“David Solomon: 50 Years an Artist,” written by his daughter, Gaylen Solomon Corbett, is an illustrated chronicle of the plein air painter’s life, starting in the 1970s when he settled in Laguna Beach. Through her research, Corbett found that little has been written about that generation of painters.
Unlike traditional plein air painters, Solomon uses watercolors, not oils. The book is filled with his paintings, which capture a wide range of subjects from rustic ghost towns, to his home turf of East Los Angeles, to the beautiful beaches and coves of Laguna. Also included are vintage photographs of Solomon and his contemporaries, including Mike Logan, Pat Tobin and Michael Hallinan, on their painting excursions. The story captures an era when plein air was less prevalent than it is today. “Those guys were flying under the radar,” said LPAPA Signature Artist Jeff Sewell.
Solomon exhibited at the Festival of Arts for 30 years and has won a purchase award from the National Watercolor Society and a bronze medal in the Laguna Plein Air Invitational. Currently, Solomon is incorporating pastels into his works, which he paints in his North Laguna home studio.
“David Solomon: 50 Years an Artist” (hardcover, 120 pages) is available to pre-order for $50. The book is set to be released in July. Shipping is available, as well as pick-up in Laguna or San Juan Capistrano. For more information, visit www.gaylen.net or call 949-204-6301.
Writers Invite Public to ‘Wine & Words’ Fundraiser
The Third Street Writers will hold their first fundraiser from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, June 13, at the studio of Sandra Jones Campbell, 3273 Laguna Canyon Road. Attendees will have an opportunity to do some of their own writing at four different genre stations: fiction, screenplay, poetry, and memoir. An open mic session will follow. Tickets, $30, include two drink tickets, hors d’oeuvres, a dessert buffet, a writer’s notebook and a copy of “Beach Reads: Lost and Found.”
Tickets can be purchased at thirdstreetwriters.org/shop/wine-words-tickets, or by check payable to: Third Street Writers, 9 Pheasant Lane, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Proceeds will establish a scholarship fund to assist a college-bound Laguna Beach High School senior in pursuing a writing degree.
