El Cajon resident and wildlife painter Gloria Chadwick has been selected as the featured artist for the 40th annual California Open Wildlife Art Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 16 and 17, at Liberty Station in San Diego’s Point Loma area. The festival, open to the public, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both weekend days at Liberty Station’s Corky McMillin Event Center, NTC Promenade, 2875 Dewey Road, San Diego. Admission is $5 per person, and children under 12 years of age are free. For more information, visit www.PSWA.net.
The festival is presented by the Pacific Southwest Wildlife Arts, Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes wildlife art, including traditional hunting decoys, paintings and wildlife and bird photography. The annual exhibition and competition attracts top carvers, wildlife artists and art lovers from all over the United States, Canada, Russia and Japan. This year’s show will include carvings of wildfowl, fish and birds, along with appraisals of antique decoys and vendors of tools and supplies and an appearance by Sky Hunters, a Lakeside-based non-profit group dedicated to informing the public about hawks, owls, falcons and eagles and promoting conservation of raptors and birds of prey. The show is funded in part by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
Chadwick also was selected as the January 2013 “Artist of the Month” by the Artists for Conservation (AFC), an exclusive international group of 500 of the world’s most gifted nature artists from 27 countries across five continents. Chadwick has been a member of AFC since 2007. AFC comprises an invitation-only membership of world-class artists in support of the environment and conservation. AFC’s monthly honor recognizes an AFC member for outstanding artistic talent and extraordinary contribution to conservation causes. Chadwick is featured on the AFC website, www.natureartists.com, with a photo and background information. Chadwick uses her artwork to support nature, including donating 20 percent of her sales to organizations that support conservation efforts for animal species.
Chadwick also is currently serving on the board of directors of the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in the East County region.
