Artists Guild

Connecting people with artists!

Artists Guild is a group of artists that literally pop up at various locations all across the bay area. I came across them, purely by chance. I am living in LA these days and I was up in SF with my gf. We decided to go Golden Gate Park for the day and there was the Artists Guild. They were over half a dozen different artists of different styles, mostly painters but there was one sculptor. I was immediately drawn to one of the artists, Asha Menghrajani. She did some amazing abstracts and cityscapes. I chatted with her for a while and a couple months later I decided to commission a piece from her, a cityscape of San Francisco which turned out stunning. I get compliments on it whenever anyone comes over to my place. I am so happy to have come across the Artists Guild and to have had the pleasure of meeting Asha.

Since 2003 I’ve been showing with the Artists’ Guild of San Francisco, and I really love this organization! It’s a fantastic way for artists to get out of the studio and interact with the art-​loving public. The Guild does not allow commercial reproductions of artwork and strongly enforces the ethos of artists making art that is personal and sincere. Many art festivals do not do this, so you find yourself selling originals in a land of giclee prints and very commercial art. This is very frustrating because sometimes art-​buyers don’t really understand the difference. If you are looking for original artwork and see the value in that, there is no better place to shop for art!

These guys pop up all over the city, showing their work outdoors in parks and public venues like Union Square. It’s great to meet the artists in person, out in the open, instead of just seeing pieces in a gallery (and paying gallery prices!). The work is gallery-​quality though, for sure – no Fisherman’s Wharf caricaturists here. Abstracts, landscapes, still lifes, you name it.

It’s like an alfresco museum that travels! It’s an artist-​run collective that shows in several outdoor venues within San Francisco – Union Square, the Marina Green, Washington Square Park, and sometimes Huntington Square Park in Nob Hill, or across from the De Young in Golden Gate Park. It’s mostly painters, with the occasional sculptor thrown in. The prices are good, and the artists get most of what you pay, rather than giving a big percentage to a gallery.
Hit up their site to see where they’re showing – fun to go and hang out, bring a picnic, bottle of wine, people watch and get some culture. If the weather looks gray, call their phone number for to see if they’re going to show or to cancel that day.