"Art Imitates Life at Art Stand Gallery"

By Ed Boling

Panorama Editor

Article published: Thursday, February 12, 2009 6:45 AM PST in the Reedley Exponent (For the full article and photographs of paintings by Chieko Delgado and Suzie Stach, click on this link.)


As the Blossom Trail comes alive once again with wonderful colors from the almond, nectarine, and plum trees in our valley, The Art Stand Gallery is also showing the colors of various artists.

Located on the Blossom Trail, at Frankwood Ave and Highway 180 near Sanger, The show opened last Saturday and will run through April 18.

Fourteen local artists are displaying their work. Media includes pastels, oils, photographs, ceramics, and jewelry.

Chieko Delgado, who was born in Japan, paints florals and landscapes in watercolor. “I love to paint local themes and the Blossom Trail is one of my favorite,” she said. She has primarily painted almond and nectarine blossoms, but loves to paint landscapes as well. “After a rain storm, I like to go out and take photos of the beautiful clouds and use them in my landscapes,” she added.

She moved to Sanger in 1999 and began taking water color and English classes. Comparing the cherry blossom season to the blossom trail season, she said cherry and almond blossoms are very similar. She said that blossom time is shorter in Japan, so people go out and have picnics under the cherry trees.

Blossom Trail activities will continue through mid-April in our area. The gallery is open daily from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, for more information call 967-8635.

(The paintings accompanying this post are "Almond Blossom and Dove", a watercolor by Chieko Delgado and "Morning Dew", a pastel by Suzie Stach.)