Local artist to hold opening for Rancho Santa Fe gallery

Local artist Margot Wallace will host a gallery opening Dec. 1 from 2 to 5 p.m. at her new gallery and studio in Rancho Santa Fe.

“This is my first venture into having my own gallery and my own studio outside the home,” said Wallace, who moved to San Diego from the east coast 40 years ago and now lives in south Vista. “I’m really excited about it.”

Forty of Wallace’s original watercolor paintings will be framed and on display, and she said she’s expecting about 40 guests. The event will include hors d’oeuvres, beverages and holiday music.

“I always wanted to have a little gallery with a studio in the back,” she said.

Her involvement in the local art community includes many years in the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild, formed in 1998 to promote arts education and help support artists throughout the county. She’s also a member of the San Diego Watercolor Society, which operates a gallery and works to expand the reach and appreciation of water-based media.

“I became very familiar with how to put on art shows,” said Wallace.

Wallace has been working in watercolor for 30 years after she started making art in her teens.

“It really blossomed when I went to Boston to get my master’s degree,” she said of her artwork.

Wallace attended Boston Museum’s School of Art, and La Jolla’s Athenaeum School of Art after arriving in San Diego in 1979. She has also lived in La Jolla and been a member of the La Jolla Art Association. Some of her influencers include Georgia O’Keefe, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.

In addition to learning the ins and outs of art shows, she said there are a lot of art collectors in Rancho Santa Fe.

“I think the Rancho Santa Fe community is attuned to the arts, especially visual arts,” she said.

Wallace said some of works have been inspired by local landmarks, such as the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, in addition to her travels to places such as Venice, Machu Picchu, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

She also portrays scenes from Philadelphia, where she spent her childhood, including the paintings “Betsy Ross House” and “Elfreth Alley, PhiladelphiaPA.”

Wallace’s studio is located at 16950 Via de Santa Fe, unit 131, in Rancho Santa Fe. The event is open to the public. For more information about Wallace and her works, visit watercolorsbywally.com.