Last year was one wild ride for James Wheatley, executive director of Celebration Arts, the 32-year-old arts organization that provides training and performance opportunities in drama, music, dance and storytelling devoted to the African-American experience.
If there’s one thing you need to know about William Ishmael’s home and studio, tucked off Fair Oaks Boulevard near Watt Avenue, it’s this: He has artwork in the shower.
If that sounds odd, allow me to explain why it seems natural in the stunning abode Ishmael shares (and designed) with his husband, landscape architect David Gibson. Art is simply part of life for Ishmael, which you can tell from the wide range of works hung everywhere you look.
Mark Emerson likes the very thing about art that makes a lot of others anxious. “Uncertainty in the arts really frustrates a lot of people,” he says on a break from packing up his East Sac studio—located in the house where he grew up—on the eve of a move to Davis to be with his fiancée. “But I think it spurs us on to do our work.
Leslie Toms’ business card tells you a lot about her as a painter.
It’s a 2.5-by-2.5-inch square—an unusual size and shape, but that makes the card stand out. The front features a high-gloss image of two sunflowers in a vase with her name printed across the bottom in bright red letters. The colors are so vibrant that you can’t help but stare. The card is the epitome of Toms’ artistic style: a little different, a lot colorful and always pleasing to the eye.
Gerald Walburg is one of Sacramento’s most talented and notable artists. The trouble is that over his long and productive career his local profile hasn’t kept up with his national one. I’m hoping to change that.
Barbara Dow put the final touches on the pet portrait just in time for Christmas. The custom oil painting of Tank, a 10-year-old Great Dane, was a surprise present for her client’s nephew, the owner of the silver and black senior dog. What made the artwork so special was that Tank passed away the day after Barbara took his photo from which she created the heartfelt gift.
