Meet Artist Janice Freischlag, Spring Art Theme Division accepted artist

Janice Freischlag:  A Biography

Janice began her fascination with art in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1989.  She began with German folk art painting, Bauernmalerei.  After five years in Germany, she returned to the U.S. and began to broaden her painting skills.  On returning, Janice and her husband moved to Lake Tahoe where she was fortunate enough to befriend Lola Owen, her mentor and owner of Lakeside Gallery.  At Lake Tahoe, where she became more accomplished, she began painting in oils.  To her surprise she started to get commissions for pet portraits and more.  She is accomplished in a wide range of subjects as well as most painting mediums, i.e. acrylic, water, gouache and oil.

Janice and her husband now reside in Ione, California, at Lake Camanche, with a parrot and four cats.  She has a very productive berry and vegetable garden, apple trees planted from seed, is an orchid enthusiast, gourmet cook and paints whenever possible.  

Meet Artist Carol Leonti, Spring Obsession Theme Division Artist

Bio - Carol Leonti

2515 Fulton Place

Santa Rosa, Ca. 95401

c.leonti@me.com

T-024  My Mother's Garden wc 30x24  $600

I have been painting for pleasure for over 15 years, continuously learning in workshops with well known transparent watercolor painters: Tony Couch, Dale Laitenen, Ken Hosmer, and more.  My most important teachers were Carl Miller, AWS, with whom I painted for many years, and my current mentor, Popi Tyler, who encourages me and coaches me on all aspects of my work.  I love transparent watercolor because of it’s challenges and its broad ability to express feeling for the subject.

Open Division entry O-141 Seaport wc 15x20  $600

My work has been shown at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, the Watercolor Society of Sonoma County annual exhibit, at Ironstone Winery, and at the Russian Hill Winery. I currently participate in an exhibit at Empire College in Santa Rosa.

Open Division entry  O-142  Wild Garden  wc  13x15  $500

My technical skills and ability to paint expressively have steadily grown over the years.  I plan to never stop painting.

Meet Artist Andrea Morris, Spring Obsession Theme Division artist

Andrea Morris 

was born in Karlsrhue Germany and spent much of her younger years in Montana and Arizona.  She was exposed to art from an early age as her Mother was an artist and taught painting classes in their home.

She developed a love of wildlife and people and spent much of her time drawing and using pen and ink to capture her subject. It was not until the 1970’s that she started to explore working with color in watercolor.  Working in a local watercolor gallery in Tucson, Arizona she learned about building up her paintings through layers of transparent color.

She experimented in working in oils and acrylics and immediately fell in love with the mediums and has worked almost exclusively in these two.  A new passion for mixed media has begun to be represented in her recent works.

Her main focus of subject still remains wildlife and people and she has been working towards representing her subjects in a colorful and expressive style.

Being self taught she has learned most about her art by painting, experimenting and studying other works of art.  She has made a living of painting murals in many homes in the northern California area and has worked with the Wall Dogs painting large murals in city downtown businesses.  She also has an extensive collection of commissioned work that is in many homes around the world.

She presently resides in Lodi California and teaches classes in her small studio. She continues to paint and show her work in the surrounding areas art venues. 

Meet Artist Amber Palmer, Theme Division accepted Artist

T-019  My First Love  wc  16x20  $350

T-018  Sally's Garden  wc 16x20  $350

Amber Palmer Art Biography

Amber Palmer has lived in the Northern California Valley since birth.  Images of expansive skies, rivers, tall grass, symmetrically planted orchards and rice marshes are living memories.  As an artist, her paintings and photography are influenced by the mood and atmosphere of the changing seasons.  She continues to find her personal creative voice through watercolor media and photography.  Her work has been exhibited in national juried exhibitions, invitational shows, museums, and commercial galleries.  Amber states: “I find a state of reverie and focused meditation while in the creative process.”

While obtaining her Bachelor of Arts at California State University, Chico, Amber studied under Ann Pierce and Sal Casa and continues to utilize them as her mentors.  Amber obtained a Master’s degree in counseling, psychology from the University of San Francisco and is a licensed marriage family therapist.  She has been working in private practice for the past 30 years counseling individuals and groups and uses the creative arts and art therapy as a major role in the healing process.  She continues to conduct conferences utilizing art therapy and creative expression. 

Amber’s contributions and recognitions include but are not limited to the following:

·        Volunteered as the fine art consultant for Patrick Ranch Museum: coordinating art shows, children’s activities and fundraisers in the museum

·        Fine Arts Consulting Business – Coordinates art workshops for local and national artists and teach individual lessons and group workshops on water media techniques.  Mind Vacations through Watercolor.

·        Coordinated the Gateway Museum’s community garden: art show and a children’s art program in coordination with the nutrition program through CSUC.

·        Past Chairperson of the Butte County Water Color Society.

·        Past regional and state director for Very Special Arts.

·        Past chairperson of the Chico Arts Center.

·        Curated art exhibitions at the Ronald Regan Library Gallery, Children's Gallery in the California State Capital, California Governor’s Chambers and several private galleries.

·        Local Awards: 6 time recipient of the Chico Mayor’s Award, Chico Art Council Annie Award

·        Exhibited work – Many local and national juried exhibitions and galleries.  Currently: paintings and photography on exhibit at Chico Museum, Sally Dimas Gallery, Patrick Ranch Museum, and Amber Palmer Gallery.

·        Chico News & Review “Voice of Visual Arts” for Artober 2010.