Sharon Weaver grew up in a small town in post-industrial Pennsylvania where the winters were cold and monotone. The use of bold colors in her art is a direct rebellion against that drab landscape.After finishing a Fashion Design degree at Parsons School of Design, Sharon worked in the garment industry as a designer and merchandiser. Her career took her to Europe and Asia on business trips where the rich culture and people influenced her creativity.
Sharon's art combines her understanding of nature with her exceptional talent for drawing to create unforgettable images. The bold and unique colors in her work, much like the California Impressionists who first inspired her, are a feast for the eyes and touch the soul. Using new techniques, working with other artists and teaching help Sharon continue to grow as an artist and push her limits.
Sharon was juried into the Oil Painters of America 20th Annual National Exhibition and an award winner at the Carmel Art Festival. She is a founding member of PAC6 Painters; a group dedicated to painting the beauty and grandeur of the American landscape. A museum exhibition and gallery shows were the result of a pack trip into the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Her art was featured in a four page article in the February-March 2017 issue of Plein Air Magazine and she was invited to the San Dimas Art Festival and was awarded the Bronze Medal for her work. Sharon teaches an ongoing studio landscape class with Kline Academy of Fine Art.​

Risë Parberry: After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with Painting Emphasis from the University of Idaho, I also earned a secondary teaching certificate from Boise State University. For 25 years, my husband, Gary, and I operated our grain farm along the Washington/Idaho border where we raised our family. Meanwhile, I taught oil and watercolor painting through the Washington State Community College Continuing Education Program and the Corbin Art Center for Spokane City Parks and Recreation as well as for various other entities and art societies. I continued to burn the midnight oil, painting and entering juried exhibitions. We relocated to San Diego, California, a treasure trove of visual inspiration and artistic cooperation.

Along the way, I have been fortunate to benefit greatly from my affiliations with a number of watercolor societies, serving as President of the Spokane Watercolor Society, Workshop Director for the Idaho Watercolor Society, and, finally, President, First Vice President and Past President Advisor of the San Diego Watercolor Society. Through these all volunteer non-profit organizations, I met many wonderful instructors who mentored me and shared the methods and techniques to achieve my artistic goals. I have earned Signature Memberships through repeated juried selection for International Exhibitions in the San Diego Watercolor Society, the Northwest Watercolor Society, and the Idaho Watercolor Society. I am also a juried member of Watercolor West and have been included in the American Watercolor Society Exhibition 

Lynn Attig “I am a country girl at heart. Which is why plein air painting makes me tick. My best day ever is spent standing on a hilltop with miles of horizon beyond my easel, a rainbow of pastel sticks in my hand. Art is a transcendent experience, a virtual tour for my mind and soul. When I paint, I am galloping my horse through endless fields of wild oats, feeling the wind caress my face. Or crossing a footbridge over a tranquil pond. You might say I am a dreamer. And I am. I get to escape from the roar of the world, if only for a moment, and dwell in the places I have created. I hope when you look at my paintings, you will find yourself transported there, too.” 

Christina Ramos is a nationally recognized artist from Southern California. Specializing in figurative realism, Christina was recently named as an “Artist to Watch in 2015” by Southwest Art Magazine, and as one of America’s Great Painters by American Galleries. Her work has been shown throughout the United States and has been honored with awards from the Portrait Society of America, the Society Acrylic and Casein Painters, the National Acrylic and Oil Painters Society, the International Society of Acrylic Painters and many more.

Raised in a family of artists, craftsmen, and musicians, Christina’s talent was recognized at an early age. Although she studied architecture and interior design during college, it was not until she was home raising her four children that she began focusing on painting. She refined her skills in figurative painting at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art. Her innovative use of acrylic has made her
a much sought after demonstrator and instructor. She is currently a Golden Working Artist representing Golden Artist Colors, Williamsburg Handmade Oils, and QoR Watercolor companies.

Christina’s work has been shown at the Santa Paula Museum of Art, San Diego Museum of the Living Artist. International Museum of Contemporary Masters of Fine Art, Pacific Asian Museum and many galleries throughout the United States. Christina is an active member of the Portrait Society of America. National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, International Society of Acrylic Painters and the California Art Club. Christina’s work is held in many private collections in the United States and Europe. Christina will be painting an acrylic still life due to time limitation. Her specialty is portraiture.

Our own MVAL member Jan Wright began painting watercolor almost 20 years ago. As she studied with various instructors, she found herself on a fascinating journey—traveling to hundreds of painting locations, viewing thousands of paintings and creating hundreds of her own. That journey has led her to embrace non-objective subject matter (although tree forms will always finish a close second).
She believes we are hard wired for art. Every primitive society produced art, advanced societies value it and current art forms using new technology abound. Art is at the center of humanity. Visual art transforms the ordinary by combining imagination and creativity with visual experience and re-visioning reality. In addition to celebrating the familiar, the visual artist has an obligation to take viewers beyond the obvious by engaging them as participants in the re-visioning process.

Brenda Swenson is the artist author of two books, Keeping a Watercolor Sketchbook (Award of Excellence Finalist) and Steps to Success in Watercolor. Her paintings and sketches have been featured in Splash 11, 12 & 14, Artistic Touch 4, Watercolor Artist, Watercolor Magazine, Watercolor Highlights, and numerous other publications. Brenda has been awarded signature membership in Watercolor West (WW), Northwest Watercolor Society (NWWS), San Diego Watercolor Society (SDWS, and she has won numerous awards for her paintings. An active participant in the arts community she has served on the board of directors for the National Watercolor Society and Water- color West. She is in demand to teach and demonstrate her painting and sketching techniques to groups nationwide and abroad. 
Website: http://www.swensonsart.net
Blog: http://brendaswenson.blogspot.com