Delicate bead paintings, colorful abstract paintings, whimsical ceramics, mixed media and more will be on exhibit during The Finer Arts Galley’s special “Art Affaire” event from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 19.

The special evening will showcase the diverse works of its 50 artists, all of whom are Arizona professional artists. The unique gallery is located inside the historic Treehouse building, 6137 E. Cave Creek Rd., in Cave Creek.

One common theme among many of the gallery’s artists is a natural desire to experiment with different mediums and styles. Sometimes, pushing themselves out of their comfort zone leads to an exciting discovery that changes their focus as an artist.

Painter discovered passion for abstracts later in career

Originally from Washington, Jan Griggs has been an artist all her life. But she says she was a “late bloomer” to discovering her passion for abstract art, according to a press release. Not long after she moved to Scottsdale, she took a special week-long mentoring session in Taos, New Mexico that challenged her to be intuitive and spontaneous as she painted. That was 13 years ago, and since then, she has been laser-focused on creating abstract art.

“I love painting abstracts,” Griggs said in a press release. “My work is a collection of places, feelings of color, light and dark, movement and stillness that I translate into abstracted forms.”

Energy, color, light and intuition are the elements that characterize Griggs’ paintings. She works with acrylics on canvas or heavy watercolor paper with a variety of tools to move and manipulate the paint.

“My artistic process is intuitive and spontaneous” Griggs said in a press release. “My parameters are the color pallet I choose and the shape and size of the surface I am painting on. I have a very basic idea of what I want to create and let the flow of color and paint guide me.”

While much of her work is inspired by the beauty of the desert, she continues to be influenced by the cool grays, blues and greens of the Puget Sound area.

Artist pivoted to “paint” with beads

Karen Johnson has always been passionate about art, according to a press release. She attended The Atelier LeSueur in Minnesota where she worked on figure drawing, still life and plein air landscape painting. However her focus changed when she discovered Native American beadwork.

“I collected so many different glass beads, I decided to start ‘painting’ with the beads,” Johnson, a Scottsdale resident, said in a press release. “Beads don’t translate like paint. It’s a very timely process.”

She begins with a photograph, and then chooses from shiny, matte, metallic, opaque and different sized beads that she can incorporate into the picture.

“Colors and values are limited so it can be a challenge to get the look that I’m after correct,” Johnson said.

She draws the picture onto a stabilized cloth and then begins sewing the beads on them. It usually takes a 3” x 3” area before she can tell if it’s looking right.

“Often times, the beads get ripped out and I start over. It is a timely process. It’s all about the beads,” Johnson said in a press release.
Her subject matters range from plants to people.

“When creating, it’s always a story or an emotion that I hope to portray,” she said in a press release. “The beauty of nature is always there. The challenge is translating what I see into a work of art that creates a lasting impression.”

The May featured artists also include ceramic artist Robin Ray and mixed media artist Joyce Hagen. For details, call 480-488-2923 or visit www.thefinerartsgallery.com.