Christine Ames
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Christine was born in Chicago, IL as Christine Ishikawa, to parents of Japanese descent. In High School she had a wonderful teacher/mentor who inspired her, encouraging her to enter a student group art tour. She was chosen, and exhibited in a worldwide tour through the Art Institute of Chicago. She then let her art rest, and went on to obtain a B.S. in Biology, an M.B.A., and pursued a career in research, sales and marketing. Many years later, she returned to her art, and now resides in Oceanside, CA and Rome, Italy.
Christine is a Mixed Media Abstract Artist. Her work is a process-oriented journey; a journey that focuses on line, color, and shape, and their relationships to each other. Her overall goal in a painting is compositional balance. She has exhibited in numerous galleries/museums, both in California and in Italy. [Chris's website link is [www.yessy.com/christinelames] |
Barry Robson
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I was born and raised in South Africa, where I graduated with a degree in Mining Engineering from the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg. After several years underground, I switched to oil exploration, and spent eleven years managing on-land and off-shore drilling projects.
In 1977, my family and I moved to La Jolla, where I was employed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. For seven glorious years, I managed the Glomar Challenger research drill ship, conducting scientific exploration world-wide as part of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. When the Scripps project ended, I moved on to geotechnical and environmental project management — mainly on US Navy bases in the Pacific, operating out of Hawaii. (No art yet) In 2004, I retired and moved back to Del Mar. I signed up for Acrylic Painting classes instructed by Sally Pierce at Mira Costa College. I attended these classes for about eight years before “going it alone.” My paintings are generally inspired by South African art, and by my travels in Mexico. I also make wood carvings, sculptures, and garden art. I have been a member of AGNC for about seven years, and am a member of Art Alliance at the Oceanside Museum of Art. I have shown my work at Jazzercise, and at AGNC shows in Oceanside, Vista, and San Marcos. |
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STEVE WILSON About 50 years ago in Philadelphia, when I was a Sociology professor at Temple University, I began taking courses in welded metal and clay sculpture. I taught a lot of courses, but “Sociology of Religion” and “Altered States of Consciousness” were my favorites. I gravitated towards art at that point in my life as a way of balancing out the left-brain focus of academia.
I retired from Temple in 1987 and moved to Boulder, CO, where I started teaching online courses for the University of Colorado (I still teach a course for the University). While in Boulder, I turned my attention from visual arts to music, and started a band with my brother. Although I had always been afraid to try painting, I signed up for some painting courses after moving to Oceanside in 2003. Fortunately, I found my way into Sally Pearce’s class at Mira Costa College, where I was encouraged to express myself through abstract painting. At about the same time, I started studying Zen at the Vista Zen Center, and soon after, began writing a blog called Art and Zen Today, where I focus on the commonalities between various meditative and artistic practices. About two years ago, with the encouragement of my Zen teachers, I began studying Animistic and Shamanistic practices. Shortly after, I found myself creating sculptures made out of natural ‘found objects’ such as rocks and wood. Most of these pieces (see accompanying photos) are placed within our garden, which we have named “Eureka Garden.” [See how Steve balances his left and right brain in the October issue of Art & Zen Today. Topic: "Is wallowing in mud a sign of pathology or a healthy ritualistic means of connecting with Mother Earth?"] |
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DON WEBB
I have painted on and off most of my working career with little guidance. After retirement, I took some art courses at Mira Costa. There I met Diane Adams, and stayed in her watercolor class for probably four years. Later took watercolor classes from Tom Tiedeman, and lastly, Jim Millard. I paint mostly in watercolor, but also work in oils. I enjoy showing my work, and currently display at two local coffee shops in Oceanside and try to enter shows and local galleries. My pleasure and challenge comes from painting a scene with my story or interpretation. Then, of course, if someone selects one of my pieces for their home, it is the real reward. |
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JAIME DREYFUS
The lure of the beautiful forms of everyday life was the driving force that brought me to draw and capture on paper the images that I observed at an early age. Achieving higher education in Art gave me a deeper horizon of trends and styles to follow. Unfortunately the passion and love for Art did not put bread on my table. I had to find a job. Art, however, never left my heart. During my working years, I always found ways to express myself in one form or another whether in sculpture, ceramics or painting in different media. Doodling when my right hand is not busy with work helped me develop head to hand coordination. |
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In the year 2000, I retired from work and was able to come back to my Art. I reviewed the Impressionist works. I bought books to learn more about their techniques, color schemes, vices and more. The sense of fulfillment and accomplishment I feel when I finish a painting is so great that I always want to share that art with friends and loved ones. When someone comes and shows a deep liking and admiration for one of my works, it makes me feel that God is smiling, because I am exercising the talent given to me. Many times, I had given away paintings because of that.
My Motto: “Inspiration is the soul of an artist.” [jaimedreyfus@cox.net; http://jdreyfus.com; (760) 445-7267]       |
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DEAN BUTTERFIELD
Sculptural Works in Wood, Stone and Bronze. Dean was first inspired to sculpt in wood following a visit to the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, British Columbia the summer of 2011. In 2013, Dean took up stone sculpture at the Laguna College of Art & Design in Laguna Canyon. Dean later enrolled in Saddleback College, where bronze would be the next medium for him to explore. He continues to be both student and artist honing his craft. Dean now lives in Oceanside, and does most of his work in Fallbrook. [949 291 5053] |
Works by Dean - click to enlarge.
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BONNIE TUCKER
Having been totally deaf since infancy, my world focuses totally on sight and feeling. The intensity of that sight and feeling has led me to explore artistic mediums focusing on bold and bright visual and tactile effects. |
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I strive for my artwork to be striking, textured and vivid. I first spend days marbling and hand painting paper to achieve the multi-dimensional colors I desire. I then tear the paper into pieces and affix the pieces to canvas or wood to create the many segments of each painting. Finally, I use acrylic paint to incorporate people, animals, landscaping features, objects and the like on top of the paper. My paintings usually incorporate several layers of paper and paint to create a very textured finish.
I am a retired lawyer and law professor. For the last thirteen years of my legal career I was a Professor of Law at Arizona State University College of Law. During that time I authored several leading books on the subject of disability law and was a visiting professor of law at many other law schools (such as Cornell University Law School and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia). Although I have been totally deaf since infancy I communicate normally via lip-reading and speech. My autobiography about living as a deaf person in a hearing world, ‘The Feel of Silence,” has been published in several countries (and languages) in addition to the U.S. While practicing and teaching law was a necessary means of livelihood, my true love has always been for creative arts. I am delighted to be retired from the law and able to devote my time to painting. I view my work as a celebration of visual and tactile effects. My hope is that people will not just like and appreciate my work, but will actually FEEL my work, as I do. My website link is here. [Some of Bonnie's works are shown here - click to enlarge]       |
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EILEEN SPRAGUE Eileen Sprague grew up in New York City and has been practicing art for 50 years. She is a graduate of New York University, and studied postgraduate art at Hunter College. She majored in Social Work, receiving a Masters in Humanistic Education. She also was co-owner of a commercial Hot Air Balloon business in Sedona, Arizona until moving to San Diego. Eileen has been a member of the Woodstock Artist Association, Sedona Art Center, and most recently, the Oceanside Museum and adjunct Oceanside Alliance. She has exhibited in the Long Beach, NY Museum of Art, Del Mar Art Gallery, and the Del Mar Fair as well as numerous public libraries in North County. Her contemporary sculptures are created in Marble, Onyx, Bronze and many other mediums; paintings are both in oil, acrylics and water. Her website link is here. Eileen's exhibition of art at the Oceanside Civic Center Library January 2 through January 31 had an opening reception on Saturday, January 5 at 4:00 p.m. |
MICHAEL DUKE Michael grew up in Los Angeles, learning to draw at an early age by sketching pencil-portraits of family members—and copying intricate artwork appearing in comic strips like Terry & The Pirates. Later on, in high school and college (PCC, USCGA), he took mechanical and engineering drawing courses. During his professional career as a shipboard marine engineering officer in the USCG, and technical marketing specialist in private industry—from 1960 on—Michael designed, illustrated, and/or wrote various engineering proposals, science education primers, and product brochures/advertisements/trade-show displays/instruction manuals. Since retiring in 2007, Michael has studied acrylic painting, live model figure & portrait drawing, and ceramic sculpture in art classes at Palomar College, Escondido, and Mira Costa College, Oceanside. He has won several cash and ribbon awards at juried art shows in North San Diego County, and his art pieces have been included since 2010 in the annual retrospective publication Summation -- The Merging of Art and Poetry, jointly published by Escondido Arts Partnership/EAP and Poets Inc. Michael's African-themed painting "Casting Her Spell" was featured on the front cover of the Summation VIII edition for 2015. Current and past memberships in San Diego-area art associations include Art Group of North County (AGNC); Oceanside Museum of Art’s 'Art Alliance' adjunct group; Escondido Arts Partnership (EAP); Carlsbad Oceanside Art League (COAL); San Dieguito Art Guild (SDAG); and San Diego Art Institute (SDAI.) Click photo to enlarge     |
