I received my bachelor’s degree in Advertising Art from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, in 1965. After spending most of my working life in the Printing Industry, I have decided to pursue my lifelong interest in painting. My work primarily consists of landscape watercolors, although I occasionally work in pastels as well. With the use of both on-site and studio painting, I try to capture the beauty of our local scene, choosing to depict what one might see while visiting Santa Cruz and the surrounding areas.
In 1996, I moved to California where I found a new countryside of unlimited vistas, incandescent color, and an ocean full of drama and light. Suddenly I was attracted to landscape and it changed everything. I picked pastels as my medium and for a number of years successfully sold my work through galleries. I entered The Academy of Art University and graduated Cum Laude with a BFA. After graduating, I joined several artist groups including Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association (MBPAPA) where I served on the board and as President, and continue as Signature Standards Chair. Recently I was featured in the North Light publication Incite, Dreams Realized, The Best of Mixed Media.
I am perhaps best known for my work helping to restore Monet’s gardens and photographing them for 30 years. My photos have traveled with Monet’s paintings to eight museums, and are published annually in calendars and the award winning Monet’s Passion: Ideas, Inspiration & Insights from the Painter’s Gardens. My passion for nature and appreciation for beauty has inspired my dedication to diverse projects around the world from remote African villages, the Amazon rain forest, and Japan to permanent installments in corporate collections.
As a popular keynote speaker and workshop leader, I use the beauty of my photographic images, personal stories, garden metaphors, and humor to inspire the imagination of my audience to connect with what has heart and meaning for them, and to express their own creativity in their work and personal lives.
Karen often paints en plein air in an effort to capture the essence of the landscape in Northern California, where she lives. Karen moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from Atlanta, Georgia in 1989. She states: “I feel very fortunate to live in California surrounded by the magnificent landscape with its endless variety. Painting allows me to closely examine nature and I now notice everyday things that otherwise would have passed me by. Time slows down when you paint or sketch. It’s magical.”
Mary Lou has a classical art education. She received a bachelor's degree at Syracuse University, followed by graduate work at CCAC in Oakland. After an early career teaching art at Salinas High School and Monterey Peninsula College, she worked for a number of years as a designer and as Director of Publication for Saint Mary's College in Moraga. Mary Lou has received many awards and exhibited through the Bay Area and nationally, including Oil Painters of America Annual Show, Washington D.C.; Plein Air Painting Festivals in: Carmel; Marinscapes Festival; Carquinez Scene on the Straits.
Her works are in collections throughout the world and she is represented by galleries in San Francisco, the East Bay, and Marin County. She teaches Plein Air workshops on a regular basis through the Walnut Creek Continuing Education Program.
Sheila is known for her luminous paintings of her native California and the West. Prior to becoming a full time artist, she had a distinguished career as a city and county planner, working on open space and resource conservation issues. She now translates her love and respect for nature into her paintings. Prior to establishing herself as an artist, Sheila had a distinguished career as a city and county planner. Her work on open space and resource conservation issues won numerous regional and national planning awards. Her love and respect for nature are now being translated into her paintings.