Catalina: The Wild Side Art Show Draws Art Fans to Balboa

2016-11-01
Catalina Island Conservancy

Art lovers crowded the Newport Harbor Yacht Club on Sunday, October 23 for the Catalina Island Conservancy’s Sixth Annual Catalina: The Wild Side Art Show, where they admired and purchased the works of the 10 nationally recognized plein air artists who showcased their interpretations of Catalina Island’s wildlands, Avalon and Two Harbors.

This year, four new participants in the show  – artists Brian Blood, Laurie Kersey, Kathleen Dunphy and Debra Huse –  joined the roster of returning artists, John Cosby, Don Demers, Andy Evansen, Kim Lordier, Ron Rencher and Matt Smith.

“Thanks to the artists as well as the Catalina Island Conservancy supporters and art lovers who joined us, Catalina: The Wild Side Art Show was another successful event to support the Conservancy’s unique use of art for conservation’s sake,” said Tony Budrovich, Conservancy president and CEO.

Proceeds from the sales of the artworks on Sunday benefit the Conservancy’s conservation, education and recreation programs, and support the Conservancy’s permanent collection of plein air art that documents the organization’s conservation efforts and progress in habitat restoration. Many of the paintings acquired during previous shows are on display for the public in the Conservancy’s Nature Center in Avalon Canyon.

Most of the artists traveled to Catalina Island many times to paint in the plein air style, which is art created in the outdoors. When Kersey and her artist husband, Blood, were painting on Catalina Island near El Rancho Escondido earlier this year, she said that “it was so peaceful that I remember hearing the flapping of bird wings as a couple flew overhead.”