New exhibit at Tracy Park Gallery is a love letter to Malibu
We pass by iconic Malibu landmarks every day, but perhaps not until we see them represented artistically do we reallytake notice. That’s what local artist Alyssa Crosby has done with her spectacular new paintings and exhibit called“Postcards from Malibu.” It’s a series of well-known places in Malibu. “It’s all the iconic places that Malibu locals love and tourists get to know,” explained gallerist Tracy Park.
Crosby’s paintings depict places such as Moonshadows Restaurant, The Reel Inn, Pepperdine University, and the old La Salsa taco man. There are 15 pieces in all, including two paintings of what she calls “honorary” Malibu landmarks: The Rock Store and The Old Place.
“They’re sort of grandfathered into Malibu. Locals consider (these spots) Malibu. I feel like they honorarily count.”
In making the series, Crosby drove to each location and snapped photographs. Those shots were then recreated in acrylics at her expansive ocean-view Malibu studio. The Thousand Oaks resident opened her art studio earlier this year. “I thought this place was so beautiful,” she explained of her studio, though she’s been coming to Malibu for years.
The mother of three started her prolific career as a mural painter in San Francisco, winning mural of the year there in 2005. It was a 75-foot, three-story painting. She’s quite comfortable on scaffolding. Crosby is also the co-designer of the“Slow the F’ Down” T-shirts recently distributed in Malibu, a city she loves dearly.
“Everyone who lives in Malibu or who has ever visited Malibu will have some connection to one of these paintings because we’ve all had such great memories at all these locales. It’s a feel-good show,” commented Park. Park is turning her eponymous gallery into a solo exhibition space for Crosby’s work. “I absolutely love Alyssa Crosby’s new series of iconic Malibu locations that we all have fond memories of,” she said.
The gallery hosted an opening night reception for the artist on Saturday, Sept. 7. This is the first time Park is featuring Crosby’s work in a solo exhibition, though she’s been carrying her paintings at the gallery for at least four years.
“I’m thrilled to be hosting this event. She’s an amazing talent,” Park said. “She’s the best at photorealism, absolutely the best. These paintings will knock your socks off. She’s so talented.”
The 15 paintings in the series will be the only work on display in the gallery.
“I think it’s fun to see the series all together,” said the artist. “All together [it] works really well because it really is just like postcards from Malibu.” In fact, the descriptions of each piece of art will be posted next to the work in postcard form.“The little cards that typically go next to a painting at an art opening or museum that tell you the information about the painting, mine are postcards and they’re written like postcards, but the information also gives you historical facts about each piece, because each piece is a historical landmark and has so much interesting information,” Crosby added.
One of the landmarks depicted in historical context and earlier appearances is a Malibu gateway sign. Crosby has painted one of those monuments with its original signage “27 Miles of Scenic Beauty.” Today the signs read “21” since the city is no longer unincorporated. Four of these signs can be found in Malibu, on each end of PCH and on Malibu Canyon and Kanan roads. “When I painted the series, I wanted to paint all the scenes in their original forms, so I painted ’27.'” Crosby said.
Moonshadows Restaurant is painted with its old-school glory signage dating from the 1970s. The La Salsa man is paintedwith his glorious tray of food.
“Now he’s kind of sad, but his history is cool,” Crosby said. “He started out as a soda jerk holding a hamburger. When La Salsa bought it they cut the hamburger in half and made the bottom half the tray and the top half the bottom of his sombrero.”
“I have memories from all these places. I pass them most every day,” the artist said. “It’s a love letter to Malibu.”