The art studio trek of Roseville, Rocklin, and Granite Bay was held over the weekend of April 27th and 28th, 2013. 21 artists came together to showcase their art work throughout the area. Photography, mixed media art, paintings, jewelry, and sculpture were assembled at 15 locations for the general public to appreciate and purchase. I had the opportunity to visit a small subset of the artists, learn about their craft, and appreciate their work. Photos of my visit are included below.     Lorelee Love has been involved in ceramics for over 23 years working on her craft part time while working full time. She now devotes all of her time to her pottery. Lorelee continues to enhance her ed

It had been a few years since I last had been in Davis so I was surprised when I turned into town to see a giant three story sculpture of a man on first street. I was there to meet up with friends for brunch at Cafe Bernardo. I quickly parked my car and walked to the restaurant. As I walked down the streets of Davis I spotted different murals on the sides of restaurants and various sculptures. I would later learn that these works were part of a new art walk. My friends and I thought we would take advantage of the great weekend weather and explore the Davis Art walk. We obtained a map from the John Natsoulas Gallery where we learned from a friendly staff person that the art pieces had R

Artist Betty Thompson seems like a quiet and introspective person. Her paintings on display at the Artists’ Collaborative Gallery are gentle watercolors of Sacramento landscapes and wildlife. Who would have guessed that underneath her affable surface, Betty is a perpetrator in an underground movement that surreptitiously commits random acts of art in public places? Although sounding like anarchy, the Random Acts of Art movement is an effort to spread good cheer through art. Started by Betty's friend in Nevada City, artists in the movement leave small and anonymous works in random places for people to pick up, keep and enjoy. Betty places small watercolor cards (with haiku poems she compos

Put this on your calendar for April as it is a fun event with lots of art to view and to watch demonstrations on how these professional artists create their brand of art.  It is free and prizes and fun are all part of the event. This group has really had a lot of fun making this event happen and they meet often to gather ideas about how to make it interesting and present something about art as well.  This is fun for the whole family or just adults that are interested in finding something new.   ART STUDIO TREK (Art and Chocolate) Open studio event with demonstrations April 28th and April 29th marks the 6th Anniversary of ART STUDIO TREK! Enjoy the combined efforts of 18 Artists at 13 s

Two never-before-seen-in-public Florentine Baroque paintings will be on exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum Saturday through Feb. 12: "Saint Sebastian" by Onorio Marinari and "Penitent Magdalene" by Cesare Dandini – as part of "Florence and the Baroque: Paintings from the Haukohl Family Collection" exhibit. The exhibit features Italian paintings and a sculpture from the 16th through the 18th centuries by artists such as Cesare Dandini, Jacopo da Empoli and Francesco Furini. "This is the first exhibition that is all of Italian painting that we've had in many decades," Curator William Breazeale said. "There is one from the Crest collection in 1933, there have been a few in between, but it’s

A mural and sculpture artwork more than a year in the making is set to be finished in about a month and will be installed at the Boys & Girls Club of Sacramento to both inspire and educate the children. “I wanted to do something really original and kind of something that’s never been done before and challenge myself,” said 34-year-old Sacramento artist Anthony Padilla, who is known for works such as the murals on Hot Italian in Midtown and the 16th Street Kings mural. His design for the art involves a roughly 27-foot-by-27-foot mural accompanied by a sculpture that uses solar power to charge electronic devices such as laptops and cellphones and even run devices such as boom boxes. “Basi

Yesterday the Crocker Art Museum installed two new outside sculptures. Placed in the courtyard is an untitled piece by Gerald Walburg. Folded Circle Cube and Disc, a fourteen-foot sculpture weighing 3,000 lbs. by artist Fletcher Benton, was Installed at the corner of O and 3rd Streets.  Benton’s work is included in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. The artist was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s award for Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture in 2008. Folded Circle Cube and Disc was donated to the Museum by Frank and Lill Anderson

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, local Life Scout Alexander Aprea will erect a sculpture memorial representing one one-hundredth the size of the Twin Towers including a steel piece from the wreckage. Alexander Aprea, 14, is a life scout from Boy Scout Troop 802 who is working toward achieving the Eagle Scout rank by organizing and building a sculpture representing the Twin Towers as a way to honor the victims and survivors of 9/11. “Eagle Scout is something that I have always wanted to obtain since I joined scouting, and this is kind of a way for me to really feel like the project that I am doing to earn my eagle scout is a worthy project,” Alexander said. Alexander explaine

Drivers, bikers and pedestrians on Del Paso Road Boulevard may have noticed an 18-foot-tall steel post topped with an eyeball peering down upon a 10-foot-tall open book sculpture with giant spectacles on the side. What they are looking at is a piece of Sacramento's public art collection. “We have one of the best public art collections in the country. We have been doing it for over 30 years,” said Art in Public Places Education Coordinator and tour guide Dixie Laws. Art in Public Places is managed by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and is funded by the city and county through ordinances that dedicate 2 percent “of eligible capital improvement project budgets,” for artworks, La

Fremont Park in Midtown is now home to two colorful and richly detailed sculptures, which were recently installed as part of Sacramento’s Art in Public Places program.  Created by local artist Stephanie Taylor, the sculptures chronicle the explorations of John C. Fremont and the flow of time and events between the 19th century and today. Shaped like giant vessels and embellished with intricate ceramic elements, the sculptures have been in the works since 2007 and were finished last summer. However, technicalities regarding placement delayed installation until this spring.  The location of the vessels became a topic of intrigue and Fremont Park Neighborhood Association, CADA and the city

  April 30th and May 1st marks the 5th Anniversary of ART STUDIO TREK! Enjoy the combined efforts of 19 artists at 13 studio locations in the Roseville, Rocklin, and Granite Bay area. Celebrate this free weekend event and share in the artists’ personal creative endeavors. There will be a vast array of talent, art and even an opportunity for you, the guest! Visitors will be eligible for door prizes and original art. It will be a time of creative celebration in this artist community as artists demonstrate art techniques and offer their artwork for sale. Saturday, April 30 & Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 10am-5pm free maps at www.ArtStudioTrek.com     Disclosure:  Darlene is an artist partici

Sacramento artist Skinner said his interest in art began in preschool when he would try to draw Hulk Hogan’s muscles. The 32-year-old’s art – a far cry from drawings of Hulk Hogan and brontosauruses – has been shown across North America and Europe. His most recent international show was a 10-day event in Moscow two weeks ago. His work includes paintings, wall murals, toys, album covers and sculpture as well as music, which he said he picked up in high school – playing guitar and singing. Some of his work has been featured on snowboards, skateboards, snowboarding goggles and even a poster campaign for the Quentin Tarantino film “Inglorious Basterds” that ended up not being used. Born Wa

As daylight decreases during the day and temperatures drop during the night it begins to take its toll on the Second Saturday events. This past Second Saturday there was a drop in people attending art shows and music events. Once rainy weather comes upon us even less people will be out on Second Saturdays in Sacramento. Second Saturday in Folsom has seen similar drops in attendance. Cities where Third Saturdays are held will probably also see less people come out at night. Midtown sees the most people during its Second Saturday events and some have begun to go indoors. This will help with the cold weather and rain. One of these vendor events is the Midtown Bazaar that’s held on I Street

SACRAMENTO – Mayor Kevin Johnson insists Sacramento’s popular Second Saturday art walk is alive and well, and this month includes a different kind of gallery to tour: a medical building. “For anyone who thinks Second Saturday is dead, it’s not,” the mayor said during a press conference Tuesday for the grand opening of the Sutter Capitol Pavilion at 2725 Capitol Ave. “Sutter is opening up its new medical facility to the public for Second Saturday in order to showcase its art installation and the local artists who created the pieces.” The public open house is billed as “Art & Medicine” and will feature tours of the artwork installed throughout the medical office building and outpatient ser

 "A university town is only as strong as its independent bookstores.  They assist in the exchange of intellectual thoughts." - Kim Tanzer                 "The independent bookstore - you know we're almost dinosaurs." - Carl Kroch                It was a beautiful morning.  My girlfriend Jess and I decided to take a bike ride around the neighborhood.  We didn't have any particular place to go, so we went down to Butch and Nellie's, our local coffee shop, to grab a cup of joe and discuss the nature of our ride.  My first thought was the California Railroad Museum, but the little woman wasn't feeling that.  Thus ended the charade that our ultimate destination would be anything besides lunc

"Sculpture doesn't have to answer to society or beauty," Japanese contemporary ceramic artist Takako Araki once said. Referred to by some as sacrilegious, her lifelike tattered Bible sculptures, one of which she made by silkscreening text from the Bible onto fired clay, are part of the Soaring Voices ceramic exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento. The exhibition opened to the public Saturday and features a collection of more than 80 ceramic pieces by 25 female Japanese artists. Until the 1950s, the world of ceramics in Japan has been a "man's world," exhibit organizer Maya Nishi told an audience at Sunday's gallery talk. She elaborated on how Japanese women had been

Their backgrounds are as different as their ages but the love for their art consumes them. “When I first cut into stone something happened to me,” says 81-year-old Tony Cano. “I know it’s what I’m supposed to be doing.” Cano grew up in San Francisco, was raised primarily by his grandmother. Down the street from his grandmothher’s house lived a five foot tall, Italian-born, sculpting giant Beniamino “Bene” Benvenuto Bufano who handed Tony his first piece of clay. “I watched Bene, I learned from him but then I rebelled,” says Cano. Tony turned his back on his art in his late teens. Over the years he thought of sculpting but he had his family, his job, a busy life. He was a truck driver f