Wild in California
September 20th 2025 - February 23rd 2026
The California Nature Art Museum is excited to present our forthcoming exhibition Wild in California, a solo exhibition by Museum Founder, conservation advocate, and artist Patti Jacquemain. On view from September 20th 2025 - February 23rd 2026, this show will include both woodcut prints and mosaics of all sizes, showcasing the many bioregions and species that contribute to California's rich biodiversity.
Biodiversity describes the total variety of plant and animal species in an ecosystem. When an ecosystem includes many plants and animals, as well as many different species, that space will typically be described as having "high biodiversity."
Patti Jacquemain, Golden King, 2005.
Worldwide, there are just 36 regions officially designated as terrestrial "biodiversity hotspots." The California Floristic Province was named a biodiversity hotspot in the 1990s, and includes our very own Santa Barbara County.
The California Floristic Province stretches along North America's Pacific Coast and parts of Mexico, and supports a number of critically endangered species such as the California condor and California red-legged frog. To be named a biodiversity hotspot, an area has to contain many species and plant life that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. While the Golden State is famed for its high biodiversity, many ecosystems and species are under threat of habitat destruction due to demand for development and agriculture in California.
Our mission as a museum is to inspire stewardship of nature through art and education, and we offer Jacquemain's art as a way to both educate and connect visitors to California's wild side.
“Wild in California” Sponsors
Dierberg Family Foundation
Northern Trust
Wood-Claeyssens Foundation
About the Artist
Patti Jacquemain was raised on a ranch in Santa Barbara, California, where she developed a great love of the outdoors.
Museum Founder & Artist Patti Jacquemain
"Growing up on an 18 acre lemon ranch in Santa Barbara, I was continually outside in the creek or on horseback riding in the backcountry during which I gained a great love for nature," says Patti. "However, when I went to College, there was never any question that I would study art. While I experimented with many different art techniques, I discovered my enthusiasm truly was for woodblock printmaking and mosaics, and that has continued to this day. I like to focus on a particular subject and work on a series of related original prints, always nature related."
Patti Jacquemain is the founder and inspiration behind the California Nature Art Museum (formerly the Wildling Museum) located in Solvang, California. She and her husband Dave started the Museum with 12 close friends and colleagues in 1997. She and her husband also founded the Creekspirit Wildlife Foundation in 2003 to promote private support for the preservation of wildlife in California and the West.
Jacquemain has received several commissions to design and develop mosaic murals that are currently installed at all over Santa Barbara County and beyond. Jacquemain was also featured in the documentary "The Artist and the Great Bear," which was screened at the 2018 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Learn more about Patti Jacquemain and her work at www.missioncreek.com