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.

Tomi Murphy was born in Tokyo where she grew up.  She moved to California in 1976 and worked as a software developer for 33 years.  After retiring, she focused on photography which she always enjoyed working with.  She specializes in wedding and other events, portraits, and travel photography.

She has had  several solo exhibits of her photographs.  She has her Japanese collection currently showing at Gallery 113 in Santa Barbara.  She will be showing her Cuban collection in July at Buenaventura Art Association in Ventura.

She also makes jewelry using an old Japanese braiding technique called Kumihimo.  It has been a widely used technique in Japan for hundreds of years.

Her photographs and jewelry are sold at The December Store & More at the Ventura Harbor.  You can also see her work at tomimurphy.com.

David Grizzle  moved to Ventura with his wife in 2010 from San Pedro. “I am originally from Texas and I spent 12 years (1998 to 2010) touring the south as a musician before turning to my visual art full time. I am self-taught. I work with acrylic on different mediums. My style has been described as Photo Realism. One of my last shows, “Fear and Loathing in San Francisco” was a success and was dedicated to the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

I was living on Santa Cruz St. when Joshua Pemberton (owner of Discovery Ventura)introduced himself with his card on my door. He had hear through my neighbor that my wife and I had just had our son, and he wanted to reach out and apologize for any construction noises. Which was very nice of him. So I called him up and I asked him how they were going to decorate Discovery. I showed him my art and we sat down for a lunch and hit it off…and the rest is history. Several of his large paintings can be seen at Discovery Ventura, 1888 Thompson.

You can see much of his amazing talent at www.davidgrizzleart.blogspot.com.

Vita Art Center presents Intuitive Spaces: An Emerging Artist Exhibit
Opening reception Friday, May 6 from 6-9pm
Exhibit Dates: May 6-28
Gallery Hours: M-F 10-4 pm Sat. and Sun. by appointment

The term “emerging artist” has become somewhat of a buzzword when it comes to discussing contemporary art and young artists in general considering that so much of the contemporary art market devoted to the discovery of new talent. The importance of recognizing and supporting emerging artists cannot be underestimated because they represent the potential future of the art world and growing art market.

This exhibit will display works from three local emerging artists, Vanessa Wallace, Megan Bisbee and Minga Opazo, as well as works by three artists from the youth arts program Art Division in Los Angeles, Jessica Cuautle, Alex “Otis Woods” Gonzales, and Robert Ortiz.

Vanessa Wallace stated  “My interest began in looking at a single person and their own imperfections. By displaying these flaws for everyone to see through distortion of the body and body language I worked to subvert our desire to maintain a perfect persona. I explored this through building figures from collaging transparent paper with a wash of acrylic color.”  www.vanessawallace.com

Vita Art Center  432 N. Ventura Ave. 644-9214  www.VitaArtCenter.com.

Mariana Peirano is a resident artist at the HUD, 1793 E Main Street. With many other wonderful artists.

Of her work she says “I was born an artist yet at some point in my early adult life I unconsciously moved away from that idea and became an elementary school teacher. Once my family moved away from my native Argentina, my life changed completely. My struggles as an immigrant child prompted me to become a bilingual teacher and help those in similar situations. During those years, my art was limited to creating classroom materials for my students and my own children. “

“Now, more than twenty years later, I return to my true nature and I’m an artist again.  My concern for the human condition, which has permeated my life, is reflected in my artwork.  The grace and beauty of the human body and the perplexity of facial expressions are all recurring themes in my work. I like to create images that evoke emotion and portray the complexity of the human mind.”

“My medium of choice is oil but I also work in acrylic and pastel. After a whole year working in acrylic, I’m once again loving the richness and vividness of the oils. They allow me to take my time and work in layers. It’s almost as if I discover a new painting in each layer.”

“My process reflects my belief that I’m merely an instrument for the creative forces of the universe. I’m inspired by images that evoke a strong emotional response in me. And so I write poems to decipher the messages I receive from those images. Then the words and the images become my painting.”

HUD hours:Wednesday-Friday 5-9 pm
Saturday by appointment only

Solo show by artist Steve Eberhardt
Title: “…of Dwarves, Kings, and Wanderings”,
Buenaventura Art Association’s Harbor Village Gallery
Entrance 3 in the Ventura Harbor Village
644-2750, or email [email protected] for more information.

Selected works from three suites of ongoing work by artist Steve Eberhardt are sure to delight even the most eclectic of viewers. Dwarves, from realms unknown doing the things dwarves do, are set to entertain, kings — serene dream warriors, and wanderings — a collection of surreal, sacred and anciently beautiful vistas. These works are the things that entertain a creative mind after forty years of creative adventures. Join us for the fun ”…of Dwarves, Kings, and Wanderings”.

Show will close on Sunday, May 15th.

Harbor Village Gallery hours are 11am – 6 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

Jocelyn Davis grew up in Denver, Colorado where she exhibited her early work at various festivals before moving to California to pursue two bachelor’s degrees in Art and Media Production at Pepperdine University. During her time at Pepperdine she took a year to study abroad in Florence, Italy and traveled extensively throughout Europe during her year there, observing the rich artistic styles across cultures. Jocelyn’s art plays with light and exaggerated color, reflecting a fascination with the way colors influence each other to evoke different emotions. Trees hold a central and symbolic role in many of her works. For her, they represent a state of growth. Though the branches may be twisted and imperfect, the tree always reaches to extend beyond itself.

Some of her wonderful paintings are on display at the December Store & More located in the Ventura Harbor.

You can view more of her work at http://www.jocelyndavisart.com