This is the official press release announcing our new art gallery:

Jacksonville’s Yes You Canvas! studio celebrates 1000th order with new pop-culture art gallery

Includes popular artists, media-related pieces, Disney animation art, and more

Jacksonville, Fla., January 21, 2010 — Yes You Canvas!, Jacksonville’s new public art studio where anyone can complete a painting, is celebrating its 1000th class reservation in January with a new gallery expansion that features works by owner David Durrett as well as art related to popular culture, including original animation art such as Disney production pieces. 

“The gallery pieces add context to the work we do in the studio,” Durrett said. All of the art featured is appealing, familiar, and accessible, meant to further the studio’s warm and inviting environment. The studio’s floor space is still set up permanently with more than 30 seats for his daily painting classes, but now the wall space and perimeter areas feature both two- and three-dimensional works of art. 

Yes You Canvas! was opened in May 2009 by Durrett as Jacksonville’s own version of the trend growing across the South that features artists opening art studios and inviting members of the public—in most cases lacking any prior art experience—to follow along stroke-by-stroke to produce their own paintings in a single sitting. Adults can bring wine and snacks, and Durrett encourages a casual, fun-oriented atmosphere rather than a classroom-style experience.

Gallery Details

Prior to the studio’s transformation into a gallery over the holidays, its walls featured only Durrett’s original paintings that were used as class subjects, and none of them was for sale. Now, one wall features works by Durrett that include original class-subject paintings that he retired at the end of 2009, which by their nature are designed for popular appeal. Along this wall are floor displays housing all of the 50+ paintings that are currently offered in his classes (these are not for sale) as well as paintings completed by Durrett during actual classes, which are available for $20. 

Another wall features animation art, a rare genre for a Jacksonville gallery. The section includes original cels, production drawings, and limited edition reproductions from:

• Walt Disney Studios, including a production drawing from a 1930s Mickey Mouse cartoon and a dye-transfer print from the estate of pioneer animator Ub Iwerks
• dePatie-Freleng Studios, creators of the Pink Panther
• UPA, creators of the Dick Tracy carton series from the early 1960’s

The gallery also includes original art and signed reproductions by internationally-known media artists such as:

• Pat Oliphant, the world’s most widely-syndicated political cartoonist
• The late Dong Kingman, possibly the most celebrated popular Chinese watercolor artist of the past century, whose work was featured in many Hollywood credits sequences
• Gary Baseman, creator of Disney’s “Teacher’s Pet” and who leads the “lowbrow” school of pop art that Durrett has joined

• Limited-edition sculptures by artist Ron Lee of Disney, Warner Bros. (Looney Tunes), and Dr. Seuss characters including Mickey Mouse
• A replica by Maltese artist Alan Castillo of the voodoo-doll prop used in the Indiana Jones films
• An actual sculpted maquette head used by Disney artists in the early 1970s as a reference when animating the title character in Robin Hood

 Finally, there are examples of Southern folk art, including:

• A 3-foot tall shepherd figure constructed of tree trunks and limbs by an anonymous North Georgia artist
• A clay jug sculpted by Alabama artist Tom Touchton in the likeness of Robert E. Lee
• Whimsical wooden sculptures constructed from found objects by Jacksonville‘s own Yes You Canvas! owner David Durrett.

All works in the gallery are either original or limited edition reproductions.

Regarding his 1000^th order, Durrett is quick to clarify that every online order may include more than one actual reservation. Some people sign up for multiple classes at one time, or register others along with themselves. Still, it is a milestone he started watching for as soon as the order numbers reached into the high 900’s.

“Those thousand orders represent at least 2,000 actual seats,” Durrett said. “A single reservation for a private party may include up to 30 people.” These online orders don’t include walk-in business, and Durrett estimates that in the past nine months he has taught 2,500 people, each of whom has happily left his studio with a finished painting.

Everyone is provided with all materials necessary to paint—canvas, brushes, paint, smocks, and easel. Adult classes are $35 plus tax, include an 18” x 24” canvas, and last from two to four hours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Starting in February, he is offering adult classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for $25 on 16” x 20” canvases. Children’s classes  on Saturday mornings are $20, include an 11” x 14” canvas, and last about one hour. Private groups and companies may contact Durrett to schedule daytime parties and retreats.

About David Durrett

David Durrett has lived in Jacksonville for almost 40 years. He attended Jacksonville University, where he graduated summa cum laude as a Fine Arts major in 1984. For 12 years he served as Vice President of Client Service at the Dalton Agency, pursuing art as a sideline interest and showing his paintings in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Yes You Canvas! is located at 6012 San Jose Boulevard in Lakewood Shopping Center.

Web site: www.yesyoucanvas.com

For more information contact David Durrett at 904-993-9047 or mail@yesyoucanvas.com