Western art show and sale welcomes 30 artists, who bring more than 300 works to the event
The 14th annual SLOPOKE Art of the West Exhibition and Sale was held Sept. 27-29 at Flag Is Up Farms in Solvang. This was the eighth year the event was held at Monty and Pat Roberts’ thoroughbred horse ranch.
Tom and Debbie Loucks who now operate the California Horse Center on Flag Is Up Farms welcomed the 30 painters, sculptors, and a photographer who exhibited more than 300 works of art in their beautifully renovated event barn.
“It is a perfect venue for this first-class art show, a reception, or convention,” said Tom Burgher, president of Entreprise LLC, which produces the Annual SLOPOKE exhibit.
The SLOPOKE opened Friday evening, Sept. 27, to the foot-tapping original music of Chris Murphy and the Silver Mountain String Band from Los Angeles.
The 2024 SLOPOKE featured artist and awards judge who juried the award-winning art was nationally renowned wildlife artist Ezra Tucker, who started his fine art career in Solvang, where he and his wife Nancy raised their three children until 1999 when they relocated to Monument, Colorado.
Photos by Devyn Marseilles
The artists selected for awards include Lisa Skelly, who won Best of Show for her painting “Rock Steady”; Ariel Anton, who won Best Painting for her oil on canvas titled “Saving Some for Later”; and Pat Roberts, who received Best Sculpture for her narrative bronze “Javalina Havoc.” Each received the coveted silver SLOPOKE western belt buckle.
Three other artists received sponsored awards: Rick Hill received the Best Wildlife/Animal Art award, sponsored by Art of the West magazine for his colored pencil painting “Team Work”; Lee Rue received Best Figurative Art award, sponsored by Western Art Collector magazine for “A Place Called Home”; and Barbara Freund was the first recipient of a new award category of Best Depiction of the 21st Century West, sponsored by Southwest Art Magazine for her painting “21st Century Chuckwagon.”
The People’s Choice Award sponsored by Western Art and Architecture magazine was awarded to Kelly Lewis at the close of the SLOPOKE on Sunday.
“The voting included patrons and artists and was surprisingly tight across all 30 artists,” said Burgher. “People were impressed with the quality and attractiveness of the art in this year’s SLOPOKE. Each of these artists receives a full-page advertisement in a future issue of these fine art journals.”
Finally, in a gesture of gratitude for Tucker’s service as awards judge, Burgher presented him with a specially minted SLOPOKE belt buckle of a different design from those awarded to the artists.
Next year the 15th Anniversary SLOPOKE is scheduled for Sept. 26-28, 2025.
“Mark the date on your calendar now so you don’t miss this spectacular event next year,” said Burgher. “We already have 11 artists seeking acceptance for SLOPOKE 2025, so artists who want to exhibit should request an application now at slopokeartshow.com.”
Feature image: SLOPOKE 2024 artists and their assistants pose outside the California Horse Center event barn at Solvang’s Flag Is Up Farms on opening night.
