After receiving my BFA from the University of Massachusetts, with high honors, I decided to take a road trip. A trip in which I spent three months in a car, cross-country camping, with not much more than a sketch book and a camera and, of course, some camping gear and occasionally, some food. I was living rather simply, after a grueling program involved in very scientific and serious concerns of the art world of that time. On this trip I fell passionately in love with the great outdoors and the magic of geology and archeology and history of the great mountains, rivers, streams, oceans, trees and the people that inhabit these lands. I had been a “city kid” with urban concerns and not so used to the power of reflection on the simple beauty that surrounds all of us. I have worked as a studio artist and a commercial artist for many years. Meanwhile, I have always been driven to find a spiritual path that inspired me and to find fulfillment. So, one day I decided that my passion was out there — the big world that surrounds me and all its amazing beauty. And that I belong out there. Being a person who loves the outdoors so much I could almost live outside, landscape painting on location is the most perfect choice for my subject matter. Combining being outside with my passion for painting makes the art-making process truly a joy-filled and spiritual experience. As a landscape painter en plein air, I find that being outside observing the ever changing dance of light to be true witness to the face of God. The experience of painting outdoors is awe-inspiring and, at times, humbling. My goal is to capture this experience, defined by color, light and atmosphere and my emotional interpretation of the moment. I work quickly, with large brushes and lots of paint to match the pace of the sun and to keep the scene that I am involved in fresh and energized—the energy that transforms and inspires me. My inspiration often comes from the simple, often overlooked in our busy lifes — a lone boat, or a simple tree surrounded in perfect light. Sometimes, a funny thing happens when I am setting up—I think I have an opportunity to paint a subject that I have designed to be good, challenging, unique, with good light, and then I turn around to get my gear and look up and see something far more paintable. Spontaneity — a painters gift! Sometimes I call these “paintings that paint themselves”. In other words, I didn’t have to move mountains — like the bible says we can! My paintings have often been described as peaceful and serene. I find this assessment to describe the fundamental reason why I paint. I am truly inspired by the peace and serenity of the natural world that surrounds me. Presently, I am trying to capture the beauty and perfection of a location that is endangered or already slated to be developed. "The mind of the painter should be like a mirror which always takes the colour of the thing that it reflects, and which is filled by as many images as there are things placed before it."

Steve began a career as machinist and worked in the machining trades until 2005.  This experience is reflected in his mechanical assemblage works and large chamber pieces.  His love for throwing pottery began in 1985 at the Salt Lake Art Center and for sculpting while an undergrad at San Francisco State University, 2001-05.  Steve received an MFA from San Francisco State University in 2008.  His ceramic sculpture can be found in many private and permanent collections including the de Young Museum, Ceramics Research Center, Lincoln Public Library and Salinas Public Library.  He is an award-winning sculptor and has shown his work nationally and internationally.  He creates a variety of artwork from functional pottery to complex sculptural installations.

Visitors from the Past

Found Photographs from the Late 19th Century

For a brief span of only a few decades, from the late 1860's to the dawn of the twentieth century, ordinary people were photographed in a way that often yielded extraordinary results.

The durable, card-mounted albumen photo prints that were so popular during this period can still be found in antique shops. The larger size prints (usually 6.5" x 4.5") were known as "cabinet card" photographs and were often mailed to relatives for display in their homes. To fully appreciate the magic of this, you have to take yourself back to those days and imagine the wonder and excitement of seeing a photograph of a loved one for the first time! 

Unlike modern photographs where the moment of exposure is nearly instantaneous, these images were recorded on glass plate negatives that required long exposure times, sometimes as long as five minutes. Compared with sitting for a painted portrait, this may not have seemed like such a long time, but it still required that the subject find a facial expression that could be held comfortably for the duration of the exposure. 

In the best of these photographs, this requirement helped to create natural, truthful portraits that have an uncanny feeling of presence. These long exposure times captured a succession of moments — almost like a short video — during which the person remained still, but also very alive and present. 

There is something in these pictures that is not found in later photographs. They capture light, but they also capture presence. This is a distinct subjective feature, and it gives these portraits their striking combination of immediacy and timelessness.

If the subject maintained good eye contact with the camera during the exposure, the resulting photograph would then convey the impression that he or she was actually looking out into the room from the cabinet card print when it was put up for display! The presence of the individuals in these pictures is not diminished by time. Even though we now have almost no information about who they were, we can still feel who they were. 

This means that we can feel their qualities of character. This feeling can grow over time, and perhaps even tell us something about the wisdom of their day. As members of the human family, we are all related to the people in these pictures — they are all our "relatives."

In spite of their durability, most cabinet card photos have suffered significant deterioration over the past hundred years. Painstaking digital restoration is very much like cleaning a window. It gives us a clear view into the past, undiminished by spots, scratches, fading and discoloration. Given the nature of the original process, these photographs often contain rich detail, which allows the making of large life-size prints.

This would not be possible without high-resolution digital scanning and today's image editing software tools. These finished pieces thus represent an unusual bridge across time that is anchored at each end by very different, but uniquely complementary, possibilities.

I sculpt beautiful, voluptuous, fierce women. My raw material is emotion. My medium is clay and I cast the finished piece in bronze, to give it strength, texture and color.

French-American artist, I put femininity into three dimensions, capturing the power, glamor, beauty and vulnerability of the female form in bold yet sensuous bronze. A biochemist by training, an artist by heart, my love for the human body evolved from a molecular level to an emotional one when I decided to pursue my passion as a sculptor. My work has recently evolved to represent some of the powerful and fierce women. Those who could be seen in fashion magazines or in daily life: entrepreneurs, businesswomen, mothers and spouses who need to fit in so many different roles that they forget their own self to become object of desire and admiration. 

Raised in the heart of Paris, I was surrounded as a kid by fashion designers like Coco Chanel, Sonia Rykiel or Yves Saint Laurent. I could see a beautiful model walk on the street everyday and she would be just another regular woman. From that time, I love Fashion as an accessory in the beauty on any woman. Couple of years ago, after looking through the page of Vogue magazine I was inspired by some photos to create my “Sassy ladies” series. Fierce in bell-bottom pants, their look is universal. They seem to come from the 70s but I discovered in 2010. They are young and mature enough to know who they are. They are sexy and strong. They are proud and vulnerable. And they  are definitely going somewhere. 

Esthetic, tenderness, attitude, translated in colorful, emotional bronzes sculptures has allowed FaB’s artwork to be shown in New York, California, Colorado, France and represented in collections worldwide.

Visionary Artist & Teacher Illuminating the Possibilities Elizabeth Gibbons is a visionary artist and teacher. Her art depicts a spiritual journey, the telling of a story that contacts us at the level of the soul. As we view layers and layers of prayer, hope, paradox and spirit woven between particles of paint, bead, glitter and rhinestone we are inspired to embark upon our own journey. As a teacher, Elizabeth encourages us to explore materials that animate our sense of wonder, joy and play. By playing with the sparkle of jewels, beads & glitter the divine spark of imagination that lives within each of us is illuminated and we are transported to the land of infinite possibilities.

as a visual artist I am open to different series of work, keeping my creative process fluid open to a variety of ideas and explorations, free of considerations of style, the craft the quality of it, is the challenge I seek. Inspired by materials as well as subject matter relating to the human figure, lines around the body created by clothing designs and structures. The produced object has a sculptural dimension a decisive edge much like in a bas-relief. In this state of mind I have along the way produced works with wood, metal, paper, wire and charcoals. One common material to many of those works is the resin which is applied with different casting techniques, often born out of experimentation and necessity to bring forth the initial idea.

SFHQ offers an exciting selection of artwork celebrating America's Favorite City by San Francisco artist, Stephen C. Wagner. Whimsy and humor abound throughout Fog City in the SFarOut series of digital prints. The essence of San Francisco cool-hunters is captured in the SF Hip digital prints on kraft paper. Color explodes all over San Francisco in the SFab series of screen-prints on vintage wallpaper. Close-ups of San Francisco street signs, cable cars, and tracks highlight the SFocus series of sepia-tone photographs.

BIOGRAPHY Stephen C. Wagner has studied art since the age of six, including workshops at the Witte Museum, Trinity University, and private study, all in San Antonio, TX. During his early years, Stephen showed his works in many venues, including juried shows, art fairs, coffeehouses, and galleries. He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Arlington in painting and graphic communication. Stephen has exhibited and sold his artwork in galleries in London, Chicago, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Laguna Beach, San Diego, Seattle, New Orleans, Palm Springs, and Kauai. His artwork is included in the permanent collections of the Riverside Art Museum and the Museum of the Living Artist, and in the corporate collections of Johnson & Johnson and Kaiser Permanente. His artwork has been featured in the film "Antwone Fisher" directed by Denzel Washington, and was featured on the set of the Bravo TV show "Boy Meets Boy."

Mike Kimball is an artist in love with the city. His works depict urban and industrial landscapes that inhabit the worlds of both representation and geometric abstraction simultaneously.

Shimmy's Beach is the name of my company, derived from many years of playing restaurant, store and the like with the name "Shimmy."  Shimmy’s Beach is a collection of items made from a variety of materials and inspirations from the Northern California Coast and Ocean Beach in San Francisco in particular. All of the items that are displayed are designed and made by Phylis Johnson-Silk.