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Two Rivers Arts
Elevating Art and Artists
Meet our Teachers at the Arts Center of Montross
Click a photo below to learn more about our teachers
Janice Jones
Acryllic, Watercolor, Mixed Media
I always wanted to paint but wasn’t able to embrace my passion until I moved to Mexico and discovered Javier Ramos – an amazing teacher who I continue to study with each time I return there. When I returned to the US, traveled far and wide to continue my studies with teachers such as Karlyn Holman, Gerald Brommer, Don Andrews, Tom Lynch, Betsy Kellum, Sheryl Williams, Pat Troiani and many others. Most recently I was introduced painting with cold wax and oils which was my first earnest venture into abstraction.
To hone these skills, I study with David Kessler and after many classes in cold wax and oil I am being mentored by Linda Benton McCloskey which has emboldened me to teach basic CWM classes. I also work in pastels and have just started drawing with colored pencils. I consider myself to be an evolving multi-media artist who is always pushing the envelope to try new techniques while searching for my niche. I also teach basic classes in watercolor and alcohol inks.
My work has been shown in Maryland and Virginia and has won many honors from Best in Show to Honorable Mention.
I always wanted to paint but wasn’t able to embrace my passion until I moved to Mexico and discovered Javier Ramos – an amazing teacher who I continue to study with each time I return there. When I returned to the US, traveled far and wide to continue my studies with teachers such as Karlyn Holman, Gerald Brommer, Don Andrews, Tom Lynch, Betsy Kellum, Sheryl Williams, Pat Troiani and many others. Most recently I was introduced painting with cold wax and oils which was my first earnest venture into abstraction.
To hone these skills, I study with David Kessler and after many classes in cold wax and oil I am being mentored by Linda Benton McCloskey which has emboldened me to teach basic CWM classes. I also work in pastels and have just started drawing with colored pencils. I consider myself to be an evolving multi-media artist who is always pushing the envelope to try new techniques while searching for my niche. I also teach basic classes in watercolor and alcohol inks.
My work has been shown in Maryland and Virginia and has won many honors from Best in Show to Honorable Mention.
Anne McCahill
Embroidery
Ronda Rotz
Acrylics, Collage and Specialty Classes
Ronda is a self -taught artist who is constantly seeking knowledge of painting mediums that interest her in a quest to discover new techniques to introduce into her own artwork. She has taken many workshops and painting classes along the way. She grew up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania and began her creative journey at a very young age. She used her creativity in a different way after begging her Mother to join 4-H at the age of 7 so she could learn to sew, which lead to many other creative paths. Having access to unlimited books because of her Librarian Mother, she discovered Tole painting, so she learned to paint home décor items in that style of painting. She was formally trained in horticulture and floral design and worked as a floral designer, creating art thru her floral arrangements. While raising 3 children with her husband on a Pennsylvania dairy farm, she rediscovered Folk Art and decorative painting and taught acrylic and fabric painting classes at a local shop that offered classes.
Now that her children are raised, she has been able to dedicate more time to her art. She considers herself a multi-media artist, creating works in acrylic, watercolor, brusho, collage and cold wax/ oil.
Ronda is a self -taught artist who is constantly seeking knowledge of painting mediums that interest her in a quest to discover new techniques to introduce into her own artwork. She has taken many workshops and painting classes along the way. She grew up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania and began her creative journey at a very young age. She used her creativity in a different way after begging her Mother to join 4-H at the age of 7 so she could learn to sew, which lead to many other creative paths. Having access to unlimited books because of her Librarian Mother, she discovered Tole painting, so she learned to paint home décor items in that style of painting. She was formally trained in horticulture and floral design and worked as a floral designer, creating art thru her floral arrangements. While raising 3 children with her husband on a Pennsylvania dairy farm, she rediscovered Folk Art and decorative painting and taught acrylic and fabric painting classes at a local shop that offered classes.
Now that her children are raised, she has been able to dedicate more time to her art. She considers herself a multi-media artist, creating works in acrylic, watercolor, brusho, collage and cold wax/ oil.
Rick Kohli
Denise DeVries
Author
Denise DeVries is a translator and writer from Colorado who has lived in Virginia since 1977 and in the Northern Neck since 2001. The rural town of Kilmarnock inspired her “Hull Crossing Chronicles” and “Key to History” historical fiction series and the one-act plays, A Two-Faced Spinster and Barbershop Gossip. Denise enjoys blogging and writing poetry and is a member of several writers’ groups. She, her husband Alvaro Ibañez, and their youngest daughter Delia Ibañez are developing a retreat center for the arts outside of Kilmarnock, Virginia.
Denise DeVries is a translator and writer from Colorado who has lived in Virginia since 1977 and in the Northern Neck since 2001. The rural town of Kilmarnock inspired her “Hull Crossing Chronicles” and “Key to History” historical fiction series and the one-act plays, A Two-Faced Spinster and Barbershop Gossip. Denise enjoys blogging and writing poetry and is a member of several writers’ groups. She, her husband Alvaro Ibañez, and their youngest daughter Delia Ibañez are developing a retreat center for the arts outside of Kilmarnock, Virginia.
Sean Gates
Author
Sean Gates is the author of the Harry Cogbill series, "The Dark and Lonely Road" and "In the Trackless Wild." He is also the co-writer of several screenplays, including the short film "Lookout Mountain" and 2018 Final Draft Big Break top-five finalist "Shotgun & Lollipop." A graduate of Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, Sean has worked as a freelance graphic artist, and as a typesetter and imager for a now-defunct print shop in Fredericksburg. He is the co-founder of Project94, an independent non-profit news service covering his hometown of King George County. By day he poses as a mild-mannered stock clerk who enjoys coffee, pizza, and outlaw country.
Sean Gates is the author of the Harry Cogbill series, "The Dark and Lonely Road" and "In the Trackless Wild." He is also the co-writer of several screenplays, including the short film "Lookout Mountain" and 2018 Final Draft Big Break top-five finalist "Shotgun & Lollipop." A graduate of Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, Sean has worked as a freelance graphic artist, and as a typesetter and imager for a now-defunct print shop in Fredericksburg. He is the co-founder of Project94, an independent non-profit news service covering his hometown of King George County. By day he poses as a mild-mannered stock clerk who enjoys coffee, pizza, and outlaw country.
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