By Anne Alvarez

On May 19 Google opened its doors for the second year in a row to host the Venice Family Clinic’s 34th annual Art Walk and Auction, with 100% of the $650,000 proceeds going to fund the VFC, the largest free clinic in the country.

Over the years The Venice Art Walk & Auctions has raised more than $10 million in total in support of its nationally-recognized humanitarianism. The VFC offers a full range of primary, specialty,dental, vision and mental health services to more than 25,000 low-income and uninsured children and adults annually at its nine locations, two of which are in Venice; the others are located in Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Inglewood, and Culver City.

This year’s events included Art & Architecture tours of a selection of art studios and architecturally significant homes, including artists and architects from East and West of Lincoln. One of the main attractions was artist Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran’s Mosaic Tile House located on Palms.

The main event featured live music by various bands, food, drinks and the artwork of more than 350 Southern California artists including: Graphic artist John Van Hamersveld, who has produced posters for Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jefferson Airplane and designed the cover for the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour album. His most famous poster is the iconic “The Endless Summer” movie poster. Van Hamersveld designed this year’s graphic image and logo for the Art Walk.

Also showcased and honored at this year’s event was local artist Larry Bell one, of the most prominent and influential artists to have come out of the Los Angeles art scene in the 1960s.

His works are in public collections throughout the world, including The Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and the Los Angeles County Museum.

The silent auction’s biggest seller was Liz Kraft’s “Weed Couch,” which sold for $22,500. Overall, it was a successful, fun-filled event benefiting the less fortunate members of our society.