Award Winning Artist and Writer

“A curious mix of ancient wisdom and cutting edge thinking. Natural forms call out to me because they leave the most to my imagination”
It is what it is. Art awakens the senses. First you feast with your eyes and then a stir to your soul and you reach out to touch it. When my work fulfills these desires then I have accomplished an illusion of art. I explore various mediums, taking every day objects and examining them for their design elements. There is art everywhere we look. I capture the visual, express the feeling and release it back into the universe, to hopefully inspire someone else to see things from another point of view and to awaken within them the desire to create their own visions, to continue the cycle of art.

I surround myself with art in all forms, music, visual, dancing, and preforming arts. My formal studies started on the east coast with Don J. Fortunato affiliated with Old Dominion University in the 70's. During the 80's there was a calling to the southwest where I studied photography with Louis Bernal and worked in the Louis Bernal Gallery. The opportunity presented itself to study painting and drawing under George Welch, orginally from Harlem, New York. In the 90's I created my two masterpieces and they have gone on to be productive, creative and caring humans. I am currently studing Science and Humanities through Northern Arizona University. These studies expand my knowledge of cosmology and human conditions that reflect in my work.

Working with mixed media I incorportate acrylic paints, crushed pigments, pastels, resin, heated fibers, oil sticks, glass, textiles and organic materials; in addition to digital photography with the dynamics of photoshop.

My art has evolved from structured formal art into a more deconstructive, primitive and evoking endeavor. I enjoy revisiting the soul of my past and introducing it to my current energy; I partner these two vibrant souls into a Requiem in Repose.

I am influenced by Flemish and Dutch artist's along the lines of Van Eyk and Vermeer with their attention to detail, light and the richness of their organic oil paintings and I also relate to Dadaism sliding into Surrealism.

Natural forms in the vain of lines and shadows call to me as do color and texture. I try to capture an essence and emote it through my work. When I create a mixed media piece it is usually based on color and texture and the piece starts taking on its own identity and I act as a conduit and allow it to transform and simply exist.

When the inspiration hits the process begins, the current is strong, the ki is swift and a mixed media piece can be completed withing a week depending on which elements are chosen and the solidification. When working with mixed media it is about experimentation and exploration. I try new ideas and utlilize available materials.

One of my patrons, Dr. Rogne of Shell Chiropratice has best described my mixed media work as, "This is the stuff that dreams are made of..."

Thank you for your time and curiosity,

Jacque Venus Tobias

Be Conscious of what you see, not what you think you see.



PROFESSIONAL SHOWINGS:


• Barraca Varticista, Buenos Aires
• La Tranca Cura, Mala/Argentina
• Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
• Phelps Dodge Building, Phoenix, AZ
• Los Angeles Center For Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
• Phoenix City Hall CSFD, Phoenix, AZ
• Sketchbook Project Tour:
• Brooklyn, NY; Los Angeles, CA; St. Louis, MO; Chicago, IL
• Shemer Art Center and Museum, Phoenix, AZ
• Phoenix Center For The Arts, Phoenix AZ (Award; Juried)
• Arizona State University Downtown Campus, Phoenix AZ
• Herberger Theater Center, 2007-2008/Annual Fund Raiser, Phoenix, AZ
• West Valley Art Museum, Surprise, AZ (Juried)
• Alwun House/Exotic Show/Halloween/GLSEN, Phoenix, AZ (Juried)
• Victoria Boyce Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ (Juried)
• Phoenix Art Museum, Breast Cancer Charity Event, AZ
• Art on Boston Monthly Show, Chandler, AZ (Juried)
• Chandler Art Walk, Chandler, AZ (Juried)
• Paper Heart Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
• RFD Gallery, Swainsboro, GA
• First Studio Endeavors For The Arts, Phoenix, AZ
• Louis Bernal Art Gallery, Tucson, AZ (Juried)
• Red Dog Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
• Trunk Space, Phoenix, AZ
• 11 X 14 Gallery, Tempe, AZ
• Orpheum Lofts, Phoenix, AZ
• Subterranean, Chicago, IL
• Phoenix New Times review of Labyrinth of Silence and Emotional Relase
• Cover of PHOENIX DOWNTOWN Magazine, Phoenix, AZ
• Artwork in Tucson Star Newspaper, Tucson, AZ
• Photographs in Arizona Informant Newspaper, Phoenix, AZ
Artist of the Month in the Times Publication
Solo instalations at two Coffee Plantation Locations in Scottsdale, AZ





AWARD WINING WRITER:
• Inaugural Online Media Award from the Arizona Association of Black Journalist for article on The Lost Boys of Sudan
• Arizona Press Women Award at National Press Club in Washington DC
• Several First Place Awards in Arizona; Arizona Press Women for Articles in The Arizona Informant