John Wayne Airport gives a lift to artistic careers

For busy travelers who don’t have the time to visit the museums and art centers in the cities they pass through in Orange County, there is a way to experience artwork on the fly — and an airline ticket isn’t required.

As visitors queued in a line to be screened and planes took off on the tarmac during a busy Monday morning at John Wayne Airport, Dori Murnieks stood before a glass showcase near a security checkpoint and marveled at the display.

“This is so exciting,” Murnieks said. “I can’t believe I’m seeing this here.”

The Laguna Woods resident is the latest artist to have her work, a collection of paintings, unveiled at the airport. The artwork is part of the Community Focus Space Program, which is part of the John Wayne Airport Arts Program and features exhibitions by Orange County artists and local community organizations.

After submitting her art two years ago to the Airport Arts Program, which is overseen by members of the Airport Arts Commission, Murnieks was shocked when her 10 paintings were chosen to be on display from Nov. 16 until Dec. 16.

Her work, all done in acrylic, mainly depicts Western landscapes and animals that inhabit the land, including longhorn steer, horses, llamas and birds.

Murnieks said for inspiration, she often visited Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Gridley, Calif., where the historic wetlands is a refuge for more than 300 species of resident and migrant birds and mammals.

It’s become a tradition for her to visit the lodge every New Year’s Day.

“I like it when I start with a general idea and I see where it takes me,” she said. “I like to explore the possibilities.”

One of her favorite pieces is the painting illustrating an egret, a heron with mostly white plumage. The birds migrate from the Pacific Northwest south to Sacramento for the winter.

Murnieks, 70, who was born in New York City and grew up in a family of artists, studied fine art at the Arts Students League and Cooper Union School of Art. In 1976, she moved to Northern California, eventually becoming a founding member of the Avenue 9 Gallery Art Guild in Chico.

She has shown her artwork in regional galleries and exhibitions. Over her four years in Laguna Woods, she became a member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. and has had her paintings displayed in Laguna Woods Arts Assn. exhibits and in Laguna Woods City Hall.

When she’s not painting canvases, she illustrates children’s books for an author in Oregon.

Murnieks’ artwork, which can be purchased by contacting the artist, can be viewed on the departure upper level near the security screening areas in Terminal A, B and C, and on the arrival lower level adjacent to baggage carousels 1 and 4.

“Dori’s colorful paintings are perfect examples of the quality artwork that JWA’s Arts Commission selects during our Call to Artists and that our passengers enjoy,” said Karin Schnell, Airport Arts Commission chairwoman, in a prepared statement.

For more than 20 years, the Airport Arts Program has presented a series of exhibitions, produced publications and organized programs around themes like fine arts, Orange County history and aviation. The Thomas F. Riley Terminal has mounted more than 200 exhibitions of arts, science and pop culture.

The Community Focus Space Program features artists who live, work or study in Orange County.

The Airport Arts Commission selects the artists by reviewing 10 images from each applicant and then voting. All artists receiving a majority vote of the commissioners are added to the Community Focus Space Program’s exhibition calendar.

The art displays are rotated every four to six weeks. Upcoming Community Focus Space Program artists include photographer Leonard Myszynski from Dec. 17 through Jan. 14 and abstract and experimental painter Susie Stockholm from Jan. 15 to Feb. 16.

Murnieks said she was honored to be featured during the holidays, one of the airport’s most heavily traveled periods.

The airport serves more than 9 million passengers annually.

“I’ve never seen them like this in the case here before,” Murnieks said with a grin as she looked at her work. “It really makes me happy.”

For more information about JWA’s Art Programs, visit ocair.com/terminal/artexhibits