Art after Dark Was Quite a Party Saturday Night

Art after Dark Is a Progressive Party in Paso Robles

Art after Dark happens on the first Saturday night of every month. Most of the partying takes place at Studios on the Park, so that's where I went tonight.

Although all the studios and galleries were open, I spent most of my time in four places:

• The Paso Robles Art Association Showroom Gallery
• The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Gallery
• The Studio currently shared by Dean Crawford Jr., Sharon Sobraske, and Deb Hofstetter. 
• The Atrium Gallery

I did peek into the other studios and galleries. I enjoyed the music provided by the Julie Beaver Trio. I always enjoy their toe-tapping western music. It fit right into the theme for the Atrium Gallery Exhibit: In Love with the West.

Partying with the Paso Robles Art Association in their Showroom Gallery

Art, Food, and Conversations Are What Makes the Artist Receptions Special, © B. Radisavljevic

After stopping by to trade gossip and jokes with Robert Simola where the printmakers hang out just to the right as you enter the Atrium, I headed back to the PRAA Gallery for their exhibit, Artist's Choice. The artists chose their favorites from among their works to enter in this juried exhibit. 

Here is some of the art I saw there. The photos can only give you an idea of what's to be seen. It's worth a trip to Studios on the Park to see the art up close before this exhibit closes February 28. 

Art on Display for Artist's Choice Exhibit in PSAA Showroom Gallery, © B. Radisavljevic

Two of my favorites in this photo are the "Chapel on the Hill" in the upper left corner, and the man painting with his feet on the railroad tracks (left in very bottom row). I somehow got away without getting the titles and artist names on all the art pieces this time. It was crowded, and I was just photographing walls, not individual works. I hope to get back later and vote for my favorite for the People's Choice award. It will be really hard to decide. 

Art in PRAA Showroom February 3, 2018, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

My favorite piece in the collection above is the photo of the gate into the San Miguel Mission Cemetery. You have to see it up close to fully appreciate it. That could also be said of the other works in these photos. 

More Work from the Artist's Choice Exhibit in the PSAA Gallery, © B. Radisavljevic

I'm quite sure there was no one at the exhibit that was not captivated by the lion on the rock you see above. The photographer was at the reception to explain how he got that photo. It took patience. 

I had just gotten in an interesting conversation with someone about photography when we were called to attention as the juror, Julie Dunn, announced the awards. She approached each work of art and explained why she chose it for an award. In this photo you can also see some of the delicious food that was offered to us. 

Julie Dunn Explaining Why She Made Each Award, © B. Radisavljevic

The photos of the photographers with their works came later. I apologize for not getting all the names of those in the photos. I hope to correct that later when I get back to Studios on the Park again. I hope the award winners will forgive me until then. Deprise Brescia, who won the best of show award, seemed to be taking the photos of the other winners beside their winning art pieces. See some of Deprise's work in my October PRAA costume party post. 

One Award Winner Photographs Another, © B. Radisavljevic

Award for Art Just Above the Artist's Head, © B. Radisavljevic

After seeing the over seventy art pieces that were on the wall, I'm very glad I wasn't the judge. I would have wanted to give at least twenty of the entries awards. 

I didn't have much time after the awards to look around before it got too crowded to take more photos. So I grabbed some cookies and moved to the next gallery. 

The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Gallery: Salute to the Military

Work of Elementary School Students from Paso Robles Schools, © B. Radisavljevic

Although I spent some time here, there were no artists and the room was almost empty. This is where students and faculty of the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District display their work. My last visit to this gallery was in October of last year, and all the displays were different. This time almost everything was on the walls and the tables were gone. 

The theme here was students saluting the military. The photo above shows how the elementary students addressed this topic. Below I show a portion of what the Paso Robles High School student artists did. 

Pictures by Paso Robles High School Students, Photo, © B. Radisavljevic

My eye was immediately drawn to the colorful picture in the center of the bottom row. It is titled "Brotherhood" and was done by Clay Wilshusen. As I looked at the contributions of the other high school students, I was struck by another picture on the same theme by Andrea Lopez: "Man's Best Soldier." The quote at the bottom of the label reads: "The bond between man and his dog is so strong that not even a bullet could tear through it." 

"Man's Best Soldier" by Andrea Lopez, Paso Robles High School, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

On to "Color Me Red" in the Studio 4 Gallery

Meet Photographers Dean Crawford Jr and Deb Hofstetter in their Studio, © B. Radisavljevic

When I arrived at Studio 4 Gallery, resident photographers Dean Crawford Jr and Deb Hofstetter were ready to meet and greet guests at their weekly "Meet the Photographers" event. There was a lot of interaction in this room. Definitely a party of its own. Below, Dean is standing with his back to the red wall talking to visitors. 

Dean Crawford Conversing with Studio Guests, © B. Radisavljevic

Although I spent some time talking to Deb, she vanished when I was ready to take her photo. I'll catch her one of my next visits.

It Was a Continual Party in the Atrium Gallery

Music from the Julie Beaver Trio fit right in with the theme In Love with the West. The audience, as you will see, was having a grand time moving with the music and sometimes singing along. 

Wine was $8 a glass, poured by RN Estate Winery

There were many types of art styles displayed in the Atrium Gallery, but it was so crowded it was really difficult to do justice to the wonderful sculptures. There was no way they could be isolated from the crowd. Unfortunately they are not on the website along with the paintings from this exhibit.

If you are able, I encourage you to come to Studios on the Park to properly appreciate the excellence of these pieces. Here are some visitors looking at the art on the wall. Most of the sculptures are on the pedestals in the center. 

Visitors Appreciate the Art in the Atrium Gallery, © B. Radisavljevic

I have many more photos, but I would encourage you to come in and look. I think I'll call it a night and go ahead and publish.

***

January 15 is National Hat Day: Fashion and Function

January 15 is National Hat Day. Since I was born in the 1940's in Southern California, hats were only part of my life on special days like Easter Sunday, or, later on if I visited the snow in the mountains. On Easter Sundays, women wore hats to be fashionable and traditional. When I wore a hat in the mountains it was functional in keeping my head warm.

People in California, except in some of the cities, dressed pretty casually, and most of the time we did not need hats to keep our heads warm. We needed them more often to keep the sun out of our eyes and prevent sunstroke and sunburn. The picture above was taken one year at what was then the Paso Robles Festival of the Arts, now known as the Paso Arts Fest. If you click on the photo to see it full size, you will see that many of the people working on the sand sculpture and those around them are wearing hats. Most of these hats are more functional than fashionable.

The basic function of a hat is to cover the head and protect it from excessive heat or cold. Most of the following photos were taken at the Festival of the Arts, an outdoor event in Paso Robles at the end of May. It's usually very warm, and many of us are outside for most of the day. That's why many of the vendors, artists, and attendees wear some sort of hat to protect them from the sun. I went through my files to show you some the hats worn by people I had photographed for other reasons. Perhaps you've met some of these people, many of whom are artists. I'll identify them if I can. I can't see the name tag on this artist. It appears her hat is the type that keeps the head warm. She is participating in the Plein Air Quick Draw which starts at the very beginning of the day. The artists only have a couple of hours to finish their paintings.

Next we have Anne Laddon, without whom we would not have Studios on the Park or the art festivals in Paso Robles. She has lots of help, but she got the ball rolling and does a lot of the work. I had to look at a few more photos to be sure this was Anne, since her face doesn't show here. She is also working on a Quick Draw painting.  I chose this view because it shows off her hat, which is both fashionable and functional.

John Partridge is teaching a watercolor workshop in this photo. I was watching his demonstration.  You can see John's paintings hanging in public places all over Paso Robles. He paints a lot of the most historical and famous places in the city.  His hat serves well to keep the sun out of his eyes.


Julie Dunn, on the right, is one of the many artists exhibiting her art in the park. I liked her hat. Like Anne's it's both fashionable and functional.  It does a good job of shading her face and protecting her head from the heat.

I'd like to show you a couple of other men who were at this event wearing hats. The first is a model for one of the plein air artists during the Quick Draw. I believe the finished work had the word "Cowboy" as part of the title. Do you like his hat? I don't have his name. You can click the photo to enlarge it for a better look at his hat. I didn't crop for just the hat because I just couldn't leave the tree out of the picture.

Larry Kappen is another plein air artist participating in the Quick Draw event. The years I took these pictures, the Quick Draw paintings were auctioned off on the steps of the old Carnegie Library at noon to help support the arts and selected city projects. I like Larry's hat. 

All but one of the hats shown here do a good job of keeping the sun off the faces of the ones wearing them. I have a sun hat I love, but I didn't like the only photo I had of myself in it. It has a drawstring to keep it on my head, since I often walk where it's windy. Without the drawstring, I would have already lost my hat several times.

HAT: HOPE IS AN APPLE BLOSSOM

I also made myself a hat at Zazzle to memorialize my apple tree that died. If this kind of trucker hat is enough protection for you, or if you want to make a personalized design and choose your colors, Zazzle is the place to choose or create a hat.  There are many styles to choose from now, not just the basic style above. Pick any style and add your own image and / or words, or use the search box in the upper right corner to find one of thousands of already created hats on any topic you can think of -- humorous, political, scenic -- whatever you want to express. 

Do you have a suitable hat to protect you from the sun? Or maybe you still need a warm hat during this cold  winter. Amazon has a great hat selection. You can use the handy search bar to find just the right one to meet your needs. If you need a hat for a man, or a winter hat, just change the search term.

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• A Plein Air Dream
• Artist John Heywood at bGallery