Sacramento artist Karen O’Haire was inspired to paint by Claude Monet, father of the Impressionist movement. She recently returned from spending a week working in his former gardens in Giverny, France. “They let us in before and after the gardens were open for tourists,” O’Haire said. “I sketched in the morning when just me and the other artists and the garden workers were there. That was really fun.” O’Haire was one of nine American painters who, through a friendship with another artist, worked in the garden from May 26 - June 8. She produced a painting and a number of sketches each day. “It was my third time I got to do this. I feel very fortunate,” she said. “When you’re there you so

Crocker Art Museum presented a diverse palette of art and music Thursday night as part of its monthly exhibit and performance series Art Mix. January’s theme, titled “I Hear Color,” celebrated the vibrant watercolor explorations of world-renowned abstract expressionist Paul Jenkins, the sunny, melodic music of San Francisco’s Jake Mann and the Upper Hand, and also featured a playful prism of colorful crafts -- kaleidoscope creation, T-shirt painting, a swatch and color theory tour, and a professional photo booth. The evening exuded a “choose your own adventure” environment where guests could wander at their own leisure throughout the new modern structure of the museum, pockets of color an

Imagine being a child in a world with endless possibilities for creativity. Welcome to Art Beast, an art studio for children located at 2226 K St. Children of all ages are encouraged to act, paint, color, play and dream inside the sacred walls of Art Beast. Parents and adults feel like the visitors in this magical world. The Art Beast contains three floors and a basement perfect for letting your child's creativity run wild. "Everything is here in this building," grandma Rose Orlandi said as she watched her two grandchildren ages 4 and 2. "Clay. Sand. Paint. They have it all and I don't have to worry about getting it on my carpet. Where else can I play too?" Different floors are dedicate

Sacramento-raised painter David Garibaldi delivered a poignant speech at Wednesday's "For Art's Sake" meeting. The 26-year-old thanked Mayor Kevin Johnson and the city for its support and guidance when he was growing up in Sacramento. While Garibaldi was a high school student interested in the arts, the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission recognized his potential and sent him to California State Summer School for the Arts on a full scholarship, he said. Garibaldi credited this and his high school art program with helping him redirect a creative fire that led him to graffiti the streets of Sacramento, inspiring him instead to become a performance artist. The "For Art's Sake" initiativ

 Let me paint my pain In colors and hues Beautifully depicted By shapes and lines Of verses that are cunningly crafted by rhymes, in my lit forget it, I need to paint my pain or write words with no restraint or limits, pushing their edge and pulling them from my head or psyche lovely, is the acrylic sonnet how glorious the tinted ballad bouquet that’s balmy or fragranced by a hint of  rose in the shadows of pink hearts pierced by the strains of poverty and brown breached injustice smears lavished by black and white tears veneered, in order to protect it I have to paint my pain! Using written speech Or talk that will speak Uplift the spirit of humanity Prick the co