Charlotte White and James Bates Preserve Kern County’s Landscape Through Paint and Ink
Through plein air landscapes, pen-and-ink drawings, and roadside inspiration, two local artists capture the beauty hidden in Kern County’s industrial landscape.
By Kern Magazine Editors, Published on May 23, 2026
During Kern Magazine’s “Roots & Rigs” series earlier this year, we sat down with two local artists whose work captures the grit and beauty woven through Kern County’s oil fields, agricultural landscapes, backroads, rail lines, and rural edges. Though their artistic styles differ, both James Bates and Charlotte White share something rare: the ability to slow down and truly notice the places many people pass by every day.
For Bates, a retired educator and lifelong Bakersfield local, creativity has always quietly existed alongside daily life. His detailed pen-and-ink drawings, watercolors, and oil paintings often spotlight the industrial landmarks that helped shape Kern County—pumpjacks, steam engines, train stations, and oil rigs transformed through careful craftsmanship and perspective.
White approaches the landscape differently. A plein air painter, retired art teacher, and longtime Kern County resident, she paints directly from the roadside, setting up her easel beside orchards, oil fields, museums, and open stretches of highway. Her work captures fleeting light, changing seasons, and the colors tucked between industry and agriculture.
Together, their work tells a larger story about Kern County itself: a place where oil fields meet mountain views, where history lives beside innovation, and where artists continue finding inspiration in landscapes others may overlook.
We sat down with both artists to talk about creativity, retirement, Kern County, and the beauty hidden in plain sight.
Charlotte White
You’ve had such a fascinating journey before arriving in Kern County. How did all those experiences shape you as an artist?
My father was a minister, so we moved around quite a bit. I taught art on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, then in Venezuela at an American school in Caracas, before eventually coming here. I think all those places shaped the way I see people and landscapes.
Your work is heavily rooted in plein air painting. What draws you to painting outdoors?
Most of my work is done plein air. I go choose where I’m going to paint, set up outside, and work directly from the landscape. I love being out there in it.
Some of your paintings focus on oil fields and industrial landscapes. What inspires that?
I think there’s a lot to see here as an artist. Right now, there are iris fields north of Wasco that I’ve been painting, and then I’ll go sit beside oil wells or orchards. Kern County has so much variety.
You also create artwork on newspapers, maps, and found materials. Can you share more about that?
There are artists who paint on newspapers, shopping bags, maps—really anything you can paint on. This summer I’m driving to Texas, and every day I’m going to pick up a newspaper somewhere along the route and create a piece of artwork on it. By the end, I’ll have a whole collection from the trip.
After teaching art for decades, do you still enjoy mentoring other artists?
Right now I teach a figure drawing group on Mondays at the Bakersfield Art Association. On Thursdays, I also encourage plein air artists to join me at the Kern County Museum. We paint there from 9 a.m. to noon.
Kern Magazine’s Signature Questions
What do you love about your Kern County community?
The people here are mostly friendly, and they’re curious about what you’re doing. I’ll be sitting on the side of the road painting, and people stop to ask questions. There’s always something interesting happening around you.
When you eat local, where’s your spot?
Honestly, I spend so much time out painting that half the time I’m grabbing something on the road. But I do love local coffee shops and places where you can sit and sketch awhile.
When you like to get out of town, where do you go?
Road trips. This summer, I’m driving all the way to Texas and back, taking different routes both ways. I love seeing how landscapes change mile by mile.
James Bates
You’ve spent decades in education. How did art stay part of your life throughout all of that?
As long as I can remember, it’s been a part of me. People I went to high school with still tell me, ‘Jim, you were always doodling and sketching caricatures on paper.’ It’s just always been there.
What inspired you to seriously dive into creating artwork after retirement?
The majority of what you see, I’ve created since I retired. Once I retired, I finally had the time to really focus on it. Art’s one of those things I’ve always enjoyed, and now I get to spend more time doing it.
Your work captures a lot of Bakersfield’s industrial history—oil rigs, trains, and older architecture. Why are you drawn to those subjects?
Oil has just been something you grow up with in Bakersfield. You see it every day. One gentleman who worked in the oil fields told me he never thought a rig could look beautiful until he saw my painting. I appreciated that.
You work in so many different mediums. Do you have a favorite?
I’m eclectic. I’ll do watercolor for a while, then get tired of it and go back to pen and ink. Then maybe oils or acrylics. Too much of any one thing, and I need a change.
Kern Magazine’s Signature Questions
What do you love about your Kern County community?
People give Bakersfield such a bad name sometimes, but look at where we are. You can drive two hours and be at the beach, Sequoia, Los Angeles, or Vegas. We really have access to everything here.
When you eat local, where’s your spot?
You can’t beat Wool Growers. I also like Red Lobster and Spanish food. I belong to the Lions Club in Lamont, and we meet at El Pueblo twice a month, so I get my fill of Mexican food there, too.
When you like to get out of town, where do you go?
I love Tahoe. I also love Cambria, Morro Bay, and Sequoia. That’s what I love about Bakersfield—you can drive somewhere beautiful for the day and still make it back home that night.
