Creative Elements

The 2024 Beacon Art Show!

2024 Virtual Gallery is Open Below

Welcome to

The Beacon Art Show

OUR HISTORY

On Easter Sunday 2008 we celebrated the first San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church (SLO UMC) Beacon Art Show as part of the Grand Opening of the church’s newly rebuilt structure. History leading up to this inaugural event began on Easter Sunday 2001 when a 5:00 am fire — the work of an arsonist – consumed the former 39-year-old church building.

The 2008 bell tower rising at the top of Fredericks Street hill (reminiscent of the 1911 church bell tower design pictured) was the inspiration for naming the art exhibit “Beacon Art Show”. This annual show attracts visual artists from the Central Coast as well as statewide – showcasing their drawings, paintings and fabric art as well as three dimensional crafts and sculpture. To further its commitment to artistic creation, the show committee decided early on to connect purchasers directly with artists with the church receiving absolutely no gallery commission (which can often amount to more than 50% of the purchase price). Beacon Art Show is indeed SLO UMC’s gift to the community.

The 16th Beacon Art Show will open on the first Friday evening in March 2024 with a reception and presentation of awards. Welcome to the return of the in-person annual Beacon Art Show.

“Artwork helps me retain the good times and to unravel and understand the not-so-great times.”

Glynis Tinglof, Two time BEACON Best in Show Artist

2025 Judges

Bob Burridge, Dr. Ruta Saliklis and Rev. Mark Sturgess are the Beacon Art Show’s 2025 jurors. Bob, Ruta and Mark will award six merit prizes to the best show entries: one each at $400, $350, $250, and three at $150.

Bob BurridgeWatercolor Artist

Robert Burridge, an award-winning Industrial Designer who, after twenty-five years in the corporate world, focused his life to painting. He is a well-known instructor and juror for many organizations, including the National Watercolor Society, Western Federation of Watercolor Societies, San Diego Watercolor Society, and the Philadelphia Watercolor Society. Bob has also juried SLO county’s prestigious Brushstrokes and Aquarius shows. : : Burridge attributes his success to his education from the Philadelphia College of Art, his stint as an adjunct professor at Cooper Union in New York City, and in 1966, his Fluxus art performances with Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, Jim McWilliams and Charlotte Moorman. : : Bob’s work hangs in permanent collections of embassies, corporate galleries and art colleges. His museum exhibitions received positive attention, so he was invited to exhibit his paintings at the Smithsonian Folklife Circus Arts Festival in Washington, DC.

Dr. Ruta SaliklisArtist + Teacher

Dr. Ruta Saliklis was born and raised in Chicago, where she started making art at a young age and was profoundly influenced by school field trips to the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently teaching in the Fine Arts Departments of Cuesta College and Allan Hancock College. Prior to that, Ruta worked at the SLO Botanical Garden, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, Cal Poly, San Diego Zoo, Ball State University, and the Allentown Art Museum. She has curated numerous exhibitions. She received her Ph.D. in Textiles and Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MFA in Museum Studies from Syracuse University, and a BA in Comprehensive Studio Art with a minor in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Saliklis lives in San Luis Obispo with her husband, Ed, and a labradoodle named Frankie.

Rev. Mark SturgessPastor + Musician

Mark Sturgess’s gifts and passions for ministry include preaching, teaching and worship; coaching traditional congregations to spiritual health and vitality; post-modern biblical interpretation; and advocacy for full inclusion of LGBT Christians in the life the church. Mark is also an accomplished musician with a degree in Pipe Organ Performance from Northwestern University.
He has recently published essays in Connections: a Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship from Westminster John Knox Press, and reflections on the relationship of beauty and ministry in the Austin Seminary Faculty Journal, Insights. Mark also happily serves as household staff for his two cats: Buddy and Molly.

Beacon Art Show 2024

Virtual Gallery

Thank you for helping us celebrate visual art on the Central Coast!

This year, the Beacon Art Show received more than 150 entries, from which our jurors selected these 76 show finalists. We are proud to present this virtual exhibit that includes exceptional creative expressions across the CREATIVE ELEMENTS theme.

An on-site exhibit ran from March 1 through March 24 and was open for public viewing Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. pm at the San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church.

If you’re interested in purchasing an artwork, contact us and we will connect you with the artist as soon as possible. Please include the title and the artist’s name in your message.

2024 AWARD WINNERS

BEST IN SHOW

Jamie Dietze
Ruby at Cayucos

Oil on canvas, 25 x 25 x 2 inches, NFS

SECOND PLACE

Blaire Kilbey
Rising Above the Fray

Acrylic & Ink, 36 x 36 x 2 inches, $275.00

THIRD PLACE

Click on images to see image details and price.

MERIT AWARD

Ethan Manuputy
Skateboard Deck 5

Wood, 32 x 8.5 inches, $100.00

MERIT AWARD

Bob Canepa
Hwy 395 Roadside

Photograph, 12 x 18 x 2 inches, $275.00

MERIT AWARD

Click on images to see image details and price.

2024 SHOW

click on any image to launch the gallery

Ellen November
Peace

Fabric, 30 x 38 inches, $750.00

Kathi Battles
Angels Among Us II

Mixed media/textiles, 18 x 16 x 1/2 inches, $80.00

Kathi Battles
Mate Masie (What I Hear, I Keep)

Mixed media/textiles, 46 x 21 x 1 inches, $350.00

Linda Elder
Circles in Layers

Encaustic, collage, oil paintsticks on board, 8 x 8 x 1 inches, $80.00

Susanna Lindsey
Circuitous

Black ink and felt tip pens, 16 x 20 x 1 inches, $185.00

Ron Mead
Storm Reconstruction **SOLD**

Metal print, 8 x 12 inches, $95.00 **SOLD **

Greg Simmons
Long Horn and Blood Moon

Acrylic, 36 x 30 x 1.5 inches, $2,900.00

Ken Christensen
My Home Town

Oil, 24 x 30 x 1 inches, $3,600.00

Dianne Draze
Bronze Gong **SOLD**

Fused glass, 20 x 8.5 x 6.5 inches, $407.00 **SOLD**

Dianne Draze
Fountain

Fused Glass, 15 x 13 x 6 inches, $326.25

Richard Mortensen
Octopus’s Garden

Fused Glass, 2 x 14 inches, $225.00

Joan Brown
Her Place

watercolor, 22 x 30 x 2 inches, $650.00

Joan Brown
Dogwood in Evening Light **SOLD**

watercolor, 22 x 30 inches, $450.00 **SOLD**

Dianne Ravin
View from the Parking Lot

Oil, 11 x 14 x 1/2 inches, $275.00

Dianne Ravin
Serenity at Sunset

Oil, 14 x 11 x 1/2 inches, $325.00

Jewel DeMoss
On Pointe

Acrylic/Mixed media, 20 x 10 x 1.5 inches, $350.00

Paula DeLay
Oceanside

Oil, 24 x 30 x 1.5 inches, $2,150.00

Paula DeLay
Sea Mist

Oil, 36 x 36 x 1.5 inches, $2,150.00

Paula DeLay
Serene Afternoon

Oil, $895.00

Diane Harrison
Mannequins Just Want to Have Fun **SOLD**

Acrylic on Wood, 12 x 15 x 1 inches, $250.00 ** SOLD**

Brandon “Jay” Stieler
Cascada De Leon

Watercolor, 25 x 22 x 1 inches, $261.00

Dotty Hawthorne
Twisting and Turning **SOLD**

Pastel, 22 x 26 x 1 inches, $1,200.00

Christie Coyes
Abstract

Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 12 x 5/8 inches, $978.75

Carl Berney
Marcella

California marble, 25 x 6 x 7, $1,631.25

Jamie Dietze
Blue Acid Day (Study)

Oil on canvas, 13 x 13 x 1-14/16 inches, NFS

James Dietze
View from Heather and Brian’s Sunroom, Roanoke VA

Colored pencil on paper, 30.75 x 24.25 x 1.5 inches, $750.00

James Dietze
Fioli Gardens Lily Pond

Colored pencil on paper, 30.75 x 24.25 x 1.5 inches, $750.00

Kathleen Bosch
Halo (SLOMission)

Digital photograph, 18 x 24 x 1 inches, $295.00

Kathleen Bosch
Dance Of The Dry Thistles (Islay Hill, SLO)

Digital photograph, 24 x 18 x 1 inches, $295.00

Jan French
Gully Washer

Watercolor, 28 x 20 x 1.5 inches, $800.00

Jim Trask
Wait’n For the Mail

Acrylic, 24 x 30 x 1.5 inches, $800.00

Julie Steyer
Inner Passage

Colored pencil, 14 x 14 inches, $245.00

William Rumbler
On The Road to Pozo

Photo on metal, 16 x 24 x 2 inches, $395.00

William Rumbler
A Break in the Rain

Photo on metal, 20 x 30 x 2 inches, $495.00

Robin O’Connor
Otter Lullaby

Fused glass and frit, 12 x 12 x 9 inches, $750.00

Shiana Seitz
Winter Sky in Baywood

Digital photography, 11 x 14 inches, $125.00

Randy Stromsoe
Bloom

Pewter, 10 x 10 x 3 inches, $1,950.00

Phil Loarie
Toccata & Fugue for Spider-Man and The Flash

Digital image printed on ChromaLuxe Aluminum, 14 x 23 x 2.5 inches, $499.00

Lauren Rayburn
Untitled

Collage, 11 x 8.5 inches, NFS

Larry LeBrane
Form Sans Function (view 1)

Fused & shattered safety glass, clarinet, horsetack, metal, wood, 25.5 x 14 7 inches, $925.00

Larry LeBrane
Form Sans Function (view 2)

Fused & shattered safety glass, clarinet, horsetack, metal, wood, 25.5 x 14 7 inches, $925.00

Michael Costa
Portal to the Soul

Photography, 12 x 18 inches, $225.00

Michael Costa
Mailboxes

Photography, 12 x 18 inches, $185.00

Colleen Gnos
Big Sur Hula (In Exchange for My Life)

Oil on canvas panel, 60 x 48 x 1.75 inches, $9,026.00

Anna Easter
Narnia

Acrylic, 15 x 30 x 1.5 inches, $650.00

Anna Easter
Madonna

Acrylic, 31.75 x 14 x 1.5 inches, $800.00

Rachel Lee
Maine Poppy

Oil on canvas, 48 x 36 x 1.5 inches, $1,200.00

L. Tracy Paz
Mandala Vertiginous Peace

Oil, 36 x 36 x 2 inches, $1,350.00

Bob Canepa
Calla Lily in B&W

Photograph, 18 x 12 x 2 inches, $275.00

Drew Davis
Concerts in the Plaza **SOLD**

Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 x 2 inches, $2,600.00 **SOLD**

Michela Barmet
Light Language

Micropen/colored pencil, 18 x 24 inches, NFS

Michela Barmet
Binary Metaverse

Micropen/ink, 17 x 14 inches, NFS

Jan Dungan
Best Friends **SOLD**

watercolor, 16 x 20 inches, $550.00 **SOLD**

Jan Dungan
Trump

Ceramic, 10 x 6 x 6 inches, $750.00

Cher Dubbink
Reach

Bronze, 12 x 13 x 8 inches, NFS

Rich Smucker
Pas De Deux

Black walnut burl, 20 x 8 inches, $1,200.00

Susan Schafer
The Harbor Watcher

Oil, 9 x 6 x 1/4 inches, $355.00

Carol Manuputy
Ganesha

Ceramic, 13 x 5 x 6 inches, $300.00

Richard Manuputy
Dragon Table (view 1)

3D Table with acrylic paint, 18 x 42 x 42 inches, $2,800.00

Richard Manuputy
Dragon Table (view 2)

3D Table with acrylic paint, 18 x 42 x 42 inches, $2,800.00

Ethan Manuputy
Skateboard Deck 2

Wood, 32 x 8.5 inches, $100.00

Ethan Manuputy
Skateboard Deck 5

Wood, 32 x 8.5 inches, $100.00

Rod Aszman
Port San Luis Lighthouse

Traditional oils, 18 x 24 x 2 inches, $1,631.25

Phillip Lopez
Ocean Blue # 2

Ceramic, 58 x 12 x 10 inches, $725.00

WB Eckert
As the Crow Flies

Acrylic/Canvas, 12 x 24 x 1.5 inches, $1,957.50

Barry Lundgren
Basin of Possibility

Woodturning, 5 x 11 inches, $600.00

Alane Whitmore
Flirty Pirate

Digital photography - framed and matted, 24 x 18 x 1 inches, $165.00

Alane Whitmore
Quiet Canoes in the Fog **SOLD**

Digital photography - framed and matted, 18 x 24 x 1 inches, $165.00 **SOLD**

Kurt Waldo
Calm II

Mixed media - acrylic, oil pastel, crayon and colored pencil on canvas, 48 x 36 x 3 inches, $1,000.00

Jeanie Smith
Golden Venus Belt **SOLD**

Watercolor, $95.00 **SOLD**

Anne Barga
Lovey Napping

Oil, graphite on canvas, 20 x 20 x 1 inches, $500.00

Daniel Jones
Shell Beach Summer Day

Oil, 18 x 24 x 1/2 inches, $1,500.00

Ginger (Satya Ma) Teasley
Gleeful Hotei

Oil on linen board, 12 x 9 x 1/4 inches, $580.00

Ginger (Satya Ma) Teasley
Saint Francis of Assisi – Inner Light **SOLD**

Oil on linen board, 12 x 9 x 1/4 inches, $580.00 **SOLD**

2023 AWARD WINNERS