1941

During her stay at the Vesper George School of Art Garé received several diplomas of which one of the more impressive is shown to the left. She graduated as Best of Five of 96 students. The same year Garé was guest of honour at a party (right) where she exhibited several of her paintings. Among the guests were Governor of the Hawaiian Islands, Joseph B. Poindexter (sitting with Garé behind him), and actress Joan Fontaine (standing to his left).

1965

The greatest recurring event in Hemet, where Carl and Garé lived for many years, is The Ramona Pageant (see more HERE). A connected event is The Hemet Valley Art Association's Festival in Art, an art show which attract artists as well as spectators from far and near. The couple acted as art judges for many years, and Garé would occasionally participate in the art competitions as well. This year the judges' prize went to Gerald Ehlers (left) and his rural scene painting At One Time, while Garé (right) won Popular Vote in the fine arts division with her forest painting Reflections.

1967

At the Californian art shows several prizes were given in different categories, but the most sought-after were the judges' first prize and the public's prize the so-called Popular Vote. To some degree the latter was often considered the more prestigious, because the 'judges' were the spectators at the shows.
In this year Garé participated at Palm Springs Desert Art Center with her painting Sitka Spruce in a gallery show stretching over most of the year and including many of California's bigname artists. In December Garé received the red ribbon for her painting meaning that she ended up second in the Popular Vote category.
The interesting bit is that she happened to sell her painting just a few days before all the votes were in - otherwise she would have won...

1969

One of the most prestigious and well-known galleries in California was the Chriswood Gallery situated in a newly built shopping center at the Rancho California Plaza in Temecula. The gallery was owned by a very active and interested couple, George and Jeanne Woods, and they held several art award shows every year. Also, they were close friends with both Garé and Carl*. Garé exhibited her paintings almost every time, and she would often win in different categories. This is one example:
On October 26, 1969, Garé received second prize (125 dollars in cash) in the Popular Vote competition and the accompanying certificate is seen to the left. Edward Woods received first prize, while another popular contributor, William Shaddix, took third prize.
The photo to the right was taken at the prize ceremony and depicts from left to right: Owner George Woods, presenter George McGaffigan, former vice president of Rancho and, at the time, managing director of the large, newly mergered Kaiser Aetna (a joint real estate venture between Kaiser Aluminum and Aetna Life and Casualty Company), Garé, and co-owner Jeanne Woods. In the foreground are several paintings by Marge Schumacher, one of Garé's close friends.

* George later deplored that he did not - though given the chance - exhibit Carl's first duck paintings for the simple reason that the demand for such work was not big enough!!! But that is another story...

1970

Every year in February since the early 1940s one of the most visited and unique events takes place at the Riverside County's fairgrounds in the city of Indio. The event is named The Riverside County Fair & National Date* Festival, and displays multiple animal shows, exotic animal races, parades, and pageants - and art galleries. This year Garé won first prize for her painting The Aged Woods.

* The term Date refers to the exotic fruit. Indio is to this day widely known as The Date Capital of the United States.