Magic Kingdom

The Arlington Theatre glows against a dusk sky streaked violet and coral in Magic Kingdom, an 18 x 24 oil painting by Nancy Davidson, its marquee spelling out "When You Wish Upon a Star" beneath a Spanish Colonial tower lit warm from within. Davidson turns her eye from coastline to downtown Santa Barbara here, capturing the small, cinematic thrill of a night out — pedestrians strolling past under string-lit arcades as the last color drains from the sky. It's a love letter to the city's civic architecture as much as to any particular evening, painted with the same warmth she brings to her beaches.