Meet artists, view their work during San Diego Coastal Art Studios Tour

PACIFIC BEACH – If you’ve ever wondered what inspires an artist to create, the fifth annual San Diego Coastal Art Studios Tour can provide answers directly from the source.

The tour, which takes place Saturday in La Jolla and Pacific Beach, is a rare glimpse into several personal artists’ studios and gardens, and a unique way to see “behind the curtain,” as often both their inspirations and materials are on display.

Self-guided free tours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Locations are all within a few miles of each other, with free street parking at each site.

The tour changes each year. This year, 15 of the more than 30 artists who attend are new to the event, while one studio of the four is new to the tour. Two of the homes are in La Jolla, while one is in Pacific Beach.

“We work on getting as wide a variety of art and artists included as possible,” said artist Dot Renshaw, who created the tour with her friend and fellow artist Leah Higgins. “I’m always amazed at the new, unique and exciting art and artists that I come across.”

Artist Carol Shamrock primarily paints in both watercolor and acrylic, but also makes jewelry, focusing on earrings and pendants.

Shamrock said she’s always experimented with jewelry, but a couple of years ago began focusing on it, as it doesn’t require a lot of space; she likes working with 3-D materials, she’s familiar with the materials from teaching classes in ceramics and clay and it’s an alternative to working in paint.

When artist Mieko Anakawa isn’t painting marine animals, she’s often painting cactus and succulents.

“I do acrylic paintings, making them very colorful and vibrant with neon colors and abstract elements,” she said. “Sometimes I hide elements in the paintings, making them mystic.”

She often uses her imagination for her art, working from her home studio. The plants in her garden offer inspiration, but she said she often goes to botanic gardens to see the plants and aquariums for the sea life.

Anekawa has been painting at Spanish Village in Balboa Park for the past 10 years, after moving to the area from New York. Shamrock has been painting there for the past two years, since moving back to the PB area.

Their work is among the hundreds of individual art pieces that will be available for purchase across the four homes, and visitors will be able to discuss the works with the creators.

Locations of the homes can be found online. The Chaitlin home, 1670 Bahia Vista in La Jolla, belonging to Ann and her husband Alan, is new to this year’s event. The studio contains boxes filled with bits of nature, drawers sorted by color families, colorful jars with hand-painted animal lids and much more.

“The walls are covered with work, mixed media, embossed copper and painted mirror frames, while painted designs on wood – contemporary totems – are on the floor,” she said.

Her husband Alan, a retired physician, is also an artist known as “Dr. Pottery” at the mid-century shop, selling his pieces. His finished work is on shelves above a desktop, now his workspace, with wheel and clay materials in their garage, Chaitlin said.

The couple has lived in the home, a late mid-century California ranch, for the past 50 years.

Leah Higgins’ home, at 1686 Los Altos Road, is also on tour. The residence has a long history in La Jolla, as it was the first custom home of famed horticulturist Kate Sessions. The home was built in 1926 by Irving Gill, a well-known architect of the period.

A detached art studio and numerous mature trees and plants from Sessions’ original garden are highlights of the property.

Higgins enjoys a wide variety of subjects for her paintings, but specializes in landscapes, homes and portraits.

The PB homes of couples Neil and Carla Murray and Zack Taylor and Dot Renshaw, are also on the tour.

The Murrays purchased their 1941 home at 1128 Loring St. in 1994 and added a second-story art studio and granny flat to expand the original small footprint. A mostly xeriscaped yard – meaning it’s drought tolerant – provides Neil Murray with plenty of inspiration for his contemporary portraits of the lush plants.

Renshaw’s 1228 Beryl St. residence was renovated from one-story to two and features an 18-foot high art studio. The 1920s Moorish-style home overlooks a garden filled with flowers, ferns and fruit trees.

Renshaw often paints her oils and pastels in the plein air style, choosing neighborhood canons, camping spots and small trails for her work.

All the works are from award-winning artists, with prices ranging from $10 to $5,000. Styles range from ceramics to several types of jewelry and clothing, pottery, paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, fused glass sculptures, stained glass pieces, quilts, reclaimed wood carvings, mosaics, collage, cutting boards, pine needle baskets, pine, steampunk polymer art, handmade books, embellished geodes and more.

“We have some really unusual things for sale this year and I’ve seen art that I’ve never seen before,” said Renshaw.

More than 1,200 people attended last year’s tour. For a complete list of participating artists, including bios and samples of their work, visit sdcoastalartstudios.com.