A reading to celebrate the release of Blue Room: Poetry by Santa Barbara poets inspired by Patricia Chidlaw’s paintings, will take place at Sullivan Goss, 11 E. Anapamu St, SB, on Wednesday, September 23rd at 7 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

The anthology–edited by David Starkey–features 49 images of paintings by the artist as well as ekphrastic poetry by Lisa Bass, Gudrun Bortman, M.L. Brown, Christopher Buckley, Susan Chiavelli, Clayton E. Clark, Fran Davis, Pamela Davis, Cie Gumucio, Jacob Herrera Spears, Gabriella Klein, Perie Longo, Enid Osborn, Melinda Palacio, Christine Penko, Diana Raab, Linda Saccoccio, Dan Thomas, Jace Turner, Paul Willis, George Yatchisin, and Chryss Yost.

Many of these poets will be on hand to read one of their poems.

Following up on her wildly successful 2024 show Nighthawks, Santa Barbara artist PATRICIA CHIDLAW returns with a major new body of work to be shown for the first time in the gallery’s largest space. Blue Room features eighteen new paintings of places suspended between memory and observation.

The exhibition’s title refers to an old school cocktail lounge in Burbank, California, a place that has long captured Chidlaw’s imagination. But this exhibition is about much more than a single location. It’s about the vibe of a rapidly disappearing world that the artist returns to again and again. Her paintings take us into spaces that are undeniably vintage, and just outside the spotlight, where atmosphere becomes the main character. Think rainy streets illuminated by reflected neon. Lanterns glowing in Chinatown. A carousel standing still before the crowds arrive. A solo twilight swim. A ferris wheel waiting in quiet anticipation. Empty diners, movie marquees, motel signs, and storefronts all become stages for absent actors that exude a Blue Room vibe. Whether depicting familiar landmarks or anonymous streets, Chidlaw transforms ordinary places into scenes that feel timeless, and often cinematic.