|
“Camarillo Crops” by Kel Jordan, 2025, Mixed media, 18″ x 18″, Available for purchase.
|
|
|
The 16th Art About Agriculture Exhibition
|
|
On view now through March 8, 2026
Sponsored by Brokaw Ranch Company
Art About Agriculture was founded in 2007 by Santa Paula photographer John Nichols and painter Gail Pidduck. Growing up on a ranch in Santa Paula and spending her college summers working in Oxnard’s flower fields, Pidduck has long understood how deeply agriculture has shaped both the landscape and way of life in California and Ventura County. She and Nichols organized the first Art About Agricultureexhibition eighteen years ago to promote awareness of agriculture through art—from workers to water, from machinery to fields, to the food that fills our plates.
California is the nation’s leading agricultural state, producing more than 400 commodities and earning roughly $50 billion annually. More than half of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables consumed in the U.S. come from California. Crops thrive here for many of the same reasons artists do: year-round sunshine, fertile soil, and a mostly Mediterranean climate. Yet California agriculture also faces serious challenges, including fewer farms, water scarcity, global competition, and suburban development.
Ventura County has been called Southern California’s “last great agricultural landscape,” the result of deliberate local land-use policies designed to contain urban growth. More than a quarter of the county’s 1.2 millions acres is agricultural land, with an estimated annual production value exceeding $2 billion. Ventura County’s top crops—including strawberries, lemons, and avocados—must be harvested by hand, employing more than 40,000 local farm workers whose labor sustains this vital industry.
Art About Agriculture invites you to take a closer look and to think more deeply about the life and land we cultivate.
While we recommend seeing this exhibit in person, please enjoy this abbreviated look in your inbox. All of the artworks are available for purchase.
|
|
|
Don’t miss the Art About Ag Artists’ Talk at the Museum!
|
|
|
Saturday, February 7, 2026, from 2 to 4 PM
Included with regular museum admission
|
|
|
“Blue Eyes, Prancer’s” by Patrice Hughes, 2024
Gouache on paper, 6″ x 6″, Sold.
|
|
|
“Strawberry” by Jim Wilson, 2025
Acrylic on canvas, 27″ x 27″, Available.
|
|
|
“Artichoke Haulers” by Warren Chang, 2023, Oil on canvas, 19″ x 34″, Available.
|
|
|
“I Didn’t Mean to Make You Cry” by Samantha Buller, 2025, Oil on canvas, 24″ x 24″, Available.
|
|
|
“Water’s Cycle” by Patti Handfinger, 2024
Acrylic on panel, 12″ x 12″, Available.
|
|
|
Watch and listen as artist Gabriel Islas tells the story being his painting.
|
|
|
“Fields in Flow” by Gabriel Islas, 2025, Oil on aluminum, 24″ x 36″, Available.
|
|
|
“Silver Spangled Hamburg Chickens” by Carolyn Fox, 2025, Acrylic on panel, 24″ x 36″, Sold.
|
|
|
“Apricot Lane Farm” by Anette Power, 2025
Oil on panel, 12″ x 12″, Available.
|
|
|
“Bee on Yellow” by MB Hanrahan, 2025,
Acrylic on canvas, 12″ x 12″, Available.
|
|
|
“Oxnard Plain” by Carlos Briceño, 2023, Photograph on canvas, 16″ x 24″, Sold.
|
|
|
“Strawberries on Blue and Green” by Becky Savell, 2025, Photograph, 17″ x 22″, Available.
|
|
|
“Strawberry Man, Santa Paula” by Cecily Willis, 2024, Watercolor on paper, 14″ x 11″ , Available.
|
|
|
“Strawberries Beneath the Sleeping Giants” by Jem Atwater, 2025, Oil on panel, 48″ x 48″, Available.
|
|
|
Learn to paint, draw, print, and more at the Museum’s Cole Creativity Center!
|
|
|
Beginners are welcome, and all materials are provided in every class. SPAM members receive 10% off all classes. Youth scholarships are available.
|
|
|
Santa Paula Art Museum & Gift Shop Hours
Wednesday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Closed Monday and Tuesday
Cost of Admission
Adults $4.00 • Seniors $3.00
Free for children, students, and members
Free for everyone on the first Sunday of every month
Cole Creativity Center Gallery
& Supply Shop Hours
Tuesday and Thursday 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Cole Creativity Center is otherwise open only for classes and special events.
|
|
|
|
|
