For more than a century, plein air artists have created the west coast Impressionism movement with the California Art Club (CAC). As we know, one of the things that makes our community critical is the historical records of locations that no longer exist, including those in Los Angeles after the recent fires destroyed so many homes, businesses, lives.
Now through March 16, 2025, the CAC is hosting “Downtown Impressions: Plein Air Perspectives on Los Angeles.” While the concept for this show originated several years ago, its importance and timeliness cannot be understated.
When I heard about the exhibition, I reached out to Beverly Chang, CAC Director of Public Relations, to welcome personal words from artists who have captured landscapes near the LA area, some of which are now changed. Read their stories below, and click here to donate to organizations supporting the wildfire recovery effort.
They No Longer Exist
“I painted ‘Marine Layer’ from a small outcropping on Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, looking west towards the houses along the beach in Malibu,” says Carolyn Hesse-Low. “When painting the landscape, you are completely immersed in the setting, trying to accurately capture the light, the shapes, the composition, the feeling. You have no awareness in the moment of how the scene might change over time, nor what heartbreak might lie ahead. These beach houses burned in the Palisades fire. They no longer exist.”
I Will Be Back
“An oasis in the city, Eaton Canyon has been my go-to place for inspiration for 25 years in all its seasons and moods,” said Debra Holladay. “‘Blooming Yucca’ and ’Eaton Canyon Spring’ were the first and second paintings I painted in Eaton Canyon. The year was 2000 and I had not painted en plein air since moving from New York City a couple years earlier. It was the start of my love affair with the canyon and after the first day, I was bursting with excitement and bliss at finding a place where I could explore and paint for years. That’s exactly what I did.
“I returned week after week and year after year with my dog to the canyon to capture its ever-changing riverbed of white rock, Sycamores, and blooming mustard. I’ve sweltered in 100+ degree weather, been visited by coyotes and rabbits, chatted with day hikers of all ages, had my palette run over by a car, and accidentally kicked a rattlesnake (we both screamed).
“It breaks my heart that the landscape as I knew it was destroyed in the Eaton Fire. I’m an optimist, though. The rocks are still there, the plants and animals will return, and I will be back with my paints and my easel, capturing their return.”
A Changed View
“‘Above Pasadena’ shows one of my favorite views, painted from the hills above the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena,” said Michael Obermeyer. “The scene overlooks Altadena and Sierra Madre on the valley floor at dusk, below the majestic San Gabriel Mountains. Virtually everything (beyond the foreground trees) in this painting has been burned by the Eaton Fire. The fire actually began in the canyon opening right in the center of my painting. The mountains are now gray and stark, the majority of the structures, homes and businesses in the valley below no longer exist, destroyed by the erratic and fast-moving inferno.
“This view from Malibu looking back toward the lights of Pacific Palisades under a full moonrise is a scene that will not occur for a very long time,” Michael said. “Most of the homes on the hill in the distance, along with the homes and restaurants along the water’s edge, have been wiped out by the fierce Palisades Fire. Although the fire began near the top of the distant hill, the heavy winds carried it down to the beach in a matter of hours, and then up the coastline through parts of Malibu.”
A Landmark for Decades
“This group of sycamore trees had been a survivor and a landmark in mid-channel of Eaton Canyon for decades, where they have stood anchored against the flow of flood waters and of time down the canyon,” said Richard Probert.
“Ever since I first encountered them, I wanted to paint them. When I finally did so, they seemed like a team working together. I don’t know whether they survived the fire or if time has at last caught up with them.”
This View is Gone
“‘The Road In’ was painted plein air at Temescal Park,” Sharon Weaver tells us. “The entire park burned, so this view is gone. So many of my favorite plein air locations have been destroyed by the fires; it is heart breaking. The proximity of the Santa Monica Mountains to this wooded park made it a great spot to paint. Many oak trees and eucalyptus lined the trails.”
Topanga Ranch Motel: 1929-2025
“I’ve always been lured by old motels and roadside attractions, and this was a big one for me,” said Dennis Ziemienski. “In 1929, William Randolph Hearst built the Topanga Ranch Motel on the site of a campground near the Pacific Ocean. I was happy to be able to paint it before it was tragically consumed by the Pacific Palisades fire in 2025.”
Let us all remember that, as a plein air artist, your work and your art matters.
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