The colorfully mysterious settings found in Nipomo artist Lynne Hanna’s abstract landscapes evoke feelings of familiarity for some viewers, and otherworldliness for others.
Her oil, acrylic, and mixed-media pieces range from those inspired by a specific terrain or viewpoint, to others that depict several settings simultaneously.
She had deserts, prairies, lagoons, and other environments in mind while painting Hidden Places—one of the artist’s pieces currently on display in a group exhibit at the Gallery at Monarch Dunes in Nipomo. But whether they’re even in the painting or not is entirely up to the viewer, as far as Hanna is concerned.
“That’s why I really like abstract, because everybody’s going to look at that differently,” Hanna said while walking through the Gallery at Monarch Dunes. “[I want] the viewer to find their own way into the painting.”
Hanna moved to Nipomo from Colorado with her husband about four years ago and has been drawn to capturing Central Coast sights via abstract and impressionistic landscapes ever since, but solely from memory, rather than reference photographs, she said.
Although her pieces tend to depict or allude to specific settings and objects once they’re complete, her end goal isn’t set in stone beforehand and seems to evolve with each brushstroke during her painting process, which she described as instinctual yet unemotional.
“A lot of abstract painters will paint their inner emotions. I usually don’t know if I find feelings [in my work], but it’s more of an intuitive kind of thing where I just make a mark and keep going from there,” Hanna explained, “rather than starting out with, you know, anger or something.”
Hanna is one of several artists whose works are included in the Gallery at Monarch Dunes Winter Showcase. An opening reception for the show—which highlights various media created by members of the Trilogy Art Group—is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
The show will remain up until sometime in March, when a new rotation of featured artworks will line the gallery’s walls.
Gallery spokesperson and participating artist Fred Ventura has two pieces on display in the current exhibit: one digital painting and one photograph. Ventura is both a member of the Trilogy Art Group and the Monarch Shutterflies, a local photography collective displaying more than 60 photos at the gallery in conjunction with the Trilogy Art Group’s Winter Showcase.
Ventura’s featured photograph in the exhibit is titled Lotus Flower, which he took during a group field trip from Nipomo to Lotusland in Montecito arranged by the Monarch Shutterflies last August.
Members of the Trilogy Art Group and Monarch Shutterflies live at Trilogy at Monarch Dunes, a residential community in Nipomo near the Monarch Dunes Golf Club.
Although the club’s golf courses didn’t inspire any of the green hues found in Hanna’s landscapes currently on display, they’re in her line of sight quite often.
“I’m not a golfer, but my husband and I will watch them whenever we’re eating at the grill,” Hanna said, referring to the Butterfly Grille, which overlooks the Golf Club. “It’s great for people-watching.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood is watching his inbox at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 23 – Feb 2, 2025.