Artists 'Keep Rio Grande Grand'

“Keeping the Rio Grande Grand” featured artist Evelyn Martinez poses with her “Dream Lake” at last Saturday’s art show.

SOUTH FORK — Around 200 people came out to the second annual “Keep the Rio Grande Grand” art show last Saturday, Aug. 15 at the South Fork Community Center, in addition to the 28 artists whose works were on display at what was termed “a premier art event.”

The viewing portion of the evening ran from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., as prospective buyers put in bids for any of the hundreds of works available for purchase. One-third of each winning bid from the show will go towards the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust, which works to conserve land in the San Luis Valley and has protected thousands upon thousands of acres of land in its 10 years. In all, the trust will receive about $18,000 from this year’s show.

“You can turn that building into a great art gallery,” said RiGHT Executive Director Nancy Butler. The community center certainly made a nice venue for all the hundreds of paintings, photographs and sculptures whose subjects ranged from animals to local landscapes. Some of this year’s featured artists even visited and created their own interpretations of RiGHT lands, adding to the correlation between scenic beauty and artistic beauty, according to event coordinator Rio de la Vista.

“We’re happy to help support the artists, and we were thrilled by the support from the community,” said de la Vista, who works closely with RiGHT in its conservation efforts. “It felt like South Fork really got behind the event.”

At last year’s inceptive show, approximately 25 people pre-registered to attend. Area conservation awareness must be growing, because more than 70 people pre-registered for last Saturday’s show. De la Vista said that it’s one of her goals for the show is to continue on that upward trend each year.

Featured artists at this year’s “Keep the Rio Grande Grand” included Karen Bonnie, Charles Ewing, Jim Gilmore, Kristian Gosar, Jenny Inge, Teri Inman, Barbara Ivey, Wayne Justus, Michael Lewis, Tom Lockhart, Jack Martin, Evelyn Martinez, Susan McCullough, David Montgomery, Randy Pijoan, Stephen Quiller, Rita Roberts, Jocelyn Russell, Jesus Sanchez, Karen Slade, Nathan Solano, Annette Troncoso, Karolyn Walker, Paul H. Williams, Roger Williams, Mark Winter, Ray Wright and Joe Zinn.

Approximately 50 volunteers and around a dozen local donors also helped keep the Rio Grande in its grand state for another year, much to the thanks of both Butler and de la Vista.