Valley Cultural Center Food, Wine and Microbrew Festival

Had a great time shooting the Valley Cultural Center Food, Wine and Microbrew Festival on April 19. Thanks to Les Sumpter of A Rental Connection, the venue was amazing and a good time was had by all. If you weren't there, you missed a great time too!
© Jim Brammer

Yes, that's me on the boom lift, shooting the aerial view of the venue. Thanks to Rafael Posada for skillfully piloting the lift, and to Curt Gorlick for shooting this great image. Thanks also to Greg Coulas of Westfield for loaning us the boom lift.
© Curt Gorlick

Rose Goldwater greets happy guests arriving at the Valley Cultural Center Food, WIne and Microbrew Festival
© Jim Brammer

Elva and Nelson Tucker from "The Wine Guy" pulled together most of the wineries for us, and put on a great display with amazing wines! Thanks Nelson!
© Jim Brammer

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Over the last couple of months Matt Stadelman from the VCC Board has been working with a group from Napa Valley and on Thursday evening we announced the VCC wine label! For every bottle you purchase at http://www.torchlightcellars.com/vcc a portion of the purchase price is donated to the Valley Cultural Center.

Matt and I tasted the wines and we narrowed the offerings to four tasty selections and named them:
VC Chardonnay, Virtuoso Viognier, Symphonic Syrah, and Cultural Cabernet Franc.

These are solid Napa Valley wines. No two-buck-chuck here! Please visit the website and check it out: http://www.torchlightcellars.com/vcc
© Jim Brammer

Glenda Patton talked with guests all about VCC's wonderful new wines.
© Jim Brammer

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Wendi Gladstone (center) from the VCC staff, along with Vicky Gordon (next to Wendi on the right) from the VCC Board enjoyed the wines too!
© Jim Brammer

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Joe Hesse and the L.A. Rhythm Crew provided the music for the evening and they sounded fantastic! Many thanks to Joe and the band for donating their time and talent!!
© Jim Brammer

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VCC CEO Jim Kinsey takes a last-minute check on our live auction items with our auctioneer.
© Jim Brammer

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Alhambra City Hall Art Gallery Features Jim Brammer's Work in a Group Exhibition Entitled ‘Water and Trees‐Essential Elements of Life’

The Alhambra City Hall Art Gallery features a group art exhibition by artists Jim Brammer, Enrique Armendariz, Paula Hallowell, Steve and Marianne McCarthy and Janell Mithani. From ancient times, both water and trees have formed essential parts of our spiritual and physical human existence. Worldwide, societies have celebrated, worshipped and used trees and water as basic needs for life thus forming a bond between nature and people that is all too often forgotten in today's technological times. This exhibition is in honor of that elemental connection.

After retiring from IBM in 2006, Jim Brammer decided it was time for his right brain to come out and play. As an emerging artist, his work has recently been featured in several galleries across the county including a group show at Dragonfly Gallery at Rosedale in Austin, Texas, an ongoing solo show at the Calabasas Library Gallery in Los Angeles, California, and an ongoing collaborative effort at the f/9 Gallery in Culver City, California. He feels truly fortunate to pursue his passion as an artist. Jim’s “love for the art of light, the art of soul and the art of place” is relevant in the photographs he creates. “Sculpting, shaping and controlling that big, white, bouncy stuff called light” allows Jim to capture life’s inspirational moments – the art and soul of place – to tell the stories of beauty, passion and emotion as he creates his art. For more information and to see more of Jim Brammer’s work visit his website: www.stateoftheartimages.com.

Enrique Armendariz is a photographer who works primarily in Black and White film. An artistic technician in the darkroom, Enrique’s photographs are beautiful and passionate. A gifted storyteller with a talent for capturing unplanned, yet splendidly framed moments draws the viewer in and oftentimes, back for another look. Enrique recently had his first solo exhibition in January at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library entitled ‘For the First Time/Por Primera Vez”.

Steve and Marianne McCarthy have been photographers for over 30 years, specializing in portraits of buildings, automobiles, and trains. From the untamed, rugged coasts and glades of Ireland to calm Pacific sunsets, the McCarthy's have captured two of the essential elements of life, water and trees. Their award winning work is a hybrid of film and digital, using mostly film to shoot with, and digital processing. "We want people to be drawn into the photo, to feel the texture of a stone wall, the power of a steam locomotive, the sound of a race car." Steve McCarthy said. "We want people to look at things in different ways, to see the odd and unusual around them," added Marianne. Steve has also written the ultimate guide to road trips called Road Trippin'. Their website is www.mccarthypix.com.

Paula Hallowell has been “Capturing Little Bits of Time” through the medium of photography. With a background and training in commercial product and food photography, Paula’s attention to detail shines in her fine art pieces of grand beauty. In this exhibition, her color and sepia toned photographs pay homage to one of our most precious resources, water. Paula spends her leisure time traveling the western states with her camera photographing nature, wildlife and the details of her environment. Her love for the desert and the High Sierras is relevant in her work. Paula is currently a member of All Valley Professional Photographers, Professional Photographers of California and School Photographers Association of California. She can be reached via her website: www.hallowellphotography.com.

Artist Janell Mithani has always been interested in the emotional intimacy of the human face. She has created photography commissions and fine art portraits as well as her striking gallery pieces for nearly three decades. Mithani also teaches manga art, photography and fine art workshops and is currently working on her first book Bud a Collection of Floral and Baby Art to be released this year. Today, she creates mixed media art expressive of intimate relationships between fragile human life and soothing nature. In this exhibition, her stylized mixed media portraits are reflective of her relationships with people and remind her to observe the quiet beauty of life in this fast‐paced world. “Lately I am influenced by the delicate colors and coarse textures of nature as well as the tranquility of the ocean and I explore their bond within my art.” Mithani can be reached via her two websites: www.janellmithani.com and www.jmphotostudio.com.

Please join us for an artist’s reception for ‘Water and Trees‐Essential Elements of Life’ on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Alhambra City Hall Gallery is located at 111 South 1st St., Alhambra, CA 91801. The exhibition runs from April 5 through April 30 and will be open each Monday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday ‐ Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call Alhambra City Hall at (626)570‐5090.

Jim Brammer Honored with Service Award from Professional Photographers of California

I just returned from Pro Photo Expo in Pasadena, a three-day conference and trade show produced by Professional Photographers of California, where I was honored with a Service Award. Thanks to my many PPC friends and colleagues for your support!

f/9 Gallery Opens in Culver City!

I am delighted to announce the opening of f/9 Gallery, an artist-owned cooperative gallery in Culver City. We are nine photographers who came together with a single focus - to support each other as artists.

Over 100 friends, family, colleagues and art lovers attended our grand opening and artist reception last night. Hereiwth, a few images from that amazing event.

Please check our Web site at www.f9gallery.com for directions to the gallery and more information about viewing hours and upcoming exhibitions.

Dan and Ashly apply last-minute finishing touches . . .

. . . while Michael, our fearless leader, looks on.

Many thanks to Boris Smorodinsky of Striving Artists custom framing for donating the gallery hanging system, which made our work look amazing!

 

Everyone enjoyed the art . . . 

Wine and cheese were served, and a good time was had by all! 

f/9 Gallery Announcement

I am delighted to announce my latest venture, f/9 Gallery in Culver City - a group of 9 artists who are opening our own gallery to show our work and bring friends together. Watch this space for exciting news about our grand opening and artist's reception on February 24!

The Art of Photography

All Images © Jim Brammer 2011, All Rights Reserved

I have very exciting news about my emerging line of fine art photography, which is enjoying exposure and critical acclaim in various venues . . .

- Last week I attended the artist reception for a juried exhibition at Dragonfly Gallery at Rosedale in Austin, Texas, where some of my artwork is on display www.dragonflygallerytx.com

- I just hung an exhibition of seven pieces at the Calabasas Library, where I’ll have the artist reception this coming Friday afternoon, February 11, from 10:30am to 4pm

- I’m collaborating with eight other photographic artists to open f/9 Gallery in Culver City. We plan to have our artist reception on February 24 and Grand Opening Open House on February 26-27. More information is available at www.f9gallery.com

- I will have two pieces featured in a juried exhibition for “Dreams on Canvas” at the Westlake Village Four Seasons hotel in April

- I am working on an exhibition with several other artists, which we will hang during the entire month of April at Alhambra City Hall in Alhambra, California

You may view my fine art portfolio at www.jimbrammer.com

Dragonfly Gallery at Rosedale - Juried Exhibition

Marcia and I just returned from my artist reception at the Dragonfly Gallery at Rosedale http://www.dragonflygallerytx.com in Austin, TX, where my artwork is currently hanging in a juried exhibition entitled "A Photo is Worth a Thousand Words." What an exciting time! Many thanks to gallery owner Nina Mihm for putting on a wonderful event. (side note - it was 25 degrees and we had to scrape ice off the windshield so we could get to the airp[ort yesterday morning ;-))