The state of California embodies the age-old slogan, “The Land of Opportunity”—once reserved for the whole of the United States. Ranking as the third largest state in the country, there’s just so much to offer. Besides the abundance of beautiful weather, beaches and varied terrain, there’s also a diversity in culture, the enchantment of Hollywood, the boho lifestyle of San Francisco, the peaceful atmosphere of San Diego, and of course, unparalleled arts and entertainment offerings, among so much more.
Sunset at the Melrose District, Los Angeles, CA. Courtesy Los Angeles Tourism.With so much inspiration at any given time, many artistic hubs have formed throughout the state. One such vibrant art scene is the ever-growing Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. Many artist’s studios and galleries exist in what were once abandoned warehouses—first inhabited in the 1970s and growing to prominence in the 1980s, when it was a gritty, rebelliously creative scene.
Today, the Los Angeles area is home to many galleries and art museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of art, the Getty Center, The Broad, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition, the public can peruse contemporary masterpieces at upcoming, popular art shows and fairs like the LA Art Show from February 15 through 19, and Frieze Los Angeles from February 16 to 19. 
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA. Courtesy San Francisco Travel Association.Heading north, another rich, spirited art epicenter can be found in the hilly landscape and inspiring architecture that populates the city of San Francisco. The city is the birthplace of the counterculture movement brought on by the Beat Generation, the band of writers who explored anti-conformism in the 1950s; and the "Summer of Love” in 1967 with its epicenter in the Haight-Ashbury district, where thousands of “young people traveled far and wide to join a community of artists, musicians, poets and radicals who would change the world—influencing popular culture through music and art; launching the natural and organic foods movement; protesting war with peace and love; and ushering in an era of greater connectivity,” reads the website summerof.love, presented by San Francisco Travel and the California Historical Society.
While the San Francisco art scene looks a little different today, it maintains the unique flare and vibrancy established by these historic movements. Haight-Ashbury now offers walking tours, iconic shops and boutiques, and is close to the famous de Young Museum. “Together, the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park make up the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the largest public arts institution in the city and one of the largest art museums in the United States,” notes the de Young Museum on their website.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA. Courtesy San Francisco Travel Association.Additional San Francisco art hubs include the Yerba Buena neighborhood, also known as the South of Market district (SoMA), that has a high concentration of galleries, museums and art institutions like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Pier 24 Photography, to name just a few. The Mission neighborhood is said to be “the creative backbone of the city,” with its many building murals, galleries and studios.
While the art action in California definitely doesn’t end here, we encourage you to read through this section dedicated to galleries, museums, artists and institutions throughout the state of California. They continue the discussion on the many magical wonders that the state has offered by way of artful inspiration, and what they can offer you as a beginning collector or a seasoned enthusiast, either looking to purchase or just to find your next art adventure in a new location.
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Arts District Liberty Station
San Diego, CA
info@libertystation.com
www.libertystation.com
Arts District Liberty Station is a vibrant interactive hub of creativity just a few miles from downtown San Diego. This beautifully repurposed former Naval Training Center houses over 30 studios dedicated to visual arts, while performance and literary arts, community service, creative retail and restaurants complete the complex.
Arts District Liberty Station, Cryptocurrency Queen Neo Nefertiti, oil, 72 x 48", by Lisa Bryson.Liberty Station artists emerged from the pandemic with new works that are fresh, bold, expressionistic, re-envisioned, with the vibrancy of Southern California. The diversity of artwork attracts collectors at all levels.
Leon Okun’s canvases are a visual treat of color and brushwork, an expert counterplay of classical concepts with abstracted contemporary passages. Lisa Bryson’s textured oils capture the eye and mind of viewers who engage in images ripe with hidden messages, pop culture influences and sociopolitical themes.
Arts District Liberty Station, Composition #7, oil, 47 x 41", by Leon Okun.
Artists Colleen Veltz and Wendy Hamilton each create a series of images as they examine a theme. Veltz focuses on nature with highly textured works, composed with botanicals embedded in the canvas. Hamilton creates movement and patterns in multi-layers of color.
Anne Gaffey’s vivid mixed media works, remain highly popular in both her Arts District studio and local art festivals. Photographer Patty Martinez captures the movement of dance, often with photos set among the historic buildings here. Susan Salazar creates stroke by stroke in colored pencil resulting in pet portraits so detailed they are often mistaken for camera images.
Aerial view of the Arts District Liberty Station.Bryson, Salazar and Veltz will host special events in March and April, coinciding with the monthly First Friday interactive open studio events. Throughout each month, explore art in creation, converse with the artists, purchase work and sign up for classes on-site or online.
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Billis Williams Gallery
2716 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90034
gallery@billiswilliams.com
www.billiswilliams.com
After establishing a successful contemporary gallery in New York in 1997, George Billis opened George Billis Gallery Los Angeles in 2004. Tressa Williams joined as director in 2009 and became partner in 2021. Billis Williams Gallery builds on the Billis legacy and shows emerging to mid-career artists with a special focus on Southern California painters. The gallery is dedicated to exhibiting exceptional work in richly varied visual vocabularies ranging from abstraction to photorealism.
Billis Williams Gallery, Cloud Jikan, oil on canvas, 36 x 18", by Christine Rasmussen.
Billis Williams Gallery, Buena Vista Bridge, oil on linen, 31 x 44", by Patricia Chidlaw.
Billis Williams Gallery, Sea View Rooftop, oil on canvas, 24 x 40", by Lindsey Warren.
The gallery ended 2022 with an outstanding solo exhibition of new paintings by Christine Rasmussen, a young Los Angeles-based oil painter focused on industrial realism. The new year opens with the announcement of representation and a solo exhibition for Los Angeles-based artist Christopher Murphy and his newfigurative paintings.
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Cathy Carey Gallery
1261 Windsor Road, Cardiff CA 92007
(760) 877-0869
cathy@artstudiosandiego.com
www.artstudiosandiego.com
The Cathy Carey Gallery in Cardiff, California, has the world’s largest collection of the artist’s work and is open to the public by appointment only. The gallery has hundreds of pieces of Carey’s unique and expressive artwork displayed here, ranging from watercolors, pastels and oils to fabric collage and jewelry.
Interior of Cathy Carey Gallery.
Cathy Carey Gallery, Golden Summer Shore, oil, 24 x 30", by Cathy Carey.
Cathy Carey Gallery, At the Heart of Life’s Journey, oil, 30 x 40", by Cathy Carey.
Seeing the evolution of Carey’s work in one place is a unique opportunity for the collector. “When I travel, I make watercolor journals and sketchbooks that become the beginnings of my paintings,” she says. “I work in a style called modified blind contour, where I am looking at the scene more than I look at the paper. On road trips I have a friend drive so I can sketch in a kind of stream of consciousness series of images as they appear outside the window.”
Collectors can view these pieces as a special behind the scenes experience in the gallery.
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Tehachapi Arts Commission
Tehachapi, CA
(626) 945-3753
info@artstehachapi.org
www.artstehachapi.org
On Friday, July 21, 2023, the Tehachapi Arts Commission will unveil its third nationally recognized Tehachapi Art Show. At this elegant gala, the 47 artists who journeyed to Tehachapi, California, in May to explore the area and begin their paintings, will be back to display the finished works that were juried into the 2023 show. In 2022, an Aerospace Art category was added due to the area’s proximity to Edwards Air Force Base—attracting aerospace artists like Doug Castleman and Michelle Rouch.
Tehachapi Arts Commission, Tehachapi Twilight, oil stretched linen, 16 x 20", by Marian Fortunati.
Tehachapi Arts Commission, El Tejon Ranch CA, oil on panel, 12 x 16", by Rodolfo Rivademar.
Tehachapi Arts Commission, Springtime Caboose, oil with palette knife, 10 x 20", by Terry D. Chacon.
Attendees at the Friday evening event will have the opportunity to meet the artists, including the 2023 Featured Artist Junn Roca, purchase paintings and talk with collectors from all over the country. Also returning this year will be Charles Muench, winner of the 2022 Best of Show and last year’s Featured Artist Eleinne Basa.
The show will be open to the public from July 22 to 23. For more information, visit www.artstehachapi.com.
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Rick J. Delanty
(949) 412-6907
rdelanty@cox.net
www.delantyfineart.com
Rick J. Delanty, of San Clemente, California, has been painting for the last 15 months in anticipation of his unique one-man show titled Inspired by History: Rick J. Delanty and California Impressionists. The artist pairs his work with historical masterworks of California impressionism from the late 19th and early 20th-centuries, loaned to him from the Boseker Family Art Collection. The show will open March 14 and run through June 4, in the galleries of the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente.
Rick J. Delanty, Heaven and Half Dome, oil on board, 11 x 14"The curated exhibition will feature 22 of Delanty’s paintings inspired by the works of renowned painters like Armin Hansen, Anna Hills, Frank Cuprien, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill, William Ritschel, William Wendt and many others. Each historical/contemporary pairing will be connected by a variety of elements that could include subject matter, geographical location, similar composition, color and/or theme. Paintings were created both in the studio and plein air.
Rick J. Delanty, Mission San Miguel, Arches, acrylic on board, 12 x 24"
Rick J. Delanty, Montana de Oro Poppies, acrylic, 14 x 14"Delanty has painted for 50 years and taught painting and drawing for nearly 40, thereby developing a deep appreciation for the contribution of a variety of artists to the history of art. He is a signature member of six national art organizations, and is represented by Waterhouse Gallery in Santa Barbara, California, and Illume West Gallery in Montana. “My own association with these organizations and their legacies,” says the artist, “is one of the reasons I was eager to work on this wide-ranging project: Inspired by History.”
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Jones & Terwilliger Galleries
Sixth Avenue & San Carlos, Carmel, CA (831) 626-9100
73-375 El Paseo, Suite A, Palm Desert, CA (760) 674-8989
www.jones-terwilliger-galleries.com
With two locations in Carmel and Palm Desert, California, Jones & Terwilliger Galleries, since 1997, offers a diverse collection of paintings ranging from realism, impressionism to abstract expressionism by over 60 artists.
Jones & Terwilliger Galleries, Overlook Pathway, oil on canvas, 48 x 60", by Greg Stocks.This includes Angus Wilson, Andre Balyon, Brian Blood, Julie Chapman, Lindsay Goodwin, Milt Kobayashi, Greg Stocks, James Leonard, Joseph Lorusso, Michael Malm and David Smith. Also featured in an impressive collection of hand carved stone sculpture from Zimbabwe, is Peter Gwisa, Agnes Nyanhongo, Lovemore Bonjisi and Moses Nyanhongo.
Jones & Terwilliger Galleries, Desert Morning, oil on canvas, 48 x 48", by Greg Stocks.A knowledgeable team of art consultants at Jones & Terwilliger Galleries are available to assist in building a fine art collection for their clients. In-home viewing is available to California clients.
An exhibition of Jeff Jamison’s contemporary urban scenes will be featured in the Palm Desert gallery opening February 3, 2023.
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Laguna Plein Air Painters Association
414 N. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 376-3635
info@lpapa.org
https://lpapa.org
Since its inception in 1996, with a mission to preserve the history of the plein air movement of 19th-century California, the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) has been searching for a permanent gallery space. LPAPA reached a milestone in its 25-plus year history with the opening of its first independent gallery in Laguna Beach on August 19, 2021.
The Laguna Plein Air Painters Association gallery exterior view.
Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, Quiet Nights, oil, 24 x 36", by Michael Obermeyer.The historic El Paseo building in North Laguna’s gallery row has a rich past benefitting the LPAPA Gallery. Together, this perfect union of plein air art, mixed with early 20th-century Spanish design, creates a pleasing sense of synergy. The building’s use of natural light and open spaces, and its reflection of 1920s architectural sensibilities, allows LPAPA to showcase its members’ work with monthly rotating shows.
Please visit the website for open hours and additional information.
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CODA Gallery
73400 El Paseo, #B1
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 collectors for more than 35 years. At CODA, acquiring art is a relaxed and pleasurable experience. A spirit of generosity and warmth greets visitors the moment they enter the space, where consultants are welcoming and willing to share their expertise with collectors at every level.
CODA Gallery, Gazing Upward, aluminum and steal wires, acrylic board, oil and acrylic, 23k gold leaf, 57 x 20 x 12", by Mark Davis.
CODA Gallery, Chispa, aluminum, 52 x 44 x 26½", by Siri Hollander.The gallery features work by a wide range of established, mid-career and emerging contemporary artists who specialize in a variety of media, from painting and photography to sculpture and glass. Ongoing exhibitions, artist receptions and art walks offer enthusiasts a chance to gather and interact with the CODA collection.
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Jacalyn Beam
(302) 893-1775
www.jacalynbeam.com
“Carmel, California, is a magical place,” says artist Jacalyn Beam. “As a painter, it’s easy to fall under its spell. The ocean offers shades of turquoise, blues and greens; the sand is white and embraces colorful cypress shadows; and the mountain grays frame and support the experience.
Jacalyn Beam, Carmel Colors, oil on Belgium linen panel, 12 x 16"
Beam’s oil painting, Colorful Cove, pictured here, shows the beauty of Carmel River Beach with all its attributes. “And then there are the moody, tonalist-color days in Carmel characterized with a gentle use of color in the mid-range of tones and values seen in Carmel Colors,” Beam notes.
Jacalyn Beam, Colorful Cove, oil on conservation linen on Baltic birch panel, 12 x 16"She continues, “My paintings in this issue are plein air from 2022 and on view at the Carmel Fine Art Gallery. These works continue a long tradition of painting on the Monterey Peninsula beginning with [William] Taverner in 1870 and later artists in 1906, who traveled to Carmel because of its beauty and established art colony.” —
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