I'm Going "Under The Knife" - Museum Show

I'm going "Under The Knife"! Super excited to be invited by the Museum of Ventura County to showcase my palette knife portrait work at the Tool Room Gallery thru April, opening reception April 1st. Thank you to my friends at the Museum.

http://venturamuseum.org

 I am thrilled to show this journey I have been on over the last couple of years after randomly picking up the palette knife late one night to see how I could use it in my portrait work.

It was really hard at first being so used to the brush, especially painting sitters from life. I didn't want the work to look slap-dash with that knife, but kind of refined. I stuck with it.  I have got faster and more accurate painting from life with that knife.  I chose to paint people who told a life story in some way, about not only theirs but mine. Close acquaintances and also people whose story had moved me. 

Most of all I feel I am 'home" with that palette knife. I will never now put it down.

Mark your calendars for the opening night April 1st!  Would love to see you there to share in this special and very personal art moment for me.

Under The Knife
By Johanna Spinks
The Museum of Ventura County
Tool Room Gallery thru April 2016

"Sitting Pretty" Museum Portrait Show

Portrait of Howard Boroughs By Johanna Spinks


A touching ribbon cutting celebration today of The Evelyn and Howard Borough's Childrens' Garden at the Museum of Ventura County with Mayor Cheryl Heitman and garden collaborator Barbara Meister. -and of course the fabulous Howard Boroughs. I was so lucky to get to paint this brilliant man.

Thanks also to The Ventura County Star for its'  "Salon to Selfie" article this week featuring my portrait of Howard, currently hanging in the Museum's great "Sitting Pretty" portrait show.

Catch details of this fabulous portrait show here:
http://venturamuseum.org/current-exhibitions-3/

New Museum Portrait Show Coming Up...

Honored to be a judge today at the Museum of Ventura County's upcoming "Face to Face- A Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Portraiture" show, July 11 - September 13 2015. Stay tuned.

Artist TAWK'D

Well it's done. My Face of Ventura project artist talk at the Museum of Ventura County on Saturday  is now all TAWK"d.

Thanks to everyone who came. It meant the world It was a wonderful warm revisit with some old and new friends. A great memory  I won't forget. Grateful to be on this art journey.

Ventura mayor, the lovely Cheryl Heitmann  attends the talk standing near her portrait sketch

Anna Bermudez, Curator of Collections, Museum of Ventura County, introduces my talk.

A great warm crowd - THANK YOU everyone. Blessed.

I'm Talking At The Museum!

I am honored to be invited by the Museum of Ventura County to do an 'artist's talk' this Saturday, April 26th,   at 1 p.m.

Join me?

My 'Face of Ventura' project is on exhibit at the MVC until May 18th. The talk will take place near the sketches which are now in the permanent collection of MVC.

http://venturamuseum.org/current-exhibitions-3/mvc-current-exhibitions/

The Face of Ventura By Johanna Spinks
58 portrait sketches all painted from life in a single sitting. No photos used.
Each sitter was featured in The Ventura Breeze and on The Lyn Fairly and Friends Radio Show over a two year period.

I'm In The Museum!

Super excited to announce my Face of Ventura project, a collection of 58 portrait sketches painted from life, is a current exhibit at the Museum of Ventura County until May 18th.

http://venturamuseum.org/current-exhibitions

I will be doing an Artist Talk Saturday April 26th at 1p.m. Come join me at the Museum?

Thanks to the Museum of Ventura County, which now owns the collection, all of the sitters, co-creator Sheldon Brown publisher of The Ventura Breeze, which featured the sketches and sitters' life stories over a two year period, Lyn Fairly of The  Lyn Fairly and Friends Radio Show, who interviewed each sitter, and Bonnie Weigel, CEO of FOOD Share for sponsoring the collection's first showing.

http://www.foodshare.com

I couldn't have done it without you.

My Portrait At the Museum of Ventura County

How I love this MAN
Mr. Howard Boroughs
Now in his 100th Year
Portrait By Johanna Spinks
The Museum of Ventura County 100th Year Birthday Show
The Face Of Ventura By Johanna Spinks, Collection.

100 kisses to Mr.Howard Boroughs, seen here next to my portrait of him last night at the Museum of Ventura County's 'Celebrating a Century' birthday bash. Great night. Great show "Prized Possessions: A Century of Collecting".

More to follow...