The 39th annual Open Studios Art Tour is on deck to invite the public into the studios of local artists Oct. 5-20.
The tour spans across the county over three weekends during the North County, South County and final All County tours.
The 2024 tour includes 307 artists who will showcase works in glass and jewelry, ceramics, wood furniture, drawings, paintings, sculpture, textiles and much more.
“The show looks great this year,” said Ann Osterman, Open Studios and Events Coordinator. “There are 45 first-time artists this year, loads of veterans and everything in between.
New this year will be the Satellite Shows at the Porter Building in Watsonville and the Santa Cruz Art League in Santa Cruz.
“They are a great way to show artwork from our more remote parts of the county from places in Watsonville Corralitos, Bonny Doone, Davenport, Soquel hills and elsewhere,” Osterman said.
The Porter Building show—under the umbrella of Pajaro Valley Arts—opened Saturday and runs through Oct. 20, features 35 artists.
“It’s really a nice partnership, Osterman said.”Judy (Stabile) was generous enough to reach out and be a part of the show. It’s a great way to give a little bit of love to artists who don’t usually get a lot of traffic because of their location. It’s really a jump start to the entire tour.”
Watsonville artist John Maxon said he was excited to be invited to show his large oil on canvas paintings in the Porter Building. He has shown his work in the tour for 25 years and has been painting since 1972. Maxon taught drawing and painting at Cabrillo College where he retired five years ago and has shown his work around the county, Carmel and elsewhere.
“Opening your studio up for the public is such a plus for community involvement and showing your work for business, livelihood and also it’s a great ego massage,” he said “I’m happy that people step up and come to Open Studios every year and get involved: That’s the beauty of Open Studios.”
Meanwhile, in Aptos, artist John McKinley is dressing up his studio for visitors.
“This will be my 12th year,” said McKinley, who describes his work as imaginative characters in ink, watercolor and acrylic. “Open Studios is great. I like the face to face aspect of the tour where I get to meet the people. It’s an audience that is tailored for me because they chose to come here; it’s the perfect combination.”
McKinley will show his art on his backyard wood deck and in his studio that is aptly labeled ‘Cartoon House’ in hand-painted letters across its outside wall.
He has been a freelance illustrator since 1985 with a focus on humorous characters, fantasy creatures, exaggerated animals, people and political cartoons and caricatures. He studied at Art Center College in Pasadena.
“I have published hundreds of pieces of editorial art in magazines and newspapers and illustrated the children’s book, Monster Academy, by Jane Yien and in the Ready, Freddy series for scholastic books.”
He said he draws inspiration from Picasso, Vermeer, Modigliani and was deeply influenced at a young age by the popular MAD Magazine.
His open studio shows run Oct. 12, 13 and 19, 20 from 11am to 5pm at 217 Coronado Drive, Aptos. His work can also be seen on his website, mckinleyink.com.
Watsonville artist Heidi Alonza has also been a part of Open Studios over the years
“I have been creating wall art, soft sculptures and the raincoat in the gallery was made out of billboard advertising vinyl,” she said. “You can order tarps made from recycled billboards. The image shows the two ads the raincoat is made from. When I opened the tarps and saw the ads I knew they needed to become a raincoat.” The work, “We will buy your house for cash,” is part of the Porter Building exhibit.
For maps, tour information and schedules, visit santacruzopenstudios.com.
