What started as a windy day of plein air painting has now resulted in the Arbor Gallery’s first art show at the Merced County Courthouse Museum.
Two years ago the topic of the two groups collaborating first began to gain some traction, and has now finally come to fruition.
The Arbor Gallery is a group of local artists who normally display and sell their work inside the Multicultural Arts Center on Main Street in downtown Merced. However, from Oct. 10 to Feb. 16, they will have temporary residency on the walls of the historic Courthouse at N and 21st streets. The exhibit, “Painting Merced County: Landmarks Immortalized by Artists,” provides an opportunity to see classic Merced landmarks with a fresh and varied perspective.
The show will open with a special reception on Thursday, Oct. 10, starting at 5 p.m. During the opening, local performer Art Barajas will produce a show not only to celebrate the new exhibition but also to mark his 30th year of entertaining the Merced community.
The exhibit consists of paintings from 13 Arbor Gallery artists, with subjects ranging from the highly recognizable Merced Theater in downtown Merced to rural scenes of goats and cattle lounging outside weathered barns in the countryside. Almost all of the paintings are of subjects in Merced County, with a couple from neighboring Mariposa County.
“We started with workshops. We invited this wonderful lady from Arizona to come and teach us twice a year doing workshops at the MAC. And then COVID hit, and so we weren’t allowed to be inside,” said artist Jackie Anderson. “We did plein air when COVID hit, and we were able to go out and paint together.”
Many of the paintings in the exhibit were done ‘plein air,’ a French art term meaning they were painted outdoors. Merced and Mariposa counties have no shortage of appealing subjects for artists.
“Everything around here, the Gold Rush Country and all the old stuff, and the abandoned buildings — that’s what I like, anyway. … Going to Hornitos and Snelling, and the orchards and the cows and the barns, that’s all fun,” said artist Tonia Hemme. “Then there’s our town itself, all the buildings in town and the old churches. That’s what we go paint, is old stuff.”
Many of the works included in the upcoming show were created during workshops hosted by the Arbor Gallery. The collective serves purposes beyond the sale of art, with continuing education for their artists being a fundamental value held by the group.
“We support each other,” said artist Wendy Bright. “I think it impacts [the art] very importantly because it keeps us together. It keeps us wanting to support her when she’s doing her support. I think it’s because we trust each other. So we’re going to somebody and saying, look, I need some help with this painting. You know, what do you see? You see what you want. And we trust that we’re going to get good feedback.”
In addition to the artists from the Arbor Gallery, three artists from Cheryl Lockett’s Cultural Enrichment Experience Project have included pieces. The pieces are constructed of six adjoining panels assembled as murals that depict scenes from Merced County.
Courthouse Museum Director Sarah Lim described the exhibit as a colorful way for residents and visitors to experience the grandeur and beauty of Merced County through the incredible talent and creativity of a wonderful group of local artists.
As well as the aforementioned artists, the group includes: Carole Kamerer, John Harrell, Judith Burton, Linda Abbott, Penny Waha, Rose Tripp, Susan Regert, Karen McComb, Eileen Partlow, Ethel Nelson, Sandy Price, Karen LeCocq, Dob Francise, and Jacob Charles.
For more information about the exhibit, please contact the Museum office at (209) 723-2401.