(1949 – 2016)

Laguna Beach, California

KenAuster.com

For it was in his formative years in Long Beach, California, where Ken Auster grew up with his feet deeply planted in the surfing culture, that he first learned to express his art talent. Caught up in the ground swell of the 1960s surfing culture, Ken not only plunged into the sport of surfing but into the art and graphics of surfing as well.

While working his way towards a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from Long Beach State University, Ken built one of the world’s most prominent silkscreen and T-shirt companies, creating now-legendary surfing art that adorned surfers from Belmont Shores to Hawaii to Mexico. His surfing images, silk-screened as original prints on paper, became the “fine art” of this beach culture, and today, represent the classic surf art of the past century.

At the heart of Ken’s work was always the awareness of the fine line between man-made and nature. In the mid-1990s, Ken moved to a more serious art level – involving him with the immediacy of oil paints as opposed to the process-burdened medium of printmaking. Throwing himself into the splendor of “plein air” (on location) painting, Ken discovered the richness and broad colors of the city life he long avoided. As he will tell you, he rejoiced in this newfound ability to paint anything and everything – cafes, train stations, airports, street scenes, and of course, never far away, was the beach, his first love.

The transition from surf art to serious impressionism was natural for Ken – his passion and obsession to reach a new understanding between himself and the oil painting medium took on a new intensity of discovery. “I simply want to achieve the ultimate communication on the canvas – to say more with less,” Ken says.

His deft use of color. His economies of brush strokes. His simple, yet beautifully structured compositions. As one famous critic described – “each painting captures a moment in time charged with a hint of narrative drama. And each is rendered with such vibrant immediacy that a single glance excites other senses as well.”

Ken’s passion for painting is shared with hundreds of students who each year travel from around the world to attend his workshops in Laguna Beach and Carmel. With his wife, Paulette Martinson, they have a thriving art world centered at their studio and gallery in picturesque Laguna Canyon.

In a relatively short time since this transition to plein air painting, Ken Auster moved to the forefront of American contemporary impressionists. He consistently received gold medals and first place awards at juried exhibits. His work is collected by some of the most respected corporations and patrons.

Ken was awarded the “Best of Show” in the Laguna Plein Air Painting Invitational in 2000 and 2002, and was presented with LPAPA’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2014.  Ken was a valued Founding and Signature Member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, and a Signature Member of the California Art Club. 

“I simply want to achieve the ultimate communication on the canvas — to say more with less” –Ken Auster

Laguna Beach, CA

JacobusBaas.com

Born in the Netherlands in 1945, Jacobus spent his early years surrounded by the landscapes and cloud-laden skies made famous by the Dutch Masters throughout history.

Jacobus arrived in the United States in his early teens with an interest in art already indelibly imprinted. He started painting while in high school and received a well grounded education in the creative process. After graduating he traveled extensively in Europe and visited many of the famous museums and deepened his appreciation for fine art. Upon his return to the United States Jacobus decided to channel his creativity in a new direction, one that would enable him to use his artistic ability and also provide some financial stability. He began to design and make jewelry. His unique and original works captured a following and contributed to his success as a goldsmith but he continued to pursue his first love, painting and exhibited both his jewelry and paintings at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach since 1978.

In 1994 Jacobus began painting on location during a trip to Santa Fe and exclaimed, “It was like discovering a new world!”  On subsequent trips to New Mexico and Hawaii he produced vibrant color-filled landscapes that inspired him to begin a remarkable series of work that has been, and still is, widely acclaimed and admired. He currently divides his time between Maine, California and Hawaii.

A founding board member of LPAPA (Laguna Plein Air Painters Association) Jacobus is being represented by galleries in Hawaii, California and Maine. In addition to many one man shows, he has participated in many group exhibitions in concert with LPAPA’s  venues,  including the Laguna Art Museum.

“I seek to expand my painting experience searching for scenes with a natural beauty that the viewer might miss in their rush through every day life. This could be as simple as the reflections in water of fishing boats tied to a dock, a wave breaking against the rocks or clouds floating across the sky. The more I paint, the more I see this beauty around me.”

Laguna Beach, CA

CynthiaBritain.com

Cynthia Britain is an award winning, internationally recognized painter. She is a Signature and Founding member, and past President, of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. Is also an Artist Member of the California Art Club and Oil Painters of America.

Cynthia is inspired by the natural light and beauty of the sea and landscape. Her work has been recognized with a Gold Medal from the San Diego Museum of Art, and a Silver Medal in the Carmel National Plein Air Competition. Her work has been exhibited in the Laguna Art Museum, The Bowers Museum, The Monterey Museum of Art, The Orange County Museum of Art, and the Pasadena Museum of Art.

Cynthia travels, teaches and paints the varied landscape and coastal scenes of California. She has painted and taught workshops for the past ten years in Giverny, France, in association with the Monet Foundation. Her work is shown in fine art galleries, corporate and private collections in the US and abroad.

“My intent is to express the intrinsic truth and beauty of my subject.  To reveal the power or presence of spirit in a place or person.  I am inspired by what I feel and by what I see…they reflect one another.”

 

Kilauea, HI and Laguna Beach, CA

SaimCaglayan.com

Saim Caglayan was born in Istanbul, Turkey and came to the United States in 1968 to study Architecture. After three years his interest changed and he went on to complete his BA degree in Sculpture from California State University, Long Beach. He then took further graduate courses in art from California State University, Fullerton and the Art Institute of Southern California. For over twenty years he taught sculpture for Crafton Hills College and Golden West College and recently plein air painting at Irvine Valley College, and private painting classes in California and Kaua’i.

Saim has been plein air painting the landscapes of the California desert, coastline, and Islands of Hawaii, for many years now.

In 1996 he founded LPAPA, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. His goal was to revive the tradition of the early California painters who had lived and painted in Laguna Beach. Today LPAPA has become a vibrant force in the art community of California with an impressive membership from Hawaii to Florida.

Saim, in 2003 with Pierre Bouret started KOPA, Kauai Outdoor Painters Association, in 2005 with Ronaldo Macedo ISLANDERS, a group of painters representing the Hawaiian Islands and in 2007 with Katalina Prince BSPAI, Borrego Springs Plein Air Invitational. All these organizations and events promote plein air painting and benefit not for profit organizations in their respected communities.

“My goal as a painter is to capture the ever-transient light and its colors within a composition of balance and harmony.”

San Clemente, CA

CosbyStudio.com

As a painter John Cosby travels extensively painting what he sees and feels.  Bold use of color and an energetic brush stroke combined with the truth of the place is what you will see and feel when viewing a painting by Cosby.

Born in Hollywood California in 1955, Cosby was raised in the west.  At an early age he began to draw and paint and was lucky enough to have been inspired by a grandmother who was an oil painter.  “She would give me the paint, some brushes and a scrap of canvas and set me off to paint.  This early experience took the fear out of creating a painting,” said Cosby.

Cosby started traveling at an early age.  At 18 he was chosen as an advance man for the Executive Branch of the US Government, served under two Presidents and traveled the world.  He met many interesting people and saw many things but what most interested him were the great works of art he encountered.  “They haunted me and helped set the course for my career as a painter”.  After leaving the White House, Cosby rebuilt an old classic sailing sloop designed by Nathaniel Herrishoff.  With a friend (who had dreams of being a writer) he set sail up and down the eastern seaboard in the inland waterway for 3 years.  Thus he began his art career.

Major Exhibitions include: The Irvine Museum and the Cape Cod Museum of Art, The Presidential Museum in Texas, The Haggin Museum, The Bakersfield Museum, The Autry Museum and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

“When a person stands in front of one of my paintings, I want that person to feel the wind and the heat I felt when I painted it.”