Tigers. Clowns. Men in top hats. This year in arts reporting was quite a circus, in all the right ways. Between one edge of the Sun’s coverage area to the other, 2024 was full of visually compelling art displays and equally dazzling live performances.
There’s even still time to catch some of them before the year is out, including the California Nature Art Museum’s ongoing exhibit of breathtaking, scuba-inspired sea life scenes, and the Great American Melodrama’s beautifully bombastic winter production.
But for those who missed out on 2024’s art festivities, I hope this roundup serves as a small consolation. I can only imagine what 2025 has in store for the Central Coast art-wise, based on this year’s output, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In the words of Willy Wonka, “The suspense is terrible—I hope it will last.”
WHERE THERE’S A BILL
If there’s one person in the local theater scene who truly bookends 2024, it’s Billy Breed (center), whose performances at the Great American Melodrama never fail to impress. Between January and March, Breed practically stole the show at the Melodrama’s first vaudeville revue program of the year, titled Whatever the Weather We’ll Weather the Weather Together (try saying that five times fast), especially while taking center stage and lead vocals during “It’s Raining Men.” The theater’s 2024 season concludes with Breed in top form as the top-hatted Ebeneezer Scrooge during The Holiday Extravaganza, which opened in November and will remain on stage through Dec. 31.
TOUCH OF GRAY
To benefit the Friends of the Library of Santa Ynez Valley, Story of Soil Wine in Los Olivos hosted an author talk with local graphic novelist Arvind Ethan David in February. David discussed elements of Gray: Vol. 2, the second entry in his graphic novel series, described as a modern, gender-swapping reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Notable fans of the series include Diablo Cody (the Academy Award-winning screenwriter behind Juno), who praised David’s first volume as “an inventive, empowered, and thoroughly entertaining twist on a classic.”
WHISKERS A GO GO
In May, Cypress Gallery in Lompoc showcased a collection of acrylic pours by local painter Christine Jeszeck in a solo show titled Pouring My Heart Out. Some of Jeszeck’s pours result in pure abstracts, while others are repurposed as the surreal backdrops for less surreal portraits, including animal paintings like Tiger, Tiger. “I knew the pour would serve as a beautiful background for something, but until I came across a beautiful photo reference … it sat waiting,” said Jeszeck, who eventually decided to base her tiger on a photograph by Denise McQuillan. “The original colors of the pour were in fact similar to the tiger, so I gave it a subtle wash of dark green to help the tiger stand out.”
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
Eye on I in Lompoc displayed mixed media pieces by local artist Jasmine Gonzalez during the month of June. Gonzalez’s inspiration for her solo exhibit, full of collages and other artworks centered on clowns, stemmed from a vintage crafting brochure she discovered at an estate sale. The creepy, yet jovial, clown dolls featured in the 1970s-ish pamphlet initially grabbed Gonzalez’s attention with an unsettling surprise. “There’s a photo of a woman posing with what looks like a bunch of children,” she recalled. “And then you look closer, and you realize they’re all dolls surrounding her.”
BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS
The Santa Maria Civic Theatre (SMCT) staged its production of Godspell, a musical retelling of the Gospel of Matthew that places Christ and his disciples in a contemporary setting, from composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), in August. “In my opinion, the core of the show is community,” the show’s director, Janelle Steller, told the Sun. “By using the parables from the book of Matthew, we learn lessons about how we should live our lives and interact with others.” Jaime Espinoza (center, left) portrayed Jesus in the show. On Jan. 10, SMCT will debut its latest production, Ride the Cyclone: The Musical.
IN AN OCTOPUS’S GARDEN
Oceanic paintings by husband-and-wife duo David and Nansi Gallup are currently on display at Solvang’s California Nature Art Museum, where the pair’s exhibit, dedicated to promoting coral reef preservation, opened in September. “Not only are coral reefs the most visually exciting subject we could find, they are also desperately in need of our attention and protection,” said David, whose oil paintings in the show include Blue Octopus. “While most of us don’t think about coral reefs every day, we do rely on them for healthy oceans,” he said. The showcase, titled A Deeper Love, will remain on view at the museum through Feb. 24, 2025.
Send your New Year’s resolutions to Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 26, 2024 – Jan 5, 2025.
