Art Flowers Here

A Walk Through the Cypress Gallery

by Elizabeth Monks Hack

June 2019

Bill Morson “Sis’s Kitchen Window ”

Ah, the flowers of June! Open your eyes to color. We have a few blooming fields in Lompoc yet, of sweet peas and other beauties. Thanks to abundant rainfall our yards are graced with vibrant blossoms. And so are the walls of the Cypress Gallery this month. The front gallery treats the viewer to an immersion in full-blown color with the works of photographer Bill Morson, our featured artist for June. Among them are voluptuous images of iris, lilies, plumeria, and our local fields of stock, picked and hoisted on the shoulders of a powerful field worker.

Bill Morson’s early life experiences shaped him for a career in photography, and in particular as a documentary and news photographer. Growing up in a military family, Bill had the opportunity to live all over  the United States. The artist in him was sensitive to the unique landforms, regional events and people of various locations, each being a new place to discover and observe. As a geography major in college he continued to explore the physical world, and how people live and adapt to their local environment. Morson received extensive photo processing training in the military, a career path which allowed him to remain a curious observer of people and places, and the chance to record his discoveries. Morson’s professional career spanned many years as a photojournalist in Hawaii and Santa Barbara County. As a “behind the scenes” resort and corporate photographer in Hawaii he also has lifetime of great stories, that include hanging with the secret service guys, and a very amusing anecdote of photographing President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter playing tennis!

The technically and physically brilliant forms of Morson’s art photography span the gamut of what we experience, including sports action, space launches, and the treasured places and things of nature. His images of Hawaii in particular express a degree of intimacy and fondness for the subject. One gets a palpable sense that Bill is watching, analyzing and enjoying what he sees. You will too!

Mitra Cline “Luna and Ghost”

The main gallery is also awash with color, many works following a flower theme. Vicki Andersen has chosen pinks, roses, sweetpeas and daisies to cascade over fences, Linda Gooch her exquisite roses, Chris Jeszeck a semi-precious trumpet lily, Jane Kametami a smiling sunflower, and Yours Truly a bevy of matilija poppies in the breeze. In “Luna and Ghost” artist Mitra Cline uses a bold, playful style to create an exuberant piece of a cat and a bird, with large red happy flowers in the foreground.

One of the great pleasures for me in viewing art is to enjoy the infinitely various styles of line and brushwork found in them. Neil Andersson’s paintings seem to be a slow unfolding of soft, refined strokes, which help to create the glowing, evocative aspect of his work, particularly evident in “Canal in  Amsterdam.” Dee Sudbury uses scratchy, active strokes to depict a crowing rooster. In Trish Campbell’s “Summer Time Palmtree” the dancing, colorful paint strokes rejoice in the sunlight of a golden sky.

So dear readers, when June gloom is getting you down, the skies are gray and the mist swirling all around, have a look in the Cypress Gallery. Pick up your spirits with color therapy! Enjoy some shopping therapy as well, among the abundant selection of colorful gifts.

The Cypress Gallery is operated by the members of the Lompoc Valley Art Association is a 501c(3) non-profit organization, committed to expanding and supporting access and exposure to the arts in the Lompoc and Santa Ynez Valley. Find us on Facebook/CypressGallery. We're located at 119 East Cypress Avenue, Lompoc. Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 12 noon to 5:00 pm. Phone (805) 737-1129.

All photos by Bill Morson, Gallery Director

1. Bill Morson “Sis’s Kitchen Window ”

2. Mitra Cline “Luna and Ghost”

"Cypress Gallery Art Walk"

May 2019

by Elizabeth Monks Hack

"Ceasura" by Mikel Naccarato

"Two Birds" by Barbara Curtis

It's officially springtime, and the birds have descended upon Lompoc! Our feathered companions are currently roosting at the Cypress Gallery, but unlike their Hitchkockian counterparts, these birds are friendly, playful, and consummately creative. As are their makers. Earlier this spring the gallery initiated "Come Fly With Me," a community-wide art event in which participants were given a plain plywood template of a bird, to be returned by the artist after undergoing a metamorphosis by their own creative juices. The results of the challenge are in, and they are absolutely delightful. The birds have been adorned and transformed by not only paint and feathers, but every conceivable media, including but not limited to, pennies, seed pods, yarn, glass, wire, copper, bark, flower petals, glitter and beads. They sit in nests, on branches, a gourd, and one even sits on a skull. Barbara Curtis has incorporated two of the cut-outs into a painterly work in which watercolors and her unique drawing skills play a part. Don't miss this whimsical, uplifting, downright aerial show!

Several of our artists have submitted wonderful works to the main gallery that reflect the avian theme. The subject of birds is a favorite of Linda Gooch, in harmony with her exquisite technique of soft edges and finely rendered textures. Five Gooch pieces demonstrate a quiet world of nature's beauties, including "Dove in my Windowbox." In them she shares a private visual and emotional experience.
Artist Mikel Nicarrato employs a keen sense of abstraction in many of his works, and in the enigmatic "Ceasura," he brings it to a pure state. The acrylic is a composition of soft floating color shapes stained into the canvas, that upon study, anchor themselves around a central neutral shape. Is it a figure, or a crossroads? Abstraction often takes us to a place of mystery.

Photographs in the gallery this month have a painterly feeling of color and handmade texture. Debby Fuller's "Little Yellow Hills" and Suzanne Schenk's "Ball-Man at Surf Beach" take the viewer to a place both familiar and extraordinary, personal and universal. For more texture, art lovers, visit the charming "Squirrel " by Lee Hill, a delightful study of tree bark and animal fur, set in an intimate composition. And swoon over the precision and beauty of tooled design wrought by Tammy Evans on a large black gourd, entitled "Circle of Bears," a museum-quality piece decorated with bone and turquoise. Also, pay some homage to the tall, elegant, smooth "Geisha" by Mary Whitmore, who won the People's Choice ribbon last month. Congratulations! Mary also created "Filbert," our dog-artist who paints in front of the gallery when we're open.

Once again our installation team has done a terrific job arranging two-dimensional with three-dimensional work, including gift items, set in enticing vignettes. Joellen Chrones' felted wool hats of berry, emerald and mint green complement Betsee Talavera's charming gouache "Coastal Memories" on the wall behind them, wherein similar colors can be found. Small touches such as this make the Cypress Gallery a great place to recreate, and also a great place to shop! This month, come for the bird show. Stay for the visual delight. Tweet this one to your friends!

Looking at art is a life-enhancing gift that is free. We can't emphasize enough how fortunate we are to be able to buy charming, original cards and gifts by local artists at competitive prices. Please consider the Cypress Gallery as your go-to gift store, as well as your "Imagination Station," and your monthly art venue! 

The Cypress Gallery is operated by the members of the Lompoc Valley Art Association, which is a 501c(3) non-profit organization, committed to expanding and supporting access and exposure to the arts in the Lompoc and Santa Ynez Valley. The gallery is located at 119 East Cypress Avenue, Lompoc. Winter Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 12 noon to 4:00 PM. Phone (805)737-1129. Visit our Facebbook page and venture further on our LVAA website for more information.

Are you an artist, photographer or artisan crafter or simply want to support the local art community? Consider joining the Lompoc Valley Art Association. You can pick up a membership application here and drop it off at the gallery.