The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature will host a Plein Air Painting Weekend with artists Kevin Gleason and Libby Smith, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. June 26-27. Smith’s demonstration will take place on Saturday and Gleason’s on Sunday.
Smith and Gleason are among 27 local artists featured in Art From the Trail: Exploring the Natural Beauty of Santa Barbara County, the Wildling Museum’s current Valley Oak Gallery exhibit, which celebrates the outdoor treasures of the Central Coast’s outdoor treasures.
Smith and Gleason will offer live painting demonstrations, providing museum visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at how artists bring outdoor inspiration to the canvas.
A goal of the exhibit, in partnership with Healthy People Healthy Trails and the Santa Barbara County Trails Council, is to raise awareness of Santa Barbara County’s myriad trails, and inspire visitors and community members to explore them, while encouraging a healthier lifestyle.
Trails highlighted in the show range from the South Coast, Santa Ynez, Santa Maria and Lompoc valley regions, including trails at Carpinteria Bluffs, Goleta’s Lake Los Carneros and Ellwood Mesa, La Purisima State Historic Park, and Lake Cachuma.
Direct questions via email info@wildlingmuseum.org or call 805-686-8315.
The exhibit is included with admission to the museum: Adults $5, children 17 and younger enter for free.
Smith was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Los Angeles. She moved to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB, where she received a BA and MFA with an emphasis in drawing.
She taught painting and drawing for 31 years at Santa Barbara City College and seven years at the SBCC School of Extended Learning.
After retiring from teaching In 2016, Smith now works primarily outdoors on landscape painting. She lives in Goleta. Her work can be viewed on Instagram: @libbysmith051.
“My art combines two of my greatest loves: exploring beautiful wild places on foot and drawing with a paintbrush,” said Gleason. “When I am out scouting places to set up my easel, I am searching for a combination of two things – an intriguing natural subject that speaks to me on a literal level mixed with a sense of light and atmosphere that tugs at me emotionally.
“I was lucky to grow up in South Lake Tahoe with miles of wilderness, mountains, lakes, and creeks literally in my backyard. I then came to Santa Barbara for college and again experienced living in a beautiful setting, this time with oak woodlands and the Pacific Ocean.
“Besides being a landscape painter, I teach art at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta.”
Gleason’s work can be viewed at www.kevingleasonart.com and on Instagram: @kevingleasonart.
For more about the exhibit, visit www.wildlingmuseum.org/news/2021-plein-air-painting-weekend.