Tag archives: art

Call it a Comeback
By Richard Mineards   |   April 1, 2021

Montecito artist Allison Armour, whose huge global figures have been collected by former Beatle Ringo Starr and even Russian President Vladimir Putin, is getting back to prominence in Goleta, and I’m delighted to hear it. Eight years ago, Goleta Valley Hospital held a competition for a new art installation outside the complex and Allison’s work […]

Capturing the Bronze: Sculptor Susan Read Cronin Brings Whimsy to Montecito
By Zach Rosen   |   April 1, 2021

Whether it is painting, sculpting, or writing, the creative arts offer an opportunity to express oneself.  For Susan Read Cronin, or Susie as she prefers to be called, her extensive body of whimsical bronze sculptures have led to a lifetime of play. She was born on the north shore of Long Island, and her parents […]

Arts in Lockdown #24: Artist Baret Boisson
By Joanne A Calitri   |   April 1, 2021

Baret Boisson is an American artist currently working from her studio in Carpinteria. Her renowned series, “Inspiring Greatness,” which opened at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis in 2016, continues to this day with a new portrait of Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, commissioned by Lisa Loiacono Lloyd. The series began humbly with her passion […]

Thomas Reynolds Gallery
By Lynda Millner   |   March 25, 2021

There’s something new at 1331 State Street: the Thomas Reynolds Gallery near the Arlington Theatre! The Gallery was founded in 1994 in San Francisco in the Pacific Heights neighborhood and was known for contemporary California art and artists. I met with Thomas Reynolds the other day and he said, “I am also an editor-publisher and […]

Pointers on Point Conception
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 28, 2021

Barely 50 miles from downtown Santa Barbara is one of the most fascinating and important parts of the California coastline. Point Conception is the headland where the coast transitions between north-south and east-west orientation, a very rare delineation that works as a natural division between Southern and Northern California. It also marks the location of […]

Fiesta at the Courthouse
By Lynda Millner   |   January 28, 2021

One of these days the Santa Barbara Courthouse will be open to the public once again. Meantime there is an interesting story about the sixth Theo Van Cina painting that hangs on the ground floor near the lawyer’s entrance titled “Fiesta at the Courthouse,” circa 1930s. There are five others on the second floor: “Cabrillo […]

Art of Titanic Proportions
By Richard Mineards   |   December 31, 2020

Gordon Frickers, an old friend who used to be my photographer on The Falmouth Packet when I started my career, has morphed into a very competent maritime artist. Now living in Brittany in the north of France after 25 years in the seafaring city of Plymouth, Devon, Gordon has just completed a two-year project of […]

Reining in the Reindeers: Nack Puts Paintings on Paper
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 17, 2020

Three years ago, a few of us attended Brad Nack’s 21st annual 100 percent Reindeer Art Show – a perpetually packed reception at Roy where folks jostle each other to get first dibs at the new paintings – decked out in N95 respirator masks to shield against inhaling smoke and particles from the then still-growing […]

One Fast-Paced Piece
By James Buckley   |   December 9, 2020

Just a short note to let readers know that two of longtime Montecito resident Susan Read Cronin’s bronze sculptures were recently accepted and will be on display during the National Sculpture Society’s California Sculpture Exhibition at the National Sculpture Society Gallery (6 East 39th Street, NYC). The exhibition runs from August 19 through October 18, […]

Saluting Navy Art
By Richard Mineards   |   November 26, 2020

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is hosting an extensive collection of 53 paintings that chronicle the accomplishments of the U.S. Navy, from the USS Constitution to atomic bomb tests, and expeditions to the North and South Poles. The colorful show, Arthur Beaumont: Art of the Sea, who was known as the Artist of the Fleet, […]

The Intersection of Art and Philanthropy
By Zach Rosen   |   November 19, 2020

Although based in New York, the distinctive three-dimensional work of Charles Fazzino is recognized by many locals who have visited or simply just walked by his prominent State Street gallery. The 3D Studio Gallery is located under Hotel Santa Barbara and displays a range of his unique structural artworks of cityscapes, celebrities, and other pop […]

SBIFF: Grappling with Graphics
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 18, 2020

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of John Van Hamersveld‘s iconic “Crazy World Ain’t it” emoji – it was called an illustration back in 1969 when Van Hamersveld created his first versions of the drawing at Bellevue Studio on Bonnie Brea in Echo Park and went on to develop the idea for a T-shirt graphic […]

Arts in Lockdown Series Part 12 Artist and Art Teacher Paulo Pereira Lima
By Joanne A Calitri   |   October 29, 2020

Artist and university teacher Paulo P. Lima has an overtime schedule creating art and teaching online during COVID-19. He has a studio at Fairview Gardens in Goleta where he creates art and pays homage to his ancestors. Works from the series were selected by Sullivan Goss Gallery for their “Summer Salon” group show in August, […]

An Experience in Search of a Moment
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 1, 2020

With a little help from his friends, Alan Kozlowski looks back on a luminous life Climb the stairs to Alan Kozlowski’s spacious downtown loft and you’ll arrive at a living room that doubles as an acoustic music den. Here an entire wall is taken up by two rows of rare guitars, including pre-war Martins, and […]

Salt and Silver
By Lynda Millner   |   September 19, 2020

Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) recently held an opening reception for their latest exhibit, “Salt & Silver: Early Photography, 1840 – 1860.” There were over 100 seldom seen salt prints from the Wilson Centre for Photography in London with the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut. These are some of the earliest […]

Arts in Lockdown Series Part 6: Michael DeVorzon, Actor and Writer
By Joanne A Calitri   |   September 10, 2020

Michael DeVorzon grew up in Montecito, with a great family lineage in music, and carved his own way in film and TV. Still working actively during the lockdown, he is polished in defining the narrative of the hard work it takes to stay in the game, do it like a pro, and always with kindness. […]

Arts in Lockdown Part 5: Ziyad Marcus, Gen-Y World Music Musician & Teacher
By Joanne A Calitri   |   September 3, 2020

Ziyad Marcus is a world music musician with a diverse background and education. Recently appointed as a music educator for the Santa Barbara Charter School, he draws upon Sri Lankan and Jewish cultural roots in order to share an unfiltered view of the world with youth, something he cherishes and takes seriously. At 27, his […]

Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition Goes Online
By Scott Craig   |   August 20, 2020

Twelve Westmont art graduates, unable to exhibit their artwork at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum on campus in May due to COVID-19, are displaying their senior projects virtually. “Adjacent: Westmont Graduate Exhibition 2020” is available in person at the museum only to the artists and their families by prior appointment. The exhibition, including a virtual tour, […]

Arts Lockdown Series Part 3: Skye Gwilliam and Dari Mos
By Joanne A Calitri   |   August 20, 2020

It’s 2016 and a millennial Santa Barbara gallery owner and multi-medium visual artist is seated writing furiously in his journal at the Café Rendez-Vous des Amis in Montmartre, once home to 19th century artists Gauguin, Monet, Degas, and Cézanne. Also sitting there is a chic femme artist-musician from Belarus studying philosophy at Sorbonne University Paris. […]

Laguna Blanca Student Raises Funds for Foodbank
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 13, 2020

Sydney Hlavaty, class of 2020, was honored with Laguna Blanca’s 2020 Senior Project Award at Laguna Blanca’s 86th Commencement Ceremony, which was held virtually on July 31. Sydney’s heartfelt project was especially personal, as she chose to honor her classmates through her artistic talent. She tirelessly devoted sixty-one hours over the course of three weeks and […]