The art of summer

LAGUNA ART MUSEUM

The Laguna Art Museum is at 307 Cliff Drive. For information, call

(949) 494-8971 or go to https://www.lagunaart museum.org.

EXHIBITS

Laguna Art Museum is exhibiting “Laguna’s Hidden Treasures: Art

from Private Collections,” through July 10; “Paul Paiement Hybrids

1.0 -- 3.5,” through July 3; and “Surf Culture Redux” through Oct. 5.

“Paul Paiement: Hybrids 1.0 -- 3.5,” is a five-year survey of the

Los Angeles-based painter. Hybrids is an ongoing series of watercolor

and egg tempera paintings based on psychological theories of visual

perception, with the artist acting as a painter, scientist and

entomologist.

“Laguna’s Hidden Treasures: Art from Private Collections” focuses

on collectors and their art collections in Laguna Beach and the

vicinity. Works range from the early 20th century to the early 21st

century. Profiles of the collectors, their collections and the

selected artwork will accompany the selections.

“Surf Culture Redux” is a reconfiguration of the iconic works from

the museum’s most well-attended show in its history, “Surf Culture --

The Art History of Surfing.” Past, present and future links between

surfing and art are explored through works of art by surfers and

artists influenced by surfing.

“While Pollock Was Sleeping: Bay Area Abstract Expressionism from

The Blair Collection” will be on exhibit July 31 through Oct. 2.

EVENTS

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 11, artist Paul Paiement will be

demonstrating and teaching the art of working with egg tempera,

including exploring the techniques and tricks in working with this

ancient medium.

At 1 p.m. June 26 the museum will feature “Collectors of American

Impressionism.” A panel of collectors represented in the exhibition

will discuss collecting and the focus of their collections. Moderated

by the exhibition’s co-curator and Laguna Art Museum curator of

collections, Janet Blake.

The seventh annual Laguna Beach Plein-Air Painting Invitational

will be from July 11 to July 17. Each year, 50 nationally recognized

artists from across the country are selected by the Laguna Plein-Air

Painters Assn. to participate in the Laguna Beach Plein-Air Painting

Invitational. After painting in and around the city of Laguna Beach

throughout the week, each artist selects three paintings completed

during the overall competition. These paintings are hung in Laguna

Art Museum along with other paintings completed during the week, for

judging at Saturday night’s Collectors’ Gala. Award winners are

announced at the gala, when collectors are able to view and purchase

paintings. The unsold art works are available for viewing and

purchase at the museum on Sunday.

FESTIVAL OF ARTS

For more information call (949) 494-1145 or (800) 487-3378 or

visit the website at www.lagunafestivalofarts.com. The Festival of

Arts is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and located at 650

Laguna Canyon Road.

Since 1932 the Festival of Arts is the premiere juried art

exhibition in Orange County -- it’s the longest running outdoor fine

art exhibition in California. This year the tradition continues with

more than 140 artists, some whom are nationally and internationally

known. The festival opens July 3 and runs through Sept. 1. Closed for

the festival gala Aug. 27.

Every art medium is on display and available for purchase

including blown glass, jewelry, oils, watercolors, acrylics,

printmaking, sculpture, furniture, ceramics and photography. All

artwork is original. Artists are often present.

Art workshops and seminars will be available regularly throughout

the summer for children and adults. Patrons can explore with guided

tours, see demonstrations and enjoy entertainment, including visual

and performance arts.

Special events are scheduled throughout the summer. Every Thursday

and Saturday music is in the air. Thursdays, starting July 7, will

feature a “Wine Tasting and Jazz Series,” $7 with admission, 4:30 to

7:30 p.m. And Sundays, starting July 10, there will be a “Sunday

Afternoon Blues Festival,” 2 to 4 p.m.

Laguna Culinary Arts will offer cooking demonstrations from 1 to 2

p.m. beginning July 10.

Special theme days are on Saturday afternoons from noon to 4 p.m.

It kicks off with “Wildlife Art Day,” July 16. Artist Chris Hoy

brings in a menagerie of wild animals with opportunities to paint.

“Hawaiian Cultural Day” will be on July 30, bringing dance, art and

activities the aloha way to the festival grounds. “Surf’s Up,” offers

a day of surf scene art and entertainment Aug. 6. Celebrate the

culture and art of Asia on Aug. 20 at “Asian Arts Day.”

Another highlight of the Festival of Arts is a junior art

exhibition, with 150 pieces of artwork from Orange County K-12 school

children that were juried into this special exhibit. Additionally,

throughout the summer, Youth Art Education Days will be held, every

Wednesday from July 13 to Aug. 17. The classes will give children

ages 5-13 the opportunity to experience a wide variety of arts,

including theater, music, painting and more. There is a $5 materials

fee per student, per class.

The Festival of Arts has a season pass of $5 for general admission

and $3 for seniors and students. Laguna Beach residents receive free

admission, as do children under 12, every day.

SAWDUST ART FESTIVAL

Admission fees are $7 adults; $5.50 for seniors 65 and older;

children 6 to 12 years old are $2. Season passes are $16. Sawdust Art

Festival is located at 935 Laguna Canyon Road. For information call

(949) 494-3030 or go online at https: //www.sawdustartfestival.org.

The Sawdust Art Festival continues to be the face of Laguna

Beach’s art community. To be a Sawdust exhibitor, the artist must

live in Laguna Beach. More than 200 artists exhibit their original

artworks in this summer’s show, July 1 through Sept. 4.

Every art medium is on exhibit and for sale in anyone’s price

range: photography, printmaking, jewelry, ceramics, glass, textile

and clothing, paintings and prints, wood and metal art, sculpture,

mixed media and more.

The location is in a beautiful eucalyptus grove and each of the

artist’s booth is hand-built every summer.

The Sawdust started in the summer of 1966 and it still has a

laid-back atmosphere, complete with sawdust covering the ground and

waterfalls that add to the peaceful hillsides.

Some of the highlights include artist demonstrations, with glass

blowing a favorite draw; complimentary art classes; children’s art

activities; and three stages of live entertainment, offering a

mixture of music genres.

“First Fridays Free for Laguna Beach Residents” on the first

Friday of the month, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. beginning opening day Laguna

Beach residents can come to the Sawdust Art Festival for free.

“Project Skimboard” -- Thirty-six Sawdust exhibitors were given a

blank skimboard to turn into a one-of-a-kind work of art. These works

will be in the exhibitors’ booths July 1 through August 4. The boards

will be auctioned with the proceeds going to Orange County charities

on Aug. 5. The fundraiser will feature live entertainment by surf

band “The Eliminators.”

“Art on Stage” is a new audience participation event from 4 to

5:30 p.m. every Saturday through Aug. 27. Its brain-teasing game show

format invites contestants on stage to figure out the correct way to

put an original work of art together. Hosted by arts commissioner

Mike Tauber.

The Sawdust’s Artists Benevolence Fund Auction will be from 12 to

3 p.m. Aug. 28. The fundraiser is dedicated to helping Laguna Beach

artists in times of dire need. The 19th annual live auction will

feature an array of original art donated by Sawdust Art Festival

exhibitors.

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES

A ceramics booth offers free one-on-one instruction at the

potter’s wheel for children ages 3 and older, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

every day. The glazing and firing cost is $5.

The Art Space teaches different printing techniques, including

relief printing, linoleum prints, embossing and more for ages 6 and

older from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. Art Space hosts classes

taught by Sawdust Art Festival exhibitors and other classes range

from silk painting for youth 14 and older, papermaking for all ages

and oil and acrylic painting, ages 10 and older.

The children’s booth for arts and crafts has activities led by the

Sawdust staff 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day for children 4 and older.

PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS

The pageant is on the Festival of Arts grounds in the Irvine Bowl

at 650 Laguna Canyon Road. For more information call (949) 494-1145

or (800) 487-3378 or visit the website at https://www.lagunafestivalof

arts.com. Pageant of the Masters is a unique form of art where

creations of master artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Hart

Benton, Jean Beraud and Norman Rockwell come to life in tableaux

vivants, which means “living pictures.” Masters from various time

periods are represented through recreated statues, paintings, popular

movie posters and other media that has been celebrated.

Each year a different theme brings new works to the stage. This

year’s theme is “On the Road: A Crash Course in Art and Popular

Culture,” which looks at society’s need to be on the move,

celebrating its wanderlust.

Under the guidance of director Dee Challis Davy and the seasoned

staff, some with more than 20 years experience, works are magically

transformed into life-sized recreations. Through lighting, intricate

sets and live actors who become part of the piece -- each work takes

on an exact likeness of its two-dimensional original or

three-dimensional model.

“On the Road: A Crash Course in Art and Popular Culture,” will be

performed nightly at 8:30 p.m. July 7 through Sept. 1. Tickets are

$20 to $35. For the special celebrity fundraiser gala on Aug. 27,

tickets range from $50 to $300.

THE ART-A-FAIR FESTIVAL

The Art-A-Fair Festival, 777 Laguna Canyon Road. For information,

call (949) 494-4514 or go to https://www.art-a-fair.com.

The Art-A-Fair Festival is internationally juried and features 124

fine artists and master craftspeople. Many artists demonstrate and

create in their booths. A large selection of art media are on display

and for sale. Free workshops and supervised children’s art activities

are also offered.

The show runs from July 1 to Sept. 4. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Adult admission is $6 for a season pass. Special discounts for

seniors and Auto Club members. Children under 12 get in free with an

adult.

Orange County Museum of Art

The Orange County Museum of Art is at 850 San Clemente Drive,

Newport Beach. For information, call (949) 759-1122 or go to

https://www.ocma.net.

EXHIBITS

“Yucef Merhi: Poetic Engineer- ing” will be on exhibit at the

Orange Lounge through Aug. 28.

Poetry and electronic media merge in the Orange Lounge with Poetic

Engineering, a solo exhibition of works by new media artist Yucef

Merhi. Born in Venezuela in 1977 and now based in New York, Merhi was

trained in Caracas as both an artist and a poet. In his works,

telephone lines, clocks, computer screens, and video game systems are

transformed into artworks that incorporate the artist’s written

words.

“Villa America: American Moderns, 1900-1950” will be featured June

4 through Oct. 2.

The exhibit presents major paintings by key American modernists

including Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur Dove, Stuart Davis, Charles

Demuth, and Marsden Hartley, who reshaped views of American art at

the beginning of the 20th century. It continues with artists such as

Ben Shahn, Philip Evergood, Paul Cadmus, Reginald Marsh, Philip

Guston, and Romare Bearden, who celebrated an “American Scene” and

created powerful images of everyday American life. Villa America also

includes works by American Regionalists and more.

ART AND

ARCHITECTURE TOUR

The seventh annual Art and Architecture Tour will be presented by

the Museum Council of the Orange County Museum of Art and the

American Institute of Architects Orange County from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

June 5.

This year’s self-guided tour will begin at the museum’s pavilion

and showcase some of the most architecturally significant homes and

private art collections in Orange County. A gourmet lunch by the

museum’s Citrus Cafe is included. The event also features an art

auction and raffle. Tickets are $90. For information, call Jennifer

Baylis at (949) 759-1122, ext. 213.

TUESDAYS AT NOON

FREE ARTIST TALKS

Artists featured in the current exhibitions give gallery talks

about their work. The museum offers free daily public tours at 1 p.m.

and private tours.

Jacci Den Harto will be featured June 7. Den Hartog will discuss

her sculpture “Passing a Pleasant Summer II,” (1998).

Ed Moses will be featured July 12. He will discuss his painting,

“Rose #5,” (1963).

Millie Wilson will be featured Aug. 2. Wilson will discuss her

sculpture, “Mistress (Tall Black Wig Piece),” (1993).

FREE THURSDAY

AFTER-HOURS EVENTS

Come hear live music and participate in other events, including

do-it-yourself art experiences, mini-tours of current exhibitions,

skateboard demos, film screenings with special guests and more.

“Jazz Standards” by the Echete-Levy-May Trio from 6 to 9 p.m. June

16; “Bebop and Ballads” by the Wayne-Carol-Levy-May Quartet from 6 to

9 p.m. July 21; “Classic Piano Trio” by the Ron Levy Trio from 6 to 9

p.m. Aug. 18.

FILM SCREENINGS

American Cinema Classics will be presented at 8:30 p.m. June 9,

July 7 and Aug. 4. Tickets are $12 for nonmembers, $10 for members

and $6 for students.

American Cinema Classics, organized in conjunction with the

exhibition Villa America, will showcase a collection of films that

helped to define American cinema during the first half of the 20th

century. This series will take a look back at cinematic treasures

that stand alone as an art form and present historical perspectives

on American culture.

FAMILY ARTS DAY

Family Arts Day from 12 to 4 p.m. June 19, featuring “Faces and

Places: My American Scene.” Free admission for families.

ORANGE COUNTY PERFORMING

ARTS CENTER

The center is at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Information:

(714) 556-2787 or https://www.ocpac.org.

While most people probably recognize Minnie Driver from movies

such as “Good Will Hunting” and “Grosse Pointe Blank,” she will be

performing songs from her album “Everything I’ve Got in My Pocket.”

Shows start at 7:30 p.m. May 26-28 in Founders Hall. Tickets cost $49

and $59.

Ben Vereen sings and dances his way through music made famous by

Sammy Davis Jr. Show starts at 8 p.m. May 27 and 28. Tickets are $26

to $125.

Boris Eifman, an original and adventurous choreographer, takes

dance to its highest level in two ballets, “Don Juan and Moliere” and

“Red Giselle.” Show times May 31 through June 5 are Tuesday through

Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets cost $25 to $75.

The Philip Glass Ensemble will feature the West Coast premier of

“Orion.” The show is 8 p.m. June 24. Tickets are $27 to $49.

“Movin’ Out” features the music of Billy Joel with choreography by

Twyla Tharp. It will run June 28 through July 10, with show times at

8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m.

and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $21.25 to $65.75.

Bolshoi Ballet will perform Aug. 9 through Aug. 14. Show times are

8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m.

Sunday. Tickets go on sale June 19.

“Little Shop of Horrors,” the popular musical, will run Aug. 16

through Aug. 28. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 p.m.

and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are

$21.25 to $64.75.