Local artist Maryvonne LaParliere recreates wooden art piece, which will be displayed at Carriage House
Several years ago, the Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce put a call out to artists in the Valley to paint a series of wooden horses that would be displayed throughout Santa Ynez. The call was answered, and many local artists painted large wooden horses, which can be seen at various locations throughout the township.
One of the artists was Maryvonne LaParliere, who specializes in decorative painting, intricate hand-painted furnishings and décor, murals, trompe l’oeil, and fine and decorative art. She painted a colorful scene of the surrounding environs. It was displayed on the corner of Edison Street and Highway 246. Then in August 2023, it was stolen. This was the second piece of art she’d had stolen, the first being a mural she’d painted for Santa Barbara.
“I reported the theft to the police and put the information on all manner of social media, but it was never located, nor was the thief,” said LaParliere. “By October I had heard nothing back, so I sent a letter to Linda Small, the executive director of the Chamber, as well as to every board member to express my disappointment, as I was still upset about the matter. Heather Bedford, the owner of Inkings, sent me a nice letter offering her horse to me. She had requested a horse to paint herself but had never gotten around to it, so she offered it to me to paint in compensation.”
LaParliere painted it over the course of a year, here and there, whenever she had time, using high-end professional acrylic paint with three coats of primer and two coats of varnish to protect it from the elements.
In March, she received a call from Small asking how the project was coming along. Although LaParliere had just finished the piece, she was hesitant to donate it again. She wanted to make sure that it would be on display in a safe place.
“I wrote to Krissy Castillo, director of the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and Parks-Janeway Carriage House, my thought being to donate it to the museum, but she was on leave,” LaParliere said. “In March, she emailed me about the unveiling of my new horse on their patio, behind the wrought iron gate.”
An unveiling of the newly painted and donated “town horse” was held at the annual meeting of the Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce on March 20 at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum. The horse now resides outside the Carriage House in the patio section of the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum so passersby can see it in all its glory,and remain safe. Many of LaParliere’s art pieces are also in the homes of well-known celebrities.
“I was so happy to donate the horse, which I call ‘Lucky One,’ to the Museum and Carriage House,” said LaParliere.“Horse and Carriage, it’s perfect and protected.”
The Chamber was also happy to have another piece of art in the museum.
“The Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce is so pleased that we’ve been able to facilitate this donation of Maryvonne LaParliere’s beautiful pony ‘Lucky One’ to the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum. It seems fitting to have had the pony unveiling at our Chamber’s Annual Meeting of Members,” said Small.
LaParliere is presently working on recreating one of Hans Christian Andersen’s papirklip pieces on a pillar upstairs in the newly reopened Hans Christian Andersen Museum.
For more information, visit laparliere.com, mv@laparliere.com or call (434) 962-3407.
