Rancho Mirage Art Affaire is This Weekend, Nov 9-10, 2014

Come on out and see my latest sculpture!

New Sculpture - The Blue Man

Upcoming Shows / Events

October 12-13, 2013: San Carlos Art and Wine - San Carlos, CA

October 26-27, 2013: Danville Fall Crafts Festival - Danville, CA

November 9-10, 2013: Rancho Mirage Art Affaire - Rancho Mirage, CA

New Digital Manipulated Photography (DMP) - Jupiter Rising

Jupiter Rising

Four New Sculptures

 

Woman with Red Bag

 

Vortex X

 

Blue Danube

 

Split Infinity II

Palo Alto Festival of the Arts

Come join me August 24th and 25th for one of the greatest art festivals in northern California, the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts.  I'll be in Booth spaces #640 and #642 at the north end of the show near the Italian Street Painting.

August 24 & 25, 2013 • 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA

This high quality, community-friendly event is sponsored by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and the City of Palo Alto. In the past it has attracted over 150,000 people every year from throughout California and the West Coast. The festival-now celebrating its thirty-second year-takes place on tree-lined University Avenue in beautiful downtown Palo Alto, a vital economic area 35 miles south of San Francisco.

NEW! July 1, the City of Palo Alto put into effect a new ordinance banning the use of plastic & paper bags for carrying merchandise. The Chamber of Commerce highly recommends that festival attendees bring their own re-usable tote bags for easy transportation of multiple purchases.

The backbone of the festival and the key to its success are the three hundred fine artists. These exhibitors are the reason why this festival attracts such a high percentage of fine artists whose work you'll see only at a few select shows on the West Coast.

And, always a crowd-pleaser, the Italian Street Painting Expo, sponsored by the Palo Alto Weekly, will again offer sixty chalk artists creating larger-than-life works of art all weekend long on Tasso Street. This year's beneficiary of the funds raised by the Italian Street Painting Expo is Palo Alto's Youth Community Service.

Local participation is high at this event. The Palo Alto Parents & Professionals for Art are the organizers and beneficiaries of the kids' art & crafts area called the Kids' Art Studio. Also, the Kiwanis of Palo Alto will again manage and serve the micro-brews and fine wines that can be found throughout the festival.

For those driving to the festival, free parking is within a block or two of the festival site, with handicap parking in all city lots. Festival attendees though are encouraged to use public transit or ride a bike. For transit information go to 511.org.

Check out this year's promotional clip for a live overview of the festival.

If you are a dog owner thinking about bringing "Cuddles" to the festival, please reconsider. Large crowds can easily make a typically mellow dog very anxious & sometimes aggressive.

For up-to-date information, call: 650-324-3121.

New Sculpture - Bridge

Bridge by Jeff Owen

Los Gatos Fiesta de Artes is THIS WEEKEND

Come on over to the beautiful Town of Los Gatos for their annual Fiesta de Artes in the Civic Center. I will be there with my latest work. Fiesta de Artes

New Original Paintings!

The following three paintings are my latest!
They are each acrylic on canvas measuring 40 x 60 inch.
-->   Black Sand Beach - Island of Hawaii
-->   Understanding
-->   Cape Cod - Massachusetts

The words below the paintings are NOT part of the artwork.
These are each very limited editions of only 250 high definition giclee's.
The original is $9500 and the giclee's range in price from $500 to $3500

 

Gia Sculpture Chosen by 2013 Santa Clara Indoor Sculpture Exhibition

NEWS

Jeff Owen's Indoor Sculpture "Gia" has been chosen by the city of Santa Clara to be part of the 2013 Santa Clara Indoor Sculpture Exhibition.

This juried competition will be on display at Santa Clara City Hall September 2013 through February 2014, and will be featured in a “virtual” exhibition on the City’s website and cable television channel.

Next Show is the Fiesta de Artes in Los Gatos, CA August 10th and 11th

Come on down to the beautiful town of Los Gatos on the 10th and/or 11th of August to see my latest sculptures and enjoy some very fine art and fun crafts while sipping some delicious wines from wineries in the bay area.

Join 20,000 of your friends at the forty-first annual Fiesta de Artes at the Los Gatos Civic Center grounds on Saturday and Sunday, August 10-11, 2013. Don’t miss the town’s one and only art and wine festival.

The 2013 Fiesta will be the 17th event sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos. Enjoy 150 artists (including ME), gourmet food, wine and beer, and live music. Treat the kids to snow cones and a jump house. Celebrate with visitors from all over the San Francisco Bay Area.

Fiesta de Artes!

Open House in La Selva Beach (Watsonville) CA

I just spent the day at an ocean view estate in La Selva, CA. I was one of two artists showing our works during an open house of this 2.5 million dollar estate - what a treat. Show is my piece "Curious" on the coffee table in the fireplace room. What a treat!  Thanks Nancy!

Los Altos Rotary - Fine Art in the Park

May 18th and 19th (Saturday and Sunday) in Lincoln Park, Los Altos, CA

I will be in Space #277

About Fine Art in the Park

One of the Bay Area’s premier open-air art shows, featuring original, juried works by some 200 artists. Works range from paintings and sculpture to ceramics, jewelry and unique gifts. Entertainment, food and beverages make this an ideal occasion for shopping and fun. There is free parking at Los Altos High School, with shuttles to the park.

Map to the show

Circle of Art - Borrego Springs, CA

I'm headed south to the Borrego Springs, CA. "Circle of Art" art festival March 16th and 17th, 2013.

This will be my first time at this show and I am eager to see the beautiful Anza Borrego Desert in full bloom over the weekend.

If you are in Southern California and want to come out to the desert this weekend, this will be a great place to see a lot of fine art. Many of the artists in this show just finished the No. 1 show in the US, the La Quinta Art Festival.

Hope you can come to the show and see the desert at its best!

Here is my original oil painting of the valley.

My Sculptors Life

My sculptors life began simply enough. During a family move from the country to the city in 2001, I was in charge of the garage clean-out and I spotted an unused welder in the corner of the garage. I inquired to my father in law Chet if I could "play" with his old welder. "No way", he said. "That's for my son Dayle", he continued. Dayle overheard Chet and said "I don't want that old thing".

That was my queue. "So Chet", I said. "I want it, so can I have it? You're not using it anymore." I received a scowl and a “humph”, but he reluctantly agreed and I promptly put that old welder into my truck.

I took the welder to the welding shop and had them check it out. They cleaned it up and told me it was fine to use. Now came the fun part!

What should I weld? I didn't have any metal lying around so I called by brother in law to see if he could help me acquire some. We went some metal yards and I finally found just the right piece. It was a flat sheet of steel and I was going to make a really cool sculpture from it.

Two weeks later I finally decided what I was going to make. "I will make a sign!" I said. I drew out the letters on the steel and began cutting. I was in LOVE.

I began experimenting with abstract form, dreaming up shapes I could cut and weld together in an interesting pattern. I played with pieces of steel that I found on subsequent trips to the metal yard. I "played" for hours making anything I wanted to make.

I started my website and posted photos of my sculptures, saying silently to myself, "People will buy these.”

I went on the internet to see if anyone was making sculptures like mine. That is when I discovered that what I was doing was called "direct metal welding". I dug deeper on the internet and discovered someone who was copying my style, a guy named David Smith.

Well this David Smith was copying many of my ideas and I was upset. A lot of his photos were black and white, so that was the trigger that told me that it was the other way around. I learned more about David Smith. I studied his work, read about his life, and my jaw dropped when I learned that he died in a motor vehicle accident.

David Smith is one of America’s most famous sculptors. His artwork is in hundreds of museums and private collections all over the world. He worked prolifically, was in galleries, and had many artist associates.

One of my goals is to become as famous as David Smith. I am working feverishly to establish myself in the art world. I am constantly striving to make my sculpture have a presence. I want my sculptures in museum collections throughout the world.

I currently have my sculptures in over 45 of the United States, one in England, and one in Switzerland. Most of my "Collectors" own more than one "OWEN" and many purchase more than one piece at a one time.

Many of my first time collectors discover me during an art event. With their mouths open gazing at one of my pieces, they immediately look for their significant other, keeping one eye on the sculpture. They appear captivated and dazed. Often they will say to me, "Where in the world did you come from? I haven't seen you before". This is my favorite time, when I am "discovered" by someone for the first time.

Being an artist, I had never been able to express myself as much as I do now with steel. I put emotion and dreams and random thoughts into all my work. I am often amazed when I step back and look at what I have created. I often get goose bumps when I finish a piece and prepare to photograph it, thinking ahead as to the moment that I will send out my email with a photo of the new piece - like a proud father.

I name my sculptures almost immediately upon their completion, usually a name that just jumps out at me. There are times that I have named a sculpture while I am still working on it. This is exciting because I then have a path to travel to its completion with a reference already attached.

I am constantly searching for discarded pieces of metal throughout the state of California, and beyond. I travel to metal yards with eager open eyes seeking that interesting shape or unusual color. Often I'll hold up a piece of found steel and see the finished sculpture in my mind’s eye. Sometimes I'll find a piece of steel and bring it back to my studio where it will lay in wait until I "discover" what it was meant to be - what it will become.

I love digging through my studio and finding some long forgotten piece of steel that I look at and say "I remember you! I found you at...”. There is a lot of excitement in my shop when I am working (playing). I'll get creating to music, be it classical or country. I'll hum along to the song without regard for time. There is no time to think of time when I am working, it all melds into a sculpture.

Sometimes I'll paint a sculpture, thinking that a color here or there will add a substance that I want to see. Like David Smith, I believe that my sculptures are also paintings, whether they are painted or not, and that my paintings are also sculpture - where does one end and another begin?

I do not tell anyone what to think of my sculpture. It is the viewers' personal experience. They may like it, love it, or not understand it at all. My sculptures are my visions, my reality, my mark on the world. There is not piece that is "made" with the thought of another, they come from deep inside me and erupt to life.

I'll often say, "I don't sell my sculptures, people buy them". I could never convince anyone to purchase one of my sculptures if the sculpture itself did not affect them in some way. No amount of salesmanship would do to promote my work to someone who did not find a piece they did not fall in love with.

I'll often envision a sculpture while doing something mundane, such as driving down a long stretch of highway. I'll jot down notes or scribble something on any scrap of paper available. Sometimes from a deep sleep I will bolt straight up, run out to my office and draw something I saw in my mind - these are often the most interesting of my sculptures, completely free from a thinking design - brought out from my unconscious mind.

I am getting bolder, bigger, and larger with my sculpture. Will that change the style of my sculpture or how I make sculpture in the future? Probably. Good! I love change and discovery; I love new thoughts and design. I believe that I have nowhere to go but forward and continue this vision of my life through the sculptures I create.

www.JeffOwenArtworks.com

Los Gatos Museums Gallery

I will be at the Los Gatos Museums Gallery today from 2 to 5pm. I've got three nice pieces in the gallery. If you are in the area, come on by and say HI!

Jeff Owen Metal Sculptor - Events Updates

Hello all!

My next event will be the Indian Wells Art Festival, in Indian Wells, CA. This is a MUST GO TO event, the last of the desert season and you don't want to miss out on artwork for your home in the most beautiful desert in the world (the words ART and Coachella Valley just go together). (Remember, this is where the Rodeo Drive of the desert resides!)

I'll be bringing down all my latest sculptures and can't wait to show them. I have been working so hard in my studio, making so many pieces, that I'll be bringing down a trailer full of sculpture!!!

Also, I have six wonderful new sculptures at Aunt Effies Gardens in Palm Springs, CA. Their gardens are the most beautiful in the entire valley and if you are seriously looking for quality plants for spring planting, they are the place to go.

If you are in or headed to the bay area, I have shows coming up that are ONLY FINE ART:

May 5th, 2013: Saratoga Rotary Art Show, Saratoga, CA

   This event is #1 in the nation for FINE ART for only ONE DAY. You have to go if you are in the Bay Area and you love art. It's a golden opportunity for premium art lovers to shop for the next big name in art!

May 18-19, 2013: Los Altos Rotary, Art in the Park, Los Altos, CA

    This show is ranked VERY HIGH in the art circles. Los Altos is know for their support of the arts and artists. Shown in a park, the Los Altos Rotary show draws thousands of savvy art collectors from all around the country. Known for their high end juried artists and comfortable environment, the Los Altos Rotary show is a NOT MISS show!

I have a show coming soon in San Jose, "Beyond Gaga," at Works/San Jose Gallery

Reception 7-10pm February 1, 2013 in San Jose, CA.

Runs from February 1st through March 9th.

HOURS

Thursday noon to 4pm
Friday noon to 6pm
Saturday noon to 4pm

I'll be there on Thursday the 14th (Valentines Day) manning the gallery!

Here is one of my latest pieces (for your enjoyment....) (An awesome wall piece)

I am also in a new GALLERY in Los Gatos, CA called the Los Gatos Museums Gallery! 

I have four sculptures in the gallery.

Los Gatos is a very affluent, laid back "town" amidst the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. You MUST go there if you are in the Bay Area to enjoy the ambiance and home town atmosphere of such a beautiful place. The galley boasts 50+ LOCAL artists who's work is beyond compare. 

Hope you are doing great!

Sincerely,

Jeff