You might not know this great Sacramento artist who has dedicated his life to teaching | Opinion
Sacramento’s art scene has demonstrated a resilience unlike some other California cities. Our local art community has grown, and done so organically. A Sacramento-area creative mixed-media artist in high demand, William Ishmael, recently said, “the number of quality artists in Sacramento has truly blossomed;” and it’s true. The works of several top-quality Sacramento-area artists are on exhibit in galleries both here and far away.
Opinion
Judging from the styles we see here, it’s clear Sacramento artists Wayne Thiebaud and Gregory Kondos, both with big reputations, influenced or at least inspired some of this new batch of Sacramento painters. It’s worth noting that Thiebaud and Kondos did substantial stints as art teachers, including at UC Davis and Sacramento City College respectively, while they produced many of their famous creations.
Like the late Thiebaud and Kondos, many current Sacramento artists have taught art or now teach it. Few have trained more local artists than one teacher who’s been on the art education scene in Sacramento for decades: David Lobenberg.
If you ask Lobenberg, 77, what he did for a living, he’d likely not respond with “artist.” Rather, he’d be almost certain to reply, “art teacher.” In doing so, he sells himself short. His art is extraordinary — and surprising in its vibrancy. Any viewer of the bulk of his work would be compelled to at least think the guy had perfected the art of the colorful portrait.
The purist might say Lobenberg’s portraits are better described as caricatures. That gives us license to compare his work to who some believe to be America’s most important caricaturist, New York’s late Al Hirschfeld. Yet Hirschfeld’s most famous pieces favored black and white. His use of color was comparatively rare. In contrast, Lobenberg’s portraits are flowery and expressive. His pieces explode with color.
It’s not a stretch to suggest that if you’d compare a Lobenberg watercolor portrait to a Hirschfeld, you’d at least entertain the thought that Sacramento’s Lobenberg could easily have been as famous.
Even so, Lobenberg prefers to identify as an art teacher — and he seems to love it that way. His students seem to love him, too. At the former School of Light and Color in Fair Oaks, owned and operated by professional artist Susan Sarback, Lobenberg occasionally did stints as a special course instructor. Sarback remembers those times and the budding style Lobenberg was teaching.
“David had a very engaging way with his students,” Sarback said.
It was at Sacramento City College that Lobenberg’s true passion for teaching art bloomed. An adjunct professor of art there for nearly 20 years, he has, in more recent years, offered his courses independently. His classes nearly always sell out, and many would-be students are relegated to a waiting list.
As artist Sarback noted, Lobenberg’s teaching style is engaging. He often brings his students up to the lectern to watch him perform a certain touch — a touch he then invites them to return to their space and emulate, reminding them to add their own influence. Always jovial, always gregarious, Lobenberg inspires his students (and some accomplished artists have taken his courses, an endorsement of sorts of his teaching cred).
Yes, his work has been on display from time-to-time at various public spaces and galleries around Sacramento. But such showings have been rare. More frequently, he’s judging an art contest on the East Coast or appearing in magazines ranging from “Watercolor Artist” to “Style Magazine,” demonstrating his “California Vibe” teaching style.
About once a month, he breaks free from his local courses and sells out classes from West Texas to Florida, or the plains of Nebraska to the lake country in Wisconsin. It’s almost like what drives him is “got the art teaching bug, will travel to anywhere people want to learn.”
While we make note of Sacramento’s impressive group of next generation flourishing artists, including the many enjoying commercial success, we need to be thankful for those who share their craft. David Lobenberg, even in the autumn of life, seems indefatigable in this.
John Roberts has run non-profit organizations in Sacramento for 40 years.
