McCoy’s Gaited Horse Artworks

Jonelle T. McCoy

Jonelle T. McCoy

I grew up in Upstate NY, and moved to Oklahoma in 1991. My love of animals has always been inside of me, and they were the focus of my creativity, however, it was the horse that was and still is a driving force in my paintings. I thank my Hungarian Great Granddaddy Nicholas Horvath for passing on the artistic genes to me, he is my guardian angel. I still have some of his old worn paintbrushes. His easel and pencil self portrait that I inherited are prized posses-sions. I still feel close to him by remembering his stories about Vincent Van Gogh told when visited in my childhood. Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists.

My livelihood lies with my scenic artist profession which I started in 1987 at Adirondack Sce-nic, Inc. After moving to Oklahoma I have worked as a scenic painter at OCU in their theater department, Silvertree Productions as a scenic and lead painter, but throughout my time here I’ve worked for Eventures, Inc. as their main artist, and still currently am employed there. I even worked for Hollywood painting on the Oklahoma based set of “Twister”.

I have had horses in my life since I was 24, I can’t imagine being without them. I found the smooth gaited Paso Fino breed in 2001 after my husband was hurt on the job, and they are the current inspiration for my imaginative, energetic, and colorful paintings.

Contact Information:Jonelle T. McCoy11372 NS 3550 Road, Prague, OK 74864mccoysartworks@gmail.com

mccoysgaitedhorseartworks.comjonelle-t-mccoy.artistwebsites.com

Statement:

“The first artist I knew about was Van Gogh, my great grand daddy Nicholas would tell Vincent’s story each time we visited when I was young. I love Van Gogh’s use of color, his brushstrokes- but mostly the passion in his work; it’s simply magical to me. I paint with passion and emotion; I love movement, energy, rich bright colors and earthy colors to express different moods or feelings. I feel great joy when my work connects with the viewer by stimulating their senses and imagination.

I’ve been artistic and creative all my life- partly as a hobby, for emotional balance, and as a maturing adult, on a professional level notably as a trained scenic artist, and now fine art. It was in December of 2009 that the muse that left me a decade earlier due to a stressful life change came back in full force, and I’ve not looked back since. My favorite subject is the horse. I can’t stop reveling in their God given beauty, their power, sensitivity, intelligence, wild and free spirit. I ponder if maybe in a past life I was a wild horse and can relate to their spiritual being now as an artist. I love how the lines in my work express the form, beauty and freedom of the horse. I had used oils in the past, but acrylic works wonderfully with the style I developed by experimentation from the memory of a childhood art project. I love the versatility of the acrylic paints and their endless ability to be manipulated.

I am excited to continue working to expand my vision, expression, technique. I consider myself an instinctual painter, if I think about and break down the steps for what I’m doing too much; the cre-ative process gets compromised inside. When I approach the work with an open mind and no hard expectations I find the results are far more pure and true. I hope to wed the process knowledge with the flow of creativity to be able to approach new work with forethought and confidence to just let it become what it may.”

Publications:

• GPFHA Newsletter July 2012, February/March 2013 issue of Advocate, PKA’s Publication. Featured on www.pasofinohorsedirectory.com.

• July 2013 issue of the Central Oklahoma Society of Tole and Decorative Painters, Inc. • July/August 2013 FOSH (Friends of Sound Horses) Sound Advocate Magazine, cover and

article. http://www.fosh.info/pdf/SA%20July2013W_83C0.pdf• June 2013 Paso Fino Horse World breed magazine feature article.• February 2014 Visual Language cover and intro (pg. 3) http://visuallanguagemagazine.com/index.html• March 2014 Paso Fino Horse World breed magazine multiple artists article. • May 2014 Visual Language studio visit article and image addition from the 2014 Rites of

Spring juried painting “Live Again”

Gallery Representation:

• Sweet Earth Studio, Shawnee, Oklahoma• Griffin’s Frame Shop and Art Gallery (closed as of December 2013)• DNA Gallery in OKC for their March 2014 “Animalistic” benefit show

Memberships:

• International Equine Artists• American Women Artists• Contemporary Fine Art International

Jonelle T. McCoymccoysgaitedhorseartworks.comjonelle-t-mccoy.artistwebsites.com

Charities:

• Auctioned: Several paintings for PFUR (Paso Fino Urgent Rescue). • Painting April of 2011 for a PFHA member suffering a natural catastrophe.• Created painting “24 Carrot” to benefit the Pottawatomie Historical Society Building Fund

2-12-13. • Many small private fund raisers to benefit individuals in need. • Created Portrait of FOSH (Friends of Sound Horses) mascot donated for auction July

2013.

Awards:

• OKC State Fair 9-2010: Four 2nd open class decorative arts, 1 sixth- fine art open class.• Pottawatomie County Fair 9-2011: 3 first place, 2 second place, all open class fine art• OKC State Fair 9-2011: 1 Best of Show, 6 firsts, one 2nd, one 4th, one 5th in open class

decorative arts. One 1st, one 4th, one 6th, one 9th in open class fine arts, 3rd place open class sculpture.

• Pottawatomie County Fair 9-2012: three 1st, two 2nd in fine arts, one 3rd pastel. One first in fabric art open class.

• OKC State Fair 9-2012: 1 Superintendants purple rosette award open class fine arts, three 1st, one 8th open class fine arts. Three 1st, one 2nd in open class decorative arts. One first in fabric art open class.

• OKC state fair multiple awards including several 1st places and Best of Show in the open division of Decorative Arts with “A Pair of Scissors”.

• IEA “Spring into Summer Equus 2011 second place winner People’s Choice Award• IEA “Hounds, Horses, and Fantasy, Oh My! 2012 first place winner People’s Choice Award• Honorable Mention CFAI Fall Juried Show “Colors of Autumn” with “Leap, Don’t Fall”• Juried into AOT “Rites of Spring” 2014 online show with “Live Again”

Education:

“Art classes throughout grade and high school. Two basic art classes in college- drawing, charcoal, still life, color wheel. I love to read and study books featuring other artists, mainly the masters of old. My favorite is Van Gogh. I learned how to do scenic arts on the job. I took a beginning palette knife class held in two segments end of 2012.”

“My favorite subject is the horse. I can’t stop reveling in their God given beauty, their power, sensitivity, intelligence, wild and free spirit.”-Jonelle T. McCoy

McCoy’s Gaited Horse Artworks

Jonelle T. McCoy