"Matilijas by the Window" by Meredith Brooks Abbott

Atmospheric landscapes, garden paintings and portraits by California Impressionist Meredith Brooks Abbott will be on solo exhibition at the Museum of Ventura County, December 5, 2010 through February 13, 2011.

Abbott has spent most of her 50 years as a painter in the South Coast region; she is a founding member of the Oak Group of painters dedicated to preserving open spaces, and exhibits regularly with the California Art Club. This museum exhibit draws from collections in Ventura and Santa Barbara, and showcases her ability to capture the natural world around her with quick brushstrokes and subtly related colors. Abbott often finds inspiration from the garden flowers around the 1873 farmhouse where she lives in Carpinteria.

Raised in Santa Barbara, Abbott earned her degree from the Art Center School in Los Angeles, and also studied with noted artists Richard S. Meryman and Clarence Hinkle. She worked as an illustrator in New York and San Francisco, but returned to this area in 1974, where she has painted ever since. She is also a member of the Santa Barbara Art Association.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 E. Main Street in downtown Ventura, open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Go to www.venturamuseum.org for more information or call (805) 653-0323.