Category Archives: Music

11 Art Banners at Jazz in the Pines Idyllwild

Miles Davis by Gawecki. Whenever I hear "Kind of Blue," I know everything's going to be OK.

Miles Davis by Gawecki. Whenever I hear “Kind of Blue,” I know everything’s going to be OK.

This year at Jazz in the Pines in Idyllwild, 11 bright hand-painted banners will be decorating the French Quarter and near the main stage. Many of the jazz musicians featured on the door-sized banners are locals, including musical director Marshall Hawkins, the late crooner, Herb Jeffries who had a home here, and vocalist/pianist Yve Evans, who lives in Palm Springs.

Musical director Marshall Hawkins being painted on Gawecki's kitchen floor.

Musical director Marshall Hawkins being painted on Gawecki’s kitchen floor.

Bassist/singer Casey Abrams, who wowed on American Idol three years ago, Caleb Hensinger, a trumpet player and Graham Dechter, jazz guitar, were Idyllwild Arts Academy graduates. Abrams will appear with Hawkins on the main stage at 4:15 p.m. today (Sunday).

Jazz guitarist Graham Dechter in process. He is an Idyllwild Arts graduate.

Jazz guitarist Graham Dechter in process. He is an Idyllwild Arts graduate.

Hensinger was a scholarship student who is studying at Berklee in Boston. Jazz in the Pines is a fundraiser for student scholarships at the Idyllwild Arts Academy and Summer Program.

Jazz banner of Etta James by Gawecki who saw her perform at the Chicago Theater with BB King.

Jazz banner of Etta James by Gawecki who saw her perform at the Chicago Theater with BB King.

Other banners at the festival include jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Etta James. All the banners were created on tab-topped cotton curtains with acrylic paint from the hardware store. Local artist Marcia Gawecki, who worked as a van driver at Idyllwild Arts for five years, likes using bright Behr mistints like seafoam green and neon pink.

This is Gawecki's fifth image of Marshall Hawkins. No. 6 is near the main stage.

This is Gawecki’s fifth image of Marshall Hawkins. No. 6 is near the main stage.

She paints on her kitchen floor in Idyllwild. It’s the only available space for the large banners. Outside on the deck, pine needles rain down and bugs meet a sudden death with the paint.

The large banner of Casey Abrams was painted during his time on American Idol.

The large banner of Casey Abrams was painted during his time on American Idol.

This is the first time Gawecki has shown all 11 banners together in an outdoor space. She hopes to showcase them all together at a gallery this year. Three of the 11 were purchased by locals, including Anne Finch, co-chair for this year’s jazz committee, and Pam Pierce, Casey Abrams’ mother. Celebrities who own Gawecki’s banners and paintings include comedian Bill Cosby, rock flutist Tim Weisberg and President Barack Obama. Gawecki sent Obama a T-shirt a few years ago, and his framed thank-you note hangs in her home.

After the jazz fest, Gawecki hopes to sell eight of the original banners which range in price from $500 to $800. For more information, call (951) 265-6755.

Yep, Another Marshall Hawkins Banner

First image of Marshall Hawkins for Town Jazz

First image of Marshall Hawkins for Town Jazz

Marshall Hawkins,  head of the Jazz Department at Idyllwild Arts, is back as Musical Director for Jazz in the Pines held this year in Idyllwild on August 16-17. Just the other night (during a break playing at Cafe Aroma) he asked me to head up his booth at the festival.

I was thrilled mostly because we’d be continuing our long relationship with jazz and art. When Marshall headed up the Town Jazz event for two years in Idyllwild, I illustrated the image for the T-shirts and posters. Then when that ended, I continued to paint banners of him and sell prints at the Acorn Gallery (next to Cafe Aroma) where I work and paint.

Casey-Marshall T-shirts in seafoam green are for sale for $15 at Acorn Gallery

Casey-Marshall T-shirts in seafoam green are for sale for $15 at Acorn Gallery

Marshall also had the great idea to make a Casey Abrams-Marshall Hawkins T-shirt. Casey did great on “American Idol” and post-Idol is performing all over the country new songs, such as “Cougar Town.”

He’s also acting in an Indie movie with some big-name stars. I remember seeing Casey in a student short called, “18 Minutes.” He played the son of a guy who was going mad (played by Chris Pennock from “Dark Shadows” fame). Casey was about 15 years old at the time, with chubby cheeks and red curly hair. No beard was around then, but you could tell that he had acting talent. I had always thought he should be in the movies. He was so natural and funny doing those Ford commercials on “American Idol.”

Anyway, we printed the Casey-Marshall T-shirts, and would sell them at Casey’s concerts at the Hemet Theater and other events. We had them printed at Desert Arc in seafoam green and black. Proceeds from the $15 sale price go to Seahawk MOJO, Marshall’s charity for putting jazz music in the grade schools.

Prints of Marshall Hawkins are on sale at the Acorn Gallery in Idyllwild

Prints of Marshall Hawkins are on sale at the Acorn Gallery in Idyllwild

The last of the Casey-Marshall T-shirts are for sale at the Acorn Gallery, and lately, they’ve been selling to an unlikely group–Seattle Seahawk fans who don’t know Casey or Marshall, but like the name of his charity, Seahawk MOJO.

This year, at Marshall’s booth at Jazz in the Pines, he will be selling some of his CDs, which are currently in the works, he tells me. Last year, when I sold the Casey-Marshall T-shirts everyone asked about Marshall CDs. As a teacher and performer, it’s hard to find time to record your own music.

“Now everything is coming together,” Marshall says.

So, at the booth, they’ll be Marshall’s CDs, and my Pop-Art style artwork. I’ll include images of Miles Davis because Marshall used to play with Miles Davis. A photo showing the two of them performing is on display at Cafe Aroma.

Miles Davis by Gawecki. Whenever I hear "Kind of Blue," I know everything's going to be OK.

Miles Davis by Gawecki. Whenever I hear “Kind of Blue,” I know everything’s going to be OK.

Miles Davis is one of my favorites. Whenever I hear, “Kind of Blue,” I know that everything is going to be all right.

I will also have images of Yve Evans, a talented singer from Palm Springs, who is a friend of Marshall’s. I painted a banner of Yve for my one-woman art show two years ago at Cafe Aroma, and Anne Finch purchased it. I think it may be hanging in her sound studio.

The smaller image that I painted of Yve this year is more Expressionistic than Pop Art, and makes her look more like a warrior. Marshall saw it and approved. Anne didn’t like it so well. I may make some posters of that image since she is popular.

This is my fifth image of Marshall Hawkins.

This is my fifth image of Marshall Hawkins.

I’m also painting a huge banner of Marshall Hawkins. I may use it as a backdrop at the booth, so there’s no mistaking where Marshall items will be sold at the jazz fest. Or, I may loan it out to another project, but that one’s “under wraps” for now.

Anyway, since this is my sixth image of Marshall in the past few years, I hope that I can bring a new freshness to his image. I also hope that Marshall’s wife doesn’t think that I have a crush on him. Frankly, I’d wonder why a local artist was doing so many images of my husband!

I like and respect Marshall, and he heartily promotes my art, so I guess you could call him my “muse.”

Because good things happen with my art when he’s around!

Copyright 2014 Marcia Gawecki Art. All rights reserved.