I’ve much enjoyed the many paintings of Pat Morgenthaler lo these many years; she’s Mother to my partner, Wayne, with whom I share Oasis Community Farm just outside city limits. First years, I viewed her work in Fullerton, CA, near LA, but see them upclose now as she lives on the Eastside of Petaluma and has nearly all represented in her presentation book, as jpegs or hanging in her home. Of course, some of her work lives in other homes and buildings now! Masterful compositions, and the whole body of work represents a broad range of experience in life and art – numbering nearly 800 paintings!
I’m a fan of the oriental girl painting her primitive bird in bold reds and browns, of the Rainforest series, the Gate series, the Reed series. Their are also surprizing pieces – a portrait of Winston Churcill, a mysterious woman, ghost-like and intriguing. An ultra California Modern construction of grey metal. Great variety, all with intricate technique and grace.
Please do stop by Redwood Cafe, main street in Cotati, Sunday Nov. 24th at 6pm to meet Pat, friends and family, at her reception – or stop by any time between Nov. 20 and Jan. 14. Grab a bite while you’re at it – the gluten-free blueberry pancakes and chocolate brownies are delish! We love the Redwood Cafe – it’s owners are part of our “tribe” as members of Aqus Community – sharing oh so many aspects of our lives from Irish band to local, healthy food expo to music on the grass at Foundry Fest and much more – so here we go again, reaching out through the good will of John Crowley and Diane Gentile of Aqus and their Community member, Redwood Cafe. Our friend, Eolah Bates, once Wayne’s roommate (when he moved to Petaluma) is producing the show, and Wayne has developed blogs, a postcard, lists and outreach – wonderful tribute to Pat Morgenthaler, who won over 100 awards for her work.
Pat, who considered herself an artist from the age of 9, attended Art Students League classes in New York at age 18 and held her first public show at the Washington Monument and Museum in Baltimore, MD. After moving to Southern California and raising three sons, she returned to school and received a B.A. in Painting at C.S.U.F. and an M.F.A. from Claremont University Graduate School.
Her travels in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Morroco, Japan, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Hawaii have enriched her art.
Sketching and painting materials are always at hand. However, she says her best work is done in the isolation and quiet of her studio.
Pat lived most of her life in Fullerton in Southern California in the house she and her husband built. Her “Lake and Reeds” series of landscape paintings was inspired by nearby Laguna Lake which she could view from her home. IN 2010 she moved to Petaluma to live close to two of her sons and their children and grandchildren. Pat currently has seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren! Holidaze are nearly upon us and the table will undoubtedly be groaning!
Come visit Pat and her family and view a choice selection from her many fine works Nov. 20th – Jan. 14th and/or for her reception, Sunday, Nov. 24th, 6-8pm at Redwood Cafe, 8240 Old Redwood Hwy. If you’re a Petaluman, it’s easy – just follow Petaluma Blvd. as it becomes Old Redwood Hwy and park when you see a charming small town street packed with interesting stores and restaurants. Good neighbors!
Images of Morgenthaler’s paintings may be found at
http://patmorgenthalerfineart.blogspot.com/
http://patmorgenthalerfineart.blogspot.com/2013/10/blog-post_21.html
http://www.blogger.com/profile/06095153960305752855
http://www.aqusnews.com/postings/290/pats%20web.pdf
50 images on picassa
https://plus.google.com/photos/110497987564412502340/albums/5936190780336941665?banner=pwa
The Bloody Marys, at “The Muck,” Muckenthaler Mansion and Gallery, Fullerton
http://www.artslant.com/la/events/show/8906-the-bloody-marys-a-group-exhibition
What I sent to press:
Tracing History in Her Art
Pat Morgenthaler fine art exhibit
Redwood Café, Cotati, 11/20-1/14
Pat Morgenthaler, a fine artist whose works range from Romantic Expressionism to Cubist, offers Tracing History in Her Art, at Redwood Café, 8240 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati with a public artist reception Sun. Nov. 24th, 6-8pm. The exhibit will grace the walls of Redwood Café from Wed., Nov. 20 through Tues., Jan. 14th. Morgenthaler, who now resides in Petaluma, lived, taught and exhibited in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York from around 1948-2009. The Redwood Café exhibit “traces the history” of art expression from each period of Morgenthaler’s work.
Her work has appeared in museums and galleries widely and has garnered over 100 awards. She is included in the Millenium Edition of Who’s Who in the West.
Morgenthaler, formerly a fine art teacher in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, holds a Lifetime Credential to teach art at the Community College level. Her teaching career included Orange County Community College and California State University, Northridge. Morgenthaler works in all media, painting in watercolor, mixed media, oils and acrylics. Some paintings are representational and others abstract. Her body of work, cataloged at 793, spans over four decades and expresses elements of time captured in paint and construction.
For more than twenty-five years, Morgenthaler has shared her passion for painting with a remarkable group of North Orange County artists, meeting monthly, when in Los Angeles, to discuss art and compare notes on their work over lunch and Bloody Marys. Taking their name from the signature drink, the eight Bloody Marys exhibited extensively as individuals and produced a joint show at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center and Mansion in Fullerton, California. For the show, Morgenthaler chose her the lush landscapes of her Rainforest Series.
Bloody Marys, Martha Bartholomew, Fay Colmar, Elaine Kennedy, Marjorie Kerr, Mildred Kouzel, Pat Morgenthaler, Joan Ross, and Virginia Spencer, produced works ranging in style from Fay Colmar’s three-dimensional paper and mixed media constructions, to Pat Morgenthaler’s epic sized natural landscapes, Martha Bartholomew’s intimate and intricate textile icons.