Capturing Santa Ana’s Outer Beauty

The old two-story house on the corner of French and 8th streets, which reminded Myrna Barnes of the small Iowa neighborhood where she grew up, made for a great backdrop.

The 58-year-old Corona del Mar artist set up her easel and umbrella under a tree in front of the place to capture on canvas the picture before her: a porch with stairs, columns and an unfurled flag, flapping in the wind.

“I think I’ll call it ‘Fourth of July,’ ” Barnes said Thursday as she worked with oil paints.

Barnes is one of 43 artists from throughout the state participating in the city’s first “Sights of Santa Ana” plein-air painting event, a juried art competition to showcase the city’s beauty.

“It’s a little bit unique,” said Eugen C. Andres, a Santa Ana attorney who organized the event, which is being sponsored by the city and Bowers Museum of Cultural Art. “It’s good for the city of Santa Ana and the art community.”

He said the professional painters, members of the California Art Club, are competing for cash awards and, at the same time, displaying the city’s beauty.

Many of the artists are painting renditions of some of Santa Ana’s oldest buildings, while others are focused on parks, streets and the historic downtown.

Jove Wang, 36, of Arcadia, Bruce Day, 57, of Modjeska Canyon, and Ken Auster, 47, of Laguna Beach spent Thursday working on their versions of the courtyard at Bowers Museum.

Wang used more reds and soft edges, while Day used pastels for his sharp lines and diagonal shapes. Both painted on canvas.

Auster zeroed in on the statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Spanish explorer, and painted on a small panel with bright, bold colors.

He chose the sculpture because “it was the most difficult thing I could find. [Plein-air] is like mathematics without numbers.”

Meanwhile, Daryl Bryant of Pasadena painted under a tree on 4th Street near the city’s Artists Village. She used watercolors for her picture of the West End Theater across the street. The building, no longer a theater, now houses a bridal shop, travel agency and law office. A vendor in front of the building became part of Bryant’s painting.

“You get a much more personal feeling when you paint out here like this,” Bryant said. “It’s very exciting, capturing the moment, which changes every hour.”

Georgina Martinez, a Santa Ana resident who works in the travel agency, came out to see what Bryant was doing.

“It’s really nice,” she said about Bryant’s piece. “It’s nice to see Santa Ana get recognized for something other than crime.”

The artists have been scattered throughout the city using the plein-air--French for open air--technique, painting what they see in front of them until they finish. The event began Monday, and most of the participants are painting two or more scenes. Each will be allowed to enter two pieces, which will be judged tonight.

The top three winners will receive $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000.

On Sunday, the paintings will be on display and for sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bowers, 2002 N. Main St. Also, the public is invited to bring plein-air paintings to the museum, where an expert will answer questions and estimate the works’ values.