Featured San Francisco Artist Gregory Dugan
Featured Artists: Erin Wapple and Tom McCullough
Tom’s website:
myspace.com/itsthebutcher
Erin’s website:
erinwapple.com
Featured Artist: Amanda Holt
The artist Amanda Holt has been living in the bay for nearly a decade. She graduated from The Art Institute of California, San Francisco, with a B.S. in Media Arts and Animation. She has coined her style ‘Urban Cartoon’ although she has the ability to truly mix up and blend a diverse medium, subject and technique-shaking up the overall composition to create a brilliance of color and imagination.
The artist will recall learning how to hold the pencil at 3, to create a world to escape into even early on in childhood. By the age 7 she had began to declare that she wanted to be an ‘animator’ when she grew up. She always pursued the arts and theatre realizing that animation would be the perfect opportunity to ‘act through her pencil’ so she figured may as well adapt to the concepts early on. She pursued a career in animation at age 18 when moving to San Francisco to study her passion. She has worked all over the bay for Independant Non-Profit companies providing services in graphic design, illustration and animation. Currently, she is working on an animation collaboration with local artist Alp Ozberker. Alongside multiple independent projects.
To view more examples of illustrations see:
imagineartistone.carbonmade.com
Featured Artist: Greg Wilkie
About the Artist:
Greg Wilkie was born in Albany, NY in 1948. He spent a great deal of his youth in self-isolation, working on his drawings and water-color paintings or practicing magic. He studied mechanical drawing and art all through school and was frequently advanced to the next level. Looking back, he realized he missed out on some basic techniques since his works gave the appearance of a trained artist. Thus he worked harder outside of class to catch up. His mother recognized his talent early on and encouraged him to become a commercial artist. He could not envision such a career since there were many times he just didn’t feel like painting! And, he liked to create his own work, not what someone else told him to produce.
His mother entered many of his works in the County Fairs where he frequently received first place awards.
Unfortunately, his early works and awards were destroyed when his parents home burned to the ground. For years afterwards he shied away from painting and focused instead on the art of magic.
Reality of Life
Mr. Wilkie enlisted in the Navy at 17 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam where the idyllic life of youth suddenly evaporated. It was during that time that he became aware of the fleeting nature of life. When he returned to civilian life, nothing was the same. His older brother died suddenly in 1972 followed by his father in 1975. The compound trauma sent him into the throes of depression. He spent two decades searching for purpose in his life. While on his quest, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice, a Masters in Public Administration, worked as a laborer, ambulance driver, police officer, window washer, long-haul truck driver, a BART train operator and magician. None of these activities fulfilled his soul.
Rebirth of the Painter
Mr. Wilkie regained his passion for painting while watching water-color artists in Thailand while he and his family were touring Southeast Asia performing magic. He was intrigued by the simplicity of the palm tree and ocean scenes and the artists’ ability to produce them quickly and with ease. Nothing ever came that easily to him.
He immediately got to work, sitting for hours on the floor, with brushes, paints and paper. So ended his magic interlude and the four year tour of Southeast Asia. He and his family returned to United States and made their home in California.
Finding Acrylics
Mr. Wilkie discovered acrylic paints and realized he had found his medium of choice. He could blend the techniques of both water-color and oil painting. He has painted on a variety of supports including glass, wood, canvas, paper and most recently mat board. He is on a quest to find durable supports that will last long into the future…
Mr. Wilkie is ever-concerned about preserving his works. His goal is to leave pieces of himself behind so that his descendants will be able to see the life he lived through his eyes. For him, there is only the reality of what was and what is in the moment. In his view, life is real—and that’s the way he paints it.
Red Union Hair Salon’s 2nd Annual San Francisco Severed Head Contest Winners
Votes are in and tallied. This year San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology swept the contest both in participation and in winners.
Thank you everyone for participating. Fun was had by all. This contest always gets everyone in the Halloween spirit. A special thanks to Michael Addario for such great photos! If you would like a professional copy or check out his work at:
AddarioPhotography.com
“Cheshire Cat” by Megan Cavalli placed 1st. Her inspiration was Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” with Johnny Depp.
2nd place was Robyn Gabo with “Phantom of the Opera”. Again, San Francisco Institute Of Esthetics and Cosmetology. Robyn got her wish of wanting to win this year. Twice.
3rd place (tie) with “IT” by Gracy Phillips from Zenzi’s School of Beauty.
3rd place (tie) Akiha Imazu with Myrtle from the “Great Gatsby” with the Cinta Aveda Institute.
Featured Artist – Katie Callahan
San Francisco artist Katie Callahan grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Katie attended Appalachian State University and graduated with a Political Science degree.
Katie also works with local non-profits, studies Russian, and is applying to Law School. For more information, see Katie’s website Kallahan Works.
Featured Artist – Romy Mariano
As an artist, I have always used my work as a vehicle to express how and what I feel. The sources that I draw inspiration from cover a spectrum of subjects, typically my work, however abstract in its final form, is originally inspired by a source text, whether literary, visual, or cultural in nature. Although I am a painter, I see my work as not being limited by the tradition of the medium and have currently begun to explore and experiment with many different albeit unconventional materials. My latest body of work has been inspired by the notion of the medieval practice of Imaginative Pilgrimages. It was the habit of medieval monks, who often transcribed and copied literary works and maps, to imagine that they themselves were seeing and experiencing these far away lands and events. Often, these monks would mark in the margins their spiritual pilgrimage and actually draw places and cities though they had never left the room. Using this idea as my foundation, I was intrigued by the idea of evoking the feeling that cities, countries, and even history can conjure up. I began to work with the maps of old cities and countries, trying to bring to the surface of the work what I imagine it would feel like to have traveled there. I wanted to take in my “imagined” surroundings through all of my senses and recreate the resonant feeling with color, structure, and material.
About the Artist: Romy Mariano is originally from San Diego CA. She graduated from Lafayette College in 2005 where she majored in Art and English and received honors for her painting thesis. Romy has had several successful solo and group shows and has exhibited both in the United States and Italy. As of the fall of 2008, Romy has been pursuing her Master of Fine Arts degree in painting at the San Francisco Art institute where she plans to graduate in the spring of 2010.
Features Artist – Jono Goodman
Since his time at San Francisco Art Institute, Jono has started a new direction in his work by exploring natural disasters. Being a gulf coast native, he is specifically concentrating on hurricanes. There lies a poetic beauty in the monumental scale of destruction created by earth’s disasters.
Whether its corrosion, decay, or destruction, disasters can create fascinating visual compositions that humans can’t reproduce. It is through this exploration that Jono generates ideas and uses them to reshape his art. Jono’s intent through this research is to discover new aesthetic possibilities while continuing to challenge his current imagery and direction of work.
Jono integrates collaging, photography and printmaking, however Lithography is the medium that provides him with complete confidence and freedom in his artwork. The use of layer arrangement, technique exploration, and constant reformatting allows him to engage in a project while assisting him in creating a finalized image. These essentials along with other conventional elements are the leading vehicle for translating his inner vision and relating it to the viewer.
Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana Jono was turned onto art at an early age. He further pursued his passion for art at Louisiana State University where he was introduced to printmaking and immediately fell in love with the medium. After receiving his BFA in 2005, Jono was granted a one year residency at the Tamarind Institute of Lithography in Albuquerque, NM where he earned a professional printer certificate in 2007. Jono Goodman is currently working towards his MFA at SFAI and is anticipating a 2010 graduation.
Featured Artist – Joshua Lockwood
“My goal and ambition as an artist, is to visually express the worlds that exist in the realm of dream and mythology. While mostly it results in entertainment for the senses, I believe that these universal images be they frightening, enchanting or enlightening can be used to explore the mysteries of the unknown. This reality has drawn me specifically into the realm of science fiction, surrealism, and fantasy.
By infusing classical themes of beauty into new forms and ideals, my hope is to enhance our collective sense of what is beautiful today and what may exsist in the future.”
Born in Fresno, California, Josh Lockwood has been pursuing his artistic passions since early childhood. After graduating high school in Fresno, Josh came to San francisco to study illustration at the Academy of Art University, earning his AA in 2005 while currently pursuing his BFA anticipating graduation in 2010.
Contact information:
jlockwoodmail@gmail.com
phereousdesigns.com
Featured Artist – John Benko
Born and raised in Cleveland, OH. I started painting and drawing at a very young age. Went to art school at Kent State University for a BA in Drawing. I ran my own Graphics and Screen Printing business in Cleveland for 7 years. I moved to San Francisco in January 09 to pursue my career as a fine artist. All of my work is inspired by and dedicated to my 2 children.
Artist Statement:
“My paintings and drawings evolve from automatic applications of color into very cognitive pieces of work. The lines begin to take shape; the shapes begin to take form, sometimes living between the worlds of abstract and surreal. I like to think that I paint how ‘nature’ would paint itself…with the freedom to evolve and the ability to evolve effectively.”
The title I have given to my exhibit is “Resurgence”
Thanks,
John Benko