Mendocino County is known world-wide for iconic views of our wild ocean, majestic redwoods and scrappy little towns that have barely changed since the demise of the logging industry. Our huge and varied county is home to the wine industry, old barns associated with waning apple and pear orchards, historic Vichy Springs, the Skunk Train, the Back-to-the-Land movement and whale watching off our windy ocean bluffs. Everywhere you look there is another unique-to-us image waiting to be captured on canvas. And that is what the Board members of Art Center Ukiah want to celebrate during the month of September.

Susan Blackwelder, who is organizing the show, is clear that she wants images that are instantly recognizable as belonging to Mendocino County. “I don’t want a lot of generic landscapes that could be anywhere,” she says. “I’m hoping that artists will focus on  characteristic Mendocino County images that will make viewers smile when they recognize them as part of our home.” Susan continues, “There are so many scenes to choose from, and I’m hoping that we will be treated to a visual celebration of what makes our county unique.”