Arturo Tello & John Wullbrandt

Photo credit W.B. Dewey
Dos Arbolitos
Exhibition
Open SEPT 1st - NOV 27th
Santa Barbara Fine Art
1321 State Street (Next to Arlington Theater)
Santa Barbara, CA
Dos Arbolitos. Two small trees have grown tall to stand among the mighty Oak Group. Oak Group Co-Founder Arturo Tello has been joined by his friend and fellow painter John Wullbrandt. Together they share selected paintings to illustrate their passion for our environment. Both artists have been painting for over 50 years and have deep roots in local land preservation and conservation efforts. Their unique and masterful painting skills along with their mutual support of protecting our precious open space has been recognized by Santa Barbara Fine Art with a two man show.
click here to listen to Dos Arbolitos
by Linda Ronstant
Arturo Tello

Carpinteria landscape painter Arturo Tello was born on December 5, 1954 in Tulancingo Hidalgo, a town near Mexico City. He began his formal training as a figure painter, but his innate feeling for the land drew him inexorably toward depicting the shifting light and natural forms of his adopted country's coastline and bluffs. His strong belief in the importance of preserving open spaces led him to help to form the Oak Group. Affiliated around the venerable Ray Strong, this group of landscape painting friends works to celebrate and preserve the natural environment through their paintings."
-Ventura County Museum exhibit introduction
”A landscape painting is a celebration of beauty, a prayer of gratitude for open spaces and the path to intimacy with nature. I see the role of the landscape painter not as a dreamer, but as an active defender of the land. Just as the farmer provides sustenance for the body, the landscape Painter gathers Food for the soul.” - Arturo Tello
Arturo Tello













John Wullbrandt

Born in Santa Barbara in 1951, the artist can trace his roots back to the Chumash and his earliest European ancestor Jose Medina who arrived on a Spanish supply ship and became Santa Barbara's second school teacher in 1797).
John Wullbrandt, an artist with a sharp eye for detail, combined with a desire to create freshness and spontaneity in every composition, where in his landscapes, local landmarks, Trompe L'Oeil still life or paintings of his ranch life where his ancestors homesteaded in 1913. in the hills of Carpinteria.
He began painting at an early age and found local patrons while in his teens. Growing up near the beach in Carpinteria instilled a keen interest in painting his surroundings including the family cattle ranch high in the mountains above the Carpinteria Valley. After studying art history, drawing with Kenneth Nack and painting with Robert Frame at SBCC the artist set out on what became a 25 year long art adventure that took him around the globe several times and included many noteworthy commissions both private and public. He developed an ability to tackle almost any subject in a variety of styles and mastered a range of sizes from miniature canvases to exterior murals over 5 stories in height. Returning to Carpinteria in 2002, Mr. Wullbrandt and his partner began the restoration of the family ranch where he now lives off grid. In 2017 his studio was incinerated in the Thomas fire and most records of his full-time artist's life were lost. Remaining a prolific painter, the artist was invited into the prestigious Oak Group and his influence on other pockets in our art community has been extensive. This exhibition, John Wullbrandt illustrates a passion for our coastal environment and many of the treasures the artist holds dear.
John Wullbrandt











