We’re getting ready to reopen the doors to the Museum on Wednesday, March 24! Meet us at the Museum to enjoy our three outstanding current exhibitions, and the debut of our new, outdoor Art Park. Scroll down to see some of the Museum’s additional offerings as we head into spring.
*In accordance with public health directives, all museum guests will be required to wear a face mask for the duration of their visit, to sanitize their hands upon entry, and to sign a waiver upon entry.
California. Considering how much the Santa Paula Art Museum has learned and benefited from women creatives, we think the two celebrations coincide perfectly. Thank you to all of the amazing women who support the Museum; that includes our women artists, docents, donors, teachers, board members, and our all female staff.
Scroll down to see all of the ways that we are honoring women artists this month and in the year ahead. We are also looking forward to announcing the Museum’s reopening date in the coming weeks!*
*The Santa Paula Art Museum remains temporarily closed to the general public in accordance with COVID restrictions. Please call or email the Museum to make a private viewing appointment.
With eyes toward reopening in the coming weeks, the Santa Paula Art Museum has four stellar exhibitions lined up for the summer and fall months, which will showcase artists and locales that stretch the length of the California coast. All of the exhibits will be available to view online at www.santapaulaartmuseum.org during their respective run dates, as well as open to the public when allowed by local public health directives.
“Erin Hanson: Colors of California” will mark Hanson’s most comprehensive collection of California’s multitudinous landscapes. Combining the emotional resonance of the 19th century Impressionists with the lavish color palette of Expressionism, Erin Hanson’s unique style of oil painting has come to be known as “Open Impressionism.” Hanson’s exhibit at the Santa Paula Art Museum will include an expansive collection of landscapes inspired by Ventura County, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Monterey County, Mendocino, and other scenic locales. The exhibit will be on view May 1, 2021 to July 25, 2021. Visit Erin’s website at www.erinhanson.com.
Happy Valentine’s Day to You and Happy Anniversary to Us
We’ve said it before, but we find it so fitting that the Museum’s anniversary falls on Valentine’s Day–because we are so in love with this place! It has been eleven years since the doors of the Santa Paula Art Museum first opened, and we have only our supporters to thank for each and every year. Thank you for helping us to build and sustain a place where we can share our love–for the arts, for learning, and for our community.
This year, artist Anette Power is helping us to celebrate the Museum’s anniversary with a special addition to her recently unveiled virtual exhibit Silver Linings: Journey of Light. Scroll down for a small surprise!
We’re swinging into this weekend with huge smiles on our faces because we know you’re going to love the Museum’s newest virtual exhibit! Newbury Park artist Anette Power’s Silver Linings: Journey of Light is now online. Power’s exhibit is over two years in the making, and is a love letter to living even in the midst of great change and challenges.
Click here to enjoy the online exhibit. All of the artworks in the exhibit are available for purchase. Silver Linings will also be on view at the Santa Paula Art Museum when Ventura County museums are able to reopen to the public.*
We got our first glimpse this week of many of the paintings that will be featured in artist Anette Power’s upcoming solo exhibit Silver Linings: Journey of Light, which premieres February 6, 2021 at the Santa Paula Art Museum.* Anette’s show is full of hope, and happiness, and joy. It’s the kind of bright spot that we all need more of right now, and we can’t wait to share it with you in February!
If you’d rather not wait, you can get a sneak peek of Power’s exhibit when she streams live from her studio this Saturday, January 16, at 2:00 p.m. (preregistration and Zoom app download are required). She’ll be showing us around her creative space and telling us how she’s learned to paint the silver linings.
REGISTER FOR THE ONLINE EVENT
The PAC6 Painters return to the Santa Paula Art Museum this summer with their second major exhibition. “Vistas, Varmints and Vagabonds: The PAC6 Paints the Wild West” will open July 31, 2021, and will be on view through November 7, 2021. The artists will be on hand for an opening reception on Sunday, August 1, 2021, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission to the reception is $10.00 for SPAM members and $15.00 for non-members. All of the 81 artworks in the exhibition will be available for purchase. The exhibit will also be available to view online at www.santapaulaartmuseum.org beginning July 31, 2021.
Gallery Talk: The PAC6 Painters
Saturday, October 30, 2021, from 2 PM to 3:30 PM
On Saturday, October 30, all six of the PAC6 Painters will gather at the Museum to mark the final week of their exhibit, Vistas, Varmints and Vagabonds, with a group gallery talk. The six artists will sit down to reflect on their exhibit as only they can with tales about their recent, “wild” adventures and the inside scoop on where they’re headed to next. The gallery talk will be included with the cost of regular museum admission. Reservations are not required.
Happy New Year!
The countdown to 2021 has begun! While it’s “out with the old, in with the new” in pretty much every other respect this year, we felt compelled to bring back one of the Santa Paula Art Museum’s most inspiring exhibits from years past for auld lang syne (for the sake of old times).
From 2011 to 2013, Santa Paula artists Gail Pidduck and John Nichols embarked on a community portrait project so that they could better know and appreciate the people in their hometown. Their Santa Paula Portrait Project is now in the Museum’s permanent collection, and you can view the exhibition in its entirety online.
One of the quotes that the exhibit leaves viewers with is this one: “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”
Our thoughts exactly this new year.
Light has long been an object of fascination for award-winning local artist Anette Power, informing both how and what she paints. There is, after all, light that can be seen and painted, and then there’s the joy and lightness of feeling that can only be conveyed through an artist’s choice of subject matter. In “Silver Linings: Journey of Light,” Power’s upcoming solo exhibition of 35 oil paintings at the Santa Paula Art Museum, the artist hopes that her art will inspire viewers to consider the bright spots in their own lives.
We were reminded recently of this iconic image from the Museum’s 2011 exhibition A Taste of History, which celebrated the art of the fruit crate label. It inspired us to embrace our inner Santa in developing the Museum’s December offerings!
Happy Thanksgiving from the Santa Paula Art Museum! We are feeling extra grateful following the success of our recent online Fine Art Auction Fundraiser. Thank you to everyone who participated. With your support of our auction and raffle, the Museum was able to raise over $40,000! Proceeds from the auction are more important than ever this year and will enable us to continue serving our community during this challenging time.
We especially want to thank the local artists who donated art to this year’s auction: Shannon Celia, Kevin Gleason, Annie Hoffman, Virginia Kamhi, Beverly Lazor, Susan Petty, Anette Power, Pamela Strautman, Patricia Prescott Sueme, Laura Wambsgans, Sharon Weaver, and Chris Zambon (click on any artist name to view their website).
We wish you a safe and joyful holiday. If you find yourself in need of inspiration this weekend, we invite you to a Virtual Artists Talk on how to find it (see below)! And don’t forget that Sunday, November 29 is #MuseumStoreSunday and #ArtistsSunday.
With the recent change in Ventura County’s reopening status, the Santa Paula Art Museum is now temporarily closed until further notice. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the past eight months, it’s that when life gives you lemons, you definitely have to get a little creative! That’s why we’ll continue to produce our free, monthly Art To-Go Bags for children in our community for as long as we are able (see below).
Our staff are also hard at work transforming one of the Museum’s back parking lots into an outdoor art experience that will be free and open to all. The forthcoming Art Park is inspired by one of our favorite paintings from the Museum’s permanent collection, and reimagines the artwork in three dimensions. Stay tuned for more information and an official opening date.
The Museum’s 10th Annual Fine Art Auction Fundraiser continues online through Sunday, November 22. It’s our most important fundraiser of the year. See the auction items that are getting the most attention below!
This is last call to purchase raffle tickets for your chance to win one of two original paintings by Santa Paula’s most famous artist, Jessie Arms Botke! Purchase raffle tickets on our website. Raffle winners will be chosen and notified by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16. The raffle is part of the Museum’s 10th Annual Fine Art Auction Fundraiser, which is being hosted entirely online this year.
There’s a lot happening at the Santa Paula Art Museum in November and December! For the first time in its ten-year history, the Museum’s annual Fine Art Auction Fundraiser is being hosted online. Bid on 20 beautiful works of art now through Sunday, November 22, 2020. The Museum’s annual art auction is its biggest fundraiser each year. All proceeds raised from the event benefit the Santa Paula Art Museum and the thousands of children, families, and adults that the Museum serves through its educational programs every year. Find a link to the online auction on the Museum’s website: www.santapaulaartmuseum.org/event/auction.
We are eagerly awaiting the start of our online Fine Art Auction Fundraiser on Monday, November 9, and can’t wait to see who will take home each of our 20 gorgeous auction artworks and two raffle prize paintings. Be sure to preregister for our auction on Bidsquare.com, so that you can place your bid as soon as the items go live! Raffle tickets can be purchased on our website. All proceeds will benefit the Santa Paula Art Museum.
We will have to wait to see who wins when bidding closes on Sunday, November 22. Luckily, we’ve got plenty to keep ourselves busy with until then…
*Planning to visit? Please read our general visiting guidelines at the end of this email.
We are so excited to announce that the Santa Paula Art Museum will reopen Wednesday, October 14, 2020, as part of Ventura County’s reopening plan! Both of our summer exhibitions have been extended. Visit the Museum to enjoy Inspiration and Influence featuring sculptor Duane Dammeyer and painter Rima Muna, and Santa Paula Sojourn, a solo exhibit by painter Shannon Celia. Guests will also be able to preview the 20 gorgeous works of art that will be available in our November online art auction, including artworks by Jessie Arms Botke, Cornelis Botke, Douglas Shively, Susan Petty, Gail Pidduck, and more.
A lot has changed this year. What hasn’t changed at the Santa Paula Art Museum is our commitment to our mission and our desire to serve, uplift, and inspire everyone in our community.
While the Museum’s indoor galleries have been closed since March, our staff has been working to provide our community with a wide variety of virtual programming, as well as outdoor art classes, free classroom art kits, and over 1,800 free Art To-Go Bags. Click here to see what your continued support has helped the Museum to accomplish over the past 6 months.
September is National Literacy Month and we’ve got books on the brain here at the Santa Paula Art Museum. You’re definitely going to want to book it to our next Art To-Go Bag giveaway featuring lots of fun art and bookmaking activities for the kids (see below). And be sure to read on for information about our upcoming, outdoor art classes. Speaking of reading, a few years ago we came across an article in the old Santa Paula Chronicle about the making of a very special painting, and we’d love to tell you the whole story.
Our recent, adorable visit from Lucky the dog got us thinking about how artists celebrate pets and animals in art, so with the help of Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center, the Museum’s August Art To-Go Bag is all about animals (see below). We also took a moment to appreciate the animal art in the Museum’s permanent collection. You’re probably quite familiar with Jessie Botke’s birds, but do you know about John Nichols and his beloved cat, Sespe Red? Hear the story behind the artwork. It’s part of our collection of local artist self-portraits. And be sure to check out this week’s outdoor art classes at the Museum below.
While the Santa Paula Art Museum’s indoor galleries remain closed, its art classes have moved outside! All classes are being taught within the Museum’s outdoor courtyard to allow for art making while social distancing. Space is extremely limited as class sizes are being kept small, and preregistration is required. Register for class and read more about the Museum’s new policies for maintaining a safe learning environment on our website: www.santapaulaartmuseum.org/creativity.
The Santa Paula Art Museum is open again! The Museum and gift shop will be open regular hours: Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors, and free for students and members. For the safety and comfort of museum guests and volunteers, anyone inside the Museum is required to wear a face covering for the duration of their visit (per the California Department of Public Health, this excludes children age 2 years and under, and persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering).
All Natural Tie-Dye
We are beyond excited that Ventura County has given museums the green light to reopen! Our staff are busy working to ensure that the Santa Paula Art Museum will continue to be a safe space for all of our visitors and volunteers, and we will announce our official reopening date very soon.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the Museum’s “Art to the Rescue” curated resources and stay-at-home art project ideas over the past 12 weeks. We thought we’d conclude with a few sunny activities to try this summer like all natural tie-dying, which is eco-friendly and very in right now!
LEARN MORE
Art to the Rescue! Art projects and resources to inspire you and your family Play with Sculpture Last week’s Art To-Go Bag giveaway from the Santa Paula Art Museum included clay for kids to create three-dimensional artworks at home. We’re…
For the past two years, painter Shannon Celia has made it her mission to capture the unique “nooks and crannies” of the small, Southern California city of Santa Paula. Her journey will culminate in a solo exhibition entitled “Santa Paula Sojourn,” premiering June 3, 2020, at the Santa Paula Art Museum (in the event that the Museum remains closed to the public on June 3, the exhibit will be available to enjoy online at www.santapaulaartmuseum.org). All of the artworks in the exhibit will be for sale.
This week we received a lovely surprise from artist and Santa Paula native Andrea Vargas. Vargas has worked closely with the Santa Paula Art Museum as both an artist and guest curator. She now lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Andrea recently created a free, virtual mini-course on plein air drawing and painting for ARTsmart New Mexico, and she wants to share it with you too!
In addition to watching how Andrea creates small studies for her stunning landscape paintings, you can explore landscape art using the projects and resources below.
LEARN MORE
First and foremost, Happy Mother’s Day from the Santa Paula Art Museum! We are in awe of all of you moms who have had to embrace your creativity more than ever this year to care for your children.
This week we’ve found ourselves especially drawn to line art. Line is the foundational element in any artwork. Blind contour drawing is a really fun way to explore line and would make a great Mother’s Day activity. We love the Cincinnati Art Museum’s tutorial on how to create a blind contour drawing of your mom.
We’re feeling so inspired after our Earth Day virtual art class with Dr. Meg Handler from The Human Nature Center! Dr. Handler uses the arts as a way to teach ecology. That got us wondering how else we can explore science through art. Marbled milk art provides a fun lesson on chemistry and polarity while you create a colorful artwork on paper.
Art to the Rescue! Art projects and resources to inspire you and your family Flower Petal Paint Is there anything more inspiring than Mother Nature?! Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22, so we’ve curated a whole list of art projects…
Art to the Rescue! Art projects and resources to inspire you and your family Egg Carton Flowers With Easter upon us, chances are you may have some extra egg cartons at home. Recycle them! Kids can transform them into fun,…
Art to the Rescue! Art projects and resources to inspire you and your family Create a Found Object Color Wheel Create a found object color wheel to learn about primary and secondary colors during an in-home scavenger hunt! We love…
Art and museum fun at home We’re Serving Up More Art To-Go! We were so thrilled by the response we received last week for our free kids’ art to-to bags, and we’re happy to announce that the Museum will be…
Art and museum fun at home. Grab a Free Kids’ “Art To-Go” Bag at the Museum! The Santa Paula Art Museum has put together free kids’ “Art To-Go” bags filled with colored pencils, crayons, coloring pages, yarn, watercolor palettes, and…
The Santa Paula Art Museum will be closed through March 31. For the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and community, and in support of public health directives, the Santa Paula Art Museum will be closed through March 31.…
Please see our important event updates below. Premiere Party: Inspiration and Influence [POSTPONED] In light of current guidance related to COVID-19, the Santa Paula Art Museum has decided to postpone the premiere reception for Inspiration and Influence scheduled for Saturday,…
Art About Agriculture closes March 8. Read a review here. Images and artwork courtesy of Lisa Mahony. Class: Plein Air Outing (Ages 16+) Saturday, March 7, 2020: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. OR Saturday, April 4, 2020: 11:00 a.m. to…
Free Family Day: Women’s History Month Sunday, March 1, 2020: 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Our March Free Family Day will celebrate Women’s History Month with abstract art projects inspired by women artists! We’ll show you how to mix colors…
Happy Valentine’s Day! We just love that the Museum’s birthday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day. In advance of the holiday, we just want to say thank you for all of the love that you have shown to the Museum…
Event Name: Class: Plein Air Outing (Ages 16+) Date/Time: Saturday, March 7, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Location: Santa Paula Art Museum’s Cole Creativity Center, 123 N 10th Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060 Cost: $55.00 per person…
In honor of the Santa Paula Art Museum’s tenth birthday, we’ve just installed a new exhibition featuring selections from the Museum’s permanent art collection. Since its genesis in 2010, the Museum’s collection has grown to include over 330 significant works…
The year is off to a great start after the Museum hosted its first Free Family Day and ArtSPARK school tour of 2020 this week. Inspired by artist Andrea Vargas and her “Care Bags” project, guests of Free Family Day…
SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Paula Art Museum is offering an all-new lineup of classes and workshops for the start of the new year! Please see descriptions below. To reserve a spot in class, please visit www.santapaulaartmuseum.org/creativity. On Saturday, January 18,…
Free Family Day: Carry What You Care About! Sunday, January 5: 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Free for everyone We’re starting the new year with a new art project during Free Family Day on Sunday, January 5! Inspired by artist…
SANTA PAULA — Join us for Free Family Day at the Santa Paula Art Museum on the first Sunday of every month from 12:00pm to 3:00pm! In addition to enjoying our current exhibits, you’ll experience hands-on art activities for the…
SANTA PAULA — The Santa Paula Art Museum is turning 10 this year! To celebrate its first decade, the Museum will be hosting a big Birthday Bash on Saturday, February 1, 2020, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The event will…
SANTA PAULA — All are welcome during Free Family Day at the Santa Paula Art Museum on the first Sunday of every month from 12:00 pm. to 3:00 p.m. In addition to enjoying the Museum’s current exhibits, you’ll experience hands-on…
UPDATE: The Museum’s 10th Annual Fine Art Auction Fundraiser scheduled for Saturday, March 28 has been POSTPONED. We look forward to bringing you an incredible auction later this year.
This year, we’re bringing our art auction to you! The Santa Paula Art Museum’s 10th Annual Fine Art Auction Fundraiser will be hosted entirely online. Online bidding will open Monday, November 9, 2020, and will close one artwork every minute beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 22.
SANTA PAULA — The Santa Paula Art Museum is excited to announce its exhibition schedule for 2020. The Museum will turn 10 this year, and to mark the milestone the Museum will exhibit “The First Decade: Celebrating Ten Years of Acquisitions” from January…
The holiday season has officially arrived at the Santa Paula Art Museum! We’ve been busy decking the halls of both Museum buildings in advance of all of our holiday-themed events and classes. First up was last weekend’s Free Family Day…
