Had the pleasure this weekend of interviewing one of my favorite artists, Bert Collins, and writing about her for the Star. Here's my lead (or "lede," to use the newspaper spelling):
Admirers of pastel artist Alberta "Bert" Collins began lining up outside her Ojai studio at 5:30 on Saturday morning, eager to buy one of the 20 or so landscapes she had on sale for the Ojai Studio Artists tour, knowing that they would be walking out with a bargain.
Collins, who has been painting and teaching art to students, mostly adults, in Ojai since l976, charges less for her elegant pastels than many of her former students charge for their work. Her prices begin at about $200, even though her art is widely admired, collected, and can be found in museums.
When asked why she sets her price so low, she responded with her usual blunt wit.
"Why not?" she said. "I do five shows a year, and I paint every day, so if I didn't sell out, I'd have a stack of paintings to deal with!"
Not likely, but nonetheless here's the artist, in Juan Carlo's appreciative framing:
And here's an example of her irresistible work. This is what a stream around here looks like, as often as not, complete with hills and clouds…
Kit Stolz 
Wow! Her painting is just amazing! I can almost the stream flowing and some rustling of the trees.
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Bert’s paintings are amazing. My husband and I are privileged to own one of her beautiful seascapes. She gave it to us as a gift for our 25th wedding anniversary when she and we lived in Maryland. She is as beautiful as her paintings.
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