HUGE HOLIDAY SAVINGS at THE ART STORE!

Join us for our huge holiday sale at The Art Store by The Frame and I! Now is the time to get the supplies you need. Have you got an artist on your holiday gift list? We have the most creative gifts going! Gift certificates available too. Studio furniture, brushes, art kits, paper, pens and paint - if you can create with it, we have it. See you soon, and Merry Christmas,
-Ida K.

Lifetime Retrospective Art Show for Kathleen Roeth!

Co-owner of the Frame and I for 10 years, lifelong artist Kathleen Roeth will be having a retrospective show of her art here at The Frame & I. From November 13th through December 12th you can stop by and see her drawings, paintings, art trading cards, handmade prints, and so much more! Whimsical and down-home, colorful, tiny and textural, Kathleen's artwork reflects her love of living things and the Creator who made them. Kathleen's artist reception is Friday, November 20th from 6-8 pm. Delectables will be served, so bring your appetite. Kathleen will also host a live mixed-media demo on Friday, November 27th, from 6-8 pm. We hope you can be there to cheer her on, as she embarks on her career in book illustration!

Origami Crane Event at The Art Store!

In Japan, it is considered an auspicious sign to fold 1000 origami cranes. Our origami crane challenge at The Art Store is to get 1000 cranes back from the community by the end of December. What's in it for you? You can fold up to 10 origami cranes and turn them in for up to 10 Art Store bucks! Sample origami paper is available in the Art Store, or you can use your own. Each crane you fold can be traded in for an Art Store Buck. Limit 10 cranes for bucks. Your Art Store bucks spend like cash in the Art Store! See flyer for details. Tell all of your friends, this flyer can be copied off and passed around. Best of luck!

Art Student of the Month

Our latest featured elementary student's artwork is a collagraph print of a fish. I love how the colors blend together, and the black paper it's printed on gives a unique outlined look to the print. A big props to Ann Hein and Taylor Hicks Elementary School for teaching kids about fine art in such a creative and fun way.

We frame an elementary student's work every month, and feature it in our gallery window. This is done without charge to the school, teacher, or student.

Framing kids' art can be a huge encouragement to these budding artists. Framing it also helps control clutter in your home, because it allows you to select the best pieces to show off (the rest can go safely in an album for later perusal)! Bring a little color and playfulness into your life by framing your kids' art today.

Employee Art Show now on display!

It's that time of year again when the Employees of the Frame & I and the Art Store put on an exciting art exhibit. Visit the gallery during the Art Walk, October 23rd, for a reception 6-8pm. Artwork will be on display until November 12th.

8th Annual Employee Art Show

The Frame & I and the Art Store is announcing our 8th Annual Employee Art Show! Your favorite Frame & I and Art Store employees are all very talented artists as well! Now is the time to see what kind of artwork we do in our free time (when we're not framing or playing with art supplies). Please join us for our reception on October 23rd from 6-8pm, during the Fourth Friday Art Walk. Delightful delectables will be served. Artwork will be on display until November 12th.

"Aspen Spires" oil by Russell Johnson

Artist Reception - Connie Green

You are invited to an artist reception for Connie Green during the fourth friday Art Walk, September 25, 6-8pm. We are featuring Connie's new and extraordinary paintings, collages, jewelry and fiber art. This show will be on display until October 15th. "Connie's whimsical vignettes are inspired by dreams and everyday occurrences. Her paintings always elicit smiles, laughter and sometimes even tears." Here are some examples of Connie's latest oil paintings ("Raven Rider II" above and "Raven Sisters" below). Enjoy! We hope to see you during the Art Walk!

-Russell

Museum Glass Video

Connie Green - Art Show

Connie Green has many new oil paintings and jewelry now on display at the Frame & I Gallery. The show will be up until October 15. Please join us during the Art Walk for a reception for the artist on Friday, September 25, 6-8pm. (pictured above: "Euro Coat" 10"x20" oil)

Art 'N Jazz - Community Event

Featuring Artist Connie Green

We will be featuring the artwork by Connie Green for this month's art walk. The exhibit of new work will be on display September 18 through October 15. Join us for a reception during the Art Walk on September 25, 6:00-8:00 pm. This will be a great time to meet Connie! Connie's artwork consists of oil paintings, collages, jewelry, and textiles. Connie's whimsical vignettes are inspired by dreams and everyday occurrences. Her paintings always elicit smiles, laughter and sometimes even tears. Pictured is a 16"x16" oil painting titled "Violet Spring". To find out more about Connie Green visit her website: http://www.artistconniegreen.com/ or view our page about her at www.frameandi.com/green.html.

Changes in our Gallery

We are excited about the changes we have made in our gallery this week. Earlier this year, we moved our readymade frames into the gallery area and had to remove two of our "pop-out" walls to make room for them. Nine months later, we get the brilliant idea to bring them back and form an island in the center of our gallery. This not only looks attractive, it returns the wall space that was lost earlier in the year. Our gallery features artwork by local artists and we participate in the monthly fourth friday artwalks. Take a look at our gallery events page for upcoming shows www.frameandi.com/prescottartgalleryevents.html.

-Russell

Pastel Painting Demonstration

Robert Knudson will be doing a live pastel painting demonstration in the Art Store during the Fourth Friday Art Walk on August 28th, 5 to 7 pm. Robert Knudson is an accomplished landscape artist who shows his work at the Frame & I Gallery. The image posted is a recent painting by Knudson titled "Soft Morning," an acrylic painting using the new OPEN Acrylics by Golden, sold in the Art Store. This demonstration is a free event open to the public at the Art Store, 109 S. Granite St. Downtown Prescott. Please call 443-0749 for more information.

Special Art Exhibit

Van Gogh's Ear Gallery is honored to celebrate the work of Carol Kenndy

on Saturday August 15th, 2009, 6:00-9:00 pm. The proceeds from the show will benefit the daughters of Carol Kennedy. The Frame & I contributed to this exhibit by framing, matting, and shrinkwrapping original monoprints by Carol Kennedy. This is a must see exhibit! Van Gogh's Ear Gallery, 156B S. Montezuma St., Prescott, AZ 86303, 928-776-1080, http://www.vgegallery.com/.

Community Art Event

Prescott Landmark Show

Welcome downtown for the Fourth Friday Artwalk and enjoy the Frame and I Gallery's Prescott Landmark Show. Artwork in this show are by local artists depicting the landscape and architecture of the Prescott Area. The show will be on display until August 17. The reception is during Friday the 24th Artwalk, 6-8pm, refreshments will be served.

Thank You,

Russell

Specialty Matting

Here is an example of specialty matting. Every year, we donate framing on the annual Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering, which gives us a chance to showcase our creativity in framing. This particular mat design has four different colors as well as a fillet. A fillet is wood piece added to a frame or a mat to give more dimension and enhance detail in the art. The fillet used in this particular piece recalls the color and texture of the frame. I chose a simple frame so that the overall design would not overwhelm the print. Describing the matting from the bottom up: the first mat is a thin line of blue that recalls the blue line printed around the art, which also matches the cowboys shirt. Next, is the gold/bronze, distressed fillet followed by a dark umber mat. The top mat has a western design cut in each corner using our computerized Wizard mat cutter. In each corner, resting on the dark umber mat, is a small inlay piece cut out of mat board to add a touch of detail to the mat design. The moulding used in this design is a brushed bronze color that attracts to the color of the border on the print and also gives contrast to attract to the darker values in the print. I used crescent, cotton rag matboard, which is preservation quality. Also, I used ultraviolet filtering glass to protect the colors in the print from fading.
-Russell

Artist of the Month, June

Congratulations to Madison Salazar from Miller Valley Elementary for being selected as the Artist of the Month. Each month, the Frame & I donates framing on a student artwork. We use preservation framing materials (archival matting and UV filtering glass) so the child's artwork will last a lifetime, probably longer. The Frame & I enjoys encouraging Prescott's budding artists in this way! Great artwork!

-Russell

Art Demo at the Frame & I

The Frame & I Gallery is featuring:

Live sculpture demo by Keith Kendall of K&K studios! K&K studios is the creative force behind enlarging several of the sculptural monuments in downtown Prescott. Keith will be demonstrating the sculptural process in modeling clay. 6-8 pm. We will also be featuring western and southwestern artwork, with prints by Bill Owen, Kathleen Roeth, Bill Anton, George Molnar, Tim Cox, and many others. Come celebrate Prescott's western heritage with us!
Live sculpture demo by Keith Kendall
6:00 - 8:00 PM!

-Russell

Call for Artists!

Call For Artists. The Frame & I Gallery is accepting submissions for a juried art show, "Paint Your Favorite Prescott Landmark." All art mediums are welcome. Subject matter of the quad-city Prescott area will apply for this show. The show will be on display July 17-August 17. Please send submissions by June 20th. Submission forms are available at the Frame & I, 229 W. Gurley St., or via email: frameigallery@yahoo.com. Call 445-5073 or email for more imforation.

Thank You,

Russell

Keith's Sculpture Class

K&K Studios and the Art Store offers a course on the Principles of Sculpture.

Keith Kendall's scupture class begins May 2nd, 10am-1pm every Saturday. Open enrollment, all skill levels accepted. Start anytime, walk-ins are welcome. Enjoy one-on-one instruction with experienced sculptor and foundryman Keith Kendall. Call The Art Store at 928-443-0749 for details.

Fun at The Art Store, Friday, April 24th, 5:00 - 7:00 PM!!!

Come to The Art Store during the Prescott Art Walk on Friday, April 24th, any time between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM and join in the fun of creating and trading Artist Trading Cards. Materials will be supplied by The Art Store for you to make some ATCs which you may trade with other artists or keep for your own collection.

Here are a few reasons why I like ATCs. Do you have some reasons that you would like to add to the list?

• They are small and easy to display in an album, easel or little frame. And I have a real "thing" for small artwork! ATCs are 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches (6.4 cm x 8.9 cm) - or the size of a standard playing card or trading card.
• They are quicker to do than larger pieces of artwork - so you can have even more fun bouncing back and forth between several artistic creations in a shorter length of time.
• There are artists all over the world who make and trade these great little works of art - so there is no end to the variety of styles and subject matter and media that you can obtain.
• They are a great way to try out new paper or media - nice to start small on some of those experiments!
• They are small enough that even with a busy schedule - you have time to do some artwork.
• They are great for working out ideas that can be used in larger paintings.
• They make great gifts (and Mother's Day is coming up soon!).
  

Join us at The Art Store during the Prescott Art Walk on Friday, April 24th, any time between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM and add to or start you collection of Artist Trading Cards today.

See you at the Art Walk!

Kathleen

Five things your Picture Framer needs to know about paper.

1. How to handle all kinds of paper. Antique documents need different treatments than a giclee, photograph or collage. We know how to properly care for your treasure including the most archival way to frame it.

2. How to hinge your paper artwork. Does your artwork need a Book Hinge? Tape hinge? Corners? Sink Mat? Spacer? Riser? We can tell you! Our expert staff, with many years of experience, includes a Certified Picture Framer.

3. What type of paper artwork you have. It sounds simple, but there are many different types of artwork on paper. Antique family photographs need special treatment that is different than the special care that an Intaglio does. Let us help you decide the best way to preserve and enjoy your treasure.

4. Whether your artwork should be mounted or not. Is dry mounting an option for your artwork? Should your artwork be wet mounted? Should it not be mounted at all? We can help you make that decision in a way that will enhance and protect your artwork.

5. How to handle the great variety of digital papers and inks. Digital images have special needs that are unique to their genre. We have experience in handling a variety of different types of digital images and we can advise you of what is best for your artwork.

At The Frame and I we have the experience and the expertise to help you preserve and enhance your artwork on paper.

Kathleen

Artist Trading Card Spring Swap April 24th!

Last November we had our very first Artist Trading Card Swap and it was lots of fun! Check out this post for more details about the November Art Walk event:
http://frameandi.blogspot.com/2008/12/artist-trading-card-fall-swap.html

It was so much fun that we all decided that we wanted to do it again. Next week we will have our Artist Trading Card Spring Swap in The Art Store during the Art Walk, Friday, April 24th from 5 pm to 7 pm.

Here are some details about the swap:

• Artist Trading Cards are small works of art that are 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches - no larger and no smaller, but they may be any thickness.
• You may create them in any media.
• Materials will be provided for you to create cards that night.
• You may bring cards you have previously created.
• All ages and levels of artistic talent are welcome.
• This is an open trade.

For more details, contact Kathleen at the_art_store@yahoo.com or call The Art Store at (928) 443-0749.

Remember that the Art the 4th people are collecting food for the Prescott food bank! Both The Frame & I and The Art Store are happy to be collections points for the Food Bank! Check out this previous post for more details:

http://frameandi.blogspot.com/2009/02/visit-4th-friday-art-walk-and-help-out.html

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Kathleen

Here’s a hint for watercolor painters!

This is my very messy palette - all full of paint from several paintings. The only problem is... what exactly is that color????When it was time to refill an empty spot it was really hard to know exactly which color I used originally. I love to try new colors or new brands, so sometimes the same - or very similar - color will be in two wells right next to each other. Also, watercolor paint has different qualities according to what color or brand it is and this is very useful information when you are painting.

In order to have this information handy, I created a small watercolor notebook that has color charts made with the paint that I use. Be sure to make your color chart using a good quality watercolor paper so that the colors will be similar in appearance when you are doing a painting. I used a permanent black sharpie marker to write the name and brand of the paint on the paper in a chart. The chart is a map of my palette where each color was painted in the same location as it appears on my palette. I painted a good sized area that goes over the chart and covers the words of the color. Now I can see at a glance what brand, color, how transparent, and whether I am comparing it to a previous color that I have used.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little tour of my palette. If you have a hint that you would like to share, send me an email at the_art_store@yahoo.com and you may see your hint featured in a future blog!

Kathleen

Artist Trading Card Spring Swap

We will be having another Artist Trading Card Swap at The Art Store! Stop by The Art Store during the April Art Walk on April 24th any time between 5 and 7 PM for some artistic fun!


ATCs are small works of art that are 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches in size and they can be created in any media. During the April Art Walk you will have a chance to create an ATC, trade an ATC and view some great collections of ATCs!

Drop by and join in the fun - and see some great little art! See you there ~

Kathleen

Great Turnout for Spring Show Art Walk!

Art Walk - Spring Show Reception Friday March 27th

We held a reception for our Spring Show artists during the monthly downtown Prescott Art Walk, which is held every fourth friday of the month. We enjoyed a wondeful turnout of artists, friends, family, customers, and art collectors. We estimate that about 250 people visited our gallery at 229 W. Gurley St. between 6-8 pm. It was a great success! Thank you to all who came and especially to our artists who are featured in our Juried Spring Show. If you have not voted for your choice of the "Best of Show," please stop in to cast your vote before April 20th to be entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift certificate towards custom framing (one vote per person).

-Russell

Spring Show

The Frame & I Gallery is featuring spring, floral, and gardening themed artwork by local artists. This show is on display March 20 through April 20. A reception will be held on March 27th from 6-8pm, refreshments will be served. The "best of show" will be selected by public vote. Each vote will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate towards your next custom framing order (one vote per person please). This show will be sure to get you into a cheerful mood with colorful, vibrant art. Spring into the Frame & I Gallery to experience colors of the season!
Stop by Monday through Friday 10-5:30 or Saturday 10-5.
229 W. Gurley St. Prescott, AZ
Thanks,
Russell

Shop Local

Support your locally owned independent businesses, The Frame & I (custom picture framing, gallery, and ready-made frames) and The Art Store (art supplies, classes, and studio furniture), where you will find great service, competitive prices and knowledgeable staff.

The Frame & I and The Art Store have been locally owned and operated since 1984 and have been incorporated since 2003. We help to create a strong economy by creating jobs for local residents, hiring local contractors, using a local accounting firm, and buying from other local businesses.

The Frame & I also helps our community by supporting local charities, donating supplies to local schools, and donating framing to our local museums. We have a gallery that features local artists as well as arranging displays, shows, and other events for local artists.

For many years, The Frame and I has donated framing to local students at the elementary, middle schools and high schools for the student artists selected by their teachers. At The Frame we have matboards that are made with renewable materials as well as picture frame moulding that is harvested from renewable forests. We have a CPF (Certified Picture Framer) on staff which guarantees you that we are well informed about the latest news, products, and techniques that the picture framing world has to offer.

At The Art Store we help artists help the environment by selling more eco-friendly and “green” products such as sketch pads with paper that is recycled as well as paper that is made by windpower. Some paper has the Green-e logo that insures you that it was produced with the purchase of renewable energy. We offer refillable ink pens, pen stocks and nibs that are not disposable and which use liquid ink or grindable ink. The Art Store also provides a classroom for local teachers to share their talent with students in a relaxed atmosphere. In addition to that, we have provided a place for those teachers and students to display their artwork. During the local 4^th Friday Artwalks, The Art Store often has special events and demonstrations.

We help keep the environment clean and safe by recycling the following items aerosol cans from spray paint, spray varnishes, and spray glues; artist paint tubes from acrylic, casein, gouache, oil, and watercolor paints of any color or brand; paint thinner as well as mineral spirits, turpentine, Turpenoid, odorless thinner, naphtha, and sansordor. This helps to keep all of these toxic chemicals out of the landfill and out of the water table.

In both of our stores we help the environment by purchasing items that are eco-friendly such as recycled paper towels, toilet paper and other products. We also use eco-friendly cleaning products whenever possible.

Special discounts are available to certain organizations and people such as teachers, schools, students, professional artists and local art group members.

We appreciate your business and when you shop at The Frame & i and The Art Store by The Frame & I you can shop with confidence. You will receive knowledgeable help, quality products, competitive pricing and you will help us to help your community and the world. We appreciate being your locally owned and incorporated frame shop and art store.

Visit the 4th Friday Art Walk and help out the food bank!

At The Frame & I and The Art Store, we care about our local community. We are always looking for creative ways to help out those in need. The 4th Friday Art Walk folks contacted us with this great opportunity.

The Prescott Community Cupboard Food Bank, a non-profit, all-volunteer organization which is in need of assistance in these difficult times. Donations of food are not keeping up with the needs of local residents. On the 4th Friday of each month art walkers can bring a non-perishable food item to their favorite Art Walk destination. The food bank suggests such needed items as peanut butter, pasta, dry milk, cereal, canned fruits, vegetables, meat and fish. Monetary donations are always welcome! Food bank workers can buy fresh items such as margarine, ground meat and bread with these donations. If you wish to send a check, please mail it to the food bank at 434 West Gurley St., Prescott, AZ 86301.

Drop by the Art Walk this Friday, February 27th, between 5 pm and 7 pm, enjoy some great art, and help out the food bank. See you there!

Kathleen

Artist of the Month

Every month, local grade schools choose outstanding art students to be named “Artist of the Month.” As a reward, The Frame & I congratulates these budding artists by donating custom framing for these outstanding artworks. This locally owned frame shop has been in business for 24 years and has enjoyed framing student work since they opened their doors. The crew at the Frame & I also uses archival framing techniques to preserve artwork so it can be enjoyed for years to come.
For February 2009, Prescott High School selected this vibrant mixed media piece by an excelling student artist. Stop by the Frame & I Gallery to view this piece and other local artwork!

New Year's Resolution

New Year's Resolution:
Fill empty frames with great art at the Frame & I!
Our gallery features many unframed prints and originals ready to put into any empty frame. Check out our diverse selection of ready-mades, many of them made by us from leftover custom orders, creating a one-of-a-kind look at a reasonable price. Also, fill an empty space or niche with a beautifully framed mirror. We wish you the best for 2009, from the crew at the Frame & I!