
The La Jolla Association of Art, located at 8100 Paseo Del Ocaso in La Jolla Shores, opened a new exhibit July 19. The show, called “High Tides & Summer Nights,” will run until Aug. 1 and features the work of six members of the association. It is an interesting and colorful collection of art works blending impressionistic and realistic approaches to landscapes and still life. The six artists involved are Charles Pinkney, Jacqueline Warfield, Kim Wilkins, Richard Warner, Salli Sachse and Rae Anne Mark. Many are students of the Spanish master Sebastian Capella, who now resides in La Jolla. Each artist is as fascinating as their creations. Those who attend the show will have the unique opportunity to get to know some very interesting local people, view their art and ponder the relationship and significance of person-to-art-production. Charles Pinkney is the former mayor of a small town. He is described as, “the nicest person you could ever meet.” His paintings include a statue in a garden, ocean waves crashing, a small mountain stream waterfall, the pink beach house near the Marine Room Restaurant on Spindrift, a dream house on the hill, and perhaps his best, a wonderful and exquisite painting in grays and blues of a flock of elegant terns standing at the shore in the blowing wind. Pinkney also makes his frames of fine wood in a contemporary style. Jacqueline Warfield is the newest member of the association. She is said to be “up and coming,” with much potential and making great strides in her painting career. Her paintings include two thoroughbred race horses with jockeys, rocks at the shore, two small islands from the Galapagos, a solitary white horse, a floral arrangement and a very satisfying painting of red water lilies on dark green water. Kim Wilkins is a very intriguing gentleman, nicknamed “The Secret Agent” because of his “classified” real life career. Wilkins, a world traveler and avid golfer, has nine paintings on view — of landscapes, buildings, pretty women, and a wonderful study of fog and sailboats in a harbor titled “Moonlight Harbor.” Richard Warner, a La Jolla local, graduated with a degree in design and art from San Diego State University and taught art at La Jolla High School for a number of years before opening his own design firm called Warner Design Associates. He has also published a book called “All Hands On Deck,” which is a human resources manual. Warner has developed the outlandish and amusing gimmick of taking a photograph of some random couple, turning it into a portrait and then seeking out the couple to see if they would like to buy it. It works! His pieces in the show include “Three For Lunch in Florence,” a study of three men in an Italian deli strung with bundles of hanging cheese; and “Shell Beach,” a landscape of one of the beautiful local landmarks. Salli Sachse is our own celebrity movie star, having starred in 16 films, including the “Beach Blanket Bingo” series with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello; “The Trip” with Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Susan Strasberg; and “Devil’s Angels,” about motorcycle gangs. She has spent much time at Dean Martin’s house, hung out with Frank Sinatra, rode on the back of Steve McQueen’s motorcycle, befriended folk singer Joni Mitchell and traveled with the rock band Crosby, Stills and Nash. She was Miss La Jolla, Fairest of the Fair, and the subject of a Vanity Fair article on the Southern California beach culture. As if that wasn’t enough, she is now a talented artist. Her painting of “Leo the Cat,” perhaps the best portrait of a cat you may ever see, will have you glued to the wall and purring with contentment. Rae Anne Marks is the overseer of the group, keeping everyone intact under her knowledgeable and watchful wings. A very unassuming and humble person, she is a wealth of information on art. She began her interest in art in high school, but put it aside for the financial stability of a career in business. That is, until her future husband took her on a date to a showing in New York City of the Spanish master Joaquin Sorolla, which reawakened her artist passion. After the two got married and moved to San Diego, Marks discovered that the Sorolla show which she had seen in New York was now in San Diego. She went to the museum every day. After that, she sought out local artist Sebastian Capella, who had graduated from the same school as Sorolla — The Valencia School of Fine Art in Spain. She has been his student and assistant for the past 25 years. Marks has a piece on exhibit titled “The Tourists,” which won first place at this year’s Del Mar Fair; also an intriguing and symbolic painting of a romantic old cottage with a red door, titled, “Gypsy Night Dream,” and a wonderful large bar scene called “The Bartender of Seville” whose bold colors and lively atmosphere will grab your attention and make you wish you were there. “I love to paint. It’s not a hobby — it’s my passion. I love color,” Marks said. “It’s so exciting. When I am at my canvas I feel like I am about to fight a bull. My adrenalin is flowing. You have to think about every little step. Everything I have learned in the last 25 years has to be recalled at the proper moment and is involved in every single small brush stroke.” Come see this show and try to meet the artists, many of whom volunteer at the gallery. Get to know them — they have personality plus. It’s as much fun as viewing their art and enhances the experience significantly.
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