The six-week-long build-up to the Pacific Grove Art Center's fundraising Patrons Show saw its culmination 2pm Sunday when buyers--about 60 in total--gathered in the David Henry Gill gallery to participate in the 1-to-1 raffle for original works of art, which were hung on the walls surrounding the seated crowd.

The raffle tickets, priced at $50 for Art Center members and $75 for nonmembers, were identified with the buyers' name and contact info, and put into a spinning drum; names were pulled to determine the order in which people would select their paintings. There were 129 works of art up for grabs. A list of the artist names, names of paintings, and medium were handed out so participants could strategize their picks.

The affair took on the rhythm of a ritual. A name was called out. That person called out the number to the painting they wanted. PGAC volunteers took the painting down, attached its number to the frame, and carried it into the Elmarie Dyke Gallery across the hallway for the winner to claim later.

Each drawing piqued its own brand of agitation. At times, when a buyer called out the number of the painting of their choosing, some in the audience expelled remorseful moans, indicating that it had been on their list. At other times, the selections drew surprised murmurs.

Pacific Grove mayor Carmelita Garcia chose a painting that, she said, would go next to the one she picked up last year at the Patrons Show raffle. Forest Theater Guild member Rebecca Barrymore chose a contemporary, jagged canvas painted over with a pair of woman's lips for her daughter, as well as a piece donated by Hauk Fine Arts gallery.

A piece by longtime local artist Rollin Pickford, who died this year and for whom the event was dedicated, went early.

After all the names had been called out, longtime PGAC artist-in-residence and volunteer Connie Pearlstein stood up and announced that her companion had bought two tickets, but her name hadn't been called. John McCleary, husband of outgoing executive director Joan McCleary, offered a consolation that seemed to appease the oversight: The woman could choose three of the available paintings.

Speaking of which, 37 paintings remain of the 129. Joan says that they will be available for purchase for $50 each until Friday, when the new exhibits go up. A bargain for an original work of art that may not only appreciate beyond its raffled value, but may speak directly to the eye (and soul) of the beholder.