Carol Talley isn’t much of a city girl.
The artist said she is more at home exploring the environment in and around her home in Santa Barbara. For her, the wooded hills and seemingly endless stretches of tawny beaches are both home and work. This is where she comes to find subjects for her paintings.
Talley’s work is featured in a new exhibit at Gallery Los Olivos, which runs through May 30, called Nature Beckons. Talley and fellow artist and friend Terri Taber present a collection of paintings that explore the physical arena of the Central Coast.
Landscape and nature painting are popular among artists in the region, for a variety of reasons. For Talley, the motivation is fairly straightforward.
“The simple answer is it’s beautiful,” she said. “Some people might get excited about living in big cities, but it’s not for me. There’s a respite and a solace that I get when I’m fully enveloped in nature.”
Talley said that in addition to her artistic aims, she also seeks renewal and peace when she works outdoors. Immersing oneself in nature can be liberating, she said, but can also help to bring balance to one’s life.
“I also like to look at painting and work that reflects or re-creates that feeling of peace,” Talley said. “I feel renewed after I’ve had my walk, just taking a break from everything. I do get that from looking at paintings on my wall. That’s what we hope to bring to people even though you may be in an office or building.”
Painting landscapes and nature scenery isn’t necessarily as easy as it looks, but it doesn’t have to be especially challenging either. One of Talley’s techniques is to approach natural objects (such as trees) and find their identity, telling a story on canvas.
“I think of a tree as having a wonderful character, like a figure,” she said. “Every tree is unique. You don’t want it to look like every other tree; you don’t want it to be a cookie cutter. It has unique character.”
Talley starts by sketching, examining the drawing aspects such as the proportion, how it grows, and what makes observers recognize it as a tree. She says she also pays careful attention to the kinds of details that make it distinctive as a particular kind of tree.
Color plays an important part in that process, she said.
“I like fairly realistic color,” Talley said. “Sometimes I’ll embellish it a little bit. But someone might still be able to know by what kind of color of leaves I use whether or not it’s a blue oak or live oak, for example. Sometimes it is important to be fairly realistic.”
Painters shouldn’t be afraid to move around and explore their subject beyond the space captured on a canvas, Talley advised. She said that part of landscape painting is understanding all the aspects that make a subject look the way it does or form a particular shape.
“Walk around,” she said. “Even though you’re only painting one side of something like a tree, get a three-dimensional perspective of it.”
Talley’s work isn’t strictly realist. She injects a great deal of impressionism into her work but also dabbles in elements of abstraction, especially when it comes to portraying the sometimes chaotic nature of the skies above the Central Coast.
“Skies do lend themselves to abstraction,” Talley said. “I’ll make a lot of creative color choices to create a mood. It isn’t necessarily the color I see, but I’ll go with the feeling I have.”
Talley doesn’t just look to nature for inspiration. She also finds it in her painting partner and longtime friend, Taber. Taber is also featured in the Nature Beckons, and Talley said they count on each other for feedback as well as support.
“I think Terri and I are inspired by being out in nature,” Talley said. “We take walks together and try to brainstorm or take pictures. It’s both part of our practice and friendship.”
Talley said that while sales are important to her as a working artist, she still lives for the reactions and feedback she gets from the general public.
“I have gotten really lovely people who have written comments or have given me verbal comments,” she said. “My art makes them feel good. I’m happy to help people do that.”
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose is a work of art. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 3-10, 2018.