JEANNIE MADDOX & MICHAEL ZAVISON

ART-SHORTS: A Magic City Art Connection Artist Interview Blog Series

JEANNIE MADDOX, Oil Painting 

If you could throw a dinner party and invite any artist to join, who would be on your guest list and why? Pick one living and one dead artist.
The dead artist I would like to talk with at a dinner party would be Andy Warhol. One of our big collectors who owned a major newspaper in Boston could not wait to share a story with us. Andy Warhol was coming to his art-filled office to be interviewed for The Boston Phoenix newspaper. Our friend and collector Stephen Mindich said that Andy came into the office without saying a word and studied the collection of art for about five minutes. Stephen said Andy finally stood in front of one of my paintings and said “this artist is a wonderful painter”! I would want to thank him for the compliment and then get some feedback about what he liked and how I could be better. I would also want to ask about his inspiration in the making of his art. As a photo-realistic I would want to have as my living artist, Chuck Close. I will never forget standing in the Guggenheim with a gallery full of 9 x 9 foot photo-realistic faces that made him one of the founders of the photo-realistic movement. I have been inspired by his ability to continue working through partial paralysis caused by a ruptured artery.

How long have you been making art?
I have been painting professionally since 1971 after graduating with a BA degree in art. I have been doing shows since 1971 with my husband Sam. .

How long does it generally take you to complete a work of art?
My larger than life 4 x 6 foot photo-realistic oils can take as long as 500 hours to complete

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
The most difficult part of the artistic process is the shear amount of time it takes to complete a painting. The creative part of the process is the photography that the oils are based on. My first photo shoots were of swimmers in my own pool. Then the second part of the creative process was the cropping of the photo that the painting would be based on. After about nine years of becoming known for my swimmers a major event occurred. The president of Macy’s called and commissioned a piece over the phone after seeing one of my paintings in a collector’s Miami home. For the next eight years Sam and I went as official photographers for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Our All Access passes allowed us to go anywhere on the parade route. I was suddenly mesmerized by shooting street scenes and the reflections and refraction that plate glass windows produced. Because of that phone call from Macy’s, my Urban Series was born.

What is the range of prices that you charge for your art?
The price of my original oils ranges from $2,500 to $27,000. At the present time, the next three pieces are commissions. I will be showing a 4 x 7 foot swimmer commission for a Houston client that is in progress at Magic City.

 How many years have you participated in Magic City Art Connection?
This will be the 28th time we have done Magic City.

Name another favorite art show you enjoy exhibiting at besides Magic City Art Connection. When does it happen and where?
It is the only show we do in Alabama and we always brag about our “home show” to our artist friends on “the circuit”. Some of the other states we show in are Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania. The Bayou City show in Houston, where I was the featured artist two years ago, is my favorite out of state show. It actually happens March 22-24 in Memorial Park and then again in October.

Click here to see more images of Jeannie’s work.

MICHAEL ZAVISON , Mixed Media 

If you could throw a dinner party and invite any artist to join, who would be on your guest list and why? Pick one living and one dead artist.
 Mark Rothko, the reason is that he was a teacher and philosopher as well. His work also has a spiritual presence. The living artist would be Richard Serra.  He too is a philosopher and his large scale cold steel is powerful on many levels.

How long have you been making art?
 I have been actually designing and producing pieces for about 21 years.

How long does it generally take you to complete a work of art?
It takes me from one week to six months to complete a piece. The reason for the extreme difference in time is that some of my work takes longer to resolve

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
My greatest challenge in this type of work is preventing delamination. My pieces are multi layered with thin plaster and certain weather conditions have a negative effect on the curing process. Now that is the physical challenge. The spiritual challenge is much more of an issue.

What is the range of prices that you charge for your art?
My prices vary from $700 to $3500

How many years have you participated in Magic City Art Connection?
 My first year at Magic City

Name another favorite art show you enjoy exhibiting at besides Magic City Art Connection. When does it happen and where?
I like the Boulder Co. shows, my work resonates with the western urban community.

Click here to see more images of Michael’s work.