Southwest Arts Festival a crowd pleaser

The Coachella Valley's largest and longest-running art show rolled into town last week — and art lovers said the techniques were more advanced than ever.

The three-day Southwest Arts Festival, which ended Sunday, featured about 260 artists from across the country, as well as one from Peru.

They set up outdoor booths at the Empire Polo Club in Indio to display and sell their drawings, glass-blowing, jewelry, photographs and silk art.

Organizers expected more than 16,000 people to stroll the grounds. The final numbers, however, were not available this week.

Attendees praised the one-of-a-kind artwork, much of which focused on nature.

Paul Driskell, 67, a part-time resident of La Quinta, marveled at the many artists who print their photos on canvas, giving it a textured look that mimics a painting.

He stopped to quiz photographer Pat Kelly about how artists achieve that look.

“It's a great selection of beautiful art and new techniques,” Driskell said. “They're doing more and more with the photo art they can put on canvas, which is really changing the medium.”

The unusual creativity of the artists was compelling, agreed Louise Knobf, 62, a part-time resident of Cathedral City.

She bought a small canvas with a word collage by Richard Curtner — the same artist from whom she purchased at the festival two years ago.

“I have never seen anything like it,” she said. “There are things here you really don't see every day.”

The vast range of artwork at the Southwest Arts Festival fosters an enthusiasm for supporting artists, said Deborah Clark, 60, a part-time resident of La Quinta.

Clark bought a shadow box art pin from Christine Charter, an artist from Boulder Creek, and debated whether she would wear it as a pin or display it at home.

“It's the creativity and supporting the artists and knowing you can't go to a store and find this kind of art,” Clark said.

That challenge to draw the eye of art lovers who are virtually surrounded by art — and the prospect of instant feedback — drew sculptor Richard Myer back to the festival for at least the fourth time.

He sat quietly in his booth and carved at clay. He was designing a gunman sitting on a horse that would be displayed at an art event in April.

“You've got to make something that attracts attention,” Myer said.

The Southwest Arts Festival is the largest annual fundraiser for the Chamber of Commerce.

Sales topped $1 million last year, and the chamber keeps a portion of the proceeds.