Art Hop Hits Merced!!

Can you believe it?  Even here in little old (and very poor) Merced, we actually have "ART".  Four times a year, anyone who has some type of art, from paintings to sculpture to photography ... can apply on-line to local businesses in the old downtown area for a free space to show and sell their art.  I have done this a few times on a last minute basis and not had very good results.  Either the space was too small or in a location where there was no foot traffic.  It's not that you get to sell your work, it's all about meeting people who LIKE your work.  This year my photographer friend Chris Cook and I walked through the stores first and found the best store owner ever ... Tami Davidson of Diva Accessories.  Not only was she enthusiastic, but served wine and snacks (along with our candy and snap bracelets for the kids) which drew an amazing crowd.  Here's Chris with her image of the Old Tioga Building in Merced.

I can't tell you how exciting it is to have people come in the door and say "WOW!  That's awesome!!"

Partners in crime, we do a lot of shoots together.  Chris' daughter Sydney is the subject of many of them.  A gorgeous 14 year old going on 21, she is a natural!!

The hardest part is picking which images you want to show.  Space is always limited and my images are rather large.  Here are two you have probably seen already.  The Red Tree got soooo many comments, I was very happy!!

The last image, Fallen Leaves, was from a roadtrip to Yosemite Valley for fall color.  We were too late, and all the color had fallen to the ground ...  so that's where I shot it!!!  My business cards have my information on one side and my images on the back side.  My stack of 50 cards totally disappeared!!!

So it's off for another shoot ... we need new images for the next Art Hop in June!!!  

The Jeep you ask??    That story should end (hopefully on a good note) tomorrow!!