Riding the Wave with Larry Vigon
By Leslie Dinaberg, The Santa Barbara Independent
"Wave" by Larry Vigon (second from right) is selected at the 2026 Solstice Santa Barbara winning poster | Photo: Courtesy
Artist Larry Vigon is certainly on a roll. An internationally renowned designer and artist whose work in the music industry includes iconic album covers for Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Counting Crows, and Tom Petty, among others, Vigon was recently named as the winner of the 2026 Solstice Santa Barbara Poster Art contest, with his piece, “Wave,”selected as this year’s official image.
Vigon is no stranger to the Solstice team. Last year, his poster design for “Harlequin Dream Dancer” was the winning artwork. Asked about the appeal of Solstice, Vigon said, “As an artist, you like to get your work out there. And I’ve been fortunate, as you know, with the work I’ve done that’s been seen all over the world by hundreds of millions of people. And there’s something about that that’s quite infectious.”
Vigon, who moved to Santa Barbara in 2019, continued, “I still want my work to be seen. And it’s not hundreds of millions of people, but it’s many thousands of people who will see the work. And I find that gratifying. Absolutely. You know, I donate all my time, too. It’s not like a money thing. It’s kind of giving back to the city that I now call home.”
The Solstice posters are chosen from dozens of entries by local artists, with the winning piece selected through a combination of community voting and input from Solstice board members, advisors, and staff.