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Jagger’s Enchanted Desert in Step with 2010 Indian Wells Arts Festival . . . where Art is a Happening!

Easter Weekend, April 2, 3, & 4, 2010 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden

By Pamela Bieri

Thrilled to be selected poster artist for this year’s Indian Wells Arts Festival, Snake Jagger created Enchanted Desert, one of his most intricate and masterful works to date. The original 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas depicts in exquisite detail numerous desert inhabitants and plants, but with several of Jagger’s signature surrealistic surprises: a rake here, a water spigot there, a bench in the wilderness, a path leading to a portal.

The work-in-progress was tracked on Indian Wells Art Festival’s Facebook page, according to festival producer Dianne Funk. “Snake begins with what he knows best — the California desert — and transforms that raw material into novel images that amaze and delight. Each time he added something to the canvas, we posted it online.”

“This was an extremely long process, occasionally stressful, but a labor of love,” says Jagger. “It is truly my favorite and best work yet.”

A Los Angeles native, Jagger spent much of his time in the Palm Springs area, where his father was employed by Frank Sinatra. The Southern California outdoor lifestyle and the glamour of the entertainment world shaped Jagger’s perspective. He continues to capture joy in landscapes and other studies that border on the hyper-real. His paintings present a world that transcends ordinary reality by their vivid clarity and underlying humor.

In Enchanted Desert, rocks and streams, flora and fauna all appear within the backdrop of sand dunes and snow-capped mountains. His technique of adding color over color, airbrushing clouds and sand, then meticulously detailing each rock, pebble, cactus thorn, and palm frond, creates an intense presence.

Jagger’s artistic masterpiece that captures the desert’s rugged, pristine landscape imposed upon by subtle urban realities is in step with the festival’s celebration of art and life in the California desert.

More than 10,000 local residents, families, and tourists are expected to attend the Indian Wells Arts Festival — where Art is a Happening!, ranked one of the “100 Best Fine Art Shows in the Country” by Sunshine Artist and “Best of the Best” by Palm Springs Life magazine.

The festival is known for ongoing art demonstrations, special exhibits, children’s activities, live entertainment, refreshments, wine tasting, and more. Find an incredible variety of one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces of fine art and quality crafts. Watch artists at work, from glass blowing, monumental rock sculpting, woodcarving, and pottery throwing to painting and weaving. Demonstrations go on throughout the day.

With the furnace fired up, watch Arizona glass artist Bruce Freund blow hot glass into fragile, colorful works of art. Tons of limestone will turn into a monumental sculpture when sculptor David Falossi of Yucca Valley shows what it takes to be a “rock star.”

Super Size This, an exhibit of jumbo, overscale whimsical sculptures by Karen and Tony Barone of Rancho Mirage, gives festival-goers an “Alice in Wonderland” perspective: huge ice cream creations, 9-foot chopsticks, jumbo shrimp, tall French fries, an enormous meatball smothered in red sauce.

Other special exhibits include Recycle Bicycles, sponsored by Palm Springs Life magazine, which adds even more fun and whimsy with bike embellishments by S.C.R.A.P. Gallery. Watch the progress of the 10-foot by 32-ft., larger-than-life mural by Linda Shrader, sponsored by Lamar Outdoor Advertising.

Award-winning sand sculptors Lila Fulton and Jeff Sherman create mermaids and sea castles at their From Sea to Sand exhibit sponsored by Jensen’s Finest Foods. Join the community paint project Faces of Hope by Los Angeles art advocate and urban artist Ricardo Aguilar.

Easter Sunday, an Eggs in the Garden brunch menu is available until noon. A Gourmet Marketplace offers gourmet specialties and Art Market offers art products. Live entertainment by Incendio — Latin guitar world fusion, Lao Tizer jazz, and others, plus sidewalk chalk drawing, the Children’s Creative Zone, wine tasting, beer garden, and refreshments are ongoing throughout each day.

Donations to local participating charities and art scholarships include S.C.R.A.P. Gallery, Vocal Performance and Appreciation Club at College of the Desert, Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert, Washington Charter School, and The Champions Volunteer Foundation.

The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; gates close at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; children 12 and under are admitted free. Parking is free, and valet parking is available. The venue is handicapped accessible and allows guide dogs only. For poster orders, weekend passes, and more information, visit www.IndianWellsArtsFestival.com or join us on facebook.com/IndianWellsArtsFestival.