I am a native of Fresno, California and received my education in this community from grammar school through the University undergraduate and graduate levels. I have been a professional Interior Designer for many years, but I established myself as a studio artist, when I was introduced to painting as a pathway to healing after a family tragedy in 1986. I paint in the representational tradition of Alla Prima, which means “from life,” and I engage in a sensitive dance of brush and paint – color and light – to create beautiful works of art as still life; figurative, and landscape paintings. I enjoy the camaraderie of an art group as well as work shop study with master painters, and I am currently in a mentoring continuum of study with the acclaimed young artist Daniel J. Keys.
Kati D'Amore is relatively new to painting, although her father was a well-known painter in Germany. She now paints beautiful landscapes, seascapes and amazing portraits. Her oil paintings are "fresh", never overworked and filled vibrant color placed by free, painterly strokes.
To me, painting is a deeply rooted soulful experience to be shared. I am a self taught artist and, although my journey has had many different turns, I have never forsaken my calling. I feel connected to my truth when designing my paintings and that good energy fulfills my life’s purpose.
My Japanese, Jamaican, and African American heritage gives me a wellspring of history to bring to the fore. My paintings are developed by using all types of tools that allow me to keep my childlike approach. I love painting, spraying, sponging, even finger painting acrylics and gels.
My art is inspired by encouraging words from artist Ernie Barnes who told me he too is self taught and to keep improving my techniques, study, and take a bold approach to my work. It also brings me great joy of teaching art to children through the Monterey Arts Council in Monterey, California.
Visual Arts
I use many types of media which allow children a freedom of expression including recyclables, acrylics, charcoal, oil pastels and wood shapes. Art is nonjudgmental. I encourage my students to enjoy the process and not focus on the outcome. My lessons go hand –in-hand with building self-esteem and self-worth. Art, to me, is the universal language of happiness, love and preservation of our earth.
Lee Munsell was born in 1945 in San Francisco. He studied art at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California. His art graces the walls of corporations and private residences throughout the United States. Lee has traveled extensively, most recently to Paris. When he travels he always takes photographs, and together with a few pencil sketches, he has inspiration for new work when he returns to his studio in Southern California.
I was born in Cape Town, South Africa with a passion for the outdoors. The Monterey Peninsula has been my home for 30 years. My artistic journey with painting started 13 years ago, inspired by my horses in the landscapes of ever-changing light in their pastures that surround my home in The Steinbeck Hills. Whatever I paint has to capture my attention, otherwise it's just another thing to do!
I was born in the “coal regions” of Pennsylvania, and my surroundings were coal dust grey. In my painting, I see my world in terms of vibrant color. I’m fascinated by contrasts: light and dark, lost and found, wash in juxtaposition to hard edges. Painting for me has become an expression of my inner serenity and clarity.
Collage • Creative Expression • Drama • Photography • Mandalas • Masks
"My goal is for students to express themselves in meaningful and beautiful ways. I encourage teamwork and sharing insights on values and goals. I am a mixed media artist and have pioneered the practice of expressive arts therapy and the use of tools in human resource development."
Linda is a professional photographer and multi-media artist with a masters in Creative Arts Education. She received national honors for excellence in program design. Her creation, Salinas Children – Thinking Through Art, exhibited at the National Steinbeck Center and at Salinas City Hall, was a culmination of children’s classes she taught at City Elementary After School Programs and the Migrant Education Art Academy at La Paz Middle School as well as inter-generational community workshops in East Salinas. She is currently working with students on probation and with Second Chance programs.
Lorrie Fink is a painter and designer who lives and works in Oakland, California. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Fink acquired her life-long curiosity about the arts and sciences while roaming the galleries of the Smithsonian Institution. Her father — a physical scientist who trained as a glassblower — encouraged her to ask questions and find her own answers. Fink frequently travels to locations where she records the landscape in photographs and study sketches. Working with oils, she interprets images of plant life she has observed, using the attitude and expressiveness of botanical forms to examine human perceptions.
Visual Arts
I have a strong passion for the arts and a love for children. I try to instill into all of my students that “everyone is an artist”. Together we work to perfect our craft through creating art. My students learn how to use various types of media including: chalk and oil pastels, watercolor and acrylic paints, clay and more.
With a degree in both Arts Education and Museum Studies, Marissa works closely with students, encouraging them to express themselves. When she graduated from C.S.U.M.B, her primary focus with working with middle school children to explore their self-identity. A professional oil painter, Marissa also uses numerous other mediums in her own work as well as in the classroom. She is currently the art instructor at Steinbeck Elementary School in Salinas.