Rose Compass 2019

Beautiful, clear, sunny and cold - winter in Santa Barbara. Holidays always tend to put painting on hold, but now it's time to catch up and jump in.

Opening at Westmont's Ridley-Tree Museum of Art on Thursday, January 10 will be the last iteration of the Rose Compass project. 
Rose Compass: Paintings of Santa Barbara’s Watershed
We will be part of a larger exhibition called "Watershed: Contemporary Landscape Photography". 
In this, our 8th year of drought, we feel the message about our watershed is more important than ever. We hope to bring awareness to the public of just how precious a commodity our water is.

I'll be showing 12 gouaches from our Santa Ynez river watershed series, several of them never shown before:

low lake strata, 4"x3" ($450)

this is the very first gouache I did for the 'River's Journey' project, from our first outing to Cachuma Lake in 2016 during one of the lowest points of the drought.

Bradbury dam, low water  3"x4" ($450)

this is the second gouache from that same outing. we are still at about 31% capacity for the lake.

high water mark, 3 1/2"x5" ($450)

sign posted at the Live Oak camp crossing to the equestrian area. 1998 was a real flood year, and today we are far below normal.

dam keepers shack, 4"x4" ($475)

from our first excursion to Jameson Lake and Juncal Dam. This was the original structure used by the Dam tender, way back when. It was burned in the Thomas Fire.

pool and pipeline, 3"x4" ($450)

at the very bottom of the old dam, there was a white PVC pipe rigged up to get water from the bottom of the lake - the water was so low, it couldn't reach the normal release area. In order to keep water moving through the weir, they had to use this temporary system. This was Montecito's main water source! People in the community had no idea how tenuous this was.

Gibraltar Dam from Camino Cielo, 4 1/2"x3" ($450)

snuggled down in the canyon, the second dam in the system is highly sedimented. The Santa Ynez mountains stretch off in the distance.

quonset hut, Gibraltar Dam 4"x4" ($475)

we were lucky to get a field trip to visit the dam up close and personal, thanks to Rebecca Bjork the head of Public Works in Santa Barbara. This is the visitor's quarters for researchers and other personnel that monitor the dam.

river shack, Santa Ynez 6"x4" ($500)

exploring along the river, we came upon a ranch that seems to have access only across the river when it is low (which is most of the time). I was struck by the variety of trees planted here - including the large palm.

river rubble 3"x4 1/2" ($450)

rambling around in the Santa Ynez river bottom, near the 101 hwy bridge, we found only a few puddles. This one was near some old construction detritus, that reminded me of ancient remnants from another time.

The last three images are all of the fish passages that are installed along the River to help the Native Steelhead find their way upstream to spawn (if we ever have enough water again for that to happen). These were installed and supported by various agencies including CA Fish and Game.

Hilton Creek fish passage, 4"x6" ($500)

this is just below Bradbury Dam, on Federal Bureau of Reclamation land so we had a special tour with the manager of the Dam. Water is systematically released from Cachuma Lake and diverted through this outlet to keep Hilton Creek alive and the fish population from disappearing.

Jalama Road/Hwy 1 Fish Passage, 4"x6" ($500)

this structure was built nearly underneath the bridge of the road that goes to Jalama Beach. It directs water from Salsipuedes Creek - a tributary of the Santa Ynez river. We hiked down a hillside of poison oak to get to it and found a truly magical spot - shady, cool, full of wildflowers and plants, tadpoles and tiny fish. Steelhead can travel up one level to the next as they make their way upstream to spawn.

Hwy 1 fish passage, 6"x4" ($500)

just a short ways downstream from the Jalama passage, we found this structure, also keeping water moving from Salsipuedes Creek. It was a steep hike down, but worth it to see how the passage worked. It was fascinating to see the blend of human-constructed forms in the natural river and the attempts to support what little fish population remains.

All works are matted and framed with museum quality plexiglass and are available for sale. Prices are shown in parentheses above.

The River's Journey: Revisited is also still on view in the Santa Barbara City Hall Gallery, downtown Santa Barbara at De la Guerra Plaza.

December Already

This has been a heck of a year - we just had the anniversary of the Thomas Fire, and California has suffered through way too many destructive fire's since then.
I've had a full year of exhibitions with the Rose Compass and "The River's Journey", SCAPE as well as the two-person show of plein-air paintings that Libby and I had at the Architectural Foundation.
The River's "Wider View" just closed at Sullivan Goss and we will be opening the last venue for the Rose Compass at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art on January 10, 2019. I'll post the images that are in that show when we finish the installation. That exhibit will run until June 22, 2019.
The installation at the Santa Barbara City Hall will continue to be on view until March 30, 2019.
The energetic and always fun "100 Grand" show opened at Sullivan Goss on December's First Thursday. This is the painting I'm showing there:

green pool, gouache, 3"x3"

I'm also showing a painting at the Santa Paula Art Museum's 11th annual "Art about Ag" show. The exhibition runs from November 10 until February 24, 2019. There will be an artist's talk with many of the participating artists on the 15th of this month.

flooded field, santa rosa road, oil on canvas 18"x36"

Then there is another exhibit coming up that should be a great representation of images of our State: a California Art Club exhibition at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History "Magnificent Migrations: A Journey Through Central California"

I'll be showing a painting I did of Pinnacles National Park:

pinnacles path, oil on panel 16"x20"

This exhibit will open on January 18, 2019 and run through April 14, 2019. 

It's an exciting start to the new year.

A Wider View

The Rose Compass group has work currently on view at Sullivan-Goss Gallery. This work is part of "The River's Journey" exhibition, but has larger oil paintings on display. It's a strong show and we were honored to put together - it helps us reach a wider audience with our message about our local Santa Ynez River watershed. These are my paintings in the exhibition:

Canyon below Gibraltar, 12"x12" oil on panel

Shallows - Cachuma Lake 12"x12" oil on panel

Tamarisk, Live Oak Camp, 24"x30" oil on panel

We also have groups of our small gouaches included in the exhibition:

salsipuedes creek, 3"x6"

quonset, Gibraltar Dam 4"x4"

'women', 4"x6"

dry riverbed, alisal road 3"x11"

river park, Lompoc, 3"x6"

november changes

November has been nothing if not hectic. The biggest event is my moving out of my small, funky, gardener's shed studio and into a bigger space closer to home (my backyard, to be exact). I've worked in my little space for nearly 10 years and the accumulation of 'stuff' has been stupefying. How did I cram so much into so small a space? Art materials, artwork, tools, materials, 3 flat files full of paper, artwork and projects, frames, framing supplies, printing press, lights, easels, etc. etc. etc. and yes, gardening tools.

studio 6"x8" oil on panel

I managed to make a lot of work in this space and loved being in it. But as we all know, things change and having a somewhat larger space will be great.

Even within the midst of moving and reorganizing the studio we have continued our Monday painting schedule. We have been working our way up Old San Marcos Pass road, stopping at turnouts and painting the view - a few hours in the morning until the light changes.

These are small 6"x8" oil on panel paintings.

view from the road

first stop

second stop

third stop

fourth stop

AFSB Double Vision

The exhibition Double Vision will be at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara until November 15.
The Gallery is located at 229 East Victoria Street. Hours are Saturdays, 1-4 pm
and weekdays by appointment. 
There will be a 1st Thursday event at the Gallery on November 1, from 5-8 pm.
All but one of the paintings are oil on panel. All the paintings were done en plein air,
working in the field, completing or very nearly completing the painting on site. A bit of adjusting in the studio was sometimes needed, but the freshness and immediacy of the painting comes from the experience of being in the field.

Arroyo Burro Preserve, 8"x10"

Alan Road, foggy day 9"x12"

White rock, river view, 6"x10"

Sycamore, Paradise camp 9"x12"

foggy day san marcos reserve, 8"x10"

Eucalyptus at Naples, 9"x12"

Lake Los Carneros, 10"x10"

Cypress II, Coal Oil Point, 8"x10"

Cypress I, Coal Oil Point, 9"x12"

Lake below, Figueroa Mountain, 9"x12"

Poppies, Grass mountain, 6"x12"

Sundown, Alamo Creek Road, 7"x18"

Sycamore (Libby Painting) 16"x16"

Morning Sycamore, 5 1/2"x14"

Haskell's beach, east 8"x10"

beached boat 8"x8" sold

Rock cliffs, Goleta beach, 9"x12"

Backside Rincon, 6"x12"

Carpinteria Bluffs, 11"x13"

paradise camp, gouache, 3"x5"

Double Vision

Libby Smith and I had a fun opening reception for our show at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara - good turnout and so many kind comments, plus great food and conversation. We were pleased with how the Gallery looked - our work was framed beautifully and we spent a lot of time hanging everything in a balanced and complimentary way. We have forty pieces in the show - 20 each - and we grouped them by area. My frames are walnut and hers are maple, so people could figure out who's who. The paintings were all done 'plein air' from our Monday painting outings, so there is a freshness and immediacy to them.
Not a lot of over-done studio work or using only photo references.

Here is a shot of one of our walls

Our statement, some info about Rose Compass and a photo of us.

Some of the work is very similar in subject matter, but different in style and approach:

beached boat, Goleta Beach

Other paintings were done at the same location, but looking at an altogether different view or time of day:

These were both done at Marcia Burtt's ranch - Libby's early morning view looking west and my sundown view looking north.

I will post all the paintings soon - just need some time to organize them.

Next up is the Sullivan Goss 1st Thursday opening for "The River's Journey - a Wider View" that will feature larger oils and new gouaches from the Rose Compass group. We will be doing a radio interview with Elizabeth Stewart on the Friday morning after, and then hosting a film event and panel talk at the Faulkner Gallery on Sunday the 7th. We have partnered with David Grannis from Cal Lutheran to show his film "Turf Wars", the Santa Barbara Water-Wise folks and the Book Den which will feature books about water issues in California.

more in September

The Annual Museum of Natural History Art Walk will be held this weekend - I'm showing two paintings:

Island view from the Botanic Garden, 6x12" oil on panel

Old Oak-Tucker's Grove, 9x12" oil on panel

Unfortunately the opening reception for this show overlaps the opening reception for Double Vision! But folks can come at 5 to the Architectural Foundation and then get to the Natural History Museum by 6 and make both events. ArtWalk is open Friday Night through Sunday, the 23rd.