A March 24 reception will mark “Nature’s Landscapes,” the latest exhibit of Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains & Seashore, which debuts Saturday.
By Michael Aushenker / Special to The Malibu Times
For two decades, Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains & Seashore, a local group of plein air painters hailing from Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Topanga and the Valley, has captured and interpreted the local splendor. “Nature’s Landscapes,” featuring recent work by the Allied Artists, will run March 17-31 at the Malibu Lumber Yard art gallery, with a reception on Sat., March 24 from 4-7 p.m.
Founding member Pat Ryan, who will be represented by her watercolor of a Solstice Canyon waterfall, says the group began meeting in 1991.
“The Santa Monica Conservancy Foundation, when they started acquiring property to conserve land, came up with the idea of having a group of artists, like in the old days when all of the natural parks were formed,” Ryan said. “In those days, they were artists who were hired by the government to go out and paint…and show the public [what the land looked like].”
On the second week of each month, Allied Artists members head out to a chosen destination, plant their easels down and load up their palettes. Twenty percent of proceeds from art sales goes to support Malibu Nature Reserve and Charmlee Wilderness Park. Boasting a membership of about 85 nature painters, Allied has grown by the dozens since that first gathering at Peter Strauss Ranch on Memorial Day weekend 21 years ago.
“Nature’s Landscapes” was organized by locals Donna and Joe Goldstein, and watercolorist Pong Apinyavat will hang the art. About 20 members will feature work in this exhibition, including current and former Malibu residents Marnie Piuze, Nancy Faoro (who works in oils) and Ed Stalcap (a watercolorist).
“Malibu’s landscape and nature have never ceased to inspire me as an artist,” said Seda Baghdasarian, another of the show’s participants and the MLY gallery’s director.
Born in Iran, Baghdasarian moved to England as a child and graduated with a degree in Architecture and Interior Design. For nearly 25 years she worked as a themed entertainment and architectural designer for Disney and Universal Studios, working on theme park rides such as “Jurassic Park,” “Jaws” and “Waterworld” in Osaka, Japan.
When Baghdasarian and her husband, Zare, moved to Malibu in 2000 from Texas, she joined the impressionist David Gallup’s master class at Studio Channel Islands Art Center while raising their two sons. The couple opened the Chocolate Box Cafe in the Malibu Lumber Yard in 2009, where Seda continued her interest in her own art as well as promoting the work of others.
Last month, Baghdasarian organized the “Malibu Beauty” exhibit, which encompassed, in various mediums, everything from PCH and Santa Monica Pier to the Santa Monica Mountains and local beaches. Beverly Higgins, Nada Zoric and Gay Summer Rick were among the participating artists.
“We are such a small community yet so rich with talent and inspiration,” Baghdasarian said. “My hope is to inspire the community to partake in the gift of sharing the arts, as a way to get to know each other, show appreciation and support the artists in all of the 27 miles of beauty that is Malibu.”
This week, she’s pleased to join her fellow Allied Artists such as Pat Ryan in “Nature’s Landscapes.”
“I love the Santa Monica Mountains and I’m always finding something new,” Ryan said. “You’ll never know, it depends upon the weather…The oak trees, the sycamores, the changing of the colors. We’re blessed, I’ll tell ya!”
The Malibu Lumber Yard gallery is located at 3939 Cross Creek Road, Suite D-130.
For more information on the exhibit, contact Baghdasarian at 818.687.6564 or visit Allied-Artists.com