Taking part in art
P.A. Art About attracts many to galleries, studios, stores
All about art Art patrons explore the interior of Felder Gallery, where paintings covered the walls, from floor to ceiling. Folks drifted in waves from location to locat ion STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER while taking part in the P.A. Art About, sponsored by the Art Center for the Islands and the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce-Tourist Bureau. Art lovers flocked to Port Aransas for the annual P.A. Art About on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Visitors took themselves on selfguided tours of 12 different studios, galleries and stores, where they viewed an assortment of artwork, enjoyed food and drink and mingled for a good time.
“Everybody’s positively thrilled. We had great success,” said Mary Rose, executive director of the Art Center for the Islands, the nonprofit group that sponsored the event, along with the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce-Tourist Bureau. “We had so many people who said they came from out of town especially for this event,” Rose said.
A quick creation STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER Artist Rusty Jones of McKinney paints a scene that includes a wing of Bernie’s Beach House. Jones won a competition sponsored by Port A Gallery in which artists were allowed two hours to create a painting. In connection with Art About, Port A Gallery sponsored a “paintout” in which eight artists from around Texas came to town and created multiple paintings each, plein air style. That meant they set up easels at various locations around town and painted whatever subjects they saw and found appealing.
On Saturday, paint-out artists gathered in the flats area of town and engaged in a two-hour painting competition. At the end of two hours, their paintings were put on public display at Port A Gallery, where visitors voted on their favorites. Artist Rusty Jones of McKinney won.
Bird watching STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER Viewing wildlife photography at Mustang Island Art Gallery are, from left, Jeanne, Stan and Evelyn Greenberg.
Art student STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER Potter Ken Barnett, left, gives visitor Kyndal Tedder, 8, of Comfort, a quick lesson at the pottery wheel at Potters on Cotter.
