Site for Artist / Painter Gina Jrel!

This collection has taken two years to take form, and is a rare instance where the end result and intention of the finished pieces
was decided prior to the paintings being conceived. It started as an idea posed to me by my publisher in Cedar City. They felt
the style and flavor of my artwork would lend itself well to visual creations of Shakespeare’s plays. I confess that I cut class in high
school escaping to paint; as such, my exposure to Shakespeare was scant at best. I was petrified at the idea of creating a series
of works based on a subject where so many others were much more knowledgeable than I!

It has turned out to be quite an adventure of learning, exploration, research, and understanding. In my journey through this
project I found that Shakespeare had a fondness for emotionally loaded plots, splashed with dark humor, and packed with
colorful characters; all of which are right up my alley! Much to my surprise, this has been great fun and I have become a
Shakespeare fan myself! Soon to be added to this collection will be pieces based on Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Titus Andronicus,

the Merry Wives of Windsor, and others. There are some exciting endeavors in the works for this series!

No endeavor like this is carried out by one person alone. My sincere thanks to Brian Jorgensen, Steve Yates and the staff at Mountain West Books Art Center in Cedar City for their fantastic idea, encouragement, enthusiasm, and patience as I worked up the courage to create this show. My thanks to my dear friend Marlene Proctor for her invaluable assistance in the pre-show preparation of canvas surfaces. My thanks to Steve Eicher and Derek Streeter for coming to my Loft studio and giving me an animated, educational, and enthusiastic crash course on the plays and characters. My thanks to the City of St. George and,in particular, the staff at the St. George Art Museum for their willingness to debut this exhibit. My thanks to the many friends and fans on Facebook who tracked the show as it evolved on a day-to-day basis (as I declined physically and emotionally) for their cheers, pick-me-ups, and enthusiastic support. Finally I would like to acknowledge my reference sources: “Tales From Shakespeare” by Charles and Mary Lamb, YouTube (too many videos to list!), the many motion picture companies who have provided DVD versions of these plays. I would like to acknowledge the artist, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, for his painting mastery and for being very inspirational during the creation of this show. And most importantly, Dane Brewer, the incredible man in my life, for his love, support, and for taming the painting shrew when she needed it most.