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Long Beach Visual Artist Peter Buchan Showcases New Works at Art Opening Featuring Singer/Songwriter Marina V

Long Beach, CA, Two thriving artists, Peter Buchan and Marina V, will showcase their respective visual and musical new works at the Royal Café in Long Beach, CA, on May 21, 7-10 pm, along with a collaborative of other emerging artists, including fine arts student Gabriela Arredondo.

True Expressions JAM (Java, Arts, Music) art opening will feature several of Buchan’s new paintings, including “Ghost Tree,” and “Foreboding,” and include a special guest appearance by singer/songwriter Marina V, who will perform songs from her new album, “MY STAR,” which was produced by the renowned producer, Guy Erez (known for his work with the Gipsy Kings, Ryan Cabrera, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Keaton Simons and many other CBS Records artists).

Buchan, a self-described “working-class artist” who has sold hundreds of original fine art works at the Art Walk in Downtown Long Beach, has earned local recognition and appreciation by residents and fellow artists for his passion in promoting the creation and dissemination of high-quality, affordable art. Buchan has spearheaded the “Blue Collar Art” initiative to encourage other local, talented visual artists to produce affordable art by employing techniques that cut down costs (using economical supply, production and marketing resources).

Described by clients as Jackson Pollock on a leash, Buchan uses chop sticks to drip oil-based enamel on wood, creating streams of complimentary hues that erupt into compelling figurative imagery -- be it the somber eyes of an oppressed Persian woman, the potent energy escaping from a breaking wave or the neck-choking tendrils sprouting invasively from a foreboding tree trunk.

“High quality art does not have to be out of reach for normal working class folks,” Buchan explained. “It’s very do-able to create tasteful art at affordable prices. I’ve been selling art like this for years, out of my garage, at street fairs and through word of mouth. People don’t have to settle for mass produced manufactured art prints when there are talented artists who can create one-of-a-kind pieces for close to the same price one may pay for a framed reproduction. I think for many artists, including myself, it’s difficult to get past the stigma that low-priced art is synonymous with cheap art.”

The art opening will feature 5 new works by Buchan, whose charcoal and pen drawings were once compared to Sir John Tenniel, illustrator of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice Adventures in Wonderland;” by famous American landscape artist Dale Nichols.

Marina V, who is a Russian-born piano-playing songstress, has been described as having a hauntingly beautiful” sound (LA Times). She will perform several new songs from her album which was released in March and funded entirely by her fans (having raised almost $30,000 from devoted listeners via marinav.com).

True Expressions Jam will also feature several emerging visual art students, including Gabriela Arredondo, whose art has been influenced by the co-existence and collision of cultures she experienced as a resident of Wisconsin and Mexico.

Arredondo was born in Los Angeles, California in 1975, and has lived in the various and diverse regions that make-up Southern California. Although most of her life has been spent in Southern

California, for a time, while growing up, Gabriela lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The harsh, freezing winters there made a lasting impression on her. Being of Mexican descent, Gabriela has also lived many summers with relatives in Mexico, coming to know its East Coast in Cancun, the center High Plateau in Mexico City, and its West Coast in Acapulco.

All of these regions and places have influenced her art. The Wisconsin winters have influenced her use of space in a sometimes sparse and monochromatic manner. The Mexican experience brings a vibrant use and flourish of colors.

Gabriela attends California State University and is enrolled there as a Fine Arts Major. Her goal is edify the life of others through an understanding and appreciation of art in general.