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Showcase exposes eastern Summit County to local artists

Photographer Richard Pick’s fascinatin with ancient rock art is evident with his work, “Acending Sheep,” which he photographed during an excursion to the San Rafael Swell.
Photo by Richard D. Pick

The Summit Arts Showcase will run from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, July 13, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 14, at the Red Barn, 4300 N. S.R. 32, in Oakley. Admission is free. For information, visit http://www.pcscarts.org/events-calendar/summit-arts-showcase2.

Participating artists

• Adrianna Allegretti

• Bill Silliman

• Carman Espinoza

• Cheryl Livingston-Young

• Chikamu Arts

• Denise Walz

• Dori Pratt

• Frances ReMillard

• Fred Montague

• Gabrielle Wolfe

• Jan Perkins

• Juanita Marshall

• Judy Summer

• Kathy Cartier

• KGEK Design

• Lael Holm

• Leslie Moss

• Mary Perry

• Melanie Ferguson

• Renee Mox Hall

• Richard Pick

The Park City Summit County Arts Council has presented local artists in the Summit Arts Showcase since 2010.

The initial goal was to support these artists and exhibit their works in a venue on the eastern side of the county, said photographer Richard D. Pick, who will be featured in the showcase.

“The show allows these artists, many of whom do live in the area, to present an exhibit for their friends and families,” Pick said. “It also cultivates art collectors who live up there.”



The juried show originally exhibited at Cattlemen’s Hall in Oakley, but moved to the Red Barn three years ago, where it continues today.

“With the move to the new venue, we have had a lot more interest from artists to participate,” Pick said. “We have seen the showcase grow each year.”



This year’s Summit Arts Showcase will exhibit at 4300 N. S.R. 32 on Friday and Saturday, July 13-14. Friday’s hours will be from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday’s hours will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Each day will feature a different format, according to Pick.

“Friday is basically the opening reception, with light food and drinks,” he said. “It will give people the opportunity to spend an evening meeting the artists and seeing their works.”

Saturday’s schedule will be less formal, but more busy, Pick said.

The doors will open at 10 a.m., and artist demonstrations, family activities and live music will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The nice thing about the venue is that in addition to the artists who will show and sell their works, we also have areas for live music,” Pick said.

Musicians will include singers and songwriters Shannon Runyon, Elliot Goldman, Courtney Spaulding, Randy Moser and Teresa Eggertsen Cooke.

Saturday will also feature two food trucks serving sandwiches, salads and pizza – Komrades and Inspire Roots, Pick said.

“People will be able to spend the whole day with their families enjoying art, music and food,” he said.

Pick reflects wilderness

There are 21 visual artists participating in this year’s showcase (see accompanying box).

Pick is one of them, and most of his works he plans to show were taken over the past two years.

Many of them were taken at Bears Ears National Monument, which was established by then former President Barack Obama by executive order under the Antiquities Act in the winter of 2016.

“I put together some photographs in a book, ‘Images of Bears Ears,’ that we could send to then-resident Obama, his administration and people in Congress,” Pick said.

These days, Pick’s images of Bears Ears have another purpose. President Donald Trump slashed the area of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante last year in a decision that public records have shown was partly motivated by a desire to mine the area’s resources.

“With the current administration reducing the size of the monument by 82 percent, I used my work to challenge the administration’s actions,” he said. “I am using my photographs to help protect this incredibly special area.”

While Pick explored the Bears Ears area, he spent time in canyons and ancient Puebloan ruins, finding rock drawings and writings left by those who came before.

“I also discovered many pictographs and petroglyphs and got interested in taking more photographs of those areas,” he said.

The petroglyphs led Pick to discover other ancient sites located in the San Rafael Swell and northeastern Colorado.

“Those areas have wilderness potential, and I know many people are working to protect them,” he said. “Some of my photos from those areas will be showcased in the show.”

For information about Richard Pick’s photography, visit rdpnaturephoto.com.

Perkins works with textures

Painter Jan Perkins, whose works will also be exhibited in the Summit Arts Showcase next weekend, creates scenes with oil paints on wooden boards.

“I prime the board so a variety of textures will show through the paint,” she said. “I work with brushes and palette knives to create more textures and a sense of depth.”

Perkins prefers working with boards instead of canvases because boards are sturdy.

“A board doesn’t move or bend,” she said. “Canvas can get a little bouncy, and that drives me nuts.”

With all of her works, Perkins, who has painted scenes from photographs and plein air setups, tries to recreate an experience she has had with the landscape.

“It’s really a reaction of something I see that touches me,” she said. “I’m in the process of transforming my methods to real life. I can’t tell you right now how things will turn out, but I can tell you that my works will be more authentically ‘me.’”

The artist enjoys immersing herself in a work.

“I get lost once I get the rational mindset out of the way,” she said. “It’s then where I can develop a connection with myself.”

Perkins, who has been an artist for more than 30 years, also enjoys interacting with her clients.

“I intentionally pulled my works out of galleries a couple of years ago because I like interacting personally with my collectors, rather than go through a gallery,” she said. “I enjoy the conversation and seeing people interacting with my works. And I also don’t like to having to wait six weeks to get paid for something I sold.”

Perkins became a painter because seeing visual beauty everywhere is important to her.

“It’s about capturing and preserving a scene,” she said.

That philosophy has bled into another passion of hers – the conservation of heritage.

“I’ve sacrificed my art career to get involved with the eastern Summit County rezoning process, where I speak out for the public,” she said. “This is near and dear to my heart. It’s about the preservation of history and landscape, which is the same motivation that gets me to paint.”

For information about visual artist Jan Perkins, visit Janperkinsfineart.com.

The Summit Arts Showcase will run from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, July 13, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 14, at the Red Barn, 4300 N. S.R. 32, in Oakley. Admission is free. For information, visit http://www.pcscarts.org/events-calendar/summit-arts-showcase2.

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