Salado showcases area artists during 42nd annual Art Fair

Tag : Painting Metal
By Justin Cox
Killeen Daily Herald

The town with the slogan "Artfully Yours" will show you why thisweekend.

The village of Salado specializes in attracting the tourist dollar,the lifeblood of the town. Beginning Saturday and continuing today,Salado is holding its 42nd annual Art Fair, featuring more than 100artists of varying styles as well as fine crafts people who willhave their wares for sale under the huge shade trees along theSalado Creek near Pace Park.

The town may be small, but its profile is high, as the shops thatline its historic streets are as different as they are numerous. Assuch, each little shop touts high-end merchandise, be it antiques,fine art galleries, of which there are eight in town, quaint bedand breakfasts, spa treatments, fine eating establishments, finejewelry – each a monument to the elegant, selective naturethe town has become famous for.

With the fair open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, art loversstrolling through the grounds will enjoy the musical entertainmentof Salado resident Richard Paul Thomas and the Blue River Band atthe park pavilion. Thomas has made a name for himself as a singer,songwriter and guitarist and has been performing for more than 40years. In addition to his original material, the band plays avariety of familiar and unique songs to entertain his audiences.

The Blue River Band, also from Salado, consists of Richard Dillard,Beth Correa and Ken Hendricks. Refreshments will be availablethroughout the fair with barbecue, hot dogs, lemonade, sodas andwater. Admission is $5 for adults with children 12 and under free.

Texas Original artisans working in a wide variety of mediaincluding clay, glass, fiber, wood, metal, stone and more will beexhibiting along with Art Fair favorites.

Texas Original was created by the Texas Commission on the Arts tohelp preserve Texas' unique arts and crafts heritage and wasdesigned to promote original work by Texas' craft artists, providea method for buying/selling original Texas artwork and crafts andpreserve traditional methods for creating hand-crafted work toensure those methods are passed on to future generations.

Texas State Artists were honored at the inaugural "Best of theBest" Texas Fine Art Sale & Reception on Saturday evening from 6 to9 p.m. at the Celebration Center. The event offered art enthusiastsa unique opportunity to meet and mingle with some of their favoriteTexas artists and poet laureates.

"There's going to be something that anyone wants to see here, fromhistory, interior design, to beautiful, custom artwork," said thetown's first mayor, Charlotte Douglas. "People come here to buyart."

And much of that art, it turns out, is produced right in town.

Larry Prellop has been working as a professional artist since hewas 21, and he is just beginning his 37th year of mastering hiscraft. Prellop has the perfect venue in which to not only show hiswork, but sell it as well, as he owns and operates Prellop Fine ArtGallery on Main Street.

Prellop is one of the featured artists at this year's fair in alist that includes: Dalhart Windberg, Roy Lee Ward, GeorgeBoutwell, Lee Herring, Kathy Vargas, Ralph White, Chuck DeHaan,Bascom Herd, Jay Hester, Eric Harrison, Travis Keese, Bill Scheidt,Ronnie Wells, Raul Gutierrez, Barry Shadrock and Charles Allen.Poet laureates include Larry Thomas and Alan Birkelbach.

Since setting up shop in 1996, Prellop has accumulated the respectof his fellow artists in the community, and now commissions morethan 20 Texas artists, which include folks gifted in oil painting,his gallery's predominant artistic form, as well as sculpture,ranging from massive life-like sculptures like the one on his mainshowroom floor, which carries a list price of $25,000, to theWestern-themed cowboy boots, hand-carved and perfected into atribute befitting John Wayne.

Prellop said he's in because he loves living his passion, andspecializes in scenic paintings depicting the beauty of the Texaslandscape.

"In 1970 or so, Salado Gallery, which was directly across from theStagecoach Inn on Main Street, carried my artwork though my agentat that time," Prellop said. "They represented me here for 20 yearsor more. I found this spot (on Main Street) in 1996, and it's beena terrific opportunity for me, because I really opened the galleryon a dime and a prayer, and I've never regretted it."

Prellop's is one of eight fine arts galleries in Salado, and all ofthem are uniquely different, and they, like Prellop, sell artworkto clients all over the country, though Prellop admits that 75percent of his sales go to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and notesthat it's all part of what Salado offers the guests who stop intown.

"It's just a really cool place to come and get away for theweekend," Prellop said. "People are really comfortable with theshops here. The quality of merchandise you find here is just aboveall others."

Every two years, the Texas Legislature honors talented Texans fortheir years of excellence and dedicated commitment to the arts bydesignating them as Texas State Artists. The one-evening eventoffered art enthusiasts a unique opportunity to meet and minglewith some of their favorite Texas artists. The evening music wasperformed by the 2008 Texas State Artist of the Year, Shelly King.

For more information, contact Susie Epps, executive director of theChamber of Commerce, at (254) 947-5040.

Contact Justin Cox at jcox@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7568.