I love hearing Fair Oakians talk about growing up in Fair Oaks because people take pride in living in Fair Oaks.
One day when I was in the village I met an interesting fellow, Neddy, a local artist who was with some people at the Fair Oaks Coffee House and Deli and happened to be showing one of his works to them. We started talking and I learned that he’s lived in Fair Oaks since 1957. He moved here at 13 years old. He reminisced about riding bikes down to the river and even jumping off the old bridge.
We made plans to meet later that week and he brought some of his paintings to show me. He paints every day. “Easel time,” he calls it. Some of his best work happens by accident, he says. He’s not crazy about realism. “You’ve always got to be looking for something in the subject. You can’t try to make it look exactly like you see it, or you’ll try to be perfect, and that’s not going to happen. Just let it develop.”
Neddy loves hanging out in the Village. He sells some of his paintings at the Village Decor & Antique shop located in Fair Oaks Village directly across the street from the Fair Oaks Village Coffee House & Deli.
If you or someone you know wants to share some stories and photos of Fair Oaks, please get in touch with me at chrysti@ilovefairoaks dot com.
