OXNARD : Poster Captures Elements of Festival

The official poster for the 10th annual California Strawberry Festival was unveiled at an Oxnard art gallery Monday by the Bay Area artist commissioned to create the colorful watercolor.

Penny Soto’s poster captures several elements of the festival including the “Strawberry Shortcake Tent,” a strawberry clown, live music and a glass of champagne with a strawberry in it--all superimposed over an outline of the state of California.

Soto, who lives in San Ramon, is a member of the Society of Western Artists and East Bay Watercolor Society. She teaches watercolor classes for adults at The Cottage Faire in Dublin, Calif., and her artwork has won numerous awards.

“The festival really captured my imagination and struck me as the perfect subject for a painting,” Soto said in a prepared release. “While I follow a realistic line in my work, I like to exaggerate shapes, shadows and colors to create a feeling for viewers. I’ve been told by friends that I see things differently from other people, and my work reflects my vision.”

Soto exhibited her collection of florals and still-life paintings at last year’s California Strawberry Festival Fine Arts & Crafts Show.

This year’s poster will begin appearing in store windows across the county and beyond in April and will be sold for $7 at the event. T-shirts bearing the poster design also will be available at souvenir booths for $10.

Don Dearmond, a member of the festival’s executive committee, said the poster has traditionally been a promotional item that many keep long after the festival ends.

“I think it’s really the one tool that we’ve had since the beginning, when (the festival) was in its early stages, it’s the one thing that’s really carried through,” Dearmond said. “It gets hung all over Ventura County and Santa Barbara and even into the San Fernando Valley.”

Dearmond said the festival will spend $2,500 for printing and distributing the posters and buying the original artwork from Soto.

This year’s festival is scheduled for May 15 and 16 at College Park in Oxnard.