My Passion for Professional Still Imagery & Fine Art:   

As a Freshman in high school Aaron was filling up two to three rolls of 35mm films per-week.  The Riekes Center (a non-profit organization in Menlo Park, geared to helping people achieve their goals) made it possible for Aaron to perfect his numbers & exposures which spurred his true passion for the fine arts.

While finishing High School in 2007, Aaron was already active in the business of photography and would soon become a professional in the field.  In 2012 Aaron taught his first Digital Darkroom Photography class to underprivileged High School students in the Bay Area.

After graduating from the Art Institute of California in 2015, Aaron witnessed first hand how most students attending underprivileged schools needed more resources and mentors who were passionate about the field of Fine Arts.  So, Aaron took on the task to build new innovative ways to best serve the community through the arts by extending digital photography classes to these students.  

In 2015 to 2020 Aaron became the Visual Arts Director at the Riekes Center.  In this role, Aaron was able to provide new photography equipment to students, and develop a curriculum for photography techniques and digital data organization.  

In addition to Aaron’s role as a Visual Arts/Communication Arts & Financial Aid  Director, Aaron worked as a professional Freelance Photographer in the Bay Area with a tremendous amount of work, which led to meeting key community stakeholders within the Silicon Valley. 

Aaron’s Photography has been the contributing photographer for the Atherton Living, Los Altos Hills and Mountain Home private magazines since June 2021 and current.  

Aaron has now successfully shown his first Art Gallery showing in 2022 at Mirada Art Gallery on Main Street, Half Moon Bay. 

During the months of September through December, Aaron will be showcasing a series of Ancient tree series (4,850 year old pine trees) at Ocean Blue the Vault Art Gallery on Main Street, Half Moon Bay.

– Aaron believes that these ancient trees have genetic information that can help us understand our climates within the planet. These series of photographs will hold history, resistance, adaptation and growth. 

Aaron Alvarez Mendoza

Aaron’s Photography

www.alvarezmendoza.com

media@alvarezmendoza.com 

I am a self-taught artist who begun my career in the Philippines in the mid 1980’s.Here in Silicon Valley,I exhibited with the Silicon Valley Open Studio for several years.I am also a writer with an upcoming book titled “Ameasians”.It is about the children of US servicemen left behind in Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City Philippines during the Vietnam War.It will soon be release by Kindle Publishing.

Vineyards by old barns, flowers cascading from windows and doorways, marshlands and oceans with cloud-filled skies, all executed in bold compositions with brilliant color characterize my work.    There is nothing I enjoy more than pushing oil paint around a canvas, especially when working in the solitude of nature, painting “en plein air”.  My vividly colored paintings, both realistic and impressionistic, are filled with the joy I feel when capturing a moment in time.

My work has been featured on event posters, used in products by a variety of companies, and is part of private and corporate collections in the US and internationally.   In addition to teaching art to all ages, I have always loved visiting art museums and recently spent 7 years leading docent art tours in San Francisco.

I have painted professionally for 40 years.  I have painted in locations around the world – but my subject of preference is always the beauty of Northern California, especially scenes of vineyards ablaze with color or coastal scenes of the area north of Half Moon Bay, California where I currently reside.

My personal challenge is to create the most striking photography on a personal level, then share that vision. My photography realistically represents the subject and composition. I also develop an artistic, creative from an original digital image that has an imaginative interpretation. 

I photograph travel, coastal scenery, landscapes, nature, cityscapes. 

I prefer vibrant color, like bold graphics and use the best light possible for impact.

I offer my artwork in a variety of media types. Metal print, acrylic, wood, canvas and framed art. I also have image merchandise & notecards on my website. Online ordering with direct fulfillment offered.

It’s been a joy to be part of the Half Moon Bay community, participating in various organizations, work & volunteer activity over the years, fortunate to be a local Coast-side resident for the last 39 years. The natural surroundings and local community enrich me. 

Barbara Masek Photography has also been a commercial photography service business since 2010. I work with clients in head & portrait, event, and promotional assignments. https://www.barbaramasekphotography.com 

https://www.barbaramasekphoto.com

View more digital photography art and sign up to receive previews of new releases, and seasonal promotions. 

https://www.barbaramasekphoto.com

Follow me on social!    

https://www.instagram.com/barbaramasekphoto 

https://www.facebook.com/barbara.masek 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbaramasekphoto    

Casey is a lifelong, Half Moon Bay local. She created Layers Of Intention during the beginning of her Master’s degree program in Mind-Body Medicine nearly three years ago as a grounding tool, through the creation of jewelry and her Reiki practice. Now as she enters her Ph.D. program in Mind-Body Medicine at Saybrook University, she still finds comfort in creating pieces of jewelry that are layered with intention through the metaphysical properties of crystals.

Christine Holub Carrig spent her childhood watching colors dance and flute across the ever-changing expanse of the Kansas sky. The magnificence of these wild skies and their glorious color schemes influenced her creative mind and love for color.

She pursued her passion for art and visual communication by studying graphic design at UC Santa Cruz. Here, she honed her design, composition, and color theory skills, which set the foundation for her visual voice. Christine then attended St. Mary’s College, where she studied marketing and graduated with honors.

As an artist, Christine’s work is characterized by an analogous color palette, asymmetrical composition, and sensitivity to negative space.

Her love of nature and a deep connection to the Mother Ocean and the Natural World is an influence and theme in all her work.

Christine’s artistic style has been shaped by the influence of two artists with whom she studied under for over ten years. The styles and techniques of Sue Grim Langert from Langert Fine Art and Susan Carkeek-Harris from Fly on the Wall Art School have had a significant impact on Christine’s own work.

Collection Title:

Looking Beyond…Nothing feels like a caress from the Mother Ocean, and nothing inspires my creativity more than a walk along her sandy arms or a ride upon her as waves tippity tap and ceaselessly dance. I treasure each creature and plant, those that live within her, and the ones that reside on her sandy stretched limbs – the mounds of decaying kelp, the rocks wrapped in soft moss, the slithering snails, the scuttling crabs, and huge sunfish that bob for warmth as they surface from the blue vastness. Nothing brings me greater joy than being near the Ocean. I have shared these heart-felt feelings on canvas and paper to honor the crimson fish, pulled from the deep, and the pieces of kelp and seaweed picked from the shore. By adapting my concept of beauty, I discovered that the contours, surface, and colors of shell fragments were stunning delights in their imperfection.I looked beyond a concept… and discovered that what was once beautiful had remained so.

Shell paintings:
The artist picked up each shell fragment and appreciated it for its grace of imperfection. The background is an abstraction of diatoms, creatures that support oceanic life. The colors are muted, and the shells are smooth to the touch. The concept that drove this series of paintings was to break preconceived notions of societal definitions of traditional beauty and perfection by looking beyond the obvious shape. Here, you will discover the uniqueness of each tin bit and the loveliness of broken fragments. And when these fragments are viewed holistically, you can then see the true definition of grace and beauty. The true wonder of this artwork is discovering the beauty of each shell fragment.

Fish prints:
The prints feature various rockfish that the artist herself pulled from the ocean’s depths. They are hand-printed and hand-embellished with watercolor and graphite. The artist’s love for these beautiful fish is reflected in paying homage to their stunning scales, large eyes, and full lips. They truly are incredible creatures! 

David Ebner has designed and created memorable art for Television and Cinema since he was 18 years of age. Listed by Wired Magazine as one of Hollywood’s most creative individuals, Ebner has contributed to over 70 teature films and has worked with notable auteurs such as Steven Spielberg, Guillermo Del Toro, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, Stephen Sommers Francis Ford Coppola, Taylor Hacktord, David Fincher, John Woo, Frank Darabont, among others

While only 22 years of age, Dateline NBC and Entertainment Tonight, the two leading cable programs were branded with title graphics created by Ebner and his team. On top of that, Ebner oversaw the graphics for HBO, Nat Geo Channel, ESPN,

skybox, among others, winning bUA and Fromaxx awards.

Ebner joined Guillermo Del loro for Hellboy, then as a producer and production partner for Pan’s Labyrinth, in which his team created the visual eftects. winnina over 1OU film testival awards and won the best in show at SiaGraoh’s Electronic |heater.

representing the very best in Visual Effects work that year

As the Creative Director and Senior VFX Supervisor of Catetx, his team created the films for Universal Studio’s “Wizarding) World of Harry Potter.” It is still considered the most successtul theme park addition, with an immediate boost of 1 million

annual attendees to the park

Due to Loners talents in art direction, toner was invited to direct a stage show, “Long one Dinosaurs which has been visited

Ebner’s watercolor, pencil and acrylic paintings reflect the emotion, passion, and teelings which percolate in his creative mind, drawing upon nature and imaginative inspirations as well as fascination by the works of Winslow Homer, Franz Marc, Claude Lorrain, Georgia O’Keete, and master watercolor artist John Ebner

Just as he has for many film directors, Ebner often reaches within for new possibilities and exploration to delight people, often The case with groundbreaking visuals That nave never been seen perore

About the Paintings:

Substates, fen, Eonet mes meatums and explotes unique hark making to emphasize a fecing.

The paints and substrate preparation are of the ninest quality to ensure richness or colors and longevity.

Limited Edition prints are Museum Grade Giclees, which will last two hundred to four hundred years if carea lor droperly.

http://www.davidebner.com

Eleven years ago we moved to Half Moon Bay. I love this beautiful place where green fields end at the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean.  We made our home in an old train station.  One day Coastside Land Trust brought a herd of goats and sheep to graze the coastal meadows. I owe those animals a debt of gratitude; their connection to the land, sea, and air shifted something in me.  After years of putting my creativity last, I moved it to the front of my to-do list.  I draw, paint and weave – finding inspiration from and incorporating elements of the natural world into the things I make. Often working in collaboration with my husband Steve we find delight in the creatures and elements in our garden and beyond.

Living in San Jose, CA, nestled in the bustling suburbs of Silicon Valley for over 20 years, Eileen Wong-Cervera’s artistic journey began far from where she finds herself today. Born and raised amidst the lush landscapes of Borneo, Eileen was captivated early on by the world of colors and shapes, spending her childhood days sketching and coloring. 

Despite her passion for art, the practical demands of life led her to initially pursue a different career. However, the unique circumstances of 2020 provided a chance to reconnect with her artistic roots and explore painting more deeply through online lessons. This period of rediscovery led her to embrace oil painting, focusing on landscapes, still life, and figurative scenes. 

Eileen’s work is marked by a commitment to realism, drawing inspiration from artists such as Audrey Flack and Jesus Navarro. Her paintings are characterized by their attention to detail and the ability to capture the essence of her subjects with clarity and precision. She continually strives to learn and grow, participating in online classes and workshops to refine her craft. 

Eileen Wong Cervera 

I started learning painting since middle school, The first painting I had ever painted was at the age of 16.

I enjoy painting realism, impressionism, landscapes, flowers and animals. all my paintings are high quality and 100% handmade oil paintings on canvas.

As an artist captivated by the endless beauty of the ocean. I find inspiration in the rhythmic dance of waves, the vibrant colors of underwater life, and the boundless expanse of the sea. Without any formal training or art education, I have cultivated a deep love for translating the wonders of the ocean onto canvas, as I interpret them. Creating art is self-care for me and allows me to nurture my mind and soul.

When I am not painting you can find me spending time with my family, or with my soul dog Lola, the best art and work assistant ever! I enjoy volunteering with animals (something I am VERY passionate about). I am also passionate about sustainability and work full-time with a local energy efficiency consulting firm, Resource Innovations. I am married with a 19-year-old son and our family has lived in this beautiful coastal town for 20+ years.

I am so honored to be included in the Ocean Blue Vault Collective with so many talented artists and I hope you enjoy your visit to the gallery.

XO,
Heather Prince
HMBheatherart

Owner and Artist Fierce Siren Studios

fiercesirenstudios@gmail.com

An avid beachcomber and history geek, I am an artist who incorporates beach finds into my work and writes about them.  Always drawing as a child, I won a competition to create my high school’s logo. I studied art and architectural history at the University of London as a teen, then graduated with Honors from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. Life kept me away from creating for decades, until the sea rekindled my spark. I founded Fierce Siren Studios in 2021 and think of myself as an artist whose inspiration is the waste of the past.

Shows and Exhibits 

City of Sunnyvale public art display April–May 2024

Women’s View 2024 Group Exhibit for Women’s History Month, Caldwell Gallery, Redwood City 

Coastal Arts League, “Anything Goes” juried show May/June 2024, “A Moment in Time’ juried show March/April 2024, “Textures and Contrasts” juried show Summer 2023 

Ocean Blue Vault – Summer 2024, Spring 2024, Winter 2024, Spring/Summer/Fall 2023 

Art Guild of Pacifica – “Myth and Magic” May – June 2024, “The Four Seasons” Feb-March 2024, “Light and Shadow” January-February 2024

San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture – Redwood City public art display July-August 2023 

Mohr Gallery, Menlo Park March-April 2023 

Los Altos Library public art display April-May 2023

2023 Festivals and Speaking Engagements 

Winter Art Faire 2023, Art Guild of Pacifica 

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival – Main Festival (juried) 2024, 2023, Local’s block (juried) 2022 

Santa Cruz Sea Glass and Ocean Arts Festival – Vendor (juried) and Presenter 2023, Vendor (juried) 2022 

Santa Barbara Sea Glass and Ocean Arts Festival – Vendor (juried) and Presenter 204, 2023

Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival – Vendor (juried) 2023 

Half Moon Bay History Association, Speaker “The History of Miramar” August 2023 

Published Articles and Art 

“You Say Potato” Article, Half Moon Bay History Assoc. website, April 2024

“The Amesport Pier: Lifeline to the World” Article, Half Moon Bay History Assoc. website, February 2024 

“Three Masts and a Ghost” Short story, Beachcombing Magazine, volume 38 September-October 2023

“Spirit of the Sea” Painting, Beachcombing Magazine, volume 38 September – October 2023

“Small Town, Big History” Article, Half Moon Bay History Association website, August 2023 

“Half Moon Bay History Reveled Through Glass” Article, Half Moon Bay History Assoc. website, Dec 2021 

“Basic Guild to Bottle Identification” -Article, Half Moon Bay History Association website, Dec 2021 

Affiliations 

Coastal Arts League 

Colony of Coastside Artists (CoCA) 

South Coast Artists Alliance 

Art Guild of Pacifica 

Silicon Valley Open Studios

Joni is a native of Half Moon Bay, and with so much natural beauty, I wanted to capture it in my watercolor art.

And since retiring, I’m able to devote more time, to what I love, painting.

Thank you for checking out my artwork at The Ocean Blue Vault.

I’m excited to be part of this season’s show at The Vault in Half Moon Bay! I’m happy for this opportunity to share my painted furniture with the community.

My furniture originates mostly as found, second-hand pieces that need new life. I love to see an old table or chair reborn with new color and a fresh purpose. My passion is to experiment with vibrant colors and unique shapes so that my furniture can inspire happiness in a new home. For me, it’s all about the shape of the “canvas.” I love to find discarded furniture and other objects with interesting curves and lines that come to life with vibrant violet, cobalt, tangerine, or magenta. Recently, I have started adding beads to some of my pieces because who doesn’t like playing with beads! My recent favorites include a telephone table, plant stand, shelves, and dollhouse furniture. 

I was lucky to end up on the northern California coast in the 1990s. My children grew up in Half Moon Bay, and through my talented artistic daughter, Genevieve, I started exploring the inner artist in myself. When Genni was 5 and started after-school art classes at Fly on The Wall Art School, the studio’s owner, Susan Carkeek, became her teacher and my mentor. My daughter is now an art student at the California College of Art in San Francisco, and I aspire to be half as good as she is. Susan continues to mentor and inspire me, and I feel privileged to live in a community that supports and nurtures the arts. 

Kim Zaidain

https://www.instagram.com/zaidainfurniturestudio/

Larry Salveson is a Software Developer in the San Mateo, CA area. He has enjoyed a lifelong passion for photography, which has evolved to include creating digital paintings. Larry’s images span a broad range of interests including people, abstracts, nature, and landscapes. 

Custom sizes are available for most images. Contact me directly for signed prints that I make myself. Other prints can be ordered from my website. 

Larry Salveson 

Larry@LarrySalveson.com 

LarrySalveson.com

Art is an expression of soul.  It is a blend of real and fantasy, the subject matter depicts places, people, objects and events from life.

Marilyn’s early art: sketches, paintings, and prints and her more recent art expression through fabric and glass are glimpses of life events and are driven by a need to express self.  Current glass , as seen in The Vault is a dynamic medium of light interacting with the art object.  It serves to enhance and move focus bringing a life to the art itself.

Marilyn has worked for the art department of Mira Costa Junior College and the Art and Lectures Department at University of California, Santa Cruz on work study grants.  She has been a member of art communities in Venice Beach CA, Santa Cruz CA , the Inland Valley, Riverside area, and in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Marilyn is a member of the Sanchez art community, Cradle of the Sun stain glass studio, and a community arts program at the Pacifica Senior Center.  She is a resident of Pacifica CA. and works as an Occupational Therapist at an acute hospital setting.

Awards:

Window Scape artist, Riverside CA

Artist Recognition, Sanchez Arts, Member Show

Shows:

Mountain Ranch Resource Center, CA

Cabrillo College, Santa Cruz, CA

Mira Costa Junior College, Oceanside, CA

Art Displays:

Ocean Yoga, Pacifica CA.

The WALCOTT

When the Roman Empire under emperor Claudius expanded into Britain, they introduced advanced technologies.  Locals were recruited as slaves, laborers, soldiers and miners, but more talented prospects were trained as skilled craftsmen including tile setters, smiths, masons, plumbers and such to support the new Roman industries and lifestyle.

When Romans abandoned Britain, these craftsmen were viewed as collaborators.  In the  western city of Bath, they were expelled from the city by the locals then in control and took up residence and built cottages outside the city walls.  The “Walcot” district of Bath exists to this day.  From there my direct ancestors, in name as well as a propensity for skilled crafts and the arts, has descended.

 I claim also to retain the genetic disposition of my paleolithic ancestors of the ‘tool maker’ clans from the dawn of human time, though this may be a bit harder to prove.

Leveraging some acumen for academic pursuits, a Vietnam war era college draft deferment was secured until a high draft number enabled me to drop out completely and avoid military involvement in that “police action”.  Otherwise the war in Vietnam was not avoided.  Drawn into the cultural turmoil of the times, the counter culture movements, internal conflict and general disruption,  lives were changed and misdirected.   I consider myself a Vietnam war veteran who fought on the home front.

By this i mean no disrespect to those who suffered, were wounded, maimed or died in military service.

A first career as journeyman carpenter building housing morphed into handyman/independent contractor.  After working through college night classes and attaining a degree, a second career began in 1978 until retirement in 2012 doing computer stuff; operations, facilities, networking and infrastructure for Ross Perot to begin and ending with Elon Musk.  This period included a series of  my own “House Sculptures” enhancing my estate and to the significant benefit of two ex-wives.

Wood carving became an obsession in the mid-90’s as stress relief.  Carving remains the focus of my artistic output and is enhanced by oil painting, drawing, photography, stone sculpture and joinery.

Early focus on NW Indian totem carving was based on an interest in anthropology.  Carving has diversified.  Traditional totem motifs are often included, but need to exist within my own creations.  

A wide variety of carvings include wildlife emphasis especially on birds and fish.  Fanciful creations get weird, portraits, paleontology is included, boat models, knives, walking sticks, depictions of buildings and any other subjects of interest; “all over the map” as they say.

Scrimshaw, carving of images on ivory, is another passion.  This material is legitimately restricted by concerns for endangered species and I no longer offer it for sale.  Ivory carvings from old ivory such as salvaged piano keys or from legally collected ivory varieties from Alaska natives have been used.

Since locating to the San Mateo County coast in 1997, I have grown to appreciate the local artistic community on the Half Moon Bay Coastside.  See my web site WWW.COASTSIDECARVING.COM

Maury Walcott

I entered the ceramic field as a kid playing outside in the freshly excavated clay hills of the San Francisco peninsula.  My work is driven by the love of moving clay, emulating the colors, patterns, shapes and textures of the sky, ocean and coastal hills.  

Teaching children and adults the joy of creating with this earthly medium has been a real delight.  Making custom work specific to clients’ desires is another.  At all times that I plan, form, decorate and fire their pieces, those people are roaming around in my mind.  I imagine them using my work and hope they will enjoy the connection, too. 

I fire porcelain, white, red and black stoneware clays to over 2360 degrees F in a mild reduction atmosphere in a 24cf updraft kiln.  It takes about 12 hours to fire and 24 hrs. to cool, which is very little time when compared to the life line of clay.

The flute-looking pieces on the walls which contain succulent plants, are planters.  They can be used outdoors or indoors with careful watering.

The flutes which are empty or have a blossom or twig inside are wall vases.  They have a little reservoir to hold water should you wish a bright blossom to light up a quiet corner or wall in your home.

The fish plaques above the flutes are actual skeletons of fish that we ate.  The pink color was drawn from the copper in the green glaze.  The bones are fragile, although they’ve been embedded in the glaze and are somewhat secured with epoxy after firing.

We are grounded by Nature’s strength and beauty by using everyday items made of the earth itself.

I was born & raised in the Bay Area & feel so blessed to be able to call The Coastside my home for the last 18 years. My love of this area and the ocean began on trips to Fitzgerald Preserve as a child and continued throughout my college years at UCSC. My practical scientific mind & love of animals led me to a degree in Biology and my first job as an educator at a nonprofit teaching science & natural history. The bonus for me were the animal educators I was privileged to work with.   While I’ve had many jobs over the years, none of these exactly prepared me to become an artist.

My first real art class was an art history course in college that allowed me to explore the museums in San Francisco as well as learn about the masters. The opportunity to create my own art wouldn’t come until much later. Years later, I was able to participate in my children’s Art in Action lessons as a docent & the spark was rekindled. Creating examples of the lessons for the students forced me to confront my insecurities regarding creating art. It also allowed me to remind students as well as myself that everyone is an artist in their own way and the only person who needs to like your art is you.

When I began to contemplate a return to the outside workforce, the practical scientist in me began taking classes at my community college including a career exploration class. Now if I had only read those evaluation results a little more thoroughly…. I went back to my roots in science and was able to gain an acceptance into a Dietetic Program when the Universe threw me a curveball. After some health challenges forced a suspension of my carefully laid plans, the Universe nudged me again. A chance video in my YouTube feed introduced me to my current art form & life has been much messier & much fuller as a result.

During my exploration of this art form, my use of painting surfaces has expanded from river rocks to canvases, to jewelry. I’m currently delving into the recycling and upcycling of items that can be redesigned through my painting. I find myself drawn to everyday items such as wooden bowls and boxes that seem to cry out for a makeover. Oh, and that evaluation test result… the one that listed possible careers… the number one profession, ahead of all my scientific career choices…craft artist.

Patt Sheldon is local—born in San Francisco and raised on the Peninsula. She taught mostly middle school English and Health Education in Belmont for 35 years, and never considered herself artistic, though her flair for color always showed.

Patt became a knitter, then a weaver after moving “over the hill” in 1999. Experiencing two summers of heavy coastal fog, she realized she needed indoor sports to combat the fog. She took a few weaving classes and many knitting technique workshops, learned ice dyeing one afternoon, and is self-taught in jewelry design. She creates unusual pieces and prefers being ahead of the crowd rather than part of it. Her works are one of a kind.

Patt’s love of color led her to Czech glass beads and the Czech Republic’s centuries-old family-run factories. She has visited three times and brought back many treasures to share in her work. Her excuse in returning is to combat losing these companies to cheaper made Chinese beads that have infiltrated the market.

She also uses different types of gemstones, especially for pieces for sale at the Vault.

Ice dyeing natural fibers became a passion, preferring its soft patterns to deliberate designs. She dyes clothing and large array of home goods, as well as fabric. The most exciting part of her ice dyeing has been collaborating with a former 6th grade student, now a fashion designer in Los Angeles.

Realizing how isolated artists can be, particularly after retiring from teaching and working at home, Patt started a group called Colony of Coastside Artists in Feb, 2010. The group is open to any level artist living on the coast interested in socializing, art discussions, and group projects, and is currently over 120 members strong. Prior to 2020, CoCA met monthly, and has resumed annually sponsoring Open Studios in November, which is available to all coastside artists.

Besides selling through CoCA’s Open Studios, her diverse work sells in stores, and several in-person shows, mostly on the coast. Her website www.pattsheldon.com highlights her vivid colors and textures. Patt also sells through Harvard Market, Make It Main Street, and Etsy and GoImagine online under the name Patt711.

She is very excited to return to The Vault’s collective art group.

Following early art training at La Jolla High School, Mr. Evans began his art exposure and sales at the Bazaar Del Mundo in Old Town, San Diego. He had an ongoing contract with them as their in-house artist and had frequent showings there, as well as at the Tri Forum Gallery in Point Loma. He now resides in Santa Cruz, CA where he extensively studied at the nearby University of California and Cabrillo College. His work has been shown in many coastal galleries including San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel, and Venice Beach. Further from home, the Thompson Art Gallery in South Carolina, private collections in Arizona, and various restaurants and businesses have his pieces. Additionally, he continues to offer custom paintings for individual homes, even assisting in the design on location.

Robyn Drake grew up on an Iowa farm amid cattle, horses, and expansive landscapes. Robyn moved to Chicago after attending Drake University.  In 2013, she moved to California, and currently resides in Half Moon Bay.

Using oils, oil pastels, charcoal, and more recently, acrylics, she explores the interplay of awe and endurance, vulnerability and resilience, through representational subjects.

Robyn’s work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions primarily in Chicago and California. Her evolving horse series marked a significant return to her roots on the ranch in Iowa. Robyn’s drawings and paintings are in private collections in the USA, Europe, and Asia, and have won awards in juried competitions.

Drake was awarded scholarships and earned degrees in studio art and art history at Drake University, with further development through post-graduate classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. 

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Inspired by the interplay of vulnerability, strength, and power, my art employs representational imagery to navigate themes of agency through contemporary expressionism.  I engage with and question the complexities of our current existential predicament while acknowledging and elevating primal facets of ourselves in a social landscape which grows increasingly illusionistic.

Through the equine and animal subjects, I delve into resilience and fragility, using an anthropomorphic perspective as a chronicle of unfiltered emotional landscapes in my life. The horses never wear any tack or offer narrative cues to assign historical era, or culture which would distract from the purity of the emotional statement.  In contrast, my human figures are often dreamy and introspective, others are blatantly symbolic in dreamlike environments, both less outwardly emotive than the animals, and contain visual clues to culture, era, and social strata.

The seascapes switch the narrative to engage the viewer with uncontrollable external powers.  With the drama of the waves, both beautiful and dangerous, there is a reminder of powerlessness and resilience in the face of larger forces, which also serve as metaphors of sociopolitical forces overwhelming personal agency through social constructs.

My selection of charcoal, acrylics, and oils pays tribute to the craft legacy of traditional painting and dedication to hone my skill as a painter.  The choice of media becomes a crucial element of my practice.

Currently I’m preparing for upcoming group and solo exhibitions and new gallery representation.  I’m investigating the use of AI as a tool for creating complex compositions as an addition to working from life and manipulated photographs.  A personal symbolic language is emerging as my subjects grow.  I will always return to commissioned horse paintings and portraits as a grounding device for my work.

My name is Sheila Moore and I reside in the coastal serenity of Half Moon Bay where my artistic muse stems from the intricate beauty of nature’s coastal treasures. 

In each of my art pieces, I strive to capture the essence of these coastal wonders—transforming raw materials into intuitive and joyful creative compositions.  The items I weave into my creations remind me of the tireless human tapestry of life that drives us, like the ocean waves, to keep pushing forward, even when faced with setbacks or discouragement. Seashells, with their delicate contours and whispers of ocean tales, speak to me of evolution and elegance. Each piece of sea glass, smoothed by years of relentless surf, carries a story of transformation and resilience in adversity. Driftwood, weathered and worn, embodies the strength and endurance of time…and sand represents the abundant grains of knowledge and wisdom in every one of us. 

I invite you to journey with me through the artistic interconnectedness of my creations in celebration of the natural and precious gifts of beauty that surround us.

In gratitude…

Sheila Moore

E: sheilamoore1111@gmail.com

Website:  coming soon

Through many decades I have longed to find my own personal style. I discovered the freeing and challenging medium of Alcohol Inks several years ago. Alcohol Inks are a vibrant, fluid medium that I yearn to contain to create my inner vision.

Placing the ink on the porcelain tile always leads to new discoveries of what is possible. Oscillating between letting the ink and coastal humidity control the outcome of its path, or controlling the placement of each fine detail.California’s stunning flora and fauna are my inspiration and place of solitude. They flow into life through the interaction of coastal landscapes, churning seas, unique plants and animals, and sweet ocean air.