Lynette Bredow’s award-winning paintings will be among the work by local artists to be showcased April 12 and 13 at this year’s Ramona Artists Open Studios Tour.
During the weekend event, Bredow and 18 other artists will display and sell their paintings, ceramics, sculptures, jewelry and mixed media pieces at a dozen art studios spread out throughout Ramona. Each studio will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Bredow takes special pride in “Tranquil Moorings,” her painting that depicts a collection of ships in a marina. The painting earned First Place and Best of Show ribbons in the fine art category at last year’s San Diego County Fair, and was sold to a couple who retired from owning a fishing boat company in San Diego, she said.
“Now it’s part of their private collection in Coronado,” said Bredow, who has won other awards at the fair in addition to awards from the San Diego Watercolor Society. “I was really happy and totally blown away by the fact that it was chosen for a top award. It was a milestone for me.”
Those who visit her home-based studio at 1109 Sixth St. can also see “Breaking Out,” a work-in-progress of zebras running toward the viewer that is done with a leather effect faux finish.
Bredow said the Open Studios tour gives people an opportunity to see what is being created by artists in town.
“You can have a conversation on how the artist put that particular piece together,” the 76-year-old said. “You can discuss what their concept and vision was, and then you get to see a finished product.”
Bredow has been expressing herself creatively since she was a child, and has honed her skills painting mostly watercolors and also oils and acrylics by taking different workshops and classes as an adult.
In recent years, she has studied under master artist Stan Goudey, who lives with his wife, Annie Dover, an accomplished oil painter, in Wynola. Both of them have shown their paintings at the Santa Ysabel Art Gallery.
“I really don’t have a formal education. I didn’t go to college for art. It’s just something that comes naturally,” Bredow said.
Terry Truett, 70, will be displaying her brand of “colorful and striking” tropical art during the Ramona Artists Open Studios Tour.
Born in Costa Rica and raised in Panama, Truett paints unique animal images on the boots of palm trees — the large pieces of wood that fall off the trees, she said. The brightly colored animal creations depict everything from sloths and raccoons to birds, elephants and giraffes.
“I look at the palm and say, ‘What do I see here?,’” Truett said. “Sometimes the palm boots are very long and I’ll see the shape of an elephant nose so I’ll create that based on the shape of the palm.”
Truett, a self-taught artist, creates a variety of multimedia but mostly acrylic paintings. Her subjects range from horses to Native American artifacts, she said.
“I knew I had some ability as an artist when I was in high school and my art teacher told me I should apply for an art scholarship,” Truett said. “But my parents wouldn’t let me. They said, ‘you’re not going to be an artist.’ My parents thought it would be better for me to be a secretary. So I became a secretary and I was out in the field doing istrative work.”
But years later she returned to painting, she said, because she loves it and it makes people happy.
“After 30 years I retired and felt I needed to do something with my time,” Truett said. “I picked up a brush and one day I decided I’ll start painting, and that’s what I did five years ago.”
Truett will be showing her artwork for the second year at the studio of fellow artist Michelle Rodriquez.
Rodriquez declined to disclose her studio location but said she will be displaying and selling mostly Southwest silversmithing and fine jewelry during the tour. Her other artistic endeavors include creating fused glass and ceramics.
“I get bored pretty quickly,” Rodriquez said. “I stay up all night working on my art.”
When Rodriquez moved to Ramona about five years ago she said she studied under the late Dee Smith, a silversmith who ed away from cancer at age 63.
Rodriquez, nicknamed “Giddyup Cowgirl,” credits Smith’s tutelage for her numerous ribbons for her jewelry making at the San Diego County Fair.
“A lot of artists out here knew her,” Rodriquez said. “She was full of personality. She wanted to it forward so she taught me everything. It was two years of learning. I went on to learn other techniques on my own.”
Rodriquez said she has participated in the Open Studios Tour in the past with Ramona artist Pamela Wilder, but last year and this year is hosting a stop at her own quaint backyard cottage.
“For me, art is relaxing,” she said. “But I’m also driven to do it and create things. I’m very goal oriented about creating art in one day.”
Karen Domnitz, a Ramona Chamber of Commerce director who is coordinating the event, said the tour is a unique opportunity to meet local artists and purchase their creations.
“We have a huge artists community in Ramona just like we do with the musicians,” Domnitz said. “People taking the tour can enjoy a winery along the way or go to a restaurant and have some lunch. There’s plenty of time if you want to see all of it in two days.”
Tickets to visit the studios both days cost $15 each. They can be purchased online at RamonaChamber.com by clicking “Events” and then “Artists Studio Tour.” Tickets with maps of the studio stops are also available at the Ramona Chamber of Commerce office at 1306 Main St., Suite 103. For more information, call the Chamber at (760) 789-1311.
