Friday, April 19, 2024

JANUARY 18, 2022

January’s Art of the Month Winners:
1st Place • Nataliya Plambeck • Following her heart • Mixed media on wood • 36” x 48”
2nd Place • Michael Archer • Early Pears • Watercolor • 19” x 14”
3rd Place • Kim Kort • Waves I • Acrylic • 10” x 20”

January’s Demo Artist was Jose Angel Hernandez – Mixed Media
Artist Journey…

My journey as an artist started when the world was counting down the last few days of the 20th century in anticipation of Y2K (Year 2000). I reflected on my life and realized I needed to satisfy an inner desire that was asleep and unnoticed inside of me.

As an instructor in Corporate America I have helped a lot of people and corporations improve their performance but at that moment I could not think of anything I had done to help myself. I thought of my childhood days when I would draw my father sitting down watching television. That was when it clicked: the artist within was ready to make an entrance in the world. It was then my journey of words and colors began. A journey of creating meaningful art and public speaking.

Search, Oil on canvas, 48 x 60 by Jose Angel Hernandez
Billie Holiday, Oil on canvas, 22 x 28 by Jose Angel Hernandez

Twenty years have passed since that awakening and after several detours, the purpose of my journey as an artist became clear in the year 2014: To create art that is meaningful, interactive, playful, and evokes conversation. The new focus resulted from the addition of found, recycled, or purchased objects to the flat surface of my artwork and the use of vibrant colors.

The use of three-dimensional objects has allowed me to explore and expand my body of work to include abstract portraits, animals in a zoomorphic style and conceptual art. Whether it is a portrait, an animal, or a concept, the 3D elements enrich the message and makes the artwork more interesting and meaningful. My collectors find connections with the composition, 3D objects and use of color in my artwork. Creating 3D Mixed Media art has helped me satisfy that inner desire that started late in the year 1999 and will continue to the end of my life.

Learn more about Jose and his work at his web site here: wordsandcolors.net