the truth of the found object instead of obscuring it. The imagery for this show is drawn from flowers and plants seen while exploring neighborhoods and hiking trails around the Bay Area.

I am interested in what manmade debris tells us about nature of “the outside.” I find pieces of rusted, dented metal and paint on them in a way that doesn’t obscure their original texture and color. Because these scraps have been rejected, they function as a reminder of our collective shadow, and because they undergo processes that our human bodies could not withstand, they bear witness to dramas and stories that go on outside of our daily awareness.

The subject matter I choose is largely informed by the detritus I start with. Often, I evoke or reimagine the scene where decaying trash might be found (a field of red clover, a cluster of thistles). When I began painting
on found objects, the images that emerged were weeds and wildflowers. Now I find myself letting the metal
guide me into more diverse imagery and an eagerness to be increasingly playful with color and imagination.
It is my hope that these works provoke thought about the richness and complexity of elements we might
otherwise ignore. -Gregory Moore

http://gregmooreart.com/

Home Page

camomile_flowersm

March/April Art: Marlene Winell

NOTICING

photographs by Marlene Winell

“Art is such a direct route to presence, and through this photography, I have found aliveness and serenity”

OPENING PARTY:
FRIDAY, MARCH 11th
7:00-9:00PM 

These photographs on paper and canvas are about the Zen of noticing – really noticing details of everyday life.  They consist of found images that are unusual and sometimes beautiful, but not often considered so lovely.  They are often missed because they are in contexts that are very ordinary.

http://fineartamerica.com/artists/marlene+winell

Show runs March 11-May 4, 2016

f8bac7b2-529b-4dbf-ab42-3e1aa72b0c6a

 

 

January/February Art: Jessica Eastburn

Malta
PALPITATIONS
Paintings by Jessica Eastburn

OPENING PARTY
FRIDAY, JANUARY 8TH 7:00-9:00pm
Join us for warming drink specials and good company!

show runs January 8 – March 7, 2016
The Art…
This body of work encompasses paintings on paper and board comprised of arrangements of predominantly abstract forms that interact and intertwine to form all-over compositional patterns.  The works are first drawn out in a kind of freeform association process akin to stream of consciousness writing, only done here with shapes.  The palette is pre-determined, and the shapes are filled in to evoke semi-recognizable allusory connections between the natural world and the painted landscape.  The compositions are meant to be active, fun, and playful with an occasional hint of menace thrown in for good measure.  These paintings are a meditative experience wherein my only concerns are in representing motion, energy and the act of making.
The Artist…
Jessica Eastburn currently lives in Oakland, CA.  She received her BA in Liberal Studies from Portland State University and her MFA in Pictorial Art from San Jose State University.  She was born in the United States in the early 1980’s, and as such, she witnessed the consumerism excess of the end of the 20th century as well as the evolution of the rapidly advancing digital technology which has come to dominate and define contemporary life.  Her work responds to the information overload, which we all face in our daily lives, as she attempts to  channel this abundance into energy and movement.

Jessica’s work has been exhibited throughout the Bay Area as well as nationally. She is the recipient of a Creative Activity Grant from Portland State University and the Young Artist Fellowship from Gallery Route One. In 2014 she participated in the FISART street art festival in Timisoara, Romania. She is also a principle member of the Facing West Shadow Opera Company, which she co-founded with artist Lydia Greer.

 

Julie’s Announces: WEEKENDS UNPLUGGED!

 

images

Starting Jan 2nd 2016
WEEKENDS UNPLUGGED at Julie’s
Saturdays & Sundays 8am-2pm

The wi-fi will be off and the laptops will be put away until 2pm.

We are excited to encourage you to take time away from technology, be with your friends, be with yourself, and be unplugged!

Laptoppers, please come 2pm-7pm on Saturday & Sunday and weekdays any time.
Thanks for supporting our efforts to serve our community…one and all!