Seeing Blue and Staying Attuned to Place

She had me at Frank’s Rice Bowl. Patricia Chidlaw, the beloved veteran Santa Barbara painter who beloved many a historic Santa Barbara building with her affectionate mode of realism, showed her “portrait” of Frank’s a few decades back. I was instantly pulled into its sway, as both an occasional diner in the funky lower State Street Chinese eatery (more for the price and vibe than the cuisine) and I became a fast fan of Chidlaw’s work and eye. 

Food and Santa Barbara landmark associations aside, I’ve been in the ranks of admirers of the artist’s work over many years now, holding fast to — and further honing — a style reminding us of Edward Hopper (she must be weary of the comparison by now, but it seems to stick). Like Hopper, she focuses her attentions on generally unpeopled structures and spaces, attentive to details of light and composition, in and around Santa Barbara and elsewhere in an America where time wistfully lounges. 

We can admire her painting for art’s sake while also yearning to know about the where and what of her subjects. At her 2022 exhibition at Sullivan Goss, The Pool Show, her vision of the pool at the Cliff House — across the 101 from La Conchita and set dramatically right on the ocean — inspired me to go there, jump into the celebrated pool and write a story about it.

With her eagerly awaited follow-up to her last Sullivan Goss show, 2024’s Nighthawks (speaking of Hopper genuflection), she shifts to another nocturnal zone of interest, with the show titled Blue Room, so named after a retro-elegant dive  in Burbank Chidlaw seems very fond of, with her art eyes on and otherwise. 

A token, and apt, poolside view finds its way into the mix of this show, in the form of “Blue Pool,” its oblong, shimmery blue pool shape consuming most of the composition, and refracted in a woman’s blue swimsuit. It hangs next to the glorious “title” painting, “Blue Room,” which is happily and nostalgically awash in the vision of a vintage (and grandfathered in) neon sign in Burbank). The antique allure of that neon signage is contrasted by the presence of a police car on the street below it, and the utilitarian and corporate beaming of the Chevron sign across the street.

Elsewhere in the gallery, we get an alternative view of the Burbank property in question, with “Blue Room, Parking Lot,” its main point of focus being the full moon through drooping eucalyptus trees. Chinatown, not so far from Burbank, is also in the house here, as well as the since-demolished and would-be eradicated Domino Motel (painted from a photograph, a common Chidlaw practice) in “Blue Motel.” Here, the word “blue” takes on a different, emotionally tinged meaning. 

An aura of nighttime diversions, for the all ages set, comes through in images of the ocean-flanked Santa Monica Pier, through beached fireworks in the distance and the epic horizontal sweep of “Yellow and Blue Santa Monica Ferris Wheel.” In this wide view painting, the central subject is romanticized — agreeably so — in the yearning glow of the twilight, its yellow and blue radiance warblingly reflected in the ocean below.

A similar theme, from a local angle, appears in “Sunset Santa Barbara Fair.” For deeper local resonance, proceed directly to her classic and refreshing views of classic Santa Barbara landmarks, such as “La Super-Rica,” in twilit chiaroscuro. 

Hanging next to that beloved local institution is her painting “Carousel Horse and Earl Warren,” which blends visual eloquence and layered light with a visual pun: its stars are frozen, faux equines, the very kinetic carousel horses in garish light wryly juxtaposed with the demure silhouetted sight of old Earl Warren and his very static steed — the logo sculpture of Earl Warren Showgrounds. 

Once again, as with Frank’s Rice Bowl four decades ago, Chidlaw provides us with new vantages on Santa Barbara iconography and topography, in a fresh and mythologizing light. Now, if she could just immortalize the classic eatery, soon to retire, that is Roy. Or maybe she has. Wherever she roams and whatever she sets out to capture in paint continues to be eagerly soaked up by her legion of fans. Present company included.

Patricia Chidlaw’s Blue Room is on view at Sullivan Goss Gallery (11 E. Anapamu St.) through October 26. See sullivangoss.com/exhibitions/patricia-chidlaw6.