Award-winning local painters and longtime collaborators Sheryl Knight and Linda Mutti are pARTnering up once again for HeART and Soul, a new landscape exhibition at Gallery Los Olivos.
This duo exhibit will be open to the public starting on Thursday, Oct. 1, and is scheduled to remain on display through Saturday, Oct. 31. The show marks the second in-person exhibit the gallery has hosted since its reopening in September.
“It will be similar to other shows we have done together at this gallery in that we will be showing new works in oil and pastel,” said Knight, who regularly paints with oils, while Mutti usually works with pastels.
The featured landscapes in HeART and Soul range between mountain, river, vineyard, and urban scenes, Knight told the Sun. Knight and Mutti have been exhibiting their works side by side in several duo shows at Gallery Los Olivos over the past decade.
“We are both passionate about our paintings and tend to like the same type of art and subjects,” Knight said. “That is partly why we exhibit so well together and even paint well together—besides being good friends.”
“We have traveled to many places together to paint on location,” said Knight, who joined Mutti on state-crossing trips to Arizona, Idaho, and Wyoming. Yosemite, Napa, and Sonoma are among the California destinations in the duo’s travelogue of shared plein-air adventures.
“The title of the show, HeART and Soul, was chosen by the two of us as we feel we put so much of ourselves into our work and it is part of who we are,” said Knight, best known locally for her vibrant vineyard paintings—earning a nickname as the “Central Coast Vineyard Artist”—and distinct, expressive style.
Mutti, a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and American Women Artists, described her pastel scenes featured in HeART and Soul as “a culmination of my passion to interpret the landscape,” especially amid the ongoing pandemic, she explained.
“I feel an urgency to create and add beauty to the world in this time of crisis. It is an expression of my soul’s desire and my heart’s desire to help uplift people,” Mutti told the Sun. “If someone can feel peace when viewing my work, I am uplifted as well.”
Despite the two artists’ mutual penchant for painting outdoors and on location, HeART and Soul features more studio landscapes than plein-air pieces, Knight explained, as many of the duo’s newer paintings—completed within the past six months—were finished behind closed doors.
“These particular paintings were mostly all produced during the lockdown due to COVID-19,” Knight said.
When COVID-19 mitigation measures began in March, one of Mutti’s instincts was to just keep painting, even as a way to reduce anxiety, she explained.
“Initially during quarantine, I raced to the studio. I could not wait to push paint and pastel around the canvas and paper,” Mutti said. “Painting was a way to quiet the mind, almost as a meditation, a way to stay in the present moment.
“Not every painting was a success, but that is part of the journey—a journey that I love,” Mutti added.
Knight admittedly spent less time painting during the first few months of quarantine, she said, due to a temporary lack of inspiration and energy focused elsewhere. But looking back, she appreciated the gap and felt refreshed about painting again.
“I found that I didn’t paint as much in March and April as I usually do. I found myself gardening and using my creative ability there,” Knight said. “I think the break was good for me, and I think I am producing some of my best work.”
Send heartfelt and soulful words to Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2020.