During the Hemet years Barks was not known for his art interests, but his painting wife Garé was! Being well known in art circles she was probably the cause that the couple were invited to be judges of several art contests at galleries and county fairs. This example originates from 1954.
The leftmost photo shows them standing to the far left after having chosen a winner at the annual Junior Woman's Art Exhibit in Hemet. The rightmost photo is from the same exhibit with the couple to the left (Garé was credited as Mrs. Gari Carroll...). They are having a heated dispute with a Mr. J.B. Gafford over surrealism and that kind of 'different painting' (quoted from the Hemet News) caused by the fact that one of the artists, Sandy McOwen, had entered such a painting. He was 9 at the time...

Barks was an often sought after judge for another recurring event - beauty contests. This example (were Barks is standing in the background in the rightmost photo) comes from 1950, in which 17-year old Miss Connie Lindsay became the new Miss Hemet. Barks was one of three judges and the 9 contestants were judged on their appearance in street clothes and bathing suits.
For those specially interested, Miss Lindsay was still attending high school, she had no plans of marrying, her hobbies were knitting and sewing, and her measurements were 34-24-36 inches...