Paul Rowlett: Artist of the Month Dec 14 - Jan 10

I am currently a student at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. I will be graduating in May with a BFA in graphic design. The majority of my work consists of illustrating a layout for a company then designing the layout on the computer using tools such as Adobe Creative Suite. I work not only with illustration, but also on the computers. I have created many digital works which include videos, graphic layouts, animations, and websites.

My preferred medium for an illustration is charcoal and conté but I also like to use colored pencil, graphite, and cut paper. Within these works, I like to incorporate expressive mark making to enhance the visual affect. The majority of my work consists of images of the outdoors, nature, and people. Some main themes I tend to gravitate towards are hunting, fishing, the country life style, and American military service. As a designer, I emphasize the ability to easily understand and comprehend my work. When I design, I focus on simplicity. The viewer should be able to immediately understand what I am trying to communicate through the design.

I worked on an internship this past semester for CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocate, in Seward. I designed three brochures, two fliers, and their Fall newsletter. I learned a lot about working with clients and how to deal with constantly changing needs and preferences.

At the end of each year Concordia holds a student show exhibiting the best work created that year. I had a number of pieces selected in 2009, 2010, and 2011. I have had two works shown in the New Generation International Exhibition Show in Seol, Korea in 2010. The show was exhibiting work from all around the world and published a book of all the works shown. I exhibited a work in the AIGA Nebraska Annual Design Competition in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 I showed a work in the Cheyenne County Art Guild’s Spring Show. I showed four works at the Cheyenne County Fair in 2009 and in this past fair I showed five works.

Thanks for this honor and I hope you enjoy my work.

Paul Rowlett

See Paul's art works at the Cheyenne County Community Center and the Sidney Public Library until January 10, 2012

CCAG Meeting: Dec. 12 "Simple Pleasures"

Merry Christmas!!!
Hope you're enjoying this beautiful time of year.  It's a time to reflect on, and enjoy the "Simple Pleasures" in life. 

The next CCAG meeting, "Simple Pleasures", will be held Dec. 12, at the Cheyenne County Community Center starting at 7:00 p.m.  Feel free to invite a guest.

Share in the fun - bring a "white elephant" gift to exchange.  This will take the place of our regular program.  Also, please bring a favorite dessert to share.  (and the recipe)

Art Teasers drawn for this month were:  Sunset, Z, Look thru a window, Seasons, Secondary colors, and Fear.  Have fun!!!

Hope to see you there - Stay Warm!!!
Sheila Phelps, CCAG President

Paul G. Adkinson Artist of the Month Nov 15 - Dec15

The Cheyenne County Art Guild has selected Paul Adkinson as Artist of the Month.  Adkinson is a founding member of the CCAG and is a role model for the entire membership.  He is a self-taught artist who learned to paint by reading books, experimenting, and taking workshops by nationally recognized artists.  His enthusiasm for learning new painting techniques and for the love of painting is contagious.

        Imagination plays a big part in Adkinson's paintings, collages, and photography.  He will see or read something or someone will say something that will spark an idea for a painting or an altered photographic artwork.  His artwork evokes emotions in viewers and helps them remember events and good times.  "Art should give the viewer a sense of feeling," Paul said.  He believes that people " experience the sense of imagination, beauty, wonder, and feeling that went into the creative process of an artworks, no matter the medium or the subject."

Paul's artwork has been displayed at the Governor's Mansion in Lincoln; the North American Arts Association Regional Invitational Exhibit in Denver; the Artel State Show in Omaha; the Art and Gift Gallery, North Platte; and the Nebraska Gallery, Bayard; to name a few.

                                                           Paul's artwork has also won many awards including the Museum of Nebraska Art's Purchase Award at the 2009 Association of Nebraska Art Clubs' conference in Kearney.  His watermedia painting titled "Winter's End" is now part of the permanent collection at MONA.  He also won Best of Show at the CCAG Spring art Show with a creative photograph called "Sniffle Bridge".  Previous other honors include Grand Champion in Photography and Grand Champion in Art at the Cheyenne County Fari in '07, the People's Choice Award at the '07 CCAG Spring Show, and the Audrey Towater Award for Colored Photography at the West Nebraska Arts Center's '07 Photography Competion in Scottsbluff.

Paul Adkinson's collage "The Pillars of Life" can be seen at the Sidney Public Library.  Other works of art by Paul can be seen at the Cheyenne County Communtiy Center until December 15, 2011

CCAG Meeting: November 14 "A Thankful Harvest"

Greetings!!!
     The next CCAG meeting, "A Thankful Harvest", will be Nov. 14, at the Cheyenne County Community Center starting at 7:00 p.m.  Milly Elwell well be giving a presentation - drawing still life.  Bring a piece of fruit, veggie, or other interesting piece to draw.  Also, please bring a nonperishable food item to be donated to the local food bank.  Chuck and Milly are host/hostess.
     Art Teasers drawn for this month were:  The golden mean of composition, bales in a meadow, Christmas and babies, shiny, Easter, and billiant sunshine.
     Pat meick is currently featured as "Artist of the Month".  See her art at the Sidney Library, the Community Center, and in the posting below.

Sincerely,
Sheila Phelps,  CCAG President

Pat Meick Artist of the Month Oct 20 - Nov 15

See her work at the Sidney Public Library and the Cheyenne County Community Center

October 20 - November 15

Cheyenne County Art Guild member Pat Meick of Gurley has been chosen Artist of the Month.  Meick's favorite media is oil painting, but she is an accomplished award-winning artist creating artwork in various media.  She enjoys working in pencil, colored pencil, watercolor, pastels, and experimenting with any media.  "I have found it very interesting and challenging to find the technique and results of the different media," she stated.  Therefore, she has enjoyed taking many workshops and trying the warm, cool, lights, darks, blending, and mixing - all evolving to come together to make a picture of her own.

Meick has served as Vice President and Treasurer of the CCAG as well as served on various guild committees throughout the years.  In addition she has benefited the Gurley community with her interest and skills and is currently working with the Gurley Centennial Committee.  She also has instructed and encouraged the Girl Scouts from Gurley with their yearly special art project.

She recently enjoyed a tour through a bronze foundry in Loveland, CO, and Fall Colors Tour up Pourdre Canyon for research for future artistic endeavors.  Meick is currently working on tole paintings for Christmas. 

Her artwork has been on exhibit and won awards at various art shows including the Cheyenne County Fair, Holyoke, CO Art Show, Carnegie Art Center in Alliance, NE, the McCook Community College Show, McCook, NE, Scottsbluff Art Gallery, the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs show, the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Art Competition, the Yuma Art Show, Yuma, CO, and the CCAG Spring Art Show in Sidney, NE.

Pat Meick's water color painting "Iris" is on display at the Sidney Public Library.  The public is encouraged to view this fine artwork.  In addition, more of her fine paintings may be viewed at the Cheyenne County Community Center through November 15, 2011

CCAG Meeting: October 10, 7:00 p.m. Community Center

The next meeting of the CCAG will be Oct 10, at the Community Center starting at 7:00.  "White on Black" is the theme for this month.  Ron Nordyke will be doing a presentation - "White on Black"
 

Message from Ron:

"If you have a white charcoal pencil &/or some dark grey or black paper that would be fine.   Otherwise I plan on having wharever we need.   I'm also bringing chrome, glass, and metal objects which work the best for this project.   If anyone has "special" objects of this type that they prefer to draw for this project that's great.    Thanks,   Ron"

I you didn't make it to the last meeting, Amy introduced a cool guild project - "The Star Spangled Banner".  She still has several verses left and will have those at our Oct 10th meeting for anyone who would like to participate.

Hope to see you on the 10th!!!

Sheila Phelps:  CCAG President

P.S.  The art teaser words drawn for the month are

• Plants
• Deep Purple
• Concert
• Limited by Night
• Wizard of Oz
• Clocks or Watches

"Art is the window to the soul"

ANAC Traveling Show

Sidney Public Library from Oct 1 - Oct 22
ANAC (Association of Nebraska Art Clubs) was created in 1965.  It is the only state organization in the United States that joins art clubs throughout the state into one club.  ANAC clubs host a convention every year in June.  Artwork selected from the spring shows across the state are displayed, and a nationally known artist judges and awards selected work to be displayed across the state in the traveling shough throughout the year.

CCAG member Nancy Dee's artwork was selected to be a part of the ANAC traveling show.  See her work, and the work of other talented arts from across the state at the Sidney Public Library.

There are 39 Nebraska art clubs that belong to ANAC
ANAC Website

Sad News

Dear CCAG members:
Frances Campbell passed away Sunday, September 25, 2011.  Her funeral will be Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 11 AM at the Methodist Church in Kimball, Nebraska.  A memorial will be sent to her family in her honor from the CCAG.

For those who did not know Frances, she was a very well-known artist whose watercolor and acrylic paintings won many significant awards.  Many of her murals and large paintings are found in public places in the panhandle of Nebraska.  (I think the Kimball County Court House and the hospital in Scottsbluff and maybe many more places.)  She gave watercolor/acrylic workshops, She served as a board member of the Halsey Fall Art Workshops, and was a core figure in the art movement in a large regional area.  She served on different boards/committees in her Kimball community, too.  She was a joy to be around and a was a very delightful and inspiring individual. She will be greatly missed.

At one time Frances was also a member of the Cheyenne Artists' Guild in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Sheila Phelps Artist of the Month Sept 22 - Oct 20

Sheila Phelps selected as
CCAG Artist of the Month
See her work at the Sidney Public Library and the Cheyenne County Community Center 
Sept 22 - Oct 20  Sheila works primarily in oils.

Artist Biography:

From the time of my childhood growing up on my great grandfather’s homestead near Crofton, Nebraska, a love of the land and a deep respect for the awesome power of nature was engrained in me. My roots were firmly planted in the prairie soil of northeast Nebraska, and my journey into the world of art began by watching Mom. I remember several occasions where my sister and I followed Mom to the banks of the Missouri River where she set up her easel and spent the afternoon painting. I was fascinated by how she could transform a flat blank canvas into a beautiful work of art—She could work magic with a bit of paint and a brush. I took a couple art classes in high school, but when it came time to choose a career path, science, coupled with my passion for teaching, was the road I took.

With a teaching certificate in science education in hand I moved to Sidney, NE in 1981. I met my husband Gary, a local wheat farmer. We built a house and moved to his family farm east of Peetz, CO. I knew that this was where I would put down my own prairie roots.

Now several years later, after raising two children, and teaching science for nearly 30 years, I’m renewing my love of oil painting. I’m a work in progress, inspired by the vastness of this big-sky world I live in. I hope to continue in the footsteps I followed as a child watching Mom as I set up my own easel on top of my prairie roots.

Artist Statement:
"If you don't try - you won't know you can...."  

(Words of wisdom from my mom)

Some samples of Sheila's oil painting not on display.  Painted as gifts for family members.

(Click on image for a larger view)

"A Toy Boat" (36" x 24")

Based on a painting by Henri-Jacques Bource, (Belgian 1826 – 1899).

"At the Beach"  (18 x 24)

"Panning for Gold"  (18" x 24")

Sam and Louis on vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Albers in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Don't think they found much gold, but they sure had a good time.  (painted spring 2010)

See more of her art at:  "Sheila's Art - My Little Corner of the Universe"

Sept. 29th Bronze Casting and "Catch the Colors" Loveland, CO

People signed up

Hank Jessen: 
Ben Ramsey: 
Sabra Dickey:
Danielle Dickey: 
Pat Meick: 
Gail Dykman: 
Judy McElroy:

Itinerary:

Leave Sidney WalMart parking lot (south end)  at 6:30 a.m It's about a 3 hour drive

I-80 west to I-25 south then west on hwy 34 to Loveland

Tour Bronze Services:  will be doing four pours starting at 8:00 then 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00

• Website:  http://www.bronzeservicesofloveland.com/
• Phone number:  (970) 667-2723  talk to Kim
• Address:  140 2nd Street S.E.  Loveland, CO           

Tour Art Casting of Colorado: Time to still be determined - will let you know ASAP!!!

• Website:  http://www.artcastings.com/intro.html
• Phone number:  (970) 667 - 1114
• Address:  511 8th St. S.E.  Loveland, CO

Lunch at Benson Park:  Bring a sack lunch and enjoy the bronze sculptures

• Website:  http://www.sculptureinthepark.org/
• Address  2908 Aspen Drive   Loveland, CO

"Catch the Colors"

• Drive up HWY 34 to Estes Park, CO  (The other option is drive up Pourdre Canyon west of Fort Collins on HWY 14)  The aspen should be in full color or nearly so.  Great photo ops or just a time to enjoy the beauty of nature. 

Supper in Fort Collins

• Fort Collins offers a wide range of excellent places to eat.  There are a couple micro-brewerys in "Old Town"  I would suggest "Coopersmiths"  http://coopersmithspub.com/ pretty reasonable and a lot of fun.  Along College Avenue, there are several good places to eat.  There is an Applebees at 4306 S. College.  Since I will not be able to go along, (VERY SAD - have to work that day)   I'll leave that up to you.

Home:   Have no idea what time, but hopefully before midnight. 

Enjoy the day!!!

Hank Jessen Artist of the Month August - Sept 10

Hank Jessen is a prolific artist sometimes completing as many as 15 artworks a year in oil, acrylic, and watercolor.  His favorite subject matter is landscape, whether it is landscapescenes on his farm, his backyard, or the many travels that he and his wife, Joyce, enjoy throughout the year.

Jessen also paints flowers and people and has honed his skills by taking many

workshops throughout the years given by local and nationally recognized artists.  He has also taken classes through the Autumn Art Workshops in Halsey, NE and classes through Western Nebraska Community College.

As an active member of the Cheyenne County Art Guild for over twenty years, he has  exhibited his award-winning artwork at the CCAG’s Annual Spring Members’ Show for many years.  His art has also been exhibited for many years at the Carnegie Art Center in Alliance, NE, the Holyoke, CO and Yuma, CO Art Shows, the Dalton Fall Festival, the Cheyenne County Fair, the Cheyenne County Community Center in Sidney, the Association of Nebraska Art clubs Annual Conference, and many other places.

           
Jessen served as President of the CCAG in 2004-05 and continues to serve on various art committees and be an enthusiastic, participating member of the CCAG.  He also serves as the guild’s Historian.

Hank Jessen’s paintings are on display at the Sidney Public Library and the Cheyenne County Community Center through September 10, 2011.  The public is encouraged to view this fine artwork.

Margaret Evans Artist of the Month April - May

     The Cheyenne County Art Guild has announced its April “Artist of the Month,” Margaret Ann Evans.
Evans has been an Art Guild member for two years, and has chosen to dedicate her showing at the Sidney Library to her mother, Betty, who passed away in January.  Her mother fostered her photography skills, often reminding Evans to bring the camera when she visited the farm. Evans became the family photographer.
     As a child, Evans’ interest in art developed through drawing, and after enrolling in high school art classes, she learned to work with various media, including oils, colored pencil, pastel, watercolor and ink. Oils and pencils were her favorite to use.
Those are now skills she hasn’t used in about 20 years, as she keeps her artistic creations in the realm of photography.
     Sometime around 1972, Evans bought a Kodak 110 pocket camera for her dad on Father’s Day. Although he didn’t use it, he thought someone should and allowed Evans to take photos. Her grandfather shared an interest in photography, and he showed her how to use the camera. Fondly, she remembers his advice to hold her breath while pushing the shutter button, so the camera wouldn’t shake and cause a blurry photo.
     Following the failure of the Kodak 110 during a NASCAR stock car racing event in 1981, she saved her money and bought a Canon AE-1 35mm camera. It didn’t take her long to discover the superiority of the 35mm format over the 110, and soon she was taking more than just snapshots.She subscribed to a few photography magazines, which taught her some of the tricks of the craft and helped her take better photos.
When digital cameras swept the market by storm, Evans switched to the new format and said she hasn’t looked back at film since. She said digital allows her the freedom to take hundreds of photos, to practice her craft and discover how to create the image she’s looking for. Her current favorite digital cameras are the Panasonic FZ18 and FZ20.
     Evans has entered her photography in the Cheyenne County Fair and has won a few ribbons for her shots. She also entered a few photos in the 2010 and 2011 Cheyenne County Art Guild Annual Spring Shows. In 2010, she took a digital photography class at Western Nebraska Community College and has noticed a difference in her photos. Four of 10 photos she submitted to the WNCC “Emerging Voices” Journal of Literature and Art publication were published.