Meet Our 2024 Visiting Artist Fellows
Our Newest Program
The Ilan Lael Foundation is proud to announce its inaugural Visiting Artist Program, honoring the visionary spirit of James Hubbell. This program invites established visual artists from the San Diego region to immerse themselves in the unique environment of Ilan-Lael. Inspired by the captivating beauty of the Santa Ysabel landscape and James Hubbell’s philosophy of connecting people with nature through art, each chosen artist will create one or more new artworks specifically for this program.
We are honored that seven immensely talented and prominent artists have agreed to be Ilan-Lael’s Visiting Artists in 2024, a program designed to welcome artists to the property where James Hubbell lived and created for over 50 years. Earlier this year, we asked each artist if they could visit the property (as many times as they wanted) and seek inspiration to create one or more artworks. Their artworks — paintings, photographs, and poetry (in broadside form) — will debut at this year’s Harvest Moon Dinner on September 20th from 4 to 9 pm, on the property in Santa Ysabel in the midst of James Hubbell’s home and studio structures. Select artworks are for sale, with proceeds going to the James Hubbell Memorial Art Fund. After being shown at Harvest Moon, all artworks will move first to an exhibit at Santa Ysabel Gallery, and later this fall to another exhibition at Union Hall Gallery in downtown San Diego. You may also view and purchase work from the Ilan-Lael Visiting Artist Fellow Exhibit at our Hubbell Gallery starting October 1st, 2024. We look forward with great anticipation to see how our visiting artists are inspired by the beauty and nature of Ilan-Lael. Many thanks to all for their support and participation in the very first Ilan-Lael Visiting Artist Program!
Ilan-Lael Visiting Artist Fellows 2024
KARLA CORDERO, Poet
Oceanside resident Karla Cordero is a descendant of the Chichimeca peoples of northern Mexico, a Chicana poet, educator, and author of the poetry collection, How To Pull Apart The Earth, a 2019 San Diego Book Award winner and finalist for the International Latino Book Award and the International Book Award. Her work has been featured on NPR, and appeared in Academy of American Poets, O Magazine, Split This Rock, PANK, The Breakbeat Poets Vol. 4 LatiNext Anthology, and other publications. Karla is a recipient of the 2021 California Arts Fellowship, in addition, she is a Macondo, VONA, CantoMundo, Tin House, Pink Door Writing Retreat, and Community of Writers Fellow. Karla is the Executive Director for the non-profit program Glassless Minds and a professor in composition and creative writing at MiraCosta College and San Diego City College. Learn more about artist fellow Karla Cordero and her work
JOHN DURANT, Photographer
A long-time collaborator with James Hubbell who has documented Ilan-Lael pro bono for many years, John is a well-known commercial and artistic interpreter of many of San Diego’s most critically praised architectural works. Of particular local interest, his photographs of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, and a project profiling Southern California surfboards as an art form, have been featured in numerous exhibits and publications. Learn more about artist fellow John Durant and his work
MARK FEHLMAN, Painter
Mark paints in an impressionistic style characterized by energetic brushwork and the use of thick and thin layers of paint, patterns of light and dark, and a rich palette of colors to capture the moment. For 30 years prior to becoming a full-time painter, he practiced as a successful architect; half of those years as a design partner with Fehlman LaBarre Architects. His fine-arts and crafts career started in his youth: he was a well-known fiber artist in high school and college, and had successful shows in Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. After his career as an architect, he pursued painting, studying with Lela Harty, John Asaro, Ray Roberts, Brian Blood, Ron Hicks, Mark Daley, Kim English, and Jeff Watts. His home and studio are in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego, and he travels extensively to capture images throughout the world. Learn more about artist fellow Mark Fehlman and his work
JOE GARCIA, Painter
Joe is a native Californian and an established landscape and wildlife artist living and painting near Julian. Natural settings of oaks, pines and golden hills of Southern California provide endless inspiration and subjects for his art. Joe earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an advertising/illustration emphasis from Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He worked as an illustrator and graphic designer before leaving the commercial field to focus full time on the fine-art side of his career. Today Joe exhibits across the country, and his original paintings and limited edition prints may be found in galleries and private collections throughout the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Europe. Joe’s art has appeared in numerous magazines, including Southwest Art, The Artist Magazine, Western Art Collector, and Watercolor Magic. Learn more about artist fellow Joe Garcia and his work
WILLIAM GULLETTE, Painter
Will holds Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees with emphasis in painting, drawing, and printmaking from San Diego State University and has an Associate Arts Degree in Photography from San Diego City College. He has been an award-winning professional photographer in the San Diego region since the mid-1970s and is a Professor Emeritus at Palomar College, where he taught for 24 years. Upon retirement Will started drawing and painting again in 2010. He soon won the “Rookie of the Year” Award in the 2010 5th Annual US Plein Air Painters Open on Whidbey Island, Washington. He continues to receive awards for his work in juried exhibitions throughout the West, and has had three one-man exhibits at Santa Ysabel Gallery. Learn more about artist fellow William Gillette and his work
LINDA TODD-LIMÓN, Photographer
A native San Diegan (and now a Julian resident), Linda enjoys capturing a wide variety of images from her local environment as well as from her travels across the United States. Her first career was as an educator working twenty-seven years for the Cajon Valley Union School District. Linda holds a bachelor’s degree from Boise State University and a master’s degree from San Diego State University, and studied photography at the San Diego In Focus Learning Center. She has won awards at the San Diego County Fair’s photography exhibits as well as being voted “Favorite Artist” in the Julian Arts Guild 2016 Art Show. She is a proud Guild member and its current president. Learn more about artist fellow Linda Todd-Limón and her work
ROBERT TREAT, Photographer
Robert is a San Diego-based artist whose photographs and paintings are exhibited and collected nationally. Primarily nature-oriented, Robert’s photographs exhibit a strong structural awareness often verging into unconscious abstraction. His formal training is in Architecture and Fine Arts from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After graduation, his interests expanded to include large format photography and film animation. Along with his photographic and painting career, he has been involved in the Hollywood animation industry for over thirty years. He has also had the opportunity to study and teach with a variety of creative individuals including Ansel Adams and Chuck Jones. Learn more about artist fellow Robert Treat and his work
A Journey from Creation to Exhibition
The artistic work of the Visiting Artist Program unfolds across three distinct exhibitions:
- Ilan-Lael Harvest Moon Dinner: Be among the first to experience these new creations at the exclusive unveiling and silent auction/sale held during our annual Ilan-Lael Harvest Moon fundraising dinner.
- Santa Ysabel Gallery: The Ilan Lael Foundation (ILF) and the Santa Ysabel Art Gallery (SYAG) will co-curate a captivating exhibition showcasing the visiting artists’ work. This show allows the community to engage with the artwork in a dedicated gallery setting, offering opportunities for purchase.
- Union Hall Gallery: The artistic conversation continues at the new Union Gallery in San Diego’s vibrant Golden Hill neighborhood. This exhibition brings the program to a wider audience, further amplifying the connection between Ilan-Lael’s creative community with the San Diego art scene
It was James and Anne Hubbell’s wish to make art and nature accessible and an inspiration for all ages. They placed their magnificent Santa Ysabel home, studios, and beautiful lands into the Ilan-Lael Foundation’s care with the abiding belief that art changes society for the better — and that we are best-equipped to carry forward this idea. With this in mind we ask you to join us on this very important project and support the James Hubbell Memorial Art Fund that makes programs like Visiting Artist Fellows possible.
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