OPEN TO ART

Suzie Harrison

It isn’t a typical open house.

This weekend, when the Laguna Canyon Artists invite the public

into their studios, the focus won’t be on the dazzle of the interior

design or the beauty of the views. It will be on the art.

The Spring Open Studio Event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 7

p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, is one of two annual events the group

puts on that allows the colony of artists to invite the public to

join them and see their work and art demonstrations.

It also offers art enthusiasts the opportunity to talk to

individual artists and see where they create.

More than 25 artist studios sit side-by-side on the group’s main

campus, and additional studios are nearby, making it a convenient way

to experience an array of art including glass, watercolor, abstract,

sculpture, mixed media, jewelry, contemporary, oil, acrylic, bronze,

ceramics, drawing, hand-made drums and more.

Many of the artists that exhibit in the community’s summer art

festivals are known nationally or internationally for their

commissioned works and awards they’ve achieved.

Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. also has its headquarters at the

main campus and other prominent plein air painters have studios there

as well.

Abstractionist Brian Allan and Chinese brush painter Skip Roma

have shared a studio there since October. Though their styles are

opposite, they still complement one another, Roma said.

“We like that people can really tell where one starts and the

other one ends,” Roma said. “We like each other’s work -- it’s so

nice and easy to start talking about it because we like each other’s

stuff.”

Roma has lived in Laguna since the 60s but only started painting

eight years ago. Her technique is an ancient style of Chinese brush

painting called “Mo Ku,” which means to throw ink.

Allan in a nonrepresentational abstract painter and he primarily

works on canvas with acrylic, but has done some oils.

“I work with a lot of pearlescent and metallic acrylic paint that

has a lot of reflectivity,” Allan said. “I’ve worked in various

mediums virtually all my life, but I’ve only been painting for 12

years.”

Both said the winter version of the open house was a great

experience and are looking forward to the spring event.

“We sold a couple of paintings and made some valuable contacts,”

Allan said.

“People kept coming in despite the rain ... it made us feel good

about the people,” Roma said.

They like the relaxed atmosphere at the art complex.

“This is a nice solid little place with all these other artists,

which is really great ... the people are wonderful,” Roma said. The

demand is high to get a studio at the colony, they pointed out, so

they were thrilled that a place finally opened. Although they have a

studio in their Laguna home, they wanted to get more involved with

the other artists.

“We wanted to be a part of the colony, its closely knit, the doors

are open,” Roma said.

The Laguna Canyon Artists are at 3275, 3251 and 2795 Laguna

Canyon Road. For more information go to https://www.

lagunacanyonartists.com.