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

The cold, dark night surrounded a small lit-up building. As I stepped in the room I was introduced to the abstract art that shined around me. The sociable atmosphere welcomed me, especially when compared to the harsh weather outside.

This was the ambience when I first came to visit Boling Associates, which is directed by artist and former FC parent Brad Boling, owner of Boling Fine Arts Gallery. Located on Sixth Street in North Fresno, Boling Associates opened in 1980 and added a new venue to the ArtHop community with the opening of Boling Fine Arts Gallery last year.

This small office building was filled with various art, including sculptures and paintings which captivated my attention at first glance. I was later introduced to the director of the gallery by his wife.

Boling tells me he has been friends with painter Paul Zylka since pre-school and invited him to showcase at this particular ArtHop. Zylka later invited sculptor Andrew Ferrales to also show his own art.

For the gallery, Zylka displayed The Galaxy Series, a collection of his paintings. The Galaxy Series was atypical, with each abstract painting having a unique story that involved a particular element. In his painting “Galaxy #2,” Zylka uses four colored squares to symbolize how his wife was in surgery for four days.

Though Zylka’s art is abstract, it is mixed with different types of media because he uses uncommon ingredients in his art such as Post-it notes and non-fat milk. In his painting “Gravity #9,” Zylka uses olive oil to make the paint dribble down the canvass faster. Throughout all of his artwork, Zylka uses an element of science to create unusual depictions of his inner-thoughts.

Not only does Zylka paint, but he is also the owner and art director of Zylka Design. This business provides graphic designs for packaging, corporate communications and advertising. Zylka Design has won numerous regional, state and international awards that include the International Astrid Award, the Readex Advertising Achievement Award and the Excellence in Consumer Communication Award.

Ferrales, new to the Fresno art community, has been sculpting for four years. Before his art career started, Ferrales went to college to major in science, but switched to fine arts to become a painter. In his last year of college he wanted to sculpt because it allows him to create art in three dimension.

In his sculptures Ferrales likes to take basic forms and change the design, creating a negative space in the art. With this element, he is able to make open areas and form a new shape within his piece. Ferrales’s creations are made of steel, but he sometimes adds in some pieces wood and cement to form color contrast.

The pieces at this ArtHop were amazing because they were unique, which made them distinctive to the eye. The ambience of the room was spectacular, but one glance would not do any good since the art was so comprehensive.

Overall, this ArtHop was one of my favorites not only because of the abundance of art in the room, but because each piece was different on its own due to both a great story and science.

For more information about ArtHop, read the Dec. 6 article, Christmas gallery features jovial mood, campus junior.