Artist Statement 2021 “My reasons for painting the landscape are first and foremost out of a deep emotional need to paint what moves me. Seeing a powerful scene isn't enough. I need to paint it to really be there, and in a way be done with it. But what attracts me to a subject in the first place are the formal elements---the dynamics of the composition, the textures, the shapes, the subtlety of colors and the polarities and rhythms of light and dark. It all adds up to being "of the place"---a connection that can't be explained except by painting it. It is important to me to accurately represent what I experience. I don't want to contrive a landscape so much as discover it.
There is no irony, no theory, no theme connected to most landscape painting, and certainly not mine. But there is a sort of austere seriousness, and a recognition of an essential, profound intelligence in our natural environment.
Roads appear frequently in my paintings, but never as a conscious symbol or metaphor. They help to define the contours of the landscape, and also serve to make the viewer feel present, and see through my eyes. They also make a statement about the presence of humanity in an otherwise uninhabited scene. I often combine both loose, painterly brushwork and a studied precise handling within the same painting, which directs the attention from the background to the foreground, and back again.
However, in the end, to marvel at our presence in the world is the true subject of my paintings."
Bruce Everett’s landscapes in oil are characterized by bold and often dark compositional forms, dramatic effects of light, and a sense of solitude.The combination of both smooth and expressive brushwork within a single painting creates a visual intensity and lends truthfulness to the subject. In larger works of up to 10’ x 13’, viewers often feel their presence within the scene. Many of his studio paintings were done from photos he took while flying his ultralight airplane, giving the scenes an unusual viewpoint. In addition to his larger technically involved studio pieces, Everett often does smaller more immediate plein air paintings to study and capture the transitory effects of light and weather, and to experience a location more directly.
Bruce Everett was born in Los Angeles but raised in the Midwest just north of Chicago. Being an only child, free to play on the bluffs and in the wooded ravines along the shore of Lake Michigan, most certainly contributed to his becoming a landscape painter. Although showing early artistic ability, he didn’t start painting until college. He received his MA from the University of Iowa, and his MFA in Painting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He taught briefly at the University of Washington, Seattle. He then became a Professor of Art at California State University, Northridge from 1970 until retiring in 2005.
Everett has been exhibiting since 1968 and his work has been appeared in solo and group shows in museums and galleries throughout the US including in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and throughout Southern California, Oregon, Connecticut, and Texas. His paintings are also included in numerous books, exhibition catalogs, and publications on Photorealism and landscape painting and have been published in Art in America, ArtNews, New American Paintings, LA Times, and LA Weekly, among others, and his paintings are included in significant public, private and corporate collections throughout the US. Everett lives and works in Templeton, CA.
RESUME
Born Los Angeles, CA Lives and works in Templeton, CA (San Luis Obispo County)
EDUCATION 1968 M.F.A. Painting – University of California, Santa Barbara 1967 M.A. Painting – University of Iowa 1965 B.A. – Doane College, Crete, NE
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2023 Billis Williams Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2023 Survey Exhibition, “Shadow and Light: The Landscape Paintings of Bruce Everett.” Santa Paula Art Museum, Santa Paula, CA 2022 “The Land as Muse: The Paintings of Bruce Everett.” Ann Foxworthy Gallery, Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, CA 2021 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2019 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2019 “A Change of Scenery,” San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo, CA 2017 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2013 Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2009 Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2007 Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2005 Davis & Cline Gallery, Ashland, OR 2005 Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2003 Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2001 Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2000 The Jonathon Club, Los Angeles, CA 1999 Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA 1998 Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA 1996 Tortue Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1993 Tortue Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1992 Olga Dollar Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1992 “Bruce Everett: Private Places - a singular vision of the California landscape,” La Sierra University, Riverside, CA 1991 Tortue Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1988 Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1986 Jan Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1982 Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA 1972 O.K. Harris, New York, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2023 “Sages,” Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA 2023 “Sedgwick Reserve: A Conservation Story.” Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, Solvang, CA 2020 “22 Miles, Ojai Valley Landscapes,” Ojai Valley Museum, Ojai, CA 2019 “The 12th Annual Art About Agriculture,” Santa Paula Art Museum, Santa Paula, CA 2019 "The Cityscape Show IX," George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2018 "The Cityscape Show VIII," George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2017 "The Cityscape Show VII," George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2017 "NOCTURNES: From Dusk till Dawn," Chris Winfield Gallery, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 2017 "On and Off the Wall: Paintings and Sculptures by Central Coast Artists," Art Center Morro Bay, CA 2016 "The Art of Aviation," Santa Paula Art Museum, Santa Paula, CA 2015 “Legacy and Loss: Landscapes of the Santa Barbara Region,” Wildling Museum, Solvang, CA 2015 “Art About Agriculture,” Santa Paula Art Museum, Santa Paula, CA 2014 “Valley Vista: Art in the San Fernando Valley, 1970-1990,” CSUN Art Gallery, Northridge, CA 2014 “Central Coast Landscapes, Celebrating Nature in Painting,” Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Pacific Grove, CA 2013 “Face of California,” Santa Paula Art Museum, Santa Paula, CA 2013 “Still Life: 1970’s Photorealism,” Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT 2012 "11th Annual California Landscape Exhibition," John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA 2012 "The Cityscape Show II – Images of LA, Land and City," George Billis Gallery, Culver City, CA 2012 "Lift," Westmont Museum of Art, Montecito, CA 2011 “Where Nature and Humans Intersect,” Wildling Art Museum, Los Olivos, CA 2011 “California Landscape Painters,” John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA 2009 “Insight / Inside LA,” Mount Saint Mary’s College, Los Angeles, CA 2009 “New Views – Five Artists and the Art of the Landscape” Firefly Gallery, Paso Robles, CA, CA 2008 "Here's the Thing: Single Object Still Lifes," Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY 2007 “Artists of the Valley,” Pierce College Art Gallery, Woodland Hills, CA 2007 “Edge,” California State University, Northridge, CA 2004 “The Political Landscape,” Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, LA, CA. 2004 Group Exhibition, LAX, Tom Bradley International Terminal, Los Angeles, CA. 2003-4 Natural Resource Defense Council Headquarters, Los Angeles, CA 2003-4 “Speculative Terrain,” Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard, CA; Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA; Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA 2003 “Landscapes 2003,” California State University, Los Angeles. 2002 “Landscape and Sculpture,” Los Angeles City College Fine Arts Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2002 “From Valleys to Vistas; California Plein Air Paintings,” City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA 2002 “Santa Clara River Valley,” Ventura County Museum of Art, Ventura, CA 2000-2 “Representing L.A.: Pictorial Currents in So. Cal. Art," Frye Museum of Art, Seattle, WA; Art Museum of So. Texas, Corpus Christi, TX; Orange County Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, CA 2000 “West Coast Currents," Lisa Coscino Gallery, Pacific Grove, CA 2000 “Different Strokes," Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA 1998 “Pertaining to Water,” Mt. San Jacinto College, San Jacinto, CA 1996 “Images,” Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks, CA 1996 “Metamorphosis/Earth to Light/Light to Earth,” (two person exhibition), Los Angeles Theatre Center, Los Angeles, CA 1995 “Landscape: The Continuum,” Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1995 “Recent Acquisitions From the Steve Chase Collection,” Palm Springs Desert Museum, CA 1994 “External Views / Internal Perceptions,” Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA 1992 “The Landscape Revisited; Romantic Visions by Contemporary California Artists,” Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA 1992 “The Big Picture - Paintings in Grandes Format,” O.K. Harris, New York, NY 1991 “Plein Air 90’s,” Santa Monica Heritage Museum, Santa Monica, CA 1991 “In Shadow - An exhibition of Dark and Mysterious Art,” Mad River Post, Santa Monica, CA 1991 Fall Exhibition, Nolan / La Monte Films, Santa Monica, CA 1991 Inaugural Exhibition, Fleck / Ellman Gallery, Aspen, CO 1991 “Personal Visions of Landscape,” Olga Dollar Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1990 “The Big Picture - Contemporary Painting in the Heroic Mode,” Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA 1990 “Contemporary Landscapes,” Tortue Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1989 “Scapes,” Jose Drudis-Biada Art Gallery, Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles, CA 1988 “Surveyors: Southern California Vistas,” Gensler and Associates/Architects, Los Angeles, CA 1987 “The Current Landscape,” Felicita Foundation for the Arts, Escondido, CA 1985 Group Show, Los Angeles County Century Gallery 1985 “California Distinguished Faculty Artists,” Traveling Exhibition, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 1984 “Personal Views,” Janus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1984 “Diversity in Realism,” Roberts Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 1983 “Seven,” Pepperdine University, Seaver College Art Gallery, Malibu, CA 1981 “Decade: Los Angeles Painting in the 70’s,” Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA 1981 “Three Realist Painters,” Conejo Valley Art Museum, Thousand Oaks, CA 1979 “Prospectus-Art in the 70’s,” Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT 1978 Two Man Exhibition, Janus Gallery, Venice, CA 1977 “The Intimate Object,” California State University, Northridge, CA 1977 “Images: Interior/Exterior,” Barnsdall Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1976 Special Exhibition of “Rattlesnake Creek,” Frederick S. Wight Gallery, UCLA 1974 “New Photo Realism,” Wadsworth Athenium, Hartford CT 1974 Group Show, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA 1973 “Realism Now,” New York Cultural Center, New York, NY 1973 “Realism at Las Vegas,” University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1973 “Art in Evolution,” Xerox Square, Ridgewood, NJ 1973 “The Super Realist Vision,” De Cordova Museum, Lincoln, MA 1973 “The Aldrich Collection Fall Exhibition 1973,” Aldrich Museum of Art, Ridgefield, CT 1973 “Separate Realities,” Barnsdall Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1973 “First Auction in Paris, A Flash of U.S. Avant Garde Realism,” Espace Cardin, Paris 1972 “L.A. - 13 Painters,” University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 1971 “Supra Real,“ Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1971 “Contemporary American Art from Orange County Collections,” Newport Harbor Art Museum, Balboa, CA 1970 “Directly Seen,” Newport Harbor Art Museum, Balboa, CA 1970 “The Cool Realists,” Jack Glenn Gallery, Corona del Mar, CA 1970 Group Show, Gallery Artists, Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1970 “Beyond the Actual,” Pioneer Museum & Haggin Galleries, Stockton, CA 1969 Seventh Annual Southern California Exhibition, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA 1969 All Los Angeles Art Exhibition, Barnsdall Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1969 “Landscape, Then and Now,” La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA 1969 “Four Directions,” Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 1968 California South VI, Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, San Diego, CA 1968 Eleventh “Art Unlimited,” Downey museum of Art, Downey, CA 1968 Ventura County Forum of the Arts Exhibition, Ventura, CA 1968 1968 “Fifty Paintings,” Civic Arts Center, Walnut Creek, CA
PUBLICATIONS Cooley, Ryah, “Painterly Realist,” review of survey exhibition at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, New Times, April 18-25, 2019 Dennis, Patrick, “SLO Museum of Art exhibit forces a change of opinion about venue,” review of survey exhibition at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art,” The Cambrian, April 18-24, 201 Corriel, Michele, “Ones to Watch,” Western Art & Architecture, October/November, 2016, p. 50,51. Natsoulas, John, 11th Annual California Landscape Painters, Davis, CA 2012, pp. 24-25 Fuglie, Gordon, “Bruce Everett: In the Landscape,” Journal Plus, December 2011, pp. 26-27 Kienholz, Lyn, L.A. Rising: SoCal Artists Before 1980, The California/International Arts Foundation, 2011, pp. 171. Natsoulas, John, 10th Annual California Landscape Painters, Davis, CA 2011, pp. 20-21 Gouveia,Georgette,"The Ordinary Made Extraordinary At Katonah Exhibit," The Journal News, April 18,2008, p.3D. A Survey, 2006, Catalog, Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery, Walnut, CA. LA Times, March 25, 2004, “Our Place in the World,” review of “The Political Landscape,” David Pagel. LA Weekly, Pick of the Week, Peter Frank, May 9-15, 2003. Easton, Ellen, The Santa Clara Valley of Ventura County, The Easton Gallery, Santa Barbara , CA, 2002. New American Paintings, No. 31, The Open Studios Press, Wellesley, MA, 2001, pp. 66-69. Representing L.A., (Catalog, reproduction, “Evening Haze,” p. 56), Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, 2001. Jenkens, Steven, Previews., “Different Strokes,” Artweek, February, 2000, p. 6. Best of the West, Southwest Art, April 1998, p. 84. Paintings of California, Edited by Arnold Skolnick, Introduction by Ilene Susan Fort, Chameleon Books, Inc., Clarkson Potter, New York, 1993, “May Canyon,” p.111. LA Times, March 28, 1993, View, “Driven to Inspiration,” p. E2 (Reproduction “May Canyon”). The Landscape Revisited, (Catalog, reproduction, “El Dorado” and “Santa Rosa”), Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA, 1992. Krantz, Les, The California Art Review, American References, Inc., Chicago, IL, 1989, pp. 81, 90, 444, 445. Clark, Orville O., Jr., Southern California Home and Garden, July 1989, p. 36. Brown, Betty Ann, Review, one man show, Jan Turner Gallery, Artweek, 24 Sept., 1988, p. 3, (Reproduction “Live Oak,” p.3). Wilson, William, Review, one man show, Jan Turner Gallery, LA Times, 16 Sept., 1988, p.3, (Reproduction, “Live Oak,” p. 19). The Current Landscape, (Catalog reproduction, “Fire in the Hen's Teeth,” p. 17) Felicita Foundation for the Arts, Escondido, CA, 1987. Gardner, Colin, Review, one man show, Jan Turner Gallery, LA Times, 26 Sept., 1986, Calendar p. 25, (Reproduction, “Serrano,” p. 24) 1985. Artists Forum: Selected Faculty Artists from the California State Universities, (Catalog) Essay by Malcolm A. Mc Clain, p. 14 (Reproduction, “Serrano,” p. 34). California State University, Los Angeles. LAWeekly, Pick of the Week, Hunter Drohojowska, Sept. 28- Oct. 4, 1984. Art/Life 83, Volume 3, Number 11, Dec./Jan. North Region Art Sampler, (Catalog, reproduction “Untitled,” p. 7), Los Angeles County Century Gallery, 1985. Gabrielson, Walter, “Pasadena Pluralsim: The Painting ‘70’s,”Art in America, May 1981, p. 63. Ballatore, Sandy, “Aspirations and Omissions,” Images and Issues, Summer, 1981, p. 40. Decade: Los Angeles Painting in the Seventies, (Catalog of exhibition of same name) Essay, “Realist Painting in Los Angeles in the Seventies,” by Michael Kurcfeld, p. 28 (Reproduction, “Sand Canyon Road,” p. 83). Art Center of Design, Pasadena, CA 1981. Walker, John A. Art Since Pop, Barrons, New York, 1978. p. 43. Kultermann, Udo, The New Painting, Westview Press, Boulder, CO, 1977, pp. 78-79. Battcock, Gregory, Super Realsim, E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York, 1975, “Doorknob,” “Gum Wrapper,” pp. 257, 260. Plagens, Peter, Sunshine Muse/Contemporary Art on the West Coast, Praeger, New York, 1974, “Thumb Tacks,” fig. 128, p. 152. Wilson, William, “Realities’ Mirrors a Tragic Flaw,” LA Times, Sept. 30, 1973, Calendar p.61, (Review, “Separate Realities,” Barnsdall Municipal Gallery). Separate Realities, Barnsdall Municipal Gallery, Catalog Illus. pp. 24, 25, “Thumb Tacks,” 1973, oil on canvas, 68” x 68” “Truck,” 1969, oil and acrylic on canvas, 72” x 96”. “Gum Wrapper,” reproduction Art Journal, Spring 1973, XXX 11/3 p. 319. Sansom, William, “The Hyperrealists,” Realities, Feb. 1973, pp. 25-29, (Reproduction, “Light Socket,” 1969). Ratcliff, Carter, “New York Letter,” (Review, one man show, O.K. Harris), Art International, p. 57, (Reproduction, “Towel Rack”). Henry, Gerrit, “A Realist Twin Bill,” Art News, Jan. 1973, p. 28, (Reproduction, “Glass Doorknob”). Realism Now. (Catalog, “Realism Now,” New York Cultural Center, Dec.-Jan., 1973), forward by Mario Amaya. (Reproduction, “Glass Doorknob,” 1971). Siegel, Jeanne. Review, one man show, O.K. Harris, Art News, Nov. 1972, p. 79. Lubell, Ellen, Review, one man show, O.K. Harris, Arts Magazine, Nov. 1972. Kultermann, Udo, New Realism, New York Graphic Society, Greenwich, Conn., 1972, pp. 8, 11, 15 Plates 94, 95, 96: “Doorknob,” “Towel Rack,” “Untitled.” Canaday, John, “Two Shows South of Houston Street,” New York Times, Sept. 30, 1972. “Los Angeles Painters have Exhibit at UCSB,” Santa Barbara News Press, Sept. 10, 1972. (Reproduction, “Light Socket”). Wilson, William, “Newport Report,” 1 November 1971, Part IV, p. 8 (Review, “Contemporary American Art from Orange County Collections,” Newport Harbor Art Museum). Beyond the Actual, Pioneer Museum and Haggin Galleries, Stockton, CA 1970. Catalog Illus. “Towel Rack,” 1970, oil on canvas, 67” x 94”. “Art New,” LA Times Calendar, 29 March, 1970; p. 45 (Reproduction, “Watt Hour Icon”—Should read “Light Socket”). Wilson, William, “Realism Featured in Newport Show,” LA Times, 16 March 1970; Part IV, pp. 9, 15. (Review of “Directly Seen,” Newport Harbor Museum of Art). Wilson, William, “Art News,” LA Times, Calendar, 8 March 1970, p. 53. Directly Seen, Newport Art Museum, Balboa, CA 1970, (Catalog Illus. “Untitled,” 1969, oil on canvas, 65 1/2” x 65 1/2”).
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT University of California, Santa Barbara Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Yale University, New Haven, CT Corporate Collections Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Irvine, CA Mobil Oil Corporation Atlantic Richfield Corporation Oltman Construction, Whittier, CA Bank of America Collection Pacific Bell Collection Countrywide Home Loans, Simi Valley, CA Pacific Enterprises, Los Angeles, CA Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Los Angeles, CA Salt River Project, Phoenix, AZ Kaiser Permanente, Simi Valley, CA Technip USA, Claremont, CA Maguire Thomas Partners, Pasadena, CA Trust Company of the West, Los Angeles, CA Mc Kinsey & Co., Palo Alto, CA Union Bank, Los Angeles, CA Provident Investment, Pasadena, CA 5670 Wilshire LLP, Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Dr. Peter Ahles, Santa Ana, CA Edward Killam III, Rancho Mirage, CA Elizabeth Alford, Malibu, CA Seymore Lehrer, Montecito, CA Mark Andrus, Laguna Beach, CA Ethan & Joanne Lipsig, Pasadena, CA Bill Bass, Chicago, IL Judie Marcuse, Long Beach, CA Dr. & Mrs. Howard Berk, New York, NY Mary Morton, Houston, TX James Cameron, Los Angeles, CA Jack & Doris Salter, Bakersfield, CA Susan Cumins, Coral Gables, FL Diane and Norman Remick, Birmingham, AL Wilson Drysdale, Huntington Beach, CA Andrea Rothe, Pacific Palisades, CA Jennifer Diener, Santa Monica, CA Alix & John Sullivan, Orcas Island, WA Dr. & Mrs. Morton Dunn, San Jose, CA Bill Watts, Palos Verdes, CA Dr. Peter Ahles, Santa Ana, CA Edward Killam III, Rancho Mirage, CA Elizabeth Alford, Malibu, CA Seymore Lehrer, Montecito, CA Mark Andrus, Laguna Beach, CA Ethan & Joanne Lipsig, Pasadena, CA Bill Bass, Chicago, IL Judie Marcuse, Long Beach, CA Dr. & Mrs. Howard Berk, New York, NY Mary Morton, Houston, TX James Cameron, Los Angeles, CA Jack & Doris Salter, Bakersfield, CA Susan Cumins, Coral Gables, FL Diane and Norman Remick, Birmingham, AL Wilson Drysdale, Huntington Beach, CA Andrea Rothe, Pacific Palisades, CA Jennifer Diener, Santa Monica, CA Alix & John Sullivan, Orcas Island, WA Dr. & Mrs. Morton Dunn, San Jose, CA Bill Watts, Palos Verdes, CA
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS 2018 Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, CA – 48”x120”, oil on canvas painting of El Capitan Cliffs. 2011 Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, CA – Three 34”x72”, oil on canvas paintings of Lake Cachuma on 28’ wall 2002 City of Cerritos Library, Cerritos, CA - Mural, “Los Virgenes Valley,” oil on canvas, 13’ x 10’ 1999 Kaiser Permanente, Simi Valley, CA - “Sunrise in Tapo Canyon,” oil on canvas, 16” x 30”
TEACHING POSITIONS 1970-2005 Professor, Painting, Drawing, Design: California State University, Northridge (Retired 2005 Professor Emeritus) 1976 Instructor, Painting Workshop, Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, CA 1973 Painter-In-Residence: La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art 1969-70 Instructor, Painting, Drawing, Design: University of Washington, Seattle, WA 1969 Associate in Art, Painting: University of California, Santa Barbara