Visual Artists
Trinidad Bay Art & Music Festival wouldn't be the same without the ART part! We strive each year to include local practitioners of the visual arts, and we allow them to sell their works directly to the public as part of the TBAM festivities. We choose our artists yearly based on availability, interest, and artistic tone, then the artists are given a place to showcase their work.
Tom Allen, woodcarver
"To me carving is a way of relaxing, of immersing my thoughts and efforts into transforming a piece of wood into something that has caught my sense of form, texture and beauty. Most of my work is done in basswood, a wood categorized as a soft hardwood. I use hand carving tools for the major aspects and finish off sanding with a dremel. I have enjoyed carving a variety of forms from full-sized carousel animals to masks, torsos, busts, and usable objects such as staffs, mirror frames and sconces."
Matt Dodge, painter
“Now five years living in Northern Humboldt, after 26 in Lake Tahoe, I have found here, as expected, incredibly potent terrain and completely limitless adventure, a perfect stoke to motivate and inspire my work. In addition to topography and flora, this region’s mystery, moods, weather and wonder are all evident in my creations.
The works, which I term “Sculpted Photographs,” each begin with photographs digitally edited and printed on canvas, incorporate application of numerous color media and engraving by hand, repeated as necessary. The final results translate visually the intrinsic elation of intimate outdoor engagement, when the synapses are firing and the soul rejoicing.”
Reuben Mayes, painter
“Hello All My Friends: My name is Reuben Mayes. I'm 30 years old and I live in McKinleyville. I am an artist and my style is named Abstract Expressionism. I feel excited and happy and proud and silly and crazy when I'm painting.”
Between December 2015 and 2019, Reuben ran his own Gallery named "Abstracts In The Back Room" in Vance Hotel lobby behind what once was Wolf Dawg Restaurant & was open Every Arts Alive! Eureka. Now you can catch him showing art at other locations around Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville and Trinidad. Reuben’s dreams and plans are simply to have fun every day that he expresses himself creating “Art in My Work Boots” and sharing his art with "All My Friends".
Paul Rickard, painter
A lover of California and the Great Northwest, Paul Rickard is an artist and songwriter from Humboldt County, California. His songs, original watercolor paintings, and sculptures draw from the natural beauty of the windswept, marine landscape. Rickard studied art briefly in New Zealand and wood sculpture in Indonesia, graduated from UC Berkeley, and served in the Peace Corps with his wife Nancy. Rickard is a career educator and currently serves on the faculty of Humboldt State University. He lives with his family on a hand-built homestead on top of Fickle Hill in Arcata, California with wife Nancy and his yellow lab, Daisy. Paul and Nancy’s children are Heather, Hazel, and Oliver.
Jeff Stanley, painter
I first started to paint about 20 years ago. I almost didn’t ever try to paint because I believed so strongly that I couldn’t do it. I never spent much time being creative as a kid. Then, one day, I had the opportunity to try painting on canvas. From seemingly out of nowhere, my life took an unexpected turn onto ART AVENUE. I got hooked, and have been painting ever since!
Since I like to paint things that I think are beautiful, being here on Earth is a great place to be! In Humboldt County, where I have lived for 14 years, inspiration is all over the place. It’s exhilarating to be in a scenic place with my easel, paints, brushes, a blank canvas or two, and snacks. I’ll usually return to the same location, at the same time of day, many times, to work on the same painting.
Painting in the studio is very enjoyable as well. In the studio I might do a larger version of a painting done on location, paint from photo references, or change a painting I thought was already finished. It’s fun to make a painting as beautiful as possible.