Plumas Arts announces a gallery opening reception Friday, Nov. 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 525 Main St. in Quincy. For the month of November, the Plumas Arts Gallery will be displaying art from local artists Barbara McCabe and Kiana Bohm, both featuring work from their Artist in the Lookout residencies at Black Mountain Lookout.
About Barbara McCabe
Barbara Walker McCabe is a fine art photographer living and working in Clio. McCabe’s work focuses on self-portraiture in natural landscapes but also delves into alternative processes, large format and film, photomontage, and landscape photography. McCabe was recently featured in Black and White magazine’s 2023 portfolio contest.
About Kiana Bohm
Kiana Bohm said she was “introduced to fine-tip liners shortly after high school and became obsessed with drawing delicate and elaborate designs. I was fascinated by the way quality of line could express movement and energy. Eventually my style began merging the soft nature of watercolor with the precision of the liners — a contrast I became obsessed with.”
Artist in the Lookout
The Artist in the Lookout residency program is a unique partnership between Plumas National Forest and Plumas Arts. Now in its seventh year, the program provides an opportunity for artists to spend three nights at the Black Mountain Lookout to draw upon the breathtaking landscapes of the Plumas National Forest for inspiration. In return, the program asks that the artist donate an original piece of framed artwork and/or body of work from this experience, to be hung at a PNF office, and work with Plumas Arts to make a public presentation of the work.
The Artist in the Lookout residency seeks to use art and artists to explore the many ways in which people relate to the forest. Program goals include the following:
- Capture the beauty and spirit of PNF through the creation of high-quality art.
- Provide learning opportunities through the arts and visitors to the PNF.
- Help citizens understand the connections between public lands; use of natural resources; and emotional ties to beauty, nature, and self-expression, thus serving as a link between the utilitarian and aesthetic values of the forest.
- Celebrate the power of the arts — and artists — to explore and interpret the forest environment and forest-related issues.
Artist selection is based on an evaluation system that includes how the artwork will support the forest’s interpretive themes and the resume and work samples of the artist applicant.
The refurbished Black Mountain Lookout located at 7,161 feet in elevation on PNF’s eastern edge. The 75-year-old lookout comes with a commanding view to the east of Nevada’s Basin and Range folds; to the north stands the higher Thompson Peak Lookout, which is still active. At the bottom of the Sierra Nevada’s eastside escarpment sits the sometimes colorful but often dry Honey Lake.
Cafe art display
Plumas Arts also coordinates the art display at Patti’s Thunder Café in Quincy. For the months of November and December, Patti’s Thunder Café is exhibiting a show by painter Sally Yost. “My sketchbooks define who I am as an artist … always in the field … drawing the world in front of me,” said Yost. “I prefer painting on a colored ground … the brighter the better. Recently I have started packing oil and canvas when I travel.
“My studio is behind my house in Taylorsville, California, high up in a beautiful, isolated valley of the northern Sierra. I can go out my door and set up an easel whenever I want, doing a pastel or a drawing of my town, with the sweeping valley and mountains beyond.
“I work quickly. I have come to realize that there is no ‘right way’ to do a piece. Get the picture going, and at some point, it will take on a life of its own. When this happens, I have a ‘visual dialogue’ with what is there and make changes until it becomes something that will stand on its own. Every time I think I’m hitting my stride, I turn into the excited beginner, fascinated with the materials at hand.”
The Plumas Arts Gallery and office hours are Wednesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Information submitted by Plumas Arts
