So the pie is gone, shopping is done, and all that’s left of the Thanksgiving turkey is a few ribbons of dark meat. What do you do with the relatives now?
Walk off that turkey while viewing fine art and shopping for Christmas treasures. Two shows are a must see for art lovers in the days after the feasting.
The first—the Los Padres Artist Guild’s 32nd Annual Christmas Show, The Gifts of Christmas—will be held Nov. 28 through 30 at the Abel Maldonado Community Center, 600 S. McClelland Dr.
Fine art, handcrafted items, and demonstrations are the call of the day. The featured artists this year prove that sometimes paint is the “glue” that binds. Santa Maria artists Lamar Rowbury, Beverly Hoebel, and their son Robert Hoebel will feature their art and demonstrate their individual techniques.
Beverly brings the personality out in animals in her paintings, created on eagle feathers that show pumas, wolves, and eagles. Raised in a Hollywood family, she gave up a contract with RKO to pursue her love of art. She said that much of her works also feature imagery of yesteryear.
“It was a time of gentlemen and ladies and politeness,” she said. “Things I guess I miss in this day and age.”
Son Robert favors the wild kingdom, too, but specializes in an airbrush technique. His work takes on a dramatic feel with vivid colors and an almost three-dimensional quality. With no formal artistic training, art has always come naturally to him—not surprising, considering the talent that surrounded him.
“Growing up in an artistic family was chaotic at times, but a lot of fun,” he said.
Rowbury grew up in an artistic family himself. His father and brother were professional artists, so he knows the mixed feelings it can bring
“I think it’s wonderful. Sometimes it’s fantastic. You always have a critique one minute away when you’re painting—and sometimes it’s not always a favorable one,” Rowbury said.
His pieces evoke images of familiar fields and meadows. His landscapes have won numerous awards. But that’s not an accolade that’s reserved for Rowbury. He said he feels like the family’s been fortunate because each of them has won numerous awards at shows and invitationals.
Rowbury’s work is doing double duty after Thanksgiving: It’s also appearing at the Lompoc Valley Art Council Best of the Best Awards. His piece, Distant Thunder, took third place.
For folks in the Lompoc area or up for the short drive, the post-Thanksgiving weekend is the last chance to catch work by the winners of the Best of the Best show, on display through Nov. 29 at the Grossman Gallery in the Lompoc Public Library.
The show has no categories, though it includes a wide variety of media. Individual selections were juried in by various arts organizations throughout Santa Barbara County, and more than $1,000 in prize money was awarded by the council to winners.
First place went to Rocky Stroup for his conceptual piece, You Are Here. The mixed-media installation consisted of a multiple-depth photograph of the photograph itself, a wall with an outlet, and a fire extinguisher.
Stroup, a longtime member of the Lompoc Sculptor’s Guild, recently formed the Lompoc Photography Guild and wanted to find a way to incorporate photography and sculpture. He did just that with his winning piece.
“I’m passionate about those mediums,” he said. “I’m really interested in three-dimensional imagery. It was a fun project.”
Second place went to Judith Grames-Lyra of Lompoc, who submitted a large, vertical format watercolor of goldfish, titled School’s Out.
Grames-Lyra’s piece was created as a memorial to two of her Koi fish.
“I was really attached to them,” she said. “They used to come up and kiss my fingers when I fed them.”
But it was actually the light of the sun shining through leaves in her daughter’s yard that inspired her. When she started painting from that inspiration, the pictures started to evolve.
“A lot of times, I have things in my head that I want to do, but this time it was intuitive,” she explained.
Rowbury, remember, took third place for his acrylic diptych painting, Distant Thunder, depicting rolling hills beneath a moody gray sky. Most of his work includes seascapes, pastorals, and early Americana. He also recently earned the People’s Choice Award at the 2008 Autumn Arts Festival Fine Art Show.
Honorable mentions went to Wendy Gay, Linda Gooch, Joan Jones, Glen Morse, and Roy Rittenberg for their sculpture, acrylic, and pastel works.
Gooch was also the winner of the People’s Choice Award, voted on during the reception and announced at the end, for her acrylic painting Happy Hour, featuring tiny birds clustered around a bird feeder and water bowl.
Judges this year for the Best of the Best show were R. Anthony Askew and Nadya Brown, well known in the artist community as both practicing artists and instructors. Brown said she tried to choose pieces that were original, technically sound, and emotionally engaging. Askew called Stroup’s first place piece strong conceptually and technically, and said he found humor in its narrative.
Tongue-in-cheek, introspective, or awe-inspiring, the weekend’s shows have something to offer for everyone—even if your family’s knowledge of art is limited to Uncle Ernie’s turkey carving skills.
INFOBOX: Happy holidays, art
The Los Padres Artist Guild’s 32nd Annual Christmas Show will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. on Nov. 28, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 29, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 30 at the Abel Maldonado Community Center, 600 S. McClelland Drive.
The Lompoc Arts Council’s Best of the Best show will be on display through Nov. 29 at the Grossman Gallery at the Lompoc Library.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone wants you to pass the mashed potatoes. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2008.