Destin (AKA Des) Starchile is a local artist who enjoys painting pictures of animals and landscapes. “I’m always willing to paint someone’s pet for donations to cover supplies.” You can meet him on the promenade.

Editor’s note: See more about Des and his life:
https://venturabreeze.com/2023/05/31/they-are-ventura-citizens-trying-to-make-it/

The Ojai Art Center is excited to present the 46th Annual Art in the Park fine art show. This much-anticipated event will take place in downtown Ojai, on the weekend of May 27th and 28th. The show will be held in Libbey Park.

Art in the Park is a showcase for some of the best artists in the region, featuring paintings, sculptures, photography, ceramics, jewelry, and mixed media. The show will provide a unique opportunity for visitors to experience fine art in a beautiful outdoor setting.

The event will be held from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM both days, and admission is free to the public. Come meet the artists and learn more about their work.

The Ojai Art Center has been promoting the arts in the Ojai Valley since 1939, and the Art in the Park show is just one of the many ways they support the local arts community.

For more information about the Art in the Park show or the Ojai Art Center, please visit www.ojaiartcenter.org.

The Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) is excited to announce that the VUSD District-Wide Student Art Show will be held at Vita Art Center from May 25-29, 2023. The show is made possible through the efforts of the Ventura Education Partnership, Vita Art Center, and the Ventura Arts Collaborative. The juried show will highlight our incredibly talented high school, middle school, and elementary school artists.

Opening night reception is Thursday, May 25, from 5:00-8:00 pm. Student chefs will provide hors d’oeuvres. High school student awards will be presented at 7:00 pm after the viewing. All proceeds from this event support VUSD’s art programs.

At Studio 99 @ The Bell Arts Factory Nature’s Apotheosis Solo Show by Robert Wassell

Exhibit Runs thru July 1, 2023

Robert Wassell, habitual hiker and prolific and popular painter, calls his collection of more than 30 recent oil-on-canvas works “Nature’s Apotheosis,” a word meaning the highest point in development, or culmination. “It says that nature is the pinnacle of the world we live in,” the Ventura artist explained.

Open Thursdays through Sundays, noon to 4pm, for the full run of “Nature’s Apotheosis.” Wassell will host almost all Saturdays and Sundays (call to confirm – 805-648-1235) during his show, providing many “meet the artist” opportunities. Executive Director, Sharon Taylor, will host Thursdays and Fridays.

The entrance to Studio 99 at the Bell Arts Factory is around the back of the building off of Wall St.

Photos by Patricia Schallert

The wonderful ceramic art of Michel Peterson (who creates art under the name Michellino) can be admired at the Ventura Harbor Village.

In late 2002, Petersen went to work on the 10-foot-tall ceramic sculpture The Dead Fisherman’s Memorial: An Ode to the Dead Seaman of Yesteryear.

“I intuitively felt that an archway would be appropriate — a doorway, a passageway from one side to the other,” Petersen stated. “We’re remembering those who passed over.”

To read about her love affair with Santa Cruz Island go to: https://venturabreeze.com/2023/05/03/michel-peterson/

Whitaker Peak Trail 3/23, oil on canvas, Robert Wassell

Robert Wassell will offer dozens of new views of Ventura County’s backcountry and offshore islands in a May 5-July 1 exhibition in Studio 99, Buenaventura Art Association’s home at Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave.

Receptions will be 6-9 p.m. May 5 and June 2, in conjunction with Ventura’s First Friday gallery events. Studio 99’s usual hours are noon-4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, but Wassell will host most weekend days during his show, providing many “meet the artist” chances and allowing the gallery to be open Thursdays through Sundays.

His website, wassellart.com, contains works going back to 2011.

Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts, at 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 106, in Ventura Harbor, is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week.

For more about BAA and its programs, call the gallery at 805-648-1235 or visit buenaventuraartassociation.org.

by Patricia Schallert

Artist Barbara Brown was born in the midwest among the Great Plains states. Her father loved the great outdoors and worked as a Park Ranger in the National Parks, including Yosemite, Mount Rainier, the Grand Tetons and Olympic National Park. Barbara and her family would spend their summers exploring forests, meadows and mountains, where she developed her deep connections to these extraordinary places now reflected in her art.

Barbara is inspired by artists like Moran, Bierstadt, Cole, Church and Innes. She loves painting portraits too and for that, her favorite artist is John Singer Sargent. She finds his brushwork and color relations fascinating.

She started out as a watercolorist, dabbling in acrylics, but her true love is oils. She sees herself as a traditional painter, but also loves experimentation. She will try different techniques, color mixing and brushwork. She might even use a non-traditional tool to create interesting marks.

Spending her time outdoors is Barbara’s greatest passion. “My family visits Yosemite every year”. Currently she lives near Arroyo Verde and she walks the park often, where she observes the “weather shifts and colors change”. She pays attention to “shadows as they lengthen and deepen and when it rains and surfaces become shiny and reflective.” Barbara also finds inspiration at the Ventura Botanical Gardens, where she gives tours as a media guide. She is currently working on a piece that shares the “visuals of the Fybos Garden from South Africa.”

Barbara’s favorite time of day to paint is between 3 pm and 5 pm. Its the quiet time for her and she says she gets the “most done then”. She added the light in her studio is perfect at that time of day.

Barbara has studied many different styles over the years. She enjoys learning master techniques and studying different styles relative to different periods in history. She incorporates what she has learned into what she is currently working on.

Last year, she completed two dream projects for the Ventura Botanical Gardens—laser-cut corten steel displays of insects, a hawk, and rabbits. In 2017, her losses from the Thomas Fire inspired her to start a series about just that.

Barbara’s web site: barbarabrownartist.com

Palette Knife Workshop With Beth Summers Co-host Michelle Nosco.
With a palette knife, colors remain brilliant.

You may choose to paint along with Beth (materials provided) or just observe. Michelle Nosco, will provide one-on-one instruction.

Date: Saturday, April 22. 1 – 4pm
Studio 99 @ The Bell Arts Factory. 432 N. Ventura Ave.
Buenaventura Art Assoc. members $20
Public – non-members $25
Observers (no materials, members or non-members) – $10
(Materials include an 8×10 canvas panel, acrylic paint and an array of palette knives.)

Register https://baa.wildapricot.org/event-5224212

by Patricia Schallert

Betsy Laban, originally from the Duarte area, was born in Los Angeles but lived most of her life in Duarte. She moved to Ventura with her husband Mike, in July 2022 to be closer to the water.

Growing up, Betsy had been obsessed with art and took as many art classes as she could find, including drawing, painting, sketching, ceramics  and even  paint by numbers. She found many art classes through the Parks and Recreation Programs, art galleries and several  community colleges from Duarte to Santa Barbara. She just wanted to study art in all  forms and mediums.

Betsy’s was influenced by Van Gogh, her husband’s underwater photography, ceramic art and Impressionism. With Impressionism, she visited galleries and would look closely at the way the artist would use their brushes, create lines and strokes on canvas and then she said she would “stand back to see how those small strokes and lines would come together to create masterpieces.”

Her favorite time of day to paint is in the morning. It’s quiet and the morning sunlight always, is at its best.

Betsy’s favorite medium is acrylic. “I was drawn to working with acrylic paint on canvas when the world took a time out to deal with the pandemic”.  Acrylic paints are “more forgiving than water colors or oil painting.” And so during the Covid pandemic, she began to focus more on her painting skills and started with cute “Atomic” cat images, went into silhouettes and her personal art style then began to creep into her work.

Betsy is now painting ocean and sea life. Being an observer of ocean life, she has found  it has a “calming effect” she says. From the beach, she watches sea animals, the birds as they dive into the water, and the ocean waves crashing into the shore.  She hopes to bring that calming feeling to her underwater paintings. Her husband is passionate about diving and photography and will bring back amazing photos from his deep-sea diving experiences. She uses those photos as her inspiration for her octopus, sea horses and jellyfish.

Her dream project was to have her paintings in an art gallery and currently her work hangs in the Art is Passion Gallery in Portside Ventura Harbor.
Betsy work can also be seen on her web site:

www.pinklotusart.com or  pinklotusartstudio@gmailcom.