The muse behind local artist Stephanie Palomarez’s piece Diva Cat had a meow like no other, according to the prolific painter.
“This was my cat for many years. … He always knew exactly what he wanted, and he had a way of saying, ‘I want it now,’” Palomarez said about her feline subject. “He could extend his meow out so you knew that he meant don’t tarry awhile, ‘I want it now.’
“I called him a diva cat because he just seemed to have a lot of presence, like royalty,” added Palomarez, whose pet portrait is one of several of her artworks currently on display at the Santa Maria Public Airport.
As part of the Valley Art Gallery’s ongoing showcase series at the airport, Palomarez’s exhibit debuted in early October and is scheduled to remain up through Monday, Dec. 5. Her artworks in the show include acrylic and watercolor paintings and silk screen prints.
Born in Brazil, Palomarez has previously lived in Canada, South Africa, the Philippines, and Australia but now calls California’s Central Coast her home, where she has resided since the 1990s. Upon moving to Santa Maria with her husband and son, one of Palomarez’s favorite discoveries in town was the art department at Allan Hancock College, where she eventually enrolled in ceramics, design, and other courses.
“I learned quite a bit from going to art classes at Hancock,” said Palomarez, who also praised the department’s instructors. “I was happy that I moved to this area because you don’t often find so many good art teachers in one place.”
Waller Park is another Santa Maria gem Palomarez feels grateful to have in the area, as she and her husband often enjoy taking long walks through the park’s grounds. One of her artworks in the current airport exhibit was directly inspired by a memorable sighting at the park.
“There was an egret standing on a log in the pond, and there were turtles watching him,” Palomarez said while discussing Egret, a colorful acrylic piece that captures one egret, three turtles, and two dragonflies, with the latter in imminent danger of being eaten. “Every once in a while, the egret would reach over and grab one of those dragonflies, and the turtles were just fascinated with what he was doing.”
Some of Palomarez’s pieces were inspired by her various travels, including a cross-country train trip she was able to take at the end of 2019.
“We went to visit my son, who was living in Illinois at the time,” said Palomarez, whose two paintings, Journey at See Level and Time Travel, were based on her experiences riding the train, which crossed the Mississippi River and ventured through other landmarks and parks during the long trip. “I think that it’s really interesting how vast the river is, and how many types of scenery and landscapes are along the river.
“What I wanted to get across was just the inspiration that you have when you see the countryside from different times of the day and night,” added Palomarez, who sought to capture unique details and specific moments “we don’t always have time to look at”—especially when they’re flying by outside a train window.
Palomarez’s punny title, Journey at See Level, was inspired by Amtrak’s “See America at See Level” advertising campaign, while her painting Time Travel refers to the type of travel she was limited to at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, which is when she painted the piece.
“During the pandemic, it’s the only travel I could do,” Palomarez said while discussing Time Travel, inspired by her 2019 travels but completed during the pandemic.
“The only travel I could do was through time, into the past, by thinking about my trip.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is the human version of a diva cat. Litter his inbox by emailing cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2022.
