Mother Nature gives art a hand

Alex Coolman

The sun never quite managed to blaze over the fifth annual Balboa Island

Artwalk on Sunday, but the artists and island strollers who participated

said that was fine with them.

“If it’s really hot, and it’s beating down on you all day, it really

drains you,” said Irvine resident Sandy Clark Beek, who was exhibiting

what she called “abstract naturalist” canvases inspired by the human

figure and outdoor scenes.

Rather than searing solar rays, the 71 artists who set up their work on

South Bayfront got breezy conditions and plenty of attention.

Beek said it seemed to be art-buying weather.

“I’ve sold four paintings, so that’s all right,” she said.

Mixed in with the artists displaying their paintings, drawings,

photographs and mixed-media work were several bands playing from

waterfront porches.

At one spot along the boardwalk, local surf band The Nomads held court,

their reverb-washed tune “Summer Fantasy” sounding an idyllic note in the

afternoon.

Just a few houses down, Stacy Brower looked pleased to be sipping white

wine on a friend’s patio and taking in the scene.

“It’s fun to walk around and see the art and then sit and watch the

people seeing the art,” she said.

A portion of the entry fees paid by exhibitors will go to the Balboa

Theater Restoration Project and the Balboa Island Museum and Historical

Society, said Debra Huse, director of the Artwalk.

She said an effort had also been made to keep the feeling of the event

very accessible.

“We don’t do a jurying process,” Huse said. “We don’t want to make it

exclusive.”

Part of that effort involved encouraging artists to work on their

paintings as they were exhibiting. Many did exactly that, contemplating

works in progress they had set up on easels.

“It’s so the kids and parents can see the process and and how it’s made,”

Huse said.