Monrovia Association of Fine Arts presents 45th Annual Celebrate the Arts

The Monrovia Association of Fine Arts, formerly known as the Monrovia Arts Festival Association presents the 45th Annual CELEBRATE THE ARTS, a weekend festival of Fine Arts on October 11th and 12th, 2008; 10:00am – 6:00pm Saturday and Sunday at a new location; the Monrovia Community Center, 119 W. Palm Avenue in Monrovia (right across the street from the old location at Library Park which is currently closed for construction). This event promises to provide fun and entertainment for the whole family and anyone interested in all aspects of the arts. Local oil painters, photographers, sculptors and watercolor artists from Monrovia and surrounding communities bring their artwork to share and display during a two-day festival sure to delight families and children alike.

This year’s Featured Artist is landscape and nature photographer, Frank Zgonc, a MAFA Executive Board Member and past president of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts who has been diligently working to promote the arts in the local community of Monrovia and surrounding areas for many years. Frank Zgonc is a photographer who prefers to consider his art as painting with the tools created for personal digital computers and yet presenting his work in a medium more reflective of traditional watercolor images. His process of printing photographic images on wet watercolor paper produces impressionistic images that enhance the communication of his philosophy, embodies emotions and provides the viewer with a sense of place; “Life is about exploring, art is telling the world what we found”, he states.The watercolor photography is only one area he explores. The digital art in particular has been a significant focus for him in the last year. With this technical skill, Frank intends to go more surreal and impressionistic in the future, obtaining some of his inspiration from his travels in Europe where Frank Zgonc is a listed artist at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Frank Zgonc has continued to expand his exploration of artistic mediums in the technical realm by producing a valuable source of community and pertinent artistic information expressed through his blog: and he is also a writer with the Metroblogging team where one may follow his escapades. Enjoy a visit to Frank Zgonc’s website at www.mindscapewatercolorphotography.com

Additionally, some of the artists exhibiting work at the Monrovia Community Center and or providing demonstrations include some of the following well-known and continuing supporters of the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts: Photographers Doug Gordon, Stephen Coleman, John Houseman and Ginger Van Hook. A variety of watercolor artists include, Betty Glass, Horst Albers, Setsuko Okubo, and Elaine G. Smith. Oil Painters include Roz Newson and Luke Van Hook. Glass artists Christina Hughes, as well as others will be displayed as well as acrylic artist George Schopeck, collage artist Millie Havens, and ceramist Sal Perez. New artists coming on board are yet to be announced and the event is rallying the whole community to come out to Monrovia Community Center to CELEBRATE THE ARTS!

Monrovia Association of Fine Arts is a nonprofit (501c) corporation with a mission to promote the arts in the local communities. The mission statement is “To enhance the lives of those within our community through interaction with the arts and to increase the opportunities for our children through art education.” Local art is featured in a variety of MAFA supported venues such as the PAINT N PLAY FINE ARTS GALLERY located at (418 South Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia), FOCUS ONE FINE ARTS GALLERY (404 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia), THE AZTEC ART GALLERY (305 West Foothill Blvd., Monrovia), as well as the latest gallery to have joined the art milieu, Route 66 Art Gallery located at 301 W. Foothill Blvd., beside the Aztec Hotel in Monrovia. Art is also displayed on the walls of the popular gourmet sandwich and coffee shop (under new management) at THE MONROVIA COFFEE COMPANY (425 Myrtle Avenue, Monrovia), as well as the very young up and coming artists venue: KIDSART located at (128 East Lemon, Monrovia). California Wine and Cheese, located at 115 W. Foothill Blvd is another special artist venue and A number of supporting vendors who continue to create an inviting and nurturing environment for the artists and their arts exist all over the Monrovia community.

James Caprell Gallery

The Work

The Artist

James Caprell’s art career began at the age of five. He painted pennies silver and sold them to the neighborhood kids for nickels. The problem was, he claimed they were dimes.

Caprell’s interest in art and instinctive business sense drove him in distinctly different directions. At DePauw University, his study of Economics prepared him for the business world, while his art developed through drawing classes, cartooning for the local paper, and painting for recreation. He felt the gnawing of his artistic desire, but ultimately sequestered it to follow the course of financial success. In the fall of 1998, Caprell moved to New York City to accept a position with acclaimed investment bank J.P. Morgan.

Within two years, Caprell contributed to the execution of several billion-dollar transactions, securing his reputation as one of the top young bankers at the firm. In the summer of 2000, he was presented an offer that would guarantee him a lifetime of financial security and put him on course to become one of the youngest vice-presidents at J.P. Morgan.

Caprell declined. At 4 a.m. in the men’s room stall, as he tried to steal the only hour of sleep in three consecutive nights, a realization dawned, causing Caprell to consider his priorities. He was shaken by the selfish ambition that had engulfed him, and yearned to start impacting the lives of others in a meaningful way. His long suppressed artistic desire came to mind. Perhaps the joy of painting those pennies outweighed the delight of selling them.

Once unleashed, Caprell’s desire to paint transformed into a vigorous passion. In addition to visual art, he began to avidly pursue the performance art of acting. He was now painting by day and training as an actor by night. Exactly one year from the day he left Wall Street, Caprell made his off-Broadway debut on the Atlantic Theatre stage.

Inspired by his newfound freedom in the arts, Caprell dedicated this period of painting solely to discovery. Only eleven paintings survived as he worked and re-worked hundreds of canvases to the point of destruction. The last of these paintings came shortly after Caprell stood at his bedroom window and watched the second plane crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Caprell left for Los Angeles in 2002. After two years of training at New York’s accredited conservatories and performing on the New York stage, Caprell recognized the broader impact of working in front of the camera. Once in Los Angeles, he found the atmosphere was highly conducive to both artistic pursuits, and his technique flourished. Caprell’s personal life didn’t.

A combination of private conflict, the overwhelming struggles of an emerging artist, and the loneliness that comes with living in a new environment, sent him into a period of deep sadness, accompanied by anxiety, resentment and vacancy. His life was haunted by these emotions for two years.

Then, on February 22, 2004, Caprell experienced an epiphany he describes as being filled with God’s spirit – his eyes were opened to the love that God had for him, and that love replaced the destructive powers consuming his life. From that day forward, his highest aspiration became sharing this newfound love and compassion he had experienced with everyone around him. Caprell was saved from himself.

Three months later, his sense of security was tested while learning to surf in the fierce waters off Newport Beach. Caprell was caught in a vicious rip-tide, picked up by a ten-foot swell, and sent crashing into a nearby rock jetty. He became trapped underwater, turning head over heels in a relentless “washing machine” against the rocks. Exhausted and near drowning, Caprell surrendered to death.  In that moment, he experienced a serene reconciliation with mortality, confirming his faith. Only after this did his hand catch a chance boulder on the jetty, pulling him out of the raging current. Caprell was saved from a tragic demise.

Free from the confines of a financially-driven profession, the darker side of the human condition, and ultimately the fear of his own death, Caprell now lives with a fuller purpose. His drive comes from gratitude and compassion. His motivation stems from his love for God, for others, and a heightened awareness of the beauty in life. From this, he paints. In the summer of 2004, Caprell began to compose the Collection, sharing his work with the public for the first time.

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