About a year ago, Rose Evans found herself wondering if Ramona businesses could use some of her photographs for their interior walls.
Evans got her answer when the Par Lounge and Deck, a sports bar located next to the Oaks Grill in the San Diego Country Estates, recently said yes to her pitch, and now several of her artworks are on display at the venue.
A Ramona resident since 1996, Evans said she has a deep connection to both local photography and the town, and her business allows her to customize her photos to what the local businesses need.
Although she’s been taking pictures for years, Evans said she started her business, Rose Evans Photography, in mid-2023.
“Being a seeker of eye-catching pictures means I’m looking at the world for its beauty,” said Evans. “This keeps me so appreciative and grateful; it’s like looking for the best in someone.”
Her insider knowledge of the town allows her to not only choose what photographs might work best, but the style of the images as well.
The photography displayed at Par Lounge is an example.
Evans said she loved the look of the lounge, which was recently remodeled, but thought the area where the music takes place “just didn’t line up with the rest of it.
“But if musicians were up on the walls, you would know music happens here,” she said.
Evans knows about the local music scene — her husband, Scotty Ensign, has been a musician his entire life and has lived in Ramona since 1989.
“He’s always been in bands, but lately has been going into it as a solo artist,” she said, adding he is known for his guitar playing.
The couple, who will celebrate 28 years of marriage in April, also own Scotty’s Plantscapes, a local landscape and design business.
Evans pitched her idea to Colleen Dougeropoulos, the front of house manager at the Par Lounge. The istration agreed, and Evans provided five artworks.
She chose photographs of past and current musicians, and used stylized portraits of the performers on canvas to keep them timeless.
Four of the pieces featured musicians Tony Matoian, Scotty Ensign, Frank Lucio and Ashley E. Norton.
A fifth piece features Ensign’s guitars.
“Tony Matoian worked at the San Diego Country Estates Association for 15 years, and also plays the saxophone,” Evans said. “Frank Lucio was a teacher at Ramona High School for 40 years and still plays sax.”
She included Norton, who plays at the venue nearly every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., for her work invigorating the local music scene.
Ensign was included because he “is a musician, local business owner and involved in the community,” she said.
Each piece is slightly different in tone. For example, Norton’s photo appears as a drawing in shades of bright orange and yellow, with the Lounge walls as a backdrop.
Evans chose muted tones of browns and yellows for the stylized picture of Ensign, who is playing guitar at a winery with Ramona scenery as a backdrop.
Evans said because the artwork was customized to fit the wall space, the pieces are correspondingly large; two pieces measure 36 x 48” while the other three range from 40” by 30” to 28 1/2” by 46” and 28” x 23 1/2.”
The photos were installed the day before Thanksgiving. Evans said “they look like they’ve been there forever.”
Norton said having the artwork of her likeness displayed “is a real honor. Only a few musicians were chosen, and I’m really excited to be one of them.”
“The Par Lounge is my home, and it’s a nod to be immortalized on the wall. I think she did a really nice job,” Norton added.
Evans said the first local business to display her photography was D’Carlos Restaurant.
Bob Pollett, who had taken over ownership of the Ramona steak house about two years prior, told her he had just been discussing the idea of having local photographs on the walls.
Several of her landscapes were quickly displayed in the eatery, including some of the San Pascal Valley and a photo of a sculpture on Highland Valley Road.
In contrast to the Par Lounge art, Evans said the D’Carlos pictures weren’t stylized at all.
“They were straight photographs of our countryside, all framed and matted,” she said.
The stylized canvas art used for the Par Lounge is a better fit for that business, she said. “It’s part of my idea to use my photography local to the scene of that business.”
Another one of her art pieces can be found in Pamo Valley Winery Tasting Room. Evans said owner Jennifer Anderson-Lane’s father, Bill Anderson, requested the photo of a former vineyard on Keyes Road.
Anderson, owner of The Frugal Framer, framed the photo himself.
Evans said she’s also been commissioned to create a series of historical photographs honoring musician and songwriter Bob Anderson.
“Anderson was a member of the Black Canyon Band, which was the house band for the Par Lounge from 1977 to 2007,” she said.
Anderson also worked at the San Diego Country Estates for nearly 50 years in various roles; he currently works at the San Vicente Resort in facilities maintenance.
Since the debut of the Par Lounge art, Evans said several other musicians have ed her about customized canvases of their own.
“These photos should be there for decades — they will stand the test of time,” she said. “Customized photography could be a good fit for folks who are really connected to their town, and deepen the connection between the town and the people that live here.”
