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.

Leslie Thompson
Leslie Thompson

Leslie Thompson

Ceramist
Leslie Thompson Leslie Thompson’s works delight the eye, both for the spontaneity of some pieces and the controlled precision of others. A black and white checkered pattern mimics water overflowing a jug. The...

Susan Tibbles
Susan Tibbles

Susan Tibbles

Assemblage Artist/Illustrator
She has the unique ability to take unassuming objects, merge them with a concept and present a thought-provoking artwork that combines both symbolic and intellectual results as well as an aesthetic experience...

"Janaini" by Michael Cullen Todd, bronze 30”x 24” x 18”
Michael Cullen Todd

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...

Sylvia Torres
Sylvia Torres

Sylvia Torres

Painter/Encaustic Artist
Her artist-grandfather was very stern. He knew all the rules about art and wanted to be sure little Sylvia understood them. Consequently she stayed away from art until an understanding and gifted...

Myra Toth
Myra Toth

Myra Toth

Ceramist
Myra Toth is a bit of an alchemist, at home with hundreds of jars filled with chemicals that transform clay into objects of stunning beauty. These playful, imaginative pieces, some aglow with lustrous glazes, remind us...

Christopher Trumbo
Christopher Trumbo

Christopher Trumbo

Writer
Christopher Trumbo was a writer whose film credits are impressive. They involved his working with some of the most iconic figures of a particularly complex era of Hollywood history. The lessons...

Jo Ann Turovsky
Jo Ann Turovsky

Jo Ann Turovsky

Harpist
Jo Ann Turovsky is principal harpist with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, the Long Beach and Pasadena symphonies, and is a member of the contemporary music ensemble XTET. She has...

Elaine Unzicker_2inTinyPodBrac
Elaine Unzicker

Elaine Unzicker

Chain Mail Jeweler
When does jewelry become art? Is important jewelry made only with precious metals and gems? How does jewelry transform the wearer? Elaine Unzicker, a member of the Ojai Studio Artists, holds a Bachelor’s degree...

Linda Vallejo
Linda Vallejo

Linda Vallejo

Painter/Installation Artist
Oil on canvas…found tree fragments…tinker toys...recycled Styrofoam. Add a deeply-held conviction about humanity’s relationship to the world and you enter the world of Linda Vallejo....

Bill Viola
Bill Viola

Bill Viola

Video/Installation Artist
Bill Viola is internationally recognized as one of today’s leading artists. In 2011 he was named a Praemium Imperiale Laureate, one of the world’s most prestigious art awards. Another project, two...

Kathleen C. Waggoner
Kathleen C. Waggoner

Kathleen C. Waggoner

Ceramist
Kathleen Waggoner shapes the song of woman - searching, triumphant and proud - in clay. It is the exploration and expression of human emotion, of feelings not easily put into words, that drives her work....

Kevin Wallace
Kevin Wallace

Kevin Wallace

Curator/Writer
A funny thing happened to Kevin Wallace on the road to becoming a rock star. He became a curator and a writer and, in July 2007, director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts. Along the way, Wallace’s...

James L. Webb
James L Webb

James L Webb

Printmaker
Jim Webb has dedicated much of his life to the arts, both in practice of his craft and as a working professional in various capacities. A master printer at Gemini G.E.L. for over ten years, he...

Sally Weber
Sally Weber

Sally Weber

Holographic Artist
Sally Weber's innovative use of holography is a striking reminder that art itself is constantly evolving. The entire concept of paint, palette and canvas is completely re-evaluated in Weber's work because...

Guy Webster
Guy Webster

Guy Webster

Photographer
Passion drove photographer Guy Webster – passion for photography, passion for vintage motorcycles, and passion for family and life. (Note his wife’s portrait in background.) His career took him...

Jackson Wheeler

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,...

John White
John White

John White

Painter/Performance Artist
Serendipity and playful fate led John White, a young man working in a brewery whose loftiest aim was to be a professional golfer, to achieve success as a working artist. White credits his early...

Nancy Whitman
Nancy Whitman

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,...

photo by Donna Granata Beatrice Wood with Men and Chocolate
Beatrice Wood

Beatrice Wood

Ceramist
World renowned for her exquisite luster glazes and whimsical figures, Beatrice Wood’s fascinating life beckoned the most avid art historians to her door. She was one of the last survivors of one of the...

Jenchi Wu

Jenchi Wu

Educator/Ceramist
A ceramics class changed Jenchi Wu’s life. Having emigrated from Taiwan in 1990, Jenchi studied at community colleges in Stockton and Pasadena, pursuing a curriculum that included courses in the arts. Once she...

George Yepes
George Yepes

George Yepes

Painter
George Yepes’ works cannot easily be ignored. The rich colors grab us first and we have to keep looking. His art challenges assumptions about icons both religious and popular and has been described as the best of...

Hiroko Yoshimoto
Hiroko Yoshimoto

Hiroko Yoshimoto

Painter
Hiroko Yoshimoto was born and raised in Japan and moved to Los Angeles when she was a teenager. She received her undergraduate and Masters Degree from UCLA, graduating with the highest honors. Her work has been...

Scholar's Rock, 2005, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, NJ
Elyn Zimmerman

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...