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.
Khaled Al Awar
Gallerist
Khaled Al Awar, a 1970 emigrant from Lebanon, moved to Ojai in 1982 from Chicago with his wife, Sheryl. He established the Primavera Gallery which featured international and local artists, both individually and in group shows.
Richard Amend
Painter/Set Designer
“Richard Amend believes in the transporting pleasure of beauty. His paintings and drawings embody the sublime ‘essence’ of Nature, abstracted and amplified,” writes art critic Jo Lauria.
Sergio Aragones
Mad Magazine Cartoonist
Sergio Aragonés considers himself just a regular guy with a great job, even though illustrating for Mad Magazine since 1962 has earned him numerous accolades, tremendous respect, and considerable notoriety.
Dawn Arrowsmith
Painter
Dawn Arrowsmith’s paintings are meditations in color. It has been said that each is a kind of minimalist luxury – pure, distilled, economical, but also rich, luscious, erotic. Her work is intuitive, greatly...
Don Bachardy
Painter
Santa Monica-based portrait artist Don Bachardy studied at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and the Slade School of Art in London. Bachardy’s decades-long relationship with writer Christopher Isherwood inspired...
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...
Barry Berkus
Architect
Barry Berkus (1935 – 2012) Which came first, the architect or the collector? How does art influence architecture? Should a home be designed from the outside in, or the inside out? Barry Berkus was a Santa...
Emily Bernstein
Clarinetist
Emily Bernstein (1959 - 2005) At the time of her death, Emily Bernstein was the principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Opera. She also played first chair with the Pasadena Symphony under the direction of Jorge Mester
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...
David Blackburn
Woodworker
In David Blackburn’s own words, “wood art is the tree that never dies.” David’s pathway to exquisite woodworking has not been a straight line. It began as child’s play and grew through a tour in Viet Nam,...
Pierre Boulez
Composer/Conductor
(1925 - 2016) The French conductor and experimental composer Pierre Boulez was known for his carefully crafted, complex compositions, including Pli selon pli, a portrait of the poet Stephane Mallarme for...
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.
Christine Brennan
Painter
Often dreamlike and enigmatic, Christine Brennan’s work features a host of symbolic and allegorical references. Brennan’s images draw from the unconscious leading the viewer into richly-lit narratives that...
Horace Bristol
Photographer
Horace Bristol (1908 - 1997) Horace Bristol brought the plight of humanity into the homes of millions of people through his compassionate eye and sensitive heart. He is respected as one of the greatest...
Charlotte Bronstein
Actress/Writer/Director/Educator
Charlotte Bronstein (1918 - 2003) Charlotte Bronstein spent 50 years acting, writing and directing for television, film, radio and the stage in the United States and Canada. Her...
Ernest Brooks II
Photographer/Environmentalist
Ernest H. Brooks II, a noted professional photographer, educator and ambassador for the photographic industry, has won international acclaim for underwater photography and audio/visual...
Boris Brott
Conductor
Can executives of Fortune 500 companies make beautiful music together? Can a “hog” riding Canadian inspire classical music audiences? We know that the answer is “yes”! Maestro Boris Brott is a recipient of the Order...
Robert Brown
Actor
Robert Brown began his acting career in New York City by studying and working with some legendary actors and directors, including the Erwin Piscator’s Dramatist Workshop at the New School for Social Research, Rod...
Karyl Lynn Burns & James O’Neil
Co-Founders Rubicon Theatre
The Rubicon Theatre Company has established itself as a major cultural force in Ventura County and beyond. Respected by audiences and critics alike, the Rubicon stages a rich...
Cindy Pitou Burton
Photographer
Adventure drives the life and photography of Cindy Pitou Burton. She began her career as a photojournalist for the New York Times, soon expanding her contacts to CBS, NBC and PBS and magazines...
Song Byeok
Song Byeok was invited to Ventura, CA as a Global Artist of Distinction in 2018, and his story is one of stony resilience in the face of oppression, and art as a form of political protest. Born into a working-class family in a town outside of Pyongyang, North Korea, Song once worked as an official state propaganda artist. His patriotism turned to disillusionment, when the famine of the 1990s hit.
Joe Cardella
Mixed Media Artist/Publisher
Joe Cardella (1945-2018) was a unique artist in his own right; he created ART/LIFE, a limited edition fine art magazine, that ran from 1981 - 2006. Each issue was comprised...
Karen Carson
Painter
Karen Carson, a major figure in the Los Angeles feminist art movement, has employed varied techniques and materials to reflect and comment on the turbulence of everyday life....
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...
Michelle Chapin
Sculptor
Michele Chapin studied drawing, printmaking and sculpting at the University of California at Santa Cruz, then went on to such varied jobs as fashion designer, pipefitter and display carpenter in the San Francisco...
Gayel Childress
Painter/Printmaker
Award-winning artist Gayel Childress works in watercolors as well as oils and monoprints. She is best known for her fluid interpretations of landscapes and figures that capture the essence of the...
Leslie Clark
Painter
Texture is an important element in Leslie Clark's work that uses fabrics, rice and banana papers, watercolors, acrylics and oil paints to create soulful compositions depicting the nomadic peoples of Africa. Travel and...
Bert Collins
Painter
Bert Collins is a noted Ojai Valley artist, painter and teacher who has won more than 200 awards during her lifetime. Her realistic scenes contain naturalistic color and fine detail. She is a member of the Santa Barbara Art Association and the Ventura County Pastel Artists Association. Galleries in cities such as Palm Springs, Newport Beach and Beverly Hills have represented her.
Susan Cook
Painter
Susan Cook is a contemporary fine artist whose oil paintings are inspired by nature and an interest in experimenting with figuration, color and shapes. Initially, her paintings are quickly drawn, going through many color transformations with her signature brushwork, often destroying entire passages and repainting others to give focus.
Carlisle Cooper
Painter
Often, after meeting Carlisle Cooper, one was amazed at his avant-garde painting style. One would expect him, as a Southern gentleman, to have a very traditional approach to his work.
In reality, he was one of the finest colorists. Mr. Cooper (as he is known to his legion of students) taught and inspired artists at Ventura College for more than 40 years.
Lynn Creighton
Sculptor
Lynn Creighton believes that life is a spiritual journey and that it is this quest which allows artists to connect with the ideas they hope to express. The contours of her bronze and clay works reveal captured joy...
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.....
Marcia Cummings
Sculptor/Painter
Marcia Cummings' assemblages deal with social issues in an intellectually stimulating and witty way. Her award winning work grapples with contemporary topics including women's issues, sex, hypocrisy,...
Michael Davis
Artist/Sculptor
Are minimalist theory and political consciousness unusual? Not for Michael Davis. Michael’s work is informed by Cold War politics of the 50s and political activism of the 60s. “Industrial refuse, the...
Miguel del Aguila
Composer
Miguel del Aguila, Uruguayan-born American composer, was a child prodigy, graduating from the main music conservatory in Montevideo at age 14. The photograph, using antiques and one romantic rose, pays homage to...
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.
Beverly Decker
Painter
“With the thought of peace let me contemplate the world.” This is a phrase that Beverly Decker haschosen to begin a philosophical statement that is inspired by Buddhist text. The recitation continues with...
De L’Esprie
Sculptor
Many have admired her work at the Janss Mall, at the Promenade and at the Crystal Cathedral. A Canadian by birth, sculptor De L’Esprie’s first forays into art began by painting under beds and in closets, haunts that...
