Now Showing
Janis Commentz & Tami Wood
January 29 - March 26, 2017
"Storm Over Jumbo Rocks" Janis Commentz
Janis Commentz is a painter living in California's Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park. Her impressionistic landscapes often include a lone figure, and she especially enjoys capturing the essence of someone who has caught her attention. Color and light are an important part of her work as she strives to portray the mood of a landscape, interior or the personality of a portrait subject. Although Janis grew up near the coast, she has learned that desert beauty is an acquired taste. Today, she enjoys her studio near Joshua Tree and paints plein air in various parts of the Southwest.
BIO
Janis Commentz is a southern California native who grew up near the coast and began drawing and painting early in life. As the daughter of an artist, she was surrounded by art materials and enjoyed trips to galleries and museums, as well as seasonal trips to Laguna Beach and Carmel.
Janis moved to the Mojave Desert in 1977 to teach high school art and English. At the University of Redlands, she earned a B.A. in art and English and studied with John Nava, well-known for his tapestries at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. She holds an M.A. in Education from California State University at San Bernardino and teaches youth art classes at the 29 Palms Art Gallery and has facilitated life drawing in Joshua Tree for eight years.
She has exhibited at Gallery 62, Joshua Tree Art Gallery, the Purple Agave and Rainbow Stew in the Morongo Basin, T.E. Studios in Riverside, and the Redlands Art Association, Redlands.
Janis participated in the Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours (six seasons), Joshua Tree National Park Juried Art Exposition (three years), Joshua Tree National Park Spring Art Festival, Art Faire at California State University at San Bernardo and Art For Heaven's Sake, Redlands. She helped create the “Pop Up” Art Gallery in Joshua Tree, Six Chicks. She has been the featured artist at the Glass Outhouse Art Gallery in Twentynine Palms and the 29 Palms Art Gallery. She is delighted that Joshua Tree has become an art destination!
To learn more about Janis Commentz, please visit www.janiscommentz.com
"Love" Tami Wood
Tami Wood is an artist and has lived in the desert for 30 years. She has worked with many organizations in the high desert including Joshua Tree Transition’s Heart & Soul, Joshua Tree Appreciation for Musicianship, and the Annual Hwy62 Studio Art Tours. She is currently finishing her Associates Degree in Communications & Multi Media Marketing. She is a certified trainer in CRM (Community Resilient Model) which offers support and healing steps to veterans & civilians that are suffering from PTSD. She has struggled through her own PTSD and through writing and creating art she has found meaning and purpose in her life. She hopes others will as well.
BIO
I grew up in Northern TEXAS around flat land and tumbleweeds. My family raised cattle and my favorite thing to do when I was growing up was to go to the pasture with my Dad to see all the cows. It is a memory I still go back to often. As I grew up I loved fixing fences and helping my Dad. ...And running around in the Thunder Storms. There is nothing like the lightning storms and rain in Northern Texas. Funny how simple things are so cherished as each day goes by.
I moved my family here to the Coachella Valley in the 1980's. My only child, Christopher, is now grown and lives in L.A and has a lovely life. I love my last name... WOOD... It came from my late husband. Ron Wood passed on in March of 2012. Hopefully I can evolve and continue my passion to help people find their way. My journey has just become more enlightened and beautiful as I carry on without my best friend. Ron was my biggest FAN. I could always count on him for encouragement, LOVE, and lots of laughs. Thank you, Ron.
Painting and creating ART takes me to a place of solitude and peacefulness. My inspiration often comes when finding a treasure on my desert walks and hikes. An old piece of wood, a rusty tin can, ... it's just the best...Each treasure that I find soon becomes alive with inspiration and part of a piece of art. I hope you can see my heart in my work...and feel peaceful and inspired when looking at it.
To learn more about Tami Wood, please visit www.tamiwoodcreations.com
The Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization whose mission is to inspire and enliven the community through the arts, and to enhance the cultural and economic health of the region. Building community through the arts, the Arts Council continues to be a leading source of information, inspiration and energy for artists and patrons throughout the Morongo Basin and beyond.
The Art in Public Places program organized by the Arts Council to allow its members the opportunity to show their artwork at a variety of public venues throughout the Morongo Basin, including here at the 29 Palms Inn restaurant.
For more information visit www.mbcac.org
