Press Release: Foothills (Javadog Gallery)

Javadog Gallery Press Release

Foothills – A Series of New Work by Ramona Stites – October 17^th – November 25^th

Artist Reception – Saturday, October 21, 5pm – 8pm

Ramona Stites will be unveiling a new series of landscape paintings for the Javadog Fall Show. Ramona’s show, Foothills, is a series of contemporary landscapes done with daring color and a strong sense of design. Ramona’s use of both brush and knife in her new oil works breath life into these high desert scenes.

Ramona, a long time resident of the Cottonwood, Arizona area and co-owner of the Javadog Gallery in Cottonwood, considers herself a colorist. She has a degree in Art Education from Northern Arizona University, graduating summa cum laude, with awards for her outstanding achievements in art and design. She has taught art for children and oil painting for adults. Ramona has shown her work at galleries in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and has been in numerous juried shows, group exhibits and one woman shows.

She began showing her work professionally in the late 80’s after receiving her degree in art. Her art has been primarily landscapes of the Southwest inspired by the Cottonwood, Sedona areas and Northern New Mexico. Ramona worked mostly as a plein air painter early in her career. In the mid 90’s she had health issues that took her off the artist path for a short while. When she began to paint again her interest diverged to include abstract work and sparked a renewed passion for her works on canvas.

Since that time Ramona has done several series of abstract paintings, both acrylic and oil, that are color fields on canvas. Her portfolio also includes acrylic and mixed media on paper. Through time Ramona has always continued to do her oil and pastel landscapes, which are what she considers to be her first love.  Those landscapes have transformed over time to become contemporary studies of color, form and texture. Ramona’s landscape is a synthesis of abstract and landscape, as her forms are simplified into an elegant presentation.

Inspiration for Ramona’s new paintings, Foothills, was derived from the Verde Valley in Arizona and the Taos, New Mexico area. There has been a new shift in this series, showing another level of maturity in her work. Ramona turned fifty this year and is often mistaken for a much younger person. Her vitality for life shows in her face and the work she presents to the world.

“My chosen profession of art has enriched me in every phase of my life. Now that I have been painting professionally for many years and that I have experienced owning and directing my own gallery, my artistic vision seems to be clarified. I feel that my best paintings are yet to be made.”