Artist John Iwerks has been painting his whole life, starting as a cartoonist and now painting in the open air.
"The great thing is that you watch the day go by. You see a cloud and you say, 'Oh, I’ve got to get that cloud!'" Iwerks said.
In 1986, Iwerks joined the Open Airing Club, aka OAK Group, in its inaugural year.
"This act of painting is a statement. It's like, well, you don't know what you've got til it's gone," Iwerks said.
He's among 25 OAK Group activist painters striving to save open spaces in Santa Barbara County through their art.
"The painting has become a tool for preservation," Iwerks explained.
Over the past 38 years, the club has raised more than $3 million for around 20 natural sites. This year, the group focused on UC Santa Barbara’s North Campus Open Space, which was featured in 100 pieces of art.
"They have this show once a year, so to be selected is really an honor. And the timing is, is just really special for us," said Lisa Stratton, Director of Ecosystem Management at the UCSB Cheadle Center.
Stratton says ongoing management of the 130 acres of the North Campus Open Space is projected to cost $500,000 a year.
"To me, they put our project on the map and validate its worth and naturalness," Stratton said.
Forty-percent of the profits from painting sales will be given to the North Campus Open Space to provide programming and maintenance.
"For all of us, it's, you know, important to have a place to be out and connect," Stratton said.
The OAK Group show will be on display until the end of the month at the Santa Barbara Library.
