Hello visitors to the ArtSpan website. My etchings often examine cities and people in cities. These are generally places I have lived including New York, Germany and San Francisco. To collect information for my prints I make drawings on the street and in public places such as hotels.

After many years of working in mezzotint, an engraving technique that requires precision and forethought, I am now exploring the realms of wax painting and abstract imagery.  Each image starts as a simple shape, assuming different permutations until the final image is achieved.  The encaustic process introduces me to a spontaneity that does not exist in my mezzotints.  The new work represents a passage both toward a new way of working, and perhaps more importantly, toward a new way of seeing.

My current photographic work comprises several different strains. I have shot a series of works in the ruins of Hunters Point Shipyard that depict the slow decay of the abandoned industrial site, and have published a book of these photos, Shiyard, Dust and Memories: Photographs of Hunters Point Shipyard.  This work represents the start of my return to photography using digital processes, after many years of work as a metal sculptor, work which I continue to explore.

My other major strain of photographic work involves shooting urban imagery in New York City and San Francisco. I seek to capture the fleeting moments of life in the city, the blink-of-an-eye capture that freezes a unique moment in time in the life of the city. Much of this work is processed as black and white imagery.

My recent series of works on paper combines several different ingredients:  the leaves and flowers in my garden and nearby, abstract compositions which sometimes  incorporate objects lying around the house, and monotype prints.  I use a mixed-media and layered technique starting with a background wash of acrylics, followed by a stenciled layer, then a final layer of color pencils and/or Prismacolor art stix to render the leaves and other motifs.  

Aaron Vonk is a Canadian-American who lives and works in San Francisco. Aaron's art reflects his current outlook on life--sometimes it's dark and sometimes it's joyful and full of light. Aaron sees art as a way of life and has been drawing and sculpting since he was a child. He thinks in terms of images: Whenever he wants to describe or explain something, he grabs a pen and starts drawing to illustrate his meaning.

My work focuses on bringing forth experiences of the inner world of dreams, symbols, archetypes:

the interpenetration of ordinary and non-ordinary reality.

 Beryl Landau calls her work “symbolic landscape”. The acrylic paintings depict geographical locations but evoke inner feelings. Each landscape draws the viewer into a particular space and mood. Landau’s clear colors range from high contrasts to subtle gradations. The subjects vary from familiar California scenes and cityscapes to more exotic settings from her travels. Some of the images are close-ups while others show more farsighted views.                                   Beryl Landau lives in San Francisco and teaches art at Holy Names University in Oakland. She received BFA and MFA degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her teachers included Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bischoff and Joan Brown.

I have been working with alternative process Polaroid photography for over a decade. I am drawn to the balance of technical precision and openness to unpredictability involved in creating this art. As ambient temperature and minute shifts in pressure affect the development of each image, I see each piece as a creation birthed from a particular constellation of variables at a particular moment. The Polaroid manipulations are made using an antique Polaroid Alpha - 1 camera and SX-70 film. The emulsion stays soft for a few hours, allowing me to apply pressure to the photo and gently move around the image, creating an impressionistic, painterly effect. For Polaroid transfers, I project a slide onto peel-apart 669 film, peeling it too early and pressing the negative onto watercolor paper, creating an antique, distressed-looking print. I also use Polaroid transfers in mixed media work. Both films have sadly been discontinued, but I have a stash of 669 film that I continue to use both for my own artwork and to give workshops in Polaroid transfers.

Very recently, I've felt called to express my meditations through painting. This devotional art is inspired by my spiritual practice. It's a departure from photography and very satisfying to feel this work just flowing out of me as I let myself become an unmediated vessel for Source: creative, free, and magical.

Since my first introduction to screen printing I have been enthralled by its graphic quality, bold colors, and they way it lends itself to layers. I studied the technique beginning at California College of the Arts in 2000, and work in this medium passionately creating limited edition prints as well as incorporating its ideas and techniques into my paintings. Through layering, collage and juxtaposition, I strive to make layered pieces that deal with the absurdity, poignancy and joy of our world.
     I use collages of photography, drawing, painting, patterning to create layers of images and meaning. My works deal with a variety of emotions about the coexistence of our urban landscape, nature and humanity. I am continually inspired by my surroundings, today\'s urban and natural environments, and have drawn some inspirations as well from Dada, Surrealism and Pop art. Along with exterior and interior architecture and urban life themes, in many pieces I also merge these with the rural and natural landscape, as well as its figures. There is always some humor, irony as well as melancholy in my pieces that continually thread through my work and ideas in some way. I desire to create a surreal vision of reality that incorporates the past, present, and future of our worlds landscapes and characters, causing reflections on where we are today.