Exhibit allows artists to explain their inspiration
Acrylic painter Stephenie Bushra Khan says her art conveys spiritual and subconscious issues within her and society. “My Song Remains Unsung,” a 24” x 30” acrylic painting, leads us into a richly layered and colored story. It is featured in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library from Sept. 6 through Oct. 31.
Orinda Library Art Gallery
Lamorinda Art Council’s (LAC) “For the Love of Art” exhibit reveals artwork that both inspires and keeps artists alive. The Art Gallery in the Orinda Library is filled with it from Sept. 6 – Oct. 31.
Or, as Mary Oliver said, “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” The following early sign-up artists have done just that: Peter Ashlock, John A. Barry, Arlynn Bloom, Marcela Cabrera, Suellen Cox, Mehri Delsim, Judith Feins, Jamie C. Harrison, Denise Hillman, Stephenie Bushra Khan, Melchia Kutches, Madeline Moeller, Gini Graham Scott, Betsy Streeter, Lorna Strotz and Nancy Vachani.
In this exhibit artists are encouraged – but not required – to submit a narrative or story about their work, which is displayed next to their visual art. Genres include cartoons, mixed media, encaustics, landscapes, watercolors, digital art, portraits, abstracts, surrealism and symbolism, art books, collage, acrylic and oil paintings, abstract and figurative artworks.
Meet and mingle with the artists at their reception on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Light refreshments will be served on the adjacent patio where gentle breezes play.
Feins’ narrative leads us into her 36” x 48” oil on canvas, “Sunrise with Clouds and Fog, San Pablo Dam Reservoir.”
“We arrived before dawn to watch the sunrise at the San Pablo Dam Reservoir,” she wrote. “It was late October, so it was cold as well as dark. As the sun rose, a bank of fog moved towards us across the water, catching the colors of the sunrise. Low clouds created another layer of color and movement. A beam of light shot upward from the rising sun, and the water beneath it glittered. It was like watching a breathtaking painting create itself before my eyes, changing minute by minute.”
Artist Strotz knows all about encaustic art. Her artworks in the show were inspired by a visit to the Ancient Civilizations Museum at the University of Chicago. If you are unfamiliar with the term encaustic, it is a painting technique dating back to ancient Greece, enkaustikos (to burn or infuse), also used in Egypt.
The technique involves heated beeswax melted with colored pigments. The wax gives a rich optical effect to the pigments which makes the finished work startlingly lifelike. The Greco-Roman Fayum portraits from 100 BCE to 300 CE still look fresh and contemporary. When you view Stroz’s series of encaustic “Tablet” art, all will become, well, clear.
Visit the Gallery Sept. 6 – Oct. 31 at 26 Orinda Way. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Sundays. Call 925.254.2184 for more Library information or visit ccclib.org/. For more information about the exhibit and more, email gallery@LamorindaArts.org, visit tinyurl.com/3mk7k9pp or call 925.359.4490.
Virtual Wilder Gallery
Doug Heine: A Sculptor Who Just Can’t Stop
LAC welcomes local sculptor Doug Heine to its Virtual Wilder Gallery from Sept. 7 to Oct. 5. When accessing tinyurl.com/5n85e68v, you’ll see the creativity keeping Heine busy, and it speaks loud and clear through his 3D art.
Outside Café Teatro in Orinda Library Plaza is a large public art sculpture made of aluminum, titled “Full Circle” by Heine. It was secured through Orinda’s Art in Public Places Committee along with two others. Find them on the Orinda ArtSpace map at artspaceorinda.org/.
Heine’s time spent at UC Berkeley running the metal shop, working in the Art department and the Lawrence Berkeley physics lab has served him well. Now at 90, he just has fun creating. For more information, email info@LamorindaArts.org or call 925.359.9940.
Art to Take Your Breath Away
“About Place: Bay Area Artists,” Gallery 16 de Young Museum, view 42 works by more than 30 local artists like Clare Rojas and Guillermo Galindo, until July 5, 2026. Visit tinyurl.com/34fyzfh9.
Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art Opening Celebration is Sept. 18, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., “Echoes of Yosemite, California Art Club, William Keith,” and “Gustavo Ramos Rivera.” Visit stmarys-ca.edu/museum-art.
“All That Grows,” Moraga Art Gallery, view art by Karen Mason, Jill Landau and Judy Rosenfield. Their reception is Sept. 27, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visit moragaartgallery.com.
