11th Annual Artist Guild Show

Rich is an Illinois native who by the age of eight knew he wanted to be an artist. He graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago in 1983 which began his successful commercial art career. After 12 years of doing commercial art, he felt it was time to fine tune his fine art style.

After moving to California in 1995, he started painting in a realistic style with a touch of Russian impressionism particularly inspired by Nicolai Fechin.  

Rich founded the Green Art House in Fallbrook which offers a wide variety of art classes and workshops.

For more about Rich:  www.stergulzart.com

For more about Green Art House:  www.thegreenarthouse.org

Being a multimedia artist I find myself torn between two worlds; the physical domain of the art object, and the dematerialized realm of the digital image. Working digitally begins with a concept for a photo shoot. I incorporate my own body and/or sculptures within the imagery produced, whilst utilizing post production editing techniques in an attempt to seamlessly merge the physical and the immaterial. 

Ariana Ayazi was born in Tehran, Iran where she lived until moving to London to study in 1971.  Her formal art education began at Trent University in Nottingham, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Textile Designs.   She then proceeded on for post-graduate work at Manchester University, earning her Master’s Degree in Textile and Fashion.

Ariana’s work consists of the combination of different Medias.  She enjoys transferring her original designs onto fabric by utilizing threads of many colors, shades and complexities, mimicking what can be seen in the natural world. Ariana often combines painting with embroidery, using the hand and the machine, along with collages, Silk screen printing and batik inspirations to create three dimensional effects in her paintings of Lucius Landscapes, Garden Leaves and Fields of Flowers. First and foremost, Ariana’s subject matter is driven purely by her love of nature.

I believe the arts make a better world for all.

I am not interested in realism when I’m sculpting my characters. The wonkier the better. I find their imperfections reach the viewer in a way that’s found to be humorous and sometimes repellant at the same time. I’ve had a long career working with people and it’s our shared experiences through storytelling that inform my work. Some of the themes address current political and social issues as well as life experiences that people have adapted to. My current work explores pandemic life and its affect on families and their kids. I’ve made the kids almost look old in their small bodies as I watch them adapting to conditions that are not normal.

All my sculptures are made using various hand building techniques. Image transfers are incorporated into my compositions. I’m using underglazes, lusters, and patinas for my surface treatments. My firing range is cone 018 to 1.

My passion is to create contemporary landscapes DREAMSCAPES and figurative sculptures DREAM SPIRITS. DREAMSCAPES are hand woven one-of-a kind abstract landscapes inspired by my dreams and visions exploring the mysteries of the soul. DREAM SPIRITS represent the People of the Nations celebrating the story within. I find my inspiration in nature and world cultures. Each has their own personality I use upcycled materials to provide a road map to their creation. 

Julie Compton is a native Californian who lives in Fallbrook with her husband, George.

Her medium is pastels. She likes to paint en plein air, but has to admit to being a fair weather painter and also uses photos she or her husband has taken. She is a signature member the Pastel Society of the Gold Coast and is past President of the Fallbrook Art Association, co-Director of The Gallery, and a Member of the Carlsbad Oceanside Art League.

“I enjoy the challenge of capturing the beauty I see to help others see more of the beauty in their lives.”

While I’ve been creating things my entire life as a way of self-expression and exploration, it wasn’t until middle age I began doing it with oil on canvas then eventually experimenting with other materials leading recently to oil on board. Initially I tried photo realism, but quickly found a more relaxed style that gave me more freedom to express and develop the mood and the use of unusual subjects such as cows gives me further freedom of expression. This is especially true with a palette knife and the imaginative use of color. As I paint, my own mood expression is developed with the intention of that being easily perceived by my viewers but also with the hope of stimulating their own interpretation and mood.

I have been a pastel painter since the mid seventies. The color intensity of the medium provides never ceases to inspire me.

I have attended classes and workshops with several nationally renowned pastel masters. Most notably are Daniel Greene and Albert Handel.

I am a founding member of the Pastel Society of San Diego, and was the cover artist for the "Pastel Journal." I have been featured in many exhibitions and am in many private collections.

Penny's passion has always been to be an artist; only in recent years has been she able to follow her hearts desire to paint in watercolor. As a member of Jeanne Shanahan's Plein Air Group, she has found her niche. Penny loves the colors of the outdoors and strives to capture their beauty and strength; her florals show her bold use of color. The grandeur of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains stimulate her creativity.

Primarily self taught, her art education has consisted of taking workshops and studying with local teachers. Among nationally known artists with whom Penny has studied are: Robert Willis, Charles Reid, Joan McKasson, Cheng Khee-Chee, Fealing Lin, Tom Fong, John Salminen, Mark Mehaffey Gerald Brommer, Carl Dalio, Frank Webb, Frank Francese, Dan Burt, and Don Andrews.

"I love to paint and hope the viewer will enjoy my work as much as I enjoyed creating it."

Dixon is a native Californian, but was raised on a cattle ranch in Arizona. He attended Phoenix College and then Arizona State University where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. He has taught studio art, art history and photography at the high school and college level.

Dixon has done theater set design and painting for professional regional theaters. This theater background has influenced his printmaking work. He is currently the chair and instructor for the printmaking department at the Fallbrook School of the Arts. He is a member of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society.

I think of my works as encounters with mostly organic fragments bound together with a twist that invokes the spirit for an intriguing visual journey. I want to pull in the viewer into my coffee stained world of interpretation that intertwines of legends, flora, fauna and icons. 

My process involves the transference, subtraction and addition of paint and decayed found objects, creating poetic relationships between organic and geometric shapes. Experimentation with random folklore themes and images juxtaposing with intriguing botanical shapes leads to deliberate sequestered yet unified shape arrangements. I want the impressions to be open for consideration.

I feel very blessed to have been given the ability to create a work of art out of a lump of clay with my own two hands. To sculpt the human form that portrays a message that can evoke a passionate response from the viewer is a precious gift, of which I am eternally grateful. The desire I have with the forms I create is to continue studying the many emotions of mankind and capture the spirit of them in my work that would touch the viewer to their very soul. It would make my life's mission on earth meaningful to know I have touched and enhanced another person's life through my art.

A few years ago, I became fascinated with 3D modeling applications that allow you to create objects to be viewable from any direction. Once created from polygons mathematically, the objects can be combined in various ways, or new ones can be created on the fly.

You can apply textures and materials to 3D objects to create completely different ones.  Many digital artists primarily create abstract paintings or perhaps edit photographs they have taken with a digital camera.  I produce representational artwork that comes from my imagination. Usually none of my work starts as a photograph.

Fallbrook has an amazing number of highly-regarded professional people, artisans, and community service providers. There is a low-keyed yet dynamic resident, Jim Helms, who combines all of these into one. Further, these are not mere interests to him; they are passions.

Born in Long Beach and grooving up in the Palos Verdes area, Chadwick School. He went on to the University of Southern California (USC), where he graduated from Dental School in 1974. During his college years, he met and married Victoria, now his wife of over forty years.

Helms' first exposure to art occurred during his dental studies when he worked in the bookstore of the Los Angeles County Art Museum.  

In 2000, at age 53, Helms realized that sculpture was his overriding artistic interest and his avocation was launched. With his keen sense of community, Helms quickly realized that his unique art form could interest others, young and old, in creating and appreciating art. As this idea progressed, it was only natural that he began thinking of ways in which to combine his unique art forms with his humanitarian interests.

Helms can't say what his next big piece of sculpture will be. One thing is for certain, though, it will not simply be art for art's sake.

Terry is a Chouinard, California Institute of Arts graduate who became a production assistant for Walt Disney Productions.  She worked on the Wonderful World of Disney series in different locations including Nome, Alaska where she was inspired to produce her intaglio etching series.  She then moved to Hawaii to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa to continue her graduate level studies.  She now enjoys painting and sharing her art experience through water media and acrylics.

I am an avid outdoor painter and most often use the sketches to create paintings in my home studio. Near the end of my career in accounting, I began my training in oil painting thru evening classes and workshops. Coastal scenes are among my favorites but I enjoy floral and figure works as well. My hope is for my viewers to catch an uplifting glimpse of light and life that may have been passed by without my efforts.

Artist, Author, Photographer & Yoga teacher has been creating images since the age of 4. Her work is included in many public and private Art Collections throughout the World. During her Art career, she has had more than 50 one woman shows. She has taught numerous Watercolor Painting Classes and Workshops.

She currently is teaching Watercolor Painting for the San Diego College of Continuing Education. Not only does she like to talk to the trees, she paints them too.

Her book, Watercolor Basics: Painting Flowers was published by North Light Books in 1999.

I have spent most of my life raising a family and working in the field of accounting and management.  When time permitted, I dabbled in various art forms such as wheel thrown pottery, drawing, sewing, stitchery and other arts and crafts.  I took art classes where and when I could.

After retirement I began painting with watercolors, studying with Mary Tomaskevitch, Helen Shafer Garcia, and Rich Stergulz and taking various workshops with other artists.  After a time I began painting with oils and found the depth of depth of color and freedom of expression oils allow to be enticing.  I would call my works impressionistic representations of ordinary subjects and I hope that the viewer can find a story within my paintings, though it may not be the same story that I see.  I draw inspiration from many things, but it is the light within a scene that captures my imagination.

I create my art by first viewing the animals in person and getting a feel for each of their personalities. Then, I paint them with acrylic paint and add papers, and sometimes feathers. I am inspired and excited each time I start a painting and create with the shapes and bright colors each one has. Mixed Media is a style that keeps me open to new ideas and ways of expression.

I am a ceramic artist specializing in raku firing. I was introduced to ceramics in high school and then took it up again many years ago at the Fallbrook School of the Arts. Now I work in my studio in Fallbrook, primarily with Raku firing, which is especially interesting to me because of the variability of the finished work. All my pieces are wheel-thrown, though I do alter the forms after throwing. Most of my pieces are vases and jars. I use horsehair, sodium silicate, aluminum foil, newspaper, leaves, feathers, slip, and other tools for my firings.

I am a bold color portrait artist who loves breaking out of the mold and painting in bold, nonrealistic colors. My paintings also feature my love of music in different forms. I believe it's an artist's job to interpret the real world how they see it, in their own unique style, with their own unique vision, and always holding true to what is in their hearts and spirits. 

The act of living from the most honest assertion I can make is the bravest act I can imagine. The most honest assertion I will accept is all the best of what I can be. 

Heather Lara is an internationally award winning wildlife artist who has achieved Master status in the International Society of Scratchboard Artists. Her painstaking attention to detail in the medium of scratchboard has created a portfolio rich in the diversity of life. Heather’s work is best known for the addition of vibrant color to a traditionally black and white medium and the large sized boards she works with. She hopes to be on the forefront of bringing this art form into the mainstream art world.

Digital photography enables incredible freedom to communicate with a viewer — freedom to create images that add value and meaning to the viewer’s life.

The successful image is a creative visual-literacy partnership between the creator and the viewer. It is my role to find the subject's message and translate it into a visual narrative that the viewer can understand intuitively and quickly. This viewer-centric, narrative creative framework informs and inspires all of my personal projects and event photojournalism projects for clients

My work is composed of earthy abstractions that take our natural world and turn it into something intricate and expansive. I reveal the magnified complexity of biological, physical, and social processes through bold and vivid use of color. Free flowing shapes echo the wild and complex patterns of nature, revealing a comparison between the micro and the macro, primal and contemporary, the scientific and spiritual. My work is a statement about the beauty, wonder, nuances, and order of nature while also about connecting to the primal/subconscious thread present in all humans.

I have a passion for fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, and exotic creatures, which I choose to create and portray in my art. My paintings are done on either MDF wood or canvas using Gouache, Acrylic, and oil paints. I handmake all of the framing, beginning with the actual construction of the molding. Conceptualizing my paintings is the first step in the process. I create and sketch a composition, implementing hues and values of color, visualizing with a critical eye the piece of art to its completion and presentation.

For several years, I have enjoyed owning a boat, racing yachts, and extensive cruise sailing. I love painting and photographing coastal scenes, harbors, and boats since I spend most of my time outdoors. A newer and challenging interest has been to commission paintings of my fellow sailor's beloved boats. Artist group travels to Italy, France and Mexico have also been exciting. By using an impressionistic style, I try to capture a unique sense of place with color, light, composition and form, focusing on what originally inspired me about each scene or subject.

My intention is to create works of art that draw the viewer into contemplation and engage them in finding meaning. I work with different styles in a combination that represents my point of view. I paint my vision of the environment using the experience of the past to create a conversation with my reality.

Images in my artwork are from my feelings of confusion, struggle, and faith including repetition to express the continuing occurrence of similar events. Memories of the past...Visions of the future.

In the rhythm of nature there is connectivity. My artwork displays multicolored varieties of earth and plants that mix together with lines of energy, vines, leaves, rocks, patterns, movement, melody and balance. I feel the wild and hopeful struggle of teaming nature is a vision representing all humanity and our struggle to exist on earth. Connected in reality we, as do the plants and animals, continue to grow and succeed in the cycle of our life and death mixing forming moving blending.

Joy takes color to dance with form and balance.

While working for The National Geographic Society, I had the opportunity to study the techniques and disciplines of their photographers. From these various influences, I have strived to perfect my own unique blend of photography and art. I am dedicated to capturing and developing photographs that are artful in taste and appearance. I try to emphasize the rich traditional values of our nation whether it be architecture, landscapes, or nostalgia.

My current focus deals with climate effects on nature. Urban deforestation and wildfire and the death of trees. I've also been working on a series based on our hikes in the Eastern Sierras. I've done a series of paintings of rootballs--fallen trees with the tangles of roots and earth and rock lying in the sierra sun. I use mixed media and oil creating texture which mimics the tangles I paint.

I try to approach my art from unexpected points of view and with an attitude of spontaneity. My hope is that my own surprise of discovery will be conveyed in my finished work.

Over the years, I have developed an appreciation for the juxtaposition of cast away objects and how they interact in an environment that binds them all together. Stacking and unstacking, welding and cutting, machining and twisting, painting and sandblasting – progressing from clutter and chaos, to something simple and structured. Lacking formal art training, I drawn upon my background as a mechanic, boat builder, inventor, and marine scientist to create pieces incorporating the natural beauty of found objects and common structural materials. Residing in Fallbrook, CA I grow avocados, and when inspiration strikes, I play the role of bricolage sculptor.

(Hajime is pronounced "Haj-Mae")

I'm a native of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. I studied art/illustration & graphic art in the States in the 1980s. My favorite illustrators/painters include Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Frederic Remington and John William Waterhouse. My current projects consist of portrait drawings/paintings (animal or/and human) and oil paintings depicting rice farmers in early 1960s Hokkaido (which we were). The mediums I normally use are pencils and oils.

I find inspiration from a variety of different artists such as Alphonse Mucha, Hiroshige (Ukiyo-e artist), Gian Lorenzo Bernini, John Singer Sargent, John William Waterhouse, N. C. Wyeth, and Norman Rockwell.

While working on a new project, I hope to discover something new in the process, technically or thematically. When it happens, I try to incorporate that new discovery into that artwork. It does not happen often, but when it happens, it gives me extra fun and motivation.

The main feature of Janet’s work is the use of color. She finds that working in collage she can use her imagination. Janet uses paint, rubber stamps and handmade papers to enhance and build up a picture. Her artwork has a story or meaning behind it. Popular subjects are religious themes, ancient times and civilizations. 

Janet has exhibited her work at many galleries. Janet was one of 12 artists that was accepted by the National Collage Society to be represented on their 2021 calendar. Janet has been selected for three consecutive years to be in the calendar. 

The vibrant colors of the Southwest inspire and invite abstraction. My landscapes, not intended to define specific places, are abstracted images conducive to individual interpretation. Color is an emotional trigger for me and invaluable to my work.

Art has been a significant influence throughout my life and an experience I continue to share with family and friends. I am captivated by the magic of glass and how something that essentially starts as a grain of sand has the unique ability to capture, reflect, and transmit light in a way that constantly transforms itself and its surroundings. I constantly embrace new techniques and fearlessly try new ideas. Every piece I create is not only an exciting adventure but an opportunity to learn and translate my ideas and environment into glass forms. 

My sculptures are carved from one or multiple pieces of EPS using saws, a hot knife and a torch. I make thick, coarse shapes and edges, break things, melt, burn, texture and then finesse the chaos to its final form. After sealing with cement, the pieces are finished with copper, iron, glass, pumice, metal patinas and acrylic paints.

I believe we need to think differently about how we use materials. In my case, I am repurposing energy, turning Trash into Beauty. My art is a form of alchemy, the transformation of upcycled styrofoam into abstract and contemporary works of art.

I am a 20 year resident of Fallbrook. Retired firefighter. Surfer. Home designer and remodeler. I have had a long interest in photography and got serious about it in the late 1990s. I spend a lot of time in and around the ocean. I am particularly attracted to beach scenes, especially sunsets over the ocean. I also take a wide variety of landscape, travel and animal photos. I have recently been doing photos of various rock and roll groups.

Prints are available.

I consider my work to be a form of expressionism with a strong emphasis on color. I usually do not plan my paintings;each one is a new journey and discovery. My interactive way of painting is spontaneous and dynamic, where my imagination and freedom are large factors in its development. The continuous dialogue between me and the painting takes on many faces, like the passage of a good book, the notes of a great piece of music, or rhythmic dance steps. My passion lies in thinking outside the box and creating unexpected elements of surprise.

My art is about unexpected beauty, both abstract and representational. I do several preparatory sketches for each project. I often make artwork for clients, such as the book cover for 'Thanks for Nothing' (2018)* and 'Phoenix' (2022)**. I used to be more political, but lately my work is more iconographic. For example, when troubled by threats to women's rights, I painted 'Ripe and Rotting Pomegranates' (2021) as the fruit in Greek mythology symbolizes both fertility and death. Through art, every subject has surprising beauty to offer.

I envision my oil paintings and other mediums as I have embraced my writings as a world class journalist with Time, Inc. magazines. Each piece is an adventure of striking, dramatic impression, from sculptures and still lifes to the human figure and landscapes of my global sojourns to Italy and the Southwest.

I fashion understandable images that combine realistic, representational, and abstracted approaches of the ancients, animals, and nature. I employ vivid rich colors and vibrating color contrasts, chiaroscuro style, mirrored effects, humorous human and animal narratives, comical concepts, palette knife marks, energetic brush strokes, textured effects, and compelling compositions.

I am a self-taught artist and have been drawing and painting for many years. I was born in Germany and now live in Northern California. I became interested in art at a very young age and loved creating landscapes and portraits but my real passion is abstracts. For the past couple of years I have been able to actively pursue my art career making it my full time adventure. I work with water mediums and oil. I have always loved making art and have been told that I have natural talent. I am based in Walnut Creek California.

Jewelry started with my love affair for gems. How could I display my beloved gemstone collection? I found the answer before I started high school: wire! I am a self-taught jewelry designer with a passion for nature and metal. Every piece is hand woven with wire and features natural stones. I live in beautiful Fallbrook, CA pursuing my art and being active in the community.

I create custom designs upon request – don’t hesitate to email me.

"I believe our job as artists is to let creative energy flow through us, manifesting into something that can be seen and felt by others."

"As a portrait artist, I try to capture the unique spirit of my subjects, whether it is a person, tree, ocean wave or any other living thing."

From the time I was a little kid, I liked to make things. Whatever materials were available; paint, crayons, toothpicks, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, Popsicle sticks, string, thread, and clay were the basis of many of my first creations. I always had great support from my parents, not so much I suppose because they thought I was showing early signs of genius or great engineering skills; after all they were over-the-moon when I learned to tie my shoes. I live in Borrego Springs, CA and currently my focus is high fired clay sculpture.

I'm driven to constantly experience the scenery around myself with all my senses to their fullest potential—thus, my photographic impressions are very emotional and have strong clarity with meaning for me, they've become expressions of my fond memories and highlights of my experiences. By using long exposure and selective focus techniques, I've a style all my own that's reminiscent of the influence which classical impressionist painters have had on my artwork. Combine this with my desire to discover beautiful new one-of-a-kind locations in nature, and I create photographic works that are magical, inspiring, and unique for others to experience. 

Every artist has his or her own individual vision; I consider myself a painter who deals in contemporary subjects. Watercolor was my first love but lately I have begun to work with acrylics, gouache, inks, collage papers and more in order to expand my creativity.

I normally work on paper but now I also use canvas and other surfaces; Experimenting is my greatest challenge. My ultimate goal is to further realize my potential and to contribute to society those things that are beautiful and touch the soul.

My passion for art started after my 5 children went off to college and I had survived a battle with cancer. I am a self taught artist of 40 years, and have studied photography in San Francisco.

When digital photography came along, I weaned away and began painting. I have been using acrylics for years but I discovered Alcohol Ink and that has been my passion for 8 yrs. I lived in Solana Beach until a year ago and have now settled in Hidden Meadows. 

I have been a glassblower for the last 48 years and it is now time to move on to another medium. Ceramics and watercolor painting have always been a love of mine. The relationship between glass and watercolor is the transparency of color.

Working in acrylics offers new and exciting dimensions, working from my imagination gives the experience new life.

Kathy Stradley has lived in the beautiful Temecula Valley since 1987, her passion is to paint from life.  Whether it is painting on location the landmarks and vistas of the landscape around her or painting portraits in the studio, she tries to capture the subtle nuances visible to her eye rather than relying on photographs or memory.  As she says, "Light is constantly changing so the artist must choose how to represent it in the most dynamic way possible." 

Kathy is a long-time member of the Temecula Valley Art League and the Fallbrook Art Association, receiving awards in various local art shows.  She has exhibited her work from Del Mar to Idyllwild.  She is currently on the board of directors for the Dorland Mountains Art Colony, participating in many of their shows.  In Temecula she has exhibited at "Art Off the Walls" events, the Ralph Love Plein Air Competition, the Mighty Mini Masterpiece shows and the Art and Street Painting Festival.  She is also a regular exhibitor at the Fallbrook Art Association Gallery in Fallbrook.  Observing and painting the places and people of the Temecula Valley have given Kathy plenty of inspiration to accomplish her goals.  

My recent work has been a return to an intersection of dreaming, spirit, and the creative impulse. I use many layers, stopping and starting again while I listen to what each image calls for as it comes into being. These images are pieces of my many dreams. My images are also plucked from nature’s kind inspiration. I share them out of an inner compulsion which all artists’ experience.

My primary medium of expression is currently monotypes. However I am constantly exploring with relief, chine colle and collagraph.

Sculptures in Stone. Modern and abstract design. Interior and exterior applications.

Going through the Iranian revolution and being a refugee I have seen pain, suffering, and death. I am sensitive to the hardships of others who have experienced ruptures in their lives. My paintings show the things I have lived through, and the subjects I paint show resilience and hope for a better future.
I reach beyond the surface of my subject’s face to portray their inner beauty that emanates from them. My paintings are made on a range of media, each connecting to stories of precarity, movement and overcoming, through materials such as rice paper, tree bark, and packing paper. 

I like to paint realistic looking landscapes on mdf (medium density fiber board) or canvas but I have painted on metals (saws). I mainly use oils and acrylics.

Williams Smith is an acrylic, mixed-media painter including sticks and stones.  The historical or metaphysical meaning of stones inspires a lot of her work.  The story determines the approach for each painting.   She includes this for the collector on the back of each artwork.  While there may not always be similar approaches to her canvases her work is easily recognizable by her unique use of stones and twigs.

 Williams Smith shares her love of stones and nature with her collectors.  They take home Nature’s healing power and a greater appreciation for our world.