sbLocal.org

            There is a saying that sums up our delusional insanity and it is this, “Get out in nature.”  An appropriate response may sound something like “How can I get out of something I am?”  Besides an unusual stare and an uncomfortable silence, the experience of saying this may feel quite wonderful. 

Nature is not for the Sierra Club.  It is not for tree huggers, or mountain climbers, or vice presidents that shoot their friends.  It is us.  All of us.  We were not plopped here by aliens.  This may seem obvious at first, but when you look at how we perceive nature it gets a little unclear. 

            At the risk of feeling like a total jack ass, try and say this out loud, “I am nature.”  I don’t have nature or get in nature.  I am nature.”

We have great appreciation for the artists that have contributed to the sbLocal.org Web site.
If you would like your art featured here please drop us a line.

Morgan Green

Artists Statement

I love the back of beyond where the natural world's grand embracing mysteries place the human humdrum into perspective.  I treasure stepping with paint and canvas onto the rough ground just past the sidewalk, or far down a wilderness trail.

Throughout my adulthood as a professional journalist, sailor and traveler, drawing and painting has been my way of commemorating those singular instants of delight and wonder "out there," which all too many cannot experience firsthand for themselves.

I strive to set mood and evoke emotions using realistic colors and natural compositions.  I paint with pastels, oils and acrylics. I am a graduate of the University of New Mexico and have studied at Santa Barbara City College's Art Department, and through the its adult education programs for more than 10 years.  Artists, I believe, should bring more to a community than paintings.  So, I am on the board of directors of two major local arts organizations which contribute financially to community causes. One is the Santa Barbara Art Association, which annually provides scholarships and art materials to students and teachers here. There's also Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment, or SCAPE, which teams with local conservation groups and provides thousands of dollars to their environmental protection projects. I also belong to American Oil Painters, the Santa Barbara Mesa Artists, the Artists Guild of the Santa Ynez Valley, and the Pastel Society of the Gold Coast.

Thanks to my teachers and mentors including landscapists Michael Drury and Marcia Burtt of the Oak Group, pastelist Bert Collins, abstract artist James Armstrong, and many others, I have been granted the opportunity to create images that I hope will evoke pleasure.

www.MorganArtist.com
Contact Morgan Green at (805)  687-5793 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Susan Belloni
www.susanbelloni.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
805.962.1492

Landscape paintings often communicate quietly. They can be a wonderful source of peaceful contemplation in our very busy lives. They bring the beauty of nature indoors like an extra window. The light and atmosphere in nature are interpreted by the artist and forever captured on canvas.

The term en plein air refers to paintings painted in the open air and on location. The wonderful weather in Santa Barbara makes it easy to paint outdoors. However, painting the changing light, shadows and weather in a few hours outdoors can be more challenging than painting from a photograph that remains the same in a studio.

I enjoy painting in acrylics and oils and I love the experience of hauling my easel, paints and canvases to some of the most wonderful Santa Barbara County beach, ranch and mountain locations such as the Santa Ynez Valley, Jalama, Gaviota, El Capitan, Refugio, Santa Cruz Island, Hollister Ranch, Butterfly Beach, Coal Oil Point, Devereux Slough, Leadbetter, Goleta Beach, San Rafael Mtns., Miramar Beach and our local urban Santa Barbara scenery.

In 2003, a few friends started a group called Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment (SCAPE, www.s-c-a-p-e.org). We have since helped raise money and awareness for many local, nonprofit conservation organizations. I also belong to the Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley Art Associations who show regularly in public buildings and venues. I open my studio once a year for open studio tours by the Santa Barbara Studio Artists and the Mesa Artists Open Studio Tours.

Many excellent local and national artists have been my teachers including Marcia Burtt, Michael Drury, John and Larry Iwerks, Joella Jean Mahoney, Ken Auster, John Budicin, Mark Kerckoff, Joe Pacquet, Randall Sexton and others. I received a degree in Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

In Santa Barbara, my work may be seen at the Corridan, Weldon Ranch Galleries; SCAPE Exhibits, the exhibits of the Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley Art Associations; and you have reached the best place to see all my work, right here, at my website www.susanbelloni.com. Please get in touch via email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) if you'd like to receive email invitations to exhibits or if you see a painting you'd like to own!

Sarah Carr