The Colonnade Art Gallery is tucked in the busy streets of Old Town Pasadena. Since 2010, it has served as a haven for beginners diving into art and a platform for experts showcasing their works.

Partners with the Arbor Academy of Art and Studio, the Colonnade features the art of prominent Southern Californian artists through a rotating gallery. The gallery explores a range of mediums including paintings, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics, photography, and glass. For its 40 plus members, the Colonnade holds an exhibit each month with a different theme chosen by the board of directors. Some popular ideas have been revisited in past years while new ideas are always on the table to continue to challenge artists. For instance, the Colonnade has featured topics such as figure, fantasy and food, and romantic places and scenes.

Specifically, for the month of May, the Colonnade Art Gallery will focus around the theme of Coastlines: oceans, beaches, and rivers will be depicted in various channels of creative expression.

Some notable works featured in the Coastline gallery include paintings such as Frigid Sunset by William D. Winbush, captivating the audience with vibrant hues of warm orange as well as cool blue. The most common medium used by artists is oil, as it gives creators a chance to highlight the motion of water through blends of blue and white as well as the texture of dried oil paintings.

Another interesting artwork to view is Colorado River by Lorna Skeie which blends the bold presence of the rocky banks with the violent current of the river. Like Winbush, Skeie also used oil as the preferred platform to showcase the colors and contrasts of the scene.

Despite the Colonnade success as a showcase, it also offers art classes, films, group outings, and other activities as part of the Arbor Academy of Art and Studio. One of its most popular classes is Community Outreach Oil Painting, taught by director Ron Pettie himself.

Come see the Colonnade Art Gallery for the Coastlines gallery or to try your hand at oil painting. The gallery is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday during the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until May 28. Visit soon!