Art Council Welcomes New Members

Photographer David Holt, painter Karin Young and art collector Nancy Wood have joined the Westmont Art Council.

As a vital link between the professional art world, the college and the community, Art Council members assist in establishing networks among these groups.

Holt, Young and Wood bring varied backgrounds and experiences to the council.

Holt is a master of lighting and multiple-exposure photography. He was a successful commercial photographer in Los Angeles for 35 years and taught 12 years at the Art Center College of Design before retiring to Santa Barbara four years ago. Since 2001 he has incorporated his camera work with the computer, opening up new areas of experimentation.

Young and her husband owned and operated a bed-and-breakfast inn in County Cork, Ireland, for 13 years before retiring to Santa Barbara, also four years ago. She has maintained her career as a painter, showing her work in the gallery at their inn as well as at galleries in Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Santa Barbara.

Wood and her husband, Byron “Kent,” have purchased art for more than four decades, becoming serious collectors after they moved to Santa Barbara in 1994. Their collection features contemporary landscape paintings, but also includes sculpture, photography and graphics.

Wood is a member of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Collectors Council, the Santa Barbara County Horticultural Society, Lotusland board of trustees and she is president of the Community Arts Music Association Women’s Board.

The Art Council supports the Westmont Art Center and Reynolds Gallery by mentoring art students, organizing artist’s receptions and helping staff the gallery during exhibits, among other activities.

The opening show at Reynolds Gallery this fall is “Excavating the Image: Biblical Subjects by Wayne Forte.” Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays during the academic year.

For more information, contact the Art Center at (805) 565-6162.