SANTA BARBARA, CA.- "BLOSSOMING”: Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Divine Inspiration Gallery of Fine Art, is being commemorated with a floral and still life exhibition featuring the paintings of renowned Santa Barbara artists Cheryl Ambrecht and Cathy Quiel, as well as Pasadena artist Kay Henry, who has had her paintings displayed at the gallery numerous times, including a very successful solo showing last summer. The display runs August 1 through September 27, 2013 at Divine Inspiration Gallery of Fine Art, 1528 State Street in Santa Barbara, CA.

Cheryl Ambrecht’s soft and sumptuous oil paintings with their loose brushwork contrast with her career background working for Northrop Corp. as a graphic designer doing airplane technical illustration.

Cathy Quiel, a world-renowned watercolorist, has been painting and teaching for over 40 years. Her extensive resume includes works published in art and children’s books, and are collected worldwide.

Kay Henry’s delightfully colorful impressionist oil paintings have won numerous awards and are in many collections throughout the country. She has attended Art Center of Design, and studied with such artists as Jove Wang.

“Behind the origin of the Divine Inspiration Gallery of Fine Art is the story of a remarkable friendship of 43 years,” said gallery owner Sherry Spear. Spear continues, “The gallery was created by my best friend, Sonia Adams, as an inspiration for me to live, and realize my dream of having an art gallery, after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. Sonia and I met when I was an art major at UCSB, and she was a young mother giving readings in her tiny shop on Hollister Ave. in Goleta,” Sonia is now the world-renowned and highly respected “Madame Rosinka” on Stearn’s Wharf in Santa Barbara, as well as being the owner of The Chase Restaurant and Lounge .

Sonia first established the gallery in Carpinteria (CA) for 5 years, and then found the present location on State Street that was a former rug merchant shop that needed to be totally gutted and remodeled. Using her incredible visionary talent, she created the elegant space it is now.

“The basic premise of the gallery is to give emerging, talented local artists a ‘hands-up’… in other words, gallery representation that they would not normally be able to get (galleries typically require an extensive resume which includes art education, shows, awards, and previous gallery representation for consideration). We also show the established professionals as well. We are often asked about why the gallery is so named.

In addition to the personal inspiration, Sonia and I believe that art is ‘divinely inspired.’ The process of documenting nature’s beauty and capturing its energy evokes emotion that can be translated to the canvas. It is a true appreciation of the colorful, peaceful, and beautiful world around us that God created,” said Ms. Spear.

For more information about Divine Inspiration Gallery of Fine Art, we encourage you to visit http://divineinspiration.us/