Riverside Painter Donates 18 Art Pieces To Auction

From Friends Of Riverside County Animal Services: Long-time Riverside painter r. mike nichols is the featured artist during this Sunday’s Art for the Animals live auction event. Mr. Nichols donated 18 pieces to this Sunday’s event, scheduled to run 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Showcase at the Fox, located at 3635 Market St.

Mr. Nichols is known for his playful paintings that include floating men, koi ponds where one may not usually think a koi pond should be, stunning animal portraits and hidden gold fish in what are otherwise natural settings.

In additional to his award-winning talent, Mr. Nichols has been very charitable to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services and the Animal Solutions Konnection (ASK) Foundation, an organization that specializes in helping programs benefiting homeless pets that end up in county shelters.

The event is free to attend. The only cost for visitors is whether he or she decides to bid – and ends up with the top bid – on one of the lovely pieces donated by Mr. Nichols and other artists. Some of the donated artwork will be featured on T-shirts for sale from To Die For Clothing. Portions of the T-shirts will funnel back as donations to the ASK Foundation.

“We encourage everyone to come, even if they don’t plan to make a bid, because it’s a lively event and it’s all for a good cause,” Animal Services Director Robert Miller said. “I’ve bid on many pieces myself because the artwork is amazing and I’ve gotten caught up in the spirit of some fun bidding wars.”

Mr. Miller said the event is fortunate to be graced by the amazing talents and personality of Stan Morrison as the auctioneer. Mr. Morrison is a former collegiate basketball coach and served as UC Riverside’s athletic director for 12 years prior to his retirement in 2011.

“Stan Morrison is simply fantastic,” Miller said. “He keeps the room fun, and challenges bidders to up the stakes, all in the name of this great charity event.”

One of the programs the nonprofit ASK Foundation has supported is a volunteer recognition awards dinner, since the volunteers are an integral part of helping homeless pets. The nonprofit charity also coordinates a pet-food giveaway called the ASK Café, a monthly service for needy pet owners. The donated food usually keeps the pet owners with a supply that is good for one month, all in the name of helping these owners maintain ownership of their pets.

The ASK Foundation has also paid for surgeries of pets in need of emergency care or paying for a surgery when a pet has suffered a severe injury to one of its limbs and amputation is recommended.

All the details about the event can be found here: http://www.rcdas.org/index.php/component/k2/item/250-2017-art-for-the-animals-live-art-auction-event.

Image Courtesy Of Friends Of Riverside Animal Services