Art Tour Offers Intimate Glimpse into Artists’ World

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Mary Aslin, who puts detailing touches on “Girly Girl,” opens her studio this weekend to the public for a tour organized by Festival of Arts exhibitors.Photo by Daniella Walsh
Mary Aslin, who puts detailing touches on “Girly Girl,” opens her studio this weekend to the public for a tour organized by Festival of Arts exhibitors.Photo by Daniella Walsh

With arms sheathed in protective covering and a low-slung belt holding her arrows, the girl taking aim with a modern crossbow looks like a modern version of Diana, goddess of the hunt, even if she’s wearing a short skirt and rough work boots.

Pastel painter Mary Aslin has immortalized her on canvas and named the painting “Girly Girl,” after seeing the middle-schooler in San Juan Capistrano, Aslin’s hometown. “When I saw a photograph of the girl, I just had to paint her,” she explained.

With soft pastels her medium of choice, she paints primarily still-lifes with an emphasis on florals, somewhat abstracted landscapes and is delving deeper into figurative painting. A couple of graceful nudes, portraits and the young archer placed against a background of canyon flora attest to Aslin’s latest interests.

“I don’t like hyper-realism but prefer painterly representation, which leaves a little to the imagination,” Aslin said.

Visitors to her studio can see the work in progress during the second annual Art Along the Coast tour Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 26, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A dozen Festival of Arts exhibitors located between San Clemente and Laguna Canyon will open their homes and studios to art pilgrims. “We were thrilled with the reception last year; every artist had at least 80 visitors over that weekend,” said 22-year-exhibitor, collage artist Mia Moore. “We anticipate an even higher turnout since we have five new artists this year.”

A seven-year Festival participant, Aslin agreed to open her Laguna Canyon studio for the first time, joining the other first-timers, fiber artist Shelley Rapp Evans, water colorist Molly Hutchings, sculptor Rachel Young and expressionist painter Sandra Jones Campbell.

Repeat exhibitors include Carolyn Machado, mixed media, Paul Bond, oil paintings, Nancy Holly, photographs, Sherry Salito-Forsen, glass, Fabrice Spies, acrylics, Rachel Young, sculpture and Gary Zuercher, photographs.

As last year, visitors who present stamped papers showing that they visited all 12 studios will be entered in a raffle for prizes of art works, tickets to workshops and two tickets to “Pursuit of Happiness,” this year’s Pageant of the Masters presentation.

The tour’s website www.artalongthecoast.com leads visitors to participating artists’ websites and shows a map of studio addresses. Those who click on “select tour map here” will have the option of downloading addresses and directions onto a mobile device or accessing a printable PDF map, explained Moore.

Moore and Aslin agree that opening up their studios offers this visitors a sneak preview of what they have been working on during the year. “At the festival, people see our best work at all times. Here we can show pre-sketches and works in progress. The public rarely sees what really goes into a work of art, the trials and tribulations leading to the final outcome,” said Aslin.

 

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