PAINT STORES HAVE BRUSH WITH ART

The Art Corner Gallery is almost obscured by aisles of masking tape, sandpaper and light fixtures. Is it art, you may ask? Or hardware? Well, it’s both.

You see, Art Corner galleries are in the Costa Mesa and Mission Viejo stores of the Standard Brands Paint Co., which is offering Orange County artists free gallery space.

Printmaking students at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo are taking advantage of the offer to display their show of “Bon A Tirer” etchings, collaged prints, monotypes and relief prints--through April 20--at the Standard Brands Paint Co. store in Mission Viejo. (The exhibit title refers to a notation indicating a work is ready for final printing.)

At The Art Corner Gallery in Costa Mesa, an exhibit of paintings by Orange County artist Anita Neal opens today ) with an artist’s reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The exhibit, called “Capturing People in Time,” runs through April 30.

“Some artists might ‘pooh-pooh’ the Standard Brands Paint store gallery,” said Bill Riley, associate professor of art at Saddleback College. “But it gives everyone a chance to show their wares. And we probably get more viewers here than in the little galleries that deal only in art. We get a lot of people coming in who have nothing to do with art.”

Four of Riley’s printmaking classes, from beginning to advanced levels, are displaying prints at the gallery.

“A gallery setting gives students a chance not only to show their work, but to get some experience in preparing their work for display, installing the show and promoting themselves as artists,” Riley said.

“In a suburban place like Mission Viejo, the shopping mall is a city center,” he added. “One thing we don’t have is a centralized gallery area like SoHo in New York. Another thing we don’t have in Orange County is enough galleries. There are more artists than galleries. So it’s good the Standard Brands company is noticing there are a lot of artists out there who need space.”

Unlike most galleries, the store takes no commission from the artists.

“When you put something in a gallery, they usually take 40% right off the top,” noted Suelyn Wong, a commercial artist and printmaking student. “When you’re just starting out, you can’t price things that high.

“When artists enter juried shows, they often have to pay a $5 fee per piece of art just to submit the work,” Wong said. “That can really add up.”

Bruce Bowles, director of art services at Standard Brands, said the in-store galleries were designed to “spotlight local talent.”

“The concept came about when the corporation decided to take a lead in sponsoring the arts,” Bowles said. “It’s like giving something back to the community. We donate the space, the signs, the individual name tags for the artworks and print and mail the invitations. It costs the artist nothing.”

The Mission Viejo store was recently remodeled to accommodate the gallery space, Bowles said, while a gallery was included in original plans for the Costa Mesa store, which opened in August.

The Art Corner galleries are in the Standard Brands stores at 28565 Marguerite Parkway in Mission Viejo and at 610 West 17th St. in Costa Mesa. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.