Art sale draws record crowd

Surrounded by bright yellow poppies, prickly pear cactus and the landmark face of Elephant Head, more than 500 visitors enjoyed a day in the country at the third annual Elephant Head Art Guild Show and Sale last weekend.

Gusts of wind knocked a few paintings off their easels, but most everyone agreed that the breezes were as refreshing as the seemingly limitless plates of cookies set out by the registration table.

“EHAG is a small but dedicated group of artists who support and encourage each other to ever improve our skills, the quality of our work and the presentation of our work to the public,” said Nancy Williams, whose Western-themed oil paintings filled an outdoor tent. Nancy’s new series, “Spirit Horses,” was a hit among those browsing the exhibits.

The rustic setting delighted visitors and surprised some, too. “Many folks expected to find businesses or commercial buildings, a center of some kind, not realizing that Elephant Head is, in fact, a community of folks living within a designated area—some of whom met one another for the first time at our show,” said Serene Rein, whose charcoal portraits generated much interest and more than a few new commissions over the course of the show.

She was happy to “find new homes” for her work displayed at the show, as were other exhibitors. “We really appreciated the recognition of our work from members of the communities around us as well from as fellow artists,” Nancy added.

“(Visitors) thought it was a very good show, much larger than they had anticipated,” said exhibitor Del Marinello. “A few who had been to the show before felt that the quality of the work had improved greatly. People were also impressed with the variety of art being offered.”

Exhibitor Karen Lepper reported hearing similar kudos. A typical comment: “This was great! I had no idea how large and how good your art show was until I attended today. The art was impressive and it was most enjoyable.”

At the close of each day’s exhibit, just after 3 p.m., a drawing was held for a piece of original artwork. The lucky winners had their choice of three or four different pieces each day.

The winners were:

Day 1 (Friday): Ginny Muller of Green Valley chose a metalwork business card holder by Mel Williams.

Day 2 (Saturday): Fran Langstaff of Durham, N.C. (a Green Valley winter resident) chose a turned wooden bowl by Terry Rein.

Day 3 (Sunday): Mary Alice Smith of Green Valley chose “Twilight,” an acrylic by Del Marinello.

For further information about the Guild or to contact individual artists, call Tom Arndt at 398-0037 or e-mail him at tomarndt@starband.net.

Bobbie Jo Lieberman is a freelance writer and photographer. Comment on this story online at www.gvnews.com.