Art lovers get a 'Taste of Sisters'

A Taste of Sisters, sponsored by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, paired local artists with Sisters' restaurants last Friday night, to present a unique dining experience.

Diners enjoyed a multi-course meal and could watch an artist create their masterpiece from beginning to end in 2-1/2 hours.

Julia Rickards, owner of Clearwater Gallery along with her husband Dan, came up with the idea for the event. What started as a Saturday Art Stroll last year has been embellished with a pairing of artists and restaurants the Friday before. She put artists in the restaurant setting with a "Quick Draw" challenge.

The challenge for the artists was working, some for the first time, under a strict deadline and in a setting where they might have to explain what they were doing to anyone who asked questions. The point, Rickards said, was for people to see how a work is created from beginning to end.

Their work was up for silent auction.

At Depot Café, Norma Holmes' pastels were the highlight on the easel, but the foods purchased by Kathy Deggendorfer and Pam Wavrin from French Prairie Farmers in Central Oregon were the highlight of the table.

"It normally takes me seven-and-a-half hours to complete a painting," Holmes said. "I don't know how I'm going to do it."

But she did.

Over at Bronco Billy's, artist Paul Alan Bennett was in the upstairs dining room creating three portraits of the diners. Time was not a concern for Bennett. He's painted to a crowd before.

"Bennett guest-teaches at my elementary school class," said artist Clay Warburton. "A lot of times he paints the kids."

Artist Barbara Berry was at Chloe, and embellished her painter's corner with full-spectrum lighting in an otherwise romantically dim setting. Berry created two small paintings, each with the unique base which is a signature of her style. "I'm using acrylics because it has to be dry by tomorrow, but I also work in oils," Berry said.

Artist Bill Hamilton worked his acrylics onto a landscaped canvas at Brand 33 Restaurant at Aspen Lakes Golf Course. With light in every stroke, the Sisters mountains shown in the background over a log cabin nestled among brightly colored trees.

Dan Rickards painted a landscape of a cabin sheltered in a dark forest while diners at Jen's Garden sat shoulder-to-shoulder with the artist.

The weekend's festivities offered additional special merit, as 10 percent of the proceeds of both the restaurants and the artists were donated to charity. Restaurants chose their favorite charity, and the winning art bidder chose the recipient of the artist's and gallery's donation of 10% of the selling price of the art.