Catching the light fantastic

Capturing the essence and color of the Santa Monica Mountains and

local coastlines is what makes Burbank artist Bruce Trentham tick.

Although he has experimented and worked in many mediums including

etching, his tactile sense has kept him pretty faithful to his use of

pastels when creating his sea and landscape impressionistic works of

art.

“Nothing else was quick enough for me,” Trentham said. “With

pastels you buy the colors you want to use so you don’t necessarily

have to mix colors and everything is totally immediate.”

Many days this artist can be found wandering the mountain trails

looking for something that catches his eye or searching out an

untouched coastal inlet where the ocean meets land in a blend of

color that so depicts California.

“My idea is to go out there and find something that clicks for me,

something that I can connect with and do in one setting,” Trentham

said.

Trentham, along with more than 30 local artists will participate

in a premier Quick Draw plein-air art event on Saturday called

“Jardins en Plein Air 2005” organized by Glendale resident Laura

Segil, owner of Segil Fine Art Source in Monrovia and Linda Strack,

owner of Whites Gallery in Montrose.

A Quick Draw is traditionally a competition of painters working in

public view on small canvases and paper for a very limited period of

time.

During the day, each invited artist will have the opportunity to

paint from a variety of settings on the grounds of Dr. and Mrs. James

Sharp’s 2-and-a-half-acre estate in Glendale. Guests will be able to

stroll the grounds watching them work from beginning to end.

The event will culminate with a reception and silent auction

Saturday evening at Whites Gallery in Montrose where each artist’s

work from the day’s event will have been framed and placed on

display, allowing guests of the event to bid on them. Following the

event, any unsold paintings will be divided and shown at both

galleries.

“We’re trying to highlight what we call the ‘corridor artists’

that live in the Valley,” Segil said. “These are all wonderful

artists and we want to get them out there into the public eye.”

Segil said the money raised from the event will go toward covering

the costs of putting on this public show and toward the Best of Show

award chosen by juror Tim Solliday, a signature artist with the

California Art Club.

“Artists will also have the opportunity to paint from three staged

settings ranging from formal, holiday and Asian, and will also be

able to utilize a live model in period dress in their work,” Segil

added.

Having taught art for more than 17 years in and around the

Glendale area, La Crescenta artist Margot Lennartz said painting like

this is very much like how the impressionists did their work.

“There’s a certain amount of pressure in painting under these

circumstances without having the benefit of adding finishing touches

in the studio,” Lennartz said.

Many of her masterful oil painted pieces reflect the ever-changing

light and shadows that cast themselves upon trees on lofty hillsides

filling them with warm sunlight or shades of fall, where desert skies

are filled with a familiar haze and where often brilliant natural

flora cast their shadows over romantic Mediterranean courtyards.

“California is my favorite palette,” Lennartz said. “I think it

has wonderful atmospheric conditions and the mountains, the hillsides

and the desert have beautiful ambience.”

La Canada Flintridge artist Ray Harris has been involved in art

ever since he left Pasadena’s Art Center of Design in the mid-1970s.

After graduating, he was immediately snapped up by Walt Disney

Studios because of his sense of design, color and creativity and

spent 15 years working on films and other projects with the company.

Over the past four years, he’s been developing his own company.

“I’m doing painting, story boarding art for films, commercials and

music videos,” Harris said.

But just as his business grows, so does his collection of oil

paintings. Some of his more recent work, done in Northern Italy and

Switzerland while on vacation visiting his brother, represents a

sharp cold contrast to his sunny Southern California portrayals.

“I did some plein-air painting there and got to meet some

interesting people,” Harris said. “Working on location gives you a

better feel for the color and light and it’s great to work this way.”

Never shy to work in front of a crowd Harris said many times,

because of his cartooning experience, he will draw people, his

favorite subject to paint, at parties just for fun, so he’s looking

forward to having an opportunity to work in public view.

Harris said he prefers to work on larger sized canvases but hopes,

because of the 11-inch-by-14-inch size restraint at this event, to

complete two or three paintings during the day. He will pick one for

the silent auction.

“I think it’s great to give people an opportunity to see your set

up, the colors you use, the brushes -- there’s so much paraphernalia

that goes along with the artist,” Harris said. “For a lot of people

who are interested in art, including amateur painters, it’s almost

like a free lesson.”

FYI

WHAT: Jardins en Plein Air 2005

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Quick Draw and 7 to 9 p.m. Reception and

Silent Auction

WHERE: Quick Draw at 1620 Hillside Drive, Glendale; Reception and

Silent Auction at Whites Gallery, 2414 Honolulu Ave., Montrose

ADMISSION: $10 includes reception and silent auction (buy at the

entrance, also available at Whites Gallery)

CONTACT: (626) 358-5563.