During an upcoming fundraiser, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Santa Maria will be auctioning off rare artworks by one of its most notable parishioners.

"Dad was very committed to St. Peter's. He attended his entire life," said Halcyon resident Marti Fast, daughter of late artist Nat Fast (1924-2013).

A prolific painter and scholar, Nat was well known in the local arts community for his vivid watercolor works as well as his roles as an art and art history teacher—leading classes at Ernest Righetti High School, Santa Maria High School, and Allan Hancock College during his decades-long career—and one of the Santa Maria Arts Council's founding members.

• Courtesy Image By Nat Fast
• STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER Attendees of an upcoming art auction in Santa Maria will have the chance to bid on a rare collection of late artist Nat Fast's preliminary sketches, which often spawned the large watercolor paintings he's widely known for, including pieces like Strawberry Pickers (pictured).

Marti and other members of the Fast family recently embarked on a joint trip down memory lane, assembling a collection of Nat's sketches, archived in storage, with the intention of donating several pieces to St. Peter's for its Sept. 16 fundraiser, Art in the Heart of the City.

"We got together as a family a couple weeks ago and went through many of the drawings and paintings that were left of our dad's studio work," Marti said. "A few of us have quite a few of dad's works, so a couple pieces came right off the walls to contribute."

Some of Nat's felt pen drawings featured in the upcoming auction were the preliminary sketches that spawned the larger watercolor paintings he's best known for, Marti said.

• File Photo Courtesy Of Danny George
• LOCAL LEGEND St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Santa Maria will soon be auctioning off artworks by Nat Fast (1924-2013), a prolific painter and art teacher who taught classes at Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria High School, and Righetti High School.

"Dad would sketch regularly," said Marti, who recalled her father's three-legged stool that he'd take with him anytime he felt like sketching something outdoors, whether it was to capture a slice-of-life scene of strawberry pickers in a field or when finding a subject during one of his backpacking trips.

"He just had this gift of capturing nature and movement and the joy of drawing," said Marti, who described Nat's artworks as giving off "some kind of contagious energy."

Marti and other members of the Fast family decided to donate a collection of Nat's sketches to St. Peter's for its upcoming benefit because it felt like a way to give back to an organization that has supported them over the years, especially during mourning and other times of hardship.

"We feel so connected to them, and we're grateful as a family to be able to do this all together and help a place that has supported so many. It's like being able to return some of the wonderful help and comfort we've gotten from the church over our lifetimes," Marti said. "It was our family church growing up, so it's kind of part of our DNA."

Proceeds from the art auction will benefit the church's various services, including its ongoing partnership with the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County to distribute food weekly to more than 200 local families.

Guests of the fundraiser will have the chance to bid on not only Nat's sketches, but the works of other Central Coast-based artists as well. Vineyard landscapes by photographer Kirk Irwin and tile and glass murals by mixed media artist Jane Manriquez will be among the auction items.

The event will also feature paintings by Marilyn Hoback Cronk, a former student of Nat's. Marti, who became an artist and art teacher herself, said that her father often spoke about how highly he valued his students.

• Photo Courtesy Of Marti Fast
• ART ARCHIVE Natalyn Fast-Huerth (pictured) and other family members of the late artist Nat Fast recently gathered to assemble some rare studio sketches by the painter in order to donate them to an upcoming fundraiser.

"We would have the best conversations about teaching," Marti said. "It was special to be able to talk through all that with him and what he loved about it and what made his students special."

In 2018, Marti retired from teaching at Hancock, where she used to enroll in art courses taught by her father.

"Back in those days, everything was slides and slide projectors," Marti said with a laugh. During one of her father's art history classes, she helped him switch slides as his unofficial "tech person" while he lectured.

"He was such an amazing teacher," Marti said. "He had this wonderful way of bringing the best out in people, and I feel like I had a natural training through his mentoring." Δ

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