2022 Wild Side Art Show - Digital Catalog

History of Plein Air on Catalina Island

Plein air painting is the practice of painting in the landscape. The technique was brought to the forefront of popular culture by French Impressionists and derives its name from the French term “en plein air” or “in the open air.” Artists of this era were well-equipped to capture the beauty of nature beyond the studio with portable easels and paint in packaged tubes. As the movement spread, many painters found their way to Catalina Island, creating works that cover decades of the Island’s natural history. Plein air painting reached its peak on Catalina around 1925. By the 1950s, other techniques had become more prominent and the plein air approach fell out of favor.

Plein air painting began to flourish again on the Island in 1986, when local Southern California artist Denise Burns invited friends to Avalon to paint amid the many natural landscapes found on Catalina. In 2011, the Conservancy launched Catalina: The Wild Side. This new program brought nationally renowned plein air artists to Catalina Island to paint in this technique, bringing attention to the thousands of acres of wildlands that the Conservancy stewards, as well as to the communities of Avalon and Two Harbors. The artwork in this online exhibition demonstrates Catalina Island’s unique landscapes in natural beauty.

Seeing the pieces that our artists at the Catalina: The Wild Side Art Show come up with each year inspires us to continue working toward preserving and restoring this incredible Island. We know that you will be inspired, too. With each purchase of artwork, you directly support our mission to be a responsible steward of Catalina Island through a balance of conservation, education and recreation.

We always welcome an opportunity to connect with those who love Catalina Island. The Catalina: The Wild Side Art Show & Sale is an event I look forward to each year as it not only gives us the chance to see many of you, but also to appreciate the breathtaking scenes of Catalina on display.

Tony Budrovich President&CEO

Each year, nationally recognized artists are invited by the Catalina Island Conservancy to travel to the Island to paint its unique landscapes. The charm of the Island is reflected in their new works painted in the field and some, later in the studio. Now, in its 12th year, the Catalina: The Wild Side Art Show & Sale is a wonderful afternoon when lovers of Catalina can engage with these

artists about their particular visions and styles, and possibly add one of these gems to their homes.

The Wild Side Art Show continues the decades-long tradition of plein air and studio painting of the Island reflecting the landscape of the day, and as such, revealing the changes over the years. The Conservancy’s own collection, which hangs in the Trailhead, shows the variety of lands and activities that are the work of the Conservancy. I am excited to see the new works of these nine impressive artists and enjoy their views.

Victoria Seaver Dean Catalina: TheWildSideArt Show, Chair

How to Use This Digital Catalog

Click the video icon by the photo of each artist to meet the artist,

their studio and view each painting up close.

Click each painting thumbnail to enlarge the image.

Ready to buy? Click the purchase icon next to each painting to be directed to the purchase page.

Click on this home button to be directed to the main page of the online exhibition.

GET READY

Upcoming Conservancy Events

START A WATCH LIST - Before October 23

and then WATCH to

BUY PAINTINGS - On October 23

Click the to purchase a painting and then click BUY NOW OR

Click and click PROFILE ICON

Click on WATCH LIST to access saved paintings and click BUY NOW to purchase beginning at 2:00 p.m. PST.

DONE BUYING?

Click and click PROFILE ICON

Click on RECEIPT to view final receipt and e-mail copy

Review CHECKOUT DIRECTIONS for shipping and sales tax

All sales are final. Appropriate shipping and sales tax will be added to each purchase. Please email rsvp@catalinaconservancy.org to coordinate details. Paintings purchased online will ship directly from the Conservancy's Long Beach office to the purchaser. Shipping of multiple paintings will be combined when possible. A confirmation of shipping information and tracking numbers will be sent to email address on file. Shipping insurance will be added to all shipping, with a required signature for delivery.

In person and online purchases will be available for pick-up in person on Sunday, October 23, between 3:30 PM and 4:00 PM at Newport Harbor Yacht Club, or at the Conservancy's Long Beach office beginning Tuesday, October 25.

ARTIST PARTNER MEDIA PARTNER

PATRON PARTNER

Julia Banning

Victoria and Dorn Dean

Lee and Theresa Hennis

Maria Pellegrini

Phil and Maureen Ramer

Frank Tarquin and Kathy Gann

Stephen and Monette Zotovich

RHODE ISLAND

Cindy Baron is nationally recognized in both watercolors and oils, painting the grand landscapes of the western mountains and coastal shorelines.

Raised in South Bend, Indiana, Cindy has had the experience of living all over the country. A full-time artist, she conducts workshops across the country and internationally and has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design in their Continuing Education Department.

Cindy’s passion in the arts began with pastels, which then led to watercolors and, in 2000, she was awarded Signature Status of The American Watercolor Society. In 2012, she became a signature member of Oil Painters of America and is among a select group of artists that has received acknowledgment in both mediums. Her paintings reflect the beauty that is found in nature, if you take the time to study the colors around you.

#108 "Morning Walk" 16x20, Oil on Linen Panel, $3,500

#103 "Thru the Trees" 8x10, Oil on Linen Panel, $1,250

#110 "The Long Wildside" 8x24, Oil on Linen Panel,

#105 "So Secluded" 8x10, Oil on Linen Panel, $1,250

Carl Bretzke

Carl Bretzke is a representational oil painter who specializes in urban scenes, night scenes and plein air landscapes. He has been a member of the Plein Air Painters of America since 2021.

Carl holds an Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Colorado, where he also received a minor in Fine Art. Carl has originally trained under Plein Air Painters of America signature artist Joseph Paquet.

#208 "Remote Beach"

on Linen, $800

#203

Landing Camp"

on Linen, $1,400

"Daybreak Avalon"

Oil on Linen,

#201 "Gray Day Shark Harbor"

Oil on Linen, $1,100

John Budicin

CALIFORNIA

Born in Rovigno, D’Istria, Italy, John moved to California at the age of 11, where he went to college and continues to live today. After several years as a commercial artist and freelance illustrator, he took the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a plein air artist. John loves to paint directly from nature so he paints outdoors almost every day, with many his paintings close to his home in San Bernardino, California.

John is not only a dedicated painter but also spends several weeks each year teaching workshops all around the United States, as well as in Umbria and Tuscany, Italy. John is a Signature Member of Plein Air Painters of America, California Art Club, Oil Painters of America and Laguna Plein Air Painters Association.

#302 "Good Night Avalon" 9x12, Oil on Linen, $3,000

#301 "Little Harbor Around the Bend" 12x18, Oil on Linen, $4,600

#304 "Under Renovation"

Oil on Linen,

#306 "Lunch at the Airport" 9x14, Oil on Linen, $3,400

Aimee Erickson

Aimee Erickson is a representational oil painter. After earning a BFA in Visual Communication Design/Illustration, she developed a warm, inviting pictorial voice grounded in traditional realism, informed by the principles of design and inspired by nature and human experience. She has also studied with a number of prominent painters. Aimee teaches painting, drawing and color theory at venues nationwide and overseas.

One of the winningest painters in the plein air world, Aimee took home Best of Show and Artists’ Choice at Plein Air Easton in 2019; she has also won Best of Show at Laguna, Olmsted, Carmel, Sonoma, and Pacific Northwest Plein Air. She was a finalist at the Portrait Society of America, is a signature member with multiple awards from Oil Painters of America, and won Best of Show at an American Women Artists national show. In 1997 she painted the official gubernatorial portrait of Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts.

#401

#409

#406

Terri Ford

Terri Ford, alumna of the Academy of Art College, realized a deep connection with pastels in 1987 and has worked with them since both in the studio and en plein air. Her paintings are representational with some more impressionistic and other more realistic. Her work has earned her top awards in many exhibitions at such venues as The National Arts Club in New York, The Butler Fine Art Museum, The Triton Museum of Art, The Autry Museum, The Haggin Museum and many more. Ford’s pastels have been featured in American Art Collector, American Artist, Fine Art Connoisseur, Pratique des Arts and in several coffee table books. Her pastel paintings have gained national and international recognition, as proved by her achievement of Master Circle status in the International Association of Pastel Societies.

Ford is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America, a Distinguished Pastelist with the Pastel Society of the West Coast and Pastel Society of New Mexico and an Artist Member of the California Art Club. She is a popular instructor across the U.S. and abroad, and has juried and judged many exhibitions.

#504

Harbor

#508

#503 "Cottonwood Beach" 9x12,

on Archival Board,

CALIFORNIA

Wyllis Heaton is an award-winning plein air landscape painter, as well as a licensed landscaping designer based in Santa Barbara, California.

Growing up in Pasadena, Wyllis was influenced by William Stout, a famous illustrator who lived nearby and whose art studio he often visited. After graduating from high school, Wyllis studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he developed a love for the Santa Barbara region and a passion for its wide range of iconic landscapes. Wyllis went on to earn his degree in illustration from Pasadena’s ArtCenter College of Design and taught for six years at the California Art Academy in San Gabriel.

Wyllis Heaton can often be found at art shows creating and exhibiting his works. He enjoys the plein air setting for painting and the challenge of capturing the ephemeral beauty of rapidly changing landscapes, and was recently named as one of Southwest Art Magazine’s “Artists to Watch.”

#601 "Casino Vista" 20x30, Oil on Linen Panel, $4,200

#609

#608 "Silent Overlook"

on

#602

Debra Huse

CALIFORNIA

Debra Huse is a contemporary American impressionist widely recognized for her use of rich color and bold fluid strokes that capture the light and drama in her plein air and studio paintings. She has painted in many plein air events across the country. She has a studio in a Newport Beach boatyard where she enjoys working in oils and painting on location, and a gallery on Balboa Island. She often paints scenes from the water when she is enjoying the day in her sport fishing boat.

Debra is a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society, the American Society of Marine Artists, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association and the Pastel Society of America.

"Eagle's Catch" 18x24, Oil on Linen, $5,000

#709

#708 "Afternoon Glow Stein Camp" 10x12, Oil on Linen,

#706 "Friendly Fly By" 11x14, Oil on Linen,

Shanna Kunz

As a contemporary landscape painter based in Ogden, Utah, Shanna’s work is a conscious play of mood, light and color. But as a naturalist, raised and rooted in the diverse landscapes of western America, a painting means more than that to her. Each location she paints is an encounter of spirit with the land, the trees and the waters that have always given her a sense of connection and order.

“When a location intrigues and inspires me, I will paint the scene into a series using a range of keys or themes, experimenting and searching to learn more about the natural threads that tie the landscape together with complexity, subtlety and more importantly balance. I look for new ways to express spatial relationships and distance with layers of paint, brushwork, gradations, and diffusions of light,” she shares.

Shanna is a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America and American Impressionist Society, and an Out of State Member of the California Art Club.

#808

#806

CALIFORNIA

A native of Southern California, Michael Obermeyer received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration at California State University, Long Beach and had 20-year career in illustration.

Michael was presented with the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2015. He recently won the "Collector's Choice,” “Artist’s Choice” and the Southwest Magazine “Quick Draw” Awards at the Laguna Beach Invitational Plein Air Competition as well as the "Best of Show" at both the Kern County Plein Air Invitational and the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, and the Gold Medal at the Carmel Art Festival. Michael is the President of the prestigious California Art Club, and is a Signature Member of the California Art Club and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. Currently, his paintings are showing at galleries in Carmel, Pasadena, Balboa Island, and Laguna Beach, where he is a regular exhibitor at the Festival of Arts. He maintains his studio in Laguna Beach, California.

"Rolling to Orizaba" 16x20, Oil on Canvas, $3,900

#905 "Emerald Overlook"

Oil on Canvas,

#907 "Quiet Cove" 6x9, Oil on Canvas, $1,100

#908 "First Light" 8x10, Oil

Canvas,

Connect with the

CONSERVANCY CALENDAR

Marineros

Event at Native Plant Nursery Conservancy

Marineros are Adventurerlevel members who are boaters or enjoy the ocean. Marineros are invited to participate in planting of native species for Island restoration, followed by lunch with Conservation staff.

Catalina Island Marathon, 10k and 5k

Experience spectacular views while you run through the wildlands of Catalina Island! For more information or to sign up, please visit RunCatalina.com

Thad & BZ Jones Hikes

Thad and BZ Jones Annual Cross-Catalina hikes will explore the Island's gorgeous terrain during a full weekend of exploration, mixing and mingling.

APRIL

25

Catalina California Naturalist Training

This Spring 2023 course breaks down and delves deeper into the topics covered in the our Naturalist 1 & 2 Trainings, while grounding Catalina natural history inside a 40-hour, 4-unit community college level course.

APRIL

22

Catalina Island Conservancy Ball

The 27th Annual Conservancy Ball is back on the Island in the historic Avalon Casino! Join us for one of the biggest events of the year on Catalina Island. The event promises to be another exciting and elegant evening of dining, dancing, and fun benefitting the Conservancy. For more information, visit CatalinaConservancy.org/Ball or call 562.437.8555 x1239.

Last Friday Lecture Series

The Conservancy

welcomes the local community and visitors alike to join guest experts every last Friday of the month to learn about various environmental education topics related to Catalina's cultural and ecological history. Lectures may be in-person at the Trailhead in Avalon, online, or a hybrid of both. For upcoming topics and further information, visit CatalinaConservancy. org/LectureSeries.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ANY OF THESE EVENTS, GO TO CATALINACONSERVANCY.ORG OR CALL 562-437-8555