Trisha van Cleef’s paintings are very complicated and take a long time to complete. She uses diverse materials including adhesives, found objects and a variety of paints and varnishes. She particularly enjoys mixing several different kinds of paint or varnish together just to see what happens. Some very interesting bubbling and crazing effects come from this.

Her paintings have been used on several CD covers. The highlight for her was being invited to be the third girl in the “Sonja, Lisa & Trisha” art show in downtown L.A.

Trisha shares a studio with Paul Whitehead at 110 N. Olve St, Suite R (behind Vons at Main and Ventura). They have shared galleries for a long time and are longtime friends.

Not usually found at a laundromat is fine art. The two wonderful wall murals by Lisa Kelly at the Olas Express Laundromat & Wash and Fold , 505 N Ventura Ave, have changed that. One is located at the children’s play and study area (also not very often found at a laundromat)

Paul Whitehead is a British born painter and graphic artist mostly known for his surrealistic album covers for artists on the Charisma Records label in the 1970s, such as Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. He has lived in Ventura for a year.

An art show in London in the mid-sixties led to Whitehead being picked up as an in-house artist for the London office of Jazz record label Liberty Records. Previously, he had been studying at the University of Oxford on an art scholarship. The first record cover he designed was for a repackaged Fats Domino album. Additionally, Whitehead is also credited as a performer on the Peter Hammill albums Fool’s Mate (drums) and In Camera (percussion).

In 1973, Whitehead moved to Los Angeles, where he continued to work on album covers as a freelancer. He is still most associated with progressive rock, but the record cover work is, however, only a part of what Whitehead does. Whitehead was in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest mural, which he painted at the Vegas World casino (since demolished and replaced by the Stratosphere casino) in Las Vegas.

Whitehead has further designed many corporate logos and for three years he was the creative services director at The Universal Studios Theme Park in L.A. This got him interested in writing screenplays and he completed half a dozen scripts on many subjects

He also makes his own particular brand of music. His interest in science fiction, performance art and classical and progressive music has led to the composition, recording and performance of The Borg Symphony.

Paul’s gallery-studio is at 110 N. Olve St, Suite R (behind Vons at Main and Ventura)

By appoinment only at 310-461-6316 or [email protected].

The whimsical but thought provoking art of Jane Peterson can be seen at her new working studio located at Dab Art, 1793 E. Main.

Peterson holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, and her work can be seen in collections from coast to coast. She works in an assortment of mediums, ranging from paint, oil, watercolor, wood, ceramic (mixed-media), sculpture, and photography. She also is affiliated with Galerie 102 in Ojai and TAG Gallery in Santa Monica. [email protected]

Buenaventura Gallery at the Bell Arts Factory

$25 per person, includes materials

Holiday Cranes of Peace workshop will lead you through the process of making origami cranes. We will also be using text, working on individual cranes, and a group mobile as well. All materials included.

Come celebrate Peace with us!

Participants can expect to make at least 2 cranes to take home as ornaments or gifts, for family, friends or for yourself!

Ventura born, instructor Dawn Reily started showing and selling her art in the local gallery scene as a teenager and started her own jewelry design business at age 16. Reily graduated from Sonoma State with a Bachelors in Fine Art, teaching credentials, and Associate degrees with concentrations in 2-D arts, sculpture, gallery management, jewelry design, printmaking, metals, Chinese brush painting, and computer graphics.

Buenaventura Art Association Gallery

Bell Arts Factory, Studio 30

432 N. Ventura Ave.

Join for an immersive evening at E.P. Foster Library with master dyer and textile artist, Porfirio Gutiérrez, and learn about the rich history of the craft in its cultural context. Recently featured in The New York Times, Gutiérrez is committed to keeping his family’s traditional Zapotec practices and knowledge alive.

Gutiérrez and his family are masters of Zapotec weaving and come from a long line of weavers from Teotitlán del Valle in Oaxaca, Mexico. They are among a small group of textile artisans working to preserve the use of plant and insect dyes.

This special presentation will be hosted at E.P. Foster Library on Saturday, January 5, at 6 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Ventura County Library is honored to host this event, made possible by funding received from the California Council for the Humanities Library Innovation Lab Grant for the project entitled “Celebrate Mixteco Culture,” and partnerships with MICOP, CSUCI, El Rio NFL, and UCSB.

“Library Innovation Lab: Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities” is a new statewide competitive grant program offered by California Humanities. The program encourages California libraries to develop creative and innovative programs that will respond to the needs and circumstances of today’s immigrants and immigrant communities and foster more inclusive communities within our state.

The Foster Library is located at 651 East Main St. Hours of service are 10am to 7pm Monday through Thursday, 10am to 5pm Friday and Saturday, and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.

This month, Buenaventura Art Association (BAA) is upholding a pair of year-end traditions—the Small Image Show and Holiday Boutique—in its new gallery home, Studio 30 at Bell Arts Factory on Ventura Avenue.

The art show will feature members’ original works no longer than 14 inches on a side, sized and priced for gift-giving. The boutique will present a changing mix of artisan crafts, jewelry, fine art photos, cards and other paper items, and wearable art for purchase on three weekends.

The Holiday Boutique coincides with events at the adjacent Bell Arts Factory. BAA’s boutique will be open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 8, 9, 15 and 16. The gallery also will be open 6-9 p.m. Dec. 7 for First Friday.

An open studios night and opening of the Artisan Holiday Market in the Tool Room Gallery will be 6-9 p.m. Dec. 7. Bell Arts also will be open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Dec. 8, 9, 15 and 16.

Buenaventura Art Association is a 64-year-old nonprofit artists’ cooperative that recently moved to Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. For more about BAA and its programs, visit www.buenaventuragallery.org or call 805-648-1235 during gallery hours.