Celebrating the Heritage and Practices of Traditional Fine Arts Worldwide
September 20 - December 6, 2024 CAC Virtual Gallery
The Fascinations of Fall is the 15th installment of the California Art Club’s Excellence in Traditional Fine Art Competition, and offers cash prizes to the award winners. This exhibition, composed of nearly 50 works, takes a journey through the lens of the autumnal season.
The guest judge, who curated the selection of finalists for this competition, was Peter Trippi, Editor-in-Chief of Fine Art Connoisseur
Artwork is available for purchase, unless listed as not for sale (NFS). If you have interest in acquiring a work, please submit a purchase inquiry. If you have questions, please consult our Terms of Sale.
King of the Wild Things was a labor of love. My 3-year-old son Everett was the model. Having been recently diagnosed with autism, he was and is very much a "wild thing." To simultaneously be his mother and a professional artist has been a monumental juggling act, and in painting this, I imbued my love for him into every brushstroke. But aside from my personal connections to the work, I knew that the subject matter, inspired by Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” would be relatable to anyone who has ever had the pleasure of reading that wonderful book.
Some of the most captivating ideas take shape during the journey itself, not necessarily at the intended destination. I had planned to hike up to a canyon nestled at a high elevation, but as I climbed, flashes of gold from groves of aspen trees caught my attention. Drawn in by their beauty, I realized that these trees were the subject I had been searching for all along and never made it to the canyon that day.
Fall is my favorite time of year. When the air is crystal clear and the seasonal colors shimmer. The golden-orange hues of the cottonwoods proclaim that fall is here and that winter will soon follow. It is a time of reflection as the daylight hours grow shorter and nature prepares for her slumber. I strived to capture these feelings in Just Off 89.
I’ve always loved Proteas. They originated in South Africa approximately 300 million years ago. They are one of the oldest flowering plants on earth, and you can still see the evidence of this prehistoric genealogy today. Proteas represent change, hope and resilience, as the flowers can regenerate after wildfires.
I happened to be there when this stunning floral arrangement was delivered to the lucky recipient.
I witnessed the most beautifully diverse flowers I have ever seen. One of the many photos I took became the reference for Estas Flores Exotica.
If you love painting rocks as I do, the best month to visit the waterfalls in Yosemite National Park is October when the water is at it’s lowest. The October Flow traces the edges of the rocks, slips through the cracks and splatters from ledge to ledge allowing me to view see more of the rocks. As I sketched this small waterfall I noticed the rocks seem to sparkle in the sunshine. I thought it must be mica minerals in the granite causing the sparkles and that got me thinking of some tubes of paint I have in a drawer in my studio. The paints, manufactured by Daniel Smith are made of real rocks, and they too have a sparkle. So what would happen if I used watercolor paints made from rocks to paint these rocks? Look closely, can you see the rocks sparkle?
Within Reach was inspired by a plein air session at Riley’s Farms in Oak Glen, California. This area is a favorite for me and always takes me back to my agricultural roots. Visitors to the U-pick orchard scurried about as I set up my easel in the shade of an apple tree. Painting small studies outdoors is a way to bring the inspiration back to the studio. I hope to convey the colors, the warmth, and the sounds of the day in this work.
Changing Seasons was painted at the marshlands at the end of August just as the leaves started changing color. I loved seeing the start of the leaves turning yellow and the deep russet color of the reeds.
Soft pastels on sanded paper mounted on board, 12" x 18", $850
High Sierras Autumn Glow depicts an idyllic fall day in Hope Valley, California. Warm days and cold nights set the scene for the aspen trees to create dramatic and almost glowing gold and orange leaves. Even a slight breeze will release them and send them twirling to the ground among dried grasses, shrubs and granite boulders. Hiking among the fall aspen trees is a magical experience.
Seabrook Harbor - Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. On a drive back from Maine, searching for a great restaurant serving fresh Haddock, I reached this southern area of Hampton Beach State Park on an October evening just as the golden sun was starting to set over the fishing boats. Seeing the opportunity to introduce a pop of color to my monochromatic palette, with a picturesque New England coastal moment at hand, I knew I had found a great subject to draw using colored pencils on toned paper.
On the drive back from Lone Pine in October of 2023 I kept pulling over to take pics of the fall colors. This particular scene was somewhere north of Bishop looking east. The colors were amazing with the golden hues of the trees contrasting with the blue mountains. The dirt road was a nice lead in to the scene.
The afternoon sun backlights the old adobe in Monterey, California, called the Pacific House. Light filters through hanging branches in the foreground. On the old walkway two people, backlit, walk by small trees in autumn colors. There is a small table and chairs on the left in front of the Pacific House.
While The Road Home is a celebration of the evening colors of the sunset brilliantly juxtaposed against the dark landscape of the road, this painting is also a reference to the symbolic fall season of our life, where the constructs of the physical world start to fade and we start to embrace the beauty of releasing into the unknown.
A vista on Palomar Mountain in San Diego County. I loved loved loved the improbable and charming tree tunnel leading to private property on this dirt road, and the always surprising array of fall colors that gift the landscape in this higher region of the California Peninsular Ranges.
A morning walk along Lake Arrowhead last November offered many stunning views, including this wonderful sight through the trees and leaf blanketed ground above me on the wooded embankment.
The painting The Spring in Fall is an attempt to embrace my love of pure color by using a simplified application of paint to retain the essence of each color. By using unblended brush strokes, I can leave the colors unaltered almost like a mosaic of colored pieces of paint. This fractured application of color gives a much more vivid rendition of my subject than I could ever get from blended brushwork. However, it is not my desire to move away from a realistic rendering of my subject, but rather to enhance my subject. For this reason, I keep my brush strokes small and still adhere to value and perspective. From a distance my work still reads as realistic. Yet as one approaches my art, the color and brushwork takes over predominance.
Hope Valley is a high altitude ecosystem near Lake Tahoe where the aspen thrive. The fall golds and oranges are spectacular against the blue mountains. The sun streaking along the river created this dramatic lighting effect.
This pileated woodpecker gazes skyward from the autumn forest floor. Is his contemplation of the future of the magnificent species? Or is it, as the spiritual meaning of the bird suggests, of self discovery and reaching our highest potential?
