Three of the most significant female artists living and working in Ventura County today have joined forces for an extraordinary, upcoming exhibition entitled “Common Ground” opening March 2, 2019 at the Santa Paula Art Museum. Artists Meredith Brooks Abbott, Susan Petty, and Gail Pidduck have much in common, most especially the love they have for their ranches and gardens - scenes that they have put to paint and graphite for this show. “Common Ground” will open with a premiere party on Saturday, March 2, 2019, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. All of the works in the exhibition will be for sale. Admission to the premiere is $10.00 for museum members and $15.00 for non-members.

Abbott, Petty, and Pidduck are all award-winning artists with long-established careers whose works belong to public and private collections nationwide. Each of the three women has built her present home and studio on a ranch not far from where she grew up – Meredith in Carpinteria, Susan in Ventura, and Gail in Santa Paula. And while each woman looks to her own garden and immediate landscape for inspiration, differences in soil and preference mean a great deal of variety in their shared exhibition.

Abbott’s impressionistic paintings are overgrown with persimmons, eucalyptus blossoms, and copa de oro. Petty’s detailed compositions blossom in her painted and drawn lemon branches, hollyhocks, and birds’ nests. Pidduck’s recent experiments with light and dark come to life in her painted sunflowers, roses and freesias. In this show, three artists’ common love for nature has resulted in an uncommonly beautiful collection of artworks. “Common Ground” will be on view March 2, 2019 through July 7, 2019. 

IMAGE CREDITS (Clockwise from left): “Eucalyptus Blossoms Study” by Meredith Brooks Abbott, oil on linen.