63rd annual SPSA Santa Paula Art & Photography competition being readied
January 19, 2000
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Santa Paula artists are on alert to finish those paintings, mix that media and frame that photo for the upcoming 63rd Annual Art & Photography Exhibit sponsored by the Santa Paula Society of the Arts. The show will open on Tuesday, Feb. 8th at Blanchard Community Library, 119 N. 8th St. The awards reception will be held Saturday, Feb. 19th, from 4 to 7 p.m., sponsored by Santa Clara Valley Bank.
This year there will be over $4,000 in cash and prizes, the highest offering yet for the show, perhaps the oldest such pre-juried event in the state.Last year the show’s reception drew hundreds of art lovers and contestants from throughout the state, and even those out-of-state artists who place Santa Paula’s competition in the top layer of such events.Categories for entries are oils/acrylic, watercolor, graphics/mixed media and photography. Due to less display space this year images must not exceed 36 inches by 36 inches. Entry fee is $10 per work.Prizes include the prestigious Douglas Shively Award of Excellence - Shively, a prominent artist, was a show founder - in each category, and Best of Show sponsored by Santa Paula Chevrolet. This show is unique as it also offers a Jury of Your Peers Award of Excellence with balloting open to competing artists, as well as a top prize decided by members of the public who vote for their particular favorite. Special and public balloting closes at 5:30 p.m. during the Feb. 19th reception, which will feature entertainment by Mexican folk harpist Xavier Montes, also a noted artist.Artists may submit their works at the library on Thursday, Feb. 3, from 2 to 8 p.m., and on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Major prize donors also include the Santa Paula Society of the Arts, Live Oak Gallery, North Wind Studios (owner Gerald Zwers is again the chairman for the show), Limoneira Co., First Western Bank and the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce, among others.
The show is not only a labor of love for the Santa Paula Society of the Arts but also a fundraiser; the society receives a 25 percent commission on all sold artwork.In addition, the annual show was the beginning of the Santa Paula Civic Art Collection spread throughout the schools, City Hall, hospital, etc. Each year many of the show’s top paintings were purchased on behalf of the public agencies affording citizens their own public art collection.All entries will remain on display until March 2nd.For an entry form or more information, call the Santa Paula Society of the Arts at 525-1104.