IN THE ARTS

Pure Light hosts Girls’ Night Out

Girls’ Night Out will return to Pure Light Candle Studio from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Feb. 27. The evening of candle-making will also include a reading from author and spiritual teacher Loretta Holton, who will provide autographed copies of her book, “The Journey of Expansion, A Mother’s Journey from Loss to Eternal Love.”

Cynthia Britain of Laguna Beach will be present for a palm or tarot card reading, and massage therapist Jill Williams will provide a mini-massage. Guests will learn how to set their intentions to bring positive energy into their lives by creating a candle to take home and light to send out good intentions.

Special guest Dr. Jeanne Michele will be on hand to discuss the messages Mary Magdalene’s powerful reawakening holds for women and the world today at 6:30 p.m. A light buffet will be served to all attendees and is included in the ticket price. Advance ticket purchase is $55, and $65 at the door if space allows.

Pure Light Candle Studio is at 821 Laguna Canyon Road. For more information call (949) 376-7200.

Animal artist Alway at Artist Eye Gallery

Artist Eye Laguna Gallery will feature paintings by Huntington Beach artist Keith Alway from March 1 to 31. Alway donates 5% of the purchase price from his animal paintings and giclees to San Francisco-based WildAid in support of endangered animals. In conjunction with the month-long exhibit, the gallery will host a silent auction and reception from 6 to 9 p.m. March 7.

Alway began drawing wild animals as a boy. As a ninth-grader in Detroit, he was selected to receive the highest scholastic honor awarded by the American Legion as the city’s most outstanding student for artistic and academic achievement. Alway says he has always had a strong fascination with wild, exotic animals.

“Today, I find myself still captivated, and I truly enjoy painting these magnificent animals,” Alway said. “Sometimes I paint them realistically and life-like, sometimes with bold, unusual colors. I love it when I get the eyes just right, and they appear to be looking right into your soul.”

Alway was drafted into the Army during the Korean conflict and spent two years in Korea, then returned to finish his education at Cal State Long Beach where he earned a degree in graphic arts. He began his professional career as a technical illustrator working several years in the aerospace industry, ending up with North American Rockwell to work on the Apollo Space Program. He was promoted to art department supervisor where he managed more than 60 artists producing brochures, manuals, briefing charts and slides, many of which went to President Kennedy and NASA chiefs.

Alway started his own company, Bio-Legal Arts Inc., pioneering the demonstrative evidence industry where, for the next 30 years, he produced more than 15,000 medical illustrations, scale models, street diagrams and videotapes of accident scenes that attorneys needed to explain malpractice and accident cases in courtrooms.

For more information on Alway, visit www.wildanimal artgallery.com.

Artist Eye Laguna Gallery is at 1294 S. Coast Hwy., Suite A. For more information, visit www.artisteyelaguna gallery.com.

Cox to perform yoga at Whitney gallery

Whitney Gallery will presents “Living Art “” Blossoming Grace, Beauty & Serenity” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 5 featuring Cathy Cox of YogaWorks and a unique interior garden performance space created by Laguna Nursery.

This First Thursday’s Art Walk event will feature healthful refreshments, and Laguna Nursery and YogaWorks will be providing free giveaways.

Whitney Gallery is at 350 N. Coast Hwy. For more information, call (949) 497-4322, e-mail whitneygallery@msn.com or visit www.marcwhitney.com.

Entries open for Art That’s Small show

Artists living in Orange County are invited to submit to “Art That’s Small At City Hall,” an open exhibition coordinated by the City of Laguna Beach Arts Commission. All works deemed acceptable will be exhibited at Laguna Beach City Hall, 505 Forest Ave., from March 23 through April 30.

Entries will be accepted at City Hall from 9:30 to 11 a.m. March 21 from residents of Orange County (proof required), ages 18 or older. All entries must be original and have been executed within the past two years.

Artwork must be no larger than 12” along any edge, including the frame, and 3” in depth. Artwork may include oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography, drawing, mixed media and relief. Artwork must be dry, suitably framed, secure and wired for wall hanging. No sawtooth hangers or sandwich glass accepted. The Arts Commission reserves the right to reject submissions it deems inappropriate.

A fee of $15 will be charged with only one entry allowed per artist. Payments by check must be made payable to the City of Laguna Beach or cash payment is accepted.

The exhibition will be judged and honorariums given. First place prize is $500, second place, $250, third place, $125, and City Hall Choice, $50.

Artwork, with applications attached, and entry fee must be delivered to the main entrance of City Hall, 505 Forest Ave., from 9:30 to 11 a.m. March 21. Any submissions submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

A reception and awards ceremony will be held at Laguna Beach City Hall from 5 to 6 p.m. April 2.

The exhibition closes May 1, and all artwork must be picked up between 9 a.m. and noon that day at city hall. Participants will be charged $10 per day for work left past noon.