John Natsoulas Gallery

521 First Street

Davis, CA 95616

530-756-3938

8th Annual California Landscape Painters Conference Returns to Davis

Featuring painting demonstrations, workshops and the work of Deladier Almeida,

Mike Bagdonas and more

Opening Reception: April 10, 7-9pm

Exhibition Dates: March 24- April 24, 2010

Conference: April 17, 2010

Gertrude Stein once said of Oakland that there was no "there" there...The Natsoulas
show demonstrates that there is indeed a "there" there, a there of flatlands that allow
you to see for miles and miles without interruption; a there full of waterways where
you can fish and swim and frolic; a there colored by light filtered through hot summer
air and cool, foggy mornings; a there that sustains us, delights us and sometimes
aggravates us with its harshness and the continuing loss of farmlands and wetlands. A
there that is unrelentingly ours.

--Victoria Dalkey, 2003

California Landscape Painters, the 8th annual exhibition of work at the John Natsoulas
Gallery by the Sacramento Valley School of Landscape Painters. Concurrent with and
highlighting this year's show will be a one-day seminar on Saturday, April 17th, 2010
from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. The morning program will feature plein air painting
demonstrations by eminent Sacramento Valley landscape painters including: Deladier
Almeida, Chella, Dworka Bonners, Marti Walker, Mike Bagdonas, Phillppe Gandiol,
Marie-Therese Brown, Andrew Down and Leslie Toms. Following the demonstrations
will be a lunch with the artists at the Putah Creek Lodge, UCD arboretum.

The collection of landscape paintings in the exhibition ranges from very early works
completed in the 1800s by artists such as William Keith, William F. Jackson and John
Ross Key, to landscape paintings by contemporary artists including Gregory Kondos,
Wayne Thiebaud, Patrick Dullanty, Michael Tompkins, Pat Mahony, Matt Bult, D.A.
Bishop, Boyd Gavin and Chella.

Trends in art adapt to the inevitable advance of time and cultural progression, and the
genre of landscape painting is no exception. The landscape art of the twentieth century
tended toward smaller sizing and encompassed a more limited visual sphere. Instead of
vast horizons, it showcased more intimate settings, sometimes as minimal in
composition as a single tree. However, it was this specificity that allowed for the artists
to create a more approachable understanding of their environment—one that is still
championed today by the likes of Dwarka Bonner in his stunning piece Oaks. There
has never been a single prevailing Californian aesthetic, but it is these consistent
references to nature and concern with atmospherics that seems to assert itself as our
state’s ubiquitous influence within the broader artistic community.

One of the most important things to note about California landscape painting,
particularly in the Sacramento area, is the influence of Gregory Kondos and Wayne
Thiebaud. The significant impact of their local professorships on this year’s exhibiting
artists can hardly be overlooked. Seen in the work of students like Clay Vorhes and
Melissa Chandon, Thiebaud and Kondos’ approach to light and form resonates as an
intensely original interpretation of what is too easily deemed an antiquated genre.
Local artists Pat Mahony, Roy Tellefson, Michael Tompkins, and Boyd Gavin
continue to create plein air paintings in this vein, only furthering the reputation and
quality of our regional art. Their careers bloomed in the ‘80s and ‘90s while painting
important areas of the Valley, and have since broadened in scope to include the
entirety of the state. In this work, there is evidence of an authentic Americana that only
grows more rare with over-population and development. The goal of our exhibition is
to avoid the traditional seascapes or views of Yosemite’s Half Dome, and rather
explore this new imagery in the context of a modern perspective. There is true beauty
in the ability to see for miles and miles without interruption, and in the works of these
artists, you come to fully comprehend the power and beauty of California’s vast
landscape.

Additional Images available upon request

Image Details:

Andrew Dorn

“Lean on me…A Valentine’s Day Crush”

2008

Oil on Canvas

24’’x 30’’
Contact:

Alexess Van Dyke

alexess@natsoulas.com

(530)756-3938

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