This could be you!Are you a visual artist living in the Fort Bragg area? Consider participating in this vibrant community project to bring life, color and joy to unexpected spaces in our beloved town. You do not have to be an artist by profession, but we are looking for artists with a professional attitude and a low-maintenance working style. Bonus points if you have a robust social media presence.
The application process is simple. You will answer some questions about yourself, your creative history and your current interests, and tell us how you came to be on the North Coast. You'll also submit 5 quality images of your work. If you are accepted you will be featured on the "Our Artists" page. It's no guarantee, but if you are selected by a property owner, we will get in touch and begin the process of planning your installation!
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Josef Mayfield
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Josef recently moved to Fort Bragg "to get out of the big city and back to small town life." He grew up in the beautiful little town of Ouray, Colorado, which sits about 8,000 ft above sea level. If you have ever seen John Wayne's "True Grit" you've seen most of the landscape that he grew up in.
Most of Josef's family are artists, so it's no surprise he started creating from a very early age. His grandfather, was his first art mentor and encouraged him to grow as an artist. His serious "starting line" came from a high school trip to Paris when he visited the Museum of Rodin, whose work and that of other artists such as, John Singer Sargent, Mucha, and Caravaggio have strongly influenced on his art to this day. He is drawn to portraiture and the relationship of humans and nature, finding endless fascination with the human face and the challenge of capturing it in a drawing, "because emotions and attitudes are so difficult to express without feeling it yourself." Building on the base of portraiture, he layers floral and architectural imagery to create surreal, almost dream-like, pieces. Biggest Creative DreamI've always wanted to create a large piece and see it come to life. One of my dreams is to make a public piece." |
Bones Abell
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Benny "Bones" Abell was born in Fort Bragg but grew up in Nelson B.C. Canada. He's been drawing since he was 5. He moved back to the North Coast in 2001. He's always been inspired by movies, comics, and skateboard/ graffiti culture- but Frank Frazzetta, Da Vinci, Vaughn Bode, Frank Miller and McFarlain were also big influences on his style. lately, he has found himself drawn toward space and animals, as well as the abstract, and the ways that all three could work together. He prefers to work in latex and aerosol, and as he puts it "The higher visibility the better!" He frequently works with other artists and is enthusiastically open to more future collaborations.
Biggest Creative Dream My biggest dream would be to be wealthy enough that i could paint murals for free, then i could beautify every ugly wall in every small town in America at no cost to the citizens! |
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Sue Ellen Parkinson
Sue Ellen Parkinson grew up in Los Angeles and originally moved to Mendocino County in the mid-70s. She has lived in the same little cabin up in the mountains outside of Willits for 30 years. She was originally inspired by her imagination and a call to fulfill the un-lived life of her mother, who was an artist in everything she did but didn’t have much space in her life to paint and died when she was very young. She says she can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t drawing or painting. She is currently drawn to images depicting the Sacred Feminine, particularly to Mary Magdalene. "I’ve been studying the stories surrounding the mystics and I love painting them. Images of her seem to work well with my own insights and experiences." She feels that the myths and legends surrounding the Sacred Feminine are deeply relevant today, and needed to bring the world into balance. Check out her work on her website www.miracleofyourlife.com and her Instagram.
Sue Ellen's preference would be to work on panels and then assemble them at the location when they’re finished. She loves murals and painting them, but iIf they’re painted on panels they can always be preserved. She would prefer projects where she is not working on scaffolding.
My Instagram is Sue.Ellen.Parkinson
Perhaps you could could mention that I’m a member of Northcoast Artists Gallery?
Biggest Creative Dream
I like the very old idea that imagery can be used as a vehicle for healing and strengthening people. My dream is that my art will help others in that way.
-Sue Ellen
