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 Watercolors and Hiking event will be held in Locke, Calif. on Thursday, September 15, 2011 starting at 10:00 a.m. The hike will be led by Martha Esch. Bring the kids and the grandparents; everyone is welcome!  Well-behaved dogs on leashes, okay. This is a mostly level 1.5 mile hike apart from one 20 foot long, somewhat steep, narrow path up a levee hill and some optional off-path routes along the way that are prickly and narrow. Locke artist and art teacher, Martha Esch, will demonstrate easy techniques to painting a quick, lovely, loose watercolor postcard of scenic spots along the hike. Next, participants will begin using watercolor kits, blank postcards and brushes that will be pas

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

The Crocker Art Museum brought three art collections together for a “Summer of Impressionism” display that will go through Sept. 25 and traces the Impressionist movement’s beginnings in France through its American and ultimately Californian works. “It’s a rare opportunity to see so many different incarnations of Impressionism all at the same time,” said Associate Director and Chief Curator Scott Shields. “It shows many of the famous Impressionist painters as well as their influences.” The three related exhibits take up three separate rooms on two floors of the Crocker’s new wing. The first exhibit, “Transcending Vision: American Impressionism, 1870-1940,” shows how the works of the Fren

Hobby artists and painters from near and far are invited to attend a free “Plein Air Day” on Saturday, May 14, presented by the State Indian Museum and California State Parks.  First offered in 2010, the special event will take place on the grounds of Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park (where the State Indian Museum is located) and is designed to provide interested participants an opportunity to join other artists in a hands-on community event that embraces nature and celebrates the beauty of the landscape, historic structures and park-like setting. While there is no cost to participate in “Plein Air Day,” interested artists are encouraged to register early.  Participating artists are enco

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

To celebrate two of their favorite things: cats and the New Year, mural artists, Sofia Lacin and Hennessy Christophel, choose Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary for their annual charitable mural donation. ‘A Cat for Every Lap,' a 15 foot by 4 foot hand painted mural, will be unveiled at Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary at 6001 Folsom Blvd on the 8th of January, 2011. Ranging in facial expressions and personality just as much as humans, cats are wonderful subjects for a mural. The mural will depict a variety of larger-than-life size human laps occupied by a variety of feline friends. It seems to be a good time to focus on these creatures, as shelters are packed or closing and so many animals are left ho

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

The only sound in the studio at 1200 S St. Tuesday morning was the scratching of pencils and charcoal on paper as a small group of artists looked past their easels to study the live nude model on the stage. S12 Studios and Patris Studio Gallery is home to a thriving artist community with an emphasis on painting life, whether it be still life or live models, said owner Patris Miller, who goes solely by Patris. “I need to draw the figure to keep my skills up,” said professional artist Philippe Gandiol. “That is the most difficult part, and there are lots of live sessions here.” Gandiol said he has been going to the studio for about three years and calls it a special place. “There’s reall

Despite scaled-back school budgets, art education is flourishing in the Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District in west Roseville. The Sacramento Press observed an art docent lesson in Annette Willis’ fourth-grade class at Coyote Ridge Elementary School last month. The art docent program is one of a variety of measures the district is using to incorporate art into the curriculum. The hour-and-half-long lesson began with art docent and parent Stephanie Jones asking 33 attentive students to think of different modes of transportation. The children quickly identified the subject of the day: trains. Jones held up a large Currier and Ives print entitled “American Express Train.” “What do

April 16 marked the arrival of TEDx in Sacramento, bringing a “TED-like experience” to our area. What is TED? TED stands for “Technology, Education, Design.” It is a small nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Started in 1984, its purpose has spread to include an annual U.S. conference in Long Beach as well as a TEDGlobal conference in the United Kingdom, a TEDTalks online video site, an annual TED Prize, a nationwide local program called TEDx and more. Per TEDx Sacramento, “The TEDx Conference provided a license and general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.” Brandon Weber, TEDx Sacramento curator, said the local team want

 "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

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

For some time now the overpass of Interstate 5 over the Amtrak parking lot has been in the process of being repainted. It was a dull green and now it's a much more vibrant green. The basic question that I have is; why do we need to repaint the bottom side of an overpass at all? It's not as though many people see the bottom of I-5. In the follow up to this introduction to the issue I plan on finding out what part of government is responsible for this maintenance, what the cost to the taxpayer is, what the impetus behind the repainting is and how long the project will take. Are there projects like this going on in your neighborhood too? What do you think of them?