James Dietz was commissioned by George Lucas to do a large scale painting of Star Wars for a book Lucas was putting together. Mountainsong Galleries in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, is committed to representing more OPA and AIS credentialed Master Artists than any gallery in the world.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, June 13, 2014 – <a href=’http://www.mountainsonggalleries.com/’>Mountainsong Galleries</a> on Ocean Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California is the place to find more of today’s OPA and AIS Master Artists than anywhere in the World. The gallery owners Jonathan and Lucinda Mountainsong have created a friendly, fun upbeat setting filled with contemporary Master Artists, whimsical and dramatic bronze sculptures, stunning glass art and custom wood furniture. Mountainsong represents some of the greatest artists of our time from coast-to-coast.

A historical painting stands or falls on how well it depicts the story it is attempting to illustrate, and how convincingly it combines the people, their actions, costumes, surroundings and atmosphere in an appropriate composition. A good historical painting uses all of these elements to tell the major story and perhaps a second subtext. Both are driven by how interesting the situation is that the artist is attempting to render. How the viewer reacts to a great painting transcends its immediate story and strikes a deeper chord, one that hopefully evolves and changes as the viewer contemplates the art over time.

It is this last and most worthy goal to which artists like James Dietz aspire. In his portrait of events in the 20th and 21st Centuries, he labors to achieve that rare combination of historical fact and the romance, adventure and color of fiction.

Born in San Francisco, Jim graduated from Art Center College of Design in 1969. He had a successful illustration career in Los Angeles and New York, with a steady flow of work ranging from automobile ads, movie posters, and romantic and historical/action book covers.

By 1978, Jim and his wife had moved to Seattle, where Jim’s work gradually shifted away from commercial illustration to primarily historical aviation, automotive and military art. Today his work is internationally known and collected, and his style, with its emphasis on depth of story, is recognized by collectors of historical art. His list of clients includes: Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Federal Express, Allison, Cessna, Flying Tigers, the Indianapolis 500, BMW, the National Guard and many U.S. Army associations: U.S. Army Rangers, 82nd Airborne, 3rd Division, 4th Division, 29th Division, First Division, 1st Cavalry, 11th Cavalry, 28th Division, 41st Division and 37th Division, Command General Staff College, Army War College, US Air Force Documentary Art Program, Wingnut Studios, Meadowbrook and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance .

Awards include:

• Best in Show, EAA Aviation Art Show, three successive years, 1989-91
• Named Master Artist, EAA, 1992
• People’s Choice Award, American Society of Aviation Artists, 1988
• Best in Show, Franklin Mint Artists Show, 1992
• Best in Show & three Best of Era Awards, San Antonio Military Art Show, 1992
• Honorable Mention, American Society of Aviation Artists Show, 1994
• Best in Show, Flying Magazine/Simuflite Art Show, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001
• Award of Merit, Flying Magazine/Simuflite Art Show, 1995, 2000
• Best in Show, Naval Aviation Museum Art Show, 1994, 2000
• First Place, Naval Aviation Museum Art Show, 1995
• R. G. Smith Award for Excellence in Naval Aviation Art, National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, FL, 1997
• Best in Show, Women in Aviation Show, C.R. Smith Museum, Dallas, TX, 1997
• Stanley Wanlass Award for excellence in strength of design and composition, echoing the spirit of the automobile, Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, 1997
• Featured Artist, Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, 1999
• Award of Excellence, Automotive Fine Artists of America show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, 1999, 2000, 2011, 2013
• Peter Helck Award, Automotive Fine Artists of America show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, 1999, 2000, 2013
• League of WWI Aviation Historians, four Silver Cups
• Lincoln Award for Elegance, Automative Fine Artists of America show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, 2007

Jim has been a member of the World War I Aviation Historical Hall of Fame, an Artist Fellow of the American Society of Aviation Artists and a board member of the Automotive Fine Artists of America. He had one-man shows at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1990, 1998 and 2003; San Diego Air & Space Museum in 1990; and the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in 2003. His paintings are part of the permanent collections of many military museums around the country, including the Pentagon, the San Diego Air & Space Museum, Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum, Special Forces Museum, 82nd Airborne Museum, and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

In 2001, Barnes & Noble Publishing released a book on Jim’s World War II art, entitled Portraits of Combat. In 2005, Jim fulfilled a childhood dream when he got the opportunity for a cameo role in Peter Jackson’s (Lord of the Rings) remake of King Kong. Jim plays the role of pilot of the Curtis Helldiver aircraft which fires at Kong while he is perched high above New York on the Empire State Building.

Jim and his wife, Patti, live in Seattle with their dog, Sarah, who shares the distinction with previous Dietz pets, of being a regular in Jim’s paintings. Their son, Ian, is currently an officer serving in the U.S. Army. Jim works in a warm, pleasantly cluttered studio that resembles a WWI aviation bar, surrounded by uniforms, props and models that have made their way into paintings over the years.

Save the Date: The gallery has announced a series of upcoming exhibitions through December 2014 including a first in the world OPA Masters Only Show in July.
· First in the World OPA Masters Only Show:  July 25 – August 24
o Opening Reception July 25 5:00 – 8:00  All OPA Masters
· Oil Painters of America Western Regional Show:  August 30 – September 30
o Opening Reception August 30 5:00 – 8:00
o The list of artists who have been juried into this event has not yet been made public.
· Huihan Liu & Weizhen Liang – Couples Show:  October 4 – October 31
o Opening Reception October 4 5:00 – 7:00
o Huihan Liu, AISM, OPAM and his wife Weizhen Liang, AISM

Details on <a href=’http://www.mountainsonggalleries.com/’>Mountainsong Galleries</a>:
· Location: Ocean between San Carlos and Mission Carmel-by-the-Sea, California • <a href=’http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/art_galleries-mountainsong_galleries_210.htm?Exclusive_Offers=161′>View Map</a>
· Phone: (831) 626-0600
· Private Viewings By Appointment – Call 831-233-8255
· Website:  http://www.mountainsonggalleries.com/
· Hours of Operation

o Monday – Saturday 10 – 6 and Sunday 12-6

· List of Master Artists
o Daniel E. Greene, N. A., AWS, PSA, OPAMaster
o Everett Raymond Kinstler, N. A., AWS, PSA, OPAMaster
o Neil Patterson, OPAMaster, President, Oil Painters of America
o Debra Joy Groesser, AIS, President, American Impressionist Society
o Cyrus Afsary, OPAMaster
o Kenn Backhaus, AISMaster, OPAMaster
o Clayton J. Beck III, AISMaster
o Harley Brown, OPAMaster
o Nancy Bush, AISMaster
o John Michael Carter, OPAMaster
o William T. Chambers, OPAMaster
o Nancy Seamons Crookston, OPAMaster
o Kim English, AISMaster
o Albert Handell, AISMaster, OPAMaster
o David Hettinger, OPAMaster
o Doug Higgins, OPAMaster
o Quang Ho, AISMaster, OPAMaster
o William Scott Jennings, OPAMaster
o Steven Lang, OPAMaster
o Jeff Legg, OPAMaster
o Calvin Liang, AISMaster, OPAMaster
o Kevin Macpherson, AISMaster, OPAMaster
o Weizhen Liang, AISMaster
o Huihan Liu, AISMaster, OPAMaster
o Ned Mueller, OPAMaster
o Paul Mullally, OPAMaster
o Joyce Pike, OPAMaster
o Joan Potter, OPAMaster
o William Schneider, AISMaster
o Craig Tennant, OPAMaster
o Zhiwei Tu, AISMaster, OPAMaster
o Jeffrey R. Watts, OPAMaster
o William Whitaker, OPAMaster
o Alan Wolton, OPAMaster
o Jim Dietz, Premier Automobile and Military Artist
o Randy Strong who has three of his exquisite glass pieces in the Louvre in Paris

Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
Vendange Carmel
PO Box 3396
Ocean Avenue 3 SE Of San Carlos
Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921-3396
831-747-7455
Marci@chatterboxpublicrelations.com
http://www.mountainsonggalleries.com/