The Tehachapi Arts Commission will kick off their third nationally recognized art show in mid-May when 50 artists from across the country will visit Tehachapi to begin paintings that will be juried into Art 2023 Tehachapi.

The show will be held at the Aspen Builders Community Center on the weekend of July 21-23. Many of the exhibiting artists will be returning for the third time, including landscape artist Annette Hammer of Springfield, Missouri.

Hammer has been painting landscapes for over 50 years. She was raised in California and learned to love landscapes as a child while traveling the San Joaquin Valley with her father who was an agriculture teacher. Her family also visited the National Parks in California and Utah. Over the years Hammer has had the opportunity to paint the scenic areas of Utah, Texas, Missouri and Colorado. Recurring elements in her landscapes are mountains, valleys, rivers and streams as well as oak trees, vineyards, cattle and horses.

It was as a young adult that Hammer took her first art classes in Santa Monica, California. She received an Associate in Science Degree in Commercial Art and an Associate in Art Degree in Photography from Ventura College in Ventura, California. She went on to attend the University of Southern California and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.

In 2013 Hammer was invited to be a guest artist at the Autry Masters of the American West Art Show and since that time has participated in paint-outs sponsored by the Autry Masters program and the California Art Club. Among her many awards are the Best of Show award at the San Dimas National Western Art Exhibition, the Big Four Bridges Art Festival in Louisville, Kentucky and the La Jolla Festival of the Arts. She was awarded a first place at the Beverly Hills Art Show and the Santa Monica Sports and Arts Festival. Annette Hammer was the first artist chosen by the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard, California to be featured in their "Masters in Our Midst" series.

"My desire to capture just a small portion of the eloquence of nature is what keeps me coming back to each new canvas," said Hammer.

Art 2023 Tehachapi will open on the evening of July 21 with a VIP Reception at 5 p.m. at the Aspen Builders Community Center located at 410 W. D St. in Tehachapi. Tickets for the event are $125 and are available now at http://www.Eventbrite.com. Proceeds from the event will go to the casting of a life-size bronze sculpture of a skateboarder to be located at TVRPD headquarters.

Guests will be able to stroll the aisles of juried paintings, speak with Annette Hammer and the other artists and collectors and perhaps purchase a painting while enjoying hors d'oeuvres, drinks from open bars and award-winning wines from Dorner Family Vineyard. During the evening, awards will be presented for Best of Show, Best Landscape, Best Urban Painting and Best Still Life. Returning this year will be Charles Muench, winner of last year's Best of Show "Bear Mountain Overlook."

To be part of this special event on July 21, save the date and purchase your tickets at http://www.Eventbrite.com.