Oil painting has become a part of my life. It is not all consuming as with some other artists but rather a, "reason," for contemplation and looking for the possibilities that exist with seeing nature, objects, form and spacial relationships that allow for them to be interpreted and put down on canvas. I feel I was given a gift that transcends time and place and each painting is an extension of who I am and what matters. My paintings tell a story that is in some way a part of me. How I see a sunset or landscape is transferred in the form of personal expression and creativity that has a stamp of enduring enjoyment. I hope you enjoy my art as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Jean has lived on a farm in Aptos, CA for over 40 years, juggling parenting with a part time adult educaton job. She was a potter, watercolorist, and currently has focused on oil painting. Since retiring, she has taken her paints to Italy, New Brunswick, and more frequently, New Mexico. But, since flying is not what is once was, she is increasingly content to paint the farm, valley and local coast. Her art education was from Cal State Northridge, UCSC and Cabrillo, in addition to private workshops from Karen Frey, Charles Reid, Hedi Moran, Randall Sexton and Tjasa Iris in Italy. She is a member of the Pajaro Valley Arts Council, Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters' Association, and the Santa Cruz Oil Painters, a wonderfully active and supportive group. In November, she puts the paintsaway and makes wreaths, a different art form. Locals also come out to the farm to make their own wonderfully asymmetric wreaths.
I had no idea I would end up being a painter, even though my life has always been infused with art. Dad taught us the Munsell color system when we were in elementary school, showing us tubes of natural pigments and how they combine. I was surrounded by beautiful art as I grew up, spent family together time at museums, and was involved in photography and many needle crafts. Art History was a natural major for me in college.
My desire to paint arose from my father's example as a wonderful watercolorist, a lack of purpose in my life, and a SPECTRA artist's lesson to the third grade class I was teaching in 2004. Due to my background in art history/art appreciation, excellent instruction and some natural ability, I have experienced a bit of success.
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.”
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.
Inspired by the spectacular scenery of the Monterey Peninsula I started painting en plein air, or outside on location. This became a passion and eventually fine art painting became my full time vocation. My interest in subject matter is not limited to just the landscape, I also paint still-life, architecture and figures.
Drawn to aesthetics at a young age, Marni was compelled to pick up a camera and begin to document what she saw. Launching a career in the film and television industry in 1979, she amassed 25 years of experience, credits and a respected reputation. But in 2003 Grossman travelled to West Africa to photograph a group of drummers and, there, she turned her camera towards the extraordinary she found in ordinary life. Since then Marni has endeavored to become a student of what is elusive and beautiful in the real and the natural.
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.
Michele LaMontagne Hausman creates original landscape oil paintings both en 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. Constantly honing her craft, Hausman sees painting as a life long adventure of study and exploration. She has studied at the Scottsdale Artist School and with modern day master artists in the USA and in France. Hausman also teaches painting at her Soquel studio and through the Santa Cruz Art League.