***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT***

I WILL BE CLOSING THE GALLERY AT THE END OF JUNE! CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES DICTATE THAT I MUST CLOSE MY DOORS. I'M SORRY TO LET EVERYBODY DOWN BUT I MUST PUT ALL MY FINANCIAL EFFORTS RIGHT NOW INTO MY FAMILY. THANK YOU ALL! CATHERINE

(If you wish to get in touch with any of the artists associated with the gallery over the last three years you can call me at (209)712-3755 and I can put you in touch with them.)

Down By The River Studio Gallery is located in the historic Chinese delta town of Locke.  Opened in July 2007 by oil artist Catherine Erickson, this working art studio and gallery features Catherine's works and the paintings of Locke Artist Colony painters Chris Spencer and Ernie Wester. It was opened with the dream of creating an open studio environment where artists could interact freely with one another. Where the public could participate in the art world through art classes and open art sessions, and view, and, if so inclined, purchase original artwork of the delta region and Locke, and to promote the varied artists that live and work in Locke....The Locke Artist Colony.

There is vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, the expression is unique.  If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium. It will be lost.  The world will not have it.  It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel of your creativity open.

      You do not even have to believe in yourself or your creativity.  You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.  Keep the channel open.  There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.  There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive.

Martha Graham to Agnes De Mille

CLASSES 

ONGOING ART CLASSES-
We offer private or group sessions in-
Portraiture
Still Life
Color Theory
Light and Shadow/ Form
Plein Air Painting
Figure Drawing/Painting
Oil and Acrylic Painting
and more....

Children's Classes

Sundays  11:30-1pm

$15 per class

This is a fun but serious art class for children ages 5 and up-

concentrating on the fundamentals of art - drawing, color theory, light and shadow, line, and shape/mass.

Teachers Chris Spencer and Catherine Conner Erickson