What started in 2002 as the Hermosa Beach Art Walk has developed over the years into a large-scale event, now called the Hermosa Fine Arts Festival. This year’s show is this weekend, Saturday June 11 and Sunday June 12 from 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. on the lawn in front of the Hermosa Beach Community Center.
This year’s featured artist is Dr. Samuel Pak, who was a physician in Houston for seven years before moving to Southern California late 2014.
“Samuel Pak was selected for the uniqueness of his artwork’s design,” said Art Walk president Robyn Alatorre. “His paintings work with the beach and ocean themes, which have traditionally been a part of our event, and the expressive and powerful abstract qualities of Sam’s paintings communicate the fresh direction the board is taking with the festival.”
Much of Pak’s work is dreamily abstract, with soft cloud-like forms swirling this way and that. Then again, recognizable forms do emerge to pull us back into the canvas.
Pak didn’t become a professional artist until he moved to the West Coast. As with many of us, making a decent living came first, and the scales were tipped in favor of a career in medicine.
“When people ask me where I get my inspiration, I often say, ‘I don’t know,’ and perhaps that is not entirely true. It may be that my mind cannot possibly put into words all the beauty of the things that I see, hear, touch and feel. It may be the memory of a spectacular evening sky at the beach with hints of emerging stars above, or a dense morning fog that slowly unveils a magnificent mountain in the distance.
“It could be a classical music piece,” he continues, “with its inspirational rhythms and melodies harkening back to the ancient truth discernable only through the eternity in our hearts. It may be a person or people, and their emotional state that my eyes have witnessed and my mind has captured long ago. It could be a flash of certain photos or a painting or even just a simple combination of colors that has embedded into my subconscious, constantly merging with the inexpressible emotions of personal triumph and painful loss.”
Pak doesn’t seem to have any doubts about the road ahead of him.
“One thing I do know,” he says, “is that all of my life experiences and everything that I have done, including my career as a physician, have led me to this decision. I am committed to being the best artist that I can possibly be. Creativity is not a thing to be extracted from your mind but a vision to be built continuously and relentlessly.”
This year’s 13th Annual Fine Arts Festival has over 100 artist, half being new this year. The artists come from all over, and the artwork is varied and diverse, with paintings in many different styles, plus photography, sculpture, prints, and wearable art. For those hoping to buy, there’s something for every budget.
There will of course be food and entertainment, including a craft beer and wine garden. Also of note is the interactive booth created by installation artist JonMarc Edwards. Called Debriti, it features thousands of tiny letters that are made of natural, bio-degradable tag board. Participants are encouraged to “choose their words carefully” as they combine texts to create words and phrases to create their own poetry.
Proceeds from the festival will provide four scholarships to local students pursuing the arts in college. They also support local art projects.
Other highlights include free face-painting and a free kids arts and crafts area. The student art section features local students’ artwork, from the elementary grades through college level artists. Raffle tickets for sale will give visitors a chance to ride home on a beautiful new Strand Cruiser, donated by Hermosa Cyclery.
The 13th annual Hermosa Fine Arts Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the lawn of the Hermosa Beach Community Center, 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. Information, hermosafinearts.com. B
