Thank You

Thanks to all that visited me last night at Gallery 113. It was a fabulous evening. I've nearly lost my voice from some much conversation. Notice the blurry photo. I was a bit nervous before guests arrived, my hand was shaky. My first visitors calmed me. Thanks Leigh, Meggi and Lori!! You're the best. 

Tonight's The Night, Under The Full Moon

Moon Track, 9 x 12", $600

It's going to be a beautiful evening for First Thursday tonight. We are just a day away from the  Awakening Full Moon. The evening should be warm. A lovely night for a stroll. See you at Gallery 113!

Gallery 113, La Arcada, 1114 State Street, Santa Barbara. 5 - 8 pm.

Perched on a Parking Lot

Up Fig, 12 x 9", $600

Santa Barbara is truly a beautiful city. For years I have taken note that some of the best views are from the top floors of the downtown parking lots. Here is a painting I did recently from the parking lot at Anacapa and Figueroa Street. I was spying from above. So fun to experience the city transform from day to night while the moon rose over the mountains. You can bet I will be doing it again!
This painting along with other is currently on display at Gallery 113. If you are out and about, stop by on First Thursday, April 5.

Gallery 113, La Arcada, 1114 State Street, Santa Barbara.

Skid Rose

Moon And Rose, 9" x 12", $600

Beauty in an unexpected place... a moonrise over the Roselyn Hotel and Skid Row. This and other LA & SB Paintings are hanging in Gallery 113, now through April 27.

Join me and fellow artists Debbie Watts, Jannelle Taylor, Karen Schroeder, Lee Coulter, Carol Lazar, and Michael Fisher this Thursday night, April 5, from 5:00 - 8:00, for the gallery's First Thursday reception. The work is outstanding. I am thrilled to be part of this gallery collection for the month of April.

Gallery 113, La Arcada, 1114 State Street, Santa Barbara.

Big City

From The Hill, 9" x 12", $650

Los Angeles is my home town. I grew up there, went to college and finally made my escape in the mid eighties. After making Santa Barbara my home for the past twenty-four years, I feel the pull back to my hometown. I'm inspired by the unique light that the air pollution creates; the chaos of the sounds, shapes, textures; and the multi-cultural Angelino buzz. 

This painting, among others, will be on display at Gallery 113 for the month of April. Stop by on First Thursday, April 5. 

Gallery 113, La Arcada, 1114 State Street, Santa Barbara.

Malibu Memories

Malibu Magic Moment, 9 x 12

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley. A Valley Girl. When I was a kiddo my parents would gather my brother and I up in the station wagon and head through Malibu Canyon to the beach. Nearly through the canyon, it was with great anticipation that we got our first peek of the ocean. Was it foggy or clear! Oh, how overjoyed I would be if I could see the clear blue sky. I have decades of memories of epic sunny beach days from Santa Monica - Station 8! - to Zuma Beach.
Years later, my high school friends and I would pile in a car and head to Zuma ( hey BC's!). Those days were bitchen. We use to say bitchen, not awesome.
When I was in college at Cal State Northridge, I would go to Malibu alone to read, study, and photograph. I found the late afternoons to be particularly moving. The long shadows and warm late-afternoon light always lured me to stop the car and watch transformation from day to evening. This was long before I learned to paint. I was simply seduced by the transformation.
It was with great joy that I had the opportunity to return recently to my old stomping grounds and paint the late afternoon at the Malibu Lagoon. There is now a lovely path through the creek area affording this great view looking Southeast towards Santa Monica.
I'll be back.

Serendipitous Surf Story

Get on down to the Faulkner Gallery before the end of March for the Surfrider Foundation Benefit show by SCAPE. I've got a painting hanging in this fun show. More importantly, I encourage you to see two gorgeous paintings created by my friend John Rindlaub. His works, "Christy's Beach" and "Twilight at Hendry's Beach" have won three awards between them. That is crazy great! Congratulations, John.
At the show John saw my painting, "Barns With A View", and thought the scene was familiar. So he checked out his photo archives and discovered that knew the scene and -- this is the serendipitous part -- he took this snapshot while driving (don't tattle on him) and caught ME the day I was painting. What are the chances that he would take a picture of me painting this scene last summer, and the resulting piece hanging alongside his award-winning pieces in the Surfrider Foundation Benefit show?

Barns With A View, 12 x 16, oil, $950

Can you see me in the shadows?