Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura Counties
Gallery Los Olivos operates as an artist-owned gallery where regional artists can exhibit their work, and enjoy the camaraderie and support of other dedicated artists. We exhibit a wide range of work by our artists who reside in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties.
Our vision is to continually enhance our Gallery with a focus toward fine art that will appeal not only to first time buyers, but also to sophisticated collectors. Our visitors tell us that they enjoy the quality and variety of our art, so our efforts are aimed at bringing in artists whose work will help us continue to raise our standards and offer an expanding variety of art, and whose support of other artists will further strengthen our artist community.
The key to keeping the quality high in our Gallery is our screening process for new artists. We select new gallery artists through scheduled juryings, where we review their work, artistic background, and other strengths they bring to our Gallery. Jurying is by reservation only.
If our Gallery’s direction and focus are consistent with your own ambitions as an artist, we suggest you visit the Gallery to assess our venue and learn about the opportunities and responsibilities of being a Gallery Los Olivos artist.
UPCOMING JURYING SCHEDULE
WALL ARTISTS: Check back for updates on jurying for wall artists
PEDESTAL ARTISTS: We are currently looking for pedestal artists! Jurying dates will be announced soon. Read below for more details.
HOW TO BECOME A GALLERY LOS OLIVOS ARTIST
Acceptance into the Gallery is by jurying. Reservation is required.
- Only artists whose primary residence is in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, or Ventura counties are eligible to be juried to become a Gallery Los Olivos artist.
- To apply for a jurying reservation: email your request to [email protected] – including name, address, phone(s), preferred email address, website, social media you use for your art (if applicable), medium, and approximately how long since you last visited our Gallery. Since we jury a limited number of artists, we urge you to contact us no later than 4-6 weeks before the jurying date. The Jury Coordinator will confirm your reservation by phone or email. Since we must allow ample time for our jurors to review the work, we regret that we cannot take walk-in applicants.
- Jurying day schedule and place: Submit work in the morning and pick up in the late afternoon (times TBA). Jurying will be at a local venue (St. Mark's church, Los Olivos). Detailed instructions will be sent to applicants with confirmed jurying reservations.
- Submit in person on jurying day: five original paintings (no reproductions), other wall media that are framed or gallery wrapped (at least 1 ½” deep, with painted edges), or pedestal pieces completed in the last three years, plus a list of the pieces with medium and year created. Please, no wet paint. Maximum framed size is 40” in any direction. Please also submit a brief artist’s statement, detailed artist’s resume (shows, awards, art education, memberships, etc.), and 5+ photos representative of your work for our files. You may include a brochure or other descriptive information. Printed materials submitted are not returned unless you include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
- You will be notified of your acceptance/rejection by mail within a week. An acceptance means that you will be put on the Wait List to become a Gallery Los Olivos artist when we have an available space for you and invite you to join.
- Once you are invited to join and assigned a display space, you will pay the currently required fees listed below. (You should expect yearly increases each July 1.)
- A one-time non-refundable membership fee of $195.00
- Annual membership fee of $60.00
- Display space monthly rental:
4’ x 8’ wall* .... $84.00 8’ x 8’ wall .... $168.00 3-wall exhibit ... $336.00
Jewelry pedestal ................ $21.00
4’ x 4’ floor space ............... $84.00
* New wall artists enter the gallery on a 4’ x 8’ wall and may then request to be put on the list for a larger wall.
- Commission: 20% of all sales
- Other requirements and information:
- All work presented to the jury must be of your own design and creation, and based only on your own source materials, such as photographs, sketches, etc. Juried pieces must be designed and created by you without the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Work created in a class or workshop is not eligible for jurying.
- The Gallery’s emphasis is on original fine art. A limited number of reproductions (giclées) of paintings are allowed to be displayed on pedestals if presented per our Display Standards, but never on the wall.
- Our Gallery artists are required to sit one day a month (unaccompanied by spouse or friend) or pay a “no sit fee.” New artists are required to sit at least seven times during their first year (including training and mentoring days). Besides sitting regularly, our artists are obligated to attend our General Meetings/wall-change (on the second Monday mornings of February, June, and October), volunteer for a responsibility (based on interests and skills) and be active participants in the Gallery’s functions.
- Email is an important method of communication in the Gallery. Our artists are required to provide an appropriate email address for Gallery correspondence and be regularly reachable by email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why Gallery Los Olivos?
A: Since 1992, we’ve built a successful cooperative environment with over 50 regional artists who exhibit and operate the Gallery. Our bright, open venue enjoys a prime location in a tourist destination, with visitors from many geographies, providing a broad audience for our art. Each Gallery artist is assigned a dedicated space in the Gallery layout, with wall rotation every four months. Our artists’ work appears on our website, and they have access to our featured show area, as well as annual group shows. Direct interaction with potential buyers while sitting at the Gallery gives our artists insights to make their work more marketable. Gallery artists benefit from their association with the Gallery by enhanced credibility as serious artists and greater market awareness of their work, sometimes resulting in requests for commissioned art or other exhibiting opportunities. We also enjoy being part of a friendly, supportive group of artists who share their artistic experience and take pride in the smooth functioning of our Gallery. As an artist-owned gallery, we as individual artists have more control over our own exhibiting choices and how we brand ourselves. Many of our most successful artists have made our Gallery a key part of a larger integrated plan for marketing their art and taken advantage of the Gallery’s opportunities for featured shows, group shows, the Gallery’s social media, Gallery events, and other promotions. We encourage interested artists to visit the Gallery to assess our venue and learn about the opportunities and responsibilities of our artists.
Q: How can I find out more about the Gallery?
A: Before applying for jurying, please visit the Gallery and spend time browsing to evaluate it as a venue for your art. While there, the artist working that day will be happy to explain how we function and share his/her experience as a Gallery Los Olivos artist. If you know Gallery Los Olivos artists, discuss the Gallery with them. Also email us ([email protected]) with any specific questions you have.
Q: Who is on the jury? What are the criteria for judging the work?
A: There are typically five jurors who are artists of our Gallery with well-developed skills in judging the mediums of the prospective Gallery artists Our single most important criterion is quality – the demonstration of consistent artistic achievement and expression. Professional presentation of the art is also important. We also look for a strong resume that demonstrates artistic commitment and accomplishment. After that, we also look for work that will round out the Gallery’s offerings for our visitors, and we look for artists who will contribute to the success of the Gallery through their involvement in the Gallery’s activities and support of other Gallery artists.
Q: Is there a certain style of work or subject matter that you prefer?
A: No. We are constantly looking to offer our visitors a wide choice of interesting and accomplished work. While many of our current works are of a more traditional style, please don’t feel that you must present this type of work for jurying. We want to see quality work that best represents your unique sensibility as an artist, whether traditional or contemporary.
Q: What type of work should I show the jury? Should I show all the same type of work, or different work?
A: You must show work only in the category for which you have applied – painting, drawing, print making, pottery, etc. Your work should demonstrate consistent quality and maturity of artistic expression. Our jurors welcome variety but expect to see a focused artistic direction. Our general advice is to show a cohesive body of current work (completed in the last three years) that best represents you as an advanced level artist, the kind of work you wish to exhibit as a GLO artist.
Q: Do you require that an artist have a website or use social media?
A: We do not require that an applicant have a website but regard it and use of social media as indications of your serious interest in marketing your art. Beyond the five pieces of your work for jurying, your website is an opportunity for the jury to see the full range and depth of your work. The jury will review your website prior to jurying day, so a website with current work is highly recommended.
Q: If I am accepted by the jury, what happens next?
A. We maintain a Wait List of people who have been accepted by our jury. When a space becomes available, we review the Wait List for an artist and work that we feel is most appropriate for the Gallery at that time and invite that artist to become a Gallery Los Olivos artist. When invited to become a GLO artist, you will be asked to sign the Agreement form and pay your membership fee, annual fee, and first monthly rent. We will not request that you sit or do volunteer work at the Gallery until you are a member. We cannot forecast when spaces become available, and we do not invite a new artist based on the length of time spent on the Wait List, nor on what medium was in the space being vacated. This means we cannot estimate how long you may be on the Wait List. In the meantime, we encourage people on our Wait List to visit the Gallery and talk with our sitting artists, attend receptions, etc. – get to know us and let us get to know you.
Q: If I am not accepted, may I apply again?
A: Yes, but we ask that you wait at least one year before applying again. When you re-apply, please understand that we may not be able to offer you a reservation for that specific date if we cannot accommodate the first-time requests; in that case, we will advise you to contact us again for a future jurying.
ARTISTS: click the link below for a printable pdf
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION on How to Become One of Our Artist at Gallery Los Olivos
