The art collection of Betsy Chess was on display as one of the 11 homes on the Focus on the Masters “Where Art Lives” self-guided tour of Ventura homes held on May 21 and 22. Homes where art is collected, displayed and loved.

The natural world fascinates artist Anne K. Graca, both pictorially and materially, so her solo exhibition May 31-June 25 at the Buenaventura Gallery in downtown Ventura is naturally titled Spirit of the Earth.

“In exploring the theme of ‘spirit’ in relation to the natural world, I want to convey the living, spiritual aspect of the materials that come from the earth,” she said. “I want to cause people who view my art to consider the source of these materials, as well as the beauty and feelings they may evoke.”

Graca’s paintings and sculptures will be at Buenaventura Gallery, 700 E. Santa Clara St., which is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more about the nonprofit Buenaventura Art Association, its programs and workshops, visit www.buenaventuragallery.org or call 648-1235 during gallery hours.

A beautiful home by George Robertson- If you would like your art in the Ventura Breeze send to [email protected].

Jeff Sanders “Tell Someone Who Cares”
Opening Reception: Friday, June 3, from 6-9 p.m.
Exhibit Dates: June 3 – 25,
Vita Art Center
432 North Ventura Ave. Studio 30
www.vitaartcenter.com
Gallery hours: M-F 10-4 pm Sat. & Sun. by appointment

Jeff Sanders was born in San Francisco. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and a master’s in Sculpture from California State University at San Jose. After briefly working as a college art instructor in the early 1970s, Jeff became a full-time artist, art-fabricator and art project manager. Bronze or steel are the preferred media for most of the artist’s outdoor sculpture, which is held in both private and public collections. His subjects involve the everyday image of America. From small to monumental.

Might this painting by Elaine Thompson be Publisher Sheldon? Only the artist knows for sure.

Eco Shumaker, a Ventura mixed-media artist, will present her first solo exhibition of works, titled Wanderlust, until May 28 at the Buenaventura Gallery in downtown Ventura.

“These are the paintings that have come from my travel to Costa Rica and Hawaii. I am feeling the pull to travel and have been intuitively painting whatever moves me through traveling, reading and dreaming,”

Shumaker said she started painting in high school, then studied fashion design in Los Angeles and worked in the garment industry for many years. “I found painting again in 2008 and haven’t put my brush down since,” she said.

Examples of Shumaker’s art can be found online at indigoarthouse.com.

Buenaventura Gallery, 700 E. Santa Clara St., is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more about the nonprofit Buenaventura Art Association, visit the website www.buenaventuragallery.org or call 648-1235 during gallery hours.

Applications and guidelines are now available online for the City of Ventura 2016-2017 Cultural Funding Program at www.cityofventura.net/cfp. Apply by Thursday, June 23, for the City of Ventura Office of Cultural Affairs 2016-17 Cultural Funding Program Grants. The program is open to any Ventura-based arts non-profit.  All organizations will be required to provide proof of their 501(c)3 status or that of their Ventura County  based fiscal agents. $90,000 will be awarded on a competitive basis to non-profit arts organizations, with grants ranging in size from $1,000-$20,000.

Grants range in size from $1,000-$20.000. Organizations whose annual budgets are less than $10,000 are only eligible to request $1,000 and do not have to submit California Cultural Data Project information. Applicants are asked to make a specific grant request.   The request may not exceed 10% of annual budget.

Organizations are required to submit financial information via the California Cultural Database Project at www.caculturaldata.org (unless their annual budget is less than $10,000). In addition to the California Cultural Data Project, applicants will submit a projected year end (2016/17) operating budget on a supplied form, and the last completed fiscal year-end budget. Artistic samples will be required and the artistic samples form submitted. Past applicants must have submitted a Final Report from the previous year to be eligible for future funding.

For more information contact Georgeanne Lees 658-4720 or [email protected].

Focus on the Masters presents Where Art Lives, a self-guided tour of Ventura homes where art is collected, displayed and loved on May 21-22, 11:00 to 4:00.  The tour includes 10 private homes and one law office.  The ticket price is $30 for Focus on the Masters members and $35 for the general public.  To encourage younger arts enthusiasts, a special pricing scale called “Pay Your Age” has been established.

Focus on the Masters believes anyone can be a collector.  Tour organizer, FOTM volunteer Mary Galbraith, feels that passion should be the driving force in collecting.  “Owning an original work, especially when it has been created by someone known to the collector, is especially thrilling.  Our appreciation of The Cellist by the late Seco is enhanced by our friendship with that wonderful artist.”

The tour will be of homes in the City of Ventura.  “Art lives everywhere – in a tract home, a condo, a seaside home or an office,” says Aimee French, whose home is one on the tour.

To purchase tickets for the tour online, go to FocusOnTheMasters.com and click on Where Art Lives.  Or, call FOTM 653-2501.

Focus on the Masters is a non-profit arts education organization that documents and celebrates the lives and works of artists who have gained mastery of their medium and have gained a presence in the community.

Gallery V  is pleased to present “A New Earth” a group show featuring the work of Gerald Zwers, Mary-Gail King, Carlos Grasso, Jack Halbert, Julie Maechler, Susan Guy and Kirk Mann.  “A New Earth” is an awakening to the fluidity of life. Artist reception will be May 21st, 6pm-9pm. 540 E. Main Street .805-628-3540.