Chocolate, yummmm. Rich. Smooth. Stimulating. I think of chocolate: the mouth-filling taste, the heavy aroma, and I want to run out and buy ... an oil painting?

Wait, maybe this marketing thing works the other way around. What about ...

The young woman raises her arm, shielding her eyes from the radiance of Maui's Baldwin Beach. Her sun-kissed skin is smooth, bronze, aglow with health. She pauses at water's edge, a little flirty, a tad coy, a golden girl framed by golden sands and sun-spangled waves.

I look at this vision on canvas and I yearn for ... chocolate?

Again, not exactly. But Kim Starr's Maui Mint Chocolate bars are a happy and successful conjunction of three of this artist's loves: design, packaging, and chocolate.

Starr is a contemporary artist whose husband, Pat McIntire, affably explains how her degrees in illustration and advertizing eventually led the artist to create a body of work in the style of romantic realism. The pallette and the subject matter of Starr's paintings are redolent of the islands, with wonderful details in the thin strap of a dress, or a box lovingly wrapped with a thick swirl of ribbon.

“Kim is all about packaging,” he says.

During recent conversations, McIntire talked about their decision to work with a long-time chocolate maker from Vermont, using three of Starr's paintings as the design base for three, deliciously distinctive chocolate wrappers.

“We've really only been marketing the dark chocolate bars since mid-November, and are finding a niche market,” says McIntire. He relates the story of one fan who purchased the chocolate, and then had the wrapper mounted and framed.

“I should have thought of that,” he admits.

Kim Starr developed her art on both Kauai and Maui, where she owned and operated a gallery. Today, she lives and works in Washington, and both her paintings and her chocolate bars may be enjoyed locally at Gallery280 in North Bend.

Using a different marketing gambit, Richard Rahmlow, the current owner of Bandon's Second Street Gallery, has invited the public to both observe and converse with artists during this summer's “Experience Art” series.

Rahmlow invited North Bend marine artist Don McMichael to kick off his “Meet & Greet” program tonight at the Old Town Bandon gallery. The reception is slated for 6:30 to 8 p.m., but McMichael will also return on Saturday, when he is expected to unveil new work, talk with visitors, autograph posters, and paint.

The popular artist will provide an on-site demonstration, answering questions as he works on a canvas, an activity Rahmlow believes will lead the public toward a greater appreciation of art.

“I'm always trying to bring original art to the public,” says Rahmlow, a photographer. He recently hosted an elementary school class at the gallery, leading the pupils in what he described as a lively discussion about originality in art, and the diversity of media available today.

The “Meet & Greet the Artist Summer Series” will continue every Saturday, featuring a different artist each week. Dutch Mostert will be the focus of a second evening reception scheduled for July 6; his watercolor technique demo will follow on July 7.

According to Rahmlow, the wait list for next summer's show-and-tell series contains enough names to fill the three-month calendar. The 20 artists already on the books for 2007 are prepping their vocal chords and packing their art supplies. Perhaps they'll also include some high energy snacks.

Chocolate, anyone?

Teri Albert reviews art and artists for The World. Comments on or story ideas for this column are welcome, and can be

e-mailed to malbert@uci.net.