CHEYENNE COUNTY ART GUILD SELECTS J. I. MC ELROY AS ARTIST OF THE MONTH
Born and raised on Nebraska cattle ranches, J. I. McElroy has a
great love and respect for nature, wide-open spaces, and the natural interplay
between the land & its inhabitants.
These are depicted almost exclusively in her artwork, which is
accomplished in a realistic style.
What makes her paint or draw a particular subject can vary. Sometimes she is so awed with a scene or its colors that she tries to
preserve it on paper or canvas and share that scene with anyone who might have
missed it! Other times she is so
delighted with all the lights and darks, smooth and rough textures, and so
forth, that she is compelled to see if her eyes can see it all and if her hands can
record it. "Sometimes," McElroy said, "I simply try to
pass on the humor, wholesomeness, and wonder of people, animals, and events
that I am encountering on life’s highways.
What a joy!"
Another
joyful experience to her through art is being a member of the Cheyenne Co. Art Guild,
the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs, the Ogallala Art Society, and the
American Plains Artists. She
said that she is thankful
for the many friendships and learning opportunities that she is enjoying
through her association with these great organizations, the people in
them, and through
art in general.
McElroy's favorite
medias are watercolor, acrylic, and graphite pencil & charcoal. "Usually the scene I see, the humidity in the
air or lack thereof, the sun’s position in the sky, or the mood of the scene
will tell me which media I want to use to try to take that real-life scene and
put it down on a two-dimensional surface," she said.
Sometimes after working with color for quite a while she thinks it is just a wonderful
vacation as well as a challenge to work in black and white again with graphite
pencils and charcoal. She likes the
challenges presented by each media.
Challenges are one of the many
things she likes about art. For McElroy the
first challenge presented is being brave enough to put that first stroke of
pencil or paint onto the new blank sheet of paper or canvas. The next major challenge is to keep going
with a painting or drawing when she hits a halfway point in its progress where
things are developing, but still not very pretty—when she wonders whether to keep
painting or throw it away and start over. And the final challenge for her is to know when the painting is
done--when that final little touch-up is the last one the painting needs. The
whole process is a challenge to her, and yet one she considers to be so
educational and so much fun while seeing how the artwork develops. "If in the end I like it, then that is
good," McElroy stated, "and if someone else likes the artwork
and it gives him or her pleasure to look at it, then that is extra special!
Her artwork and/or prints or cards
may be seen at Sidney Feed, Sidney; soon at Art at Lodgepole Creek; Price
Gallery & Framing, Valentine, NE; her studio-gallery, The Bunkhouse,
southeast of Gurley; and in public and private collections internationally. Upcoming shows and exhibits in 2015 include
the CCAG Spring Art Show in March, Sidney; Ogallala Art Society Show in April
at the Meadowlark Gallery in Grant, NE and at the Petrified Wood Gallery in
September in Ogallala; the American Plains Artists 30th Annual
Juried Show, August-October, at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln, NE; a
Featured Artist Show at the Most Unlikely Place in Lewellen in October; and the
2Shot Goose Hunt Art Show in December in Torrington, WY.
McElroy's artwork has won many awards at various times
including Best of Show and People’s Choice at the Cheyenne County Art Guild’s
Spring Show; the Third Place Award, Award of Excellence, and the Purchase
Award at the international American Plains Artists Juried Exhibit & Sale in
Midland, TX and Lincoln, NE; many First, Second, and Third Place awards at the
Holyoke Art Show, Cheyenne County Fair, Wray Art Show and Yuma, Colorado Art
Show, and several others. The best
award to her is when someone likes and connects with her artwork!
