Sally
Bookman
Paul Brent
Ruth Burr
Sidonie Caron
Erin Dertner
Sharon Engel
Zoya Gorelik
Judy Howard
Phillip Jaeger
Myla Keller
L. Galen Larson
Linda Lee
Sue McNary
Ellie Marshall
Jessel Miller
Carolyn Oltman
Jann Pollard
Grace Charlotte
Schlesier
Mikki Senkarik
John St. John
Beverly Wilson
Judy Wise
Paul Youngman
Sally Bookman:
Sally Bookman was born in London, England and lived there until
the age of fourteen, when she moved to Portugal for a couple of
years with her parents. She then returned to England and took up
painting, studying art basics and oil techniques at St.
Martin’s School of Art and Design. At nineteen, she gave up
art and moved to Australia to find the sun, working in various
jobs. Later, she followed the sun to California where she resumed
her formal education. She went on to do advanced studies at the
University of California, Berkeley, and later earned a
Master’s and a Doctorate Degree in Cultural Anthropology.
However, this was not really what she wanted to do. She wanted a
more direct, everyday hands-on experience with interesting
people, more personal involvement.
After marriage and a brief period of time in the Mid-West, her husband and she returned to California where they began a family. . . and found a new career in real estate and enjoyed it immensely for 12 years.
In 1986 she decided that she wanted to return to painting as much as time allowed, and tried a few courses at a local college just to get back into art. She became more enthusiastic with the discovery of watercolors! During the following years, she had the good fortune to come to know and study with several nationally renowned watercolor artists.
With a whole new world opening up to her, she was taken by the variety of effects that could be produced with watercolors. Soon, she was exhibiting at outdoor art festivals, galleries, and at state and national watercolor exhibitions. She was now able to express to others what she sees, experiences, and finds interesting in life.
She is now a Signature Member of the Society of Western Artists. She has been published in several publications by Rockport Press, has an image hanging in the boardroom of the World Trade Center, and had one of her paintings featured in the 1994 calendar, Women Artists in America.
But what is most satisfying is knowing that ordinary people love and appreciate her work. Often, as they view it, she sees in their faces a recollection of some happy memory, or the sweep of some emotion brought on by the play of colors, and she realizes that she brings some measure of joy into their lives. Personal involvement with people. . . through art. . . is what her life is really all about.
Paul
Brent:
Paul Brent was raised in Southern
California and received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from
the College of Environmental Design at the University of
California at Berkeley. Since 1969 he has lived in Florida, and
in 1983 he was elected into the membership of the National
Watercolor Society. He was the seventh artist from Florida to be
so honored by the National Watercolor Society. Paul is also an
active member of the Southern Watercolor Society and a former
board member of the Florida Arts Council
Paul Brent's work is a reflection and reinterpretation of the
environment. At ease with the multiple techniques of watercolor,
his work stylistically blends traditional realism with the
contemporary impact of expression and abstraction.
"I hope to increase people's awareness of the fragile nature
of our environment. Without preservation, this beauty and all of
its benefits can be lost."
Numerous products bearing his images are currently on the market,
including sheet designs manufactured by Springs Industries, table
top accessories by Pimpernel, hand-loom tapestries by Mere Cie,
and other designs for home accessories.
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Ruth
Burr:
"My greatest pleasure is to be
able to share the wonder of a special place or moment, through my
paintings. Any talent I possess is a gift from God, for which I
am very grateful." Full of peace, joy, and adventure, Ruth
Basler Burr's paintings mirror the person.
As a professional artist, Ruth has been featured as "Artist
of the Month" at the Bullocks showrooms for ten years. With
over 55 solo shows to her credit, she has sold in excess of 2,400
paintings to private and corporate collectors all over the world.
The TransAmerica Corporation commissioned her to paint 72 scenes
of the West for their offices. Other corporate collectors
include: Glendale Federal Bank, The Robinson Development Co. of
Newport; Weyerhouser Corp. of Washington, Exclamations of San
Francisco, The Headington Companies of Dallas; Ingham Coates and
Payne of Pasadena; and many professional offices.
She received her training at UCLA, Glendale and Pierce Colleges,
and studied with more than 50 of the world's leading artists. As
a teacher of painting, she has devoted 12 years sharing her
knowledge, skill and inspiration to over 600 students, some of
whom are today's highly regarded artists. Ruth has taught in the
adult division of the Los Angeles city schools, Pasadena City
College and Brand Art Center in Glendale.
Ruth has been honored as "Artist of the Year, 1992" in
Buena Park and is one of four artists to be featured in the 1992
Los Angeles County Fair.
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Sidonie
Caron:
Sidonie Caron arrived in the Pacific
Northwest from her native England in 1965. She had received her
art training at St. Martins School of Art and Central School of
Arts & Crafts, both in London. There she developed the
impressionist style which characterizes many of her works. In the
landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, she has found an almost
unlimited variety of subject matter in which to express her love
of the region. Sidonie is represented in galleries in Portland,
Seattle, and San Francisco, and her works have found homes in
numerous public and private collections across the United States.
In addition, she has several paintings in the collections of the
"Percent for Public Art" programs of Oregon and
Washington. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
Sidonie has given Mère Cie permission to reproduce, in tapestry
form, her designs Summer Garden, On Golden Pond (Scarlet Lake),
Lupins, Sisters Country-Summer, Here We Go Loopy Loo (Salvia),
Arboretum (Scarlet Olive Grove), Blooming Poppies in Olive Grove
(Olive Grove), and Lake Shore.
Erin
Dertner:
"I call myself an escape
artist" says Erin Dertner with a sweet smile and a definite
twinkle in her eyes. "My paintings tend to idealize reality,
and I think people relate strongly to them because they provide a
break from the intensities of life".
"As strong as the subject matter is, her technique is
stronger," say Tomas, Erin's husband, business partner and
biggest fan. "Her brilliant colors and masterly portrayal of
light give her work a vibrancy, an aliveness. Your eye can return
again and again to her pictures and never grow tired of
them."
A fourth generation Californian born in San Jose in 1957, Erin
was fortunate enough to grow up in an atmosphere that nourished
her gift and way of seeing. Erin often works on location,
capturing the feeling and mood of a place. An avid photographer,
she relies on photos to provide details, then completes the piece
in her home studio.
It's an atmosphere of joyous activity around Erin's house, always
an art project on the easel. "I try to grab moments of
inspiration as they appear in the midst of my everyday schedule.
Our family is very active and life keeps us so busy that
sometimes I wonder if I'm taking enough time to stop and
appreciate the small fragments of beauty around me. Yet not a day
goes by that something doesn't turn my head. Usually something
simple, like the passage of sunlight through the lace curtains of
my kitchen window, or the way the late afternoon sun sets the
Cypress trees aglow."
"My endeavor then, is to try to capture those images in a
tangible way through the ability God has given me and pass them
on to you; to share my inspirations, and hope they speak to your
heart as they have to mine." Erin and her family currently
live on the beautiful Mendocino coast of Northern California.
Sharon
Engel:
"A perfect day is to work in
the garden in the morning and then to spend the rest of the day
painting. I strive for strong effects of light and color.
Focusing the viewer's attention on a pleasing setting, I make
them a participant rather than an observer."
Sharon Engel's work is influenced by her travels to gardens and
seashores across the United States, Europe and Hawaii. She
garners great inspiration from the large garden that surrounds
her home with clouds of blooms, arches covered with roses,
singing fountains and benches set among fragrant flowers and
herbs.
Sharon's work is represented in both private and corporate
collections across the United States and in Europe and Japan. Her
paintings are reproduced on Carol Smith greeting cards, and one
of her pieces was featured on the cover of the 1988 Artists of
Oregon calendar.
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Zoya Gorelik:
Zyamina (Zoya) Gorelik is an accomplished printmaker,illustrator,
and designer living in New York City. She has had various shows
and installations in NY, NJ, & DC: such as
"Conversations" at the Henry Street Settlement, NYC and
"Art-o-Matic", DC. Her illustrations include character
development and rendering in several different media. Here most
recent work includes: "Building Bridges" interactive
exhibit for Explore-It-ALL Science Center in Maryland,
"Mexico's Flora And Fauna" a mural for Capital
Children's Museum in DC, and "Dinosaurs of the District of
Columbia" for the Dinosaur Fund in DC. Presently Ms. Gorelik
is working on an ongoing series of print scrolls called
"Identity".
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Judy
Howard:
Judy Howard began her art education
at Los Angeles' Chionard Art Institute's summer session in 1955,
received her Bachelor of Arts from San Jose State University in
1958, and her Master of Fine Arts from Southern Oregon State
College in 1973. From 1975 to 1979, she participated in Millard
Sheets' summer watercolor institutes. Her watercolors have been
shown in numerous group and one-person shows throughout Oregon
and Northern California. In 1967, one of her works was chosen to
represent Oregon in the exhibit titled "Salon of the Fifty
States", shown at Duncan Galleries, New York City and Paris,
France. In 1975, she was chosen Oregon Artist of the Year and in
1983 was appointed as a commissioner to The Oregon Arts
Commission by the Governor, a position she continues to hold.
From 1963 through 1979, Judy taught art at the university level
and in the public schools, working with students of all ages. She
has produced a video in which she shares her watercolor
techniques and her love of painting with anyone who is
interested, whether they are a beginner or at an intermediate
level. Judy's watercolors are in collections throughout the U.S.
and reproductions of her work are distributed internationally. In
1979, she opened Hanson-Howard Galleries in Ashland, Oregon. The
Gallery, which she still co-owns, has become a prestigious
showcase for West Coast artists. Once each year, the Gallery
features Judy's work in a one-person show.
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Phillip
Jaeger aka Dan
Westervelt:
Phillip Jaeger has always been a
maverick; he is a man not afraid to explore all the possibilities
that life and art have to offer. It is this iconoclastic approach
to living that makes Jaeger's work profoundly memorable.
Born in Louisville, KY in 1948 to a career army officer, the
artist lived a somewhat nomadic existence in his early years.
Between 1966 and 1968 he attended Florida State University,
majoring in foreign affairs. From 1968 to 1970 he attended the
Wharton School, working his way through as an Over the Counter
Trader. After migrating to the West Coast, Jaeger earned a degree
in American Studies from CSU Fullerton, and also a teaching
credential. He subsequently entered Pepperdine University where
he was awarded a law degree.
It didn't take Jaeger long to become disillusioned with the world
of law. "I suppose that I went to law school for the purpose
of self-validation," confides the artist, "but I felt
completely hidebound by the creative limitations
encountered there."
Jaeger's lifelong passion for collecting art soon led him to
consider the possibility of making art. In 1982, he rented a
studio to see whether his creative impulses could be productively
harnessed. "That was many years ago, I have never looked
back."
Although Jaeger learned drafting skills in the early 1960's under
the tutelage of famed landscape architect Edward Durrell Stone
Jr., he is basically self-taught. This lack of formal art
training has proven to be a benefit, since he is not bound by the
rules of color theory, perspective and two-dimensional design;
"The idea of rendering a sky of green or oceans of peachy
pink, has never given me trouble, it is the overall image that
holds my attention, not the components."
"I am very fortunate" states the artist, "to be
doing something I absolutely love doing; creating images which
stimulate the senses of the viewer". Jaeger's work has
indeed stimulated the senses of private and corporate collectors
alike, including ATT, IBM, American Express, NBC Studios, Hughes
and Boeing Aircraft.
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Myla
Keller:
For Myla Keller, every aspect of her
individual character has come to play a role in the creation of
her art. Her independent childhood, love of open spaces, sense of
adventure, strong family life and sense of order are all
reflected in canvases that speak with confidence, optimism and,
inevitably, hope.
Myla grew up in the small towns that dot the Sweet Grass Hills
along the Montana/Canada border. She found serenity in the wide,
open spaces of the Sweet Grass Hills, a sense of freedom that
today compels her art. "I could draw in grade school, but it
wasn't encouraged. My efforts didn't conform to the community's
narrow perceptions of "art". After being discounted by
a teacher in the eighth grade, I gave up drawing. I was 19 before
I even dabbled at it again."
She attended Western Oregon State College from 1969-1972 for
formal training. "I wanted to find out how much I knew and
to have my work evaluated"
"I was 42 before I came into my own as an artist. Because of
the environment in which I grew up, I never really got to be a
child. I accepted adult responsibilities very young. It
wasn't"t until I discovered the child in me and gave myself
permission to explore, to be free, that I began to bloom as an
artist. Now there's no stopping me."
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L.
Galen Larson:
L. Galen Larson grew up surrounded
by flowers on a dahlia farm north of Lynden, Washington. After
graduating from Western Washington University and traveling for a
year, he began his career as a graphic designer in Houston,
Texas. Since returning to the Northwest in 1979, Larson had owned
and operated Galen Design Association in Mount Vernon, serving a
wide variety of clients from agricultural, industrial to
high-tech interests. His work continues to receive national and
regional awards for design excellence and has been published
internationally.
In 1986, he established the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Poster Series. He designed and produced its first poster, but is
perhaps best known for his Tulip Poster Trilogy Series
(1990/1992) . Larson has also produced limited edition
contemporary botanical prints as well. Further, his floral
illustrations have been Published by Hallmark Cards and Sunrise
Greeting Cards.
Larson states, "Flowers are something that we can take for
granted or they can be seen as a symbol of hope for us and a gift
from a Creator that loves us."
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Linda
Lee:
Linda Lee Kinman was born in central
Oregon where she lives today with her husband and children on
their two acre rural homestead in the foothills of the Cascades.
She has been a full time artist for ten years and paints forty to
sixty hours a week.
She specializes in two main areas of subject matter. First, the
beautiful Oregon and California coastlines with their towering
giant redwoods and delicate spring flowers near the ocean
beaches. And second, the California and Arizona deserts in the
springtime when the colorful and fragrant array of wildflowers
can be enjoyed. She likes to spend the early spring months in
these areas both painting and researching her subject matter.
First Place "Best of Oils" has been awarded to Linda on
numerous occasions in the Oregon Trail National Western Art Show
in both Portland and Eugene, Oregon. She has also received that
same award at the Gene Autry Western Art Show in Palm Springs,
California. The latest of which Mrs. Autry purchased for her own
private collection.
It is Linda's expressed desire that her work bring many years of
enjoyment and pleasure to all who have them. Also that they will
be a constant reminder of the great natural beauty we all have to
freely enjoy.
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Sue
McNary:
Sue Tushingham-McNary is a familiar
name to art collectors who have discovered the tranquillity,
warmth and sensitivity of her work. She has become one of
Southern California's most widely collected and respected
artists. Hundreds of her pieces sail the seas worldwide in the
wardrooms, captain's and admiral's cabins, and dining facilities
of navy ships. Corporate headquarters, hotels, restaurants,
banks, and hospitals have added Sue's work to their collections.
Many of her originals are included in the collections of several
cities, as well as the National Archives in Washington DC.
Sue has painted professionally since 1965. She began formal art
training in Collingswood, NJ and graduated with an art degree
from Columbia College in Columbia, MO. After several years of
studying with respected artists both in the United States and
abroad, she spent a year of intensive training at Michigan State
University and established a solid artistic reputation during
three years in New York.
In 1972, Sue moved to San Diego where she served four years on
the Board of Directors of the San Diego Art Institute and was
appointed to a five year term on the San Diego County Arts
Council.
In 1983, she opened the Sue Tushingham-McNary Art Gallery in the
Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, CA. She continues to show her
work in art shows in the United States and Japan.
Sue's work reflects a special merger of mature artistic talent
and technical skill. With her sensitive perceptions, she gives us
a permanent record of beauty and worth that endures.
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Ellie
Marshall:
Ellie Marshall grew up on the East
Coast studying at Douglas College, as well as attending The Arts
Students League in New York City. She studied at that time with
Ivan Olinsky and Stanley Turnbull. While in England, she studied
with Mr. Spencer Ford.
More recently she has lived on the West Coast and has studied
with Seigel Bongart and Perry Acker. Ms. Marshall is a former
member of Westwood Art Association and the Pacific Palisades Art
Association. As a member, she had many one woman art shows. In
the Napa and Mendocino areas, she has been the recipient of
several awards. She also taught children's art in the schools.
Her paintings are in private collections throughout the United
States, England and France. Her work is in both water colors and
oils. Most of the paintings are executed on location to capture
the full emotions and color of the moment.
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Jessel moved to Oakland, California in 1971 after graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Fine Art and a minor in Museum Directorship and English. For many years she struggled in the art world. Graphics and fashion design were her bread and butter, yet she held her first love close to her heart and weathered great odds to make in in the fine art arena.
Her first big break came in 1980 with a one person show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Jessel had focused on faces for many years and this exhibition was entitled "Bay Area Personalities". Maya Angelou, Herb Caen, Louise Cavis, Melvin Belli and Diane Feinstein were just a few of the 25 personalities she painted for an exquisite show of watercolor portraits.
Napa had always reminded Jessel of her small town roots, so in 1984 she picked up her life and opened the Jessel Gallery in Napa, California. It began with 300 square feet and 30 artists and 15 years later, the gallery is 9000 square feet and 300 artists strong.
Jessel has just
completed her third children's book, which is part of a Trilogy
entitled "Mustard".
The heart and soul of these books reflects her childhood and the
series is filled with lessons of love and kindness. A recent goal
is to have her books on the Oprah Book Club. Her dream is to
carry the great treasures she has received from her fortunate
upbringing, out into the world through her writing and art.
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Carolyn
Oltman:
Northwest artist Carolyn Oltman was
born in Seattle, Washington in 1948. In the early 1950's, her
family moved to Bellingham, where she has chosen to remain.
Artistically inclined since early childhood, Carolyn pursued a
career in art, receiving her B.A. in Art Education from Western
Washington University in 1971.
From her studio in her home, Carolyn produces her watercolors,
acrylics, and paper sculpture. Her love of the Northwest is
revealed through her subtle use of color and design. Carolyn's
paintings and sculptures seem to embody the softness of a
Bellingham spring. Her work is exhibited in galleries along the
Washington and Oregon coasts, and in private collections in the
U.S. and Canada. In addition to her artwork, Carolyn also serves
on the Bellingham Municipal Arts Commission and Co-owns and
manages Hamanns Art Gallery, where some of her works and those of
other Northwest artists are on display.
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She has exhibited her paintings in numbers juries shows, winning many awards, and has had several One-person Shows. Jann has studied art since childhood, including attending many watercolor workshops throughout the country. The artists is associated with several watercolor societies and is a professional member of the American Institute of Interior Designers. It was the study of architecture in college that helped to develop her love of old world buildings and street scents.
Her work is
represented at the Gallery in Burlingame, California and at The
Cottage Gallery in Carmel, California.
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Schlesier has been selected a signature/artist member of the following organizations: Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, Laguna Plein Air Painters, Professional Plein Air Painters, American Artists Professional League, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, National League of American Pen Woman and Women in the Arts. Schlesier has recently accepted the position of Second Vice Chairman for the California Art Club/San Diego Regional. Her biographies have been included in the Encyclopedia of Living Artists and Artists of California, Hometown Heroes, The Artist Magazine (July '98) Art of the American West published by Rockport Publishers in March of '99, and the Nations Register's Who's Who.
Having studied
under the tutelage of teachers at the Art Students League and
Scottsdale Artists School such as Joseph Mendez, Joyce Pike, Joe
Abbrecia, Frank Jenco, David Laffel, and other; Schlesier
continues to hone her skills. Ms. Schlesier makes sojourns
exclusively to paint in the Sierras and Deserts of the Southwest
each spring and fall. Schlesier has given workshops in Plein Air
painting, studio painting and tying the two together.
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Mikki Senkarik:
Mikki Senkarik, in her late 30's has jettisoned to the very top
in the highly competitive field of Medical Illustration. In less
than 15 years she has gone from doing a few sketches and layouts
to illustrating over 45 major medical books. She was awarded the
"Illustrated Medical Book Award of Excellence" on five
different books in the past eight years by her peers.
Senkarik's eyes sparkle as she says, "I've been an artist all of my life, actually I began drawing when I was only five. My mother gave me drawing pads and pencils instead of "Crayolas" and coloring books. I was given objects to draw, not line drawings to color within".
The strength of Senkarik's work is no mystery. She has a wonderful foundations. A Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Florida and a Master of Science Degree in Medical Illustration from the Medical College of Georgia.
Since starting to
exhibit original oils in 1989, the demand has been extremely
strong, resulting in her having many exhibitions and several one
artist gallery exhibits. She is represented by galleries in:
Florida, Arizona, Texas, California, Hawaii, Costa Rica and
London. Mikki is also the exclusive artist for a national Equine
Tee Shirt Company - "Flying Horse Studio".
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John
St. John:
John St. John was born in 1911 in
Oak Park, Illinois, graduating from the University of Kentucky in
1935. Taking up painting as a pastime, he quickly mastered the
techniques of watercolor and oil painting while training under a
number of teachers. By the 1950's after studying at the Ringling
School of Arts, Florida, he traveled to Mexico and worked with
Jose Gutierrez in vinyl and fresco mural painting at the Mexico
City College.
After returning to the United States, St. John became the pioneer
in exterior mural painting, being commissioned by the city of
Coral Gables, Florida to paint the first exterior monumental
mural on a public building in the United States, entitled,
"Epochs of Florida History". After a few years of mural
painting, St. John moved to Puerto Rico where he spent 12 years
painting the Puerto Rican countryside and the sea. In 1963 he
returned to the mainland and began painting in North Carolina,
Virginia, Kentucky and California. By this time he had developed
his own distinctive style, using among other colors, dark reds
and pale greens to depict scenes of nature and people. After a
few more years of painting in Hawaii and California he founded
his own private gallery in Solvang, California where his
paintings can be seen today.
St. John participated in many one-man exhibitions of his
paintings between the years 1960-1975. His paintings are included
in numerous permanent collections across the country.
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Beverly
Wilson:
A native of the San Francisco Bay
Area, Beverly holds a Fine Arts Degree From UCLA where she
studied with noted artists Richard Diebenkorn and Jan Stussy.
Soon after graduating, she spent a year in Italy, selling her
sketches as she traveled through Tuscany and Umbria. It was this
love of the wine country and the tranquillity of rural life which
brought her to the Napa Valley in 1983.
For the last eight years she has owned a design business,
specializing in illustration and graphics for the wine industry
and is just now beginning to devote more time to personal
artistic expression.
The source of inspiration for much of her work is the beauty and
simplicity of everyday life. She is impressed by the more obscure
and overlooked subjects and attempts to turn the ordinary into
the extraordinary by the use of vibrant color and bold
composition. The combination of reality and imagination work
together to capture the moment. What is implied is just as
important as what is obvious.
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Judy
Wise:
Judy Wise began her art career as a
printmaker in 1977 and has since become an accomplished
watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by her concern for
vanishing habitats and features brightly colored tropical fish,
exotic birds and animals such as iguanas, jaguars and squirrel
monkeys.
A graduate of Arizona State University, Judy has been juried into
numerous exhibitions, among them The Pacific Northwest Arts and
Crafts Fair and The Oregon Printmakers' Annual. Her work can be
found in many collections, including the Oregon Health Sciences
University and The Graphic Arts Loan Collection of the University
of California at Berkeley. Judy currently resides in the vicinity
of Portland, Oregon. She has given Mère Cie permission to
reproduce her designs Zebra Moray, Red Macaws, Blue Heron, and
Aracari & Tanagers as tapestries.
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Paul Youngman:
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Paul Youngman has rapidly become
one of the Napa Valley's finest and most popular painters of the
California Wine Country. Relocating to the Napa Valley in 1994,
Youngman found it to be the ideal place to paint.
Early in life, he began to interpret the awareness of his surroundings into watercolor landscape paintings. Now, as a painter focusing on the wealth of subject matter provided by California and the West, that sensitivity to his environment is stunningly apparent.
Youngman majored in Fine Art and Graphic Art at the University of California in Los Angeles, and became an architectural and free-lance illustrator. After twenty years in the commercial art field, he chose to expand upon his natural ability as a painter and watercolorist. He is known for his painterly, yet accurate harbor scenes, landscapes, and architectural subjects.
Through numerous one-man shows and invitational exhibits, Youngman's painting have won wide recognition among serious collectors, which include such notables as Leon Panetta, Mrs. Muhammad Ali, Elmer Bernstein, and Elinor Dohahue.
Paul Youngman is a member of the Oil Painters of America and the California Art Club, founded in 1909 by the early California Plein Aire Painters.