Ellwood Mesa

A stand of eucalyptus catches fire in autumn color in Ellwood Mesa, a 12 x 24 oil painting by Nancy Davidson, their canopy a tangle of rust, amber, and burnt orange against a cool, clear afternoon sky. Davidson works with loose, energetic brushwork here — quite different from the calm horizontals of her beach scenes — letting each stroke stand in for leaves caught mid-rustle. A dry golden meadow stretches beneath the trees, grounding all that overhead color in the familiar, sun-baked textures of the Goleta coastline she's spent a lifetime studying.