The Visual Arts Society of Texas (VAST) proudly invites you to see the documentary film entitled Jo Williams: Living Art followed by a watercolor painting demonstration on February 7th, from 6:45 – 9:00 pm at the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center, 400 East Hickory Street, in Denton, TX.
Living Art: Jo Williams features the award-winning watercolorist and longtime resident of Denton, Texas, who, over the past 40 years has been an active supporter of the arts in the community and beyond. Besides achieving recognition from her profession as an artist and teacher, Jo Williams has volunteered countless hours, playing a key role in the growth and diversity of the Denton arts scene. This the first in a series of films focusing upon practicing artists who enrich their communities by Living their art. The film was funded in part by the Greater Denton Arts Council, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts through a 2016 Artist Microgrant received by Living Art Director, Susan Carol Davis. To find out more about the film, see the trailer: https://vimeo.com/181138219.
To find out more about the Living Art series, see https://www.curiousdogcreative.com/living-art-jo-williams/.
Jo Williams is a native Texan who has been painting professionally for over thirty-five years. She is a versatile painter choosing subjects from the natural world. Much of her work is inspired by her travels primarily throughout the southwestern United States.
Williams lives in Denton, TX, where she is very active in the arts community. She served for three years as the President of the Visual Arts Society of Texas (VAST), and six years as chair of the City Commission for Public Arts.
She has a degree in art education from the University of North Texas and has spent most of her career teaching privately. She has taught week-long workshops during the summers in Provence and Brittany, France for Autistic Gourmet Adventures. She conducts workshops the southwest including Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma and Mexico. She has also taught continuing education classes for the University of North Texas. In the summer of 2000, she taught in the Colorado Plateau Painting Workshop at Flagstaff, AZ.
In addition to teaching, she gives demonstrations for art organizations and judges regional art exhibits. She also teaches classes at the Center for the Visual Arts in Denton. She holds signature memberships in the Southwestern Watercolor Society since 1991 and the Society of Watercolor Artists.
Her work has been exhibited in numerous regional and national juried exhibitions. She has won a number of awards, including Best of Show in the Texas Neighbors Art Competition in Irving and the North Texas Area Art League’s Annual Juried Exhibition (now VAST) in Denton.
She has had several solo exhibitions including an invitational exhibit at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri and an invitational exhibition at the Center for the Visual Arts in Denton. Her work is included in many private collections and public collections including Raytheon, Ben E. Keith Co., Denton Publishing Company, City of Denton, and the Greater Denton Arts Council.
Williams and her husband Johnny won the prestigious Community Arts Recognition Award (CARA) in Denton in 2003. In 2008, Williams was invited to paint an ornament for the White House Christmas tree to represent the 26tgh Congressional District. She also attended a reception at the White House for the artists. The ornament remains stored in the Smithsonian.
To find out more about Jo Williams and see her art, see: www.jowilliaimswatercolors.com
The film screening and presentation are free for VAST members, and $5 for guests. For more about VAST, see http://vastarts.org
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