Palisades Artist Featured in Topanga Gallery Opening

Pacific Palisades’ neighboring town, Topanga Canyon, is known for it’s windy roads and beautiful hillsides. Like most of Topanga Canyon, you have to dig a little harder to find the hidden gems. One of those gems being the beauty of fine art at the Topanga Canyon Gallery.

Accompanied by cheese, wine and acoustic guitar, the gallery hosted an opening for an art exhibit entitled “Visions Six” featuring six local artists Saturday. The artists include Palisadian Carole Spence and Southern Californians Barbara Kolo, Linda Bolhuis, Kay Ruffini, Sherry Krulle-Beaton and Nate Scoble.

Spence told Patch she is inspired by the beauty in the landscape around her and often chooses to focus on one section of natural scenery to bring life to the canvas.

“I’m infatuated with the reality of plant life and work to transport that true image to my art,” said Spence. “It is this energy and zeal that is reflective on the canvas.”

Kolo, another featured artist, focuses on nature, but feels art may be interpreted in many ways.

“There is magnificence in abstract art,” said Kolo. “ In part because I love that observers can find their own answer to what my piece represents.”

Attendees at the reception may have been drawn to Bolhuis’ use of a very unique medium. She uses a technique called serti to paint dyes on silk. Bolhuis has a studio in Topanga Canyon and offers classes for those interested in her style.

Setting her apart from some of the other artists, Ruffini has a strong theme in all her pieces. Being an avid animal rights advocate, the artist says some of her pieces show her love for animals, while other works bring out deeper and darker issues.

“I feel these are issues all humans should be a part of,” said Ruffini.

Krulle-Beaton traveled from San Diego for the reception. Painting for as long as she can remember, Krulle-Beaton said she tries to bring life and emotion into her expressionistic landscapes. 

“I create art from a combination of seeing a place that inspires me mixed with imagination, poetry and color,” said Krulle-Beaton. “ I also incorporate alternative mediums into my pieces for texture, such as tissue, fiberglass or whatever I find lying around.”

Finally, Scoble’s “personscapes” are on display at “Visions Six,” however he was unable to attend the opening. Scoble’s pieces show he works with multiple mediums with both acrylic and pen-and-ink.

Topanga Canyon Gallery opened in the 1980’s and moved to its current location on Pine Tree Circle in 2000. The gallery shows works from about 40 artists throughout the year. An opening is held each month.

“Visions Six” runs through Aug. 28 at Topanga Canyon Gallery. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. You can visit the gallery’s website for more information on the “Visions Six” artists.

• For the Topanga Canyon Gallery website, click here.
• For information about classes with Linda Bolhuis, click here.