If you think Sacramento's Second Saturday Art Walk has become too busy for its britches, you're not alone. Of course, those of us who secretly wish we lived in larger cities relish the sardine-pack sidewalks, the strange conversations, curious smells and fascinating social Petri dish the monthly event has cultured.

But those veteran purists who were content with a smaller, more intimate Sacramento art scene have begun traveling outward, toward the city's creative back pockets – such areas as Del Paso Boulevard in North Sacramento, West Sacramento, Roseville and Davis, where art and art alone is the point of focus.

If you belong to the latter category of art enthusiasts, now is the time to visit the town of Loomis in Placer County, home to numerous artists who derive inspiration from the area's rolling hills, country roads and agricultural abundance.

Within the past five years, the Loomis Art Loop Open Studio Tour has drawn large crowds from the Bay Area, El Dorado County and Sacramento for Mother's Day weekend each May. A human-scale, multi- media art exhibit that leads visitors on a free tour through the studios of area artists, the event has been so successful in its mission of highlighting local art that the small group of Placer County artists who organize it is initiating the Fall Weekend Studio Tour, scheduled Saturday and Sunday.

"There's something new that's happening in Loomis," says Paula Amerine, a still-life painter who has participated in all five Loomis Loops to date.

"In the past few years, the area of Loomis has become very supportive of the arts. We're still on the cusp of this evolution … but the Loomis Loop was the beginning of people getting out and connecting with local art."

One contributing factor to Loomis' renaissance in artistry, according to Amerine, is the recent opening of the High Hand Gallery, a co-op space inside one of the town's beautifully restored fruit sheds that showcases the best of Placer County's artworks. The mixed-use project also houses a nursery and a restaurant featuring locally grown products.

"People come here for the Art Loop weekend and make a day out of exploring the Loomis basin," says Amerine. "You can have brunch or lunch at the High Hand (Conservatory and) Cafe, then wind through downtown and the countryside on the Open Studios Tour. We purposefully limit the number of exhibiting artists so that people can complete the loop in a day. It's really a lovely, relaxing experience."

Especially considering that parking is free, and available virtually everywhere.

Really, truly, it's as easy as that, which makes this "art ride" an anticipated event for those who can do without Second Saturday's flying beer cans and honking cars. Attendees can print an event map from the Loomis Art Loop Web site (www.loomisartloop.com), using it as a guide as they weave between idyllic artist outposts, stopping along the way for a bite to eat or a moment of meditation among the turning leaves and crisp autumn air.

In its entirety, the Fall Weekend Studio Tour features eight studios, many of them grouped in pairs due to their walking- distance proximities.

Amerine shares a studio map stop with jewelry artist John Horton, whose 40-acre Horton Iris Garden houses artist studios that are nestled among a grove of heritage oaks, pet chickens and a pumpkin patch.

After a leisurely drive across serene country roads and into downtown Loomis, participants can visit the charming studios of ceramic and stoneware artist Millie Beatie.

"People can walk right in and see where she stores her glazes and how she builds her vessels of clay," Amerine says.

Each of the artists will be on location inside their respective studios to greet passers-by, provide demonstrations and answer questions about their works, which range from ceramic art and sculptures to relief prints and watercolor paintings. Children are encouraged to attend the Loop, too, especially since many of the participating artists are former or current teachers.

"I love to sit and talk to people while I'm painting!" says Amerine, who recently retired from teaching art classes at Del Oro High School.

For adults, the allure of the event isn't just in its effortless accessibility, but in being able to view (and pluck) art pieces from their very origin, like a pumpkin from Mr. Horton's patch.

"My work is based on local agriculture – fruit, in particular – and living in this area certainly contributes to enjoying being an artist, and enjoying working in your studio," Amerine says. "We are very fortunate. Sometimes I feel like we live in a paradise."