Introduction

I think abstractly and I speak in color. I see the color in the objects that have no color. Words alone cannot explain my dreams visually are the only way I can capture you. Passionate would be the best way to describe my drive and relentless pursuit of becoming great. I'm dynamic andmy versatility is unmatched. Challenges are awesome they help you grow. The Visual Virtuoso: Shellz:. It is spoken as a name but it is used as a gift.

Artist Statement

I paint my dreams, stand for what’s right and I sit for what’s wrong. Self-taught artist is a great way to describe my current position as an artist. Animals are what I prefer for the moment because they convey an important message of where we are as a species. People are usually drawn to my work because of the vividness, of color and the amount of detail. My current goals are to have my craft fully support me. My inspirations are different from most artists because what moves me is differently. My inspirations are Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee. From the perspective, that both of them were faced with a tremendous amount of adversity and still prevailed and sharpened their skills along the way.

Biography

Native to Altus America aka God’s country. Born Christopher Sean Shelly and The name Sean resonates because that’s what my momma called me. Sparked by intrigued and guided by ambition at the age of 4 my oldest brother came home; with a piece he had drawn. I wanted to be just like my brother, although he was almost a decade older than me. He drove me to become better even though I was still at a young age myself. It was a self-portrait of him kneeling next to a basketball. The challenge to draw it was on! A few years later my brother lost his life due to gun violence by the police. I wish to paint a world of life and beauty not death and destruction.

Claudia Kruse lives in El Cerrito, is a member of the El Cerrito Art Association and approaches her artistic interests as a passionate hobbyist.   Mixed media painting. collage and gel printing have been her recent focus.  As a member of the Friend of Calligraphy, she is finding ways to incorporate letters and forms of writing into her art work.

Claudia will be sharing a recent project that includes a handmade book and case as well as a presentation on the use of calligraphy in handmade bookmaking. Photos from her recent attendance at the Roman Holiday 2024 International Calligraphy Conference will be part of her talk as well a examples of this type of work from her long time interest.

Claudia encourages SLAA members in attendance to bring in handmade books of any kind that they may have created themselves or purchased as examples of this art form.  A resource list will be provided for those who may want to learn more.

Barrie Rokeach, Bay Area professional freelance and commercial photographer, specializing in aerial, industrial, architectural and advertising photography, has over 50 years and 2000 hours in the air photographing from aircraft that he flies himself simultaneously while photographing. He has been known to rent helicopters, as well as capture photos from commercial airplanes at 30,000 feet. He has photographed everything from landscapes, to buildings, to portraiture, including the construction of the new East Bay Portion of the Bay Bridge. He taught photography after getting his MA in Design/Photography at UC Berkeley and among his awards; Barrie was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley and received a Kodak Professional Photographer’s Showcase Award as well as having one of his aerial photos printed as a Forever Stamp by the United States Postal Service. His fine art aerial imagery has been exhibited at dozens of museums and galleries across the US., and his images have been commissioned by public and private institutions.

Barrie’s lecture will focus on excerpts from his three books: Rising From the Bay, (about the construction of the new East Span of the Bay Bridge); Timescapes: California From The Air, (about the diverse geological forms across California), and The Kodak Guide to Aerial Photography, (a how-to manual for small planes and helicopters aerial photographs).

The public is invited to join us for a fascinating and informative talk about the beauty and majesty of aerial photographs by one of the leading Bay Area aerial photographers.

For more information please contact Kat Kelly, President of the San Leandro Art Association at sanleandroart.contact@gmail.com

Debra A. Collins is a local artist living in Castro Valley.  She earned her BA in Studio Art from Cal State East Bay in 1978 and had the pleasure of studying under Clayton Bailey and Mel Ramos. In 1980 she earned a California Teaching Credential and began teaching in Hayward and Union City.  After 36 years she retired from James Logan High School. Since then she has been focused on developing her own art. By chance she came across the amazing paper cut work of Beatrice Coron and Karen Bit Vejle. This changed her direction as an artist.  Debra’s hand cut paper works have been shown at the Cimarron National Works on Paper Exhibition,  the de Young Museum Open show (2020 and 2023), and the 2023 Shanghai International Paper Art Biennial.  She is a board member of the Guild of American Papercutters and the Diablo/Alameda branch of the League of American Pen Women.

ARTIST STATEMENT
In my hand-cut paper art, I explore the delicate nature of paper itself, coaxing it into intricate forms that celebrate its fragility. With each meticulous cut, I delve into the vulnerability of this medium, revealing its capacity for astonishing beauty. Through my work, I aim to showcase the extraordinary images that emerge from the marriage of meticulous craftsmanship and the humble material of paper. Each piece is a testament to the limitless possibilities inherent in this art form, capturing fleeting moments of wonder and enchantment. My art invites viewers to pause, to marvel at the fragility of existence, and to find solace in the enduring power of creativity.

To work along with the artist please bring the following materials?

- Exacto knife with 4, #11 blades

- small self-healing cutting of the type used by quilt makers ( Daiso is a good source for a cheap one.)

- pencil with an eraser

Linda Nygard is a certified Zentangle Method instructor. The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. These patterns are called tangles. You create tangles with combinations of dots, lines, simple curves, S-curves and orbs. These simple shapes are the "Elemental Strokes" in all Zentangle art. These patterns are drawn on small pieces of paper called "tiles." They are called tiles because you can assemble them into mosaics.

About Linda:

Linda is a Visual, Literary, and Performing Artist that loves to write short stories, explore Acrylic Pour Painting, and perform Improv. She also teaches those crafts to children in after school programs.

Linda brings Experimental Art, Jewelry, Zentangle, and Drama to Alameda’s AEF after-school programs. She has also taught Art Fundamentals, Ceramics, Mosaic, and Woodworking for other children’s programs.

This mix of teaching opportunities has given Linda the most rewarding “jobs” of her life; fulfilling in that it goes beyond “work” and can only be classified as a “lifestyle.”

You are invited to SLAA’s February 13 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo starts at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events.

Local artist, Linda Nygard, will do a presentation about travel watercoloring to capture memories and place. This presentation is for beginners to those who want to take capturing travel memories to a whole new level.

SLAA members will also be displaying artwork for the Artist of the Month Contest. All ages are welcome to participate in this free event.

For more information contact sanleandroart.contact@gmail.com

You are invited to SLAA’s August 8 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo starts at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events.

Our demo artist this month is Denise Howard, an extraordinary colored pencil artist. Denise has offered to give an inspirational presentation. “Making Time for Your Art” is for career people with an art itch, stay-at-home parents with an art itch, new empty-nesters, new retirees, people who want to create but don’t know how to start, or anyone who wants to figure out how to fit art-making into their life. Attendees will gain some ideas and resources to help jump-start their art journey.

SLAA members will also be displaying artwork for the Artist of the Month Contest. All ages are welcome to participate in this free event.

For more information contact sanleandroart.contact@gmail.com

You are invited to SLAA’s May 9 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo starts at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events.

Local artist, Mike “BAM” Tyau, a graffiti artist and muralist, will be giving a presentation from his body of work and will discuss his techniques and inspirations.

Mike was selected to design the mural now on display at the San Leandro BART station. His associate, Norman “Vogue” Chuck, painted the mural in December 2022. All ages are welcome to participate in this free event. For more information contactsanleandroart.contact@gmail.com

You are invited to SLAA’s May 9 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo starts at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events.

Our demo artist this month is fine artist, Ranjini Venkatachari.

Ranjini will be demonstrating her unique colored pencil technique where she uses Neocolor 2 water soluble crayons on Ampersand pastel board. This technique speeds up the drawing process and creates a very smooth finish reminiscent of oil painting.

Ranjini is a fine artist working primarily in the medium of colored pencils for more than 18 years and draws inspiration from her rich cultural heritage. She works out of her home studio in San Ramon and also teaches colored pencil classes locally and all across the U.S. Ranjini completed her Still-Life Atelier Training at Gage Academy of Art in Washington.

Ranjini’s colored pencil art has been juried into several National and International shows across the US & UK, like the Salmagundi Annual non-member exhibition, Leading masters of Contemporary Realism (International guild of Realism), California State Fair, Women Painters of Washington and Colored Pencil Society of America’s International shows and UK color pencil society international show. Ranjini’s works have also been published in the Strokes of Genius 4&5, American Artist, International Artist, American Art Collector, Southwest arts magazine, Ann Kullberg’s COLOR Magazine & Art Guide Northwest. Ranjini is a five-year merit signature and a Lifetime member of the Colored Pencil Society of America (www.cpsa.org). Ranjini is the brand ambassador and featured artist for Koh-I-Noor USA colored pencils. She also is a juried member of American Women Artists and NAWA (National Association of Women Artists). Ranjini is part of the San Ramon City Arts Commission as an alternate and runs three schools in the tri-valley where she enjoys educating young minds with various art forms.

“Inspired by the finer nuances of simple everyday subjects, I embody my work with a variety of moods by using expressive color and dramatic lighting. Although I prefer to work in a realistic style, I like my art to be a passionate interpretation, rather than a replication of what I see. My drawings are thoughtfully composed, and I love telling stories through them.   Although I work on a variety of subject matter, I enjoy working on the Still-life genre the most using Origami models and reflective surfaces in trompe-l'œil style.”

All ages are welcome to participate in this free event. For more information contact sanleandroart.contact@gmail.com

You are invited to SLAA’s April 11 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo starts at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events.

Our demo artist this month is local artist, Linda Nygard. Linda Nygard is a visual and performance artist who loves to experiment. Her current projects include portrait photography, poetry, and her latest passion, Acrylic Pour. Linda also teaches art to children and adults.

Linda will be demonstrating the acrylic pour technique which creates easy, vibrant abstracts on canvas or boards. Acrylic paints are thinned, poured on to canvas, then manipulated, creating beautiful one of a kind abstract paintings. Stop by and see how easy it can be to be creative and be inspired!

All ages are welcome to participate in this free event. For more information contact sanleandroart.contact@gmail.com

You are invited to SLAA’s March 14 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo will start at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events. Our demo artist this month is local artist, Georgia Sommers. Georgia will be demonstrating a rubber stamp technique she uses to teach watercolor to those who don’t think they can do anything artistic. Come to the demo to see how easy it can be to be creative! This event is open and free to the public. All are welcome.

You are invited to SLAA’s February 14 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, in the Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo will start at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events. Our demo artist this month is abstract artist Diane Williams. She will be showing the technique of applying cold wax as a finishing coat for acrylic paintings. This event is open and free to the public. All are welcome.

You are invited to SLAA’s October 11 General Meeting and Demonstration at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, in the Karp Room. The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a half hour of social time and the demo will start at approximately 6:30pm after a short meeting of current events. Our demonstrator this month is Oakland resident, Luz Marina Ruiz, who is best known for her ability to transform 2D prints into sculptural artists’ books and installations with themes relating to water/boats. Her works are visual journeys, not literal representations of water. Instead, they focus on the fragility of our planet and our essential connection and dependence on water for survival. Although she works with challenging themes, the work represents the beauty, mystery, whimsy, and power that water holds. It’s a way to hang on to and honor what is at stake. Her work is held in private, special libraries and corporate collections. She currently teaches at California College of the Arts. For our demo she will give a slide presentation of her work. She will discuss the process of shifting from 2-D to 3-D with many photos of the original prints before they were transformed into artists' books. She will bring some books and drawings that fuel the work. This event is open and free to the public. All are welcome.

Mary Curtis Ratcliff was a sculpture student at the Rhode Island School of Design in the 1960s. She then went on to become a founder of the Videofreex, a pioneering experimental video collective in New York. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970s, she has explored sculpture, mixed media, and two dimensional work. Ratcliff's work has been in 35 solo exhibitions and more than 150 group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, New Zealand, China and Japan.

Ratcliff’s work begins with taking a photograph. By manipulating material and form, she transforms images into three dimensional kinetic sculptures with exploratory shape and color. In this presentation, she will discuss her process including specific techniques of digital inkjet printing and adding color with acrylic, alcohol ink and Pēbēo. She will also share her method of constructing a sculptural object out of those photographs focusing on suspension, motion, and shadow.

Peggy Milovina Meyer has been drawing and painting as soon as she could hold a pencil.  She studied Fine Art and Biology at De Anza Community College in Cupertino and at San Jose State University.

In her work, Peggy strives to build a relationship with her subject and her goal is to bring the viewer into her world to experience the unique beauty, personality, and soul of a subject. Peggy works with colored pencil, graphite, pastels, and ink allowing her to marry detail typical of scientific illustration with intimacy, leaving the viewer feeling they somehow know and understand the subject. She is a realist, but the subject’s personality drives her work.

Peggy teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced classes in most drawing mediums such as graphite, charcoal, conte, colored pencil, and pen & ink.  Currently group classes are virtual but will be returning to in-person later this year.   She also provides instruction, coaching, and mentoring to high school students working on art and animation school application portfolios/requirements.

peggy@milovina-meyer.com

408-230-3939

Materials to bring to the demonstation:

• 130lb paper for wet media

• Ideally several sizes of pens such as: nib size 01, 03, 05. If you don’t have these, any fine point pen or black ball point pen will work

• To try washes, any one of these will work well: watercolor, black India ink, colored ink

• You will also need a pallet, assorted watercolor brushes or water brushes, or watercolor pens, 6” ruler, HB pencil, vinyl eraser, and paper towels.

Barbara Stanton is an award winning, internationally known, San Francisco Bay Area Artist. She specializes in miniatures, portraits (miniature & and full size) and figurative life drawing. Her charming landscapes, still lifes, animals and people are done in a highly detailed, traditional, realistic style. Many of them are small enough to fit into a dollhouse but don’t mistake them for toys. These are legitimate pieces of fine art!

"Nothing sharpens your drawing skills better then drawing from life". Barbara loves the challenge of drawing the human form and runs a figure drawing workshop in Livermore, most every Fri. morning. The drawing sessions are mostly from 20 minutes to 2 1/2 hour long poses. The warm-up sessions of one and two minute poses are called "Gestures".

In the past she worked mostly with pastels on the figure drawings but has concentrated on drawing on her IPad since 2014. "I am always challenging myself to learn new things and drawing on the IPad turns out to be a lot of fun!" Having drawn the figure every week for so many years, the drawings really started to pile up in her studio. Working on the IPad takes up much less space. Digital drawings can be printed on many different surfaces and sizes. You can even change the colors on them to match any decor!

Painting for more than forty years now, Barbara has mastered her technique and continues to seek new challenges. She is an IGMA Fellow (International Guild of Miniature Artisans), a signature member of MPSGS (Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society), MAA (Miniature Artists of America), Hilliard Miniature Society and CPA (Cider Painters of America). She is also an art instructor, teaching children and adults in Livermore, and is available for demonstrations and workshops.
Check out her website at www.barbarastanton.com.

San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave, Karp Room

Barrie Rokeach, Bay Area professional freelance and commercial photographer, specializing in aerial, industrial, architectural and advertising photography will be the guest speaker on April 12, 2022 for the next meeting of the San Leandro Art Association.

The Meeting starts at 6:00pm, with a business meeting and the lecture/slide show will begin at 6:20.

Barrie Rokeach has over 50 years and 2000 hours in the air photographing from aircraft that he flies himself simultaneously while photographing. He has been known to rent helicopters, as well as capture photos from commercial airplanes at 30,000 feet. He has photographed everything from landscapes, to buildings, to portraiture, including the construction of the new East Bay Portion of the Bay Bridge. He taught photography after getting his MA in Design/Photography at UC Berkeley and among his awards; Barrie was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley and received a Kodak Professional Photographer’s Showcase Award as well as having one of his aerial photos printed as a Forever Stamp by the United States Postal Service. His fine art aerial imagery has been exhibited at dozens of museums and galleries across the US., and his images have been commissioned by public and private institutions.

Barrie’s lecture will focus on excerpts from his three books: Rising From the Bay, (about the construction of the new East Span of the Bay Bridge); Timescapes: California From The Air, (about the diverse geological forms across California), and The Kodak Guide to Aerial Photography, (a how-to manual for small planes and helicopters aerial photographs).

The public is invited to join us for a fascinating and informative talk about the beauty and majesty of aerial photographs by one of the leading Bay Area aerial photographers.

For more information please contact Kat Kelly, President of the San Leandro Art Association at sanleandroart.contact@gmail.com

Interested in learning the Basics of Painting Alla Prima (outdoors, all in one sitting) in time for spring? The San Leandro Art Association is pleased to welcome Cathy Boyer, watercolorist, who will demonstrate the beginning steps to create Plein Air watercolor paintings. She will show how to create grey scale studies with a charcoal sketch and discuss the basics of painting: composition, value, color and edges. 

Contact Kathleen Kelly at sanleandroart.contact@gmail.com for information about the Zoom link, supplies needed or with questions.

About Cathy Boyer
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Cathy received her Masters of Fine Art in painting from the Academy of Art University in 2015, graduating with honors. To improve her drawing skill, she studied 19th century classical drawing for two years.

She is an active member of the California Art Club, Oil Painters of America and American Society of Marine Artists and Salmagundi Club, New York. She has also achieved signature status with American Impressionist Society, Inc. An avid plein air painter, she participates annually in Frank Bette Plein Air Paint Out, a fundraiser for the art center in Alameda, CA and most recently, Mendocino Art Center Paint Out, Mendocino, CA.

To view a recording of the demonstration, click here

Choosing your palette and mixing colors to convey mood, is a fun and satisfying practice. By connecting to your feelings and response to a place or image, you can use the powerful tool of color to enhance that mood by choosing and mixing hues and tones to support the emotions you want to capture and convey.

In this Zoom workshop, we will play with magical properties of color and practice mixing to reinforce mood. Color theory and practical tips will be covered, along with a refresher on the impacts of line and compositional elements on mood and perception. To practice color mixing with watercolors during the workshop, please provide a set of watercolors (primary colors are essential, and a few varieties of reds and blues will be helpful), watercolor paper (glued pad on at least 2 sides preferred), water, sketching pencil, and a fine point waterproof drawing marker, if you have one

To view a recording of the demonstration, click here

Debra Collins is a home town girl who has enjoyed living in the Hayward/Castro Valley area. She earned her college degrees from Chabot College and Cal State, East Bay where she majored in fine art. She taught high school art at James Logan High School specializing in drawing and digital media. After 36 years she retired to focus on her own art. In 2019 Debra won a commission from the Bay Ecotarium and Aquarium of the Bay to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the arrival of the world-famous sea lions at PIER 39 . In 2020 one of her papercuts was on display in the De Young Museum's Open show. She is currently a board member of the Sun Gallery, secretary of the Diablo/Alameda branch of the National League of American Pen Women, and board member the Guild of American Papercutters.

Demo Description

Improvised Paper Cutting
Come and enjoy an evening of improvised paper cutting. Let's take ordinary paper and cut something extraordinary! We'll follow Debra Collins' path from her childhood experiments of cutting snowflakes to one of her favorite, professional paper cutting strategies. All it takes is some simple tools, materials, and a willingness to let your imagination lead you.

Materials

• Scissors (the finer the blades the better)

• Craft knife (Xacto type with a #11 blade)

• Extra #11 blades

• Self-healing cutting mat (You can find reasonably priced ones at Diaso.)

• Compass

• Ruler

• A stack of copier paper and/or 8" origami paper

• White liquid glue

Sketch and Watercolor – Deepening a Sense of Place.

a Zoom workshop

To view recording of the demonstration click here

Sketching and watercoloring on the spot can deepen memories and sense of place. By taking a moment to sketch and color, you enhance your experience of a place and create a record of how you felt at the moment. In this Zoom workshop, we will cover travel sketching materials, how to recognize inspiration and set your focal point, and how to use the composition, shapes, lines and palette to record and express your feelings of the place. If you choose, you may join in practicing landscape sketching and watercoloring during the workshop. If so, please bring a photo image of a favorite outdoor place, watercolors, watercolor paper (glued pad on at least 2 sides preferred), sketching pencil, eraser, and a fine point waterproof drawing marker.

To view recording of the demonstration, click here

Julie is a Bay Area born artist working predominantly in kiln glass. Drawn to many processes and materials, glass became her focus as it has a way of bringing many other mediums together. She studied printmaking and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago, where her instructors encouraged a conceptual and interdisciplinary approach. This allowed for the freedom to explore many different departments including textiles, laser cutting and lighting design. Julie always had the goal in mind of turning her prints into 3D objects by printing on textiles and acrylic. After graduating Julie worked in the commercial screen-printing industry for years before landing a job at Bullseye Glass in Emeryville. This job changed everything and she became immersed in the glass world. After learning how to fuse her prints into glass she knew she had found what she was looking for – a new way to make her prints 3d!

Bullseye not only enabled a new medium, but also allowed for the opportunity to teach. Julie jumped into teaching right away, learning and growing with her students. A passionate instructor who encourages experimentation, her classes involved a wide array of fusing techniques from printing to casting to coldworking. 

Julie’s artwork inspirations come from sacred geometry, the magical, and the mystical. She creates objects and artifacts that whisper to our subtle senses. Julie also makes home and garden wares to bring the magic into everyday activities. You can see more of her work and process at www.juliewalker.net or on Instagram @j.walkerglass

Julie will be demonstrating how she creates her 3D portalpieces, a series that she started last year (2020). The portal functions visually as a momentary mental escape, a window that offers a look into another dimension. Using Bullseye glass she cuts, shapes, and creates layers of depth requiring multiple firings in a glass kiln. Component pieces are then stacked together and fused into one thick final piece that can be viewed as a freestanding sculpture.

To view a recording of the demonstration, click here

Captivated by the human form, figurative and portrait painter Sandra Jones expresses her homage through meticulous rendering and bold palettes. Employing painterly brush strokes of crisp and soft edges with hard shadows that cling to her beguiling subjects, the resulting piece commands the viewer’s attention to both detail and spiritual expression.

​“My determination is to capture my subject in a moment of introspective solitude and personal resolve,” Sandra explains. “The essence of the painting is the mystery of femininity - the sweet fragrances of strength, confidence, grace - conveyed through vibrant color and vulnerable emotion.”

Sandra Jones will be demonstrating two techniques for underpainting a pastel painting. Underpainting - particularly in a landscape - can help establish blocks of color quickly so that the artist can move on to the finer details of the composition. Method One involves using watercolor on substrate-appropriate pastel paper, and Method Two uses rubbing alcohol for a quick and even blending of the pastel. 

If viewers would like to paint along, here is a quick list of supplies:

• Watercolor paper OR sanded pastel paper

• Watercolors (liquid) - tube each of Ultramarine Blue and Yellow Orchre

• Small spray bottle with rubbing alcohol (70-90%)

• Jar of rubbing alcohols for dipping a 1-inch brush

• Soft or hard pastels (NOT oil pastels)

To view a recording of the demo click here

Living in the present I keep my heart and mind engaged in the moment.  I work to capture fleeting moments of beauty that revitalize and uplift the soul.  These profound moments embody universal truths. Some such moments are; the way a wave crashes upon the shore,  the golden moment before the sun sets over a grand expanse of land, a person at rest in a peaceful reverie, or the love and care that goes into the sacred preparation of a meal.  My goal is to uphold and deliver the time honored pursuit of representational beauty and all that it embodies.

Georgesse, an impressive contemporary painter whose engaging brush work attracts collectors nationally, has been recognized by the de Young Museum, Triton Museum, Oil Painters of America, Richeson 75 International Art Competitions, and National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society. 

To view the recorded demonstration click here

Rick Surowicz, a painter currently living in Medina, Ohio, discovered how much he enjoyed the challenges of watercolor in 1992.  From 1992 – 2000 he exhibited in regional and later, national shows.  After the birth of his first son in 2000, Richard took an extended break from painting to focus on his family and career.  It wasn’t until January of 2016 that Surowicz picked up his brushes again. He has been painting vigorously ever since.  His paintings have been juried into the National and International exhibitions of The American Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Louisiana Watercolor Society, Georgia Watercolor Society, Ohio Watercolor Society, and Splash 21.  In 2017 he launched his YouTube Channel “Rick Surowicz Watercolor”.    His channel has surpassed 50,000 subscribers and has over 3 million views.  Rick is a signature member of the Ohio Watercolor Society, and a current Trustee.  He teaches workshops around the country, and also offers live online classes as well as recorded self-paced courses.

Artist Statement

To look where others don’t look, to see what others don’t see, to say without saying inspires and challenges me as an artist.  I look through underbrush to see the river, I see beyond the flower to behold the foliage, and suggest the tree by painting the woods.  I seek to portray that which is not obvious. It’s not my intent to replicate but to interpret through the elements and principles of design. I enjoy the beauty of transparent watercolor and continue to learn and evolve with every painting, with every brushstroke.

A link to the recording of the demonstration may be found here

Finding the Freedom to Create, a discussion of the book by Dianne Mize.

Travel with Dianne Mize as she takes you on a journey to your inner artist and guides you with practical ways to set aside struggle and enjoy being the creative individual that you know you are. Mize inserts tutorials and brain teasers among philosophical ideals and psychological certainties as she compares the processes in the visual arts with music and shows parallels in an array of pursuits using examples from Mozart to Danica Patrick. She explores in depth how the composing principles artists use are direct reflections of a healthy human psychology as well as the organizing energy that keeps nature and the universe working. Whether you are just beginning or already proficient as an artist, Finding Freedom to Create provides an enlightening guide to help you find confidence in your inner voice and tap into solid resources that can aid you on the way to artistic wholeness.

A lifetime artist, Dianne Mize has taught visual arts in college and at her private school for fifty years. Her teaching philosophy is that when an individual responds from the deepest innermost self, the work is unique no matter the subject or genre. Dianne lives in Clarkesville, Georgia with her Schnauzer, Maggie. To get more information about Dianne and her work, go to her website, www.diannemizestudio.com.

“We are each born with a uniqueness that is our individuality.  If we exchange that uniqueness for a mask of any kind, we will not fully realize our purpose on this earth.  It is within this part of ourselves where we are truly free to create”

— Dianne Mize, Finding Freedom to Create

Link to recording of demonstration may be found here

A link to a study guide may be found here

Thinking art is another way of describing conceptually based art, or artworks that begin with ideas and themes. Today, many artists conceive of their art in terms of the materials and methods they use to create, for example—oil painting or charcoal drawing. Also, art classes often focus on developing technical art skills using specific media. While this is essential to developing an art practice, compelling art expresses an individual vision and helps viewers see the world from the artist’s unique, personal perspective. 

This presentation will first introduce the conceptually based art practice of Deborah Kennedy to illustrate the creative processes she uses to create visual art from ideas. The second half of the presentation will consist of playful experiential exercises to advance your own unique creative visions. These exercises will give you tools to generate your own personal concerns, themes, materials, and images to inform and inspire your artwork.

To prepare for these experiential exercises please bring these materials to the class: A topic area (for example: a modern take on a mythological tale, a family stories, the plight of bees, social support among friends in difficult times, etc.); find text related to your topic (from articles on the web, poetry, your own writing); find images related to your topic (printed from the web, from magazines, your own photography or drawing). Please also bring several large sheets of paper (18" x 24" is ideal) pencils, colored pencils or markers, scissors and a glue stick. If you don't have time to prepare, just bring paper and pencils! See you there! 

A link to the recording of the demonstration may be found here

We are please to have Michele LaMontagne Hausman as our February 9, 2021 demonstrator. Michele creates original landscape oil paintings both plein air and in her California studio. Her love for painting first led her to watercolors but in the mid 1990s she found her true love in painting with oils. For her demonstration, she will be reviewing mixing colors, drawing, underpainting and then top to bottom painting. She has provided a link to her website containing information which will be useful for those who wish to paint along with her during the demonstration: https://hausmanstudio.com/slaa-demo/

For a link to part one of the recorded demonstration click here

For a link to part two of the recorded demonstration click here

Painter living in Dinard. Britain. France.

 A self-taught painter, I rediscovered the artistic expression that enjoyed my childhood, after a rich professional career in the field of publishing and marketing design objects.

 Favoring the techniques of oil painting on canvas or paper, I try to express the lightness, the fugacity of a gesture. Using oil painting on my canvas, I try to capture some moment, the light of ephemeral landscapes, some feeling.

The depth of skies, treated with brush, is opposed to the texture and colors of the landscapes, whose vibration I seek with knife.