Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1112638
which hasn't sold, plus additional non-juried paintings are available for sale, and many artists are available to mingle with the public. Then on Sunday, a "quick draw" event gives the winning artists two hours to paint another piece to be auctioned off. Joaquin Turner won the People's Choice Award in 2011, his first year partic- ipating in the event. "Overall, what I like best about the event is the artists," he says. "Seeing old friends and making new ones. Unlike a lot of other competitions, I feel that there is real camaraderie among the ar tists that par ticipate and while it can be a bit stressful to paint as many quality paintings as possible within a two-day window, the shared struggle brings us artists together and there's always great stories from the battlefield to be heard and told. The elements here can be quite extreme for plein air painting, especially along the coast—from blown over easels and smashed paintings to faces cov- ered in poison oak." World-renowned Carmel-based sculptor Steven Whyte and his wife Ellen Wilson help put on the event. "We're hosting registration for the artists at our Dolores gallery on Wednesday," Wilson says, "and we're donating flowers for the VIP recep- tion. Steven will do his traditional live sculpting event in the park from Friday to Sunday." Whyte, whose work is featured in the Smithsonian, creates a large sculpture of a famous individual whose identity is not revealed until the last day of the event. Kids can make art on Saturday in an event hosted by the Youth Arts Collective of Monterey, and live bands per- form throughout the festival, while many families choose to picnic on the lawns. "The Carmel Art Festival feels like the best of Carmel," Whyte says. "The community comes together. There are families, live music and most importantly, talented artists finding inspiration from Carmel. It's a wonderful reminder of Carmel's history as a destination for building creative communities." Rothwell, who has helped organize the event since 2000, explains that artists who wish to par- ticipate must be selected by a jury, and only 60 are chosen for the event. "They come from everywhere," she says. "Europe, Hawaii, China. They send in two plein air images with their application and they must stay in Monterey County for the event and sub- mit two paintings. They paint pretty fast and most of them have three to four extra paintings. When the judging of the competition is done by 6pm on Friday night, they can put their other paintings up. Point Lobos is a favorite location… We have a lot of ocean-type paintings. People like Monterey for the great views down the hills VIP guests who are previous purchasers of paintings will enjoy a wine reception. Since you have a limited time to paint, artists usually capture what is important to them about the scene and all the frivolous stuff gets thrown out the window. C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 9 169 Photo: DMT Imaging