Art, Wine & Wheels announces winner of 2026 art contest

Each year the Rotary Club of Mariposa Yosemite invites artists to submit their artwork to represent the group’s annual Art, Wine and Wheels event held on the courthouse lawn on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.

The themes can include art, wine, classic cars, Mariposa history, local scenery, flora, fauna or the Mariposa community. The selected art is used on various promotional materials including postcards, posters, brochures and social media.

The winning artist receives a complimentary booth space at the event and will be credited in all promotional materials.

This year’s featured artist is Hannelore Fischer with her 22” x 16” acrylic on canvas, “Art, Wine & Wheels 2026.”

Fischer was born and raised in Germany. She has had a dual art career in graphic design and fine art and is best known for her bold and colorful abstract paintings inspired by nature.

The Art, Wine & Wheels competition led her to celebrate the beauty of the foothills in spring with a vibrant composition of her favorite wine, bright poppies in the canyon and a fictitious red Chevy from the 60s in an elaborate gold frame to honor the arts.

In 1973, she began working as a graphic designer in Stuttgart, then joined a coop gallery “Gruppe J’73,” mentored by Fritz Baumgartner, an Austrian Bauhaus Modernist.

In 1978, she emigrated to the United States and continued her career in graphic design and as a fine artist. In recent years she has honed her technique into a layered signature style with small brush marks and stipple dots, reminiscent of pointillism.

Her not-so-evenly applied dots, circles and marks synthesize into shapes in a symphony of colors. In 1987, she began her formal art education which culminated in a BFA in Fine Arts at UC Davis in 1998 and an MFA in Studio Arts/Arts and Consciousness at John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, in 2004.

She taught Art & Design at the Napa Community College (2005-2006) as well as her own series of “Art & Soul Journeys” at Bay Area Art Centers and out of her studio. Fischer has exhibited her art in Germany, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Texas and Montana and has won numerous awards.

She loves to paint in her newly built octagonal studio in Mariposa and is active in the local art scene. She is currently represented by Williams Gallery West in Oakhurst, Golden Pine Gallery in Idyllwild, Calif., and is a member of the Sierra Artists’ Coop Gallery in Mariposa.

She is also an active member of Yosemite Sierra Artists, the Carnegie Center for the Arts and the Highland Art Center in Weaverville, Calif. In addition to painting, she is fond of clay. Recently she has taught classes on wild crafting clay, hand-building and pit firing.

Visit www.artsouljourneys.com or www.facebook.com/artsouljourneys for more information.

The 29h Annual Art, Wine & Wheels event is on Saturday, May 23 on the Mariposa County Courthouse lawn. This popular annual event features regional wines, a custom 1850 brew, local artists and artisans, custom cars and tasty food from six of the area’s finest food trucks.

Applications for artist/artisan booth spaces are available online at www.mariposayosemiterotary.org/art-winewheels 2024.

Interested wineries, classic car owners should contact Rotary via email at ArtWineWheels@MariposaRotary.org or fill out an online application.