PHOTO COURTESY MARK VELASQUEZ

PHOTO BY SHELLY CONE

PHOTO BY RYAN MILLER

Beautiful yearThe past 12 months were good to local artists BY SHELLY CONE

Whether it’s a year of abundance or recession, the Year of the Tiger or the Year of the Rabbit, a year of political unrest or complacency, it makes no difference to the world of art. All of those things incite inspiration.

So goes art in Santa Maria. This year, local artists found two more places to display their art. A Santa Maria photographer got a taste of the high life on a reality show, and an author saw her book turned into a major motion picture. Theatergoers were treated to a world premier, written specifically for PCPA. Santa Ynez Valley resident and recording artist Jim Messina kicked off his tour with an intimate concert in his hometown, and two renowned guitarists kicked off a series of concerts at La Purisima Mission to raise funds for Equine Alliance Youth Foundation. m

Contact Sun Arts Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.

Picture the Dunes: The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes call to artists of every genre to paint their beauty, be inspired to write something wonderful, or capture their magic in a picture. The Guadalupe Dunes Center decided to provide a place to display work inspired by the sand. The center devoted one of its rooms to gallery space—not only for artists to hang their dunes-inspired works, but to give visitors a way to learn about the dunes through the art. The idea started with Jules Reuter, a member of the Dunes Center’s Board of Directors—who also happens to be a photographer. When room opened up at the Dunes Center, the space was remodeled to house artwork inspired by the dunes. The art rotates on a quarterly basis and has featured everything from photographs to paintings to pencil art. The subject of the art isn’t limited to just the dunes them-selves. Pieces include plant life, the ocean, surfers, and anything else that interacts with the dunes.

Freeze frame: Photographer and owner of Gold Coast Art ‘n Frames Gary Brandes relocated to 610 E. Main St.—where he helps artists with frames, glass, and other accessories to enhance their work. He also set up an upscale art gallery. Brandes said that with so many galleries closing in Santa Maria and in San Luis Obispo—galleries he’s worked with—he was more than happy to provide space to show art in his location. He said he was especially sad to see David Ryan Gallery close in Orcutt two years ago, and with so few upscale options for showing art, Brandes wanted to do what he could. “It’s always been my dream to get a gallery going for artists to show their work,” he said. “I’m just tak-ing a chance with the economy the way it is. My lease was up at the old place, so I thought I might as well put it all on the line.” Brandes has spent 13 years in the framing business and just as long as a photographer. “The local artists have always supported me, and I have always supported them, and I think this is a great way to work together,” he said.

The reality of art: Local photographer Mark Velasquez has gained some notoriety in these parts for his edgy photography, and the country became aware of his work this year when he was featured on Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. Bravo’s reality TV show featured several artists in different mediums competing for $100,000 and the opportunity for a solo show at the prestigious Brooklyn Museum. Velasquez, who’s worked as a fry cook during the day and a photographer at night, said at the time that he still worked the grill to “stay grounded.” He added that he’s never been the type of artist to take the art world seriously. His carries that philosophy into his work, creating pieces that make a statement. Velasquez didn’t win the contest, but he had an unforgettable experience living in New York and participating in the program—which included the familiar reality show-type drama. He’s now back home in Santa Maria and just completed a coffee table book chronicling his travels across the country and his favorite models.

Hollywood gets Flipped: Authors typi-cally don’t get included in the press push for movies made from their books, but that wasn’t the case for local writer Wendelin Van Draanen. After her novel Flipped was filmed, she appeared on a Hollywood panel with director Rob Reiner, the producer, and Reiner’s co-writer for the screenplay. Then she threw a red carpet premiere party on her Central Coast home turf in the summer, which drew the four young stars of the film from L.A. to attend two screenings at Fair Oaks in Arroyo Grande.

PHOTO BY STEVE E. MILLER

PHOTO BY CATHY GREGG

PHOTO BY SHELLY CONE

PHOTO COURTESY DIRECT MANAGEMENT GROUP On a musical mission: Guitarists Tony Harmon and Ray Pannell brought their Spanish guitars to La Purisima Mission for a concert that would kick off a series performed at missions throughout California, designed to raise funds for Equine Alliance Youth Foundation, which works with foster and mentally challenged youth to teach them to ride, to overcome life’s obstacles, and to develop relationship-building skills. The duo played their own style of flamenco, which they call Calmenco. They described it as flamenco with a California feel. The performance delivered classical, Spanish, Brazilian, Latin, and popular music. A portion of the proceeds also went toward the preservation of La Purisima Mission State Historic Park.

Kick off! Life doesn’t come any more intimate than in the Santa Ynez Valley. Living in the creatively rich rural retreat, guitarist Jim Messina has been known to warm things up with a show at the Maverick Saloon when the road starts to beckon and a new tour looms. In rounding up his band for a West Coast tour, Messina once again named Maverick his first port of call. He met the saloon’s proprietor—Mark Bennett—when the latter owned a local printing business. Since he had the only copier in town large enough to print sheet music, Bennett quickly won a place in Messina’s heart. Messina’s summer set fluctuated with musical temperament through songs drawn from across his considerable career, which has yielded an album with Buffalo Springfield, four recordings with Poco, and nine albums with Loggins and Messina. He’s also released four solo albums and recently added a new EP, titled Under a Mojito Moon, to that armory.

A first for the stage: In 2010, PCPA audiences were treated to the world premiere of Invierno by Playwright José Cruz Gonzålez. It begins with a young, modern-day woman trying to hang her-self. Her boyfriend finds her, and the tale of their troubled relationship unfolds from there. Mysteriously, they’re approached by a Mestizo woman who transports them 200 years into the past to par-ticipate in another story that seems to parallel their own. That story takes place in 19th century rancho California. They watch as Don Leon wrongly accuses his wife of having an affair with his best friend, Don Patricio. As jeal-ousy overtakes Don Leon, his rage sparks destruction for everyone involved. The story ends with love and forgive-ness, but not before taking a rough ride to redemption. Invierno was a commis-sioned work by Gonzålez, author of The Heart’s Desire, which he wrote specifi-cally for PCPA. The story was inspired by Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. Gonzålez said the story retains Shakespeare’s examination that begins with the pain of mistakes, turns into regret and sorrow over a loss, and ulti-mately ends in forgiveness.

A Sun paint job: The Santa Maria Sun set out to make the case for more public art and to prove that Santa Maria has talent by allowing several local artists to give its newspaper racks their colorful touch. The racks started showing up around the city, and with an enthusiastic reception from mer-chants who hosted the racks in front of their stores, we continued to add more. Chosen artists have been allowed to pick their own themes on the boxes, which are placed around the city. Boxes painted in 2010 included scenes from around the Valley, while others have been more abstract or whimsical.

PHOTO BY LUIS ESCOBAR/REFLECTIONS PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO BY STEVE E. MILLER

2010 Year in Rewind