“Dancer,” by Diamond Springs-based artist Robert Sandidge, is one of the paintings which will be featured at Scene on the Strait this Saturday at Martinez Regional Shoreline. Benicia artist Nikki Basch-Davis will also have art available. (Image provided by Kevin Nelson, painting by Robert Sandidge)

Art festival aims to raise money to restore butterfly habitat

This Saturday, Martinez’s Scene of the Strait art festival will hit an important milestone: 20 years of helping kids help the environment.

The festival began in 1995 as a fundraiser for the Carquinez Regional Environmental Education Center (CREEC) in Crockett, which employs underserved teenagers and young adults in the Pinole area who then work in the center’s greenhouse. One of the main activities consists of growing milkweed, a native plant that attracts monarch butterflies. Spokesperson Kevin Nelson says the idea is to restore the monarch butterflies’ habitat along the Carquinez Strait, where the beloved insects once thrived.

“The idea is to bring butterflies back (and) restore them to the Straits,” he said. “Long ago, it was a huge butterfly area. Then, with developments and everything, the butterflies have to some degree gone away.”

Scene on the Strait was established as a fundraiser for CREEC, with the proceeds going to help support its young workers and continue to provide work experience for them.

Additionally, Scene on the Strait will be a showcase for plein air painters from throughout Northern California. Two Benicia artists will be featured during the event: Gallery 621 member Nikki Basch-Davis and Vallejo resident and Arts Benicia member Rolando Barrero, who has painted a lot of scenes of Benicia landmarks. In fact, Barrero’s painting of the Southern Pacific Train Depot was singled out as a winning image at last year’s event.

Other participating artists include David Casters of Livermore, Mary Lou Correia of Martinez, Sandy Ostrau of Palo Alto, Norma Webb of San Ramon and 17 others. Artists will be able to meet the artists and purchase their paintings, which capture landscapes and scenes like a truck driving on a country road, a ballet dancer having a contemplative moment and even still life images of everyday objects. Some artists may be painting on site, sometimes even with a live model.

“There’s lovely art of the Carquinez Strait, including the hills of Martinez and also the waterfront along Benicia, sailboats and the Benicia Bridge,” Nelson said.

The event will also feature art auctions, a section devoted to paintings no bigger than 64 inches per square, music by Livermore cover band One Mile, a Mexican food truck, a sale for plants grown by CREEC members and more.

“It’s a nice way to spend an afternoon with some lovely art,” Nelson said.

Scene on the Strait will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13 at Martinez Regional Shoreline, located on Ferry Street in Martinez. Parking and admission are free, but attendees are encouraged to purchase art they like. For more information, visit SceneOnTheStrait.org or the event’s Facebook page at facebook.com/SceneOnTheStrait.

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