happenings
Thursdays | 4–6 PM
Afternoons with Artists
Join us on Thursdays this month for an informal afternoon with our featured artist, Sylvan Butera Rich. Stop in for a glass of Margerum wine, spend some time with the exhibition, and meet the artist behind the work. This is a great opportunity to see the paintings in a quieter setting, away from openings and events, and to hear more about the inspiration and stories that surround each piece of art.
Blending the natural world with an internal one, Colors of the Coast celebrates the landscape not simply as a place we inhabit, but as something that inhabits us. At its heart is Rich's belief that abundance is cyclical: born through attention and incubation, realized through creative expression, and ultimately completed through giving back to the community that sustains us.
SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 27 | 3–5PM
CLOSING DAY FOR BIDDING
Throughout September, Sylvan Butera Rich has created a 7×7 foot mural on canvas in the Atelier Gallery. The painting, GOLDEN, is available through a month-long auction, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Unity Shoppe, Art & Soul’s nonprofit partner for September. Bidding closes at 5PM on September 27th and the winning bidder may either add the finished work to their own private collection or donate it to Unity Shoppe.
Join us Sunday afternoon for the big reveal of GOLDEN, and the Closing Day for COLORS OF THE COAST. We'll be serving Margerum wines, our wine sponsor this month, and Sylvie will be here to chat about the process of painting in the gallery over the month. We are so honored to have had her here with us, and we can't wait for you to see the finished piece!
Wednesday | September 23 | 6–8PM
The Scent of Color
An Evening of Art + Fragrance
What does a painting smell like? How might a fragrance take shape on canvas?
Artist Sylvan Butera Rich and the Firestone Sisters each create work inspired by the landscape and spirit of California—the ocean and mountains, native flora, shifting light, and the unmistakable energy of life along the coast.
Join us for a sensory evening celebrating Sylvie’s latest paintings alongside Golden, the newest fragrance from the Firestone Sisters. Experience how color, scent, memory, and place can evoke a shared sense of California, expressed through two very different creative mediums. We're pairing the evening with local favorite Kunin Wines, adding another taste of California to the evening.
The Firestone Sisters collection will be available for purchase, and guests will receive a special gift while supplies last.
Friday | September 25 | 5–7PM
Conversations with Artists
We are honored to welcome Sylvan Butera Rich for a special artist talk at Art & Soul on Friday, September 25, from 5–7 PM.
A Santa Barbara–based artist, Sylvie creates expressive acrylic paintings inspired by the landscapes of California’s Central Coast. Her work explores place, color, light, and the restorative power of the natural world, transforming familiar vistas through memory, intuition, and an increasingly expressive use of color.
Joining Sylvie in conversation will be interior designer Jessica Russo Smith and writer and editor Jennifer Blaise Kramer. Longtime friends and creative collaborators, the three were instrumental in founding Rough Drafters, a Santa Barbara creative salon established in early 2021 as a space for connection, exchange, and creative exploration.
Together, they’ll share a thoughtful and lively conversation about Sylvie’s work, her creative evolution, and the role that friendship and creative community play in sustaining an artistic practice.
The doors open at 5p, and the conversation starts promptly at 5:30p. Come early, enjoy a glass of Margerum wine, and grab a seat - space is limited!
1st THURSDAY | October 1st | 5–8PM
Salt + Light
Introducing New Works by Hilary Brock
Join us on 1st Thursday as we gather to celebrate the opening of Salt + Light, a new series of paintings by Hilary Brock.
Santa Barbara native Hilary Brock is a contemporary oil painter known for serene, light-filled landscapes inspired by the California coast and inland valleys. Through layered washes, atmospheric color, and an intuitive sensitivity to light, her paintings capture not simply the appearance of a place, but the feeling of being there—a sense of stillness, openness, and quiet restoration.
In SALT + LIGHT, Brock turns her attention toward the water, introducing a new body of work inspired by a lifelong fascination with the way light moves across its surface. Sunlight sparkles and shifts; dusk softens the horizon; moonlight catches the waves. These fleeting moments become both subject and metaphor.
While the series marks a new exploration for Brock, it remains deeply connected to the landscapes for which she is known. At its heart is the same desire to capture those moments when the natural world asks us to slow down and become fully present.
For Brock, these paintings are also deeply personal—rooted in memories of long, unhurried hours by the ocean with the people she loves. SALT + LIGHT is ultimately about more than water or light. It is about connection: to place, to one another, and to ourselves.
Can’t make it Thursday—or want a sneak peek before the opening? The full collection is available to view online, and all artwork can be purchased HERE.
ARTIST RECEPTION
Thursday | October 1st | 5–8PM
Art & Soul | 1323 State Street | Santa Barbara CA
Thursday | October 8 | 5:30–8PM
Music and Wine
Join the Communal Table and Renee Stahl, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, for an evening in the gallery exploring "trust & releasing control” through the co-creation of song and a curated conversation and seasonally inspired supper together.
Your ticket includes participation in a song circle, gently led by Renee, a seasonally inspired and sourced supper, and a curated discussion centered on "releasing control and living in faith." No singing experience needed. Join this event if you would like to break your heart open a bit more and experience being out of your comfort zone in a safe and nurturing environment.
Renee Stahl ( Dektor) is a singer and Grammy award winning songwriter whose haunting voice transcends the many genres of music she has covered. She is well regarded in the mainstream music world for her rich melodies, and harmonies, on solo records such as hopeful. romantic. She has collaborated with some of Europe's top electronic /trance DJs.. However, it’s with the young ones and their families that her indie folk duo Renee & Jeremy has become a household name. Their original lullabies and covers transform classic songs into quiet mantras. In 2016, she released Renee & Friends, a collection of collaborations with notables such as Maya Rudolph, Ziggy Marley, Glen Phillips Lisa Loeb, and more.
Renee leads an intimate song circle in the oral tradition of call and response.
This safe space offers a true connection with yourself and others while opening your voice and heart
No experience necessary- everyone welcome
