Category Archives: Ventura Art Scene

Paintings in the (CCCC) Coastal Communities Cancer Center windows

Paintings in the (CCCC)  Coastal Communities Cancer Center windows on the corner of Loma Vista & Joanne- this artist has exhibits in both windows

Laura Jean Jespersen is an award winning acrylic artist living and working in Ventura. She draws inspiration from the built and natural environment. Her experiences of a space, including the light, form, color or context provide the basis for her paintings. Painting is a creative outlet that allows her to connect to others in a visual way through composition and color.  Her 6 by 28 foot design of 192 connected painted plates that create a large pixelated art hanging titled Sunflowers is featured in the large windows of the Cancer Center on the Loma Vista side of the building.

For more information on Laura and her work go to; ljjespersen.weebly.com
If you are interested in hanging art in the Coast community Center Windows please contact:

Kathryn Dippong Lawson
Public Art, Cultural Education & Historic Sites Supervisor
City of Ventura,  Parks & Recreation
501 Poli Street, room 226
Ventura CA 93001
805-658-4720
[email protected]
www.cityofventura.ca.gov
Stay Safe Ventura – We are Committed to Serving You

BAA’s Small Image Show at SpiceTopia

Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts at Ventura Harbor Village, Buenaventura Gallery at the Bell Arts Factory, and BAA’s Small Image Show at SpiceTopia are all open for business and ready to help you with your holiday shopping for affordable original art, unique artisan crafts, and handmade jewelry! All locations have open, public hours and they all offer appointment-only, private shopping times for you and your bubble to shop safely. For appointments at BVG and HVG&G call 805-648-1235 or for SpiceTopia, 805-628-3267.

Or shop online at www.BuenaventuraArtAssociation.org. We can offer curbside pickup for any purchase!

New mural celebrates the school’s musical excellence.

Local Ojai artist Ben Román has given the band building at Matilija Junior High School a beautiful new mural which celebrates the school’s long standing history of musical excellence.

Román grew up in Ojai as a student of art, both in school and with some of Ojai’s prominent art professionals. The 30-year-old artist now paints and draws professionally, and he specializes in large mural paintings, many of which appear in Ojai and other locations in Ventura County, as well as in Los Angeles.

Va Por La Avenida announces Punto de Intersección

Lisa Kelly is one of the artists in the pop-up mural exhibit.

Va Por La Avenida’s Punto De Intersección project is a series of collaborations between local artists and small businesses along Ventura Avenue, launching in December 2020. Punto De Intersección has artists working with small businesses to develop limited edition campaigns to support local business and celebrate the Ventura Avenue community.

Punto De Intersección soft launched in the fall with a poster campaign designed by Sue Franco, encouraging Ventura’s residents to wear masks. Upcoming collaborations include: a ceramic bowl series, pairing Sara Beckton-Leon with Indian Rasoi; a handmade run of coffee mugs designed by Patti Keller, available at Love Well Tea and Coffee; and, a hand-printed tote bag by Angel Villareal, Bell Arts Factory’s 2020 Young Artist In Residenece, available at El Jarocho Restaurant. A pop-up mural exhibit is also on display at Restore Ventura, featuring four 5’x5′ murals by: Maribel Hernández, Lisa Kelly, Sergio Martínez, and Andrew Rodriguez.

All Punto De Intersección projects are limited edition and available while supplies last. The ceramic and tote bag projects are free with minimum purchase from the respective businesses. Posters are now available at local businesses along the Avenue, with other distribution points to be announced. For more information, including release dates, project photos, artist bios, and locations please visit: https://bit.ly/vplapunto.

Punto De Intersección is an extension of the Va Por La Avenida event series, a creative place- making project funded in part through the California Arts Council and the City of Ventura’s Cultural Affairs grant programs. It is a collaborative project between Bell Arts Factory and the Westside Community Development Corporation. For more information about how to participate or stay updated about the event, please visit the website at www.vaporlaavenida.com.

Ventura Potters’ Guild announce launch new online store

Place setting by Dane Venass

The Ventura Potters’ Guild is pleased to announce the launch of our new online store: venturapotteryonline.com.   If you have ever been to our Gallery in the Ventura Harbor Village then you have experienced the beautiful work of over 30 local ceramic artists.  Many of these same artists have spectacular ceramic pieces posted on the new online store that are not available for sale in the Gallery.  The online store also has additional artists offering their creative work for sale online.

Most items are available for free pick up at the Gallery.   We have e-Gift Cards available so your loved one can pick their favorite piece.  Have a favorite artist from the Gallery or our annual Ojai Sale?  Look online to see if they have posted their work.   The online store is open 24/7.   

The Ventura Pottery Guild online store currently has over 100 items available for sale and we are adding new artists and new pieces all the time.  Bookmark venturapotteryonline.com and check us out regularly for new work.   Ventura Pottery Gallery Ventura Harbor Village, at 1567 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 105 and is now open seven days a week from 11am to 6pm.   Questions about the online store can be directed to: [email protected].

Annual Small Image Show at SpiceTopia

Serene Succulent, watercolor on canvas, 13 x 13, by Diane Hanley, in the Small Image Show at SpiceTopia

To deal with life during a pandemic, Buenaventura Art Association is reviving a successful community outreach effort dating to its earliest days 66 years ago.

Soon after its 1954 founding, the nonprofit artists’ cooperative presented shows in retail shops around Ventura before renting a downtown storefront at 576 E. Main St. as its gallery space from 1970 until 1989. That address now houses SpiceTopia, a seven-year-old business with spices, teas and products from local food and craft artisans, where owner Anna Marie Tan now is inviting BAA members to display their art as well.

From now until Jan. 3, 2021, the association’s annual Small Image Show will be displayed on a 20-foot brick wall there. Artworks are limited to 16 inches on a side and will be available for purchase. SpiceTopia is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Other shows will follow.

In contrast, BAA members will mount a Large Image Show from Nov. 20 through Jan. 9 at Buenaventura Gallery, in Studio 30 at Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura. Pieces in this exhibition will be at least 36 inches in one direction, horizontal or vertical, including any frames. An artwork, Sacred Spring, Delphi, by BAA Lifetime member and renowned abstract expressionist artist Gerd Koch, who passed away at age 91 in June of this year, will be exhibited in this show. Currently the gallery is open noon-4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and by appointment by calling 805-648-1235.

A third show featuring BAA members’ art will be on view Nov. 13 through Jan. 11 at Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts, 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 106. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Mondays.

For more about BAA and its programs, visit buenaventuraartassociation.org or call the phone number above during gallery hours.

Ventura Pottery Gallery says ‘Thank You’

The 30 ceramic artists at the Ventura Pottery Gallery would like to say ‘Thank You’ to all of our customers during this holiday season by offering a gift with purchase event.  We have received wonderful support during this challenging time, so we felt it was time for us to give back.

Our members have looked high and low and peeked into all corners of their studios to donate incredible pieces for this ‘thank You’ event.  All types of creative pieces have flooded into the gallery; from mugs, plates, bowls to ornaments, vases and sculptures.

So, drop by the Ventura Pottery Gallery at the Harbor Village during Thanksgiving week (November 23rd – 29th) and receive a free handmade piece of pottery with any $25 purchase or more.  Bring in your family and friends for some extraordinary gifts for the holidays and we will send them home with a gift from our hands and hearts to theirs.

Please note, one gift per customer per day while supplies last.

Heart Center mural

This mural, titled “Heart Center,” is another addition to Ventura’s wonderful murals. It is located at the American Mattress Man building, 2323 E. Main St.

The piece is by Carly Veronica, a Los Angeles artist who has painted murals in the United States, India and Japan.

Photo by Bernie Goldstein.

Buenaventura Art Association

Kay Zetlmaier is one of the artists showing at the Harbor Village Gallery.

Over the past few months, the BAA board has been negotiating with Anna Marie Tan of SpiceTopia, a

downtown retail shop located at 576 E. Main St. The store has a 20-foot wall that will be used for BAA member exhibits in the near future. Plans are underway to install a hanging system for the BAA membership’s Small Image Show.

BAA Member Small Image Entry Deadline: Thursday, Oct. 29. This is a first-come, first-accepted show within certain guidelines. Members, please see entrythingy for details.

Bring-in to SpiceTopia: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2-5 pm

We are very grateful to artist Gerald Zwers who is designing and installing the hanging system for us over the store’s brick wall. We plan to continue regular exhibits with SpiceTopia.

SpiceTopia is located at the original downtown gallery address of the Buenaventura Art Association from 1970 to 1989. So we are, in a sense, coming home!

Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts

Open Fridays thru Mondays, 11-6.

Ventura Harbor Village, near the Comedy Club

We are grateful to the HVG&G artists who have been hosting during the pandemic. Masks and social distancing required. We are also pleased to let you know that our Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts location is also offering online shopping.

Steve Cook Painted in July 2020

Here’s an interesting piece. Painted in July 2020.   I loved painting this and I really loved the end result.  My gallery (our house) had no room for this one, so it sat in the corner of my studio.  Sometime during the late summer or early fall something gashed into the painting unbeknownst to me.  Left a one-inch hole in the middle of the painting.  I was crushed but I was determined to save it so I duct taped the back and applied some color to hide the rip.  The gallery manager, Carol Cook, let me hang it in the hallway.  No longer on the floor in my studio.

Lesson:  Artists guard your work with love.

Steve Cook Ventura