Artists to Watch

Bonnie Gangelhoff

Our picks for today's rising stars

ROOFTOPS IN LAGUNA BY LILIANA SIMANTON

Liliana Simanton
Born in Argentina, landscape painter Liliana Simanton grew up in a home where interest in the arts was encouraged and nourished. Simanton’s father, a commercial illustrator, spent long hours at his drafting table, she recalls, while her brother perfected the skills that would lead to a career as a well-known sculptor.

When she was 19, Simanton came to the United States to study painting and drawing at the University of Arizona in Tucson. While her career in art eventually came to a temporary halt while she raised her two children, she never lost interest in painting. When her children reached college age about 15 years ago, she returned to taking classes and began painting with a cadre of artists who regularly worked on location in the Palos Verdes area. Simanton considers it to be a fertile ground where she grew as an artist.

Today, the California-based painter is known for her boldly colored landscape works and her impressionistic brush strokes. She works in both oils and watercolors. Her subject matter often focuses on the Southern California terrain from San Diego northward to Cambria. Simanton says the cliffs, ocean, hills, and the calming fragrance of fresh air all have gotten her hooked on plein-air painting. “I love the excitement I feel when I paint outdoors. Freedom to interpret the landscape as I see it and as I feel it is the goal,” she explains. “All the dots have to be connected in the process, so that the end result is lively and honest.”  

The award-winning artist carries on the legacies of some her artistic heroes such as Hanson Puthuff, Franz Bischoff, and Maurice Braun. She is a member of the California Art Club and Watercolor West Society. Simanton is represented by California Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA.

FLYING FREE BY MARY ANNE LEWIS

Mary Anne Lewis
Egypt. China. Japan. Turkey, Tunisia, Thailand. New Mexico-based artist Mary Anne Lewis has visited all these places, frequently finding inspiration. Her camera is usually at her side on such excursions. And later, back in her studio, the photographs she has taken serve as reference points for her mixed-media works.

Lewis’ luminescent collages sport highly textured surfaces, which she achieves by applying thin layers of paint, cloth, and paper. “I am fascinated by the most insignificant pieces of paper and scraps of cloth,” she explains. “I reach for a sensibility and delicacy that evolve from my feeling that it is the little things in life that need to be examined closely.”

Viewers often comment that they can see the warp and woof of the various materials in her pieces, she says. And they are just as likely also to see details of buildings and trees. “I see things in segments,” Lewis says, noting that she often takes close-up photographs of parts of things as part of the creative process.   

It comes as no surprise that Lewis began her artistic career as a weaver but drifted to collages about 18 years ago. Her mixed-media works often evoke an Asian aesthetic. And indeed some of her favorite paper is Japanese in origin—pieces she discovered in a Santa Fe store. The paper was mildewed and falling apart with worm holes and stains, but Lewis got very excited when she saw it. “I love old papers and things other people might consider ugly,” she says. “Anything that is rusty and torn, I think is beautiful. I use these elements to build a history on the canvas.” She is represented by Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.