subconscious manner in which these colors appear on her canvas, an indication of the deep relationship she has forged with her Carpinteria roots. The gardens and architecture of the 19th Century home Abbott shares with her husband, Duncan, in- spire her work. Walking in the lovingly tended garden she says, “Again and again, I’ll paint something, and each time, the sun’s shadow throws a different light on it and this keeps things fresh and new.” Walking by her flagstone garden in the midst of a gloriously multihued palette of Matilija poppies, angel’s trumpet, alstroemeria, penstamen, coreopsis, jasmines, nasturtiums and bachelor buttons, it is evi- dent her home environment is a regenerating source of colors and inspiration for her work as a painter of the natural world.


Abbott’s love of the natural world prompted her to get involved with the Oak Group, unified artists committed to preserving disappearing open spaces in a time when the developers’ bulldozers and cranes are diminishing areas of vital importance. Along with Arturo Tello, Ray Strong and Glenna Hartmann, she


helped raise money to save the Carpinteria Bluffs. For her, taking inspiration from her environment is balanced by the responsibility to help preserve and nurture those same landscapes gracing her work. Abbott has been labeled impressionistic, realistic,


and a plein air virtuoso. She responds to these catego- rizations by positing plein air as “a more honest way to paint. For me, to use photos to paint is not cricket. Artists tend to ‘interpret’ photos. There’s an urgency and immediacy to painting on location.” She concedes that sometimes she has to paint smaller studies over time to complete a larger work.


“Because of my education I am a realist, even though I work in an impressionistic manner,” she defines herself.


For Abbott painting is a non-negotiable part of life. Even at a point in her career when she has successful show after successful show, she continues to hone her craft, a craft learned at the easel of renowned painters like Richard Meryman and Clarence Hinkle. Her work is infused with the brushstrokes of the lineage of these great American impressionists of


IT’S THE LIGHT. THE LIGHT IS ALL ABOUT THE MOUNTAINS AND THE OCEAN AND HOW IT TRAPS THE ATMOSPHERE.


40 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE


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