April 2015 edition of plumage tx magazine

PLUMAGEPLUMAGEPLUMAGE---TXTXTX Art Magazine

April 2015 Issue

Bill Scheidt

Interview with the Boerne

Artist & Horse Farrier

Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events

FREE

Richard Riverin

Chemistry Painter

Russell Stephenson

“Dreamachine” Series

Boerne Parade of Artists

Parade of Artists

2015

Jorge Jorge Jorge

RodríguezRodríguezRodríguez---

Gerada Gerada Gerada

Terrestrial Portraits in San Antonio

PLUMAGEPLUMAGEPLUMAGE---TXTXTX

FEATURES April 2015 Issue No. 2

28 Richard Riverin

A Chemist turned

businessman makes his own

paint, his story, life, and

inspirations.

32 Bill Scheidt

A Boerne Western Art and

Wildlife painter shares his

story—Question and An-

swer interview

22 Russell Stephenson

How the ‘Dreamachine’ originally inspired my grid-

based work.

4 / PLUME-TX Magazine Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, April 2015

PLUMAGEPLUMAGEPLUMAGE---TXTXTX

IN THIS ISSUE

14

The Terrestrial portrait series of

Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada and his

portrait in San Antonio

IN EVERY ISSUE

A Note from the Publisher –P.8

On the Cover—P.12

Contributors— P.13

Framing of the Month—P.40

EVENTS

BPA—Parade of Artists, participating

venues, artists and listings—P.3

Social Wrap Up

Thomas Arvid opening and VIP dinner event

pictures —P.44

PLUMAGEPLUMAGEPLUMAGE---TXTXTX Premier April 2015 Issue

PUBLISHER

Gabriel Diego Delgado

Contributing Writers

Gabriel Diego Delgado

Katherine Shevchenko

All artwork photography courtesy of J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art

Prices are for current artwork, and can change at any time

© 2015

JR Mooney Galleries

305 S. Main

Boerne, Texas

78006

830-816-5106

Edited by Gabriel Diego Delgado, Marla Cavin, Katherine , Betty Houston

Design by: Gabriel Diego Delgado

A Note from the Publisher

“ITS OUR SECOND EDITION OF

PLUMAGE-TX MAGAZINE. ANOTHER MONTH OF

RAIN MIXED WITH COLD TEMPERATURES AND WE

ENTER INTO SPRING. THE HILL COUNTRY IS ON THE

VERGE OF ONE OF THE TWO MAJOR EVENTS

HOSTED BY THE BOERNE PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

ASSOCIATION IN APRIL AND SAN ANTONIO IS

WRAPPING UP CONTEMPORARY ART MONTH… A

LOT IS GOING ON IN THE SAN ANTO METRO.”

Again the premise behind this magazine is as follows:

There seems to be a void in the local magazines that

spotlight the individual galleries and museums; their

openings, social programming and artists. PLUMAGE-

TX hopes to use its pages as a vehicle to educate,

entertain and enlighten our audience on a variety of

topics ranging from reviews, news, artist narratives,

interviews, criticism and a cohort of other art related stories from within the gallery walls to

the major metro centers. I hope you find this informative and hope you continue to follow

the artistic happenings around you in your local neighborhoods.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Diego Delgado, Publisher

[email protected]

[email protected]


On the Cover

The picture that graces the cover of the April

2015 edition of Plumage-TX magazine was

taken along Main St. in Boerne, TX. Boerne is

full of historical buildings, dilapidated barns,

reclaimed architecture and a rich history of

German immigrant stories. Shown is the

remnants of an old barn structure right by the

community library box and the Nature Store.

Be sure to pay close attention when walking

down the Historic Mile in Boerne, Texas... be

sure to look down all the alleys, behind

buildings and around corners; surprises

await .


Contributors

Katherine Shevchenko has attended the San Francisco Academy of Art University and the University of Texas at San Antonio where she received her Fine Arts Degree with an emphasis in Painting. Her experience ranges from interning as a curatorial assistant at Southwest School of Art to teaching art to students of

all ages. Currently, she is an art consultant/framing designer at the J.R. Mooney Gallery in Boerne. Some of her contributions include writing articles, hosting and editing the J.R. Mooney podcast, "Mooney Makes Sense" and art catalog design. She is also an artist that specializes in painting in oils and other media.

Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, April 2015, PLUME-TX Magazine / 13

Gabriel Diego Delgado is the Gallery

Director at J.R. Mooney Galleries of

Fine Art, Boerne, Texas. He has spent

almost a decade in Nonprofit Art

Management- working as a Curator of

Exhibitions at the Station Museum of

Contemporary Art, Houston; Project

Manager of Research and

Development at the Museo Alameda,

a Smithsonian Affiliate, San Antonio;

Community Outreach/ Communications Director for an art and

education nonprofit in Texas and is a working professional artist.

He is a Freelance Curator and Arts Reviewer for several

publications. His artwork has been shown in Arco 2012 Madrid,

Spain; New York, New York, MOCA (Museum of Contemporary

Art) D.C. as well as numerous galleries and venues throughout

the U.S.

By: Gabriel Diego Delgado

Photography by: Arsenio

De Lara & Trinity A. Greer

COVER STORY

Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara

Jorge

Rodríguez-

Gerada International Artist

Completes One of

his Signature

“Terrestrial”

Portraits in San

Antonio

Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada

Nyssa- The Portrait to Represent Us All

Photograph courtesy of: Trinity A. Greer


uddling in the front seat of a loaded down pickup truck filled with miscellaneous

art supplies, tools and papers, Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada and I sit, staring off onto his plotted

out parking lot pattern to talk about his larger than life, “Terrestrial Series” portrait he

completed in San Antonio for Contemporary Art Month (CAM). Painted directly onto the

back parking lot of the Christopher Columbus Italian Society, located at 201 Piazza Italia,

Rodríguez-Gerada explains the premise and inspirations behind his larger than life

horizontal portraits.

As a personal guest of former VIA and Museo Alameda Chairman, Owner of Muñoz and

Company and political advocate Mr. Henry Muñoz, Rodríguez-Gerada explained his journey

to San Antonio and beyond. “I first met Henry at the Smithsonian Gallery National Mall

where I was doing a male portrait titled, ‘Out of Many, One’, which was composed on six

acres of land next to the Reflecting Pool and by the National World War II Memorial. Henry

saw the work, liked what I was doing and we were familiar with each other from other

meetings at the annual Miami Basel art exhibition, so he invited me down to San Antonio to

commission me to do some artwork inspired by the people of San Antonio and their own

unique diversity. Henry is so passionate for his city and its people, that it was a project I

knew I wanted to be a part of,” he says.

Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada’s signature portraits are often acres long and wide, visually seen in

whole only by satellite imagery, drone photography or multi-storied building views. A sort

of “contemporary portraiture” that pushes the limitations of traditional portraits, Rodríguez

-Gerada’s wants the audience to experience his artwork on many levels; from being able to

walk into the artwork, become part of the experience, or see it from above through

photography via online; on our computer and cell phone screens. He feels this is all part of

his artwork, the physical presence of the piece in the surround environments, how people

interact with it and how they perceive it through image.

Born in Santa Clara, Cuba Rodríguez-Gerada and his parents fled the Castro regime and

ended up in North Plainfield, New Jersey. At 19 he moved to Manhattan and emerged as a

post-graffiti art commentator and social artist. Rodríguez-Gerada dropped out of Jersey

State College to pursue a career in fine arts. He never feared he would need a degree to

achieve his dreams of being a successful artist.

H


“If you shoot for the stars you will at least reach the moon”, he says.

Rodríguez-Gerada had many hardships along the way, including fathering a child with a

severe neurological disorder. Financial strains of this medical condition affected his family.

“Dealing with his condition was a financial whirlwind. Our son was on a cocktail of seizure

medicines which put him in a vegetative state. In Barcelona, Spain I found alternative

treatments for my son, so I moved my family there.”

Once in Barcelona, he took an almost 6 year “hiatus” from art to deal with his family. In

2006 he started to work on some original ideas, pushing the envelope of his previous post-

graffiti, ‘culture-jamming’ social artwork.

“I wanted to push the limits of contemporary portraits,” he says. “These kind of

monumental images are a powerful way to talk about the moments…the moments in time.

Every one of my art pieces are based on a place, and I go to places to tell a story.”

With the “Terrestrial Portrait” of a little girl named Nyssa Gomez, Rodríguez-Gerada

addresses the diverse populations of San Antonio. He explains that there has been a spike

in the births of girls in San Antonio which will have numerical effects for the future of the

city. He is also intrigued by parts of San Antonio that are not delineated by racial divides;

something he sees throughout the world in his travel –Belfast and the Middle East.



He points to a newly poured concrete patch on the parking lot, left of the truck cab.

“There is where archeologists think the first San Antonio settlement was,” he said. “When

you look back in history everything

is interlaced, interlocked with

interchanges of cultures”, he

explains. “I want to celebrate who

we are today… I want to give

homage to that.”

“Nyssa was picked at random, a

sort of artist lottery,” he says.

Rodríguez-Gerada saw Nyssa and

thought her profile reflected an

accurate depiction of the “New San

Antonio.”

“I want you to take away that this portrait can be any little girl, anyone from San Antonio;

enjoy her content gaze, its intent… you can feel she is from a nurtured family, her parents

are engaged with her personal development. I am painting her portrait here at the

beginning of San Antonio - the original settlement.” Her face will be visible from the

highway interchanges to the left of the parking lot downtown and will face the new San

Pedro Creek development project (development headed by Muñoz and Company).

“This is the

future of San

Antonio, facing

the past,” he

explains. “There

is so much

growth in San

Antonio, so much

diversity and it

keeps getting

bigger with more

and more

innovation.”




Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara

As an artist I have a duty to

embrace cultures, there is a need to

reflect, no one gets to choose

where they are born… if we look

deeply, deep down, we are all the

same.”

Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada completed

his San Antonio portrait in three

days and wrapped up his sojourn in

San Antonio with an artist

discussion at the Alameda Theater,

hosted by Muñoz and Company on

Sunday, March 29, 2015.

For more information on Jorge

Rodríguez-Gerada and his large

scale “terrestrial” portraits, visit

www.jorgerodriguezgerada.com.

© Gabriel Diego Delgado Gallery Director

J.R. Mooney Galleries- Boerne

Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara

Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara

http://www.jorgerodriguezgerada.com

Russell Stephenson

COVER STORY

Russell Stephenson New Painting Series

Dominated by the Grid Images courtesy of Russell Stephenson

“Awakening

the Dreamachine” A Conversation with Russell Stephenson

San Antonio based artist, Russell Stephenson has five galleries in Texas that represent his

artwork. Each gallery exhibits a different style or aesthetic; often dictated by the buying

market of regional clientele. In Boerne, Texas, the J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art show-

case his “Texas Panoramic” series; a body of work that is often referred to as abstract

landscapes. However, another series of paintings is gaining traction with collectors – the

“Dreamachine” series. A body of work that is based off the grid pattern, Russell explores

more of the psychedelic nature of overlapping geography.


“An optical stimulation device developed by Brion Gysin termed the ‘Dreamachine’ originally inspired my grid-based work. This device utilizes the physical attributes of a grid pattern that activates sensory hallucinations in your retina while conscious. In each of the rectangles in my work I explore the visual sensory hallucinations. Each work is comprised of several rows and different organizations of the rectangular modules that make up the work, allowing me to explore multiple facets of individual visuals collectively creating a stimulating pattern in and of itself. Over time, and

exploration and contemplation of the grid, I discovered many other associations with the use of the grid in everyday life. Man-made objects and systems are all grid-based which led me to conceptually being able to explore an unlimited wealth of resources in my personal research as to this ‘organizing of and compartmentalizing’ of information.

From urban development plans, pixel based images, cultural symbolism, and even division of farmland, I have been able to rearrange and explore many different uses of the grid-system, and also explore variations of overall color schemes, color uses, anomalies, and optical interactions within our visual spectrum.


I treat each fragment of my grid-based work like an individual piece of art so that I can collectively explore many different ideas at once within a single piece. The patterns are constantly changing based on new inspirations and discoveries. At times, the modular system transitions over into other aspects of my work that are more abstract landscape-based work.

This complexity only provides more ideas to be explored and combined with new techniques and compositions. The nature of the ‘Dreamachine’ is, the more you explore your mind within the device, the more you discover about the optical phenomenon that occurs in the mind’s eye. The nature of the artwork itself mimics this process by bringing the optical stimulations out of the workings of the mind, and into a visual reality represented with physical materials and visual stimuli.”

© Gabriel Diego

Delgado Gallery Director

J.R. Mooney Galleries- Boerne


COVER STORY

COVER STORY

Bill Bill Bill

ScheidtScheidtScheidt

Artist for Conservation

By: Katherine Shevchenko

Photography courtesy of J.R. Mooney Galleries

Bill Bill Bill

ScheidtScheidtScheidt

Artist for Conservation


ildlife/Western artist Bill Scheidt channels his reverence for animals into his art

where he instills a sense of wonder; hoping to communicate a sense of spirituality through

the safeguarding of our natural heritage. Scheidt developed his love for the animal world

growing up on a 1, 300 acre ranch in Bandera County, Texas. He reminisces about sitting in a

deer blind for hours on end, "…Seen all kinds of wild game from golden eagles to javelinas.

Sometimes sitting there from daylight to dark, that's where I kind of got my love for the

wildlife." Unfortunately, discouraged from attending art school, Scheidt had to redirect his

life; spending 4 years in the Navy and then holding down various occupations afterward.

WWW

Primarily a self-taught

artist, Scheidt kept

pursuing his art on the

side during his career as

a farrier (horseshoer)

and horse trainer for 17

years. When

occupational pain

prevented him from

continuing his farrier

career unless he had

surgery, his wife

encouraged him to

pursue his painting full

time. Even though he

admits to having a

"rough start," he was able to begin to fulfill his lifelong desire and finally immerse himself in

his artistry. His art career has spanned close to 30 years, having participated in many

exhibitions locally and nationally. He has been a member of various artist organizations:

American Plains Artists, Artists for Conservation and Oil Painters of America to name just a

few. Most recently he was featured in "Cerebral Dichotomies of the Boerne Dyad," a two

person show at J.R. Mooney Gallery-Boerne with fellow artist Sidney Sinclair.

"Empty Nest" is one of the signature pieces of the "Dichotomies" exhibition that highlights

Scheidt's abilities in capturing the presence and beauty of animals in their natural

surroundings in oil paint on canvas. Portrayed in fantastic detail are a pair of burrowing

owls that are in their element upon the plain, enjoying the vastness after being cooped up

in their underground denizen.

Hanging next to this piece in the

exhibition is the stunning "Pheasant

Fields" which features a pair of

pheasants, accentuating Scheidt's

unmistakable eye in capturing and

observing detail,

…...cont’d on next page


from the teal iridescence on the male pheasant's plumage to the female's delicate feather

striations; this pair stands in unity against a backdrop of windswept grassy fields. In

"Harem Master", the main focal point, bathed in Aurelian light, is a majestic antlered buck

ruling over his "harem". A group of females are in cool shadow in the distance, creating

dramatic contrast; a dichotomy of polarities: male, female; warm, cool; singular, multiple.

Another example of Scheidt's immense capacity for painting nature is "Block Creek Bluff,"

an ode to the wilderness as a lone raptor soars over a rocky cliff side that is nestled amid

brilliant gold treetops: a testament to the magnificent independence and strength of this

solitary creature in his quest for survival amid uncertain terrain.

Scheidt's passion and commitment to the preservation of nature go beyond the subject

matter of his art; he is an active member of Artists for Conservation, a worldwide artist ad-

vocacy organization that contributes percentages of their artwork sales to environmental

causes of the artists' choice.

Scheidt's favorite conservation organization is the local Boerne Cibolo Nature Center, a

conservancy initiative that protects the fragile Cibolo Creek Watershed located in the Texas

hill country. This watershed ranges from north Boerne and continues south for 96 miles

until it joins the San Antonio River, recharging the Edwards and Trinity Aquifers along its

way and is home to many sensitive and threatened species like the Guadalupe Bass and

the golden-cheeked warbler. He exhibits regularly with the Artists for Conservation along

with 500 other signature members, whose art exhibits promote environmental steward-

ship and protecting our natural habitats.


For Scheidt, the inspiration to create may come from a certain light condition or an

experience that will evolve itself from rough pencil sketches to fully finished oil painting.

When asked what sort of response he would like his art to evoke in his viewers, he replies," I

would like something in my art to move them.” Ever humble, he elaborates on the

foundational belief in being an instrument of the Creator, the source that truly guides his art.

"It's not just me doing the work…it's the guy upstairs that's working through my hand, which

makes it what it is; maybe people see that."

© Katherine Shevchenko, Art Consultant

FRAMINGFRAMINGFRAMING

Framing of the Month Framing of the Month

‘Sip & Sign’ ‘Sip & Sign’ ‘Sip & Sign’ with Thomas Arvidwith Thomas Arvidwith Thomas Arvid

Recap with WrapRecap with WrapRecap with Wrap––– Up event picturesUp event picturesUp event pictures

March 13March 13March 13––– 14, 2015, J.R. Mooney Galleries14, 2015, J.R. Mooney Galleries14, 2015, J.R. Mooney Galleries––– Boerne. TX. Boerne. TX. Boerne. TX.

Society Pages

Photography courtesy of : Valarie McCown &

J.R. Mooney Galleries


April 2015 edition of plumage tx magazine

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