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