Sherri Linnemeyer’s work are mainstays for The Little Big Show, which opens Aug. 2, 2024, in Baker City.

BAKER CITY — Ready for a scavenger hunt?

Every year in early August, art collectors scour local shops in search of the perfect piece of art — and some people even send friends to other locations if they are after a particular painting.

The Little Big Show welcomes artists to create small works on a wooden canvas that measures eight inches square. Then, each piece is priced at $45 and scattered among the venues. A portion of each sale is donated to a local charity:

• The Cheese Fairy: Old Ways Cheese Coalition
• Churchill Hall Pass Gallery: KBZR Baker Broadcasting
• Crossroads Carnegie Art Center: ArtSpeak
• Royal Artisan Gallery: Baker Orpheum Theatre
• Sweet Wife Baking: MayDay, Inc.

If a collector is searching for a specific artist, it might take some work to find the painting — before someone else buys it off the wall.

“My favorite thing about The Little Big Show is how artists use it as an opportunity to make art that is unique and different from what they might normally do in their studios,” said local artist Brian Vegter. “I am also honored to see how many artists continue to participate after all these years and how new artists take part as well. It’s great for the artists and for the charities that the galleries choose to benefit from the art sold.”

He works with Sherri Linnemeyer to organize the show, which starts months in advance to encourage artists to pick up the canvases.

“I couldn’t do it without Sherri,” Vegter said. “She’s the heart and soul of all the organization that happens behind the scenes.”

The Little Big Show opens on Friday, Aug. 2, for the traditional First Friday art walk. Each location will start selling the art at 5:30 p.m.

This year’s show features 76 artists and who picked up 400 blank boards. Artwork was submitted by professional and amateur artists of all ages.

“It’s such a wonderful opportunity for artists of any level of traditional art training — or no art training at all! — to show the world the varied possibilities of artistic expression, to maybe try out new ideas, or fully develop ideas on a small scale,” said Judith Stoffer, who has been a professional artist for most of her life.

She said The Little Big Show is a great chance to enter an art show.

“Young artists, or young people who imagine that they might be artists, are given the most risk-free chance to try it out for themselves and get the much-needed feedback and encouragement from family, friends, neighbors and all those who share our beautiful Baker Valley art scene — and make a little money from their creations,” Stoffer said.

She’s seen how the community collects art year after year from this show.

“Because the artists are local, buyers often know them personally and have an opportunity to build their own collection by buying additional pieces, year after year, from their favorite artists,” she said.

First Friday art walk

In addition to The Little Big Show, check out these other art openings:

Royal Artisan: Tissue art by Sherri Linnemeyer and a celebration of Royal Artisan’s anniversary with cake and music by D’Club L’Eveque.

Crossroads Carnegie Art Center: Crossroads will open a traveling photography exhibit by RJ Kern, a National Geographic photographer who focuses on the 4-H community and displays portraits of the unchosen contestants beside their animals. He makes future/past comparisons with each contestant by setting another photograph taken four years later side by side to reveal how the children/animals have changed over time. The center will also feature “Bountiful Baker” that celebrates local 3D artists.

Baker Food Co-op: Pottery by Dori Kite, 4-7 p.m.