25th Annual Sidewalk Fine Arts Festival Celebrates Spring in Menlo Park

The 25th Annual Sidewalk Fine Arts Festival returns to downtown Menlo Park Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This highly anticipated family event takes place along Santa Cruz Avenue off El Camino Real and is sponsored by the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce. The free event provides visitors an opportunity to view an exciting array of original works by more than 90 artists exhibiting collages, photography, unique wood sculptures, vibrant paintings and much more. Enjoy charming downtown Menlo Park while strolling the art walk and take advantage of this opportunity to shop for a unique gift or item for your home or office.

Among this year’s artists is Robin Senour of Berkeley, California whose designs easily bring a smile to every face. Robin’s whimsical artwork pieces become wonderful pins, earrings and eye-catching wall hangings. Her love of animals is apparent in her work that showcases her take on cats, dogs, and penguins, as well as mermaids, houses, the sun and more. Robin draws her designs onto paper, scans them and then uses the computerized images to laser cut the designs onto plastic. Finally, Robin uses whimsy and lots of color to paint the pieces before she seals them creating a nearly indestructible, wonderfully fun piece of art.

Hailing from the Bay Area, Brooke Howie's original inspirations are created in oil on stretched cotton canvas with heavy-duty wood frames. Her designs extend to the edges of the canvas which means that no additional framing is required, a look that is popular with Brooke’s customers. Of her work, Brooke says: "I have two subject matters — still lives and beach scenes…I use a bold color palette in contrast with soothing subject matter which creates a visual feast.”

Deanna De Chauron of Carmel, California uses her original handmade paper as the medium to create paper collages inspired by her own personal journey in ZEN and TAO thought. Her work captures inspiration from the sea and Asian themes and aims to promote an inner sense of serenity. “To fully appreciate my work, one must look beneath the visual image, whether sea-inspired or Asian in theme, and respond to the inner sense of serenity and layered thought that gives birth to the creation,” says Deanna.

Additional artists participating in the 25th Annual Sidewalk Fine Arts Festival include Dori Egan and Mike Durkin of Pleasant Hill showing their custom fine art jewelry; Vivian and Neil Blanck of Pleasant Hill who paint onto spherical shapes of wood resulting in stunning sculptural works; and Phillip Glashoff of Suisun City, California, who uses found objects to create large and small whimsical metal sculptures.

The Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce sponsors the 25th Annual Sidewalk Fine Arts Festival with support from Allied Waste. For more information, contact the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce at (650) 325-2818 or Pacific Fine Arts at (209) 296-1195 or visit www.pacificfinearts.com

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