LPAPA Signature Artist and Director of Education Jeff Sewell creates a lasting impression….

The graduating class of Thurston Middle School pays homage to the history of plein air painting in Laguna Beach by giving the school “Laguna Morning,” a work by award-winning artist and Thurston parent Jeff Sewell.

Sewell serves as the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association education director. “I’ve always thought that the local schools should start their own plein air collection since its such an important part of our local heritage,” said Toni Kellenberg, LPAPA president.

Sewell is one of only four living artists whose work is included in The Irvine Museum’s permanent collection.

The painting was presented during the eighth grade promotion ceremony that took place at Thurston on Thursday, June 22, and will be on display for years to come.

Laguna Beach Indy June 23, 2017

The Laguna Plein Air Painters Association is a local nonprofit with a mission dedicated to preserving Laguna’s art colony legacy, established by plein air artists 100+ years ago, and the plein air painting tradition.

LPAPA Signature Artist Jeff Sewell’s painting “Catalina Twilight“, 48″ x 72” oil,  is now part of the permanent collection of  The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine. There are only four living artists included in the Museum’s permanent collection — Jesse Powell, John Cosby, Jim McVicker, and now Jeff Sewell — all Signature Artist Members of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association!

The Museum’s current exhibition “Dusk Till Dawn” includes historical artwork from its permanent collection as well as artwork from contemporary artists.  The works of LPAPA artists included in the exhibition are Zufar Bikbov, Hiu Lai Chong, Rick J. Delanty, Jennifer Diehl, Kim Lordier, Michael Obermeyer, Jesse Powell, Jeff Sewell, and Bryan Mark Taylor.

Dedicated to the preservation and display of California art of the Impressionist Period (1890-1930), The Irvine Museum is embracing a principal role in the education and furtherance of this beautiful and important regional variant of American Impressionism that has come to be associated with California and its remarkable landscape. The Irvine Museum invites you to share this experience and to enjoy the splendor and power of art as it relates directly to our beloved California.

The Irvine Museum Collection was generously donated to the University of California, Irvine in November 2016. The campus’s largest single gift of art to date, it has initiated the process of constructing a museum at UC Irvine. Find out more.

The mission of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) is the promote and preserve the artistic legacy of Laguna Beach and the plein air painting tradition.  Laguna was established as an Art Colony more than 100 years ago by Plein Air Artists that included Edgar Payne, William Wendt, Frank Cuprien, Anna Hills, and many other now famous landscape painters.  These early plein air artists opened the first gallery in Laguna Beach in 1918.  To learn more about LPAPA and its mission, click here.

Photo:  Jeff Sewell (center) shown with James Irvine Swinden (left), President of The Irvine Museum, and Jean Stern, Executive Director of The Irvine Museum Collection at the University of California, Irvine.