May 25, 2012
By Allison Reeder
"It's a beautiful river and not many people know it," [says artist Ken Christensen].
With the delicate stroke of a brush and careful use of color artists like Ken Christensen are helping to breathe new life into the Salinas River Corridor.
"You're kind of trying to open up people's eyes to the beauty you see," [continues Christensen].
The river art will be on display at the Paos Robles Festival of the Arts.
"The river corridor as it passes through our darling Paso Robles is kind of a forgotten area" [says Anne Laddon].
The City of Paso Robles is about to close escrow on 154 areas of the Salinas River Corridor. These local artists have been asked to help the City plan for the future.
[Community Development Director Ron Whisenand says,] "It's a major divider of the City and I think historically we've put our backs of development to the creek. And now we're thinking, gee, the Salinas River Corridor is actually very beautiful. A lot of potential amenities there."
The City is in the midst of transforming the corridor. "You can see restaurants maybe with decks that would face out into the creek. We're looking at having some access trails that would provide some connections north-south as well as east-west," [continues Whisenand].
As the artists paint, they're providing their vision for the future. "The idea is simply to make people know it's here, make it accessible, and just the human use alone will bring about a rejuvenation.
To see the video, please click here.
