...Painting such beauty as exists here restores my soul and may, in some small way, preserve that scene and joyful experience for someone else as well... Susan Belloni first fell in love with Santa Barbara and it's natural beauty as a child on family vacations. As a teenager she went to Spain for a summer program at the University of Madrid and spent much of her free time at the Museo del Prado art museum. There the art of Velazquez became an inspiration along with his masterpiece "Las Meninas" which some consider the world's best painting. Susan received a B.A.degree in Art with an emphasis in painting from the University of California at Santa Barbara and feels fortunate to have lived here ever since with her husband and two children. Santa Barbara has the incredible advantage of being between the mountains of the National Forest and the Pacific Ocean's east-west coastline. Santa Barbarans, and especially her landscape painters, cherish the views and the remaining open space that exists. Along with so many others, Susan has been very involved in preserving open space and natural habitat areas in Santa Barbara. "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love ane respect." Aldo Leopold

Susan Belloni, Plein Air Artist Susan belongs to the local Goleta Valley Art Association and the Santa Barbara Art Association. Santa Barbara Visual Arts and the historic El Encanto Hotel are sponsoring an art show May 5th to July 29,05 in the lobby and dining room of the hotel. Directions: http://www.elencantohotel.com/el_location.html