“60 Minutes with an Artist” is a new program proudly presented by the Santa Clarita Artists’ Association. The program was created to promote Extended Art Education Learning for the community and the public to learn how an artist creates a painting. On Sunday, July 19 at the Valencia Library Community Room 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., the guest artist will be Bob Hernandez. Bob will be discussing and displaying how he explores his creativity in developing each of his paintings. Bob is very interested in “How to Explore Your Creative Potential.” He has found ways throughout his career to take advantage of opportunities to explore his creative potential.
Bob attended Chouinard Art Institute, before it became California Art Institute of the Arts. He began to explore his creativity while attending Cal Arts. His first encounter with creative potential was encouraged by his professors at Cal Arts. They would help in creating an environment to explore all styles, techniques, and methods in creating Bob’s designs and compositions. Bob graduated as an illustrator and design major. When the computer age became the new way to create and design. it was Bob’s next big challenge. Bob worked designing graphics for broadcast stations and teaching at Cal State Northridge. During that time, he branched out into multimedia and designing projects for IBM, Time Warner and Simon & Schuster. Some of Bob’s work was on display at the Smithsonian Institute. As a fine artist, Bob has a full palette of tools to express his artistic creativity. Drawing, painting, illustrating and computer designing are all different styles that he uses in creating his artistic statements. Bob has recently become involved in a new venture called The Special Children’s Art Foundation. It is a non-profit foundation that creates murals for public spaces and works with special needs children and their mentors. The program enables special needs children to paint murals as a creative activity.
The murals demand many steps to be conducted in determining the subject matter, sketches, color schemes and the task of coordinating the children’s participation in the creation of the mural. The children’s participation is a combined effort of the foundation and the organization that is awarded the mural. Bob feels it is hard work, but is easily the most gratifying thing he has ever been part of in his life.
Jaylene Armstrong is a retired Art Educator from Madison, Wisconsin and Coordinator of the Art Lecture Series. Questions? Please call 661-255-3050 for more information.