Artists in Focus – to see all, click HERE.
This is a selection from the current collection of Focus On The Masters artist documentation. Click on the picture or artist name to view the portrait, biography, media presentations and website of the artist.
All artists’ portraits are by Donna Granata. The photographs and artworks shown on this website are copyrighted by the artists and may not be reproduced without permission from the copyright owner. By entering this website, you agree to these conditions.
A Conversation with Jennifer Wolf: SOLD OUT!
A Conversation with Jennifer Wolf
Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Alan and Marilyn Bergman are American lyricists and songwriters. The pair have been married since 1958 and have written the music and lyrics for numerous celebrated television shows, films, and stage musicals. They have earned numerous awards...
Jackson Wheeler
Jackson (Jackie Ray) Wheeler Poet 1952 - 2017 Jackson Wheeler was a man of many talents: a social worker by day, an accomplished poet and a fervent, discerning art collector. The images he created through the written word confirm that Jackson was a gifted poet,...
Carlos Grasso
Painter
Carlos Grasso studied both visual arts and music as a child while growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He worked as a professional flautist and graphic designer before moving to Southern California where he found his passion for painting.
Omar D’Leon
Painter/Poet
Omar d’León is from Managua, Nicaragua and is regarded as one of the most renowned Nicaraguan painters and poets. He studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Nicaragua under his mentor Rodrigo Peñalba who introduced European Impressionistic painting and magical realism qualities into Nicaraguan art. He founded a museum in Managua in 1970 named Museo-Galeria 904 which showcased art of Nicaragua from pre-Hispanic to contemporary.
Linda Ekstrom
Sculptor
Linda Ekstrom’s work is anchored in the book as a cultural and symbolic object. Through her altered books and other mixed media works, she seeks to uncover and articulate a profound sense of mystery. She explores the subjects of narrative, person, place or event through the perspective of larger religious thought, history and ritual. Ekstrom received both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from UCSB and is on the faculty for the College of Creative Studies at UCSB.
Hilary Brace
Charcoal Painter
Hilary Brace creates other-worldly meteorological landscapes that envelop the viewer. The ethereal, expertly drafted work conjures all the senses. One might, at first, perceive them as photographs, when, in fact, they are charcoal on Mylar (polyester film) drawings.
Mick Reinman
Painter
Mick Reinman has been described as a painter’s painter. His powerfully colored compositions build on the human figure and landscape in its most basic and architectonic form...
Peggy Pownall
Painter
Peggy Pownall is a mixed media painter working as an Artist-In-Residence at Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo since 2008. She received her B.A. from Pepperdine University and has...
Ichiro Irie
Multidisciplinary Artist
Ichiro Irie is an artist, as well as curator, gallery owner and professor at Oxnard College. Born in Japan and reared in Westside LA, he originally studied film and communications at UCSB, earned an M.F.A. at Claremont Graduate University and was the recipient of a Fulbright....
Erika Lizée
Installation Artist
Erika Lizée is a perceptive artist whose work reflects, in her words, an ever-shifting and nebulous boundary between what is known and unknown. Her installations, using materials such as Duralar, a polyester film, is grounded in a life-long appreciation for nature...
Astrid Preston
Painter
Astrid Preston has been called “one of America’s most important contemporary landscape painters.” She joins a love for Renaissance and Chinese/Japanese art with the emotions...
Rafael Perea de la Cabada
Multidisiplinary Artist
The artist describes himself as a visual poet, offering a powerful dialog that resonates with the plight of humanity. His intuitive approach draws from his personal experience, incorporating deep narratives layered in symbolism...
Elyn Zimmerman
Works on Paper/Sculptor
In different ways, Elyn Zimmerman's works on paper and site specific installations explore conditions of the natural world and celebrate images and materials of...
Michael Cullen Todd
Sculptor
Michael Cullen Todd’s biography abounds with accolades: Woodrow Wilson and Fulbright Fellowships. Exhibits in major galleries throughout the US. His work is found in prestigious...
George Stuart
Historian/Sculptor
Mr. Stuart is a historian with a passion to create. The success of his three dimensional figures are the product of the artist’s exhaustive research...
Helle Scharling-Todd
Mosaic Artist
“Her mosaics are knockouts!” said FOTM Master Artist Carlisle Cooper of Helle Scharling-Todd, internationally known mosaic and glass artist. He praised her design and color sense, commenting that they are...
Chris Provenzano
Sculptor
The mystery of stones guides sculptor Chris Provenzano’s fingers. “There’s always a surprise within each stone...
Katherine Chang Liu
Painter
My work is like a map. Everything which goes in my mind that day sorts itself into some ideas. Working out those ideas, and consolidating them into something I feel rather...
Karen Lewis
Painter
World War II. A Japanese prison camp in the Philippines. A girl passes the time cutting out and coloring paper dolls. Is this when the artistic career of Karen K. Lewis began? She earned her BA at...
Howard Lamar
Painter
A playful, joyous quality infuses the art of Ojai artist Howard Lamar. His work can be found in private and public collections internationally. Lamar has come a long way from his early...
Roger Kellaway
Musician
Internationally renowned jazz pianist and composer, Roger Kellaway has recorded numerous CDs and has written for film, television (All in the Family), and theatrical productions. Sohm and Kellaway collaborated on Visions of America, an orchestral....
Tom Jenkins
Painter/Sound Artist
Horses, motorcycles, pin-striped hot rods. Gymnastics. Steel spinning tops. Sound sculptures. These diverse threads are woven together as an artist who resists easy classification. Tom was reared in Colorado,...
The inkspots
Printmakers
The inkspots are a collective made up of area printmakers. The inkspots were formed in 2007 by Virginia who explains that the group is greater than the sum of its parts. “We take classes together. We learn new...
Bobby Houston
Filmmaker
Mighty Times: The Rosa Parks Story, a short (forty minutes) film by Bobby Houston and Robert Hudson of Tell the Truth Pictures, used vintage film stock and cameras to create images that are virtually...
Donna Granata
Photographer/Art Historian/Archivist
Donna Granata is the Founder and Executive Director of Focus on the Masters (FOTM), a highly respected non-profit educational program documenting contemporary artists. An accomplished artist in her own right, Donna Granata is an internationally published and award winning.....
Tracy Lee Stum
Chalk Artist
Internationally recognized and award winning chalk artist, Tracy Lee Stum specializes in spectacular, interactive 3D anamorphic street paintings. Tracy’s mind-blowing 3D images continue to ‘wow’,...
David Singer
Clarinetist
David Singer, clarinetist extraordinaire, has performed at the White House and played with Yo Yo Ma at the Spoleto Festival. He is equally comfortable at Moorpark High School, nurturing and encouraging young...
Alison Saar
Mixed Media/Found Objects Artist
Can artists help us understand and deal with complex issues of the day? Alison Saar uses bold symbolism, literature and mythology as she explores the role of African-Americans, especially...
David Rivas
Environmental Artist/Ceramist
It’s tempting to say that David Rivas, photographer/metal sculptor/ former boiler operator, sees beauty where others see trash. What this talented artist really does is let us, the viewers discover the...
Dane Goodman
Mixed Media
Dane Goodman is one of the Central Coast’s most accomplished artists. Working in a broad range of media, his artwork has been shown throughout the United States and is in numerous museum and private...
Merion Estes
Painter
Merion Estes states: The beauty and fragility of life and the tragedy of man’s intervention is my subject. The tools of her trade have included fabric, glue, acrylic and spray paints, glitter, photo downloads and...
Russell Crotty
Installation/Mixed Media
Ojai-resident Russell Crotty, awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2015, is an amateur astronomer, dedicated surfer and outstanding artist whose drawings push the limits of that medium. He earned his BFA in painting from.....
Tom McMillin
Environmental Artist/Ceramist
Tom McMillin has made an impressive artistic evolution from sea captain and ceramist to conceptual artist of dynamic installations. “My art has been devoted to process and environmental...
Jacquelyn Cavish
Painter/Educator/Curator
Jacquelyn Cavish traces her transformation from a spirited tomboy in the hot climate of Tucson to an accomplished painter of maritime scenes. Dedicated teachers early in...
Daniel Black
Conductor
Daniel was a student of Miguel del Aguila during the summers of 1997-1999. He is on the brink of a brilliant career. He is fluent in Russian and, in addition to beginning a doctorate program at Northwestern...