In conjunction with their current exhibit, “From Field to Frame,” PAC6 painters Nita Harper, Laura Wambsgans, and Sharon Weaver will be setting up their easels to paint inside the Museum on Saturday, June 15, 2024! Looking to each other’s work for inspiration, Nita, Laura, and Sharon will paint simultaneously from 2 PM to 4 PM. Visitors will be able to walk freely between the three artists to chat and ask questions. The painting demonstration is included with regular museum admission, which is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, and free for SPAM members, students, and children.
About the Artists:
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.
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.
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.