Celebrating the Heritage and Practices of Traditional Fine Arts Worldwide
Exhibitions
Welcome to California
Welcome to California features small works of iconic images of the Golden State, from pristine landscapes and seascapes to figurative works and still lifes. The exhibition concludes on Friday, January 29. All artwork is framed and available for acquisition. See Terms of Sale.
Art enthusiasts who purchase $500 of artwork from the exhibition will receive a gift certificate for a complimentary one-year membership at either the Associate Artist or Patron level for a new member. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these works will benefit the organization’s arts educational programming.
Opening day for the exhibition, Sunday, November 29, is being celebrated as the first Artists Sunday, a nationwide event encouraging consumers to shop with artists and craftsmen. It’s like Black Friday, but for art. More information can be found here.
Surfers Point Beach, Ventura, "The rock stacks are real, and painted just as I found them (didn’t stack them myself). The surfers were there waiting for a good wave, and Anacapa Island is in the distance."
Great Rock State Beach, Jenner, "When one thinks of California, it's impossible not to think of the long and beautiful coastline, iconic for our wonderful state. Any visitor to California simply has to visit the coast. This painting is from one of my favorite places, Goat Rock State Beach in Sonoma County. It is a lovely and uncrowded beach that, as a bonus, is dog-friendly! Many happy memories there."
Mendocino, "MacKerricher State Park and Beach, just north of Mendocino, CA, was my painting site for this work, a site unique for its cool California coast, lagoon, forests, and wildlife. It was the peacefulness of this Northern California coastal scene that I wished to evoke, contrasting the cool colors of the sky and sea with the warmth of the brush and rocks. Acrylic was the perfect medium to use for layering techniques. The park extends approximately nine miles along the coast. The shoreline of its southern portion comprises rocky headlands, separated by sandy beaches and coves, while miles of gently sloping beach make up the northern half. Harbor seals and migrating gray whales can be seen from the beach."
Sparkling Spooners Cove (Montana De Oro State Park)
Oil on board, 9" x 12", $800
Los Osos, "This locale of our glorious Central Coast has been a magnet luring artists to paint here from all over California. Its visual magic and diversity of scenery mesmerized me since the early 80s when I first visited Montana De Oro, the 'Mountains of Gold' with my young family. So acquiring a vacation home nearby, I return again and again to be enchanted by these cliffs of gold to capture the ethereal allure of this stunning 'pageant of beauty' on the ever-developing stage of life."
Big Sur, "On a private cove in Big Sur, there is a massive basalt rock formation called Temple Rock. It is a remnant from the same volcanic period that formed Morro Rock in Morro Bay about 23 million years ago. A large portion of The Temple hovers just at the shoreline, creating a tide pool chamber that periodically floods, forming a shallow pool, and drains, exposing a glistening, iridescent world of anemones, starfish, crabs and sea plants. Many of these are tinged a teal color from abundant deposits of serpentine, which is the state rock of California. Temple Rock is a monolithic totem to the cliffs and vibrant sea life of the Big Sur coast."
Santa Barbara, "Evenings in Santa Barbara provide sparkling sunsets that inspire me and other artists to replicate nature’s beauty. On this November afternoon, the sun danced through the clouds and kissed the surf with warm light. How fortunate we are to live near the west coast of California and see these glorious and powerful light shows."
Malibu, "As a plein air artist, I work to capture our unique Southern California sunlight in my artwork and that is especially true of my beach paintings. The desire to recreate the way our moist coastal air softens shapes and diffuses color keeps me coming back to paint our local cliffs and beaches.
Painting at Malibu’s El Matador Beach is an artist’s dream with the sun and soft air adding a soft glow to the surf and sand. The beach is named for the large rock that resembles a bull with its head down ready to charge, and the trail above the beach provides miles of beautiful California vistas in both directions. It was a bit of a drive along Pacific Coast Highway to reach El Matador, but it was well worth the trip and I look forward to the many future paintings waiting for me there."
Garrapata State Beach, "One can observe or paint the spectacular central California coast along the Garrapata State Beach area for a lifetime. At times, the waves crash against the rocky cliffs as high as 100 feet in the air."
California coastline near Big Sur, "I made a conscious decision to contribute beauty to the world through my art. I paint light reflecting on water vapor and dust because I find it to be beautiful. Throughout history, philosophers, scientists, and artists have looked to the skies to gain a sense of order and meaning. The heavens represented spirituality. Along with order and predictability, skies hold the opposite. Cloud composition and colors are ephemeral. Sunrises, storms, wind, sunny days, sunsets never look the same from day to day–even when you watch from one spot for 20 years. Yet, the beginning and end of the day, marked by seeing activity in the skies, is constant. Our daily lives can be upended so easily, whether it be by a virus, war, natural disaster. However, the sun will rise in the morning and will set at night. And it will be beautiful to watch."
Martin's Beach, Half Moon Bay, "As an plein air artist and native Californian, I love the variety of landscapes our state has to offer. Even after many years of living here, there are still so many places yet to be explored. Martin’s Beach was one of those for me—an incredible, hidden spot along the coast with equal amounts of majesty and controversy."
Big Sur, "Big Sur is one of my favorite places to plein air paint on the Central Coast of California. It has a feeling of massive scale: Steep, high cliffs, towering redwoods, rocky beaches, and the mercurial Pacific Ocean with its horizon that represents freedom and limitless possibility to me. Big Sur is pristine and undeveloped. The dramatic, rugged bluffs that rise from the ocean captivate and challenge me as an artist. The waves crash in and are always in motion, at once transparent and reflective, in shadow and light, alive with energy and movement. I always feel so lucky to be able to be out there on the sand or on the bluff with my easel, canvas, and brushes, experiencing and making my best effort to communicate the wild vibrant, the beauty of Big Sur, California."
Cambria, "A Blustery Day in Cambria was inspired by the California Art Club’s virtual demonstration of seascapes by Michael Obermeyer. In his seascape of the Laguna coast, he laid on paint with a palette knife, sculpting the thick, buttery paint and finishing it with skilled brushwork. I wanted to try this technique, but traveling to the coast wasn’t possible for me at the time.
In May 2019, I joined Laurie Hendricks for a plein air workshop in Cambria. I painted a color study of the Cambria coast from Leffingwell Landing that I’d always intended to reproduce. I used this study plus photos I’d taken to experiment with Obermeyer’s techniques.
The challenges of 2020 hold a silver lining for me—the opportunity to take part in distant virtual demonstrations, paint-outs, and workshops. Observing accomplished artists share their creative process has helped me focus and fine-tune my painting."
Coast near Sea Ranch, "Since the mid-1990s, I have made many road trips from my home in Santa Fe, NM, to explore, paint, visit friends, and to attend exhibitions in which I have participated. I have visited many parts of the state on these journeys and have had amazing and wonderful adventures. California has welcomed me with an endless variety of stunning inland and ocean landscapes and weather, as well as, interesting towns and cities with their many attractions.
One very foggy morning after I had spent the night in Gualala, I slowly made my way down the coast, stopping often to hike and breathe in the sea air.I grew up and have spent many years and seasons on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and have always loved fog. Just as I came upon this spot the fog lifted, revealing the beautiful and sunny seaside bluff that became the subject for this painting."
Laguna Beach, Aliso Afternoon depicts the sculpted rocks of a bluff standing against the force of the Pacific Ocean in Laguna Beach.
The earthquakes in California have shaped the topography of the state nowhere more than at its coast with the ancient actions of uplift and thrust are exposed.
The water reveals shapes eons in the making and makes me feel like a tiny moment in the history of the land."
Pescadero (between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, "On the Pacific Coast south of Pescadero, California, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco, stands Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Along with Point Arena, it is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. Constructed in 1871, it has served as a guide for ships approaching the San Francisco Bay from the south and is still in use today as a Coast Guard aid. Pigeon Point Lighthouse is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and in 1980 became a California Historical Landmark."
Point Lobos State Park, Carmel, "China Cove at Point Lobos State Park has so many iconic scenes to offer. Walking south from the cove, this vista takes in the hills of Carmel Highlands while one looks down at this perfectly formed arch. Seabirds abound and surround this enchanting locale. A sense of serenity and happiness encompasses the lucky viewer."
Point Lobos, "Point Lobos is one of the most beautiful and magical places on the planet. I never get tired of going there, to delight in its beauty, walk its paths, and create memories to bring back to my studio to paint. My painting of Bluefish Cove is the result of one of those rambles along the North Shore trail that winds along the perimeter of the cove. The cliff view I’ve shown is what you see by standing on the western side of the cove, looking toward its eastern side. I paint the things I love and the places I want to be. This is one of them."
Bean Hollow State Park, "The California coast is so magnificently diverse, as are our residents. This section, between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, often has morning fog that gives it such a calm feel even with the crashing waves. I tried to capture it in this painting."
