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 and enjoy reactions. My photography realistically represents the subject and composition. I also like to develop an artistic, imaginative interpretation. I photograph coastal scenes, landscapes, travel, nature, and cityscapes. I prefer vibrant color, like bold graphics, and use the best light for impact. I offer my photography art in a variety of media types. Metal, acrylic, wood, and canvas prints. Prints and framed art also. I have image merchandise available on my website with direct fulfillment offered. It’s been a joy to be part of the H.M.B. community, participating in various organizations, work/school volunteer activity over the years. Love my life on the coast for the last 38 years. How could you not with the natural surroundings & local community?

Barbara Masek Photography has also been a commercial photography service business and individual needs since 2010. I work with clients in head & portrait, event, and promotional assignments. https://www.barbaramasekphotography.com/home3  Sign up to receive previews of new releases and seasonal promotions. https://www.barbaramasekphoto.com

Carlotta Lincoln, who lives in Half Moon Bay, CA, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has lived and painted in France, England, Greece, Morocco, and Spain. She studied art in Copenhagen and later, traveling in Asia, was inspired by shrines and temples there. In California, she has been influenced by French artist and teacher Michele Cassou; by the “Vision Painting” workshops at Esalen Institute; and by an informal group of creative women who painted with wild abandon in a studio in the mountains above Santa Barbara. Her mandalas, shrines, and mixed media pieces have been exhibited in Copenhagen, Mallorca, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Half Moon Bay.

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.

Daniel Ambrosi is recognized as one of the founding creators of the emerging AI art movement and is noted for the nuanced balance he achieves in human-AI hybrid art. Ambrosi, an El Granada resident since 1996, has been exploring novel methods of visual presentation for over 40 years since entering the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree and a Masters in 3D Graphics. In 2011, Ambrosi devised a unique form of computational photography that generates exceptionally immersive landscape images. More recently, Ambrosi’s “Dreamscapes” build upon his previous experiments by adding a powerful new graphics tool to his artistic workflow: an enhanced version of “DeepDream,” a computer vision program evolved from Google engineers’ desire to visualize the inner workings of Deep Learning artificial intelligence models. With proprietary access to a customized version of DeepDream expressly modified by two brilliant software engineers, Joseph Smarr (former principal engineer at Google and also a resident of El Granada) and Chris Lamb (vice president at NVIDIA and resident of Los Gatos), to operate successfully on his giant images, Ambrosi has been empowered to develop large scale artworks that display exquisite sensitivity and intricacy. Ambrosi’s engaging AI-augmented artworks and grand format landscape images have been exhibited at international conferences, art fairs, and gallery shows, installed in major tech offices, featured in multiple publications, and are collected by enthusiastic patrons worldwide.

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Growing up in Half Moon Bay I’d find shells with holes in them. The day I found beads that resembled sea glass I strung them and made my first Sun Catcher. Coastal living inspires me to make Sun Catchers. Art gives me energy. Treasure hunting for inspirational pieces to use in my art is like a vacation.

Glass artist, Douglass C Brown, is on a personal mission to share hot glass experiences with all those want to see/learn what they can about the process of blowing/sculpting hot glass. Using the time between classes, he creates glass art that is a mix of his takes on nature and functional glassware. He is currently operating 2 glass blowing studios in The Bay Area, Half Moon Bay Art Glass and Mare Island Art Glass. He has also created the Glass Troubadours, which is a mobile glass blowing studio designed to do single events like parties/or craft shows or medium to long term stays on corporate campuses. Look for him at the local Make it Main Street Thursdays in Half Moon Bay blowing glass on the street.

Electra Field is a local photographer who lives with her family in El Granada, California. Ms. Field fell in love with photography at an early age with an Instamatic camera. After a cross country road trip in her late teens, she decided to pursue a degree in Photojournalism from Boston University. Ms. Field started out as a reporter and photographer for a semi-weekly newspaper and later photographed weddings and family portraits. Her latest photographic passion is the world of macro photography, where she finds beauty in everyday objects and turns the chaos of the world around her into something peaceful.

She has been published in the El Defensor Chieftain, the Socorro Chamber of Commerce and the Half Moon Bay Review, and has won awards at the Pacifica Fog Fest and the Peninsula Photo Contest. Her work has been shown at New Mexico Tech, the Sanchez Art Gallery, Filoli Historic House and the Palo Alto Art Center. You can also view more of her work at electrafieldphotography.com and follow her on Instagram at electrafieldphotography.

During sheltering in place from the coronavirus virus, I delved into the world of macro photography at home. It was an uncertain, tumultuous time with the pandemic raging and the 2020 presidential election being challenged. I felt the country was divided. So for my own peace of mind I wanted to use polar opposites, oil and water, to create something beautiful and special. I like to think of these images as a place of wonder where opposites attract, becoming something more than just themselves

Ellen Brook is a mixed media artist, and fabric and fashion designer. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ellen began her artistic journey at age 40 in the San Francisco Bay Area and reoriented her life to focus on her art.

Whether creating an energetic mixed media collage, a luxuriously down-to-earth garment or an ethereal silk hanging, Ellen’s work has been described as “visual poetry.” She combines gesture, intuitive marks, layers of texture, and a passion for color to explore Eastern ideas related to the mind, the nature of the self, and the healing and energetic properties of beauty and color. Her current Message in a Bottle series draws on family letters to explore questions around self and lineage, as well as themes of isolation, connection, and healing. Ellen builds highly textural pieces through the laying down – and pulling up – of layers of acrylic, graphite, crayon, her own hand-painted fabrics, paper, and found objects, along with family letters, postcards, and photos.

Ellen also designs and creates original, hand-painted women’s apparel and accessories, and interior goods. Her work has been featured in “Uncommon Threads” at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History and “ARTWEAR” at San Francisco’s de Young Museum and selected by musicians as art for print and digital CD covers.

Erika Adkins creates two-dimensional works in both acrylic and encaustic. Her pieces rely on layering colors, textures, and meanings, often the result of multiple paintings on a single canvas. As a third-generation artist, Erika grew up assuming everything can be viewed for its aesthetic merit. Recently her work has explored conflict: between humans and the environment, between her dogs, or between history and individuals. Her current subject matter explores borders, barriers, and bridges. Born in Pittsburgh, PA and now based in Half Moon Bay, Erika holds a degree in Fine Art from Yale University and an MBA from the Leavey School of Business. She has spent the last 20 years working in Tech, while keeping her “Batman” art life alive and well.

For Jo Fry, history is always bleeding into the present, affecting the way she sees and experiences the world.

As a child she was always drawing – friends, the horses that lived down the street. As a 16-year-old she studied history and design at the University of London, then earned a bachelor’s degree with Honors in Interior Design from San Jose State, while taking oil painting commissions to earn extra money.

As an adult, she focused on a career in retail, and on being a single mom to two children after the death of her husband.  She became a school volunteer and taught Art in Action for El Granada Elementary. Although retail allowed her to do copywriting, product, and industrial design, it was a far cry from the creative world of her youth.

Now she is re-emerging – her love of beachcombing re-igniting her creative spirit. Inspired by a deep respect for the sea and its inhabitants, and the beauty of our coastline, Jo calls herself a Sea Glass Artist, and incorporates sea glass and finds into her paintings and wearable art. Her unique and original mixed media work is featured on the websites of Silicon Valley Open Studios and Red Bluff Art Gallery. She has been awarded a solo public art exhibit by Redwood City for July-August 2023.

Jo is a member of the Community of Coastside Artists and has shown work at many prestigious California Art and Sea Glass events.  She is a volunteer archivist and docent for the Half Moon Bay History Museum and authored articles on glass for the museum’s website; her unbounded passion for the subject bringing meaning to the medium of sea glass, through her art and its links with the history of our community.

Published Articles: Half Moon Bay History Revealed Through Glass   Basic Guide to Bottle Identification

I currently live on the beautiful coast, but I grew up in Pennsylvania where my love of art began as a child.  I am a creative person who is  inspired by nature and the world around me.  A lot of things I see in nature show themselves as something else in my mind’s eye. A rock looks like a face, a piece of wood with a hole is an owl’s eye, a spikey tree nut on the ground is a hedgehog.  I like to collect these items and use them in my nature inspired collages.  I have been collecting bits and pieces from nature since I can remember.  I incorporate these pieces of nature into mixed media collages that represent landscape scenery, people, animals or just about anything that is relevant in my life.  My most recent work is a collage of an angel that represents a teenage girl who was taken from the Earth too soon.  The flowers from her funeral are in her wings and dress, there is sheet music and cats and crystals, and nature, and so many things that she loved incorporated into the piece.

I love to teach art classes for my two kids and their friends and classmates.  This enables me to share my love of creativity and hopefully inspire others to create along with me.  I’m always being introduced to various forms of art and I love to experiment and see what transpires.

Recently, I have been included in the following themed juried exhibits:

San Francisco Women Artists Gallery- 647 Irving Street, San Francisco, CA 94122

Mistlin Gallery, Central Ca Art Association- 1015 J Street Modesto CA 95354

SIY Gallery- 1026 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94103

My name is Maddy, I was born and raised on the coast.  My jewelry designs are a reflection of who I am. As an artist, I love clean lines and abstract yet simple designs. As an outdoor adventure enthusiast and someone who grew up outside, I am also influenced by my experiences in the natural world. I fuse all of this together in my favorite jewelry creations. Incorporating sea glass, gemstones, abalone, freshwater pearls, and other items found in nature.

Online store- woodstowire.com

Instagram- @woodstowire

Contact- woodstowire@gmail.com

A San Francisco native, Nancy entered the ceramic field as a kid playing – outside – in the freshly excavated clay hills of the San Francisco peninsula.  Her work is fueled by a love of moving clay, emulating the patterns and colors of the sky and ocean and the curves and textures of the coastal hills.

She has delighted in teaching children and adults the joy of creating with this earthly medium.  Another delight is making pieces specific to clients’ desires.  As she creates those pieces, the clients are always back of mind which fosters a warm connection to the usefulness of the work.

Showing in mostly local galleries, Nancy also has participated in bay area craft fairs including Kings Mountain Art Fair and the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival Made on the Coast Locals Block.

“We can feel secure and grounded by rekindling our awareness of 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. 

In my artworks, I’m challenged to portray an arrangement or scene skillfully, in hopes of capturing something of the exquisiteness of what I am seeing. Perhaps the artwork will cause a peacefulness, an attraction, or an appreciation of the moment, for the viewer. 

I have spent considerable time observing the works of other artists in hopes of absorbing some of their expertise, their solutions to the aspects of painting, and to gain inspiration from them.

There is an interesting phrase from the artist George Wm Allen, who said: “ I am an artistic bandit if you will, stealing and interpreting the strengths of the many great painters who have, and who continue to influence me ”. Perhaps we are all artist bandits of one form or another.

Artist Bio

Much of my career has been working as a Graphic Artist in the south bay area. I’ve also worked in Interior Design in the bay area and in North Carolina. I’ve studied at the Academy of Art College, SF, West Valley College, Saratoga, and I hold a BA degree in Creative Arts from SJSU, San Jose.

Spence Platt is a local artist, born and raised in San Jose. Spence grew up loving the western genre and country music and pulls his inspiration from that love. He uses a mixed media technique which includes but not limited to inks, watercolors, acrylics, spray paint, and resin. This blending of media provides texture and dimension to his work.

As many galleries closed during the pandemic, Spence intertwined his love of nature and the outdoors with his passion for art, traveling and adventuring throughout California finding beautiful places to display his work. You can follow his journey on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

I am grateful to live in this
place where on my daily walks
and sometimes in our own
backyard) I encounter a
spectacular variety of life. I’ve
fallen in love with our local
birds, and sharing photos of
them has delighted me and my
friends. I marvel at the diversity
of sizes and shapes, so these
prints depict each bird in
exquisite detail, and at its actual
size, from the tiny to the huge.
There is a QR code next to
each photo that takes you to a
web page describing that bird.
Thank you for visiting.

Susan Carkeek is a coastside artist that has had major shows at Oakland Museum, 333 Bush, Bart Headquarters, the Hallmark Building as well as galleries in San Francisco, LaJolla and locally. Susan believes strongly in the power of art to create insight, connection, tolerance and healing in our culture and communities. Her work of the last fifteen years has focused on the Noise that bombards us from all fronts; political, psychological, environmental, popular culture, social and economic noise. Conversely, she sees Quiet in nature and often juxtaposes the two. In her own words…“I started to define Noise as everything that gets between us and caring. I saw the Noise pulling us apart…it seemed connected to the increase in mental illness and the environmental crisis.” She asks, “How can stressed out people possibly make mindful decisions about the environment…or themselves?” To this end, much of her work is the actual process of mindful quieting by slow, careful observation that retains the spirit of discovery and wonder. A process that allows nature to speak its truth rather than asserting human assumptions. Another approach she uses is the building up of paper Noise layers and then carving and painting the surface to physically quiet the Noise. Susan teaches creative workshops and mentors adults in private classes at her home studio in El Granada.

I’ve been a maker from my earliest years. As a child, I drew horses, made paper dolls, greeting cards, garments, cooked and baked. I could draw all the Flintstone characters, and a pencil drawing I did of Peter Tork of The Monkees was published in a teen magazine. I painted 40 murals in a hospital when I was 18. By the time I got to high school, I decided to major in art, stepping away from my high academic achievement and probably disappointing my parents. I went to Pratt Institute but quit in my second year. Since then, I have been on the journey. Always creating — my hands are never idle! I had a long career in graphic design, including my own sign company in the 80s and 90s, and a career in advertising until my retirement two years ago. I now devote much of my time to painting and have completed over 700 paintings in the last 40 years, mostly in private collections.

I like to paint outdoors from life (en plein air) and about 50% of my paintings are done that way. I pack my gear and take it when I travel. Having a focus on depicting the places I visit gives added meaning, and mementos galore! Visit my website for more details on my long and varied career.

Susan Grabowski, originally from New Jersey, spent 22 years on Cape Cod before making her way to the San Francisco Bay Area. She captures the fleeting moments in her light-filled paintings in the California plein air/impressionist style.

Instagram: @susan_grabowski_art

Website: susangrabowski.com

Ethereal Flow Artistry came into being in February of 2022, but my love of Art has been a lifetime journey. 

I have a passion for Art History which I studied in college. I have always enjoyed drawing, lettering, and painting. While experimenting with mixed media and the many ways I could express myself through it, I found my way to fluid art and have been producing works of every size & color ever since. I love the chemistry of the paints and the beautiful reactions they have on the canvas. Every painting continues to surprise and inspire me. Every day I can paint is a great day!

Thank you for taking a look at my art ~ Suzanne