Spotlight | Arizona Fine Art Expo

Scottsdale, AZ
January 16-March 29

Jerald Weston, The Undersheriff’s Spurs, oil, 30 x 24.

This story was featured in the January 2015 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2015 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!

For almost three months, nearly 100 artists working in virtually every medium set up temporary working studios at the 11th annual Arizona Fine Art Expo. Equal parts studio and gallery, the show allows visitors to peruse displayed works while also watching the artists create on site, with many participants available throughout the Expo’s hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. “We’ll have Native American works, western, still life, abstracts, contemporary, and figurative. It’s a real nice mix,” says Judi Combs, CEO of Thunderbird Artists, which produces the event. “My goal has always been that every person who walks through the Arizona Fine Art Expo will find something that they like.” The show takes place on the southwest corner of Jomax Road and Scottsdale Road. Here we introduce you to a handful of this year’s participating artists.

Sandi Ciaramitaro was a draftsman at General Motors in Detroit and had her own marketing agency before falling in love with Arizona 11 years ago. The plein-air and alla prima painter has focused solely on her art the past six years and uses the southwestern landscape as her inspiration for her oil and watercolor paintings.

Ron Stewart works in watercolor, oil, and bronze and imbues his western subjects with a sense of authenticity and mood that makes his works stand out. Stewart’s love of the Old West can be seen in his paintings and sculptures of Native Americans, grazing cattle, and mountain men.

With his stylized paintings of wildlife and figures, Bob Coonts strives to elicit an emotional reaction from viewers of his work. Often called abstract realism, Coonts’ style straddles the line of realism and abstraction with heavy influences from Native American culture, nature, and mythology.

Jerald Weston grew up in Wyoming and knew that a career in fine art was his calling. After studying at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, Weston moved to Jackson, WY, and began painting scenes of the West in his self-described “outsider western” style.

Pat Stacy’s contemporary abstract paintings in acrylic use geometric shapes, designs, and symbols to communicate her gratitude for universal creative expression. Painting since 2008 after a career in counseling, her new endeavor has allowed her to find her artistic self, and she is now a juried artist with the Arizona Art Alliance and the Sonoran Arts League. — Joe Kovack

contact information
480.837.7163
www.arizonafineartexpo.com

Featured in the January 2015 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art January 2015 print issue or digital download Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!