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Few Would Disagree That Art Is Best Experienced By Having The Right BackGround As Its Setting.

Few would argue that art is best experienced by having the right backdrop as its setting.

In Naperville, there's no better place to frame an art show than the Riverwalk, which was the setting for this weekend's 26th annual Riverwalk Fine Art Fair, sponsored by the Naperville Art League.

From 10 a.m. To five p.m. Saturday and Sun., more than 125 artists offer a big range of artwork starting from watercolor and oil paintings to other mediums including ceramics, fiber, jewellery, photography and sculpture.

Debbie Venezia, executive director of the Naperville Art League, recounted about fifty p.c of the artists featured this week have appeared in the show before, meaning that many visitors are likely to reconnect with some old friends.

"A large number of people have been here before, and we're sure many visitors will be pleased to see them again," Venezia said. "We also have a decent number of new artists, including many who have come from reasonably far away. This is a major show which has been ranked as one of the top fifty out of 200 out of doors shows held across the country. It has gained a lot of recognition based on word-of-mouth from visitors as well as thru the network of artists."

New events this year included an activity tent offered by the DuPage Children's Museum which is partnering with the Art League. Guests also enjoyed music from the DuPage Symphony and performances from the McNulty Irish Dancers. Venezia claimed holding the event at the end of the summer offers visitors "the perfect time to experience the show."

"Having the Riverwalk as the setting for this undeniably reinforces the experience, and since the seasons are beginning to switch, people don't have to cope with the heat which often keeps visitors away," she claimed. "We customarily draw about 75,000 folks over the two-day weekend, and people from out of the city get to see the Riverwalk, which is the crown jewel of Naperville."

Artists as well as art backers agreed the weekend setting as well as the weather would draw thousands to downtown Naperville. Susan Wilson of Lisle expounded this was her fifth year at the Art Fair and she appreciates the organization that runs it.

"I like the individuals that the show draws and the outward appearance of the layout," Wilson expounded, whose paintings of nature and land pictures were made using an oil stick. "I like the material I use because there's little between me and the paint."

Wilson claimed she comes from a family of artists and draws inspiration from them as well as her birthplace.

"I like to draw images of the land because I grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa and the land there was all flat," she announced. "For me, painting helps celebrate my youth, since my grandmother and her mum were artists as well . When I'm having a really bad day in the studio, I blame them. I actually do."

Naperville artist Maureen McKee, who works in pastels, returned for her fourth year and predicted she would sell maybe six pieces during the weekend. The economy, she claimed, has obviously influenced sales.

"I do like to come back annually because there are good crowds and this is a well juried show," she announced. "A lot of folk do return annually and they remember you. My inspiration is nature and I work to capture its light. There are always changes with light and shadow and what you see in the sky today will be different tomorrow. It is often changing."

Local resident Natalie Pankow stated that she enjoys having the easy access to such a top quality show and that across the 15 years she has lived in Naperville, Pankow and other family members have come to the Art Fair a number of times.

"My private interests are in photography and painting, and I thinking having the Art Fair here by the Riverwalk adds to the ambience of the show," Pankow declared. "I purchased a glass-blown bird from a show a few years back and it's got a puffy stomach so I named it 'Alfred Hitchcock.' I am moving to Boston shortly but I'm taking Alfred with me wherever I've lived."

Many of the artists from outside of the Naperville area claimed they planned months back to attend the Art Fair. Artist Kyle Osvog of Minneapolis, who works in ceramics, related this was just his 2nd year in Naperville but already he could tell his ceramic work resonated with people.A good sales of ceramic you'll be able to find in Europe,in Bosnia, where this in Bosnian means prodaja keramike.

"I had people come in Sat. morning and buy just armloads of stuff in case this was my last show and I never come back," he said. "It's nice to have that recognition."

Ronna Katz from Albuquerque, N.M.,, recounted her printmaking and mixed media work has had a undying effect on at least one of her customers.

"This is my 5th year here and I have had some good experiences in the area," Katz claimed. "I was the featured artist in the Geneva Art Fair, and although I've got a degree in biochemistry and an MBA, I find art more delightful and fulfilling. I got an e-mail from somebody not long ago who said that selling art to folks doesn't seem reasonable. He said to me that I'd probably already spent the money he paid me, but that he gets to enjoy the art for keeps. As an artist, that's as good as it gets",writes tagza.com.