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.
Robert G. Smith
Photographer
Robert G. Smith was given advice early in his career to look beyond the lens and to discover his own unique vision. Whether the image reflects the natural landscape or discarded man-made objects, Smith’s...
Robert Eyberg
Glass Artist
Robert C. Eyberg received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska in 1972. He has exhibited paintings in New York City until moving west to Ventura, CA. He studied glass blowing at the Pilchuck...
Robert Engel
Painter
Robert Engel has pursued a career in art since the early 1970s. After completing his formal education in fine art at Cal State Fullerton, Robert worked professionally in painting, drawing and ceramics. In 1978...
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...
Richard Schloss
Painter
California, with its every-changing seas and rugged mountains, has long attracted plein air painters. A movement of landscape painters known as The Oak Group has done more than chronicle our state’s...
Richard Rackus
Painter
Having studied under some of California’s foremost teachers and artists – Frank Tolles Chamberlin, Laurence Murphy and Sam Hyde Harris – it was natural for Rackus to remain in the school of the California plein air painting...
Richard Matzkin
Sculptor
In a very real sense, Richard Matzkin’s life has come full circle. He showed an early talent for the arts but in the 60s his interests changed to music and psychology. Some 20 years later his wife enrolled him in...
Richard Keit
Ceramist
RTK Studios are tile artisans steeped in the architectural ceramic traditions of the early 1900’s. The partners, Richard Keit & Mary Kennedy have brought back the old world techniques of the exquisite Malibu...
Richard Franklin
Figurative Artist/Ceramist/Architect
“Creativity,” says Richard Franklin “is what life is all about. It is important to all our humanity.” When FOTM designates an individual as a “Master Artist,” various criteria are...
Richard Flores
Ceramist
Voraciously curious ceramicist Richard Flores says, “After food and shelter, art is everything.” First introduced to clay in grade school, art forever became an integral part of his creative existence. As an...
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.
Rich Deppe
Fiber Artist
Rich Deppe’s involvement in fiber arts dates to his early childhood, when his grandmother introduced him to knitting, at which he proved very adept. His fascination with...
Ray Strong
Painter
"If you want to get to know the land, go and sleep with it." Ray Strong knew the land. He was a landscape painter, muralist and poet from the time he was just eight years old. Strong was born in Corvallis,...
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...
Porfirio Gutierrez
Weaver
Porfirio Gutierrez is an extraordinary weaver who combines ancient Zapotec traditions with a modern sensibility. Growing up in Teotitlan del Valle in Oaxaca, Mexico, he was immersed in the ancient art of weaving....
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...
Phil Salazar
Musician
From jazz to bluegrass, Phil Salazar has explored a world of violin and fiddle music over the last 50 years. The son of former Ventura County Symphony Director and Conductor Frank Salazar, Phil started playing violin...
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...
Paula Odor
Painter
Odor's watercolors emphasize composition and design, establishing an equilibrium of all the elements within the picture plane. Paula Odor Painter and etcher Paula Odor began her studies at the Texas State College for...
Paul Lindhard
Sculptor
Paul Lindhard, is the founder of Art City, a unique artists’ enclave located in west Ventura. Primarily a stone sculptor, Lindhard founded Art City so that it would serve as a constant artistic stimulus to enhance...
Patti Post
Painter
“The arts exist, so that we might give voice to what we cannot say any other way. I am amazed and inspired by the profound insight and awareness that our students realize through their images and their willingness to...
Otto Heino
Potter
Otto Heino was a man who dedicated his life to his passion. In doing so, he was rewarded with serenity, true contentment and peace of mind. He was born to share his gift with others: his students, his...
Orazio Fumagalli
Sculptor
A renowned sculptor and teacher, Orazio Fumagalli was known for his “figure fragment” sculptures of the human form that evoked fragments from ancient ruins. Fumagalli also worked in...
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.
Nuvi Mehta
Violinist/Conductor
Mehta began violin studies at the age of six. Attending Indiana University as a student of the famed Josef Gingold...
Norman Kirk
Painter
Having explored a broad spectrum of styles and media throughout his long career, Norman Kirk devotes his principal work to watercolor landscapes. He skillfully weaves large areas of white paper through his work....
Nancy Whitman
Painter
Born in Chicago, Nancy Whitman earned a fine arts degree from the University of Wisconsin. She followed this with a year of graduate study at the Chicago Art Institute and another extremely formative year in Paris,...
Nancy Rupp
Brush Painter
Nancy Rupp was a widely exhibited brush painter known for the bold ink work that underlies traditional Chinese brush painting. She captured the energy and emotion of her subject through strong...
Monica Furmanski
Photographer
Monica Furmanski, photographer and installation artist, directs the viewer’s experience, blurring the lines between image and reality. In 2002 Monica placed window-sized, slightly out-of-focus transparencies...
Mikael Jorgensen
Musician
Mikael Jorgensen is lead pianist and keyboardist for the band Wilco as well as a member of the band Pronto. Mikael's father, an esteemed recording engineer, introduced him to the world of music and music...
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...
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...
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...
Michael Rohde
Weaver
Michael Rohde’s works are the result of a process that starts with a question, “What if?” Subtle changes in color and yarn create works that become meditative objects that delight the eye and capture the imagination....
Michael Pearce
Painter
Neolithic man aligned massive stones with the sun, building places of worship and ritual. Alchemical philosophers distilled elements to find pure essence, creating allegories and symbols to express their...
Michael Moore
Photographer
The Universal Landscape is a document in progress, a constantly expanding definition of how I interact with the land...
Michael Dvortcsak
Painter
Dvortcsak is an artist whose work defies categorization. Although his paintings speak to the intellect, they contain elements that are as primal as a scream. His imagery is realistic, yet dreamlike;...
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...