Falling into September

After spending weeks preparing for several upcoming exhibits, we took some time to visit St.Paul Minnesota. My brother lives there in a beautiful old warehouse that has been converted to live/work spaces for artists and craftspeople. We had a great visit and took a day to drive to Winona, MN to see Thomas Paquette's beautiful exhibition of paintings he did following the Mississippi River from it's beginnings above Minneapolis to it's final flow into the Delta. Thomas's work was so inspirational to our Rose Compass project -The River's Journey. We were all intrigued with his small gouaches and how much beauty and information were packed into them. It was a treat to see these dynamic, larger paintings beautifully displayed in the Minnesota Museum of  Maritime Art. The Museum itself had a varied and rich collection - a real gem.


Installation of Thomas Paquette's exhibition"America's River Re-Explored" the Mississippi from Source to Gulf.

 

We also took some time to go to the Sierras for an overdue holiday. Clear skies after all the horrible fires of the summer. Finished another gouache of a small shack nearby.

sportplatz, camp la salle

Last Thursday, we held the opening reception of "The River's Journey Re-visited" at the Santa Barbara City Hall. It's a smaller venue, but we had some room to play and added some interesting elements: a floor map of the Santa Ynez River that goes the length of the hallway, clouds that change color and a video.
There are a lot of new works telling the story of our watershed to a new audience. Both Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann and Santa Barbara Public Works Director spoke about our project and the important message it brings to the public about our precious water resources.

Estuary, Lompoc, 10x10" oil on panel

Oak, Cachuma Lake, 10x10" oil on panel

Equipment Shed, Gibraltar Dam, 6x4" Gouache

SCAPE will have a 2-day exhibition at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden on the 14th and 15th of this month. We spent a lot of Mondays painting there so it will be good to see some of the work on display.

shady steps, botanic garden, 6x8" oil on panel