Pinkham Mirich et.al. Featured Plein Air Painting Magazine February 2011
The Portuguese Bend Artist Colony
After years of friendship, this group of California painters—who share a passion for recording the beauty of the Palos Verdes Peninsula—decided to come together to help preserve the land that first inspired them.
“The very first show was just about raising awareness,” says Amy Sidrane when asked about the inaugural exhibition of paintings by a group of artists who would soon become known as the Portuguese Bend Artist Colony (PBAC). It was nearly 14 years ago and featured the work of Sidrane, along with Rick Humphrey and Daniel Pinkham. “We were calling the public to wake up and recognize the beauty around them,” Sidrane continues. “It wasn’t about marketing ourselves. We had such a passion for the open space.” Growing up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, a close-knit group of coastal cities in southwestern Los Angeles County, the trio had always shared a love of art and the outdoors. “Rick and I went through high school and the Art Center College of Design together,” Pinkham says. “Amy and I started the first plein air group in our area in the 1970s. We’ve always been friends through art.”
