Current Exhibit
“Pacific Squalls”
An Exhibition of Paintings by Bill Beck
August 1-9, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, August 1 (5-7pm)
Gallery Hours:
August 2,3, 9 (11am-1pm)
and by appointment
Local artist, sailor, and St. James parishioner, Bill Beck will have a selection of his works on view at St. James GALLERY by-the-Sea in La Jolla August 1st through August 9th. The exhibition is entitled Pacific Squalls, its inspiration being a recent sailboat voyage in the Pacific.
Beck says, “My impetus for this project was a sail across the Pacific in a 37-foot sailboat. Our team spent a month at sea, racing from LA to Honolulu, and then a much longer sail returning to San Diego. The trip was full of strong imagery with emotional attachments to both the joy and stress that offshore weather brings to the sailor. My paintings in this exhibition range from squalls to passive seas, both realistic and abstracted… all in an attempt to capture the raw and elemental nature of sailing so far offshore”.
Bill is a trained engineer with a lifelong passion for painting. “I grew up in an artistic home with a fine artist for a grandfather. In high school I had the luck of being a studio assistant to Ellsworth Kelly which was life shaping in honing my eye and connection with abstract and contemporary art. I’ve studied at Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and at Boston University. More recently I have had much support and mentoring from Jeff Yeomans, who has moved me forward in many dimensions, and has helped me plug into the San Diego art community.
The Opening Reception to meet the artist will take place on Friday, August 1st, from 5 until 7 pm at St. James GALLERY by-the- Sea (743 Prospect Street, La Jolla). It will then be open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am until 1 pm through August 9, and by appointment. All proceeds from sales to benefit ocean non-profits.
View Bill’s work at www.billbeckstudio.com
Past Exhibits
“The Color of Light”
An Exhibition of Paintings by Rory J. Browne
June 7-15, 2024
Rory Browne’s rich and vibrant landscapes have gained international as well as national recognition. His work resides in public and private collections both in the UK and abroad. A graduate of the Chelsea School of Art, London, Rory seeks to reflect the beauty of the created world through his work. Whether focusing on cityscapes, mountains or the coast, his work never ceases to engage the viewer. Rory says of his work, “It is my intention within each work to capture a sense of time and place. I would hope to present the viewer with a distilled image that would elicit a response of ‘I’ve been there!’ My work often alludes to a spiritual as well as a physical presence.” Rory has been the recipient of many prestigious awards over the years and he is a regular contributor to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London. Click HERE to read more.
“Pet Projects”
New Yorker Cartoonist Lisa Rothstein
September 29-October 8, 2023
The Arts Committee hosted “Pet Projects” at Gallery-by-the-Sea with the opening reception on Friday, September 29. This exhibit will feature New Yorker Cartoonist, parishioner, and St. James Choir member, Lisa Rothstein. She’s been published both in the print magazine and online, with many of her cartoons featuring animals. Dogs are still a favorite, but in this show, bears, a rhino, a few horses, a whale, and even a cat or two, will be featured, among others. Special hands-on activities scheduled for the children, as well. Click HERE to read more.
“Art Speaks”
by Residents of Uptown Safe Haven
March 17-31, 2023
The Arts Committee hosted “Art Speaks” at Gallery-by-the-Sea with the opening reception on Friday, March 17. This exhibit was in conjunction with the Episcopal Community Services and the residents of Uptown Safe Haven. All proceeds from sales went to the artists.
“Seven Series”
A Retrospective Exhibition of Art by Cherry Sweig
November 6-27, 2022
The prolific artworks of Cherry Sweig were combined in a solo exhibition November 6 – 27, 2022. Guided by seven renowned collections and descriptive commentaries, viewers traveled around the world and back. Cherry presented themed demonstrations: Saturdays and Sundays in November – St. James by-the-Sea ‘en plein air’ inside and out, and Corfu’s Skyrian horse watercolors from her upcoming book. Other demonstrations included: urban sketchbook illustration and oil painting of Meteora, the giant pillared rock formations in central Greece, with Eastern Orthodox monasteries precariously “built in the air.”