Floribunda! The Cypress Gallery welcomes you to an alternate reality of abundant flowers this month. The word floribunda itself refers to a class of clustered roses that bloom in profusion, but its Latin root means “many flowering” or “flowering freely,” words that aptly describe featured artist Vicki Andersen’s exhibition “Glory in the Flower.” The blooms in profusion are what surprise and delight the viewer upon entering the show. Alongside the roses are daisies, bougainvillea, bachelor buttons, sweet peas, poppies and more. Andersen is a versatile artist who paints a variety of subjects, but she has chosen the month of April to focus on work that all of us are more than ready for. Color, vibrancy, positivity and joy, embodied in the world of the flower.
In compositions that seem to burst out of picture plane, the artist arranges her blooms in their natural context. Fences in brilliant sunlight and shade are bedecked with roses. An old rail fence is the visual support of purple Mexican sage, exploding like fireworks across it. The highlight of the exhibition is the eponymous “Glory in the Flower,” a tenderly portrayed young girl standing in a Lompoc flower field of bachelor buttons and sweet peas. Her small arm reaches up to hold onto her sunhat as she gazes into the row of flowers, because, being Lompoc, it must be windy. The delicate visual tension is lovely.
Vicki Andersen is a founding member of the Lompoc Valley Art Association, the Lompoc Mural Society, Gallery Los Olivos and the Lompoc Valley Arts Council. She is well known for her boundless energy, generosity and dedication to the arts. In 2017 she received the Leadership in the Arts Award from the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission.
Boundless energy would be another way to describe Andersen’s work. Applied with palette knives and large brushes, the paint strokes seem to have a life of their own. Most of the paintings are sizable, but even the small works make an indelible statement. Their fuchsias, magentas, blue violets, golds, and bright greens, their deep shadows and sunlight, once they have left your retina, will stay long in your mind.
The individual styles and media of the artists of the main gallery are always a joy to behold, and to study. Note the details and soft quality of Chris Jeszeck’s “Glass Elegance,” a detailed work in colored pencil on a black background. Yours truly displays an exuberant but atypical floral of matilija poppies set against a yellow disc. Revel in the brushstrokes of our own Impressionist painters, Neil Andersson and C. Wood. Absorb the sumptuous surfaces of Bill Morson’s photographs, which are dye-infused aluminum, and give the illusion of an image and mat under glass, with an archival lifespan of 150 years!
The Cypress Gallery is also a well-stocked and reasonably priced gift store. Handmade cards, prints, journals, jewelry, homewares and more are available. Visit us, take a little time to explore the works, vote for your favorite piece. Enjoy the March People’s Choice artwork by Linda Gooch. All works in the gallery leave you with something wonderful.
The Cypress Gallery is operated by the members of the Lompoc Valley Art Association, a 501c(3) non-profit organization, committed to expanding and supporting access to the arts in the Lompoc and Santa Ynez Valleys. 119 East Cypress Avenue, Lompoc. Thursday – Sunday, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm, or call for an appointment (805) 737-1129 <lompocart.org> <facebook.com/CypressGallery>
CREDITS Photos by Bill Morson
Vicki Andersen , “Glory in the Flower”, Acrylic on canvas
Vicki Andersen, “Garden Wall”, Acrylic on canvas
Vicki Andersen, “Coronado Fence”, Acrylic on canvas
Chris Jeszeck, “Glass Elegance”, Colored pencil on black paper
Bill Morson, “Rainforest”, Digital photograph on dye-infused aluminum
Lynda Schiff, “Coral Pink Sand Dunes”, Digital photograph on canvas
Tom Chrones, “Stone Face”, Digital photograph
Steve Scolari, (Untitled), Mixed media on canvas
Beverly Messenger, “Bamboo Offering”, Bamboo, copper, ceramic and mirrored glass
Neil Andersson, “Torrey Pine at Dusk”, Oil on canvas
Joellen Chrones, “Sugarless Treats”, Fused glass
C. Wood, “Waiting by the Road”, Oil on canvas