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ART BLOSSOMS
Ripons Marylou Tornell Art Show
Ripon Art Show student IMG 2402
Ripon High sophomore Jaylynn Fisher, 15, displays her two art entries in the Almond Blossom Art Show at artists reception. The pencil sketch at right is entitled Dream Catcher and the one on the left is dubbed Turtle. - photo by GLENN KAHL/The Bulletin

The Marylou Tornell Art Show once again is helping usher in the Ripon Almond Festival.
 Tuesday’s artist reception had 76 entries on display in the Ripon Community Center, 334 Fourth Street,  for the public to enjoy in memory of the Ripon educator.
Deb Tornell and her fellow docents arranged displays of oils and watercolors to pencil drawings and digital productions of fine art.
Today the art show will continue at 10 a.m. and run until 8 p.m. The doors will again be open on Thursday from 2 until 8 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. There is no charge to attend.
The first medium to be judged was that of “Art” representing acrylics, oils and water color pieces coming in from the community. The judges were Ripon artist Shirley Brocchini and noted valley landscape photographer Edward Mendes.  A display near the front of the Ripon Community Center showed a display of both of their artistic works.
The first place award went to Donna Van Groningen-Slayter for her black and white abstract painting entitled “Rise Up” that was inspired by a sermon of the Almond Valley Christian Reformed Pastor Mark Van Dyke focusing on Psalm 43:5 from the Book of Psalms in the Bible.
Slayter said she had been working on her abstract for some 30 years and had never been totally happy with it until recently when she added strong acrylics to her piece.   It just popped into my head from his sermon about being down case and it all came together in perfect form, she noted.
Retired elementary school teacher Kathy Comden entered “Rio Vista” that won her a first place in water colors. It was described as a soft painting with an interesting tonal sky and foreground in warm yellows and browns regarded as being “very fresh painterly.”
Second place ribbon for watercolors went to Paris Douma with her oil painting entitled “Blue Vase”. It is a still life in vibrant colors with feathered burgundy tulips. Third place in watercolors went to Shirley Sharp in another detailed still life with green garden boots against a steel grey metal water can accented by yellow daffodils.
 An honorable mention went to Paris Douma with “Bird Talk” that focused on a seascape backdrop of a small flock of pelicans in the water on a seashore.  Kevin Souza also received an honorable mention with a portrait of a mare in the wind in an expressionist presentation with boldly applied paint in a limited bronze and grey colored palette.  
Anne Endress was given an honorable mention with an acrylic portrait of a “Happy White Lab” on a light blue background. Another honorable mention going to Shirley Sharp in a very detailed realistic style portrait of her husband Ed Sharp fishing from a boat on the Delta.
Pati Barnhart received mention of her “Lady in Red” oil portrait of a woman with an Ebony complexion wearing a flowing red scarf along with another entry entitle “Monica’s Big Day” a pastel of a lady with a veil – a Hispanic woman celebrating her wedding day.
Molly Cooper carried out the honorable mentions with a water color of a “White Fire Truck” detailed in its station in the community as an antique.  The other work is “Seashore Morning Glories” in oil and a realistic oil seascape with pink morning glories accenting the foreground of the piece.  
Kevin Souza impressed judges with his wood 3X4 foot sculpture made out of barn wood of a carved wood cross overlaid with wings accented with leaf-like cut outs of Old Testament scriptures. It received a third-place ribbon.
Patrick Roe entered a hand made multi-colored set of five fishing lures with the title of “Artful Flies.”
In the digital art division, Anna Barber took first place with her tulip arrangement painted on metal with a vibrant bouquet of tulips in yellow and orange.  Barber also took a second-place ribbon in digital entitled “Copper Fur and Flora” that showed a copper colored tiger cat with orange and yellow spider mums.
Third place in digital went to Jerry Van Vuren with his “Sand Storm Sunset” a landscape of brown, black and orange layers.
Barber also took an honorable mention in digital with her “Tulips with a Cat”. It is a soft pastel where a Persian cat with blue eyes in front of a Victorian bouquet of pink and purple tulips with a spray of Easter Lilies. 
Several Ripon High students entered art work. They all received honorable mention ribbons.
Mikayla Gillotte entered her charcoal of a theatrical tragedy along with three others: “Living Sunset Shadows” with a zebra in a digital medium, “Dawn” as a water color in bright orange and purple, and finally a photograph entitled “Lifeless Tree.”
Student Paige Williams entered “A Country Sunrise” and “Underwater Colors” and “Sunset Shadows.”
Jaylynn Fisher, 15, hung her two pieces of art work, a pencil drawing entitled “Dream Catcher” and a colored pencil art work she simply called “Turtle” of a large turtle in a swimming mode.

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.