Batiquitos Lagoon 18"h by 24"w oil on canvas $1200
Southbound Getaway, Plein Air 11"h by 14"w oil on canvas panel $850
The Oceanside Museum of Art will be presenting work by the Oceanside Museum of Art Artist Alliance for the first time ever! Of more than 240 items submitted from local artists, only 28 were selected due to space restraints. I am honored that two of my local Southern California landscape paintings were juried into this special exhibit. Exhibition Dates: February 4-April 1, 2012 Artists Reception: Saturday, February 4, 2:00pm-4:00pm
704 Pier View Way Oceanside, CA 92054 760 435 3720
Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday
10:00am-4:00pm
Sunday
1:00pm-4:00pm
Closed major holidays
OMA Members free
General admission $8
Seniors 65+ $5
Students free with I.D.
Military and their dependents free with I.D.
North American
Reciprocal Museum
Program Members
free with I.D.
Solo Exhibit with the Dana Point Symphony April 13, 2012
Saint Edward's Catholic Church 33926 Calle La Privavera Dana Point, California 92629
The City of Dana Point is pairing classical music with visual arts
in a series of concerts featuring the newly founded Dana Point
Symphony, and select visual artists including Rita Pacheco. (Rita
Pacheco will be exhibiting five of her larger paintings at the April 13th performance of Berenika, Piano)
The concert will begin at 7:30 pm, and will be followed by an artist
reception at 9:30 pm, immediately following the performance. Tickets for
the performances are $12 for adults and $8 for seniors (65 and over)
For the full 2012 Concert Season and for tickets go to http://danapointsymphony.com
"Kimono Dragon" was juried into the California Art Club "Asian Influences Exhibit" at the Pacific Asia Museum, which opens this thursday, September 15th. The show will run through October 30, 2011.
Opening Reception will be Sunday, September 18th, from 4:30-6:30
Pacific Asia Museum
46 North Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
My husband and I visited the Pacific Asia Museum this afternoon and it is beautiful; inside and out! I will be at the reception-I hope you can make it too!
Overlooking the Lagoon 8"h by 10"w plein air in oil
I am honored to be the Carlsbad/Oceanside Art League's "Featured Artist" for the September Exhibit, where 16 of my most recent paintings are displayed. I hope you are able to come see my show! All are welcome-admission is free to the gallery. It would be wonderful to see you at the Opening Reception this Sunday, September 11th from 3:00-5:00pm. The exhibit will run through Saturday, October 1st.The COAL Gallery is located in the Carlsbad Village; 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008 and is open Wed-Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm and til 8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays
"It's The Little Things" Pinnell Gallery in Fallbrook, California
Saturday, September 10th
This is a "miniature" show of 8 x 10 paintings or smaller. The Opening Reception will be on Saturday, September 10th, 3:00pm - 6:00 pm. Wine and snacks will be served while you visit with me and the other participating artists. There will be over 94 pieces or art that will be available for purchase! I hope to see you there! The Pinnell Gallery is located in "down-town" Fallbrook; 124 North Main Street, Fallbrook, CA 92028 ph: (760) 728 8870
I am pleased to announce new representation at the
Hartwell Vineyards in the beautiful Napa Valley, California! These paintings were completed or started on location at the Vineyard! The Hartwells are kind and generous people, and their winery is a "must see" for your next wine-tasting tour! These eight vineyard paintings will be displayed in their tasting room for you to enjoy and purchase while you indulge in their exquisite wines! The paintings and their descriptions can be found on my website, in the "vineyard gallery". For Hartwell Vineyards, scroll down to: http://www.hartwellvineyards.com/
I am happy to announce that my two entries for the COAL Annual Open Juried Fine Arts Award Show were juried in by esteemed judges John Asaro and Chuck McPherson! These are, "While They Fished, I Painted" 20"h by 28"w and "Overlooking the Buena Vista Lagoon", 11"h by 14" w.
Having just accepted the position of Secretary for the COAL Gallery, I've been learning more about this wonderful organization, and I'm proud to be a part!
In honor of the Carlsbad Oceanside Art League's 60th Anniversary, the cities of Carlsbad and Oceanside are presenting them with proclamations. I happen to have been able to see the document from the City of Carlsbad, and this is how it reads:
“WHEREAS, the Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League (COAL) was formed in August, 1951 by a small group of emerging artists, and
WHEREAS, this group of artists began promoting art education and cultural appreciation of fine art in the community, and
WHEREAS, the Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League has promoted art education and cultural appreciation of fine art in the community with monthly art exhibits, a yearly open exhibit which solicits participation from the surrounding communities, “Art on the Green” in the heart of Carlsbad Village, monthly art demonstrations which are, in part, funded by the City of Carlsbad Arts Office, Featured Artists, who have been granted this opportunity for a solo show within the gallery through their being awarded a Best of Show in one of the monthly judged exhibits, and it’s Life Drawing Group held twice a month at the gallery, but most importantly,
WHEREAS, the Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League has, through it’s efforts, raised scholarship funds for high school students in the surrounding school districts and provided them a venue to display their work annually as well as created a Children’s Art Show each May to provide aspiring and budding artists the opportunity to display their work as well; and
WHEREAS, the COAL Gallery has successfully achieved its mission of art education and cultural appreciation of fine art in the community for 60 years as of August 7, 2011;
THEREFORE, the City of Carlsbad, on behalf of its citizens, acknowledges the Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League’s long standing commitment to the mission of art education and cultural appreciation of fine art in the community as the oldest art association in North San Diego County, recognizes the COAL Gallery for its fine art, its service and educational outreach to the community, and the scholarships it grants, on this, the occasion of its 60th birthday.”
This past week we enjoyed our fourteenth annual camping trip to El Capitan State Beach in Goleta, California. We camped, hiked and enjoyed good music, food and each others' company. And of course, I painted. We enjoyed three glorious days of sunshine, and I was able to complete a small painting of the stairwell in the first evening. "Stairwell at the Beach" is 8"h by 10"w . I will be painting a larger version of this one for sure! (The one I painted last year was sold a few days after painting it without even getting a good photo for reference!) "Bike Ride to Portola", 8"h by 10"w features bicyclists along the shady path that leads to the group campsite. "Ocean Therapy", 12" h by 16"w, I painted while our family prepared our "Italian Themed" pot luck dinner after a long day at the beach. "Ocean Break" 12"h by 16"w was painted from our "beach front" picnic table, while I enjoyed the company of my mother, sisters and brother in law, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews. Our last full day was rather gloomy, but the sun finally did come out at around 5pm, while I painted "Here Comes the Sun" 8"h by 10"w (sold already!) It was a wonderful trip-I am truly blessed with a loving and supportive family!
I am pleased to announce that three of my recent landscape paintings were accepted into the California Art Club Exhibition at the Fremont Gallery, "Fresh Air Exhibit"; "Southbound Getaway"(22"h by 28"w), "Flower Fields of Carlsbad"(8"h by 10"w) , and "Long Beach Bike Ride" (18"h by 24"w)
The Fremont Gallery is located at: 812 Fremont Avenue, Suite 100 South Pasadena, CA 91030
Exhibition dates: July 2-July 31, 2011 The Artists reception will be Saturday, July 2, 2011 6:00pm-9:00pm. I hope to see you there!
Two of my most recent plein air paintings, "Where Carlsbad Meets the Sea" (11"h x 14"w) and "An Afternoon at Terramar" (11"h x 14"w) were juried into the Southern California Plein Air Painters Association Annual Aquatics Exhibit, "Earth & Sea"! The SoCalPAPA Gallery is in partnership with the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum and is located at 6oo East Bay Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92661. The exhibit will run from June 15th-September 11th. Opening Reception will be Saturday, June 18th, from 4-6pm. Hope to see you there!
This past friday was the Gala Reception for the SOCALPAPA "Paint the Parks" Juried Art Show and Sale, held at the Irvine Ranch Historic Park. Juried artwork for the show needed to be dropped off at the park on friday afternoon by 1:00pm, but the reception wasn't until 6:00pm. It was a gorgeous day, and this historic building caught my eye. Five hours went by in a flash as I spent the time painting it in the afternoon sun! Today, the Katie Wheeler Library is a public library, but it's history is quite interesting: http://katiewheelerlibrary.wordpress.com/ We held our 2-Day Art Sale there in the gardens this past weekend, and it was a beautiful venue!
This past week, we've had some crazy weather here in Carlsbad! I painted with a friend on Monday at the famous flower fields and it was a gorgeous and sunny day. Friday, I painted with a few students at Camp Pendleton (thank you Tara and Amit for gaining access for us!) and it was (at least luckily, consistantly) overcast! I thought it would be fun to post these together!
Honored to see my painting "The Bridge and the Train" on the full color post card advertisement for the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association's "Less is More" Exhibit. It's sure to be an extraordinary show at the Randy Higbee Gallery! Here are the details:
Randy Higbee Gallery 102 Kalmus Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Artists' Reception: Saturday, May 21,2011 4:00pm-8:00pm Exhibition Dates: May 21, 2011 through June 4, 2011
Juried Art Show, Exhibit and Sale May 20-22, 2011 Irvine Ranch Historic Park 13042 Old Myford Road in Irvine (Irvine Blvd. and Jamboree) Gala Reception: Friday 6:00pm-tickets available Art Exhibit and Sale: Saturday and Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm For information call 714-832-6299
Here are my two of my recent plein air paintings and accepted entries into the show: "Begonia Park/Newport Harbor" (11"h by 14"w) This quiet little park is tucked away behind the harbor in a beautiful residential area, and overlooks the balboa peninsula. "Caspers Wilderness Park" (11"h by 14"w) This regional park is a stunning 8,000 acre protected wilderness preserve found along highway 74, inland of San Juan Capistrano. The light hitting this "Old Corral and wind mill" in the early afternoon was fun to paint among the Native Live Oak and California Sycamore!
Wednesday evenings 6pm-9pm we host an uninstructed "live drawing session" for artists of all abilities. The cost is $10. Our studio is located at 2539 State Street in Carlsbad. It sits behind the "Trade Center" buildings at 2551 State Street, so enter the parking lot at the south end of these buildings. We are a few blocks north of Grand Avenue, and just south of Laguna Drive. (Shown here is a photo of a clothed model which we try to include around once a month.) For the most part, artists use charcoal but are welcome to use their choice of medium. The first people to reserve their spot get to use one of the work benches we have at the studio. Otherwise, please bring a portable easel.
Here's a recent still life I've been working on, "Eggstraordinary". I had been looking for eggplant locally (to paint of course) and have not been able to find it. (I guess it's not in season?) Luckily, I came across a box of lovely eggplant at the San Clemente Farmers Market on Sunday when I was hosting the gallery there. I could hardly wait to get back to my studio to paint it! I had this beautiful orange silk handy to wrap it with in this cute little dish that my friend accidentally left at my house months ago! Now, I better cook something with eggplant in it pretty quick!
This lovely tree caught my eye months ago (before it even had these glorious red blooms) sitting at the corner of Laguna Drive and State Street, right across from the studio space I share in Carlsbad. It overlooks the Buena Vista Lagoon and the light on it (in the morning shown here) or in the afternoon is stunning. My attempt to capture it was a wonderful experience for me, then my search for it's name was a real challenge. (you wouldn't believe how many "flowering trees, specifically "RED flowering trees" there are!) Well, finally I decided that this must be the "Kaffir boom" also called a "Coral Tree" or "Flame Tree". I found that it originated in South Africa, but also grows along coastal areas. We're sure enjoying it here in Carlsbad!
Here are two of my recent "rainy day" paintings. (I've noticed that it's healthier to spend time painting this kind of set up than it is to consume it -and this kind of activity sure doesn't have the side effects one suffers the "next day" either!) "Gin and Tonic for Two" will be displayed and offered for sale at the Randy Higbee Gallery for his "6" Squared Exhibit". 102 Kalmus Dr Costa Mesa, CA 9262A Gala Artists' Reception will be held Saturday, April 16th. 5:00pm-9:00pm The show will run through May 6th.
Both paintings will be framed in similar "premium" Randy Higbee "water guilded silver box" frames and will look great together in your kitchen or family room!
Lately, trying to stretch, I've been painting larger studies outside. Here is one of my most recent, "Southbound Getaway" 11"h x 14"w on a canvas panel. In the past, it has been so easy to "see" the whole composition on a small panel (6" x 8" or even an 8" x 10"), that it was "more comfortable" for me to paint "smaller". However, when I would bring the painting back to my studio to create a "larger piece", this would sometimes pose a problem for me since much of the "loose brushwork" and "passion" of a quickly done plein air painting is lost on a bigger canvas. Thanks to my good friend and studio partner, Scott W. Prior, (who has been challenging me to "paint bigger") I feel like I've finally figured it out: If I use a BIGGER brush, and practice painting outside from life on bigger canvases, my translated strokes will be more "natural" and make the transition to "larger studio piece" more easily! For this particular plein air piece, I resisted the urge to grab my smaller brushes for ANY detail-and amazingly it seems to have worked!
In honor of the month of February, I'm dedicating this post to "love". After having seen a short documentary on a singer/songwriter, John Mark McMillan at church last weekend, I've been thinking more about "what" and "who" I love and "how" I love them. First of all, I LOVE chocolate kisses, and chocolate/candy covered pretzels just like the next girl. That said, I've learned to LOVE to paint these and more otherwise fattening treats even more than their taste! Even so, that LOVE pales in comparison to the LOVE I feel for my daughter who helped me dip and decorate the pretzels for my sister's "Valentine's" birthday party, my son who sang to us as we celebrated her milestone, my husband who spent all day creating a delicious meal for the event, and all of my brothers and sisters, especially and including the "birthday girl"! This is a LOVE that I'm capable of, but there's an even greater love:
"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16
Current Adult Workshops: Monday:Drawing Fundamentals/Rita Pacheco $400 Workshop Dates: 1/24/2011-1/14/2011 10:00am-1:00pm Location: Prior Studios Semi-private (maximum 6 students) begins Monday, January 24, Open to beginners or those interested in improving their drawing skills. This course will focus on the fundamentals of drawing from life: composition, proportion, perspective, light and shadow, foreshortening, value and texture. If you are unable to commit to 8 weeks, there is a $75 drop in fee for one session. Space is very limited. *Materials: graphite pencils of your choice, kneaded eraser, 18” by 24” newsprint (I prefer smooth print) and backing board. If you have any questions, please contact Rita: email: rita@pacheco.ws cell: 951 965 2517 www.ritapacheco.com
Happy New Year! 2010 went out with a bang for Rita Pacheco Fine Art; being awarded a "Juror's Choice Award" from the California Art Club, and First Place for the COAL gallery's Winter Exhibit, finding into a new studio space in the Carlsbad Village, and selling 5 paintings all in the last few days of December was huge fun! Worth Celebrating for sure! The rainy and cold weather kept me indoors a lot of the time and that left me with all of these beautiful and colorful still life possibilities! I've posted 9 new still life paintings on my website this morning, even one "black and white"! The two shown here are both 10" h x 8" w oil on canvas panels; "Gin & Tonic" and "Celebrate!" They are both still available and I can guarantee there will be no "hang over/side effects"!
Native California artist, wife of going on 28 years, mother of two wonderful young adults, who is grateful for a loving and supportive family and group of friends.
