Segil Fine Art Email Newsletter


		Segil Fine Art Gallery: 110 West Lime Ave Old Town Monrovia CA 91016 Phone: 626-358-5563 Hours: Tu-Sat 1-6pm Online: SegilFineArt.com
	'Tis the season for Segil Fine Art Gallery to present the FOURTH ANNUAL HOLIDAY SMALL WORKS SHOW, this year exploring the theme of TREASURES. More than 60 artists from across the country and Canada will be represented in this annual juried show, in which a Best in Show prize will be decided by a guest art professional. The Small Works Show was started four years ago by the gallery's founders, Scott and Karen Garland and Segil Fine Art has been proud to continue the tradition. Over these years we are continually blessed with wonderful art and fantastic participation by artists not only in our area, but from far and wide. Please join us Saturday, December 2nd for the opening of this new exhibit with a wine and hors d’oeuvres Artist’s Reception and Christmas Celebration from 4-8pm, where big rewards are found in small works of art that are sure to make the perfect Christmas gifts for yourself or someone special!
	Laura Segil Segil Fine Art Gallery


In this Issue This Month's Featured Exhibiting Artist Collector's Corner Gallery Feature Post Exhibit Review News

This Month's Featured Exhibiting Artist This month I am proud to introduce you to the work of William Wray, the newest member of our gallery family of artists. WILLIAM WRAY After traveling around the world most of his childhood as an Army brat, Bill Wray’s family settled for good in the Costa Mesa / Newport Beach area. Bill began working in the animation business as a teenager in the seventies. Being mostly self-taught and shunning California’s conceptual oriented art schools, he eventually enrolled in The Art Students League located in New York in the eighties to reinforce his spotty art foundation. After deciding the fine art world was too conceptual for the kind of representational work he wanted to do, he went into commercial art. Bill went on to work in writing and drawing comic books, animation and illustration. He is well known for his painting style on the Ren and Stimpy Show, his monthly strip in Mad Magazine and his collaborations with Mike Mignola on Hellboy Jr. Bill is currently concentrating hard on fine art oil painting centering on urban landscape work. For the last two years, Bill has been a member of LPAPA, Oil Painters of America and the California Art Club and has taken workshops with Ray Roberts, Carolyn Anderson, Matt Smith, Eric Merrill, Frank Serrano, George Strickland and a long-term study with Jove Wang. He is currently showing with Segil Fine Art in Monrovia, H. J Higgins in Downtown Los Angeles, The Vault in Senora and Just Looking Gallery in San Louis Obispo. His most recent award is the artist choice award at the 2006 SLO painting Festival. Bill resides in Sierra Madre, California with his significant other, Sharon, and his linguist-gifted parrot Mooky. He believes his biggest contribution to society is not having any children so he can do as many paintings as possible before he’s dead. William Wray’s work can be seen in the upcoming Small Works Show and he is the newest addition to our website. Also, in early 2007, look for William Wray as one of the artists to watch by Southwest Art.


Collector's Corner Why Do Collectors Collect? Three Part Series Part Three; The Artwork Itself Welcome to part three in our series based on Gregory J. Peterson’s article, What Motivates a Collector?; April 2002 edition of American Artist magazine. Last month we talked about the 'buzz' that surrounds an artist and how that creates an allure for the collector. But it is the painting itself which will hold the final appeal. Following are three basic qualities which the collector looks for in a work of art that ultimately lead to the final purchase decision. Locality Many art purchasers prefer to buy views they admire of locations they know. Pricing Collectors look for consistency in an artist’s pricing allowing for slow and controlled growth, respectively 10%-15% every few years. Rarity In contemporary works, ‘rarity’ is that painting that comes along well, rarely! It’s the one that you take one look at and know you have to have. Trust your intuition. It will be gone when you return to buy it. In these last three articles we have examined the qualities and characteristics that go into the decision for, not only a die-hard collector, but also a first time buyer when considering the purchase of a work of art. These are qualities that you can use, as a general rule of thumb, on your next gallery or art fair outing. Consider the artist’s circle, consistency of style, consistency of quality, locality, pricing, rarity and finally meeting the artist as all important criteria when selecting and purchasing a work of art. This December I’ll be visiting the International Basel Art Fair in Miami, which focuses on Contemporary Modern Art. In next month’s issue, I’ll share my impressions with you!


This Month's Online Gallery Featured Artist JAMES ARMSTRONG Sonoma County, CA-based painter James Armstrong has emerged as one of the leading practitioners of contemporary California Impressionism and plein air naturalism working today. Born in upstate New York, James' artistic sensibility was first influenced by the Hudson River Valley School. The inspirational sensibilities and atmospheric grace of those works are clearly reflected in Armstrong's aesthetic vision, as are echoes of early California Impressionism, the muted, moody palette of French Barbizon tonalism and the organic philosophy of the Arts and Crafts movement. James has said, "I've internalized these historical influences and use them to interpret the world I see today. The landscape - its hills and mountains, trees and rivers - initiates and establishes a visual and intuitive communication with me." Armstrong also has an almost sculptorly passion for the manipulation and application of paint and this, along with a dramatic sense of hue and radiance - and an innate tendency to invest character in his trees as a figure painter would in his human subjects - lends a decidedly modern undertone to his luminous works. "It took years to accept the notion, says James, that as an artist I could best serve nature acting as a conduit - to visually communicate the language of changing light while nature paints herself." It is Armstrong's soulful human reference point, however, that captures nature's tenuous balance so strikingly on canvas. After almost two decades as an award winning graphic designer in Southern California, James Armstrong embraced his calling as a painter full time in 2002. His work is now held in private and corporate collections nationwide, including Fortune 500 companies, public and private institutions and with a celebrity clientele. To see Mr. Armstrong’s newest work, click here>


NEW IN THE GALLERY New Collection by Andrea Dern Click here to see the new works> New Gallery Acquisition


NEWS Thank You W. Jason Situ for a wonderful November show. We enjoyed a festive opening reception with a visit from Jason’s long time friend and fellow artist, Mian Situ. The next weekend Jason treated us to a live demonstration across the street at Library Park. A good time was had by all! A Call to Our E-mail Patrons! If you have a few friends who you think would like to receive gallery e-news, please send us their e-mail address and let us know your mailing address for a one-time mailing and we’ll send you a gift! *Attention Gallery Artists! If you have news to share or upcoming events, please email Laura at the gallery. We'll be glad to get it in the newsletter!