Pictures for an Exhibition
Things have been extremely busy here at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles, with the major Paso Robles Wine Festival last weekend and the upcoming Paso Robles Festival of the Arts this Memorial Day weekend. I hope many of you can stop by the studio, as there are many wonderful events, classes, lectures, and exhibits both in the Paso Robles City Park and at Studios (located on Pine Street directly across from the park). We have special extended hours and are also open on Memorial Day. These two weekends are the biggest of the year for foot traffic through Studios, and therefore the sale of our artwork, so I have been busy post-processing more work, printing, mounting, matting, and framing. In addition, I submitted photography work for the Local Color Exhibition that will hang through July 1st in the Studios atrium gallery.
Moon Over Piedras Blancas Bluffs
That said, we are very honored to have renowned painter Stephen Doherty from New York City attend the Festival, as well as judge the work submitted for the Local Color show. Mr. Doherty is the Editor of PleinAir Magazine and will also be lecturing. He will announce the awards for the Local Color show at a special Premiere Party and Keynote address tomorrow night, so we are very excited. The Paso Robles Festival of the Arts was born of a need to raise awareness of the Salinas River Corridor Project at the same time that Studios on the Park was preparing to open its doors to the public for the first time in May 2009. After the resounding success of the inaugural Festival, its mission was written to reflect the intention to continue to support the arts and the environment in Paso Robles. A portion of proceeds raised through the Festival go to support the Salinas River Corridor Project and Studios on the Park.
Path to Grace
I am pleased to announce that one of my photographs printed on aluminum, Moon Over Piedras Blancas Bluffs, was accepted into the Local Color exhibition (see the first image at the top). The competition was stiff, with much great artwork submitted. Only about one in five pieces made the final cut. This image was taken at twilight north of San Simeon near the historic Piedras Blancas Lightstation, just along the coastal bluffs. The moon was gorgeous that night, which so happened to be my birthday. What a great gift it was to be presented with the opportunity to take this photograph. I also submitted a canvas gallery wrap print of the image above, Path to Grace, which was taken on William Clark’s Ranch at a place called Chapel Hill in Shandon, California. This image was not accepted into the show, but I love it anyway. It is an HDR texture-blended image taken just prior to a thunderstorm.
Moon Over Piedras Blancas Bluffs is also an HDR photograph, which means it is a composite of multiple exposures of the same scene taken at different shutter speeds with the camera mounted on a tripod, then blended together using special software so that both the highlights and shadow areas can be seen in great detail. For more information on HDR photography and fine art printing, please see the links on the top right of the sidebar to the three tutorials I wrote for Breathing Color’s Art of Printmaking blog.
Vintage Chevy – Historic Route 66
I have also been experimenting with some of my classic color HDR images, converting them to black and white. The image above shows an abandoned vintage Chevy truck I photographed along old Route 66 in the Arizona desert, one of my favorite places to shoot. Apologies I have not posted more blogs this month, but all the activities have kept me busy. I recently photographed an abandoned mercury mine and will be doing a post with those images when the festivals are over. Hope to see some of you over the weekend here in Paso. And don’t forget that the Phantom Project Art show is still up at the vacant A&R furniture building just across the street from Studios. I also have two pieces in that show – one of an abandoned sugar mill, and one of a minus tide at sunset in Shell Beach.
Now An Artist in Residence at Studios on the Park
A wonderful and blessed New Year to everyone! Apologies for my absence of late in adding new blog posts; however, things have been extremely busy here and I have very good news to share. As many of my friends and photography colleagues know, I have been working as an Associate Artist at Studios on the Park, a nonprofit open studios art center in the heart of historic downtown Paso Robles, California. Opened in May 2009 in the old Pioneer Auto Parts store directly across from the city park, Studios is a visual arts center where artists create, exhibit, and sell art.
There are eight studios with 40 working artists and two galleries: Fine Craft, representing the finest in American craft, and The Showroom Gallery, featuring members of the Paso Robles Art Association. By making the creative process open to the public, Studios on the Park provides a creative, educational, and transformational experience to enhance understanding and appreciation of the visual arts.
Studios on the Park Logo
There are several categories of artists working at Studios: Artists in Residence, Substitute Artists, Associate Artists, and Assistant Artists. Regardless of the category, each artist must submit an application package to the Studios Board of Directors and go through a stringent jurying process. I am pleased to announce that just before Christmas my application for Artist in Residence was accepted, and I am thrilled to now be sharing a photography studio with colleagues Don Eaton and Kabe Russell.
There is much to do to ready my artwork, paint, reorganize space, and decorate, but the rich blessings of working with such a wonderful group of talented artists make these tasks joyful. In addition to exhibiting and selling my fine art photography, plans are underway to teach digital imaging and printing classes and workshops. I will post class information on my website as it becomes available. For more information and a quick tour of Studios, see the introductory video below featuring Studios Founder and artist Anne Laddon.
Studios on the Park from Studios on Vimeo.
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