Every year, on one day only, a cavalcade of artists converges on the Santa Ynez Valley for an afternoon of creativity. The Santa Ynez Valley Quick Draw and Arts Festival celebrates the mastery necessary to create a piece of fine art in just a few hours. Painters, sketch artists, and even sculptors come together to create original artwork on the spot at a sunny outdoor venue.
The venue this year is Flag Is Up Farms on Nov. 5, explained Holly Cline, the executive director for the Santa Ynez Valley Arts Association (SYVAA). The association took over the event a few years ago, Cline said, and she said she’s happy to have the event serve as a fundraiser for the organization as well as valley artists.
The association has also called on other art lovers in the valley to expand the reach of the event throughout the weekend, Cline explained.
“This year, in celebration of that 30th anniversary, we’ve reached out into the community, and so we have a lot of nonprofits and businesses that have collaborated with us so that we have a weekend of different events happening all over the place,” she said. “There are lots of wineries and restaurants that have art on the walls, but maybe people don’t know about it, so this is a chance for the community to come in and see that they also have art on the walls.”
A complete list of events is available on the SYVAA website, but they are all designed to supplement the main event on Nov. 5, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Local artists will converge not just for the quick draw portion, but for an art walk as well. SYVAA members will showcase and sell their art, which includes everything from paintings to jewelry. The event also includes live music and food, which elevates the festival beyond just the quick draw to a full-fledged arts festival, Cline explained.
But the main attraction has always been the quick draw, which features skilled artists creating a piece in just one hour, Cline said.
“The criteria to be a quick draw artist is, one, you have to be really versed in what you do, because creating an original work of art that is professionally done and ready to hang on a wall in an hour is not a skill that every artist has,” she said. “It’s pretty hard to do, especially with the pressure of people standing around you watching what you are doing, but these featured artists are good. They are experts at what it is that they do, and the work that they produce in that hour is just mind-boggling to me.”
There will also be two sculptors on hand who will create an original work in clay. The model will be auctioned off, and whoever wins the piece at the auction will pay the foundry costs to get the piece cast in whatever medium they want.
The artists featured this year at the Santa Ynez Valley Quick Draw and Arts Festival include Vicki Andersen, Chris Chapman, Ken Christensen, Camille Dellar, Jim Farnum, Kevin Gleason, Mark Greenaway, John Iwerks, Gary Johnson, Jay Johnson, Renee Kelleher, George Lockwood, Joe Milazzo, Vel Miller, Donna Moser, Richard Myer, Karina Puente, Luis Ramirez, Pat Roberts, Arturo Tello, and Jerry Vande Berge. Each artist will be on full view while they work, with all their tools and skills on display, Cline said.
“It’s like seeing a virtual studio,” Cline said. “Not many of us get to go where an artist actually does their work, and see their tools, the material they use, and how they set up those things. If you enjoy art, or if you’re a student and you want to learn more about those things, then here’s an opportunity to come and watch a professional lay out their tools, lay down their foundation, how they choose their colors, their blending, and so on and so on.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne may be the slowest draw in the West. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2016.