Meet
some of the Artist of the Santa Paula Society of the Arts
Our
Artists have a wide variety of talent in many different mediums. If
you are interested in any of the works please click on their website
or contact the Santa Paula Society of the Arts directly through our
email or phone.
Meli
M. Calkins - Meli's mother was a commercial artist and taught
Meli how to observe what she saw in her world and would interpret
it. Of all the types of media that she has worked with, her first
love has been painting with soft pastels. She loves the brilliance
and intensity of color that pastels are able to display. More of her
work can be viewed on her website: http://www.melicalkins.com
Janice
Dickenson - Living on a ranch just outside of Santa Paula she
has dabbled in art through the years but in 2009 began to focus on
watercolor painting. The majority of her work is of local subjects
since Santa Paula is filled with the opportunities of historic structures,
beautiful mountains, landscapes and scenic agriculture. Pencil, pen
and ink are other mediums she enjoys.
Lynda
Gruber -
A native Californian, Lynda was raised in Banning and Santa Paula.
Her work has been inspired by many artists but in particular the Old
Masters and William Harnett, an early American realist. Lynda has
traveled throughout Europe and has visited many museums to study the
Old Masters' paintings and their techniques. She works with the aid
of an extensive collection of references and thousands of photographs
accumulated over many years. During the thirty years Lynda has pursued
her art she has mastered oils and watercolors and studied with a variety
of acclaimed teachers: Hal Reed, Pauline Ruddock, David Skernick,
Agnes Delgado, Bob King, Sally Miller, Jacqueline Cavish, Connie Jenkins
and Joyce Pike. Gruber's oils - many that reflect her favorite subject
matter: landscapes, still life and children - are held in private
collections, and she has exhibited and won prizes and ribbons in a
variety of shows, including Descanso Gardens, the Santa Paula Annual
Art and Photography Exhibit and the Ventura County Fair. Lynda's art
affiliations include the Santa Paula Society of the Arts, chair-person
of the Santa Paula Annual Art and Photography Exhibit. Her work is
featured at the historic Depot Gallery at 963 E. Santa Barbara St.,
Santa Paula, CA. Her studio phone is (805) 525-4732
Virginia
Gunderson - Virginia is a third generation Santa Paulan and being
raised on a cattle ranch on South Mountain was impressed with natural
beauty of the of this area. As a child her interest in art was greatly
influenced by her uncle, artist Douglas Shively. Virginia studied
the art of Sumi-e for 18 years. Her uncle encouraged her to submit
entries to the Santa Paula Art Show where one of her Japanese watercolors
was purchased and added to the Santa Paula Memorial Hospitals art
collection. Another garnered a 5th place in the Ventura County Fair
Professional Division. In the early 1990's she actively pursued her
ongoing interest in oil and watercolor painting. Studying with Ventura
artist and teacher Sally Miller and since that time has earned the
title of Signature Member o the California Gold Coast Watercolor Society.
She also has studied under Susan Petty and Jackie Cavish. Virginia
paints in three styles, Japanese Watercolor, Oil and Watercolor. She
was the first charter member of California Gold Coast Watercolor Society,
she has show works in all mediums in the Professional Division of
the Ventura County Fair, BAA Gallery, Santa Paula Annual Art Show,
California Oil Museum, Carneigie Arts Center, Disneyland, Oxnard Buddhist
Temple, the Sumitomo Bank in Oxnard, the Camarillo Art Center, Santa
Paula DMV, Hospice Office,and Santa Clara Valley Bank.
Marilyn
Harvey - Marilyn loved sketching and working with clay as a child.
In high school and college she would sketch in notebooks during lectures.
She took a general arts class, art appreciation and art for children.
In the 1980's her father gave her all his supplies and brushes and
in taking classes her skills improved. In 2006 her husband gave her
a gift of private art lessons. She has studied with Judy Klement and
continued with classes at the Senior Center in Ventura. She has switch
from acrylics to water because of the slower drying time. She also
has been experimenting with water colors. Marilyn's work has been
in several shows in Santa Paula, Maritime Museum, and the Harbor Village
Gallery. She currently serves as President of the Poinsettia Painters
of Ventura County and continues to work in the decorative art field.
Olga
Kaczmar - Olga has been a graphic artist and advertising manager
for 30 years. As a commercial artist she has produced layouts and
renderings for patent application, ads, exhibits and brochures. Her
computer-generated, famine-genocide posters have been shown throughout
the the world. In 2007 and '08 her art was used to promote a film
and book on the Ukrainian genocide of 1932. She founded an international
organization to unite relative and friends lost after WW II. She received
a Bachelor of Arts in Communications: Electronic Media Program & Production
but continued taking classes in figure, landscape and portraits. Olga
is an art teacher and artwork judge. Using oils, pastels, colored
pencils and watercolor she has been devoting time to a more delightful
subjects of horses, dogs, cats and people portraits. You may view
more of her work at http://www.olgakaczmar.com
Judy
Klement - Judy is a Fine Arts winning Artist. Her realistic-Impressionistic
style comes alive in her use of pastels, oil or mixed mediums to captures
people and landscapes in lasting art. Proficient in all mediums, Klement
is a VACE Art Instructor. She studied pastel with 'Hall of Fame' Joe
Hing Lowe, Pastel Society of America and Oil painting with 'Who's
Who in American Art', Anthony J. Manzo of Taos, NM. Her oil "Statue
at Battery Park" is in the permanent art collection of the U.S. Coast
Guard. She demonstrates for many CA Art organizations, private clubs
and fundraisers for The Ventura County Museum of History and Art,
Aegis and others. Being a Fine Arts winning Artist she conducts Portrait
& Pastel Workshops at her Santa Paula Studio where she teaches advanced
and beginning students in private or semi-private sessions. Visit
her website for more information: http://www.judyklement.com
Xavier Montes - Artist, Musician and Community Activist. Visit
Xavier at his website: http://xaviermontes.com
Luanne
Perez
- I believe having pictures on walls finishes each room, especially
if you love to look closely at the images, as I do. These paintings
- of places of significance, beautifully produced with appealing colors
- stir the pride of owning an original work of art. I paint familiar
locales that people recognize whether close by, places remembered
or sites they may wish to visit one day. I most love painting landscapes
and choose watercolors because of their clean look, the way the color
blends and the vibrancy of the hues. My style is straightforward;
it has been called "representational", which I take to mean that you
will recognize what it is I have painted. I use warm colors with strong
notes of pure pigment. I know when my work is complete because I say
"yes" to my own question, "Does this picture have a real sense of
place?" I hope my work pleases you enough to say, "I just love this
painting. I am so glad it's mine!" I invite you to visit my website
at http://www.luanneperez.com/watercolor-artist/
Robert
" Rick " Ricksen
- Ojai Academy for the Arts Founder, Leadership Council Chair and
Arts Visionary.... Rick began his creative career as an engineering
student at USC in 1966 looking for a summer job. He found his dream
job with Channel9, a local independent TV Station in Los Angeles and
continued his work there for 38 years. In 1990, he received the Los
Angeles Area Emmy Award in Technical Direction for "NBA Lakers Basketball."
Rick is an active member of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
and has served as representative for the Electronic Production peer
group. He recently participated as a judge for the 33rd College Television
Awards and for the Television Academy Foundation's '2011 Summer Internship
Program.' He trained as a docent to lead tours of children at the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and was a contributing photographic
artist to the "Painting in Umbria: a Summer Workshop in Assisi, Italy
2007" travel program brochure. His creative interest is oil painting
- he has a studio in Ojai and one in Los Angeles, and he regularly
participates in oil painting workshops at the Brentwood Art Center.
His paintings have been in shows and on display in the southland including
Ojai, Ventura, Santa Paula and Los Angeles.
Duwayne
Williams
- Duwayne learned the basics of drawing at an early age from his fater.
In college, he studied technical illustration, but in his twenties,
he found a love of oil painting Much of the attention to detail required
in his illustration training has been transferred to his paintings.
Without formal art classes, and learning by trial and error, he eventually
discovered he wanted to paint realistic pictures of the best of America.
He brings to life traditional landscapes, stately victorian houses,
small-town scenes, historical California missions, and classic aviation
art. His painting captures the essence of realism, as well as featuring
bold and vivid colors, resulting in an 'Imagined Realism'. Uplifting,
colorful and emotional are some of the descriptions of his work. Visit
Duwayne's website at: http://duwayne-williams.artistwebsites.com
Jean
Yarbrough
- Jean is relatively new to the worlk of art. She is a member of the
Pastel Society of the Goldcoast and Santa Paula Art Society. Her paintings
are realistic in oil, acrylic and pastels, usign the old masters techniques
to get the mystical qualities of light that illuminates from within
her paintings. Jean discovered very early in life, through the beauty
of the outdoors, that she loved color. When she was nine she spent
nine months in the hospital with a broken knee cap. Going into the
hospital in the winter and coming out in the summer, she realized
the beauty of the trees, flowers and lakes and how they had changed
with the seasons. This gave her an incredible respect for nature.
Jean has also gone into the world of photography capturing beauty
that surronds everyday life that is a whole new journey and experience
for her. Her photographys include rustic barns, flowers and seascapes.
Peggy
Patti - watercolor artist
- Art is a passion for those of us who do it regularly. I find it
keeps the mind sharper and perfects the technique we use to represent
our inner selves. Because art has been in my life since childhood,
it is integral to my wellbeing. I have studied art all four years
of high school, at various workshops (Beverly Duncan, Jerry Brommer
and Brenda Swenson recently) and college classes. I have won two silver
awards and one gold award for watercolor painting at the annual Art
Classic judged show for the SCAA. The wonderful thing about painting
is, no matter how long one has painted, there is always something
to learn and eventually, something to teach. The two classes I teach
at the Senior Center bring me much joy. It is lovely to paint with
contemporaries who are fellow art lovers. This year to my great pleasure
one of my paintings, "Fruit on the Vine" won a first at the Art Classic.
Some of my work is pictured below and can be seen at my website www.pegspaintbrush.com
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