The Fresno Arts Council sponsors ArtHop, an event which educates the community about the local arts. In this column, junior Dana King chronicles her twice-a-month visits to ArtHop.

This week, I visited the North ArtHop for the second time. I had originally planned on visiting a new gallery, but unfortunately the Christmas season made for a limited number of open venues. As a result, I revisited the Diamond Gallery, which was showcasing artist David Michael Arrigoni.

Arrigoni first began painting on the weekends when he worked as an electrical engineer. For his first work of art, Arrigoni sculpted clay on canvas to resemble the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge in 1954. The piece was classic-looking and resembled works of Thomas Kinkade.

In the 1960-70s, Arrigoni changed his style completely and used more bright colors.

Now, he has the opportunity to paint full-time after retiring from his job. Many of Arrigoni’s creations tend to represent themes, with flowers serving as the 2010 theme. Arrigoni says his inspiration for each flower painting is different, but that each one has a story behind it.

In addition, Arrigoni puts a ladybug on each flower painting, adding a unique touch to his work. According to his website, “Folklore says if a ladybug lands on you, make a wish, then ‘blow it away back home’ for the wish to come true. You will find a ladybug somewhere in all my flower paintings.'”

Every one of Arrigoni’s paintings is computer copied using a technique called gicle