Richard Salas is a California native with a lifelong passion for diving and the underwater world. A graduate from Brooks Institute of Photography, he was mentored by Ernest Brooks II. In this show you swam along with Salas as he traveled from the Equator to Alaska visiting the creatures that call the Pacific Ocean home.
Read MoreThe Wildling Museum collaborated with Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary to produce an exhibition of the art of wild horses, and celebrating the wild spirit in all horses. The exhibition featured historic and contemporary art of horses in a variety of mediums: paintings, drawings, mosaics, photographs, sculptures, and prints. Both local and nationally regarded artists were featured in this unique exhibition.
Read MoreCharley Harper infused much of his work with a delightful sense of humor, and although he reduced animal forms to abstracted, geometric shapes, he never lost the essence of whichever species he was highlighting. His simplified forms and bold color belied his careful study of animals. Not only did the show feature 30 of his amazing artworks, but also several hands-on, interactive stations were included, which made this a very family friendly show!
Read MoreJeff Jones’s love for and understanding of the natural world, coupled with decades of experience in remote back country and wild places, form the foundation for his exceptional landscape photography. His highly detailed large-scale panoramic images combine a compelling sense of place with an immediacy of experience. Jeff’s work opens up for us a world not of our making and far greater than our own creations.
Read MoreThe Wildling organized this exciting show celebrating art's role in helping to bring attention to the natural treasures of the West. Artist John Fery was a prolific painter of the wilderness, in part due to his commissions for the the Great Northern Railway (GNR). He painted over 300 canvases during his time with GNR.
Read MoreSelections by D. L. Engle explores the sculpture of North American native fauna created by Southern California artist D.L. Engle. The exhibition of animal sculptures includes “Puma Ways”, a beautiful bronze mountain lion in the Wildling’s permanent collection. Engle’s sculptures are characterized by an expressive emotional quality and powerful presence.
Read MoreOn April 1, 2014 the Wildling Museum hosted a discussion of the outdoor educational and environmental activities in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Read MoreAs part of our celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the Wildling featured its collection of artworks by Everett Ruess (1914 – 1934?). Everett was raised in Los Angeles and was taught how to make linoleum block prints by his mother, Stella. At a young age he felt a strong calling to be in and explore the wild. He spent the last four years of his brief life exploring wilderness areas along the California coast, in Yosemite and the deserts and canyons of northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Read MoreThomas Paquette's paintings in On Nature's Terms were inspired by his journeys to federal wilderness areas all across the country. The great diversity and vitality of environments that comprise the National Wilderness Preservation System – from southwest canyons and high peaks, east and west seashores, to lowland swamps and deserts – are reflected in these gouache and oil paintings.
Read MoreThis was a showing of original watercolors commissioned to be in the style of John James Audubon, who never did the birds of the islands. This was the first showing of this beautiful work by Hawaiian artist Marian Berger on the mainland. The original exhibition also brought awareness to the San Diego Zoo’s Conservation Research Institute and their work with endangered Hawaiian birds and other species.
Read MoreThe Wildling hosted an exhibition about Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez River graced with artwork by the amazing Oak Group. With its headwaters at the border with Ventura County and its mouth draining into Surf Beach in Lompoc, the river is a vital natural resource for our county and is also a cultural treasure.
Read MoreFor the Grand Opening in August of 2013, the Wildling organized a retrospective of its amazing history of 40+ exhibitions. We felt this would be a fitting way to acknowledge our history of quality art exhibitions, as well as reach out to former lenders and let them know about our exciting future. Perhaps most importantly it was a diverse show that was appealing to a wide audience as new visitors came to find us in Solvang.
Read MoreOrganized by the Wildling Museum in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (SBBG), the exhibition featured a series of watercolors of California native plants commissioned by SBBG, as well as two delicate porcelain sculptures. O'Hara is an Irish artist known for his detailed ceramic botanical sculptures and watercolor paintings.
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