Ojai, CA - The Photography Branch of The Ojai Center for the Arts has announced the 2014 Annual Photography Exhibit judges. They are Sharon Butler, Kent Butler and Sergio Aragonés.

They are all very well known and respected artists living in Ojai. This year we break from tradition as our judges are not full time photographers. The judges are experienced artists and were selected as their understanding and appreciation of light, gesture and color is well known and clearly demonstrated in their body of work.

Sharon Butler
Sharon has had a lifelong interest in, and love for, African and American Indian art, as well as an ongoing fascination in the Japanese and Chinese cultures. Sharon's work is influenced by her African childhood, as is her ongoing fascination with native form, design, and color.Sharon has worked in all mediums, but most prefers acrylics with which she can obtain a three-dimensional effect, a signature technique for which she is most well known. She also incorporates leather and authentic materials in her art to create the illusion of where one medium begins and where one ends. Sharon's work is represented Internationally as well as in The United States. During her career, Sharon has won numerous awards for her work, which is recognized for its unique style. Sharon now resides in Ojai, California, a location from which she draws inspiration, and where she feels she can perfect her skills.

You can see some of Sharon's beautiful art at http://www.butlersarts.com/Sharon's/Sharon.html

Kent Butler
Kent’s paintings have won numerous awards and are represented in private collections throughout the United States. His attention to detail, coupled with his inherent interest in the Western motif and American art, has led to his involvement in many related Western architectural design projects and murals. Born in Gunnison, Utah in 1944, Kent Butler developed a natural interest in nature as well as the American West. He can’t remember a time when he wasn’t drawing anything and everything that caught his eye, during his formative years. Kent began his formal art training at age 19 at the University of Utah. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he attended the Los Angeles Art Center College of Design. Kent now lives in Ojai, California, a setting of great natural beauty, which Kent feels is the perfect place to focus and sharpen his talent, and to pursue an already highly successful career in the art world. Kent is known for his unique and expressive use of color, as well as his black and white drawings. Kent is available for commission portrait subjects including family, friends, and pets.

You can see more of Kent's art at http://www.butlersarts.com/kent.html

Sergio Aragonès
Sergio Aragonés is said to be the fastest cartoonist in the world today. He is certainly the most honored, having won every major award in the field, including the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award, and the Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award.

In 1962, he decided to try his luck in America, and arrived in New York with only twenty dollars and a folder bulging with his cartoon work. At first, work was slow in coming and what he did sell didn’t pay very well, forcing him to work as a singer/poet in Greenwich Village restaurants and to pick up other odd jobs. Things changed when he mustered the courage to approach the top market for silly pictures, Mad Magazine. Embarrassed by his halting English, he went to their office and asked for Antonio Prohias, the Cuban refugee who drew their popular “Spy Vs. Spy” feature. Sergio figured that Prohias could translate for him, but he figured wrong: Prohias, though thrilled to meet a fellow Hispanic cartoonist, spoke even less English than Sergio. He did, however, introduce his new “brother” about, and the Mad editors liked what they saw.

Sergio’s first contribution — “A Mad Look at the U.S. Space Effort” — appeared in Mad #76, cover-dated January of 1963. For that same issue, he also contributed the cover gag (the first of many) and his first “Marginal Thinking” cartoons to be printed in the magazine’s margins. He has since appeared in every issue of Mad except for one (the post office screwed up) and has done thousands of his unique pantomime cartoons. He also produced 16 best-selling original Mad paperback books.

In the early eighties, Sergio teamed with wordsmith Mark Evanier to bring forth the adventures of Groo the Wanderer. Groo quickly became one of the longest-running “creator-owned” comic book properties, outlasting many of the companies that published it. Together, Sergio and Mark have also produced other comics, including Fanboy, Boogeyman, Magnor, Blair Witch? and an acclaimed series in which together, they trash famous characters: Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel, Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC, and Sergio Aragonés Stomps Star Wars. For their comic book work, they have received multiple Eisner awards. Sergio has also “soloed” with two all-pantomime series, Actions Speak and Louder Than Words and on his new comic from Bongo, Sergio Aragonés Funnies.

His artwork has appeared on hundreds of advertisements and editorial features, and his animation has been featured on numerous TV shows, including The Shirley MacLaine Special, The Cher Special, The Half-Hour Comedy Hour and Dick Clark’s TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes.

You can learn more about Sergio at http://www.sergioaragones.com/

2014 Annual Photography Exhibit - The Ojai Center for the Arts

The exhibit will be at the Ojai Center for the Arts from June 7th through July 9th. There will be an artists reception Sunday June 8th from 1 to 3 p.m. Complete information can be found at http://www.ojaiacphoto.org