Portal Of Opportunities VII
In this exhibition
172 works by 34 artists
Marlaya Charleston
8 works
About Marlaya Charleston
I experience much joy expressing my ideas and passions through my art. I am always surprised at the result as I am working spontaneously, focusing on the process as opposed to working for a particular outcome. In my recent work, I am enjoying the playfulness I experience when making my whimsical animal watercolors and my mixed media/collages.
I have evolved through the years and expressed my creativity in different styles--drawing and painting the figure, making expressionist paintings of jazz musicians and singers, making mixed media pieces and whimsical watercolors. I have also acted in the theater, performed stand-up comedy and wrote and illustrated a book of poetry for children. This varied background in the arts has directed and informed my visual art which is my basic focus and love.
Marlaya Charleston has been drawing and painting since the age of twelve. She began her formal training at the age of sixteen at The Art Students League in New York City. Growing up there, she had the privilege, at a young age, to visit The Modern Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim Museum where she was moved and inspired. She continued her studies in New York at Parsons School of Design, Cooper Union and eventually earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from The School of Visual Arts.
Her influences are African Art, the German Expressionists, Picasso and Matisse.
Marlaya continued her artistic exploration making compositions combining realistic images with abstract shape, texture and color. As of late, she is enjoying making whimsical watercolors mostly depicting animals and the human figure.
Her works have been exhibited throughout the Los Angeles area and are collected internationally.
Irina Chelyapov
8 works
About Irina Chelyapov
Highly influenced by artists like Hopper, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Diebenkorn, I paints multicultural urban Los Angeles with all its contradictions and poetry.
I am trying to blend my classical European artistic background with contemporary conceptual approach. In the LA urban environment I am looking for and finding manifestations of eternal human values, such as love, faith, longing, and the strife for a better life. I try to see real people and their life through the facades of the buildings depicted with much love and connection.
Born in Moscow , Russia /f. USSR/
Moscow's Art School at Kropotkin St.
MA graphic design from Stroganovskaya School of Art and Design, Moscow.
Graphic Design Workshop Artist Union USSR
Group Show at Bienalle/ Chekhoslovakia, Praga
1989- Came to USA, Los Angeles
1990-2009 Decorative painted furniture and murals
2008-1st Solo show TALK TO ME LA1 Modern Art Gallery
2010-2nd Solo show TALK TO ME LA 2 at Modern Art gallery
2012 Group show at Santa Monica Art Studios
2013 Group show "Seen and Unseen"Downtown LA
Phantom Gallery
curator and artist
2013 Group show "Oneness"Phantom Gallery
2015 Group show at Civitella d'Agliano
2015 Group show at Nuremberg ,Germany
2016 Solo show at Lark Gallery Hawthorne
and curator for CALIFORNIA show
Jenik Cook
11 works
About Jenik Cook
the language of life.
The type of Art that I do is beyond the spoken words.
When it emerges spontaneously because of the process, I accept it with gratitude.
Jenik
No question but the painting of Jenik Cook - and hardly less the work she realizes in other media (most notably ceramics) -is abstract-expressionist. But it is not necessarily Abstract Expressionist. That is, however much it may evince the DNA of mid-century American "action painting," or even European counterparts such as tachism, l'art informel, or CoBrA, Cook's art only incidentally revives the method, much less the look, of these bumptious, scrappy art movements. Rather, to power her vision, she goes back to the roots of gestural modernism, finding dancing line, elastic contour, and fervid color in surrealism, in fauvism, in expressionism itself. The painting of Pollock and Kline, and of Fautrier and Jorn, gives Cook permission to work unfettered like this, and gives us the context to comprehend fully - even to empathize kinesthetically with - what she does. But she is not emulating, much less imitating, Afro or James Brooks in her graceful, muscular paintings on paper or rehashing Sam Francis or André Lanskoy with the rhythmic clots and scatterings of pigment that collect on her canvases (well, on a wide variety of more-or-less canvas-like support material). Look instead to Miro, Masson, Marc, or Münter, Pechstein or Picasso, Marcks or Matisse, for Cook's sources.
Indeed, look into Cook's own cultural heritage. The line that whips and loops throughout Cook's oeuvre, whether hurling forms across canvas expanses or tracing them on the sides of pots, whether describing slashing trails of pure pigment or the sinuous contours of human bodies, is no more a painted line than it is a written one. It is made less with the whole body - although one can sense a change of stance, a hip motion, in so many of these dancing whiplashes - than with the whole arm. These gestures issue from the wrist and the shoulder. They are in fact as much inscribed as painted. Their energy is not just telegraphic; it is calligraphic. If the vivacity of the image bespeaks Cook's Armenian blood, the rhapsodic curvaceousness of her line betrays her Iranian childhood. As comfortable speaking and writing Farsi as she is Armenian, Cook marries her disparate cultural sources -which of course now include the western European and American influences of her adult life - into an aesthetically cohesive mix with a surprisingly broad formal reach.
Perhaps the breadth of that reach, given the variety of sources, isn't actually so surprising. But it is always a bit startling to witness - that is, to be allowed to witness - an artist master such a conceptual and expressive range. Most artists have this range in them, but so many suppress it. For her part, however, Cook refuses to suppress her stylistic multivalency. Not only does she not limit her vision, but she uses that vision very consciously to drive her artmaking in as many ways as it needs to go. She may edit, but she does not self-censure. Her style, ultimately as coherent and personal as a signature, emerges from and among her plethora of approaches, approaches which themselves spring from her persistence, her prolific output, her knowledge of art, and her irrepressible verve. Jenik Cook's art springs forth -in several directions at once.
Peter Frank Los Angeles January 2010
Sandra Cooper
3 works
About Sandra Cooper
Los Angeles-based artist Sandra Cooper is renowned for her distinctive abstract expressionist style. Her paintings and drawings are unique in their ability to stimulate viewers visually and emotionally with both passion and contradiction. Her striking images encourage viewers to use their own mind’s eye to interpret the movement of paint across canvas. Cooper wants to evoke an emotional response to her art, rather than merely object recognition. “If I wanted to recreate exactly what I saw, I would use my camera. My style celebrates the randomness of abstract expressionism.” “Why paint the entire scene when it’s the negative space that fills my imagination with the creative possibilities of ‘What if’” Cooper says.
Cooper’s “Heart Felt Series,” painted under her “nom de art”
R. Vega, is reflective of the powerful abstract nudes for which she is known.
Cooper’s style and technique are reflected in the media she uses. Whether it is watercolors, mono prints, mono types, charcoal line drawings, acrylics or collage, her work is recognized as a consistent signature of talent.
Cooper?
Exhibitions/Tours/Representations
1) Februrary 20th from 3:00-4:00PM (PST) BlogTalkRadio. The ORACLE Speaks, hosted by Denise L. Cook, with special guest Artist Sandra Cooper. UK Songwriter Artie Q\'s single \"Not a Lot of Love\", which was inspired by Cooper\'s \"Out of Control\", will be played.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/denise-lyles-cook
Call In: (805) 285-9772
2) In 2011 Daily Art Calendar, All For Love, www.ArtWanted.com/SandraCooper
3) The Whole 9 Gallery - Culver City, California - The Peace Project
http://www.thewhole9.com/thepeaceproject-merchandise.php
4) In 2010 Artist Sandra Cooper was featured on BlueHighways TV in conjunction with Lark Gallery Online. The show was viewed in over 220 countries.
http://country-cooperative.com/index.php/artists/category/mixed_media .
5) In 2010 Sandra Cooper artwork Out of Control was chosen by internationally renowned UK songwriter and singer Artie Q for LarkGallery Online E-exhibition Colors of Life - Music
6) In 2010 The Whole 9, juried competition, The Peace Project, Culver City, CA
In 2010 The Pop/Lock Gallery, Global Art Exhibition , Los Angeles, CA
Animoto
http://animoto.co/play/kcodPxjQSc56io2yu6LQOA
2009 Woman\'s Club of Hollywood, guest artist, 12th Annual Rose Variety Arts Show, Hollywood, CA
2009 Woman?s Club of Hollywood, featured cover artist for Denise Cook, The ORACLE, Speaks just because, Hollywood, CA
2009 The Hive Gallery, Art & Action, Los Angeles, CA
2009 LarkGalleryOnline.com, featured artist, Sandra Cooper, Santa Monica, CA
2009 Fantasy 2000, Sherman Oaks, CA
2009 Clouds, ?Heart Felt Series? painted under R. Vega, Santa Monica, CA
2008 Malibu Art Assn, Memories and Appreciation, Juried Exhibition, Malibu, CA
2008 Malibu Art Assn, Colors, Colors, Colors, Emeritus College, Juried Exhibition, Santa Monica CA
2008 Beverly Hills Country Club, Rose Breast Cancer Foundation, Visions of Hope, Beverly Hills, CA
2008 No Ho Gallery, Visions, North Hollywood, CA
2008 Haziaz Gallery, Art48, Sun Valley, CA
2008 Finegood Art Council of the Valley Alliance Jewish Federation, Studio Tour, Los Angeles,CA
2008 Malibu Art Association Juried Exhibition, The Challenge of Colors, Pacific
Palisades, CA
2008 APA Art Association Members Only Exhibition, The Washington Convention Center, Washington DC
2008 Art Treasures of Los Angeles, the Hidden Gems Art Collection, curator: Pasqual Bettio,Westmoreland Art Lofts, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Clouds, ?Heart Felt Series? painted under R. Vega, Santa Monica, CA
Irma Dorokhova
10 works
About Irma Dorokhova
I love to paint and experiment with rich colorful oil paint. I also like to put different symbols in my paintings.
For example the jar in my painting "Gospozha Abundance" is a symbol of bliss and abundance, and the girl herself is relaxed and surrounded by flowers, symbols of joy, and trees - which shows that she is grounded within the earth plane and yet soaring to spiritual heights.
As you can see, my paintings are done by vision of my soul. When I am painting, I transfer my emotions on canvas, exclusively in a positive mood and great concentration of the power of positive thought. Everyone want to fulfill their desires, but they don't know how.
My suggestion to you, my friends, get in touch with my wonderful world of art - where everything is possible and where magical dreams and sincere fulfillment of desires is may be accomplished.
When Irma Dorokhova walked in the door for her interview, I immediately felt I already knew her by her joyful, exuberant energy and bright colors. Some people are different from their art; Irma is one of those magical creative forces whose physical existence embodies her art, and that is how she paints.
Irma admitted that my response was pretty accurate. “I am like that inside. It’s probably my desire to live. I like to live, to feel wonderful, as if I were born yesterday. When I paint, I give myself to my art: I put on headphones and listen to beautiful music, and I sleep only fours at night – I want to finish while my inspiration is still alive. I don’t answer phone calls, and I even sleep in a separate bed from my husband; I just don’t want to deal with everyday life.”
For example, during the two weeks it took Irma to create her extraordinary blue The Moose Brings Luck, 60”x36”, she painted day and night. She felt, she said, "like a monk."
Almost from infancy Irina Dorokhova, called by her parents Irma as a sign of affection and her Jewish identity, seemed like an international work of art herself and with her
luminescent beauty resembled a famous Polish actress Barbara Brylska. She was born in Uzbekistan, lived and worked in Kazakstan, Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia and Tatarstan. Irma began painting when she was five; she began work as an artist when she was 16. From childhood, Irma believed in and proceeded on the theory that everything is possible.
She worked at a stone quarry, designed signage, created stencils for industrial applications, baked cakes and worked as a hairdresser – in each case, she was following, perhaps unconsciously, her love of color. When Irma arrived in Los Angeles in 2010, she decided to devote herself totally to painting. It would be her dream come true.
By Laurence Vittes










Elbe Brave
3 works
About Elbe Brave
I choose bright colors because that’s what we need in the world right now.
“By painting, I chose first to brighten my own life so I could then brighten the lives of others.”
To experience an ELBE painting is to live a moment of the artist’s exhuberant life.
The artist is Elena Berman. She signs her work ELBE.
Elena is energetic, exciting, complex–an introspective extrovert, you might say.
However, one word mostly defines Elena: passionate. Mostly happy, incredibly upbeat. Sometimes angry. Occasionally relaxed. (Afterall, the artist is human.)
But Elena is passionate–always passionate–in her life and in her art.
She is also genuine, perhaps the most powerful force in her art, as her paintings express exactly what she is feeling at any given moment.
When you glance at a painting signed ELBE you cannot look away. Drawn to the powerful strokes and colorful character, you feel the raw emotion of the artist.
Rooms come alive with the expressive colors and explosive strokes of an ELBE original or print.
Elize
2 works
About Elize
“EliZe” da Jose – Artist Statement
I understand art as a way of emotionally experiencing reality and a universal language of
communication.
Without conscious e?ort and thought, I try to fill my paintings with expressions strong
enough to let the spectator feel the energy put in the depth of the canvas, transforming the
perception of picture into his own art act.
Most recently, I find myself inspired to focus on developing and exploring the connection
between iconography and abstraction in light of Cosmism philosophy. The inspiration of
this uniquely blended style came about as briefly explained in the following.
I believe that abstract painting was and still is an artist’s attempt at capturing and
expressing Plato's world of ideas which is invisible to the earthly eyes. Then, at the
beginning of the 20th century came the avant-gardism of Filonov and Malevich which was a
rebellion against physicality, materialism and petty-bourgeois consumption.
Iconography takes its roots from the symbiosis of antique vivid imagery and spiritual
practices of Ancient Egypt. From ancient times to the present day, man has never stopped
asking himself questions about who he is and what his true role in this world is.
My newfound unique style of blending iconography and abstract painting is somehow an
endeavour to continue humanity’s perennial e?ort and desire to capture and express the
depth of the invisible world via visible materials, to have a glimpse of the heavenly realm via
earthly instruments, akin to Plato and Malevich’s line of thinking.
In my work, I try to find an image of the elusive other shore - where every soul aspires to go -
and trying to find artful means to communicate what is di?icult to express in words.
ELIZAVETA DAJOSE (Artist Name: Elize)
Elize daJose is a professional artist, sculptor, iconographer and illustrator.
Her artworks primarily consist of a unique blend of abstract art and icon painting, experimenting with various materials, although her favorite media remain acrylic painting and ceramics.
Born in Moscow, Russia, her life as an artist started at a very young age. One day on a snowy street in her hometown, she bought Kazimir Malevich’s book from a peddler which turned her consciousness upside down and defined her entire life path.
From 1996 to 2000, she religiously undertook painting, sculpture, and graphics in various workshops of Moscow artists.
Since 2001, she has been working in the creative workshops of the Babushkinsky Sculpture Combine and in 2002, she became a member of the Moscow Union of Artists, sculpture section.
From 2002 to 2010, she actively participated in group exhibitions at the Central House of Artists, Gallery on Kuznetsky Most, Darwin Museum, and Timiryazev Museum.
In 2010, she participated in the Annual Art Juried Competition in Los Angeles, CA, and became a laureate.
In 2011, she took part in the collective exhibition "Woman Day Art Exhibits" at the Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, CA, and in 2012 she had a solo exhibition "Three Artists" at Liz Loft Gallery, LA, CA.
In 2016, Elize moved to California and actively participated in collective exhibitions, including the "Summer Exhibit" at Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica (2016), "Brain Art Event" at Lark Gallery/The Chiari Project in West Hollywood (2017), and "The Art of Transformation" at Brick & Mortar Loiter Galleries in Long Beach (2023), among many others.
In 2025, Elize was awarded the Silver Medal at the New York International Art Juried Competition, "The Light from the Other Shore."
In 2026, an essay featuring Elize's creativity and spiritual development was published in the book "Revelations of the Artist - Deep Calls to Deep", curated by ArtServe International.
Elize is an active member of the Los Angeles Art Association and Riverside Community Arts Association. She is currently represented by Lark Gallery in West Hollywood and Literary Engineers, LLC in Benicia, CA.
Patricia Ferber
2 works
About Patricia Ferber
I am a primarily a sculptor working in varied media. A painter, a curator, an educator, and builder of large architectural/environmental landscape works formed out of rock, metal, often megalithic in size. My work continues to evolve through the exploration of new media. The use of clay to captivate me, serving as an extension of my imago mundi.
2019 “All U Can Eat”, Bunny Gunner Gallery, Claremont, CA
2019 Vertical Wine Bistro, Pasadena, CA
2019 “Evolve Women Wisdom”, LarkGalleryOnline, Long and Great Hall, West Hollywood, C
2018 Bunker Open Doors" LarkGalleryOnLine,West Hollywwod,CA
2018 “Fahrenheit 2018 Biennial” AMOCA, Pomona, CA
2017 “Forces of Nature II”, LA County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, Arcadia, CA
2017 “:Hollyweird Tube Formed in Fire”, Ventura College, Ventura, CA
2017 “Evolving”, Bunny Gunner Gallery, Claremont, CA
2017 “All U Can Eat”, Bunny Gunner Gallery, Claremont, CA
2015 “The Nature of Sculpture” LA Arboretum, Arcadia, CA
2015 “Off the Wall”, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2014 “Sculpture in the Garden”, Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts, Alta Loma, CA
2013 “2013 Ceramic Biennial”,AMOCA, Pomona, CA.
2013 “International Womens Day”, LarkGalleryOnline, West Hollywood City Building, W. Hollywood,CA
2013 “Abstract Contemplations”, LarkGalleryOnline, Sulkin/Secant Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2012 “Forces of Nature”, The Los Angeles County Arboretum, Arcadia, CA
2012 “Sculpture in the Garden”, Sam and Alffreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts, Alta Loma, CA
2012 “New Beginings” , The Loft Galleries and Studios, LarkGalleryOnLine, San Pedro, CA
2011 “Exposed”, AMOCA Permanent Collection, Pomona, CA
2011 “The Art of Clay”, AMOCA, Pomona, CA
2011 “Rossinian Night”, House of Balsamic, Irvine, CA
2011 “Off the Wall”, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA 0
2010 “The Gallery Repertoire”, Gallery Armstrong’s Pomona, CA
2010 ”Moon Light Discovery”, Long Beach Art Walk, LarkGalleryOnLine, Long Beach CA
2010 “Phantom Galleries, Long Beach, CA
2010 FreshArt”, Arena Gallery Santa Monica Studios, Santa Monica, CA
2010 “Reaching Within”, LarkGallery OnLine, Los Angeles, CA
2010 “Los Angeles Art Show”, Armory Center for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA
2009 “Muddy’s Wood Fire Special”, The Myers Gallery-Muddy’s Studio, Santa Ana, CA
2009 “Hidden Treasures”, LarkGalleryOnLine, Los Angeles, CA
2009 “Rhythms- Small Pleasures and Vessel Forms”, Bunny Gunner Gallery, Pomona CA
2009 “Clay and Ink” California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA
2009 “Off the Wall”, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2009 Phantom Galleries, Pasadena, CA
2008 “Art Without Boarders”, LarkGalleryOnLine, Los Angeles, CA
2008 “Diversity In Clay”, 2008 AMOCA/ACS-DC Show. Pomona, CA
2008 Presidents Show”, 2008 American Ceramics Society, Burbank, CA
2008 “Bunny Gunner’s 1st
2008 “Fred’s Friends”, Armstrong Gallery, Pomona, CA
2008 “Alchemy of Art”, LarkgalleryOnLine, Los Angeles, CA. (Honorable Mention)
2007 Los Angeles County Fair, Pomona, CA
2007 “Open Call LA 2007”, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 “Small Treasures”, Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
2007 “Extreme Clay”, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA
2007 Pyoung Taek International Art Festival, Korea
2007 “Off the Wall”, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2007 “L.A. International Art Festival 2007, ASTO Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2006-Present Armstrong’s Ceramic Art Gallery, Pomona, CA
2005 “Recording Memories of Three Generations Through the Arts”, Armory Center for the Arts,
2004 Dynamics of Scale”, Xiems Ceramics Center, Pasadena, CA
2003-2004 California Fine Art Market, Pasadena, CA
2003 “2003° Fahrenheit”, Glendale City College, Glendale, CA
2003 The DA Center for the Arts, Pomona CA
2002 Armory Center for the Arts, Faculty Exhibition, Pasadena, CA
Birthday”, Bunny Gunner Gallery, Pomona, CA
Pasadena, CA
2002 Bedlam Gallery, Los Feliz, CA
2000 Prufrock Gallery, Pasadena, CA
1999 “Patricia Ferber Recent Works”, Prufrock Gallery, Pasadena, CA
1997 L.A. River Festival, Los Angeles, CA
1997 “Patricia Ferber Recent Works”, The Art Bank, Los Angeles, CA
1996-1997 Art You Can Live With, L.A. Artcore, Los Angeles, CA
1996 “Vessels”, The Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
1996 Bella Lewitzky Dance Foundation Silent Auction, Sotheby’s, Beverly Hills, CA
1995 Exploring A Movement: Feminist Visions in Clay”, Wingnall Museum/Gallery, Chaffey College,
1995 “One Vision”, Space Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1995 Silent Auction, Space Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1994 “DADA Downtown Lives”, Los Angeles, CA
1994 “Cups”, Space Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1994 “The World of Cups”, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
1994 “Grants for the Arts, 1993-1994 “Fellowship Recipients, Pasadena, CA
1993 “Clay Currents”, Southwestern College, Chula Vista, CA
1992 The Cultural Factory, Pasadena, CA
1992 Space Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1992 “Transformed From Clay 14 Southern California Artists”, The Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
1992 “An Odyssey In Clay and Drawing”, 801 N. Brand, Glendale, CA
1992 “Clay Works”, Space Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1991 Nemiroff-Deutsch Fine Arts, Santa Monica, CA
1991 Space Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1991 “Scripps 47th
1990 Downey Museum of Art, “Metals Now”, Downey, CA
1989 Downey Museum of Art, “Ceramics Now”, Downey, CA
1989 Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1986-1988 FISID, Design Center of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Ceramic Annual”, Scripps College, Claremont, CA
Gala Kovshilovsky
4 works
About Gala Kovshilovsky
Nature’s infinite pallet of color and diversity awaken our hearts and mind.
*** The Law of the Universe:
No matter how dark the night gets, the sun will rise. It always does.
*** Innocent and beautiful colors of sun are ready to dance with you at winter solstice, awaken your heart and mind.
*** Sun’s rays are inviting you to the new year journey! Be ready to fly!
** Galina Kovshilovsky’s paintings derive from her Russian origins. One feels the breath and wildness of a massive country and yet the simple handy work of it dedicated population. Galina’s paintings capture the sprawling epic about the erosion of tradition with visually striking exploration of color in its infinite variety and vitality. Her painting, be they large or small, capture the imagination with visually stunning Swirls and movement of the eye, emotion and the imagination. We are left breathless with the fascinating lovingly layered colors where the rules of organized thought clash and intersect with rituals and beliefs. We are moved. We are coaxed. We are seeing and drawn into a study of inclusiveness always before us.
Her color is gorgeous and she paints energy.
Dr. Marion Somers.
Barry Gordon
3 works
About Barry Gordon
Barry Gordon's art is characterized by the use of vibrant colors and whimsical forms that grow out of recognizable human, floral or animal shapes. The tone is often humorous and the message frequently one of social satire or political commentary. Speaking of his own work, Gordon says, "I try to achieve a kind of musical counterpoint between color, design, composition, optical abstraction and fantasy." His works contain representations and permutations of musicians and music making; biologic and organic forms; social institutions and social relationships.
His drawings and paintings center around three broad categories: perceptions of self or others; social relations between self and society, between couples and within small groups; epics and concepts. Gordon's imagery provides a broad repertoire for the viewer's mind to draw on from his/her own experiential base to impressionistically develop his/her own conceptual/visceral "holistic perception" of a scene, a feeling an experience. What follows is an instantaneous recognition not necessarily analytically or consciously understood--ending in a reflexive interactive smile derived from the pleasure of the journey.
My first exhibit was at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in an exhibit of children's art (1952). My debut professional exhibit was in 1965 at the Bogner Gallery on Gallery Row (La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills) and then various other shows nationally (New York; Washington, DC; Seattle; and throughout California) with a 30-year retrospective of 92 pieces in 2004 in a university gallery. I have had shows internationally, in what was formerly Yugoslavia (Belgrade), Russia (Moscow, and St Petersburg), Brazil (Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte) and had illustrations published in various newspapers and magazines, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, as well a an album cover for CBS Records and the 1984 Olympics' Georgio Moroder Theme song for Track.
My work is derivative of many influences including Picasso, Miro, Saul Steinberg, Dali, Matta, Tanguey, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Matisse and Klee, among others. If you put these influences in a pot and let them bubble and boil, then throw in California freedom and light and American multiculturalism, that is the direction from which my art is derived.
I have studied with Eula Long (1950 -57), Dorothy Royer, Adelaide Fogg (Los Angeles), David Smith, Tadeusz Lapinsky, Jay Orbeck, Zdzslaw Sikora (Univ of CA & Maryland), Barron Storey, Joe Bowler, Murray Tinkelman and David Passalqua (Syracuse Univ). Of course, I am solely responsible for my own imagery and its uniqueness.
I owned the Gordon Gallery 1985-96.
Georganne Heller
5 works
About Georganne Heller
"My art allows me to see the beauty – the color and design – in ordinary everyday objects, in buildings, in clothing, in nature.
We are all surrounded by beauty. All we need to do is stop, look and take it all in."
Georganne Aldrich Heller, daughter of the famous fashion designer and art collector Larry Aldrich and a successful designer is an artist in her own right. She makes collages building on the vision that drove her long career as a theatrical producer in New York. Each collage and boxed construction represents a setting of evolving mysteries, opening the way to surreal dramas inviting viewers to enter the world of her dreams, yet unruled by any sort of literary content. Instead, Heller favors a lucid, iconic approach where the “thingness” of shapes and substances is allowed its own expression, her visual reasoning riding on the dynamic that powered western art through a half century of experiment, from cubism to De Stijl.
Marc Hill
4 works
About Marc Hill
I consider myself more of an illustrator although I make fine art as well. I hope to express myself more in the coming months as an expressionist or feeling painter as I'd like to call it. My favorite illustrator is Norman Rockwell. My favorite artist is Van Gogh and my favorite modernist is Jackson Pollock.
Graduated from The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago with an Associates of Applied Science in Graphic Design. Also attended West Los Angeles College where I received my certificates in alcohol and drug studies. I work at Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse as a Substance Abuse Counselor. I continue to draw and paint in my spare time and sell my original works.
Olga Hofmann
7 works
About Olga Hofmann
I find my inspiration in the world around me and in my loved one. I do not usually follow the same style in all of my artworks and while some of my paintings just depict the beauty of the real world around me, the others are more about telling different imaginary stories and revealing unusual characters and situations. My diptychs and triptychs are more like visual stories where the presentations from different perspectives depict common and not so common situations and circumstances. Such an artistic trick allows me not just to tell a certain story, but it also turns a 2D image into something similar to 3D object thus greatly expanding viewers visual experience and further stimulating their imagination.
Olga was born in the Russian city of Zlatoust to the parents of German descent. She developed a passion for drawing and painting over her early childhood years. In Russia she graduated from the College of Industrial Design where she received her BA degree as a commercial designer . Later, the family moved to Germany where she became an art teacher for the art-therapy program designed for the kids with mental disabilities and other special needs.
Since moving to California in 2011 she began her career as a fine artist working in a variety of different styles and genres and have also participated in a number of local exhibitions. Her artworks have been sold to art collectors in US and around the world.
Ben Humphrey
16 works
About Ben Humphrey
This body of work is a celebration the of the lives of "working girls" from a Deadwood Brothel. The black and white photographs taken at Bea Wheelers Annex Rooms ca. 1943 have become the inspiration for this body of work.
The subjects in these paintings represent a cross section of women from various backgrounds brought into this lifestyle because of necessity.Confronted with the harsh realities of their everyday lives, these women were able to share in the simple joys and bonds of friendship and sisterhood. These candid images offer some insight into the actual lives of some prostitutes in Deadwood without glamorizing their situation. It has been my intent to tell their story through my oil paintings
Ben humphrey was born Chadron Neb. but grew up in the LA area. In his youth he studied privately with a master painter, who taught him many techniques . Exploring on his own mastered the art of decorative and faux finishes, implementing them in private homes and public spaces including historic restoration. A fine oil painter with traditional painting techniques he has been inspired by many great painters from the past and present. Still living in the LA area, he tries to spend some of his time in the Black Hills of SD a place where he draws great inspiration from.
studio exhibits Factory pl. LA 1990-93
Dahl art center Rapid city sd 04,05,06
Blue Dog Gallery Lead sd 05,06,08,10
Lead, Deadwood arts council 10
Adams Museum Deadwood sd 10
Womens Club Pasadena ca 11,12
















Paul Ivanushka
6 works
About Paul Ivanushka
My work is about self-discovery, not only of myself, but the discovery of the photographic media, its intricacies, the technology; about solving the problems of composition, lighting, film processing and getting out of bed at 2:00AM to catch a sunrise in the San Joaquin Valley.
Influenced by such diverse photographers such as Edward Weston, Minor White, Ansel Adams and the Starn twins, as a Fine Arts Photographer I want to create photographic works of the highest possible quality that are aesthetically pleasing and challenge the viewer.
Developed first roll of film when I was 10 years old after seeing Kolbs images of lightening strikes over the Grand Canyon. Formally trained at Brooks Institute of Photography. Spent several years photographing equine events and developing software. Began landscape photography in 2014 using large format view camera.
Faina Kumpan
4 works
About Faina Kumpan
My art is imagination of created things which do not exist in everyday life. The purpose of my life - is creation of the fantasies. I was always attracted to science fiction books and movies. I put my images of my fantasy’s creatures in paintings and sculptures.
Faina Kumpan was moved from Odessa, Ukraine as a political refugee. She graduated from the Theatrical Art College in Odessa. In her not very exciting childhood, she was dreaming of other worlds. She was obsessed with science fiction.
Her emigration to New York opens the new opportunities. She worked as a designer and changed a lot of different professions. After moving to LA she returned to her love for art and Science Fiction. She attended numerous classes at UCLA Extension and many private workshops. She exhibited in many important galleries in LA and NY. She creates a fantasy world that is a once surreal and abstract, whimsical and vibrant. Whether creating painting or sculptures, her subjects are mystical creatures from another world, like fantastic figures stepping out of the pages of the futuristic fairy tale. She was participating in many group exhibitions.
She was awarded as a creative artist by City of LA for working together to celebrate Los Angeles as Creative Capital of the world. Her works are in many private collections.
Melissa Ann Lambert
4 works
About Melissa Ann Lambert
My art, whether abstract, figurative, or combinations of both, explores dimensional vibrations through the use of line, color, symbolism, and form. Geometry, particle physics, holonomic brain theory, mythology, and Jung's theories of synchronicity and the collective unconscious all inform my work.
Perceiving the concepts contained in the above theories, I strive to reveal the deeper dimensions and innate spirituality that exist in the here and now of every moment.
I am a mixed-media artist whose works include traditional media (watercolor, pastel, pen and ink, oil, acrylic), digital or new media, and combinations of both. Upcoming plans are to work with LED panels (backlit) and animation.
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“Employing an arsenal of digital tools, Melissa Lambert mines a hallucinatory territory embedded with personal codes and signals that lend her dizzying, pixelated surfaces unusual depth.”
-Michael Ned Holte
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Melissa Ann Lambert is definitely in the inner worlds mode of Matta, Onslow-Ford, and Pallen. The blurring of inner and outer, micro and macro, she has that. Count me amongst her fans.
- William Sheehy, Latin American Masters
Bergamot Station
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Influences include the latest fantastical discoveries of particle physics, synchronicity, superstring, holonomic brain and biotic theory, and Taoism. Authors as diverse as Gary Zukov, Brian Greene, Daniel Goleman, Carlos Castenada, Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, William Blake, and Carl Jung have influenced my perception and vision.
Lark Pilinsky
4 works
About Lark Pilinsky
My art name is Lark - the bird that lingers between the earth and the sky. We artists do it at the moment of inspiration and meditation. That's how I create my art. I meditate and start with the spontaneous movements of my instruments; usually it is not a brush. A brush makes me think. My instruments are usually just pieces of cardboard. I also paint on any surface – canvas, board, plexiglass, glass, wood, etc – and I love to experiment and see what happens. My best creations take place in a state of no mind.
Although I begin the way abstract expressionists do and use some sumi-e techniques, eventually most of my creation starts shaping as abstract or impressionistic landscapes as ocean, sky, trees, flowers and mountain views start appearing from the formless. Nature is my source of inspiration, but instead of landscape details I channel nature's moods, the feeling of being one with nature, and swimming in its atmospheric light.
Light is what drives me to continue working. My mission is always to bring more light to people around me with my art, poetry and meditations. I know that viewers feel joy, peace and harmony when they look at my work, enter and settle inside it because it heals their emotional wounds and it makes me happy. Being an artist is an opportunity to express the fountain of my creative energy and at the same time serve people's needs in beauty that will heal the world.
When people perceive the light, the high and playful energy that my paintings emanate, they start feeling they are back in the fairy-tale world of their childhood, when their soul was open to transformations and miracles, and they feel like Alice in her enchanting wonderland.
From the beginning of her art career, Lark’s art caught the attention of art lovers and gained recognition from art jurors including LA Weekly critic Peter Frank, Santa Monica Museum Art Director Lisa Melandri and MOCA curator Alma Ruiz.
Fusing classical and contemporary art traditions, Lark's award-winning artworks carry her signature gestural brushstrokes and vibrant color palettes. They have been featured in the many prestigious exhibitions, art catalogs and sold globally in France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Russia, Armenia, Canada, Sweden and many other countries. In 2021 - 2025 Lark's art was exhibited in the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and the Shiba City Museum of Art In Japan where Lark got two Gold Awards in the group shows.
Regine Legler
4 works
About Regine Legler
I paint what touches me most. Something in my life or in the world around me that moves me deeply. It may be joy or it may be sadness and worry.
Just painting what I feel brings me closer in touch with who I am and what I feel, it helps me process what I might not otherwise understand or be able to digest or let go of.
My artwork always had to do with feelings, my feeling about the world, people, and my relationship with them. I always have put it on paper since I can remember.
Like the feelings between mother and child, that are our most complete bond, or portraits of an emotional mood, that seem to come just out of me when I feel a certain way and sit down with a brush and canvas, to capture the emotion.
Regine Legler Bio
Regine Legler was born in Berlin, Germany during the last days of World War II.
Her first exposure to art was a dark, brown door her mother allowed the family to draw on with chalk, which Regine did frequently. Everything was a canvas, including her schoolbooks, which lead Regine to her first commission; being asked by her fellow classmates to help them with their homework assignment to draw Napoleon.
Regine’s formal education in fine art started at age 17 when she enrolled at the Staedelschule in Frankfurt/Main Germany. There she began a two-year study of figure drawing, portraiture, landscape and still life under Walter Hergenhahn, a student of the renowned Max Beckmann. Later, she underwent three years of intensive study in oil painting, acrylic and watercolor at the Freie Academie in Mannheim, Germany.
In her early years, Regine drew and painted scenes of dreams and emotional situations in a style called Fantastic Realism. Then, in 1994, her interest shifted to wildlife and American Indian scenes. Today, Regine’s style has evolved from Fantastic Realism to a more realistic and personalized technique to create a very bold look and tone to convey strong emotions.
Regine holds juried membership at Women Painters West, Southern California Women Caucus of the Arts, Venice Art Forum, and has taught college-level classes at Santa Monica College and the Fashion institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
Paola Luciani Fulbright
3 works
About Paola Luciani Fulbright
Be Thy Mind opened to the Truth
Be Thy Heart a Centre of Creation
Be Thy Body a vessel of Cosmic Life Force
My name is Paola Luciani Fulbright. Im originally from Rome, Italy and moved to California 17 years ago. Something called me here, and I discovered few years later that my calling was about my spiritual journey. Here I met my mentors and teachers that helped me to become the person I am today. Master Degree in Architecture and Fine Art at the University of Rome.
My journey as a spiritual seeker never ends. Even when I became consciously awaken to my true power, purpose and passions, my life still transforming and revealing new paths every day…As an occultist I consciously live in the world of energies, that are always present in my whole existence. Inspired by such beauty,I love to express it through my art.
I’ve been a student of Hermeticism for the last 20 years where I learned the principles of High Magick, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and the core spiritual principles found at the heart of universal spirituality. My goal is to inspire and show the beauty of the unseen energies and to allow the highest forms of vibration available expressed through art, to encourage, guide and empower others. I express myself through many forms of art and writings with authenticity, passion and joy.
As I continue to learn and grow, I am now choosing to share with others what I have gained from my experiences. I believe that each of us has been born into this world as a Cosmic expression, and that our suffering originates in falsely believing we are something other than that. I think that the time is ‘now’ for each of us to reclaim our true spiritual heritage and live hap
Lyle Rushing
3 works
About Lyle Rushing
My art pieces are reflective, contemplative snapshots of human experiences and natural elements.
I love the use of rudimentary tools: graphite, charcoal, oil sticks, colored pencils. The connection of hand-to-tool-to-paper is extraordinary. Equally, I love the fluidity of acrylics and pastels. My most recent works are dominated by utilizing wood as a recipient of these mediums. Wood as an organic surface has unique, innate absorption tendencies that require a cooperative effort with: the wood, the mediums and me. Often when working with these varied mediums on wood, I will incorporate pressing techniques and casual brush strokes to achieve blendings that result in a harmonious visual experience.
I create artwork with passion and with purpose. The human experience embossed upon the canvas of nature requires nothing less.
2011
* July - September
Los Angeles Municpal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca.
* October
Bradford Stewart Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
2012
* Februray
RAW Artist Show Case, Los Angeles, Ca.
* May
Juried Art Show, 56th Annual National Orange Festival, San Bernardino, Ca
* June
E.N.U.F. Art Show, SAC Studio, Los Angeles, Ca
* September - October
Portals Juried Exhibit, AY Gallery, Malibu, Ca
* October
JCW Institute, Los Angeles, Ca
* December
Pancakes and Booze, Los Angeles, Ca
2013
* January
27th Annual BAA Juried Show, Ventura, Ca
* February 2-28
Solo Art Show, Dysonna Art Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
* January 14 - March 16h
'Winter to Spring' Juried Group Show, Ventura, Ca
* February -
Neon Venus Theatre, Los Angeles, Ca
* March 5 - April 28
International Women's Month Juried Show, West Hollywood City Hall, West Hollywood , Ca
* February - April
R & B Divas- L.A., TV One Network Cable Series
* April 20 - May 20
Galeria Obscura, Juried Group Show, Los Angeles, Ca
* October 30 - November 30
SoPas Gallery, Juried Group Show, Los Angeles, Ca
* December 14 - January 10
Gallery 825, L.A. Art Assoc. Juried Group Show, Los Angeles, Ca
2014
* November - February
Art is Healing Juried Group Show, USC IGM Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca
* February - April
Find Your Roots Juried Group Show, West Hollywood City Bldg., W. Hollywood, Ca
Sel Sarkin
5 works
About Sel Sarkin
My love is Zen painting an expression of no thought. A burst of energy.
As a child I was good at drawing and painting landscape scenes using vivid colors. I returned to painting in the 90's while I was traveling in India. I studied with Meera, a well known abstract Japanese artist, who used a no-mind, zen approach to painting.
Creative expression is a willingness to be open to what evolves on the canvas.
With no goal or result in mind, the time spent on the painting, the journey, is the result.
Whether or not it is pleasing to the eye, or to someone elses eye is another story.
My joy in painting is the appearance of shapes and colors rapidly forming before me. It takes me into quiet space inside.
Tatiana Savchenko
4 works
About Tatiana Savchenko
My work is a visual dialogue between the discarded and the resilient. I find beauty in "fragments"—crushed metal, torn envelopes, weathered stamps, and forgotten notes—transforming these remnants of urban life into harmonious compositions.
In the series submitted for "Bridging Through Colors," I use mixed-media assemblage as a metaphor for healing. Just as a crumpled piece of paper or a discarded object can be integrated into a new, balanced whole, our fragmented experiences and diverse backgrounds can find unity through the universal language of art.Each piece serves as a "bridge": between the industrial and the organic, the personal and the collective, the chaotic and the serene. My process involves layering textures and colors to create a space for quiet reflection. By giving a second life to materials that have been cast aside, I invite the viewer to see the possibility of rebirth and transformation in the world around us.
Tatiana Savchenko is a Los Angeles-based mixed-media artist whose practice explores the intersection of urban materiality, personal memory, and emotional resilience. Her work is characterized by a "visual dialogue" between found objects—such as industrial remnants, vintage correspondence, and discarded fragments—and expressive layers of acrylic and watercolor.In 2026, Savchenko’s presence in the Southern California art scene was highlighted by several key exhibitions. She was featured in the "March/Forward" showcase at Shoebox Projects within the Brewery Arts Complex and participated in the StARTup Art Fair at Venice Beach. Her collaborative artist book, LA: Two Voices, One City, created in partnership with Gregory Desgouttes, exemplifies her commitment to exploring unity and connection through shared creative narratives.By transforming everyday debris into layered, atmospheric compositions, Savchenko invites viewers to find tranquility and "healing" within the chaotic textures of modern life. Her work serves as a bridge between the mundane and the spiritual, aligning perfectly with the global call for empathy and connection through the universal language of art.
Jane Serebrenikov
11 works
About Jane Serebrenikov
Jane Serebrenikov’s narrative graphical art works reflect her deeply lyrical and uniquely poetical vision. All her life she is interested in visual art and, grown up on fairy tales, combines magic, vivid imagination and sense of humor in her art works. She also inspired by the arts of Mark Chagall and Reno Magritte.
Jane is started etching 5 years ego and has been taken part of several exhibitions. She sold her arts nationally and internationally. She makes aquatint etchings. This is where the plate is immersed in acid and the lines and tones achieved when the acid “bites” the areas which have not been masked. Than color applied manually and print on printmaking press. Each print is unique.
Jane was born in Moscow, Russia and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1995 with her family. She graduated college as a graphic designer, holds AA degree and contentious working in printmaking studio.
Robert Soffian
3 works
About Robert Soffian
Robert Soffian is a painter who explores the supernatural and psychic events that guide us. He uses his experience as a theatre director (with over 30 of experience) to create mytho-poetic visual narratives. The procedure he likes to employ is profoundly based on materiality, detailed gesture, and focuses mostly on objects that are discarded and pre-used like our reactions to our biographies. He likes to be reminded of the masters of Modernism. And views the plenum of the picture frame as a stage where his figures reenact and project their stories. Ink, gouache, oil pigments are his favorites. He also plays with wood and aluminum. His work often combines things both physical and mentally: like impulse and rationality. All sides of the brain are embraced. In and out and up and down.
Robert Soffian (born 1947, Philadelphia, Pa) is a professor of theatre, director, painter and poet. He holds an MFA from the University of Virginia (1985) and BA in Cultural Studies/History from University of Wisconsin Madison (1969). For the almost 30 years he has been teaching at Shasta College in Redding, CA . (Retired 2014) Soffian has directed, designed lights, created mise en scen, and created digital projected scenery for well over 100 plays. As a producer he ran two Theatres…Century Hall and the Metropole Theatre (Milwaukee Wi). Soffian has curated dozens of exhibitions, ballet, opera, performance art, music events. He is credited with having discovered the Violent Femmes. During the golden age of culture in Amsterdam 1970’s he was a government supported artist. He was responsible for creating performance pieces, exhibitions of all kinds and weekly public plays poetry and theater events.
Lana Sokoloff
3 works
About Lana Sokoloff
How color affects me is an important issue in my paintings. Certain color combinations can cause an immediate emotional response. This might happen while looking at flowers, photographs in a magazine, or simply selecting colors of paint that capture my attention at that moment.
I create my paintings outdoors, under the California sun, where I have the freedom to work physically, without restraint. There is an organic quality to the process, utilizing fluid color to create movement. I never use brushes. Paint is applied to the canvas by dripping, pouring and splashing, with water sprayed onto the surface. Painting for me is about capturing the physical and emotional energy that I experience while being completely lost in the process.
My paintings are open to interpretation. Each person will find their own meaning in the work.
Born St. Petersburg, Russia
Lives and Works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
Bachelor?s Degree in Economics, Institute of Soviet Trade, St. Petersburg, Russia
Fashion Design, Los Angeles Trade Technical College, California
Self-Taught Artist.
Member of Laguna Art.com. Member of LA FAN group of artists
Member of Aleatoric Modern Artists /MAMA/
Solo Exhibitions
2012-2013
Divided Sky bar, South Lake Tahoe, California
2011
Chrysalis, Gallery GoDo, Glendale, California
Elements Restaurant, Santa Barbara, California
Krystal Salon, Studio City, California
Group Exhibitions
2013
Townley Gallery ,Laguna Beach ,California
2012
Laguna Gallery of Contemporary Art, Laguna Beach,California
Gloria Delson Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, California
Walk Art Way Gallery GoDo, Glendale, California
January 20th,March 23 rd Gallery Godo, Glendale, California
2011
Florence Biennale Internazionale D?Arte Conetemporanea, Firenze, Italy (catalog)
Happy 2, Gallery Godo, Glendale, California
Spring Brewery Art Walk, Diavolo Theater, Los Angeles, California
Save Japan, Gallery GoDo , Glendale, California
American Art Salon, Finalist, Juried Internet Exhibition, www.artjury.com
Projekt 30, Finalist, Juried Internet Exhibition, www.projekt30.com
Erotica, Gallery GoDo, Glendale, California
2010
Hotter Than July, Gallery GoDo, Glendale, Californ
Marc Antony Stewart
2 works
About Marc Antony Stewart
Good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement.
Revision in progress
Marlene Struss
3 works
About Marlene Struss
DUAL PROCESS ARTWORKS:
The Synthesis of Collage and Photo Processing
Understanding the photage process gives insight into the unique abstract images I achieve in digital painting. Photage is not the odd juxtaposition of visual language you generally associate with collage. For me it is an expressionistic, painterly, problem-solving process that begins with finding a rich and cohesive palette of fragments from recycled magazine pages. I then help each piece find its niche based on light and shadow, color, and texture dynamics. This focus on cooperation and symbiosis of parts is what paradoxically imparts a sense of calmness, strength of structure, and serenity in an otherwise very busy environment, a metaphor of my vision for a healthy earth.
"In a future series I expect to explore many more interesting color combinations and visual effects and perhaps create more loose, dynamic photages with more simplified patterns. However, since unpredictable is part of the definition of photage, I will be as surprised as my patrons to see what comes out next," I wrote in a previous artist's bio. Rereading this today, imagine my pleasant shock of realization that I have done just that, but not in the way I imagined. Digital painting has allowed me to push the photage images in the direction my artistic sense wants to take unfettered by the physical limitations of cut paper. I find that the interests piqued by photage, such as experimenting with light and shadow, depth of field, the balance of space, visual porosity of elements, mood and interaction of color, simultaneous micro/macro perspectives, and the commingling of straight lines and curves, can all be indulged using a stylus and powerful photoprocessing tools.
Traditional art training has been an immeasurable benefit in creating abstract depictions of qualities and sensations found in the collages and digital paintings. But while I can draw and paint, I consider myself more a constructionist and have always been inclined towards building, layering, combining found material, and the frugal and resourceful person's excitement in making something new and different out of something else. This seems to be the Nature's way of creating, and these new media dual-process artworks are my homage to and idealization of its many mysteries.
For a view of both photage and its spawn, digital painting, please visit: www.marlenestruss.com
Life-long artist Marlene Struss is a native of California. She received her bachelor's degrees in fine art and social sciences from the University of California Santa Barbara and found the climate, both physical and spiritual, so conducive to creativity that she never left the area. Since that time she has produced a large body of work in a variety of disciplines, including drawing, etching, painting, surrealistic and political collage and, most recently, digital painting. She is best known for the striking collages she calls "photage" to distinguish the unique technical process and the visual effect achieved.
Ms. Struss's collage and photage has been widely exhibited and acclaimed in group and solo shows throughout the United States. She is the recipient of the coveted Independent Artist Award in Collage/Assemblage from Santa Barbara Arts Fund. She is an award winner in the National Collage Society's 23rd annual Juried Exhibition and a juried member of the National Association of Women Artists. Her work has appeared in several publications, including Kennedy Publishing's juried books Best of California Artists & Artisans and Best of America Mixed Media Artists & Artisans. Recently she has been selected by invitation to participate in Kennedy's Best of Worldwide Genre volume.
She started learning and experimenting with digital photo processing in early 2010 using high-resolution images of her photage as starting points. She soon realized that she had a natural affinity for this state-of-the-art technology and the stylus "paintbrush." It didn't take long for the new media artworks to be selected for several competitive group exhibitions.
She refers to these large abstract organic-looking scapes printed on canvas with archival pigment as digital paintings. They are distinguished by their lively fluidity, sophisticated color, impression of dynamic space, and dramatic use of light and shadow. In addition to her experience with layering paper, the meticulous interlacing of layers involved in her new method harks directly back to the layering technique she was noted for in her early etchings. And like all her previous abstract work, she prefers to allow the image to evolve without preconception by means of a series of aesthetic decisions. The beauty and mystery of the final creation then becomes its own message.
To view examples of both photage as well as digital paintings, please visit www.startran.com/artweb.
Svetlana Toth
3 works
About Svetlana Toth
On my page you see my artwork of the past ten years. Techniquewise working with enamel i follow two directions.
My own technique – the base of the composition is figures cut out of copper and secured onto enameled wood.
The other technique is closer to painting. The copper or steel base is burnt, then I convey the exact pattern of the prepared composition. The enamel goes on layer after layer all of which are burnt separately on 800-850 degrees. Compositionwise all of them are made as table work.
A theme I’d worked on for several years is the Tree of life, based on archeological findings from the 7th century – this is what’s called the Permi-animal style (ancient Finno-ugrian mythology).
"Three Gods", " Totems District", " Hunting for Unicorn", "Progenitrix", "Regard of the past", "Large Fish", " Legacy" , " Milky Way" , "The Rivals".
In the past couple of years I’ve been preoccupied by the theme „Two-faced reality”. As the contrast of lightness and darkness, chiaroscuro or cold and warm is a part of the world’s entirety, there is just as much good and bad in the human soul.
"Two Face of Truth", "Lucifer", "Angel", "The Role Reversal", "Balance", "Connected", "Resistance", "In One's Heart".
The rest of the pieces work around the „Reality of many faces”, because our reality is rather diverse and versatile.
I was born in Orel (Russia) in 1949 and was educated in art and restoration of oil paintings. I was head of the National Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Komi for three years. In 1991 I moved to Hungary and in 1994 began to work with enamel. Below you can see my art resume:
Awards
Award from Hungary Union of Artists and the International Hot Enamel Creative Workshop - 1997, 2006 and 2009
Award from Karel Wojtyla Friendship Center - 2012
Masters Diploma (Nesvady, Slovakia) - 2012
Award from International Enamels Exhibition in Slovakia - 2013
Award from International Enamels Exhibition in Slovakia - 2014
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
1995 - Merlin Theatre, Budapest
1997, 1998, 2009 - National Gallery of the Komi Republic, Syktyvkar
2002 - Cream Club, Budapest
2003 - The Church of Regnum Marianum, Budapest
2006 - Claudia Gallery, Budapest
2007 - Museum of the Hungarian Art Nouveau 19-20 centuries., Budapest
2009 - National Gallery of the Komi Republic, Syktyvkar
2009 - National Gallery of Mordovia, Saransk
2009 - Hungarian Cultural Centre, Moscow
2010, 2011 - Museum of the Hungarian Art Nouveau 19-20 centuries., Budapest
2013 - The Church in Nesvady, Slovakia
2014-2015 - The Museum of stained glass and enamels, Ravenstein (Netherlands)
Group exhibitions
1995 - Hungarian Cultural Centre, Paris
1997-2015 - annual exhibitions in the city of Kecskemet after the symposium
1999 - Ujpest Gallery, Budapest
2000 - Stephanie Palace, Budapest
2000 - Municipal Cultural Centre, Shalgotaryan (Hungary)
2001 - Raday Gallery, Budapest
2001 - Stephanie Palace, Budapest
2001 - International Trienalle Enamel, Budapest
2008 - The International Exhibition of Enamels in Ravenstein, Ravenstein (Netherlands)
2009 - The International Exhibition of Enamels, Nesvady (Slovakia)
2009 - Duna Gallery, Budapest
2009 - Cifra Palota, Kecskemet
2010 - Municipal House of Culture, Sekeyudvarhey (Romania)
2011 - The International Exhibition of Enamels, Nesvady (Slovakia)
2011 - City Gallery, Mezёtur (Hungary)
2011 - Art Gallery, Nadbanya (Romania)
2012 - The International Exhibition of Enamels, Nesvady (Slovakia)
2012 - Vizivarosi Gallery, Budapest
2013 - The International Exhibition of Enamels in Ravenstein, Ravenstein (Netherlands)
2015 - Biennale of iconography in the Cifra Palota, Kecskemet (Hungary)
2015 - International Exhibition of Enamels, Florence (Italy)
My artworks also in the collections of:
- National Gallery of the Komi Republic, Syktyvkar
- Church of Regnum Marianum, Budapest
- Chiksentdёrde Church in Romania
- Cifra Palota, Kecskemet
- Museum of International Creative Workshop Enamel, Kecskemet
- Museum of stained glass and enamels, Ravenstein (Netherlands)
My works are in private collections in
- Hungary
- Russia
- Denmark
- Canada
- Germany
- United States
- Bulgaria
- France
- India
- Austria
- Italy
- The Netherlands
- Slovakia
- Czech Republic
- Australia
Mark Valinsky
4 works
About Mark Valinsky
I enjoy capturing,revealing and sharing the beauty and "Life" in the everyday life that surrounds us.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mark Valinsky is an accomplished actor in the Screen Actors Guild as well as a black belt martial artist and retired board certified physician.
Dr. Valinsky's photographs span the world from across the United States to the Orient; People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Japan, down to Australia, and across to Spain. He possesses an acute awareness, insightful into the persons and situations. He has the eye of a hunter, patient, quick, accurate, capturing the moment the subject and / or the moment reveals itself.
Mark Valinsky captures the life, the beauty, the art, and the truth in people and situations. Friendly and professional, he's able to bring out the best in people and gets them to express themselves. He brings out their ability to look at themselves with respect.
His portfolio contains vintage photos of Classic Rock and Roll Bands including the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and other Classic Rock Bands as well as
The American Film Institute
The Golden Globes
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Sundance Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
The Frank Sinatra Charity Event
Paris Hilton Fashion Shows
Numerous Hollywood Red Carpet Events
Movie Still Photography
Sporting Events
Landscapes
People and Places
Headshots for Actors
The Golden Globes
His biography has been included in such prestigious records as The American Biographical Institute; National Registry of Who's Who; Who's Who Among Outstanding American Personalities
Olesya Volk
11 works
About Olesya Volk
My paintings come out as attempts to "translate" from ideograms and fantastic hieroglyphs that I see in the patterns of nature, most often in the tree bark.
It is like listening to a song in an unknown language. Everyone will have their own guess of what the words might say, but the main theme of the song will be recognized.I am so thrilled by the moments of gazing into the patterns of nature when intuition gives a glimpse from the world of archetypes. I think that trees are books and libraries that can be read, perhaps as well as any thing around if we attune to it…
My paintings are sort of "snapshots" from the process of reading the Book of Nature by the mind;these "snapshots" are somewhere in between the imagery and the language.The mind projects meanings onto the shapes and lines, but they are being reflected back, startling and puzzling… there is always a sensation of a mirror dialog, of having been "read" yourself by the Book of Nature...
born in Baku, Azerbajan, lived in Moscow since 16 years old, moved to L.A. in 1992;
M.F.A. in Film &Tv( Animation major) from UCLA;
involved in painting, writing and illustrating, cartooning, mixed media, paper theatre, small size dioramas











John Waiblinger
5 works
About John Waiblinger
These images are reflective of my growing body of work around a theme I’ve been exploring for some time now ... my own relationship with male beauty, eroticism and romanticizing a Queer sensibility. I’ve been re-visioning some of the images I’ve collected over the years, establishing them in a new context, from a different perspective. Many of the men in these images have been collected from ‘hard porn’ sites and I’ve re-positioned them, re-imagined them in a different context, merging them with my own photographs as the basis for this re-visioning. So each work is a layering and recombination of two very different images.
The work is rather emotionally driven. Each of these men or couples has touched me on both an emotional and aesthetic level – caught my eye (and my “heart” so to speak) from a perspective other than raw sexuality, and I strive to communicate that vision in each piece. My thought is to perhaps humanize, respect and admire them from another angle than the context in which they were originally captured. Each of these men exists, after all, outside of the context of pornographic performance. My engagement with these images encompasses many hours of re-thinking and re-imagining who these men might be and my own sense of relationship with them.
Ultimately, I consider it an act of romance --
John Waiblinger:
waibling@yahoo.com
johnwaiblinger.see.me
John began his artistic endeavors towards the end of his 5th decade after excitedly discovering that digital tools finally provided him the means to translate the visions populating his imagination into physical form. Possibly he is an accidental artist, but now that he has found his medium, he continues to explore how to best represent and share his inner vision.
As a self identified 'Queer Artist' his work is primarily focused on his own relationship with male beauty, and romanticizing a Queer sensibility.
In 2014:
May 2014, Featured Artist, Sachet Mixte Arts Journal Fifth Edition (http://www.amazon.com/Sachet-Mixte-Edition-Five-Volume/dp/1499533373)
June 2014, Group Exhibition at Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
July 2014, Featured Artist, Noisy Rain Gay Art Magazine (http://www.noisyrain.com)
November 2014, Group Exhibition at CMI Gallery, Anaheim, CA
December 2014, Group Exhibition at Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
December 2014, No Going Back Group Show, White Cloth Gallery, Leeds, UK
December 2014, Featured Artist in 1 Model, 100 Artists
In 2015:
January 2015, 215 Movement - Art Takes the Stage, Group Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA
February 2015, Dirty Show 16, International Erotic Art Exhibition, Detroit, MI
March 2015, Electron Salon, Group Show at Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
April 2015, LACDA 11th Anniversary Represented Artist Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA
May 2015, publication of the book HomoEros, Meditations on Gay Love & Learning (art book
featuring 71 images with text)
(http://www.amazon.com/HomoEros-Meditations-Longing-Sachet-Mixte/dp/1511812087)
May 2015, Exhibited at the Grand Opening, Brad Brafford LGBT Center on 4th, Santa Ana, CA
June 2015, Solar Spectrum, Group Show at M.D. Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
July 2015, Featured Artist, We Are Obscurred #1 (http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/956502)
December 2015, Snap to Grid, Group Exhibition at Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Los Angeles, CA
December 2015, Featured Artist, Sachet Mixte Themes: Male Nudes (Volume 7)
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1522898727)
In 2016:
February 2016, Dirty Show 17, International Erotic Art Exhibition, Detroit, MI
John Bradford Wolfer
1 work
About John Bradford Wolfer
I have a piece for "Music Reflected In Art".
20-year-old male philomath residing in Hawthorne, CA.
Young Summers
3 works
About Young Summers
These painterly collage pieces are a continuation of my Beach Rock painting series. I was initially inspired by rocks on a deserted beach. Submerged in water, they reminded me of strange creatures pulsating with spirits, and inspired me to reimagine them on my canvas.
The idea behind my collages was to bring out the mysteriousness I felt about these rocks and make their strangeness even more vivid.
Each collage piece has several vignettes generated in the process, either intentionally or incidentally. They are like mini dramas within a bigger show and, when viewed as a whole, meant to heighten surreal feeling.
The way I see and express nature might have been influenced by shamanistic spirit that I had witnessed as a youngster in my old country.
Young Yun Summers is a Los Angeles based artist. She was born in Korea and came to USA as a high school student. She inherited a love of art from her family and always knew she would be an artist.
Majoring in design in fine arts, she earned her BFA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and worked in retail advertising for many years. However, her passion to be a serious fine artist was not pursued while she was working full-time and raising a family.
After her son went off to college to study piano, she finally decided to fully commit herself to art.
Young started out painting her favorite subjects, such as her family, trees, rocks, things in nature. Then, she began to incorporate collages, as a way to enhance her paintings. Soon the painterly collage took over and became her signature medium, garnering great responses and awards. Lately, her collages have become more sculptural and experimental. Finding beauty and harmony in most unexpected way from items soon to be discarded, while reducing waste and recycle are important aspects of her artistic life.







































































































































