Plein Air Invitational draws on the past

OUR LAGUNA

The art on sale Saturday night at the fifth annual Plein Air Painting

Invitational Gala was a link between to the Laguna Art Museum’s past

and its present.

“The early plein air artists came to Laguna Beach because of our

light, and these artists are doing the same thing,” museum board

member John Bing said. “And every year, the art has gotten better.”

Plein air artists work on location, dependent on the light, some

of which is considered better than others -- France, for instance,

and of course, Laguna’s. Fifty artists participated in this year’s

invitational.

“Considering we had only one morning of sunshine, the [competing]

artists did a remarkable job,” museum Director Bolton Colburn said.

The event grossed almost $300,000 for the artists, the Laguna

Beach Plein Air Painters Assn. and the museum.

“We sold 25% more than last year,” museum spokesman Stuart Byer

said.

The weeklong invitational concluded with the gala, sale and awards

presentation Saturday night at the museum and the exhibition of

unsold works Sunday.

“We had 450 people at the gala and 850 visitors to the museum

Sunday,” Byer said.

The painters’ association and the museum shared the expense of

putting on the invitational. The expenses included a $1,000 gift

certificate toward the purchase of art in the show, won by Frederick

Howden, and artist prizes.

Glenna Hartman of Santa Barbara was awarded $500 for first place

in the Artists Choice in the Quick Draw. First place in the

Collectors Choice and a $500 check went to Randall Sexton. The Quick

Draw is time-limited

Ray Roberts and Scott Burdick tied as winners of the Invitational

Artists Choice, each receiving 75 votes from participants.

Past Invitational Collectors Choice winner Ken Auster was on hand

for the presentation of the check to Michael Obermeyer, this year’s

winner.

The event began July 7 with four days of painting at locations in

town. The popular Quick Draw was held from 10 a.m. to noon Friday in

Heisler Park. The Los Angeles Times Student Artist Peint Your Heart

Out for fourth- and fifth-graders was held from 12:15 to 2:15 p.m.

Museum board member Doug Reilly fell in love with Burdick’s Quick

Draw portrait of “Patti.”

“I liked a couple of other paintings, but this is the one that

spoke to me,” Reilly said.

Kathy Conway, museum treasurer, watched the portrait being

painted.

Laguna Beach resident Tangerine Bolen wore the dress in which she

had posed for two paintings juried into the show.

“I pose at the Laguna Beach College of Art & Design and other

studios,” Bolen said. “These artists are the nicest guys.”

Patti Oshlund, Dave Rahn and John Cosby chaired the event,

assisted by 120 volunteers. Sundried Tomato catered the dinner.

Young’s Market supplied the wine, and Starbucks the coffee. Other

sponsors were Comerica, the St. Regis, Redfern Gallery, Bill

Porzmann, Southwest Art and Keyboard Concepts. The Cottage restaurant

hosted a dinner for the artists.

Guests at the gala included museum board President Chuck James,

Tom and Diana Conner, Skip Leavitt, Parker Marshall, volunteer John

Hoover, architect Jim Lashley, Michael Conway, Laguna Beach Visitors

Bureau Executive Director Kathleen Spaglione, Carole Reynolds, Joan

Hanson, Gracie Boyd and Barbara Bing, whose grandfather was one of

Laguna’s early plein air painters.

FIREFIGHTERS HONOR DIZ

A party was held Saturday night at Hennesseys to honor retired

Laguna Beach Fire Capt. Eugene D’Isabella, known to everyone as Diz.

D’Isabella retired in December after 47 years of service to Laguna

Beach, first with the school district and then as a city employee.

“The fire department was my job and my hobby,” D’Isabella said.

D’Isabella’s service to the city was recognized this year when he

was selected Grand Marshal of the Patriots Day Parade. He was

presented with a painting of the 1931 Seagrave engine he had driven

in the parade for 36 years.

He first drove the Seagrave as a volunteer in the fire department.

D’Isabella became a full-time member of the department in 1964, was

promoted to captain in 1968, named Fireman of the Year in 1978 and

awarded Orange County’s prestigious Father Sammon Award in 2001. He

worked with the Assistance League in the 1990s to initiate the highly

regarded “Care Bear” program here, which provides teddy bears to calm

frightened children during emergencies.

D’Isabella’s first job in town was with the Laguna Beach Unified

Schools District in 1956, begun just weeks after his marriage to Anna

Margaret Hill, whom he met when they posed in the Pageant of the

Masters while he was still in the Marines.

“He used to drive the bus that took the high school athletic teams

to the games,” said retired fire Capt. Bing Boka, who competed in

baseball, basketball, football and track. “But I got to know him one

on one in 1955 when I volunteered for the fire department,” Boka

said.

The D’Isabellas’ two children, Lisa and Dom, both graduated from

Laguna Beach High School.

Guests at the party Saturday included Cherie and Bing Boka --

brother Jim was out of town; Battalion Chief Jeff LaTendresse, his

wife, Mindy, and their son, Cody; Battalion Chief Mike Macy; and

North Laguna neighbors Pam and Josh Cooper, the latter a federal

firefighter.

“There were a lot of old timers,” D’Isabella said. “Herb Jewell,

who was a battalion chief here and then became chief at Norco and

later at Buena Park, and his wife, came from Northern California. And

Forrest Johnson, a battalion chief from way back, and his wife

Marilyn came from Paso Robles.”

Marilyn’s sister, Iris Johnson, attended.

“She is the widow of Forrest’s brother, also a past captain in the

department,” D’Isabella said. “We really were a family.”

Firefighters Jim Dempsey and Gary Ganger organized the affair.

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach, 92652, hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite 22;

call 494-4321 or fax 494-8979.