Highly acclaimed plein-air painter David Gallup and The Essential Image Source Foundation have united in a “collaboration of conservation” to produce an unprecedented, multi-media museum/aquarium exhibition. One of our nation’s most treasured natural resources—the Channel Islands—are their artistic muse.

More than 50 of Gallup’s Channel Islands paintings are to be featured, complemented by high definition video plasmas of similarly stunning imagery. A high definition large-screen documentary, complete with an original musical score, about Gallup’s artistic quest to the islands and an accompanying catalog and book further culminates in one of the most immersive, emotionally moving journeys museum patrons and visitors will ever experience.

Capturing the Channel Islands’ most beautiful and mystical moments in luminous color and dynamic brushwork, Gallup, in partnership with the Foundation and its breathtaking high definition cinematography, creates a sensory experience to transcend canvas and screen. A dreamscape of awe and inspiration awaits viewers, who discover both the grandeur and vulnerability of these islands.

Part of a national park, as well as a national marine sanctuary, the Channel Islands are known worldwide as the “Galapagos of North America” .The islands are home to over 2,000 species-many threatened and endangered-found nowhere else on earth. Marine life there ranges from the microscopic plankton to the majestic blue whale, the largest animal in the world. An over 13,000 year history of visitors also makes it the sacred place of over 200 shipwrecks including those dating back from those of Spanish explorers in 1542, Chumash Indian archaeological sites and countless other cultural artifacts. Each island provides a unique palette of exquisite colors and tremendously diverse subjects upon which imagination and artistic vision find limitless possibilities.

The seasonal splendor of the five islands will be featured, revealing the mesmerizing character of each. Highlights will include San Miguel’s shipwrecks, the spectacular Caliche Forest, and the captivating Point Bennett (the “Woodstock of pinnipeds”); Santa Rosa, the discovery site of North America’s most ancient human remains and fossils of prehistoric mammoths; the rugged beauty of Santa Cruz’s sea caves, waterfalls, snug anchorages and world renowned dive sites; Anacapa with its lighthouse amongst brilliant golden blooms of coreopsis and the shimmering lights that dance beneath the sea; and Santa Barbara Island, a windswept paradise with its myriad of breeding birds and sea lions in the bay below.

Join us in this unparalleled journey, a harmonious painting of canvas, footage, place and words. A painted journey of discovery of this treasured natural resource.