POP ART PARTY TOWN: THE
DAZZLING METRO-WORLD OF SONYA PAZ
By Angie Young
“Let’s party!” shouted Sonya
Paz’s multi-hued painting from the wall. Okay, it didn’t audibly scream
it’s lungs out at me, but visually it did. Her bold strokes of
anomalous-shaped brilliant reds, purples, aqua-blues and vibrant
chartreuse arrayed in zany compositions are anything but boring.
Sonya’s creations will suck you into the playful, vibrant world of
cubism and modern art. Singing buildings, sunny blue skies with
whimsical purple and pink clouds, and kinetic musical instruments on
canvas greet those who need a pick-me-up after a day crunching numbers
at the office or changing smelly diapers at home.
This San Jose resident
understands the need to find joy. In fact, her inspired style was born
out of several difficult trials. Sonya didn’t have an art mentor while
growing up to pave the way for her in the art world. Nor did she
connect with the art teachers from her elementary and high school days
due to their overwhelming restrictions. As an adult, she tried
different mediums such as ceramics, enameling and graphic design. Her
skills landed her a job in graphics with Apple Computer, and her art
training would come through in her use of design, composition and
color.
Sonya dabbled again in pop
art in the mid-nineties and in 1996, submitted a series of wild-colored
Lucille Ball portraits, inspired by Andy Warhol, at an art exhibition
at San Jose’s Gordon Biersch Restaurant. However, the daily demands of
family life deterred her to pursue art full-time, and during most of
her adult life she worked in the high-tech sector. When the death of a
family member altered her home life in November of 1999, she dealt with
the unenviable task of dealing with her children’s loss of their dad
and the heart-wrenching ordeal of driving them to grief counseling
sessions. Instead of falling into a deep depression and inhaling Krispy
Kremes, in front of the TV, she took a trip to the art store.
“I felt I needed to express
myself with drawing and painting,” Sonya says, pausing to reflect on
those dark days and her trip to University Art in San Jose. “I went
there and filled up my basket with all brights and acrylics. I figured
the small investment of $300.00 for some paper, canvas, brushes and
paint was a lot cheaper than a counselor for my kids.” She adds with a
chuckle, her Hazel eyes betray no resentment. Nobody can tell by gazing
at her that she endured such an ordeal. The effervescent, petite artist
never allowed the negative circumstance to rob her of creativity. She’s
not a whipped potato.
She experimented with
sketching then got inspired by flipping through her Pablo Picasso books
she bought years ago. She studied videos of her favorite visual pop
artists, such as Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, which she viewed
from A & E. Left-brain thoughts invaded her creative space with
doubts about embarking on an artistic journey in her mid-thirties. She
dismissed those negative notions after viewing documentaries on several
prominent actors, painters and fashion designers who started their
careers in their upper 30’s and early 40’s. So with that in mind, Sonya
ventured further out in Pop art, fully expressing her emotions in
intense acrylic colors.
Sonya opened up her doors to
the public at the Silicon Valley Open Studios in 2001. During that
event, she met two artists, Kerri Lawnsby and Jen Norton, who have
become a great support to her as an artist. She often displays her
paintings in the Bay Area at local coffee shops, restaurants and at art
fairs, where she can see first-hand how others view her work. “People
respond to my artwork because it is positive and fun,” says Sonya. What
makes her paintings distinctive from other pop art works is the
marriage of the sophisticated cosmopolitan motif to the happy,
free-spirited vacation-type themes in her designs.
“My first big, real break
came—at a 30-piece show at the Willow Glen Roasting Company in February
2001. That was a great experience. A lot of people showed up.” She sold
six pieces and received three commissions; thus encouraging her to
pursue her dream of becoming a full-time pop artist. The road ahead
offered many challenging situations for her but she stuck it out and
continued to paint a variety of metropolitan scenes in whimsical
styles. Some criticized her strong use of color, but she ignored the
negative comments and kept making her art and marketing it as much as
possible.
Her efforts paid off. In the
following months, Sonya’s work got the attention of the City of San
Jose and she was asked to participate in the San Jose Shark Byte Art
project in late 2001, creating two painted fiberglass shark sculptures
for public display. She also met Mark Kovich, her significant-other and
business partner, who supports her art and helps her market it. Sonya’s
two sons are also very proud of their mother’s career.
Over the years, she has
honed her craft and developed an exceptional style in modern art mixed
with cubism. Her titles often are a play on words, and as inspired as
her art. One piece, entitled “Water Flirtation,” came to her when she
wondered what water looks like if it could flirt or fall in love. So,
she painted a blue heart in bold blues and purples with a stylish
flair. Sometimes a mundane trip to the grocery store will inspire Sonya
to begin a series of paintings. On one errand to the market, she saw a
stack of yellow bell peppers arranged artistically in a pyramid in the
produce aisle. The painting of “Sweet Peppers in The Big City” was
born.
As a young girl, not only
being an artist captivated Sonya’s heart, but she desired to run her
own business some day. The dynamic fashion designer Coco Chanel
impressed the diminutive brunette by her energetic personality,
relentless drive and creative zeal. Chanel was a tomboy in nature,
although she designed women’s apparel. Because of Sonya’s
entrepreneurial skills, her paintings have shown up outside the San
Francisco Bay area as far away as New York City. In addition to her
traveling exhibitions, Sonya’s fun, expressive metro-scenes are the
poster art for several art festivals: The Palo Alto Festival of the
Arts that already took place on August 28-29, 2004 and the renown
outdoor festival in Sausalito.
The Palo Alto Festival was a
success for Sonya; I stopped by her booth on Sunday, August 29th and
people were buying her artwork. I purchased a couple of items,
including the festival t-shirt with her signature design. My husband
and I had a great time schmoozing with Sonya and her friendly, sales
team at the crowded show. I just learned from her that she has an art
fair in Mountain View the following weekend. She’s quite a busy girl
selling her stuff everywhere and I can understand why. Sonya’s
impeccable smile and exuberant personality makes people feel welcomed
when they visit her booth. Her playful demeanor reflects the paintings
that are festooned on the walls around her.
She also created the t-shirt
and poster design for the prestigious Sausalito Art Festival.
“Splashing About in Sausalito” is the name of this national event and
it’s scheduled over this Labor Day weekend. This famous outdoor affair
drew roughly 1300 artists’ submissions and only 270 of them qualified
this year. She got selected this year and she’s thrilled about it.
That’s just the beginning for her. Eventually she’d like to see her
fun-loving creations in major cities throughout the nation and, of
course, the rest of the world. Her dream is to own a “Sonya Paz Fine
Art” gallery in the future.
Sonya is not afraid of hard
work, and her success proves it. She’s one bold lady and the energetic,
fun-loving artist says, “I have a paintbrush and I know how to use it!”
So watch out art world, here comes the creator of fine art with a
celebrative twist. To find out more about her artwork and her upcoming
gigs, check her website www.sonyapaz.com.
Insights from Collector J.
Michael Bewley
By Kerri Lawnsby,
Executive Director
His love of collecting
art began with two paintings: his mother’s high school art pieces. They
followed the family with every move, appearing on the wall as a subtle
reminder of the importance of art. That underlying message stuck with
J. Michael Bewley, and in college at Princeton University the history
major took an art appreciation class. He found himself enjoying the
lectures, and discovered an aptitude for recognizing styles of
different artists, and characteristics of art movements throughout the
ages. So much did he enjoy this experience that he tried his hand at
studio art the next year, learning to paint still life subjects and
drawing the figures of nude models.
You may think this is the
story of an emerging artist, but in fact it’s about a passionate art
collector. “I looked around the room in that art class, and it was
clear that some people were gifted. Truly gifted,” said Michael. “I new
I could train myself to be an adequate painter. But I would never be
able to execute my ideas at the level I would want.”
This realization didn’t
depress Michael; it liberated him. “It gave me freedom,” he said,
“Freedom to enjoy a painting for its emotional impact, without being
distracted by thinking about whether or not I could accomplish the work
of the artist.”
After graduating from
Princeton University, Michael decided to pursue a career as a lawyer,
and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona Law
School. Although he chose the path of law, he never lost his passion
for fine art. Years after graduating from law school, Michael purchased
his first painting.
“It was an unusual
confluence of events,” said Michael. An artist his mother suggested
turned out years later to be the very first artist Michael collected.
“I didn’t pay any real attention to my mother’s recommendation,” he
said, “but years later I was walking past a gallery window in Laguna
Beach and saw this painting.” It stopped him in his tracks. But he was
with some legal clients on business, and could not go into the gallery
at that time. Over lunch with his clients, trying to discuss the legal
matters at hand, he could not get the painting out of his mind; he was
captured by it. His clients remarked at how distracted Michael seemed
to be; he admitted he just could not get that painting out of his mind.
He had to see it again. When Michael returned to the gallery after
lunch, he discovered that the artist of the painting was the same one
his mother recommended.
“I bought the painting.
And it was beyond my means at the time,” he said, “but the money didn’t
matter. It felt right.” Energized by this first art purchase, Michael
wanted to find out everything he could about the artist. He found
gallery books published with the artists’ paintings, researched the
artists’ early work, and visited with the artist in his studio. Later,
he identified works he wanted to collect, and found the current owners
through the gallery that represented the artist.
Now J. Michael Bewley
owns 150-200 artworks by many different artists in a variety of media.
“It’s hard to keep track of them,” he said, and yet he still scouts the
world for new artworks for his home and law office. When asked where he
stores his flourishing collection, he said, “I just keep getting rid of
furniture.”
Although Michael said he
does not have a set annual budget for art, he does have “an acute
awareness of the level of pain” when making acquisitions. “I hand pick
each piece myself, wrestling with the decision to purchase every time,”
said Michael. “My collection is a labor of love.”
Michael’s Tips for
Emerging Collectors
Living in Silicon Valley,
with the nature of the work being done here, Michael said he often
meets people who like to know all the facts before making a decision.
And they apply this precise decision-making strategy to art. But
Michael feels that doing this can “tamper with the pure passion of
collecting art.”
His number one
recommendation for emerging collectors is:
Jump in and become a
collector! Don’t over-intellectualize buying the first piece of art.
Heed your passion. It will be empowering for you.
Other tips:
-
View many works of
art
See more art than anyone else, and by looking, become knowledgeable.
Educate yourself about the history of art, the movements that led to
contemporary art. Michael scouts for art in many ways:
-
Pay attention to
your reactions
The first few seconds of seeing an artwork are critical; pay attention
to your reactions and emotions.
-
Be patient
Finding an artist whose work you like is exciting, but be aware if the
work is not “there” yet. Like fine wine, artists’ skills are honed over
time, producing more eloquent works as they age. “Bide your time,” said
Michael, and track the artist’s work as it evolves. Do not be taken
aback if an artist you like goes through a period where you don’t think
the work is good; wait it out.
-
Don’t sweat the
price
When you’ve seen a lot of art, you’ll get a sense of pricing. Before
you have this experience, go with your feelings—If you love it, buy it!
If you’re concerned about pricing incongruities, purchase from
galleried artists. Most galleries keep pricing consistent to protect
the value of artists’ work.
Michael’s Tips for
Artists
About J. Michael Bewley
J. Michael Bewley is a
passionate collector of cutting edge contemporary art. He travels the
United States and Europe looking for art, and collects work by emerging
artists as well as mid-career and established artists. By profession,
J. Michael Bewley is an employment lawyer with a law firm in downtown
San Jose. He displays many works from his collection in his office,
which has been toured by museum groups from the San Francisco Museum of
Modern Art, The Stanford Art Museum and the San Jose Museum of Art.
J. Michael Bewley
received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and his
Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona Law School, where he
received the International Trial Lawyer’s Award for Distinguished
Advocacy. He currently serves on the Collections Committee of the San
Jose Museum of Art.
Movements in Art: Cubism to
Pop Art
By Therese May
“Avant Garde” in art means
some artists go before, explore new ideas and open pathways for others
to follow. There have been many movements in the history of art, where
certain artists ignited controversial ideas; others were influenced by
their innovations in painting or sculpture and began to explore their
own versions of new ideas. The art movement before Cubism was Impressionism.
Impressionism was concerned with natural light and the movement of
time. French painter Paul
Cezanne, who in 1904 began constructing his paintings using the
basic shapes of cone, cylinder and sphere was the bridge between
Impressionism and Cubism. He was called the Founder of Modern Painting.
Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque had a tremendous influence on 20th
Century art by painting in a way that departed from traditional picture
making. They stopped using perspective, foreshortening and modeling.
They painted objects and figures from all angles simultaneously; in a
fractured way. Some of their paintings were non-objective and abstract.
Picasso and Braque were friends living in the Montmartre Quarter of
Paris, France in 1907. They were inspired by Paul Cezanne, who’s
approach to painting was constructivist. Cezanne taught that one should
look for the cylinder, cone, sphere and cube in nature. So Picasso and
Braque began to make very analytical surfaces –analyzing the figure and
still life while restricting their use of color to grays and earth
tones. They both loved and collected African tribal art, especially
masks. In Picasso’s 1907 painting, “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” he
employed intersecting planes and lines along with the African mask for
the faces of the women in the picture. This impacted many artists of
the time who considered it a new style.
Painter Henri
Matisse and art critic Louis Vauxcelles remarked about Braque’s
paintings, saying they were made up of cubes. Picasso and Braque did
not like this at first, but the term Cubism caught on and they accepted
it. The first phase (1910-1912) of Cubism was Analytical Cubism. The two artists worked closely
together and analyzed the separate, overlapping, and intersecting views
of the figure and still life, using monochromatic colors and fractured
forms for their technique. Musical instruments, bottles, pitchers,
glasses, and newspapers were their subject matter. Between 1912 and
1914, they launched another phase, Synthetic Cubism, which they began to use more
familiar forms, returning to the use of color, and introduced the use
of collage. Gluing an actual object, such as a piece of newspaper onto
the canvas was revolutionary and influential. The Cubist Movement in
art lasted into the 1920’s.
Around 1910, art dealer Henry Kahnweiler
promoted the Cubist School of artists influenced by Picasso and Braque.
Among them were Juan Gris, Fernand Leger,
Francis Picabia and Jean Marcoussis. In 1914, during World War I,
Kahnweiler escaped to Switzerland and lost many of their paintings.
Picasso was angry, but the two reconciled after the end of both World
Wars.
Marcel Duchamp did the famous cubist painting
“Nude Decending The Staircase.” Around 1917, he made the decision to no
longer paint. He did a piece of sculpture called “Fountain” which was
really a urinal that he declared as an art object. He called this kind
of art “ready made.” He altered our way of thinking about art by
putting everyday objects into a different context. This was the
beginning of the Dada Movement and a suggestion of what was to
come in the 1950’s in the Pop
Art Movement.
After the World Wars, an American art form
emerged from New York; Abstract
Expressionism, which departed from the use of traditional
images, and by nature was rebellious and anarchic. It included action,
color-field and hard edge painting. Artists were more concerned with
color and quality of paint rather than representational imagery. This
movement put New York City as the center of the art world on the map,
dethroning Paris.
In the 1950’s and 60’s in England, Pop Art
thrived and in the United States Pop Art was a reaction against
Abstract Expressionism, which blurred the edges between high art and
low art. In England, artists picked up the optimism of consumerism of
the post war society by using everyday objects as well as images of
mass media for their subject matter. Pop Art and Pop Music arrived at
the same time. The Beatles used Brigitte Bardot in one of their movies
and in the U.S. artist Andy
Warhol used the image of Marilyn Monroe for his silk-screened
canvases. Mass media and popular culture were the focus for art. Warhol
was considered the “Prince of Pop.” He used Campbell soup cans as
imagery and eliminated the distinctions between good and bad taste. He
learned the techniques of commercial art (he worked as an illustrator
in New York for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.) He was the one who said,
“In the future, everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes.”
Pop Art challenged our concept of art with
new meaning and humor given to the every day object, which was raised
to the status of art. Abstract Expressionism had been serious and
introspective while Pop art lightened up the message. Roy Lichtenstein did this with his comic strip
paintings, which were a subtle criticism of American mass culture. He
was featured in a group exhibition at the Sidney Janis Gallery in New
York in 1962 along with artists Claes Oldenberg,
Andy Warhol and Peter Blake. This show was greatly recognized by
the critics and established Pop Art as a serious movement in art.
By painting abstract forms and introducing
real objects in collages (Cubism) and utilizing any and all aspects of
mass culture for subject matter plus the use of commercial techniques
(Pop Art), these two art movements opened the door for artists to break
the rules, freely expressing individual and diverse ideas and styles.
Framing for Show
By Susan Kraft, Art21
Gallery & Framing
In a room full of artists,
there will be as many opinions as there are questions regarding framing
artwork for show. Even the position of hardware and the hanging wire
will be up for debate in this group.
Reasons stem from the
varieties of methods and materials we employ to create art, coupled
with different venues and storage styles. I’ve seen group shows present
as a patchwork quilt and even solo shows that don’t hold together well,
mainly because of different framing methods employed.
In truth, most of our
artists have a favorite technique and generally stick to it. A style
can be based on cost and perhaps by what is seen in local galleries.
I will show you basic rules
that work for framing a single piece or an entire show. These rules
solve the artist-framing dilemma and keep your bank account from taking
a dive.
Rule one: Use a standard
final size for all your work
Plan ahead to use standard
sizes. If all of your artwork is sized to three or four standard sizes,
you can swap frames within your own collection. You can also buy
ready-made frame at a fraction of the cost a custom-made frame costs.
Rule two: Think about the
finished product before beginning
This is a good idea for
either canvas or paper. You can plan to not frame at all by using a
thick gallery wrapped canvas. This is a canvas stapled on the back of a
one-inch or thicker stretcher bar. Either keep the edges clean (either
white or black) or extend the painting around the edge. An extended
painting can be very interesting, especially if there is a lot of
variation down the edge of the painting.
If your canvases are side
stapled, you really do have to frame them. The viewer expects you to
show them the completed look during a viewing experience. In the best
case, they want an emotional experience, but if they can see the
underpinning of what this work is, it distracts. Imagine having a deep
discussion on the meaning of life in a public forum, with someone who
is in his underwear and has bed hair. I think you get the picture. It’s
the same thing for your artwork. You wouldn’t go to a nice dinner in
your robe and slippers because you didn’t feel like getting dressed, do
you?
Paper art has to be
protected and sometimes the protection starts with a fixative to keep
pastel marks in place. Never release a pastel for sale with the media
loose. Keep in mind when you are working on it, you, or someone else,
is eventually going to spray it before it comes to rest on someone’s
wall. After the media is fixed, you can choose mats or spacers to keep
the glazing off the paper. I suggest using a pale mat – white or off
white, to give the art some space. The wider the mat, the more
important your artwork will appear.
Rule three: Choose the
frame to reflect the look of your work
You can choose the
minimalist look of thin wood or metal or juice it up with thick and
perhaps gilded frames. Either way, don’t plan on spending hundreds of
dollars on a frame to present your art. Let the buyer do that.
A simple canvas solution is
using plain slats or half-round doorframe. Sand and stain the raw wood
and nail it with finishing nails right onto the canvas. A simple paper
art solution is to use metal frames, but here you really need to use
Plexiglas. Metal frames break the glass.
A step-up in presentation
is to buy readymade frames. A readymade frame can be a wider, more
impressive style, but will be a fraction of the price a custom cut
frame costs. There are dozens of choices. Look in the back of art
magazines, or even ask a friendly framing shop if they know of a
read-made supplier.
Rule four: Place your
flat hardware 25% down from the top of your piece. Your hardware
placement should be designed hanging and stacking against other pieces.
Visualize your framed piece
stacked against other framed pieces. Prevent the screw-eyes scratching
the Plexi of the piece it is laying against, or poking dents into
another canvas behind it. Either use D-rings or place the screw-eyes
into the inner edge of the stretcher bar.
The wire should be made
taunt. It will stretch over time. Wrap the loose end through the D-ring
or eye into a pretzel knot. Then wrap the leftover remaining four
inches tightly around the taunt piece, like a hangman’s noose. Snip the
frayed ends clean.
These four rules can help
you set a professional looking show and allow you to talk about
something more meaningful in the room full of artists. You have the
answer to frame and hang your art. You are now free to discuss the
meaning of life, or just enjoy the company.
Susan Kraft is co-owner of
ART21 Gallery & Framing located at 539 Alma Street in downtown Palo
Alto. ART21 Gallery has 21 artists which they showcase every Friday
night. They also have an artistic, professional framing staff. ART21
works with you to create awesome framing whether it is something fit
for royalty or your child's very first doodle. And they know you don't
want the same formula applied to all projects: they fit to your needs.
Underpainting with Acrylics
By Jeff Bramschreiber,
University Art
Acrylics are a
tremendously versatile medium. They can be used on different surfaces
and with a wide variety of techniques. They dry quickly, have little to
no smell, and clean up with soap and water. Having said all that
though, the fact acrylics dry so fast can make them tricky to work
with. This is where under-painting becomes an important technique in
the success of your acrylic artwork.
What do I mean by
under-painting? Simply put, a thin layer of wet acrylic is applied to
the canvas, the subsequent layers are then blended into it, working
thin to thick, just like you would with oils. Once you decide on your
subject matter, finish your value sketches, and select your palette,
you begin laying in your first color ground. If for instance, you are
doing an autumn landscape, you may want to choose thin glazes of
yellows, oranges, reds and violets. Don’t worry about the final result
yet, you want to establish mood and have a nice layer of wet paint to
blend into what will enhance the subsequent layers of paint. Pick your
first color and mix it with a small amount of Glazing Liquid (from
Golden Acrylics) or Glazing Medium (from Liquitex) and a small amount
of water. The glazing liquids improve the flow of the paint, and also slow
down the drying time leaving the paint wet longer. Blend one
color into the next, trying for smooth transitions as you paint and
continue until the canvas is covered. You should now have a colorful
“under-painting” on which to base your final work.
You will find that
subsequent layers of color blend easily into your under-painting and
help to develop a believable atmosphere. Then as the thicker color is
applied, an interesting thing begins to happen. As the thinner glazes
begin to be covered they continue to be felt, fighting through the
thicker layers providing both dynamic tension and unity to your
painting. Give it a try, experiment, and I think you will agree that
under-painting provides you with a wonderful tool for your acrylic
painting adventures.
To purchase acrylic paint
and related products, or if you simply wish to speak with Jeff, please
visit him at University Art Center at 456 Meridian Avenue in San Jose.
This is the art store where Artist Sonya Paz bought her paints, brushes
and canvases (see feature article). Jeff can also be reached by phone
(408)297-4707, (408)629-7883 or via e-mail at snjbram@aol.com.
Jeff is also Director of Community
Involvement and Board Trustee for the Triton Museum of Art in Santa
Clara, Co- Chair of the Alliance of Visual Artists AVARTFEST and an
award winning local artist and instructor.
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Pop Art Party Town: The
Dazzling Metro-World of Artist Sonya Paz
