Arts Colony provides a perfect date for Valentine's Day
A.S. Ashley, Correspondent


POMONA - Pomona's Arts Colony will have several venues of interest for Valentine's Day during tonight's Second Saturday Art Walk.

With 25 art venues, fine dining, and the expansion of the Pomona Farmer's Market to Thomas Plaza, including music and a car show, a budget-minded couple can celebrate Valentine's Day in Pomona's Arts Colony and browse for free.

There will be three Valentine's Day art shows during the Art Walk, or rather "anti-Valentine's Day" exhibits, perhaps taking some of the pressure off the holiday.

"Love Bites" is the title of the exhibit at Ink'd Chronicles featuring works by Ivan T. Gonzalez, Rask One, Gabe Larson, Summer, Steve Rows and others.

Ink'd Chronicles is at 264 W. 2nd St. Information: www.inkdchronicles.com

The two other shows are aptly named, "The Anti-Valentine's Day Show": One is a group show at Joey's Bar-B-Q, whose gallery celebrated a ribbon cutting this week; the other anti-Valentine's Day show is a fundraiser by Alex Brown.

Brown, who has done various fundraising exhibits in the Arts Colony, has gathered some impressive artwork for this independent group show. All the art is donated to raise funds for the dA Center of the Arts.

This will be a great opportunity for patrons to pick up bargains while supporting a worthy cause.

Joey's Bar-B-Q is at 117 W. 2nd St. Information: www.joeysbbq.com

Alex Brown is at 153 W. 2nd St. Information: alexbrownart@gmail.com

Speaking of the dA Center, the gallery is breaking out its popular hue-based extravaganza for February, "The Red Show."

"The Red Show," a favorite for 21 years, is the dA's largest annual open exhibit. The passion of the color red is revealed in a multitude of forms, media and techniques.

The dA Center for the Arts is at 252 S. Main St. Information: http://dacenter.org/

SCA Project Gallery has chosen a different hue for its February group art exhibit, "The Blue Show." The show isn't about the mood, but art renderings specific to the pigment.

SCA Project Gallery is at 281 S. Thomas St. No. 104. Information: www.scagallery.com

For less than a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers, the Bunny Gunner Gallery is offering the best value in town with the "All You Can Eat" show.

Boasting a menu of more than 100 notable artists, "All You Can Eat" is a show of more than 400 works no larger than 5 by 7 inches, ranging in price from $50 to $200 dollars.

Last year "All You Can Eat" nearly sold out during Second Saturday, so get there early.

Bunny Gunner is at 266 W. Second St. Information: www.bunnygunner.com

On the west side of the Arts Colony, there are more art bargains to be found at Gallery 457, with their "Le$$ is More" group show featuring artwork for $100 or less.

Gallery 475 is at 475 W. 2nd St. Information: www.myspace.com/knowclasscollective

For information about all 25 art venues in Pomona's Arts Colony and to find a map of the venues, go to: www.pomonaartscolony.com or www.metropomona.com.

A.S. Ashley is a Pomona Arts Colony artist and advocate.