The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) Store is planning a Sunday schedule for the winter, beginning with a 10% discount on all purchases on Museum Store Day, Nov. 28, with new merchandise for the holidays. That will be followed by artist pop-up shows and demonstrations on subsequent weekends. The SBMM store is at the Santa Barbara Harbor, 113 Harbor Way, Ste. 190.
Watercolorist Lisa Dov will open the series with a pop-up show of her mermaid paintings on Dec. 5, followed by a show of Kelly Clause’s paintings, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 12 on the museum’s patio. The two artists’ work celebrates SBMM’s current mermaids exhibit, and this spring’s whale events and exhibits.
Dov, who grew up in Sherman Oaks and Beverly Hills, said she wanted to create things, and loved to draw and paint. She earned an associate degree in fashion design and studied watercolor at Brentwood Art Center.
“For me, drawing and painting are a form of meditation,” Dov said. “I love painting portraits as well as botanicals, seascapes and animals.”
Dov also enjoys Art Nouveau and ancient Japanese prints, hints of which appear in her work. Her images are dreamlike and demonstrate her fascination with mermaids and other maritime images.
Spontaneity, style and whimsy characterize Clause’s images. Spanning land, sea and air, her work features cards, prints, paintings, and murals of all sizes. She depicts marine life — whales, turtles, fish, dolphins and lobsters — and plant life such as palms, kelp and flowers.
Born in Santa Barbara, Clause was raised to love and appreciate the outdoors. “Nature cannot be contained, captured or defined, yet I always find myself wanting to touch it, hold it, recreate it,” she said. “Saltwater swells and living creatures alike contain a sort of wild mystery that I believe all humanity craves.
“With spontaneous but deliberate brushstrokes, I endeavor to reflect a balance of wild whimsy and intentional design with my art. My work spills from my insatiable fascination with the natural world, and a desire to inspire a similar curiosity and awe in my viewers.”
To shop online, visit https://sbmm.org/sbmm-store/.