JULITA JONES
Printmaker

BIOGRAPHY:

Julita Jones was born in Los Angeles, CA, but has lived in Laguna Beach since 1962. One might say art is in her genes, or better yet ink is in her veins - her grandfather, Bruce McCallister, was a distinguished printer of fine books and her mother, Virginia McCallister, was a well known watercolor artist. Her daughter Melinda Jones is also a practicing printmaker.

Julita first became involved with printmaking as an undergraduate at U.C. Santa Barbara. Originally known for her colorful and whimsical serigraphs, she now specializes in viscosity etching. This wonderful, and somewhat unpredictable process, is a way of layering several inks of different viscosities on just one etching plate, thus doing away with having to register different plates.

Julita has been a continual exhibitor at the Laguna Beach Festival Of Arts since 1970 and at the Sawdust Festival since 1982. She is represented in many collections throughout the world and has been the recipient of many awards. She is currently a member of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society, a board member of LOCA (Laguna Outreach Community Arts), and president of CAP (Community Art Project).

Julita's lifelong love of, and interest in nature, has led her to devote her art to a very personal, sometimes humorous, interpretation of the way she works. She is currently deeply immersed in a series of endangered species in which she incorporates newspaper and magazine articles about these animals into her etchings.

VISCOSITY ETCHING

VISCOSITY is a unique method of printing more than one color from a single etching plate. In traditional etching a separate plate is generally used for each color. The viscosity technique is based on the principle that an oily (or greasy) ink will reject a less oily (or viscous) ink. The viscosity plate (usually zinc) has to be bitten with nitric acid to many different levels. The finished plate is first inked in the traditional manner, rubbing the ink into the lower levels and then wiping the surface clean. Then a second color is selected, oil is added, and it is rolled onto the surface of the plate with a hard roller. The third color is rolled on top of this with a very soft roller. The roller, being soft, deposits the ink on the intermediate levels of the plate. The second color, on the surface, should reject most of the third color. Then the plate is printed onto damp rag paper with the tremendous pressure of an etching press. What actually happens is magical! The colors react in all sorts of strange ways and, depending on the oiliness of the inks, the thickness of the rolled ink, the pressure applied to the rollers, and any number of other conditions, each print is a little (or sometimes a lot) different from the others. The term Edition Variable (or E.V.) is often used to describe these prints .

RESUME

EDUCATION

1990-92: Post baccalaureate work in printmaking - California State University Fullerton

1990: MA in printmaking - California State University Fullerton

1986-90: Printmaking studies - California State University Fullerton

1979-84: Printmaking studies -Southern California Art Institute

1966 & 1968: Intaglio classes - Calif. State University Long Beach 

1961: BA in Art - University of California at Santa Barbara

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

LAPS (Los Angeles Printmaking Society)- Member

CAP (Community Art Project)- President

Festival of Arts, Laguna Beach - Exhibits & Jury Formation Committee, Artists Advisory Committee

Arts Alliance of Laguna Beach - Member

Laguna Beach Art Museum - Member

Los Angeles County Art Museum - Member

Bowers Museum – member (Collector’s Council)

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS

2007:  "Another View," Selected Works from the L.A Printmaking Society,"  Occidental College Weingart Galleries, Los Angeles, CA

2006:  "National Printmaking 2006," College of New Jersey Art Gallery, Ewing, NJ

2005:  "Friends of CAP," Banking on Art Gallery, Wells Fargo Bank, Laguna Beach, CA

2005:  "L.A. Printmaking Society Juried Membership Exhibition", Creative Arts Center, Burbank, CA

2005:  "Contemporary No. American Printmakers, Saddleback College Art Gallery, Mission Viejo, CA

2005:  "Ten Year Anniversary Print Showcase," Old Town Gallery, Tustin, CA

2005:  "One Woman Show," St. Regis Hotel, Monarch Beach, CA

2005:  "La Quinta Art Festival," La Quinta, CA

1998-2005: Collector's Choice, Laguna College of Art & Design, Laguna Beach, CA

1997 - 2005: Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA

1970-2005: Festival of Arts, Laguna Beach, CA

1982-2005: Sawdust Festival, Laguna Beach, CA
Best of Show - 1986
Best Printmaker - 1991 through 1995, 2003-2005

1989-1996, 1999-2007: Scottsdale Festival of the Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
2nd. Place Graphics - 2005
3rd. Place Graphics - 2004
1st. Place Graphics - 2003
2nd. Place Drawings/Graphics – 1994, 2001, 2002
3rd. Place Graphics - 2000
Jurors Award - 1990

2004: "Ink Under Pressure", Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA

2004: "Animal Chemistry", Wells Fargo Bank, Laguna Beach, CA

2004: Janet Turner 5th National Print Competition & Exhibition, Chico, CA

2003: Los Angeles Printmaking Society Group Exhibition, Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA

2002: "Earth Matters"

2002: One Woman Show, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Beach, CA

2000,2002: Sausalito Art Festival, Sausalito, CA

1998-2004: Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival, Mill Valley, CA
Award of Excellence, Graphics - 2003

2001: "Ten Again,"  Old Town Gallery, Tustin, CA

2001: "Another View: Selected Works from Contemporary American Printmakers," Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA

2001: Ten Contemporary Orange County Printmakers, Old Town Gallery, Tustin, CA

2000: Generations, Lankershim Arts Center Gallery, North Hollywood, CA

2000: Millennium Exhibit, Wells Fargo Bank, Laguna Beach, CA

1999: Los Angeles Printmaking Society Group Exhibition, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA

1998: Focus VII: Orange County Artists, John Wayne Airport, Costa Mesa, CA

1997: National Printmaking 1997, College of NJ, Trenton, NJ

1997: LA Printmaking Society Juried Membership Exhibition, Brand Library, Glendale, CA

1996: Orange Coats College Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition, OCC, Costa Mesa, CA

1996: Locals Only, The Loft, Laguna Beach, CA

1996: Contemporary Trends in Printmaking, Old Town Gallery, Tustin, CA

1972-1996: Hillcrest Invitational Festival of Fine Arts La Habra, CA
Graphic Awards - 1974-77, 83, 88, 91, 92
1st. Prize Graphics - 1988, 91, 93, 94
2nd. Prize Graphics - 1989, 94, 95
3rd. Prize Graphics - 1996
2nd. Place Two Dimensional - 1995

1995: 6 LOCA Artists, Left Bank Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

1995: Multiple Impressions, Millard Sheets Gallery, Pomona, CA

1995: Greater LA Printmakers, Wichita Falls Museum, WF, TX

1995: Ink & Clay 21, Cal Poly, Pomona, CA 
Honorable Mention

1995: The Nature Of the Act: 5 Printmakers, San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, CA

1994: BACA 10th. Annual Juried National, Berkeley, CA

1994: Colorprint USA, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

1994: Printmaking on the West Coast, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA

1994: Dakotas International, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 

1993: 12th. National Exhibition of the LA Printmaking Society, Laband Art gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles 
C&G Metals Cash Award

1993: LA Printmaking Society Membership Exhibition Brand Library, Glendale, CA

1993: The Prints and the paper, San Diego Art Institute, SD, CA

1993: California Works , Cal. State Fair, Sacramento, CA
Award of Excellence

1992: Prints International 1992, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT

1992: All Media "92, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA

1992: LAPS Print 1992, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA

1991: Issue: Earth, Brandstater Gallery, Loma Linda University, Riverside, CA

1991: LA Printmaking Society Membership Exhibition, Brand Library, Glendale, CA

1991: National Works on Paper, University of Mississippi, MS

1991: The Prints and the Paper, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego

1991: Pacific Prints, AMFAC Plaza Gallery, Honolulu, HA Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, LA Habor College, Willimington, CA

1991: All Media '91, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA

1991: Colorprint USA, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

1990: Stockton National V: Print and Drawing Exhibition, Stockton, CA

1990: "MONSTERS," One man show - East Gallery, California State University Fullerton, CA

1990: Cal Print 90, Weingart Gallery, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA

1989: Los Angeles Printmaking Society 25th. Anniversary Membership Exhibition, Glendale, CA

1989: Contemporary Printmaking, Turner Print Gallery, California State University Chico, Chico, CA

1989: All Media '89, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA

1989: Photo Link, BC Space Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

1988: Parkside National Small Print Exhibition, WI

1988: Pacific States National Biennial Print Exhibition, University of Hawaii at Hilo

1988: California Works, California State Fair, Sacramento, CA
Award of Merit

1988: Current Southern California Work, Southern California Art Institute, Laguna Beach