Recently, 573 Magazine co-sponsored a blind selection art contest with the SEMO Arts Council of Cape Girardeau. A blind selection means that judges view the works without the artists' names or identities being known or revealed until after the selection has been made. Three winners were selected in the 573 area. Today, we journey to Cape Girardeau to meet one of our three winners, Dixie Jones.
Three winners were selected... We met up with our talented honoree at The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri on Spanish Street in Cape Girardeau.
We met up with our talented honoree at The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri on Spanish Street in Cape Girardeau. A lovely woman with bright eyes and a love for life and art that seemed to radiate from her being, Dixie brought several of her works to share.
While showing her awe-inspiring works, Dixie told us that she didn't have her winning piece with her because it sold shortly after entering it in the contest. She apologized and asked if that was ok.
...the success of local artists is one of our greatest joys!
That was quite alright with us here at 573. Hearing about the success of local artists is one of our greatest joys! Another is meeting the amazing people behind these inspiring works, and sharing them with you, our loyal subscribers, fellow art fans, and 573 friends and family.
Meet Dixie
I was born in Cape Girardeau, and I've lived here all my life. I've had a lot of interests, but art has been a constant. All my life, I've been into art. I don't know what inspired me. It's just something I've always done from a very young age. It just seems like it was what I was meant to do.
I'm from a family of nine. I have 6 brothers and was never really into doing all of the sports and things they would do. I just kind of kept more to myself for the most part. I liked to sit around and just draw. I went to a very small school without an art program, so I never really got to do that in school. So I just kept going and going on my own and tried to keep in practice as much as I could.
I have two sons and a daughter. My youngest son is in Jefferson City and my oldest is in St. Louis. My daughter married a pilot and now lives in Montana. She inherited my talent for art. She took lessons with a professional and has really developed her skills. She lives in Bozeman, Montana, which has a great art community.
I myself was a marketing representative for blue cross and blue shield. I was there for 18 years until they offered early retirement, which I took gladly. Part of the early retirement was a chance to go back to college. But I just felt like I was past that part of life and decided instead to focus on my art. So that's what I did. I just bought some supplies and set up a studio in my home to work and create for my own enjoyment.
I do love my art and I appreciate this opportunity to share it with others.
I actually started painting in 1975. I was working full time with 3 small children and didn't really get to do too much. I went out and bought paints and art books and started copying pictures in the books for a while before I started doing my own compositions. In 1994 or maybe 95, I found a local artist by the name of Cleta Curtis in Oran. I took a class with her and started working really hard with oil paints and pastels. I had never worked with pastels before, Cleta introduced me to the medium, but I love pastels! Before that, I had mostly worked with watercolor for a long while. Cleta Curtis is still teaching, I think. I studied with her for about three years. Then I decided I needed to go out on my own. And really all you need is to practice. Practice is what helps you grow. I'm still practicing and still growing.
I just felt like I was past that part of life and decided instead to focus on my art. So that’s what I did.
I've been a member of the council for a long time now. I used to belong to the coop for a while and would display my art through them. I stopped for a while because I was just too busy with work, family…life in general. I just recently applied to get back in, so hopefully, I'll be showing my work again soon.
I don't have a very interesting story, but I do love my art, and I appreciate this opportunity to share it with others.
Practice is what helps you grow. I’m still practicing and still growing.
We appreciate that as well! We love discovering all of the cool talented local people creating magic in our area. Do you have a special talent you've been hiding? Are you an unknown local artist? There's no better time like the present to show the world what you can do! Pull yourself out of that sunken sofa, shake off the dust and get going. Life won't slow down for you. You gotta jump right in and hit the ground running. So what are you waiting for?
GET OUT THERE!
words aj koehler
pics t smugala