Ocean Forests: Our Coastal Communities

Richard Salas, Eliot Spaulding, Laura Simonato, & Angelina LaPointe

January 24, 2026 - July 20, 2026

The California Nature Art Museum is delighted to share our forthcoming group exhibition Ocean Forests: Our Coastal Communities, celebrating the importance of kelp forests - one of California’s most ecologically productive and diverse ecosystems.

Giant kelp is the largest marine plant on earth, with each stalk growing up to 120 ft in length and weighing up to 700 lbs. With its ten-year lifespan, giant kelp is also one of the most ecologically productive organisms in the world, sequestering and removing at least 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

This show will include four celebrated artists and three different mediums - photography, block printing, and textile/weaving. Each artist tells their own unique story about the vibrancy and importance of life amongst giant kelp for the purpose of education, inspiration, and ocean advocacy.

About the Artists

Richard Salas

Richard Salas (askphotography.com) is a California native and graduate from Brooks Institute of Photography, where he was mentored by Ernest Brooks II and first introduced to diving and underwater photography. He has authored several coffee table books, including Sea of Light: Underwater Photography of California’s Channel Islands, Blue Visions: Underwater Photography from the Mexico to the Equator, and Luminous Sea: Underwater Photography from Washington to Alaska. Richard’s mission is to take the viewer through a marine biosphere where humanity’s impact is an undeniable force.

Eliot Spaulding

Eliot Spaulding (eliotspaulding.com) lives in Santa Barbara, CA, and has exhibited in curated gallery and museum shows on both US coasts. In 2024, Spaulding attended residencies at Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve in Ojai, CA, StudioWorks/Tides Institute & Museum of Art in Eastport, ME, and Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture in Sisters, OR. Most recently, she was the 9 Month Resident at Taft Gardens for the 2024/25 Season, and a 2025 Resident with SCI Art Center’s Land + Sky Invitational in Saticoy, CA.

Laura Simonato (@thetidepooler) is a macro photographer and citizen scientist based in San Diego, California. When she's not wading through kelp with her camera, Laura runs the tidepooler®, a small business where she creates interactive posters showcasing her favorite sea creatures, nudibranchs. Through her photography, artwork, and storytelling, she hopes to spark curiosity and raise awareness about an often-overlooked world revealed at low tide.

Angelina LaPointe

Photo by Max Janatsch

Angelina LaPointe is a Lompoc, California-based artist who specializes in block and letterpress printing. The founder of Sidecar Press, her vibrant, striking prints range from pinups and portraiture to her native Central Coast’s flora and fauna, as well as invitations, album art, company logos, and more. LaPointe’s work also revolves around the tension that arises from contrast — not only in the black and white of the medium, but in the use of turn-of-the-century technology in our modern world.