In just five short years, space for local artists to display their work has increased from three locations to seven. There are, of course, traditional set ups like Main Street Gallery in Lakeport and The Art House in Clearlake, but artists are also benefitting from a growing recognition that art sells. So the Lake County Wine Studio, the Saw Shop bistro and the Twin Pines Casino participate in promoting local art while their customers enjoy wine and savor food. Next spring, many wineries in the area are going to be putting on wine and art shows, something that hasn”t occurred with great frequency in the past.
Why the sudden increase in display space is hard to say. It may be attributed to the greater recognition of local artists, or the interest from galleries could be drawing more artists to the county. Sherry Harris, who is heavily involved in the art community and runs a monthly radio show called Big Art, sends out a weekly newsletter to about 600 artists, which has helped boost their interest in the area.
“These are artists that never thought about showing their work,” explained Linda Kelly, of Main Street Gallery. “With her encouragement, it has made them say, ”Okay, let”s try it.””
On the other hand, Christian Yeagan, former president and chairman of the Art”s Council board, could venture no explanation. “I can give you many more reasons why it wouldn”t be happening than why it would be happening,” he said, slightly baffled. “It”s something I”m very glad is happening, but it”s something I can”t make sense of.”
Yeagan, an artist himself, feels that the economic rewards for an artist are rather small.”It”s a way to work, although the economic returns are slight,” he said. “There are a few artists whose sales are pretty good, not really that many though.”
Instead, artists create and display work for the pure enjoyment of it. “One of the reasons that people display art is in the hopes of selling it, but in addition to that they want everyone to see what they”ve done,” Yeagan added. “They don”t really care whether they sell anything or not. That isn”t why they”re doing it.”
But Kelly feels that lately artists don”t have as much to worry about in terms of selling their art. “Sales have been really good,” she said. “Over in Lucerene sales have been really good for the past few months for the last eight months they have seen an increase.”
However, Melinda Young of The Art House Gallery in Clearlake, sees more galleries stagnating than succeeding. “People are struggling to pay their bills and art”s not on the top of their list,” she said. “There was a gallery open in Middletown but they”ve already closed.”
Whatever the case may be regarding the success of galleries, Lake County certainly has been working hard to bring artists and tourists alike to the area. About a year and a half ago the county held meetings where they discussed tourist attractions, such as the lake and local wineries, and an important question was introduced: what about the artists?
“So at the next meeting there were probably 12 artists that showed up to participate,” Kelly revealed. “And ever since then they”ve been recognizing more and more that we have some amazing artists and it”s just growing.”
The county seemed to recognize that visitors often want to commemorate their trip. “The tourists that come and buy paintings is because they want to take something with them from Lake County,” explained Kelly. “And there are so many paintings of the lake and Mount Konocti and they can take a little bit of Lake County home with them.”
Kelly is optimistic that Lake County is on it”s way to becoming a viable art destination. “I think if you look at Mendocino, if you look at Sonoma, tourists go there not only for the wine, but for the art,” said Kelly. “People are discovering that the artists here are equal or even superior to there So they come up here and they see the county road, they see the lake, they see the trees.
“I don”t think I”ve met a person yet who hasn”t fallen in love with Lake County,” Kelly said.
Yeagan agrees that Lake County is an ideal place for artists, but he”s not as certain that the area is a compelling art tourist destination. “Certainly that is an objective that we all have and it is something that we have consciously been working at,” he said. “It”s hard to tell how successful that”s been unfortunately the kind of publicity that should be done is not being done.”
Young acknowledges that promoting the Art House Gallery is not their strong suit. “It”s difficult. Some days there”s only one, maybe like two people coming in We don”t know how to advertise.” She was also doubtful about how much of a draw the area is for tourists.
“I think because of the lack of tourism. The lake has a bad reputation right now,” she said. “A lot of people are concerned It”s cut down on people coming up here, it”s cut down on fishing tournaments.”
Regardless of the tourism situation, local artists remain adamant about Lake County”s value.
“It”s a painter”s paradise. You have the lake, you have the animals, you have the mountains and trees,” said Kelly. “Anywhere you drive in Lake County you have amazing things to paint I”m looking at a painting on the wall right now … that”s Cobb Mountain. You drive up there and you”d see something like that.”
Yeagan agrees that the county has much to offer the artistically inclined. “Its a fairly inexpensive place to live. And it”s beautiful,” he said. “And the people in Lake County are very nice and it”s a very warm place. It has all of these qualities that an artist likes to live around.”
He sees only positive things to come from the numerous places for artwork in the area. “I really see it as nothing but beneficial the multiplication of galleries can”t do anything but help everybody,” he said. “For the same reason that if you open a clothing store down the block from another clothing store it will benefit both stores. That”s not immediately logical, but that”s the way it works.”
More artists mean more variety, which is a great thing for business, not a hindrance. “Each artist is unique. If you come and look at the different artists, each one is different,” said Kelly. “You can get an original piece that is only unique to that artist. That”s what people want. They want the unique art that”s available here.”
Whether or not Lake County is growing as an art destination seems up to personal opinion, but many artists and gallery staff remain optimistic.
“Personally, I see a really bright future for art in Lake County,” Kelly said. “The artists are going to start coming out more. A lot of them sold out of the county before the galleries started opening. But they”re actually showing here now too… For artists in Lake County, I see a bright future.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
