Kim and I have had a great experience building and operating the gallery over the last 3 hectic years. We thoroughly enjoyed designing the space; surrounding ourselves (and our customers) with beautiful works of art; meeting the many talented, local artists; hosting gallery events; and finding art collectors and fans of local art.

The local community has been very supportive in our quest to bring more color and creativity to Keller. We’ve exposed art to many new eyes, and hopefully inspired others to keep the creative spirit alive. We’ve successfully connected many new and existing art lovers to a trove of great new art, and uncovered a rich vein of local talent in the process, much of which remained previously mostly hidden to the local community.

For the time being, we plan to keep the art251 website and blog operating as we work on the next phase of our adventures in creativity.

Interestingly, a Warhol painting – Liz #5 – of Elizabeth Taylor is due for auction on May 12 in New York. It is projected to fetch as much as $30 million. For a mere fraction (0.000833 percent, to be precise) you can own Jonathon Kimbrell’s version. art251 is pleased to have two “Liz” paintings by the local artist on display.

Bio

Todd Ford is currently a full time art teacher at a high school in Denton, Texas, where he also serves as the Art Department Chair. He has been teaching since 1996 following graduation from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. He has a B.A. in Art Education, with a minor in studio art.

Ironically, since taking up a career teaching art, Todd found little time to concentrate on his own work. Then, in 2005 he decided that we wished to paint again with the passion and commitment that he once had while still in college. So, he didn’t try to make time to paint, he made time to paint. And, he hasn’t stopped since.

Work

Todd Ford’s work could be defined as fluid photorealism. Where one of the pillars of true photorealism is to create a painting as close to a photograph as possible, Todd prefers a more maleable interpretation. He is more interested in the “feeling” of an object rather than its natural hard lines. While his works may appear simple, the subtle lighting and fluid curves evoke a complex depth and emotional richness.

Todd Ford is an emerging artist. His shows to date include:

2010 – Keller Public Arts Program, 2 Person Show, Keller, TX

2010 – Oxide Gallery, Spring Group Exhibit, Denton, TX

2009 – Lovetts Gallery, Masters of Influence Invitational, Tulsa, OK

2009 – Greater Denton Arts Council, Hidden Artists: Those Who Teach, Denton, TX

2009 – Lovetts Gallery, Spring Perspective 2009, Tulsa, OK

2008 – Diamond Newman Gallery, It’s Not a Photograph, Boston, MA

2004 – Denton ISD Art Faculty Exhibit, Denton, TX

Art, music, food, and it’s free. So, mark your calendar, Second Thursday of every month through until May 2011, from 6-9pm.

Keller art galleries, art251 very much included, will open their doors to feature artwork of all varieties and genres. This is a free event brought to you by the Keller Public Arts Board, Arthouse, art251 (that’s us), Art Party, Monart, Olive Street Art, Town Hall Gallery and YAT.

Buying and giving original art, even to yourself, can be a most rewarding experience; it’s a wonderful way to honor a special relationship, a treasured friend or a focal area in your home. And, it will last generations.

And, keep in mind that not only is all of our art original (except limited edition prints), it’s also handmade by a local artist right here in N.Texas. Now’s a great time to jump into the “buy local” movement with our annual winter Art Attack Sale. You’ll find many works from our favorite artists on sale at up to 50 percent off.The sale continues until January 31.

So, what do we have that’s local? Well, lots! We have beautiful glass vases and rondels. We have fine jewelry from wearable glass, to contemporary and colorful polymer clay. We have functional pottery and unique, museum quality decorative ceramics. We have warm sculptures in exotic woods. We have flying machines. We have fluid abstracts and luminous landscapes and soft geometrics. We have detailed, imagined landscapes and lush verdant works of insects. We have subtly soft pastels and vibrant mixed media. We have fun paintings for children and works for grown-ups who seek sophisticated style. We have vivid photographs of our beautiful local surroundings and far-away lands. We have hard forged steel candlesticks and soft fabric art. We have fine sculpture in metal and in wood.

So, make 2011 special. Better still, make a resolution to buy local and to buy original, art. It’s so much more thrilling that buying that same old reproduction from China via Walmart!

Bio

Leigh Ann Williams has a Masters of Fine Art (Painting) from Texas Woman’s University at Denton, Texas. She has a Lifetime Texas Secondary Teaching Certificate from Texas Christian University (TCU), Fort Worth, Texas, art residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont, and Hugh O’Donnell Center Bantam, Connecticut. She gained her Bachelor of Fine Art in Printmaking from TCU in 1993.

Leigh Ann Williams is currently a graduate teaching assistant focused on fine art at the Art Institute of Fort Worth, Texas.

Work

Solo Shows
Luminous Undulations, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas, May 2010.

City Streets 2009, featured artist at the fashion and textiles senior Fashion show at Texas Woman’s University, Margo Jones Hall, Denton, Texas 2009.

Rahr & Sons Brewery, Arts Goggle Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas 2008.

Christopher Blair Studio, Fall Gallery Night, Fort Worth, Texas 2003.

Juried Shows
Visual Arts Society of Texas 42nd Annual National Visual Arts Exhibition, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas 2010, Juror Melissa Miller.

Art Alliance Juried Student Exhibition, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, 2009, Juror Cheryl Vogel.

Paperworks 2009 International Juried Competition, B.J. Spoke Gallery Huntington, New York, 2009, Juror Maura Herrner, Exhibition Manager, Whitney Museum of American Art.

4th Annual 125-Mile Visual Arts Exhibition, Visual Arts Society of Texas, Denton, Texas, 2009, Juror Chris Bergquist Fulmer.

2009 Texas Artist Coalition Juried Membership Show, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas, 2009, Juror Kevin Vogel.

Creative Arts and Research Symposium, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, Spring 2009. Juror Vance Wingate.

Voertman’s Annual Student Competition, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, 2009, Juror Christina Reece.

Paper Works, Gallery RFD, Swainsboro, Georgia, 2009, Juror Geraldine Wojno Kiefer.

Music and the Human Element, The Work of Leigh Ann Williams and Jessica Pullings, Gallery 010, Texas Woman’s University Denton, Texas, March 8-28, 2009, Juror TWU student body.

A Cultural Re-Birth, Cultural Centers for the Americas, Fort Worth Community Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas 2008, Juror Manuel Pulido.

Voertman’s Annual Student Competition, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas, 2008, Juror Holly Johnson.

Group Shows
2010 Fort Worth Community Art Center Biennial, Fort Worth Community Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas, 2010.

Merging Visions, A collaboration of The Visual Arts Society of Texas and the Denton Poets’ Assembly, Denton Public Library, Denton, Texas, 2010.

Visual Arts Society of Texas Members Exhibition, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas 2009.

Merging Visions, A collaboration of The Visual Arts Society of Texas and the Denton Poets’ Assembly, Denton Public Library, Denton, Texas 2009.

Spring Arts Goggle, Fort Worth, Texas 2009.

Friends and Teachers of Imagination Celebration, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas 2008.

Visual Arts Society of Texas Members Exhibition, Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas 2008.

Graduate Symposium, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas 2008.

Texas Artist Coalition Annual Members Show, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas, 2008.

Art Reach, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas 2008.

All Saints Episcopal School Alumni Art Exhibition, Fort Worth, Texas 2007.

Heliotrope Art Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas 2004 and 2005.

Permanent Display, Angeluna Restaurant, through Fort Worth Arts Council, 2000.

Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont 1994 and 1995.

Seven, BFA Exhibition, Moudy Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas 1993.

Printmakers Exhibition, Lightwell Gallery, Norman Oklahoma 1991.

And, even though we’re an art gallery we have a great selection of gifts for her, him and the teacher. We have gifts in all price ranges, starting at $5 for an art-o-mat, under $25, under $250, and over. We have gifts for young and not so young, stylish and eclectic. Best of all, none of our gifts require batteries or contain toxic chemicals from elsewhere.

We have beautiful glass vases and rondels. We have glass ornaments for your Christmas tree. We have fine jewelry from wearable glass, to contemporary and colorful polymer clay. We have functional pottery and unique, museum quality decorative ceramics. We have warm sculptures in exotic woods. We have flying machines. We have fluid abstracts and luminous landscapes and soft geometrics. We have detailed, imagined landscapes and lush verdant works of insects. We have subtly soft pastels and vibrant mixed media.

We have fun paintings for children and works for grown-ups who seek sophisticated style. We have vivid photographs of our beautiful local surroundings and far-away lands. We have hard forged steel candlesticks and soft fabric art. We have fine sculpture in metal and in wood. Phew! Did I miss anything?

So, make this season special. Give the gift of art. It’s unique, it’s lasting, it’s meaningful, and it’s local. And, it’s on sale right now.