REDLANDS, Calif. – Penny Smyth Fedorchak will be bringing her passion
for nature and painting to the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation
‘Evening with the Artists’ fundraising event this April. This
spring, her pieces will be taking a special trip back to the Inland Empire.
Fedorchak’s passion for painting began when her love for horses was
captured in childhood sketches and watercolor paintings. Her passion to
become an accomplished artist was recognized early on when Edward Sotello,
her art teacher at Yucaipa Jr. High School, encouraged her to continue
studying art at Redlands High School. On graduating from RHS, she was
awarded art scholarships and worked as an apprentice with a Redlands architect
while earning an Associate’s Degree in Architectural Drafting at
San Bernardino Valley College.
Her art career was postponed while she and her husband, Joe, were successfully
running El Jardin Mexican Restaurant, their formerly family-owned business
in Fallbrook, and raising a family. During that time, she became a potter
and a stained glass artist, later returning to her real love for painting
in watercolor. She began serious study in San Diego and Fallbrook with
regional and internationally known artists. As a member of Jeanne Shanahan’s
Monday Plein Air Painters in Fallbrook, she found her niche. She loves
the colors of the outdoors and strives to capture their beauty and strength,
incorporating those elements in flowers, fruit, still life, and landscapes.
Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Big Pine, Bodie, and the Santa Rosa
Plateau are among her favorite places to paint. Among her award-winning
works are watercolor florals, landscapes featuring barns and ranches drawing
inspiration from Redlands own Live Oak Canyon, and a series of vintage
cars and trucks. Included in that series is a painting of her high school
graduation present, a 1934 Plymouth she found parked and for sale on Brookside
Avenue, but sold years later to a Redlands resident. Decades later, when
she decided to search for the car in hopes of painting it and adding it
to her series on old cars, that search revealed that it has remained in
the family of the buyer, restored numerous times, featured in Hollywood
movies, and is still in Redlands today. That painting will be featured
in the Redlands Community Hospital Foundation show this year.
Although she is primarily self-taught, she continues to advance her art
studies through workshops and is currently studying with Robert Willis
of Dorland Arts Colony in Temecula. She is a juried member of Brandon
Gallery in Fallbrook, where her work is on display, and she is a member
of COAL Gallery in Carlsbad. Her art also hangs in several restaurants
in Fallbrook.
“My happiest and most creative moments come as I splash paint on
paper,” says Fedorchak. “I hope those who view my paintings
will enjoy them as much as I enjoy creating them.”
The Redlands Community Hospital Foundation’s art program began in
1978 and today, the hospital exhibits a collection of more than 750 works
of original art in the hallways, offices and waiting areas of RCH.
Fedorchak joins artists Darlene Katz, Anthony Radcliffe, Dennis Hare, Hanna
Adler, and Ray Nordwall at the annual “Evening with the Artists”
event. Fedorchak’s artwork will be available for purchase at the
Stan and Ellen Weisser Education Pavilion on the RCH campus from 5:30
p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 19. Proceeds will benefit the Redlands
Community Hospital Foundation’s art fund. Wine and hors d’oeuvres
will be served during the evening’s elegant event. Tickets are $20.
For more information on the ‘Evening with the Artists of RCH’
event or to RSVP, please call (909) 335-5500.
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Redlands Community Hospital Foundation supports Redlands Community Hospital,
which is an independent not-for-profit, stand-alone hospital.