Arts Alive in Agriculture: 2022 Program and Catalog

THE FRESNO ARTS COUNCIL'S 9TH ANNUAL

THURSDAY MAY 26, 2022 IN “THE BARN” AT THE SAN JOAQUIN PARKWAY TRUST RIVER CENTER | 5:30 PM

Welcome to the 9th Annual Arts Alive in Agriculture juried art show, presented by the Fresno Arts Council!

We recognize the important role agriculture plays in our Central Valley's economy and through this exhibition revel in its beauty. Arts Alive in Agriculture annually brings us closer to Fresno County's story of agriculture, a story that celebrates the people who bring food to tables across the county. Through their work the artists provide a real and romanticized view of this important industry. We appreciate all this year's participants and sponsors for your generous investment of time, talent, and resources. You made this wonderful exhibition possible.

Lilia Gonzáles Chávez Executive Director

FAC Staff:

FAC Board:

Advisory Board:

Lilia Gonzáles Chávez, Executive Director Suliana Caldwell, Operations Manager Elisa Flores, Administrative Assistant Eric Martinez, Program Coordinator Andrea Mele, Program Coordinator Carmen Moore, Finance Assistant Harpreet Gill, Accountant

Ellen Armour, President Laura E. Ward, Vice President Olga Gutierrez De Nuñez, Treasurer Karen Takeda Simpson, Secretary Bruce Kalkowski Thomas Whit Ellis Jolene Telles Tiffany Mangum Jeff Meachum Sal Lucatero Julia Copeland Julian Ramos Shirin Assemi Harpreet Gill Ziang Her

Joyce Aiken Coke Hallowell Julie Linxwiler Jerry Palladino Jeffrey T. Roberts Quentin E. Sanford

James & Coke Hallowell

Gibson Farms

Berberian Ranches

Ravi & Kendra Batth

Joan & Bob Schoettler

Larry Balakian

Danielle R. Shapazian

Mary LaFollette

Benjamin Boone

THANKS TO OUR JUDGES Fresno Arts Council thanks our judges, art professionals Virginia Patterson, Elena Harvey Collins, and William Raines for sharing their time and talents as adjudicators in this juried exhibition. Judges will select first, second, and honorable mention awards in each category, as well as an overall “Best in Show” prize. Event sponsors will award the “Farm Favorite Prize.”

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VIRGINIA PATTERSON

Virginia Patterson is a design educator and graphic designer with over 10 years of experience designing for non-profits and consumer packaged goods brands, including the United Nations World Food Programme, Sunset Produce, and Frieda’s Specialty Produce. Virginia is currently Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Fresno State, where she teaches Intro to Graphic Design, Graphic Systems, and Packaging Design. Her scholarly and creative research focuses on ethics and sustainability in food communication, the role food packaging plays in consumer literacy of health and food origins, and equity in design education. She maintains an active packaging design practice for several national brands. A Phoenix, AZ native and recent Fresno transplant, Virginia is thrilled to be part of the lively and warm Fresno arts community.

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ELENA HARVEY COLLINS

Elena Harvey Collins is a British-American curator, writer, educator and artist. She is the Curator at Fresno City College’s Art Space Gallery and previously served as curatorial assistant at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. Her work and research centers on place based practices, landscapes, and the intersection of place and identity.

Recent projects include the group exhibitions All Words Have Roots Here and Constellating Care Networks (both 2021); and the solo exhibitions Shana Moulton: Whispering Pines and Jibade-Khalil Huffman: Human for Scale. She holds an MFA in Visual Art from CCAD in Columbus, Ohio, and a B.A. (Hons) in Product and Furniture Design from Kingston University in London.

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WILLIAM RAINES

William Raines received a Bachelor of Science in Art from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska, a Master of Art Education at Truman State University, and a Master of Fine Arts in studio production at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. He currently is an art instructor at Fresno State and Fresno City College, where he has taught a range of classes from Drawing to Content and Form since 2008.

His participation in the global art community includes: the Smithsonian Folklife Festival; presenter for the Arts & Education Summit Region 7: Create the State; Presenter for the Arts Education Summit for California County Superintendents Arts Initiative “Arts in School”; Visiting Artist for the “Walking of Art” at East Carolina University, North Carolina; Visiting Art Educator/Guest Artist for the Second International Symposium on Creativity and Child development at Hong Kong Baptist University. He is the Course Coordinator for Art > Anthropocene < Action with CSU Summer Arts 2022 at Fresno State and has recruited guest artists from California to Virginia to participate in this course.

With his various honors and awards, including a Fresno Unified School District Artist in Residence Grant, Fresno Arts Council Horizon Award for Outstanding Citizen in the Arts and Fresno Arts Council Community Enrichment Program Grant for his development of the Partners in Focus Program for youth enrichment through the arts, he seeks to bring art and education to the wider student population of the San Joaquin Valley at all levels.

He is the Founder and Co-Owner of Corridor 2122 art gallery in Fresno, which has been in existence since 2004 and serves as a venue for research and experiment in art projects and curatorial programs that provide a cultural and educational opportunity to the greater population of the Central San Joaquin Valley.

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The Fresno Arts Council has prepared this catalog for Arts Alive in Agriculture guests and artists. Entries are organized first by the category under which each title was submitted; the artist and purchase price are included. Thereafter, the catalog is organized alphabetically by artist. Each entry includes the artist’s contact information, and for each title: a reference photograph, medium, dimensions, purchase price, and a brief description provided by the artist. Please enjoy this catalog, and the art within, which you can also find on our website.

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Agricultural Landscapes: 1. Lorraine Barry, Barnyard Roll Call, $379 2. Lorraine Barry, Yesteryears Workhorse, $450 3. Cynthia Bernd, Grapes in the Central Valley of California, $100 4. Rich Berrett, Harvests: Past and Future, $275 5. Brian Boroski, White Mare, $300 6. Haley Coleman, Raw Beauty, $925 7. Haley Coleman, Wide Awake, $1,250 8. Jim Curnyn, Reyburn Farm—MacFarlane Farm—Clovis, $220 9. Joe Del Bosque, Westside Sunset, $750 10. Rick Freitas, Field of Dreams, $4,500 11. Dal Henderson, Farm to Table, $1,600 12. Peggy Jelmini, Home Ranch, $750 13. Peggy Jelmini, Late Summer Vineyard, $950 14. Jamie Meadows, SweetSorrow/Starberry, $450 15. Amy Morgan, January: Ready to Explode, $285 16. Dixie Salazar, Gratitude for the Bees, $450 17. Carrie Taves, Symbiosis, $1,250 18. Tamsen Taves, Almond Blossoms, $350 19. Jacqueline Tomajan, Fields Study 2, $250 20. Marilyn Torchin, Blossoms, $450 21. Marilyn Torchin, Beets, $450 22. Daniel Van Gerpen, Darkness Before Dawn, $1,200 23. Daniel Van Gerpen, Process, $1,900 People and Agriculture: 1. Lorraine Barry, Working the Vines, $435 2. Lorraine Barry, Agave Field, $435 3. Lorraine Barry, Faithful Partner and Friend, $350 4. Sarah Bradbury, Un Hijo de un Ranchero, $800 5. Rick Freitas, A Long Time Coming, $4,500 6. Joseph Garcia, Gloves, $300 7. Peggy Jelmini, Mr. H, $1,250 8. Nicole Jimenez, untitled, $3,500 9. Amy Morgan, Watching, $200 10. Amy Morgan, Ophelia in the Flooded Walnut Grove, $400 11. Gail Perry, $1.25 a Pound, $1,800 12. Dixie Salazar, Farm to Table, $850 13. Marilyn Torchin, Waiting to Work, $375

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Machines and Technology: 1. Haley Coleman, Gold Rush, $875 2. Rick Freitas, The Wonders of Modern Irrigation, $3,500 3. Nicole Jimenez, Great-Great Grandpa (1945), $1,500 4. Nicole Jimenez, Great-Grandpa (1939), $1,500 5. Nicole Jimenez, Great-Grandpa (1988), $1,500 6. Carrie Taves, Cactus and Pipe Stand, $695 7. Diane Williams, Nothing Runs Like a Deere, $250 Documentary Photography: 1. Kathryn Cehrs, Wheat Field at Sunrise, $100 2. Jim Curnyn, The Farmers Market—Centerville, $220 3. Helen Gigliotti, Ready for Harvest, $195 4. Helen Gigliotti, Slashing Trees for Latex, $195 5. Helen Gigliotti,Tea Plantation, $195 Manipulated Photography: 1. Dal Henderson, Last Call, $1,000 2. Dal Henderson, Roll Um Easy, $1,000 3. Rubí Hernandez, Tangerines, $120 4. Finn Telles, The Yellow Bus, $1,000 5. Finn Telles, Mighty Kings, $1,000 Sculpture, Assemblage, and Found Objects: 1. Myrna Axt, Kachina Spirit Horse, $275 2. Rubí Hernandez, From Your Hands to Our Table, $1,000 3. Ren Lee, Farm Bill: He’s a Sly One, $5,000 4. Ren Lee, All Gussied Up, $1,500 5. Ren Lee, Summer and Winter: The Solstices, $2,500 6. Anne Whitehurst, NIVELES 2, $2,500 7. Anne Whitehurst, NIVELES 3, Panda Express, Kerman, CA, $2,500

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MYRNA AXT

MYRNA AXT ART 559-641-8073 MDAXT@COMCAST.NET

Wood board, metal, found objects 13l x 22h x 5.5w $275

A Kachina is a spirit of the Pueblo People in the Southwest, United States. It’s viewed as the presence of life in all things: rocks, stars, animals, and plants. The Kachina spirit is all-knowing for the importance of weather, especially rain to ensure successful crops. This three-dimensional assemblage is composed of weathered wood for the body and a wooden mallet for the head. The mane and tail use tassels, yarn, and raffia for texture, leather and belt parts form the saddle and stirrups, and fringe is added to the body. Silver jewelry pieces give the horse a “Southwest” style consistent with the Kachina. The head gets leather ears, a wood nose, washers with screws for the eyes, and a chain and metal piece.

LORRAINE BARRY 559-307-8310

5322 N. BRIARWOOD FRESNO, CA 93711

Barnyard Roll Call

Watercolor on coldpress 29 x 22 $379

Yesteryears Workhorse Watercolor on coldpress 20 x 24 $450

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Working the Vines

Watercolor on coldpress 18 x 24 $435

The Agave Fields

Watercolor on coldpress 18 x 24 $435

Faithful Partner and Friend Watercolor on coldpress 18 x 24 $350

CYNTHIA BERND

CYNDI’S ART STUDIO CYNDIBRN@GMAIL.COM 6344 N. FELAND AVE. FRESNO, CA 93711

Grapes in the Central Valley of California Oil on canvas, art pens, acrylics 36 x 24 $1000

Based on a photo, this piece represents the grapes grown here. Just about anywhere in the valley, you see rows of grapes—not to mention the wineries and tasting tours you can visit.

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RICH BERRETT

RICH BERRETT PHOTOGRAPHY 559-284-3769 RICHBERRETT@ME.COM RICHBERRETT.COM

Harvests: Past and Future

Fine art metallic print with mat in 19 x 28 metal frame 14 x 21 $275 Crops from the West Side

BRIAN BOROSKI

A SENSE OF PLACE 559-930-2415 BRIANBBOROSKI@GMAIL.COM 2003 N. VAN NESS BLVD, FRESNO, CA 93704

White Mare

Oil on linen 9 x 12 Wood Frame $300 Backlit white mare in agricultural pasture with foothills in background

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SARAH BRADBURY

JOYUS.ART.BY.SARAH@GMAIL.COM SARAHJOYOUS.COM

Un Hijo de un Ranchero Acrylic 24 x 30 $800

This is a portrait of my father as a child working in the fields. He passed away in 2015, but I will always remember him and honor his life. Growing up in the Central Valley, agriculture played a huge part in my family. It made me love and appreciate this land and all its beauty.The best memories I have as a child are running through rows and rows of trees and smelling the sweet blossoms. My grandpa brought his family to the Central Valley to have a better life. My family had no days off and taught me the importance of consistency and how things take time to grow, but that with time a small seed can turn into something bigger, stronger, and more beautiful.This was painted with acrylics and tears and was a huge healing process for me.

KATHRYN CEHRS

KCEHRS@GMAIL.COM

Wheat Field at Sunrise

Photographic film 11 x 14 photo in 16 x 20 frame $100 A partially harvested wheat field in Paso Robles, CA at sunrise. Canon 77D f/22 ISO160 24mm 1/30 sec.

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HALEY COLEMAN

THE FARMER’S WIFE FINE ART (559)905-5136 HALEY_COLEMAN@THEFARMERSWIFEFINEART.COM 14503 ACADEMY OAKS LN CLOVIS, 93619 THEFARMERSWIFEFINEART.COM

Raw Beauty

Acrylic on canvas 30 x 30 $925 'Raw Beauty' is a striking piece that sheds light on an undiscovered naked enchantress in global agriculture.

Typically clothed in a familiar hard tan shell, this beauty undresses to delight the eyes. Not only does this piece keep and hold your attention, but serves an educational purpose as well. Many who consume pistachios have never caught a rare glimpse of their true raw beauty.

Enjoy.

GOLD RUSH

Acrylic on canvas 16 x 20, Gold Float Frame $875 'Gold Rush' is a unique painting depicting the process involved in harvesting a pistachio orchard. By marrying together modernism and realism I painted a pivotal moment in farming. The moment you see the crop gathered up and poured into trucks ready to haul the pistachios to the processing plant. When the pistachios are ready to harvest, in late summer, they have an almost golden appearance. An iconic modern American dream, Gold Rush.

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WIDE AWAKE

Acrylic on canvas 24 x 36, Black Float Frame $1,250 'Wide Awake' portrays an orchard at night. The trees are a stark and lively contrast to the pitch black night sky. The painting reminds its viewer that the trees are hard at work growing crops around the clock. Inspired by an image I captured driving down a tree row at midnight to sneak a peek of these beauties with the dreamy dark backdrop.

'Wide Awake' sets the mind of the viewer ablaze with wonder and appreciation for agriculture.

JIM CURNYN

CHRIS SORENSON GALLERY SPACE #47 559-312-4527 2223 S. VAN NESS AVE. FRESNO, CA 93721 JIMCURNYNPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

The Reyburn Farm—MacFarlane Farm- Clovis Digital printing 21 x 16 $220

Photograph, archival pigment print of a red barn on a 3rd generation family farm in the Clovis area.

The Farmer’s Market—Centerville Digital printing 21 x 16 $220

Photograph, archival pigment print. Documentary photograph of an old rural gas station repurposed into a fruit stand.

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JOE DEL BOSQUE 209-587-1718 JDELBOSQUE@AOL.COM Westside Sunset Digital printing 30 x 40 $750

A fiery sunset over a field being irrigated near Los Banos.

RICK FREITAS 559-977-7678 THEGOOD123.RF@GMAIL.COM FREITASFINEART.ORG A Long Time Coming

Oil painting on hand-made board. 7 Coats of gesso with marble dust.

34 x 58 $4,500 As the world watches through the lenses of the press, President Barack Obama makes a historic visit to the Central Valley agricultural heartland and walks the furrows and canals on the farm of Joe Del Bosque, a descendant of a Mexican field worker. These two sons of immigrants have overcome generations of obstacles to collect on the Promise inherent in the right to citizenship in our nation, a place where dreams or hopes can come true.

Without a doubt, realizing their dreams in the Promised Land has been "a long time coming."

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Field of Dreams

Oil on wood panel with 8 layers of gesso with marble dust 24 x 48 $4,500 Randall "Buck" Fawcett fell in love with Harriet when they were coeds at Stanford University in the 1940's. They both "fell in love" with the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, in whose architecture class they enrolled, and they dreamed that some day they would build a house designed by him, if and when they could afford to do so. After graduation, they ended up farming west of Los Banos, and some years later fulfilled their dream of building a Frank Lloyd Wright home on their farm out in the country overlooking their alfalfa fields.

The Wonders of Modern Irrigation Oil on canvas 42 x 39 $3,500

The technology of the drip system on this hilly field in order to irrigate this organic melon field is truly incredible.

Another incredible feature is the few rows of corn and other plants to naturally draw insects in and away from the melon crop, an organic technology. The painting is best described by my friend Priscilla Del Bosque Schouten: "The rows of crops draw the eyes of the observer into the field in a curvy way, giving a sense of motion and life to the rows. The arroyo (ravine) in the near background and the hills in the back offer nice contrasting geo-directional dynamics, bringing balance to the whole."

JOSEPH GARCIA 559-439-3944 JGBISON@YAHOO.COM Gloves

Acrylic paint 16 x 20 $300 This piece represents the hard work in agriculture.

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HELEN GIGLIOTTI

WANDERINGS 559-288-0247 HELENJG1@GMAIL.COM 13241 E. SAGINAW WAY SANGER, CA 93657 HELENGIGLIOTTI.COM

Ready for Harvest Digital printing 20 x 24 $195

This entry is an archival pigment print photographed with a Canon 7D camera fixed with a Tampon 18-270 mm lens.

The image has been edited using Adobe Photoshop CC software and printed on Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper using an Epson SureColor P800 printer. The print has been mounted, matted and framed to a size of 20 x 24 inches.

No manipulations of subject matter have been performed on the image. This image portrays a field of grain ready for harvesting.

Slashing Trees for Latex Digital printing 20 x 24 $195

This entry is an archival pigment print photographed with a Canon 7D camera fixed with a Tampon 18-270 mm lens.

The image has been edited using Adobe Photoshop CC software and printed on Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper using an Epson SureColor P800 printer. The print has been mounted, matted and framed to a size of 20 x 24 inches.

No manipulations of subject matter have been performed on the image. This image portrays a plantation of rubber trees being milked for their latex.

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TEA PLANTATION Digital printing 20 X 24 $195

This entry is an archival pigment print photographed with a Canon 7D camera fixed with a Tampon 18-270 mm lens.

The image has been edited using Adobe Photoshop CC software and printed on Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper using an Epson SureColor P800 printer. The print has been mounted, matted and framed to a size of 20 x 24 inches.

No manipulations of subject matter have been performed on the image. This image portrays a field of tea leaves ready for harvesting.

DAL HENDERSON

559-312-3587 DAL5@PACBELL.NET 809 E. LANSING WAY. FRESNO, CA 93704 DALHENDERSON.COM

Last Call

Paper, wood board, acrylic, pencil, digital printing 34 x 34 $1,000 Archival print on cotton rag paper drawn and manipulated in photoshop 2022

Roll Um Easy

Paper, wood board, acrylic, pencil, digital printing 34 x 34 $1,000 Archival print on cotton rag paper drawn and manipulated in photoshop 2022

Farm to Table

Oil, acrylic, spray paint, pencil, permanent marker 36 x 24 $1,600 Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, framed

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RUBÍ HERNANDEZ

559-480-0622 HERNANDEZRUBI14@GMAIL.COM RUBIHERNANDEZART.COM

From Your Hands to Our Table Earthen clay, acrylic 4.5h x 12w x 7d $1,000

This sculpture is inspired by agricultural field workers and food waste. It honors the work of many unseen immigrants who take the fruits or veggies from their hands to your table. To illustrate this idea, I made the hands with plaster casting powder modeled from one of the Central Valley’s immigrant farmworkers. I built clay oranges to represent the large quantities of crops that get wasted due to labor shortages, cosmetic imperfections, weather events, and more, placing the "perfect" orange inside the hands and three other oranges on the floor to suggesting why some edible crops do not make it to market.

Tangerines

Digital printing 26 x 26 $120 This photo intends to honor undocumented field workers from the Central Valley and represent their essential work harvesting America's food, giving a voice to those workers who are constantly ignored for being undocumented. This piece utilizes manipulated photography to highlight the discreditation of many undocumented farmworkers. To emphasize what they live, I converted the photo to black and white to drive viewers' attention to the oranges, symbolizing how our attention goes to what we can get and not what is behind it. The image comes out of the frame to suggest that the photograph's meaning goes beyond being a piece of art. Its goal is to incite conversations about the essential work of the many undocumented field workers in the Central San Joaquin Valley.

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PEGGY JELMINI

559-978-3626 JELLYMEN14@MSN.COM PEGGYJELMINI.COM

Mr. H

Watercolor, lithograph 35 x 30 $1,250 Portrait of farmer driving his tractor in the heat of the summer

Home Ranch Oil paint 17 x 19 $750

Late Summer Vineyard Oil paint 21 x 25 $950

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NICOLE JIMENEZ

559-283-0511 NIKKIJIMENEZZ89@GMAIL.COM

Great-Great Grandpa (1945) Wood panel, acrylic, other 9.25 x 11.5 $1,500

This is a picture of my great-great-grandpa on a Caterpillar tractor on his ranch in Fowler, California. The image was completed using a wood-burning tool on a wood panel, and I painted the edges with acrylic paint. My great-great-grandpa came to the Central Valley from Leon, Mexico in the early 1900s. My great-grandpa, grandpa, and great-uncles continued to be involved in farming and FFA in high school. My family, who were grape farmers, contributed to the valley's agriculture for two generations, and that's something I like to try to honor every year by participating in this show.

Great-Grandpa (1939)

Wood panel, acrylic, other 8.75 x 11 $1,500 This was completed using a wood-burning tool on a wood panel. The edges were painted with acrylic paint. This is a portrait of my great-grandpa with a Case tractor on his family's ranch. I don't know the exact date, but my guess would be around the year 1939. In the early 1900s, his father had come to the Central Valley from Leon, Mexico, and became a grape farmer. As an adult, my greatgrandpa took over the ranches and continued to farm.

Great-Grandpa (1988)

Wood board, acrylic, other 8.75 x 11 $1,500 This was done on a wood board using a wood-burning tool. The edges were painted with acrylic paint. The portrait is of my great grandpa standing by a Massey tractor on one of his ranches in Chowchilla, California. He was a second-generation farm owner. His father had come to the central valley from Leon, Mexico in the early 1900s and had been a grape farmer as well.

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Untitled

Acrylic on canvas 12 x 16, framed $3,500 This is a portrait of my maternal great grandpa holding a crate of grapes. He was a second-generation grape farmer/ranch owner, so agriculture has always been important to my family. I like to honor that by participating in this show annually. The painting was completed using acrylic paints on canvas and is untitled.

REN LEE

CLAY HAND STUDIOS 559-260-1226 RENLEE000@GMAIL.COM 660 VAN NESS FRESNO, CA 93721 RENLEEART.NET

Farm Bill: He’s a Sly One

Earthen clay, acrylic, metal 16 x 22 x 11.5 $5,000 Ceramic stoneware pig sculpture finished in shades of dark blue flecked with color with an open back revealing a pot of gold. He's winking at his critics and rewarding his supporters, like good politicians do. My intention was to poke a bit of fun at the Farm Bill itself, an instrument of legendary political pork.

Signed Ren Lee 2022.

All Gussied Up Earthen clay 16 x 17 x 9 $1,500

Ceramic stoneware sculptured chicken pot/centerpiece, with handles designed to suggest outstretched wings. She sits regally among wild vegetation and is bedecked with flowery feathers, because she is queen of the chicken coop and a prodigious producer. Her passion and verve are represented in her red head and her red interior. Don't mess with Gussie! Signed Ren Lee 2022.

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Summer and Winter: The Solstices Earthen clay, acrylic 19 x 19 x 11.5 $2,500

Freestanding porcelain ceramic sun with two faces: one for our mild winters and one for our fierce summers. This piece must be viewed in the round to appreciate the change of seasonal solar intensity. The sun provides light and warmth that makes life possible, and is critical to the success of agricultural endeavors. I've been making wall mounted suns for several years, but this one having the ability to stand on its own is a breakthrough to another level for me.

JAMIE MEADOWS

JAMIEOFTHEMEADOWS@GMAIL.COM JAMIEMEADOWS.COM

Sweet Sorrow/Starberry

Mixed media on paper Acrylic ink, watercolor, colored pencil, gauche, acrylic gauche 9 x 12 (11 x 14 framed) $450 Strawberry fields and stands were numerous along my route to school growing up. That route is now built with box stores, shopping centers, and housing developments, yet a few strawberry field remnants remain.

This drawing depicts one of those stands - now-unused and boarded up, on the edge of a fallow field.

With this piece I want to honor the industry, diligence, and creativity of those who built the stand and who farmed here.

I seek to find hope and life, even after loss or change, in expressing the story of this region we live in.

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AMY MORGAN

AMYPMORGAN2@YAHOO.COM

Ophelia in the Flooded Walnut Grove

Paper, wood board, acrylic paint, watercolor paint, ink 19 x 24.5

$400

Walnut Orchards used to be irrigated by flooding, which is today an appallingly wasteful use of our Valley’s water, but I often imagine the magical vision of these mighty floating trees! Beautiful grieving Ophelia, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, sings and picks flowers as she slowly sinks into her watery grave, much like our past Agricultural practices must. Silk painting mounted on stretched cotton and framed.

January…Ready to Explode

Paper, wood board, acrylic paint, ink, fabric 11 x 13.5 $285 Winter orchards have the loveliest tangle of bare branches, but I hear the noisy colors underneath!

On heavy watercolor paper, I inked silhouettes of the stone fruit trees, foothills, clouds, and spring grasses. I painted and squeezed silk painting resists (acrylics) onto the trees, sealing the surface under a wax medium. Mounted onto a black, cradled wood panel.

Watching

Paper, wood board, acrylic paint, ink, watercolor paint 6x8 $200 When I secretly walk through an orchard, I feel the eyes of the indigenous animals on me. I hope each orchard has her guardians. On heavy paper, I water colored, drew with ink pens, and squeezed silk painting resists (acrylics) onto the surface, sealing it under a wax medium. Mounted onto a wood panel attached to a solid wood block.

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GAIL PERRY

(559) 284-8633 GPERRYG2@AOL.COM 7502 N. MONTE AVE,FRESNO, CA 93711 GAILPERRYARTIST.COM

$1.25 a Pound Watercolor 11 X 17 $1,800

Time to head for the hills! Mom had grocery shopped except for the fruits and vegetables she wanted from the little fruit stand along the way–wanting the freshest produce. Assured by the old license plate propped on a box titled “IM RIPE”, she'd carefully select each item and get an appreciative nod from the owner who weighed them. Then off we'd go! Like many small farm stands that dot the middle of California, hand-painted signs proclaim what’s in season–just-picked strawberries, perfect peaches, maybe Fresno peppers to spice things up!I still stop by that little stand–a gift for us to buy local!

DIXIE SALAZAR

SILVA/SALAZAR STUDIO 559-916-7750 DSALAZAR@CSUFRESNO.EDU 654 VAN NESS FRESNO, CA 93721 DIXIESALAZAR.COM

Farm to Table Oil on canvas 34 x 30 $850

“Farm to Table” is inspired by post-impressionist works by artists such as Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard, who often combined landscapes and still life compositions. My purpose was to use this method to showcase the valley's abundance of fruits and vegetables and link it directly to the means of production, which includes the farm workers whose tireless labor in the fields brings us all such abundance. Farm to table has become a commonly used phrase in the food industry but it is important not to forget the many workers who make it possible and not to take this for granted.

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Gratitude for the Bees Collage/mixed media 15 x 18 $450

This piece uses a color xerox collage process, using images that are xeroxed and combined in a layering process that allows me to juxtapose images that create reciprocal meanings. I also draw with colored pencil and oil pastels on the background areas. I used part of an image of bee boxes from an old McGuffy's Reader and layered it with other found images to showcase the bees that are so important to valley agriculture, home gardens, and all growing things. Bees are an integral part of the growing process and are in danger of depletion; my purpose here is to bring awareness to their importance.

CARRIE TAVES

559-260-2220 CARRIETAVES@GMAIL.COM CARRIETAVESART.COM

Symbiosis

Oil on canvas 18 x 24 $1,250 My desire for this painting is to bring awareness to the beauty and necessity of symbiotic relationship between tree fruit and bees. The Central Valley of California has the greatest pollination event in the world every spring. The bee's diligent work will help turn these blossoms into plums in the summer months. I chose to paint the light close to sundown to capture the warm glow of evening as the bees retreat home after a hard day's work.

Cactus & Standpipe Oil on panel 12 x 16 $695

I was inspired to paint this scene because to me, it captures so much about our San Joaquin Valley and the beauty of the "mundane" rural landscape. It's a meeting point of agriculture, irrigation, and wild cactus.

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TAMSEN TAVES 559-903-0157 TAMSENTAVES@GMAIL.COM TAMSENTAVES.COM

Almond Blossoms Oil on linen panel 11 x 14 $350

"Almond Blossoms" was inspired by my love for the Central Valley and the annual excitement that comes with the blossom season. This oil painting is an exploration in texture, color temperature, and subtle nuances. I focused on these particular elements of painting to show the softness of the petals, brilliance of the sky, and the rich red centers that the almond blossoms contain. This was painted in an impressionistic style to capture the impermanence of the season on an archival fine weave linen panel.

FINN TELLES 559-313-2246 FTELLES@PENNY-NEWMAN.COM Mighty Kings

Digital printing 24 x 36 $1,000 Out on a Sunday picnic up the Kings River on Elwood Road towards Wonder Valley in the fall, I cannot help but reflect on the importance of our rivers to feed the agriculture in our great Valley. On this fall day with skies starting to clear from a long and harsh season of wildfires, the Sierra crest is still not quite in sight from looming smoke, but the sycamores shine like royalty in the flat light with a sitting sun. The glass reflection of the river water draws the eye.

This water feeds our crops and our souls!

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The Yellow Bus Digital printing 24 x 36 $1,000

One of the joys of working for Penny Newman Farm Products is that I get to travel the San Joaquin Valley, watching crops grow. I almost always travel with my work drone, for field monitoring and for opportunities to capture agricultural content for marketing purposes. On this midDecember day, I happened upon my family’s pistachio orchard in San Joaquin, CA. Everything was polished clean after our first rains of the winter season. As the sun set, the naked trees deep in their winter dormancy began to shine tones of yellow and gold. The trees radiated and the setting sun almost made them come alive. As I waited for the perfect light, a yellow school bus passed by on James Ave., probably finishing up a route taking home school children from the nearby towns of Tranquility or San Joaquin. The Yellow Bus brought a totally new perspective to this photograph. The future generations have now entered the scene!

JACQUELINE TOMAJAN 626-290-5871 JACQUELINETOMAJAN@GMAIL.COM Fields Study #2 Oil on canvas 8x6 $250

Oil Painting of sowed fields

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MARILYN TORCHIN

WHERE WATER TURNS COLOR 559-224-5378 ARTBYMARILYNN@GMAIL.COM ORIGINALARTBYMARILYN.COM

Blossoms Acrylic, watercolor, other paint on canvas 18 x 24 $450

Blossoms was painted during a weekly plein air session that I host. Every year, the group spends a session in a nearby orchard during the annual bloom. We have a local farmer we work with who allows us to set up within the orchard at peak blossom time to immerse ourselves and get up-close to this wonderful and mesmerizing time of year. Nothing says Central Valley like orchard bloom time!

Waiting to work Watercolor 22 x 28 framed $375

This painting is dedicated to the hard-working individuals that help plant, grow and harvest food for our tables. I am always amazed and grateful when I see these hardworking individuals in the field and wanted to paint something to honor them. This is that painting.

Beets

Watercolor 22 x 28 framed $450 This painting was inspired by my love of the Central Valley and all it produces to help feed the population. Over the years I have painted close-ups of various vegetables and fruits as I think they all have a unique beauty to them. This year I focused on Beets.

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DANIEL VAN GERPEN

DVG CREATIVE 831-320-0944 DANIEL@DVGCREATIVE.COM 6820 E RACO AVE FRESNO CA 93727 DVGCREATIVE.COM

Darkness Before Dawn Oil on canvas 19 x 49 $1,200

As the sky warms up, and is yet to brighten the fields, the river reflects the coming light.

Process

Oil on canvas 36 x 55 $1,900 An aerial perspective of the pistachio fields and processing plant. I wanted to capture the geometry of the plant and shadows and the fields.

DIANE M. WILLIAMS 559-431-6683 Nothing Runs Like a Deere

Digital printing 12 x 18 matted and framed in 17 x 21 wooden frame $250 Documentary photograph without manipulation of the subject matter. The image is of an old tractor out in a field.

It was taken in Clovis at a place that has baby goats and makes different cheeses. 12” x 18” photograph printed on Archival Kodak Endura Paper, matted and framed to 21” x 17” in a wooden frame.

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ANNE WHITEHURST

415-636-1945 ROBMANZANEDO@HOTMAIL.COM ANNEWHITEHURSTART.COM/SHOP-ART

NIVELES 2

Acrylic paint, oil paint, spray paint on glass panels with pine base 2 X 12 X 14 $2,500 NIVELES 2 is a multi-level 3-D piece. I hope that it invites the viewer to walk around the piece and view it from different heights. It gives the sense of drone perspective. I like the kinetic aspect.

NIVELES 3

Acrylic paint, oil paint, spray paint on glass panels with pine base 8 X 13 X 16 $2,500 The layered theme of the series is emphasized by the symmetry of the interior at Panda Express which looks out at more layers of order.

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