Debbie Abshear is an artist specializing in Plein Air landscapes and abstracts. Her chosen medium is watercolor but is known to use acrylics and inks in her work. She has exhibited at the National Watercolor Society, Santa Paula Museum of Art, Oceanside Museum of Art, Fallbrook Art Center, California State University of Dominguez Hills, Muckenthaler Cultural Arts Center and at the Watercolor West Exhibition held in the City of Brea. She is currently exhibiting paintings at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles.

Fei’s artwork has been a part of the art scene way back since her elementary years, her work contains Painting, Drawing, Graphic design, Photography, Typography, and Ice Sculpture; Artwork medium includes but are not limited to Chinese ink, Oil, Acrylic, Gouache, Watercolor, Pastel, Pen, Pencil, Graphic software, etc.,

Please stop by at her online portfolio:
https://creativethresholds.com/2016/06/23/humbled-artist

Amelia Amell is a Sr. Art Director, Multidisciplinary Visual Artist and a Humanitarian Advocate with masters degrees in both Spiritual Psychology and Multimedia Communication. As an artist witnessing the emergence of the data era (coined Data-ism), she sees the issue of technology becoming more advanced than the policies that shape these movements. Inspired and concerned, she set out to create works of art that ignite awareness as to the implications of these crossroads from both a cultural policy and humanitarian point of view.

I paint with soft pastels, a direct and luminous art medium. My favorite subjects include landscapes and ranch animals, but I also enjoy portraits and still lifes. I am co-founder and president emerita of the Pastel Society of Southern California (pastelsocal.com), as well as founder and director of the Rejoice in Art! Fine Art Fair & Exhibition (www.rejoiceinart.com).

Tom Balderas is the third son of four. He is a painter. writer. musician. photographer. thinker. creator. listener. observer. human. social. loner. understanding. misunderstanding. giver. wanter. perfectionist. imperfection-ist. husband. father.

Growing up in Torrance, California, Tom Balderas lived only a few miles from the ocean, which has made nature, along with his family, the main inspiration of his paintings. Balderas attended Loyola Marymount University, where he studied film production and art. After graduating, he worked several years for NBC Productions and helped make many made-for-television movies. He then began studying under the tutelage of his photographer father, as well as Joseph Mendez, master painter and teacher. Balderas considers the time spent studying with Mendez to be the cornerstone of his growth as a painter.

Tom has participated in dozens of group, two man and solo exhibitions. His work has been twice included in the prestigious American Impressionist Society's Annual Exhibition. He is a member of Realism Without Borders as contemporary American representative and is founder and curator of The Fine Art Collaborative.

I am an acrylic painter, and typically my paintings are a celebration and exploration of nature with a focus on the ocean. My father is very proactive in environmental causes, and taught me about plants and animals, about our delicate ecosystem, and our responsibility to care for our planet. As such, I grew up with a love and respect for nature and the desire to do what I could to share this respect with others. Turtles, dolphins, fish, whales, penguins—I paint them gliding free in the ocean. I like to think that each painting is of a moment of encounter, evoking that moment when you come face-to-face with another creature that shares our world, and you look each other in the eye.

I entered the challenge after being selected from the opening show audience to “spin the wheel,” pluck a fortune cookie from its resting spot once the wheel slowed to a stop, and crack it open to reveal a random message that would become a painting – to demonstrate the artists’ process and set the stage for the opening. Although nervous, I embraced the levity of the moment, and I wanted to participate in the challenge as well! With my topic, my thoughts initially focused on roving eyes and wandering hearts. That night, I went to sleep with an open mind and thinking of my topic, for inspiration of moments in life when eyes cannot stop moving in lockstep with the desires of the heart. This idea popped into my mind that night in my dreams. It represents a simple, innocent, and welcome time when the eyes are intrigued, and so is the heart. So many flavors of ice cream. . . .and the heart’s desire to have them all! How do you choose just one?

I am an oil painter and I paint in the realism style. My subjects are landscapes, still life and architecture. I am a member of the Palos Verdes Art Center and The Artists; Studio. You may find more examples of my work on my website: robincowlesart.com.

Don Crocker: local resident 45 years, 85 years old, took up Plein Air painting on retirement from a legal and crisis management career in 2000. Inspired by wilderness and Ca. exceptional varied beauty as captured by the early Ca. Impressionists/Expressionists. Am Artist Member California Art Club, Signature Member American Impressionist Society. My entry is a new medium: acid on copper framed in USGS topographic map.

Dan Dempster has achieved CA status in the Copley Society of Art, Boston “…a mark of excellent technique, hard work ethic, and superb artistry." He has shown in SoHo NYC, London and in eight Bermuda National Gallery Biennials, among others. Raised in Bermuda, living in California, his contemplative drawing, painting, sculpture and writing express deep familiarity with the coastal environment.

A Southern Californian native and lifelong artist, Bridget earned her B.F.A. at the University of California at Los Angele with further studies at Art Center College of Design, and the Lukits Academy of Fine Arts in Los Angeles. After a brief stint as an art director at Leo Burnett Ad Agency in Chicago in 1983, Bridget returned to her first love, finding a painting career in the entertainment industry. There she rose to top journeyman scenic artist, in Local 800, the Art Director’s Guild. She excelled doing custom art, paintings, sets, backdrops, and murals for Innumerable shows for theater film, television, theme parks, commercials, and music videos, working for ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, KCET, Disney, Universal, Paramount, and Warner Brothers. In Addition, she created custom murals for Los Angeles Zoo, Marriott, and international projects in Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa, while nurturing her fine art and entering shows. Special distinction occurred in 1992 when asked by NASA Astronaut former classmate, Lt. Col Kevin P. Chilton, to create a commemorative painting for his first NASA shuttle mission, the maiden voyage of Endeavor, to be carried in the payload and later gifted to our mutual school and displayed.
Bridget is an artist member of the California Art Club and member of the Pastel Society of Southern California. She has formerly exhibited at the Gold Medal Shows, Pasadena Historical Museum, and Carnegie Museum.

Bernard Fallon, BA, is a graduate of the Liverpool College of Art and has spent a lifetime in the Visual Arts.
He is a contemporary impressionist working in oils and pastels with an interest in the natural world and its telling juxtapositions of objects and colour.

A member of the California Art Club, he teaches painting via the PVAC.

As a motion picture scenic artist working on films, and tv shows, I'm totally astonished at the synchronicity of having picked this particular theme. I have British heritage on my father's side who also had a long career in Hollywood as a well- known screen writer in having written over 50 films in his storied career. In keeping with his English citizenship, he joined up with the SAS, the British intelligent Secret Service, during World War II. So, he was connected to being a spy himself. He had a very similar personality and character portrayed in the James Bond films. He was handsome, intelligent, and fearless. Add to this my extensive dental work and financial burdens that I just incurred, so it is truly fitting that I picked a motion picture poster style to illustrate this theme.

The title inspired me to research what kind of life might live on the Moon, if any. Turns out that there is a form of anaerobic life known as Tardigrada. They are microscopic, 8-legged animals, who survive extreme environments, due in part to a unique protein that protects their DNA from radiation. In the most dire of circumstances, triggered by a dry environment, they morph into a state of dormancy by squeezing all the water out of their bodies and rolling up into a ball until conditions improve. An unmanned spacecraft that crashed brought them to the Moon from Earth. Their actual appearance inspired this fantasy. Edgar is just waking from hibernation and he is alone. The newborn are magenta, turning to blue as they mature. If they survive many conflicts, and attain the highest form of knowledge, they may become purple, and therefore, revered. In my painting, he is in the middle of his transformation. Currently searching for others like him, he is having no luck. Edgar has far to go.

I paint with emotional and visual honesty. My painting is influenced by Cezanne, Sorolla & Van Gogh. I like to choose my subject matter which brings me delight during the painting process and I hope will allow the viewer to peek a little into my soul. I enjoy using palette knife, bold strokes, and the thickness of the paint.

I am primarily an oil painter, but I also love watercolors and have recently started using pastels. My goal is to paint expressively and capture the beauty we have all around us. The Eastern Sierras and the Pacific coastline are especially inspiring!
I have a studio in the Loft building in San Pedro.

Errol Gordon has studied at the Scottsdale Artist’s School in Scottsdale, Arizona, and he has taken numerous local, national, and international art courses in oil painting, pastels, and sculpture.
Errol is an ardent plein air painter, however, sculpting is his passion. He has studied sculpture with nationally known sculptors such as George Carlson, John Coleman, and Mehl Lawson. He has also studied with Italian trained sculptors Bruno and Paul Luchesi.
Errol’s sculpture MOSEYIN’ won 1st Prize at the 2010 California State Bar Convention Art Exhibit in Monterey, California. In addition, his two (2) sculptures, EDDIE and MANCIPATION, were accepted into the prestigious January 2012 “Best and Brightest” show in Scottsdale, Arizona. Errol is also a resident artist at “The Artist’s Gallery in Palos Verdes, California, and the Seaside Galley in Pismo Beach, California.

I work in various mediums, separately or mixed. My style ranges from loosely representational to non-objective. In both painting and photography light, color, shapes and texture are what count. Subject matter is secondary. A cantaloupe rind is as good as a landscape.

Carol Hungerford is a classic contemporary artist living in San Pedro. She studied at Otis then four years at Associates in Art, focusing on painting and drawing from models, followed by another four years under landscape artist Joseph Mendez. She works in oil, acrylic, and charcoal. She gravitates to figure work and is passionate about color.

I have been creating art since childhood using graphite pencil, colored pencils and oil paint. In 2018, I created a unique style of painting coined, exsculpainting: 3-D oil painting on canvas/es sometimes on all sides and/or with hand-cut sculpted canvases applied to the surface.
The “ex” is for the expressionistic use of color, “sculp” is the use of a sculpting medium applied to custom hand-cut canvases, and, “painting” is the use of oil paint.
To my knowledge these one-of-a -kind oil on canvas exsculpaintings have not been seen, nor have they been created anywhere else in the world.

I am a printmaker working on the lunatic fringes of printmaking. I am always experimenting with techniques and am highly skilled at making mistakes. Affiliations: LA Printmaking Society, PVAC: PV Painters.

From the moment I scumbled a pastel stick across the page, I've been hooked on the immediancy and vibrancy of soft pastels! As the Founding President of the Pastel Society of Southern California and of Destination: Art I enjoy encouraging others on their artistic journeys.

"Brazilian born Drica Lobo makes modern landscapes, transforming familiar vistas into a joyful scenario, manipulating shapes through an ethereal layer of gradient that directs the eye to the ocean below. Conceptual and bold to its core. Not only does Lobo’s art allow for observing the parallel of skies and horizons, but it also challenges perceptions and supports a wistful contemplation."

Mr. Manning was born and lives in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California and is a third-generation Californian.
He paints western landscapes with oil, acrylic and pastel that are inspired by his lifelong relationship with nature and love of wildness.
Mr. Manning currently serves as Co-President of the Palos Verdes Painters, Palos Verdes Art Center.
His electronic portfolio and contact information for sales of his art can be viewed at LTManning.com or on Instagram account ‘Manning Rides Again’.

Please join my journey at my instagram gallery: https://www.instagram.com/manning.rides.again.art

instagram: manning.rides.again.art

Louisa McHugh is a professional watercolor artist and educator. Louisa McHugh studied fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and graduated from Columbia College with a degree in Cinematography in 2005. After a short stint in the film industry, Louisa decided to return to her roots as a painter. She first began exhibiting her work with Galleria Mijares in downtown Los Angeles and soon was gaining recognition with International Awards from various watercolor societies. Louisa is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society and her works have been displayed in collections both public and private around the world.

Stephen Mirich was born in 1954 in San Pedro, California and began competing and exhibiting in art events regularly by the age of fifteen. In college, he briefly studied architecture, but then focused on a career in fine art. He studied under the noted artist, Theodore N. Lukits (1897-1992) at the Lukits Academy of Fine Arts, Los Angeles. He also studied privately with Julian Ritter (1909-2000). Mirich gained national recognition with his marine and historic maritime paintings. In 1995, he started to focus on landscape painting en plein air.
Mirich is a founding member of the Portuguese Bend Artists Colony and a lifetime member and past President of the San Pedro Art Association. He is a Signature Member of the California Art Club, and was its Vice President from 1997-2003 and currently serves on its Advisory Board.

Margaret Ann Missman has had a passion for art her entire life. Her family remembers being impressed with her precocious drawings she would do as early as 1 year old. She received her BA in Fine Art at Long Beach State. Missman continues her education by studying American Impressionism and Illustration. She also receives guidance from artist Stephen Mirich.

Her favorite subjects are people and portraiture, and the unique basking light of Southern California, the bright light and the colorful shadows.

After majoring in art at Santa Monica City College, UCLA and Art Center, I began 40 years of commercial art by inking Hanna-Barbera comics, went on to design stuffed toys, bedding and clothing for children. Between these jobs I did floral arrangements for weddings. Now my paintings depict my real love - of God who created our beautiful world.

Through countless attempts and failures the non-important is eroded leaving the essential behind, what is left is unique. I'm self taught. Although, I've had many Mentors. I relied on my own artistic interest to guide me. Oil, watercolor, and mixed media are the materials of choice. Canvas and hand made paper are my subtracts. Painting is a process of seeking a balance. And much of what I do is practice, with the hope of receiving a confirming message, that I'm on the right path. With every blank canvas I see pure potential for success. I was pleased to get this title. Particularly because of the word "moment". It's a perfect fit for me. My Submission:  A transparent figure views an aircraft from an elevated perch at the moment of liftoff. The time between rolling down the runway and actual flight.  All paintings are but a "moment" in time. The period of time between the past and what will be the future. It could be the present,  but maybe not. The figure stands in a relaxed contra postal as it observes the plane on it's intended trajectory.  Does this person want to be on board?  Or is he simply satisfied to watch, amazed at the wonder of flight. I don’t know, I leave these decisions up to the viewer. For this moment thought is suspended and the image exists in the present. And naturally one's thoughts would presume, life was pretty good.   If a painting, momentarily,  grabs your attention and breaks the bond of some normal conscious act,,,  go with it. You may find something that is "pretty good".

Nguyen's paintings have been exhibited at Art Fairs in LOS ANGELES, SANTA MONICA, SAN DIEGO, PALM SPRINGS, SAN FRANCISCO, HOUSTON, NEW YORK, MIAMI.
Honors include the Juror's Choice Awards at the San Diego Art
Institute Biennial International Award Exhibition 2013 and 2015.

I enjoy exploring different mediums and techniques: drawing, painting, collage, and printmaking, are some of the techniques I have studied and use in my abstract work.
My early paintings were watercolors done in a fresh, loose style
and I try to keep that feeling in all my paintings.
I use photos for inspiration but most of my paintings are memory paintings.

Thomas H. Redfield Jr. is the great grandson of the famous American Impressionist Edward Redfield and this early bond set in motion his life-long appreciation for art. While a significant body of his work is Plein Air denoting work done outside taking into account varying light and shadows, he also has a “tour de artifice” that spans many genres. His work has been exhibited at the California Art Club Gold Medal show and is in many permanent collections including at Terranea Resort and private collections.

Painting and art have always been apart of my life. Although I pursued a career in educational administration art was always apart of what I was doing. I am an abstract painter. I focus on color and texture, usually in a large format. When I describe my work, I quote artist Frank Stella. "What you see is what you see."

Nancy Sewell is an award-winning watercolor artist with paintings in private collections throughout the US and around the world.
Her paintings portray a spectrum of art ranging from realistic visions of flowers and fauna to expressive collage artworks using vibrant watercolor layers and Japanese papers for texture.
Nancy also serves on the Board of Trustees at Palos Verdes Art Center.

Steve was at Wesleyan University in 1981, graduating with honors in studio art. He has been making art, in one form or another since that time. For about 20 years or so, he worked as a decorative painter, making many murals and faux finish items. He is now back to making his personal art, following a horrific car accident that almost killed him in 2016.

All my life I have had opportunities to use my talents in many ways, portraits, murals, faux finishing stage props, costume design, computer graphics, casino and restaurant design and building. I also exhibit in galleries and outdoor events. I have many different styles and use many different mediums. Art is all creation and I enjoy so many aspects of it. Follow Val on Facebook

I’m a free thinker, determined to go my own way with my own style.
But, I had a revelation about painting when I joined the class of Sergei Bongart, and his students Sunny Apinchapong, and Joe Mendez.
I love painting soothing landscapes, but my portraits are so different they repel my clients.
Read all about it in my new book.
Contact me for more information about my book at: CanneryRowStudios.com
Phone me at: 310.291.5316

Bronwyn was born and raised in Hawaii; the second generation of Chinese immigrants. It is the natural beauty and richness of the Hawaiian culture that is a part of her roots. Keenly interested in primitive and ethnic art, Bronwyn is drawn to vibrant color and active textural brushwork. Subject matter for her work is the human form and its ability to convey emotion. Bronwyn Towle studied art at Chouinard and Otis Art Institutes and ultimately pursued a career as an artist and art educator simultaneously.

From the time I was little my mother considered me the artist in the family, which was great as she never cared about my grades; and, when we lived there, she even hired the Time and Life magazines editor in Paris to give me private art lessons.

I got my BFA from Cornell University and then went to Harvard to become a painting conservator until eleven years ago, when I started painting again after Mother and my first husband died, just two months apart. What great therapy! I have been happier and happier ever since thanks to my creativity and painting.

Watercolors take less time than oils so I can paint the whole series when I get inspired, such as of children in their Junkanoo costumes in the Bahamas, farm stands in the Hamptons, life in the Out Islands in the Bahamas, landscapes of Palos Verdes and the Villa Narcissa in Portuguese Bend.

Lassie is walking through the Louvre during the 1920s. Lassie lives during the 1920s. The picture in the middle of the body represents her taking pictures at the Louvre with her mom and friend. The baby picture represents a painting that is displayed at the museum. What Lassie doesn't know is that picture is her and that she is long dead. She doesn't know that she is already more than 50 years dead and doesn't realize that the baby picture is actually her. She is in a different time and era, but in reality she already lived a life and died. So she is walking through the Louvre, thinking she is a life and living a living life, but it's just her spirit. Not her in reality.

Anything with watercolor! I love to paint local scenes and nature. I normally create in traditional watercolor, stained paper collage, and watercolor batik, a process done with wax and watercolor or a mixture thereof. Member of The Artists Studio, Palos Verdes Art Center, So Bay Watercolor Society, San Pedro Art Assoc and National Watercolor Society.

When I received my prompt immediately I interpreted it as all the little secrets people hide, secrets they keep to themselves which ultimately shape their decisions and their life path.

I paint with Oils both in Realism & Palette Knife. My subjects are animals & people with a focus on their eyes. African wildlife & wildcats throughout the world are my favorite subjects to study & capture on canvas.

As an artist, my work explores the meaning and connections in everyday life. Having spent eight years as a Disney artist, I am inspired by Norman Rockwell, Degas, and all things Disney. My oil paintings have often been classified as part of the new Romantic Movement, or Neo-Realism, because of the desire for the classic in an ever modernizing world.

My passion for art gives me a purpose and substance to create . Mixed media is my favorite because I can create a painting using a variety of materials. Fortunately I’ve had excellent teachers from various universities and privately. Otis College , USC, Dominguez U, Harbor College teachers taught me how to methods and design.
Loa Sprung and Gemma Taccogna were the most inspirational.
Art is my life!