Join us at the Santa Paula Art Museum for the premiere of “From Field to Frame: The PAC6 Show How It’s Done,” featuring 72 all-new paintings on Saturday, March 9, 2024! PAC6 are six women artists from Southern California who’ve joined together to travel and paint en plein air across the country. The artists are Linda Brown, Marian Fortunati, Nita Harper, Debra Holladay, Laura Wambsgans, and Sharon Weaver.
The journey of every finished painting, and every artist, is different. From inspiration and field notes to finished work and framing, this exhibition will feature a peek behind the curtain of the creative processes used by the PAC6 painters to create artwork inspired by their travels together. Meet the artists during the premiere reception on Saturday, March 9, 2024, from 4 PM to 6 PM. Admission to the premiere is $5.00 for SPAM members and $10.00 for non-members. Beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres will be served. All of the artworks in the exhibition will be available for purchase.
“From Field to Frame” will be on view from March 9, 2024, to July 7, 2024.
Scroll down to learn more about the artists.
About the Artists:
“Along Rock Creek” by Linda Brown, 2023, Oil on linen panel, 24 x 30 inches.
Growing up with equal passions for nature and oil painting, it was inevitable that Linda Brown would establish a full-time art career painting the landscapes of the Great American West. The way sunlight plays on a surface, be it a mountain range or a single stone, will capture her heart and demand to be painted. Linda’s style of painterly realism captures the special feeling of a place and celebrates all the colors, textures, and moods of nature. Her award-winning work has been included in many national juried exhibitions, invitational museum shows, and private art collections throughout the Western United States.
“Breathtaking” by Marian Fortunati, 2023, Oil on linen panel, 24 x 24 inches.
California impressionist painter Marian Fortunati enjoys first-hand adventures and exploring new vistas. She uses her oil paints to express her feelings about the sites she has visited and to preserve the memory of those special places for others to enjoy. As a former teacher and principal, Marian knows the importance of direct exploration and continued learning. She is always ready for a new painting adventure with her friends in the PAC6. She appreciates all that our beautiful country has to offer and hopes that those who see her work might be inspired to explore those places on their own.
“Remains of the Past” by Nita Harper, 2022, Oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches.
Nita Harper was raised in Chicago. Her paternal grandfather, a fine artist and friend of Edgar Payne, was Nita’s first inspiration. She studied painting, first at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, then at the University of Arizona, and the Glassell School of Art, MFA Houston, Texas. After moving to Los Angeles and painting en plein air for the first time, the challenge of painting outdoors quickly became a passion. Since then, Nita has traveled to some of the most beautiful locations in the country with other adventurous artists, including the PAC6. She focuses on what she calls the ‘Four Cs of Painting’ (Composition, Color, Contrast, and Commotion) with commotion being where the drama happens, such as a light that’s a little too bright, a color contrast that vibrates, or an uneasy edge to add excitement. Her goal is to make the viewer feel the emotion that drew her to the subject she painted. Nita enjoys participating in plein air events across the country, and her work has appeared in many local, national, and museum exhibitions.
“Under the Aspens, Love Declared” by Debra Holladay, 2023, Oil on canvas board, 24 x 24 inches.
A lifelong painter and native Californian, Debra Holladay began her art career at age two with a tube of red lipstick and her cooperative dog as canvas, followed by a crayon mural hidden unsuccessfully behind a chest of drawers. After earning a BFA in Advertising Design, Debra sold her personal belongings and moved to NYC. There, she studied for six years at the Art Students League of New York and painted en plein air regularly in Central and Prospect Parks. Working both in the studio and in the field, Debra has a passion for art and a wanderlust for the natural world. Painting trips include a pack trip to Lake Ediza in the Eastern Sierras and trips to Canyon de Chelly, California’s gold rush country, Yosemite Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, and the California coast. An award-winning and highly collectible artist, Debra’s work is frequently included in juried museum and themed gallery exhibitions and invitational shows. Debra is an artist member of the California Art Club and a founding member of the PAC6 Painters.
“Desert Dreamscape” by Laura Wambsgans, 2023, Oil on linen, 20 x 24 inches.
A native Californian, Laura Wambsgans began painting the landscape after working as a sculptor for two decades and as managing director of a major recording studio. In addition to painting daily, she has studied intensely with Matt Smith and other well-respected landscape painters. A participant in many national plein air events since 1986, Laura strives to capture the effect of light on the land, through color and paint quality. Her work has been exhibited nationally in solo and group exhibitions, including the Riverside Museum, Bakersfield Museum, Lancaster Museum, Museum of Ventura County, and Santa Paula Art Museum. In 2006, Laura spearheaded “Chasing Open Spaces,” an environmental project painting the open spaces of the Santa Clarita Valley. Exhibits generated by this project were instrumental in preserving Elsmere Canyon in Santa Clarita, California. Laura is an active member of Oil Painters of America, Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore, California Art Club, and is a founding member of the PAC6 Painters.
“By George” by Sharon Weaver, 2022, Oil on canvas, 22 x 28 inches.
Sharon Weaver’s goal is to capture her excitement when she first sees a location and to share the beauty of nature, translating that moment of joy into her work. When creating her colorful and bold landscapes, Sharon takes inspiration from the California Impressionists. Her long-time experience as a plein air painter also influences her process. Sharon was juried into the Oil Painters of America 20th National Exhibition and in 2023 she was honored with the Southwest Art Magazine Award of Excellence at the California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition. For more than 10 years she has been teaching a plein air workshop and a studio landscape class at Kline Academy of Fine Art. Sharon studied at Moore College of Art and is a graduate of Parsons School of Design.
