Besides the allure of beautiful beaches, national parks, the Golden Gate Bridge and the glamour of Hollywood, California has attracted many artists, galleries and creative institutions. How can anyone not be taken by impeccable weather, perennial sunshine and an abundance of diversity? The vastness of the Golden State, ranking as the third largest state in the country, has no shortage of opportunity, imagination or inspiration for those seeking creative refuge.
Skyline of Los Angeles. Courtesy Los Angeles Tourism.Many view the large, urban metropolis of Los Angeles to be the epicenter of arts and culture in California, and they are quite right. Visitors will find countless artistic adventures in places like The Broad museum, featuring their collection of contemporary art from the 1950s to the present, The Getty Center that has renowned permanent collections like 19th- and 20th-century American art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the largest art museum in the Western U.S.
Many flock to Los Angeles for the annual LA Art Show, an “unparalleled international art experience with over 80 galleries, museums and non-profit arts organizations from around the world exhibiting painting, sculpture, works on paper, installation, photography, design, video and performance,” reads the show website. This year’s show, held January 19 through 23, featured contemporary works from esteemed dealers like Gallery 1261, Arcadia Contemporary, Cohn Art and Caldwell Snyder Gallery that are stateside, along with international venues like Kitai from Tokyo, Japan, and The Spaceless Gallery in Paris, France.
Strand Bike Path. Courtesy Los Angeles Tourism.Another prominent, upcoming art fair in LA is Frieze Los Angeles, from February 18 to 20, with an invitation only preview day on February 17. The event has a new location in Beverly Hills and will be featuring more than 100 international and LA-based galleries.
While it’s true that LA offers a lot of creative diversity, other regions such as San Francisco are just as prominent. Home to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, along with an immeasurable amount of inspiring architecture, the city is flush with creatives and art enthusiasts. San Francisco has also earned the reputation as an “art capital” and a “center of cultural bohemianism,” as many infamous artists and writers like the Beat Poets made the city their creative community. The city also saw the hippie counterculture rise to peak popularity in 1967, furthering the diverse, growing art scene of the area.
Exhibition view inside the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Courtesy San Francisco Travel Association.Today, the San Francisco art scene includes significant art institutions like the de Young Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of African Diaspora. Art related events also attract prominent leaders and collectors in the industry. The 2022 edition of Art Market San Francisco will be held April 21 to 24, featuring 85 modern and contemporary art galleries from around the world. San Francisco is also home to the FOG Design+Art fair, which “has become a focal point for the design and arts communities on the West Coast and further afield,” according to event reps. Galleries, exhibitors and design dealers from the U.S. and internationally come together to showcase many significant contemporary pieces.
Collectors gather at the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show. Courtesy Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach.
We move now to examine another popular arts destination of California known as San Diego, a gorgeous coastal city that is rife with artistic endeavors. Visitors can experience the likes of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and Balboa Park that includes many cultural venues like the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, Museum of Us and Museum of Photographic Arts. Just north of San Diego, in the city of Escondido, you will find the California Center for the Arts, which is a unique cultural campus. It brings the community together in a celebration of visual and performing arts.
ART San Diego, set to take place this year from September 9 through 11, is a contemporary art and design fair that will include “60 leading international galleries and emerging artists, immersive experiences, curated artist talks, panel discussions and performances,” notes the event website.
de Young Museum in San Francisco. Image by Gary Sexton. Image provided by Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Courtesy San Francisco Travel Association.
Traveling a bit more north is another small, coastal city called Laguna Beach. This region also has a plethora of exciting events, including the Festival of Arts Laguna Beach, featuring work from over 100 regional artists from July 5 to September 2. The Laguna Plein Air Painters Association’s Plein Air Painting Invitational, usually in October, invites top artists from the U.S. to paint the beauty of the Laguna area in plein air.Last, but certainly not least, the vibrant city of Palm Springs and the nearby Palm Desert are places to experience a bit of luxury. In the midst of the many golf courses and high-end resorts and shopping centers are art happenings like Intersect Palm Springs. This year’s event is February 10 through 13, and will feature a vibrant mix of modern and contemporary art and design venues.
The richness of California can hardly be wrapped up in just a short article, with this text barely skimming the surface on all that it has to offer, but if you continue reading you will hear from events, galleries, museums and talented artists who will further the conversation and share their inspirations and insights.
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CODA Gallery
73400 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 346-4661, www.codagallery.com
Joy and passion surrounding fine art are hallmarks of CODA Gallery, an El Paseo landmark that’s resonated with contemporary art collectors for 35 years. At CODA, acquiring art is a relaxed and pleasurable experience. 
CODA Gallery, Azure Array, mixed media, acrylic, polymers and polyesters, 48 x 48", by C. Dutch.
This year, the gallery’s ambitious schedule throughout Palm Desert’s season includes an exhibition of new work by C. Dutch, from February 18 through March 2. Dutch has spent his life experimenting with light. A graduate of Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design, he has received numerous awards and acknowledgements for his photographic achievements. Using handmade optics, polymer films, acrylic and resin, his most recent works hover between painting and sculpture. 
CODA Gallery, Oh Roy I Love Your Style!, oil on canvas, 25 x 50", by Ben Steele.
CODA Gallery, Men’s Day, oil on panel, 24 x 24", by Lucia Heffernan.
Inside each Lucite box composition, light is shaped, bent and sculpted as if it were a solid, then blended, merged and projected, creating an illusion of three-dimensionality. Although each piece appears to be a powered lightbox, in reality they collect available light and amplify it back into the environment.
Visit the gallery website for details and the gallery’s entire exhibition schedule.
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George Billis Gallery
2716 S. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 838-3685
la@georgebillis.com
www.gbgla.com
After establishing a successful contemporary gallery in New York in 1997, George Billis opened George Billis Gallery Los Angeles in 2004. GBGLA shows painting, sculpture and mixed media work, and is dedicated to exhibiting emerging to mid-career artists with a focus on Southern California artists. Over the last 17 years, GBGLA has built a reputation for representing artists with richly varied visual vocabularies ranging from abstraction to photorealism but always with a strong attention to technique. 
George Billis Gallery, 1958 Hermes 3000 Typewriter, oil on canvas, 24 x 36", by Chris Stott.
The gallery has an exciting roster of shows slated for 2022, including spring shows of new works by painters Chris Stott, Lindsey Warren and Ron Rizk. Stott is part of a new generation of realist painters building on the groundwork laid by the photorealists. His vintage object paintings are a very contemporary nod to 18th-century still life painting. Warren is a Southern California urban landscape painter whose works sublimely transcend the genre with their ecstatically colored skies and deeply reverent renderings of high and low architecture. Rizk’s meticulously dreamy architectural paintings are based on remembered landscapes and actual paper structures he constructs in his studio.
George Billis Gallery, On the Hill, oil on panel, 24 x 36", by Ron Rizk.
George Billis Gallery, Kite Hill View, oil on canvas, 36 x 24", by Lindsey Warren.
Gallery director Tressa Williams says, “Los Angeles has continued to be a vibrant and thriving center of the art world, even in the midst of a global pandemic. While local visitors to the physical gallery slowed during the shutdown, our exhibitions in the virtual space welcomed visitors from all over the world and introduced new collectors to the artists we represent…Collectors are no longer limited by geography and now have access to really robust online viewing platforms to discover and experience new artists’ work, and because of this, we are seeing paintings by California artists acquired by collectors all over the world.”
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SHOH Gallery
700 Gilman Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 504-9988
www.shohgallery.com
Since the renowned Bay Area Figurative Movement of the last century, Northern California arts have only continued to grow and thrive. SHOH Gallery opened in San Francisco’s East Bay in 2016 with one mission in mind: to search out and showcase a choice selection of the most talented contemporary artists working in the region today. 
SHOH Gallery, Morning Light at Pt. Pinole, oil on panel, 16 x 24", by Jim Bensman.
SHOH Gallery, Remnants, oil on canvas, 40 x 40", by Wanda Westberg.
Inspiration is native to the California landscape itself. When you add in the diverse and passionate community, the results are excitingly fresh and powerfully relevant. The upcoming shows for 2022 at SHOH Gallery will feature a variety of mediums, styles and perspectives, beginning in February with Michelle E. Fillmore’s newest hyper-realist paintings focusing on hope, mental health and traversing life’s hurdles, including life through the pandemic. Following will be the amazing and powerful mixed media works of Orin Carpenter, an ethereal interactive three-dimensional show of life-size textile sculptures by Gillian Garro and bold new abstract works by Wanda Westberg.
SHOH Gallery, Separation, oil on canvas (diptych), 60 x 40", by Michelle E. Fillmore.
“I urge collectors to trust their feelings and treat choosing which piece to take home as they would a partner,” says gallery founder Julie McCray. “This work will live with you every day. Sometimes subtly, often blatantly, it will affect your mood, your thoughts and your sense of home.”
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Maxwell Alexander Gallery
406 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 91105
(213) 275-1060
info@maxwellalexandergallery.com
www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
Maxwell Alexander Gallery is a leading West Coast destination for some of the county’s best realist painters, dubbed “The New Breed of Fine Art.” The gallery specializes in middle and early career artists with exceptional technique and a unique vision. Noted artists include Jeremy Mann, Serge Marshennikov, Cesar Santos, Joseph Todorovitch, Kim Cogan, Michael Klein, Joshua LaRock and David Kassan. 
Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Whirly Morning, oil, 22 x 22", by Serge Marshennikov.
The gallery is located in the South Park district of downtown Los Angeles, just a couple streets over from the Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center). In recent years, Downtown LA has become one of the most sought-after locations in the whole of Los Angeles. “Recent articles have shown 35 new high-rise building projects, many of them including residential units,” says Beau Alexander, president of the gallery. “Needless to say, the market is booming. We are continuing to service our out of state clientele, but we’ve also gained a whole group of new clients this past year who are new residents of Downtown LA. Our continued online presence has really been the standout during the pandemic. During the two-year shut down, we’ve had our largest gross sales to date, by a large margin.”
Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Four, oil, 12 x 12", by Joseph Todorovitch.
Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Shibusa, oil, 52½ x 40", by Jeremy Mann.
For the month of February, the galley will host the first solo exhibition in years for Mann featuring his new series of figures amongst abstracted scenes, as well as his large format composition series.
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Arts District Liberty Station
San Diego, CA
info@libertystation.com
www.libertystation.com
Arts District Liberty Station is an interactive creative hub in a beautifully repurposed 28-acre former Naval Training Center. Along with more than 30 studios of visual artists, the district houses performance and literary arts, and community service groups, shops and restaurants. What collectors will find is originality, from classical to contemporary, with the unmistakable influence and creative spirit of Southern California. 
Aerial view of the Arts District Liberty Station. Photo by Malik Earnest.
In the last year, over a dozen artists have joined the roster. New art tenants Anne Gaffey, Rosa Barnes, Yahel Yan and Judy Mandel have added to the creative mix as they engage in the local art scene. Photographer Patty Martinez has spent a few years there, frequently incorporating the local architecture in her images of district dancers. Now in her fifth year at Liberty Station, award-winning colored pencil artist Susan Salazar embodies a love for animals in a photorealistic approach. 
Arts District Liberty Station, Let Them Eat Cake – Queen Series, oil, 72 x 48", by Lisa Bryson.
VELTZ Fine Art serves as one of the premier gallery studios. Colleen Veltz, a dynamic force in the district, creates botanically inspired works often themed on gratitude and impermanence. Her Copper Waterfall series previews in the gallery April 1. VELTZ Fine Art periodically exhibits work from top area artists, such as Lisa Bryson’s highly successful Homage series.
Arts District Liberty Station, Copper Waterfall Series, acrylic and mixed media, 48 x 48", by Colleen Veltz.
Bryson is now finishing her Queen series of portrait paintings, addressing sociopolitical and economic class structures while incorporating pop culture references. The Let Them Eat Cake composition appears regal with a lush color palette, while darker undertones subtly reside amongst the glam. The first painting of this series has already sold.
Artist Peggy Fischbeck notes that “our visitors enjoy the opportunity to meet artists as they work, and with continued online access to artists and classes, visitors can stay connected long after they leave and purchase artwork or take classes. New art is continually available, and we see sales surge as collectors revision their home environment.”
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Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach
650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(800) 487-3378, info@foapom.com
www.lagunafestivalofarts.org
The arts have been an integral part of Laguna Beach for more than 100 years, which distinguishes it from other beach towns in Southern California. Since 1932, the Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach has developed full and enriching art opportunities that have certainly contributed to Laguna’s reputation as an art colony and brought worldwide recognition to the city. As a professionally juried art show, the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show carries stringent requirements for exhibitors. The festival has been rated one of the top festivals in the nation, including Orange County Register’s Best Festivals of 2019, Art Fair Calendar’s Top Five Art Fairs in the West and Sunset Magazine’s Top Art Festivals in the nation, to name a few. 
Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach, Sycamore Cathedral, oil on canvas, 36 x 24", by Monica Edwards.
Included are 120 diverse artists from across Orange County that make paintings, glass art, ceramics and work in a variety of other mediums. Impressive professional awards and achievements are plentiful among the festival’s artists, and their artworks enrich the private collections of many leading art collectors and museums around the world. 
Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach, Castro Trolly, oil on canvas, 24 x 24", by Pil Ho Lee.
“The Festival of Arts not only fosters art education and creativity, but also creates jobs and contributes significantly at the local and state level,” says David Perry, president of the festival. “The Festival of Arts provides a preeminent destination for art buyers and cultural tourism, while also creating a climate in which innovation can flourish. Whether a budget of $250 or $25,000, visitors and art connoisseurs are sure to find unique original works at [the show] which would enhance any collection.”
Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach, Calicos, wood and bronze, 62 x 54", by Casey Parlette.
In addition to the artwork, the festival offers activities for art lovers of all ages. From daily art classes to wine tasting, art talks to jazz concerts, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. This year the Fine Art Show will happen July 5 to September 2. Hours and ticket information are available on the show website.
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Tehachapi Arts Commission
Tehachapi, CA
(626) 945-3753
info@artstehachapi.org
www.artstehachapi.org
The Tehachapi Arts Commission, which is committed to raising awareness in the arts for the Tehachapi, California, community, has solidified its place in the art show circuit after a successful, first event known as the Tehachapi Art Show in 2021. Even after rescheduling their initial 2020 dates, due to COVID restrictions, they pressed on and came out on top.
Tehachapi Arts Commission’s VIP opening night. Photo courtesy Tehachapi Arts Commission.The committee behind Tehachapi Arts Commission includes local artist Donald Towns, Dwight and Laura Dreyer, and gallery owners Jim and Cheryl Wilson. Together, they created a unique show concept that had 36 artists from all over the country roaming around the Tehachapi area to capture it “en plein air.” Artists then returned home to finish their pieces and returned for the July show and VIP kickoff event that featured 108 paintings. 
Tehachapi Arts Commission, Afternoon Clouds Over Stallion Springs, oil on panel, 9 x 12", by Peter Adams.
Following the success of the public show, amounting to over 200 visitors, artists and collectors alike are excited for the upcoming 2022 Tehachapi Art Show scheduled for July 23 and 24, with the VIP opening on July 22. In addition to their plein air pieces, artists are invited to submit one other major work of their choosing, along with a miniature. 
Tehachapi Arts Commission, Tehachapi Daydream, oil on linen, 16 x 20", by Richard E. Gallego.
Dwight Dreyer notes, “We want to include a diverse group of artists and we’re open to all materials and themes.” There will also be a variety of subject matter including still life and landscapes by artists such as Peter Adams and Richard Gallego.
Another artist to look out for is Otto Stürcke, who was awarded Best of Show for the 2021 show. The 2021 Best Landscape award was given to Eleinne Basa, and the Best Urban painting for the event went to Scott W. Prior.
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Richard Baker
www.richardbakerpaintings.com
Richard Baker paints in a contemporary realism style and his work reflects his personal lifestyle and interests. Baker works from observation and is drawn to compositions that contain strong colors, sharp shifts in tonality and subtle geometry. Such features complement his artistic style, which is characterized by a thick application of paint and a synthesis of representational and abstract forms. Simplified planes of color and tonal contrasts imply rather than describe detail. 
Richard Baker, Have Some Fruit, oil on canvas, 36 x 48"
Richard Baker, Sunday in Chelsea Park, oil on canvas, 30 x 40"
These elements can be clearly seen in pieces like Sunday in Chelsea Park, featuring people enjoying a leisurely day. There is a richness of color expressed in the grassy lawn, along with specks of bright color in lounging towels and articles of clothing. Shape, tone and color are also important to the fruit market scene in Have Some Fruit. Baker’s style is distinctive, offering a unique perspective on quiet, yet beautiful moments.
Richard Baker, Rainy Day at the Whitney, oil on canvas, 30 x 40"His pieces have been enhanced by his years of creative experience in film and television. His art education began at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied painting under the renowned realist painter Rackstraw Downes. Upcoming gallery shows include a solo show at the Skidmore Contemporary Art Gallery in Santa Monica in February, and several group shows at the Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York.
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Sally Ruddy
info@sallyruddy.com
www.sallyruddy.com
Henry David Thoreau declared: “One can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of its inexhaustible vigor.” Naturally responding to this philosophy, Sally Ruddy’s wondrous new series, titled Fleeting Moments, captures her profound connection to the environment. 
Sally Ruddy, Just Before the Stars Come Out, oil on canvas, 20 x 24"The artist’s landscape oil paintings, which reverberate with a keen perception of the terrain, honor the California Central Valley and celebrate the joy of the world. “The series reflects my efforts to find those experiences that catch the eye,” Ruddy says. “We want them to last, but what makes them special is how soon they pass.” Imbued with a spiritual harmony, she freezes sensorial scenarios and embraces a permanent remembrance of an exquisite, special moment within the terrestrial realm. 
Sally Ruddy, Coffee Black, oil on canvas, 6 x 6"
Ruddy interprets the transitory quality of nature in her artwork, yielding an oeuvre that is a tapestry of love to the world as she records the natural miracles of life. The trees, orchards, flowers and skies that she paints have a poetic softness as they dance across the canvas reflecting the gentleness of nature and the alluring mystique of the environment. Mosaic-like in color, her luminescent work is radiated into a myriad of chromatic panoramas of variegated color planes. 
Sally Ruddy, Turning, oil, 16 x 20"
Ruddy is an award-winning artist who has extensively exhibited in the places such as the United Kingdom, France and Italy, as well as across the U.S. Ruddy’s artwork is also treasured in many public and private collections worldwide. Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York City is delighted to shine the spotlight on Ruddy.
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Cathy Carey
Encinitas, CA
cathy@artstudiosandiego.com
www.artstudiosandiego.com
The paintings of Cathy Carey are a contemporary blend of Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse. An expressive colorist, Carey uses vibrant colors in natural settings to speak boldly of the importance of the natural world. Her primary goal is to express joy through the connection she feels with nature. 
Cathy Carey, Journey to the Spirit Land, oil on linen, 30 x 40"
Carey portrays the natural world as a vulnerable, joyous, resilient and confident place; bold, yet peaceful. She paints what she feels and wants to share with others. Experiencing a Carey painting can be a much-needed visual vacation to a place of peace and invigorating joy.
Cathy Carey, Orchard Winery West, oil on linen, 24 x 30"
Cathy Carey, Vernal Pond, oil on linen, 30 x 24"
The artist’s piece Journey to the Spirit Land is showing at the Oceanside Museum of Art in the 2022 Artist Alliance Biennial through February 12. Carey is represented in California by La Playa Gallery of La Jolla. In the Southwest, her paintings can be seen at the following: Wilde Meyer Gallery in Tucson and Scottsdale, Arizona; InArt Gallery of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and the Ranch at Taos Gallery in Taos, New Mexico.
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Winfield Gallery
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
(831) 624-3369
www.winfieldgallery.com
“When you visit Carmel-by-the-Sea on the spectacular central California coast, you’ll arrive in an art-centered community that has flourished for over a century. The Winfield Gallery, founded in 1989 by Chris Winfield, sits at its heart, and shows some of the most engaging, vibrant and exciting artwork of the 20th and 21st-centuries. As an artist himself, and the son and husband of artists, this is the world he knows best,” says curator Helaine Glick. “A consummate gallerist, Winfield’s first priority is the promotion and career satisfaction of his artists. He presents a diverse collection of contemporary artworks from established, midcareer and emerging artists, to notable selections of 20th-century art.”
Winfield Gallery, Landscape with Deer, oil on canvas, 18 x 24", by David Ligare.
Winfield Gallery, Unfoldment, acrylic on panel, graphite on matte mylar and carved wood, 28 x 331/8 x 6", by Holly Lane.
Glick continues, “In 2022, Winfield Gallery will present exhibitions for two longtime gallery artists, the renowned contemporary realist David Ligare, who brings the unspoiled nature of Greek Arcadian myth into his Salinas Valley landscapes, and Holly Lane, whose intricate hand-carved frames surround her exquisite painted miniatures like modern reliquaries. Both Ligare and Lane are California artists, and both draw deeply from the life and landscapes of their local environments, which range from the Salinas Valley to the Western Sierras. These are two exhibitions you won’t want to miss.”
The latest exhibition news, and much more, is available by joining the gallery mailing list through its website.
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Rick J. Delanty
(949) 412-6907
www.delantyfineart.com
Rick J. Delanty is a native Californian, finding in this state a love for nature and wonder of creation, which he has continued to explore in his expressive oil and acrylic landscape paintings. Delanty is a national award-winning artist in plein air competitions around the West and is in exhibitions across the United States and internationally. He has practiced his craft professionally for over 40 years, painting from Big Sur to Niagara Falls, and teaching and demonstrating in a variety of venues. 
Rick J. Delanty, Gloria! (Psalm 19-1), oil over acrylic, 36 x 60"
Rick J. Delanty, Light in the Storm, acrylic on board, 12 x 12"
Delanty’s paintings are in the permanent collections of two prominent museums, with 20 originals in one of the largest private collections of California art in the nation. Feature articles concerning his work have appeared in numerous art magazines, along with several books. The artist has published a book featuring over 50 artworks and inspirational writings titled Beauty Unites Us. He is represented by Illume Gallery in St. George, Utah, and Waterhouse Gallery in Santa Barbara, California.
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Ed Penniman
Capitola, CA
(831) 462-2333
ed@penniman.net
edpenniman.faso.com
The central California coastline is that bit of nirvana where nature poured out her blessings—glassy lagoons, velvety gold hillsides and aromatic pine forests. These are the treasures that inspire artist Ed Penniman to immerse himself in a scene, find its essential spirit and offer his artistic interpretation. “In nature, there is beauty and inspiration everywhere,” he says. “I intend to capture a poetic visual impression of a spiritual moment in nature.”
Ed Penniman, Los Padres Lupine II, oil on canvas, 30 x 40"
Ed Penniman, Schwan Lagoon, oil on canvas, 48 x 48"
Penniman adds, “When you buy artwork, your appreciation and choice are purely subjective. A painting may touch you in several ways and remind you of a feeling or symbolize a cherished moment in life. Great art has a universal appeal that naturally flows into one’s heart and soul. If you buy art purely as a speculative investment, you can get professional assistance. Either way, a unique artistic viewpoint and a mastery of the artist’s chosen medium are a given.” —
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