Our meeting on Saturday, February 3rd, 2024 will be held at Odessa College in the Sedate Hall room 201. We will be utilizing the college’s computers for this meeting. You are welcome to bring your own if you do not wish to use the college’s computers.
Now here is a little information about our exciting guest speaker! Guy T has quickly gained a reputation for a great hands-on experience from his students, with rave reviews from his many TPPA and PPA events over the last several years. His ability to simplify technology helps make this class entertaining, fun, and very informative. As a former corporate educator, he knows how to make the learning ‘stick’, with activities that will take your gained knowledge to new skills and abilities.
He’s a TPPA Fellow and the current President, a PPA Craftsman (Photog. Cr.), a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP), and a PPA Councilor.
If you have any questions that you would like answered at this meeting or any topics you would like to discuss and learn more about, please email them to Guy at [email protected] before the meeting. The sooner the better since that will give him more time to plan an answer for the meeting!
BAM Consulting Business Networking Patio (Door on the left side of main entrance)
3107 N Big Spring St. Midland, TX 79705
Join us Permian Basin to hear our very own locally talented Steven Tippett speak and present about his beautifully unique art for our April Midland Odessa PPA Meeting in the comfortable BAM Consulting Business Networking Patio in Midland, TX.
Steven is from Midland, TX and graduated from Robert E Lee High School (currently Legacy High School). He picked up his first camera when he was 6 years old and went full manual fill at the age of 10 and owned his first digital camera at the age of 19 with a Nikon d200. “I’ve loved photography my whole life”, Steven says, “ It’s what I put down when they asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I put artist/photographer but never thought I could do it full time so I never tried. In 2016 I finally got the chance I needed to see if it was a real thing and is what I have done ever since!”
What an amazing year to reflect back to on 2022! I couldn’t be more excited to get our own little local guild started for the PPA and looking forward to seeing what 2023 holds for us! Congrats to those who took a leap and participated on our local print competition which was judged by the amazing Masters Tony Corbell, Brad Barton, and Joe Glyda.
Our winners include,
2nd Place Children’s Portrait – Do you believe in magic? – Kimberly Cowan
2nd Place – General Portrait – Hello, it’s me – Janet Walker
2nd Place – Still Life and Illustration – The conjurer – Janet Walker
Best in Show – Children’s Portrait – Heavenly – Kimberly Cowan
Best in Show – General Portrait – Magical Moments – Shannon Swanner
Best in Show – Pet Photography – Mommy, Do you like my present? – Kimberly Cowan
Best in Show – Still Life / Illustration – Mountain Storm – Hanna Bloom
Best in Show for Non-Member – Erika Tinoco – My Best Friend and I
Congrats Everyone!
Next in the news, we have officially elected our chair board for 2023 by the paid members of MOPPA. Results are…
Kimberly Cowan – President and Chair
Hanna Bloom – Chair
Crystal Rodriguez – Chair
Please feel free to reach out to us anytime if you have any questions.
More exciting news…. Our first Art Gallery showing sponsored by Jeff Neely with The FaFa gallery on January 6th was a HUGE SUCCESS! It was so amazing to see the crowd come and enjoy our local talent! The portraits will be on display till March and will be part of Midland’s famous Art Crawl taking place March 3rd from 6-9pm. For more information please visit https://www.midlandartcrawl.com
I would like to send a shout out to our friends, inspiration, and neighbor’s in Lubbock who will be holding their Photofest at the end of February along with their local print competition. I have personally been to one of these and the education they provide is amazing and is a good time and only a few hours away. For more information check them out at
Our State Guild, TPPA will be holding their Photographic Competition March 21, 2023 and registration starts February 20th and find their information here
And Lastly, I highly encourage if you have not already, consider joining us for Texas School April 23-28th in Addison, TX. Registration has already started and some classes are sold out, so if you would like to go please register soon. 🙂 https://texasschool.org
We will not be having a February Meeting this year so we can take a break for the beginning of the year, but will kick off with our next meeting March 3rd with Kimberly Cowan at Kimberly Cowan Photography to hold a presentation on Business, Marketing, and Finding your Niche! I will post more information in the coming weeks.
Save the Date:
Feb – Break
Mar 3rd – Midland Art Crawl
Mar 10th – MOPPA Meeting – Kimberly Cowan – Business & Marketing
Apr 7th – MOPPA Meeting – Steven Tippett – Commerical , Real Estate
May 5th – TBD
Jun 2nd – TBD
July 7th – TBD
Thank you everyone and looking forward to seeing everyone and your creativity throughout 2023!
1. Everything that you put in the show needs to be listed as for sale. Take into account how much it cost you to print, order, and/or frame your photographs when making your sale prices. The FaFa Gallery takes a 25% commission off every sale, except if the buyer wants to frame or re-frame the image then the artist would receive 100% of the sale price. The FaFA Gallery would make their money off what they charge the customer to frame the artwork. An example would be if you put an image up for sale for $100 and a customer buys and wants the picture just the way it is, you would receive $75 for the sale. If the customer said, I want that artwork but can you put a frame on it then you would receive the whole $100 sale price.
2. Images need to ”Wall Ready” meaning that you are happy with how you want to present your work. Photographs DO NOT have to be in a frame, there are ways of hanging just prints, mounted images, metal prints, and canvas. That does not mean that framed images are not welcome, I just wanted to clarify for everyone that your photographs do not have to be in a frame to be put in the art show.
3. I understand that the 1st falls on a Sunday, so images may be dropped off up till the 5th at the very latest. It would be better if everyone could have there work in by the 4th as that is when break down of the work currently hanging will be taken down and our show will begin being put up, but I understand if anyone has had shipping delays so work can still be brought during the day on Thursday the 5th. If you have any questions about dropping off please feel free to message me or Kimberly Cowan or just call Jeff at the FaFa Gallery. Jeff will be out of town until next Tuesday, but there will be someone at the gallery to accept pieces just call the gallery ahead of time please. If you cannot reach anyone at the gallery you can call me at 432-214-5034 and I will help.
4. Lastly, the shows opening night will be January 6th at 6:00pm till 10:00pm. There is an event that has been added to The FaFa Gallery Facebook page. The show will remain up until sometime in March. The Midland Art Crawl will also be coming through the show on March 3rd, 2023, so prepare to make some money that night! Do not be afraid to put work into the show, this is an amazing opportunity to showcase your talent, market yourself and your photography, and make some extra cash too!
Jeff Neely, Owner of the FaFa Gallery and Silver’s Framing
Jeff Neely began his life in the art world by first being in the art rental business. In this business, he began to think about the impact the frame on a piece of art has on the overall appeal and sellability of that art. Jeff says that one piece of art in ten different frames can go in a hundred different rooms. The statement makes a lot of sense if you think about it; not everyone has the same style of decor in their home, so one frame might look fabulous in a contemporary home but out of place in a rustic home. Jeff then began making frames in his garage at home for the art that he had. One day while at the small business development center at UTPB, he came across a year-old post from Silver’s Framing about them looking to sell their business. Jeff called Silver and asked if they were still looking for a buyer, which indeed they were, and about 10 minutes after their first meeting, a deal was made, and Jeff bought Silver’s Framing. The agreement with the sale was that Jeff would learn how to become a master framer from Silver, and then he could take control of the business. During this time, Jeff was working around 18-hour days, framing with Silver first and then heading over to his gallery and framing everything and anything he could at night. In 2020, Silver’s Framing and the FaFa Gallery were merged into one building. The beginning of the pandemic created a slow start for the new business. Still, Jeff spent that time perfecting his framing techniques and giving back to the community when he could by hosting art shows for UTPB students who needed a show to graduate, participating in the local art crawls when they began running again, and providing the local artist a place to show their work.
The FaFa Gallery
Speaking Topics
During our November meeting, Jeff will speak about the main differences between showing art in an academic presentation and a commercial presentation. He will also discuss what floating an image means, when you should shadowbox an image and how, and how to use framing to enhance your art. Jeff will teach us all the importance of how you frame your artwork, when it is appropriate to use specific methods, and what style of frame you should use for different pieces. Sometimes, people think about how much they love a frame and then stick their favorite art piece without considering if the frame is taking away or overpowering the artwork within it. Jeff tries to educate people about how a specific frame can enhance the artwork within it instead of overpowering it or just being plain boring.
Custom framed image
The FaFa Gallery, with its community-painted mural
Everything Jeff will be speaking on at our November 4th meeting at 6:00 pm will be beneficial information for our upcoming art show hosted by the FaFa Gallery in January 2023. We will be in for a treat, getting to learn a new way to think about presenting our artwork. When Jeff was asked what he loved most about framing and selling art, he said he loves beautifying people’s world one wall at a time. It’s the reaction people have when they see a piece of artwork they cherish enhanced in a way they did not think was possible. MOPPA is very grateful to such a caring and knowledgeable man for donating his time and space to host and speak at our next meeting and as a sponsor for our non-profit.
Brad Barton is Master Photographer, Master Artist and Creator and is a Certified Professional Photographer based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He loves to use his imagination to create works of art. He shares his passion for creating with the photographic community by speaking at PPA Affiliate meetings, hosting workshops, and providing helpful insight to anyone who asks. Brad has received numerous awards for his one-of-a-kind work, published in many books and magazines distributed nationwide, and featured in feature-length motion pictures. The members of MOPPA are in for a big treat when Brad comes to speak for our October meeting on the 7th at 6:00 pm. Brad will also be hosting a workshop the following day on creating magnificent images with your imagination, digital tools, and camera. This workshop will be on October 8th at Kimberly Cowan’s studio, 4612 Billingsley Blvd, Suite 34, Midland, Tx 79705.
Speaking Topic
Brad will be speaking about entering print competitions through PPA and the fantastic opportunities and education that are available through entering. His talk during the meeting will teach you what exactly print competition is, how it works, and how to fight your fear of entering. He understands how intimidating it can be to enter your work into a contest where a panel of judges will critique it down to the smallest detail. Brad will teach about working through your fear to get the most out of the entire process and how entering can lead you toward obtaining your prestigious Master of Photography Degree from PPA.
Here at Midland Odessa Professional Photographers Association, we are very excited to have Brad travel to Midland to provide us with some of his knowledge. If you have not already, please sign up to be a member of MOPPA so you do not miss out on this fantastic chance to learn from someone so talented. The Imagination Captured Workshop Brad has so generously offered to put on is on Saturday, October 8th. Brad will demonstrate how to light, pose, and work with your subject during the workshop. You will be able to photograph and follow along with the editing of the photos and different finishing techniques and learn how to adapt the information to your work. There is a $99 fee to take the workshop, which will be a minimum of five hours long, starting at 10:00 am. Half the proceeds will be donated to our organization to continue providing our members opportunities for growth and networking. You can learn more about Brad Barton and his work by visiting his website at www.bradbarton.us. You can see more examples of his work on his website and see and purchase any of his books.
For our September meeting, the talented and highly educated Gwendolyn Davies has offered to be our first guest speaker. She has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions across the United States. Through her art, Gwendolyn challenges the ideas of what is considered feminine, beautiful, and desirable in today’s society. She also investigates the context of home and domestic space, and self-identity in relation to contemporary culture. She graduated with a BFA in Photography from Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and Barrett, The Honors College, in December 2015. Gwendolyn then earned her MFA in Photography and Related Media from Rochester Institute of Technology in May 2018. She is now head of the Photography Program at Odessa College, where our meeting will be held (exact meeting location on campus TBA).
Claiming Space Exhibit
Familiar Places Exhibit
Speaking Topics
Gwendolyn will discuss what a Curriculum Vitae, or CV, is and why it is essential to have one
Show some different examples of CVs and teach you how to create your own
Talk about how to apply to different competitions and exhibitions that are available and where you can find these opportunities
Teach how to apply competitions and exhibitions to your CV, how to keep your CV updated, and why an updated CV is important
Gwendolyn Davies will be an exciting first guest speaker for MOPPA. She is an experienced photographer in both digital and alternative printing methods. She has an ongoing lumen print project that she began during lockdown at the start of the pandemic. Along with the lumen project, she has created various other projects, such as Claiming Space, Full, Familiar Places, Wanderings, and more. To view these projects, you can visit her website www.gwendolynanne.com.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ART SHOW
