OLIVIA LYNN OLSEN

 "The vision for NATURE  BY  DESIGN (my recent show haning in the gallery through Spetember 23) came for me in October 2009 as I stood by the creek quickly sketching the view that later became "Post Creek."  I was struck by the curves of the creek bed, the swirls in the water and the eye-catching shapes and contrasts of the trees and slopes beyond.  At that moment I wondered if it would be possible to recreate and simplify the designs that nature presents to us every-where we look.  I felt the need to reduce my sketch to its simplest form, striving for the essence, the sense of place.  There is an underlying motion to the land - nothing is really static."

JUANITA SMALL-SALMON

"Even after many years in the Mission Valley, I am still awestruck by the beauty and spirit of this place; the light, the color, the energy, the interaction of the mountains and the sky in all their raiment that the seasons bring."

CAROLYN MYHRE

"I have a difficult time calling myself an artist, but I have had a delightful journey arriving at this show.  I hope my work will make you smile. 

ALISA K BROWN

"I consider these classes to be the real beginning of mylife as an artist.  I have learned to mix every color there ever was using only red, yellow, blue, and white.  There is color where you would never expect to find it.   My goal is to create beauty that is not a 'standard beauty', but rather a beauty that is captivating, interesting, dramatic, and full of feeling." Alisa began art classes with Olivia Olsen in 2005 at THE RED POPPY.   

LINDA PHILLIPPI

"If art is the visual entrance into the mystery of creation, then for me the mandala is the ultimate portal.  The word 'mandala' is derived from the root 'manda' which means essence, which, with the suffix 'la', results in the meaning of essence container. It's circular form symbolizes the cyclical nature of life and time, orbiting a center, as the earth orbits the sun, but with a new maturity and a different perspective each time it goes around.  Due to it's rhythnic nature mandala gazing can be a deeply relaxing exercise encouraging it's viewer to gradually come at the center of both the mandala and one's self. "

JAY CROSS

Scenic Landscapes, Wildlife Photography, and Fine Art Prints   www.lumen-perfectus.com

"My photographs are an attempt to capture, preserve, and share the world's natural beauty, perhaps bringing an awareness of others of the peril in which it exists."

JOANNE SIMPSON

"Even after many years in the Mission My main motivation to start a new project is color and light.  If I can capture the feeling of light playing over a landscape or a flower or a person, and it evokes a feeling of magic or wonder in the viewer, that is my reward.  I paint what is lovely and interesting about the world because that is my prusuit of happiness."

DONN THOMAS BORDEN, Photographer

"While trying to remain eclectic in my photographic subjects, I confess to certain preferences for architecture and landscapes.  My primary interest is in conventional black and white photography, silver gelatin chemistry prints.  However, I use and experiment with the digital electronic medium, which together with the amazing digital darkroom software, is rapidly developing into a quality imaging tool. I seek geometric rhythm and motion, not only in the lines of the subject, but also in the lighting and value tonalities."

DONN THOMAS BORDEN and JOANNE SIMPSON

Joanne saw several of Donn's black and white photographs and translated them into watercolors.

MARY KELLEY

"Mother Nature has always inspired me to paint. The subtle and striking contrasts between light and dark, warm and cool colors, the patterns and shapes of light and shadow are intriguing. I try to capture these things on canvas. If they can be frozen for later remembrance of the time and place, this would be success for me. Plein aire painting thrills me so, surrounded by the beauty, absorbing with all the senses the wind, the rain, the hot sun, the cool breeze, the bite of a frosty spring day."    www.marykelleyart.com.

ED MORETH, Photojournalist

"My interest in photography varies from people to animals to lighthouses and even the sometimes overlooked world of bugs. I am constanly looking for a different way to capture a subject's image, whether it's a sports game, the annual county fair, or an arachnid packaging its prey."

JOAN MASON

"Working mianly in oils and oil pastels, my paintings explore the spirit and emothion of the horse as landscape and experience. How the mind/heart translates the process of painting to a joy of line, color and texture has been the journey of my creative work."   www.missionfallsranch.com

HELEN McMILLAN

"Learning how to see this world is a walk with beauty and a priviledge. The first two paintings below are "encaustics", an ancient technique which used colored wax burnished on wood and stones"

TOM NORMANDEAU

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