Among the featured artists there is James R. Reynolds. “The gallery is an artist-owned cooperative venture of 15 members, so we all manage it together,” he said. As it turns out, he is one of the gallery’s founding members, so meeting him to give a tour was fortunate. When this reporter stopped by Reynolds was keeping shop, while working on one of his landscapes in progress. In fact it was one of his landscapes in the window that pulled me in. Bright, but subtle, life-like as what one would see on the highway but not a photograph.
I told Reynolds right away that his landscape in the window called “Mayacamas Mountains” is what beckoned me to stop and take a closer look. “I like doing landscapes, he said. I try to capture a sense of these fleeting moments, the time of day, the time of year.”
I told him that the drive along the highway from San Francisco is beautiful. Yet, no matter which highway northbound, be it on Highway 12, 16 or 101, more of the rural countryside is disappearing. So much of the open landscape is fading away as development of shopping malls, office complexes and tract houses pop up more and more.
He agreed as he mentioned, he was born in Marin but settled in the Sebastopol area to savor the open spaces of a rural expanse. I told him how much I liked the painting he had in the window. “I want the viewer of my art to feel how the sun warms the rocks on a bright, clear morning, and to feel the cool bite in the air as the fog starts to descend in late afternoon.”
Reynolds’ landscapes do evoke a lot of feeling about the natural beauty that is California, especially for someone like me who was born and raised in Northern California. While San Francisco has always been a ‘home-base’ there is something restorative about taking time to visit a vineyard, an orchard or simply an open field. “Nature has that ability to restore us,” said author/poet Mary R. Thompson. She liked what she saw on the Sebastopol Gallery website, where he and the other artists are showcased.
In her work as lecturer and consciousness-raising advocate, Thompson hopes more people will come to realize that so much technology and material consumption in our daily lives is not all there is to living.
And, when I took the time to stop into the gallery and see more of Reynolds’ work (like “Laguna, summer colors”) I could sense that deep appreciation and wonder at the natural world. “I love to delve into the mysterious interplay of shadows and sunlight,” he said. “Mostly I strive to express my love and appreciation of nature in all my work.”
Reynolds uses mostly pastels but he also works with oils and pencils. He mentioned why he worked in pastels.
“While I love oils and their buttery richness, pastels are wonderful for many reasons. They are an extension of drawing, which I have done all my life, but with the full spectrum of color and tonality at my disposal. They are also great for people who like to paint the details, but I like to think I don’t go overboard in the detail department. I want my work to be balanced in all the aspects an artist might consider – enough detail, but not too much; plenty of color and drama, but not too much, etc. As Richard McDaniel (a nationally recognized artist, author and teacher) once told me, ‘If everything is emphasized, then nothing is.’ In other words, said Reynolds, you don’t want a boring painting, and sometimes that means doing less.”
However that translates, Reynolds to me works a special sort of ‘magic’ with his use of pastels. His portraits are alluring as are his figures. But again it is his capturing the essence of the natural world that pulls me in most.
He explained in detail. “The landscape has special significance for me, said Reynolds. But there are many levels to that. It’s a vast arena of study, learning to evoke a sense of place and to create something that feels almost as powerful as being there.”
“My landscapes are not just documenting the scene, he said, but seem to have a heightened reality. I’m not a religious person at all (quite the contrary), but being in nature, walking for hours and simply being is extremely powerful.”
“Of course, I’m not being attacked by bears and wolves, and I try to remember that nature isn’t as peaceful is it may appear. It’s a dynamic and sometimes violent world, and I despair that we have forgotten the other large predators who would be delighted to make a meal of us if we hadn’t eliminated them.”
He clarified that, “my landscapes are separate from the other work. My wildlife paintings are also landscape paintings, and my landscapes can be seen as portraits.” If I paint a tree, he said, I try to really see that tree. It’s also a living being with its own history of struggle for survival.”
“I want to honor at least some of that particularity in my paintings, to acknowledge the tree – or the egret, coyote or what have you – as an equally complete and compelling individual.”
Reynolds is not the only artist there inspired by nature. He is in good company at the Sebastopol Gallery, which opened just over eight years ago. He is pleased with the gallery’s success and feels most at home. “It’s a wonderful community of artists who I have grown very fond of,” he said. “I believe the gallery serves an important function on Main Street. We have received so much positive energy from the public, and we like the idea that the relationship is reciprocal. We strive to offer the community a rich and rewarding art experience every time they cross our threshold.”
Artist Robert Breyer who served as gallery director for the first year noted, “I am familiar with gallery cooperatives and understand them.” He also clarified that he was among the founding members in those early days, helping to secure the gallery’s current location. “The space had been a home-furnishing store for over 30 years. Like many artists in the area, he said, there really wasn’t a venue until we (Sandy Eastoak and I) approached the owner of the building about establishing a gallery.” It took some effort, and required that artists ban together and invest their own money.
Breyer had relocated in town from Taos, New Mexico at that time back in 2007. “Being an artist in Taos is much different than here,” he explained. Other than the Quicksilver gallery a few years ago, (which moved to Forestville), Sebastopol had no real gallery. Artists were pretty much on their own. Yet once a cooperative was formed, a strong art scene in town emerged. “Each member helps out at the gallery, no one is paid for the work,” said Breyer.
Breyer mentioned that getting the space ready took some work. “James and I worked well together since we both have carpentry skills. Refinishing the floors, the walls, getting things in place. The location is great but the space had to be adjusted-renovated to be a gallery. Upstairs there still is the faint aroma of perfume, he said, from when the home-furnishing shop had a candles and scented oils section.” Breyer explained that so far the cooperative has been very fortunate because, “we survived when the recession hit. and, we have managed to be a spring-board for lots of artists to feature their art elsewhere in the Bay Area.”
Like Reynolds he too appreciates the open spaces and agricultural landscape. And, in the past few years he has observed how things have changed. “It’s a good thing and then at times a bad thing. All part of the innards of change,” said Breyer. Wineries like Simi (in Healdsburg) and others bring tourists through the area. “And, with tourists come dollars for the town. Just like I observed living in Taos,” he said. But with the flow of tourism comes traffic, a change in the peaceful pace of the rural lifestyle Sebastopol knew for decades. “It is all part of what happens,” he said.
Yet, Breyer still considers Sebastopol a quaint town. “It is not a tourist town, even with the added traffic. “Taos had 85 galleries when I was there. And, 12 years ago Sebastopol did not have any galleries, when I got here.” What is important to Breyer (Reynolds and the rest of the gallery’s cooperative members) is that the gallery is a community of artists. “We as a cooperative decide what is shown, not just one person. We are very democratic,” Breyer said. While Breyer described Reynolds’ work as fine examples of the traditional, Breyer’s work is among the abstract, the unusual. “We get a range of styles and tastes and for artists, he said, that is important.”
For those with an open mind it is good to experience art in all its forms. For infrequent visitors to town like me, Sebastopol Gallery provides an artistic glimpse into a rural community that is adapting to 21st Century changes. Most of the artists featured have their own websites or are posted on social media.
“I have been participating in the two studio shows in Sonoma County for over six years now, said Reynolds, one called ‘Art Trails’ and the other ‘Art at the Source.’ I enjoy connecting with the public and sharing some of my technique and passion for art.” “The studio shows are a great way for the public to explore the county, he said. This allows for meeting a wide variety of artists and discovering new areas they may never have chanced upon otherwise.”
I would definitely agree. If visiting Sebastopol for the first time, stop by the gallery because the heart of town is right there on Main Street. Next to the gallery you will find The Sebastopol Cookie Company, as well as two book stores, Copperfield’s and Many Rivers Books and Teas.
To learn more about artist James Reynolds visit his web site and to learn about Robert Breyer and the other artists of the cooperative visit the web site for the Sebastopol Gallery.
