Al Preciado

Name: Al Preciado

Website: http://alpreciado.net/

What do you do? 
Artist and teacher

Where can we find your work?
Kalied

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I am inspired by beauty and women. I am inspired by heroic actions and sacrifice

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
Technique and finish. Content is important on particular projects

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Goya, Kiki Smith and Michael Buscemi. I  like his take no  prisoners attitude

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Jerry Maguire. I like his sense of compassion for the athletes

When do you get your best ideas?
Flying in planes, different countries, the beauty of women and nature

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Paints, watercolors and clay

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Formally taught. I think the University prepares for a formal critique of your work

What would your creative work taste like?
Tacos and menudo

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Travel. Movies, magazines, family and friends

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I had the talent early, but was not confident. Teaching others gave me confidence and helped me develop my work

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?  Don’t be afraid to look stupid and fail. Ask others. Get involved in peer critiques. Draw til you bleed. Help the community and not just artists. If you are convinced you are an artist, you are an artist. You determine if you matter or not. 

Floy Zittin

Name:  Floy Zittin
Website: www.floyzittin.com

What do you do?
 I paint watercolors featuring birds.

Where can we find your work?
 My work is shown locally at ViewpointsGallery in Los Altos and at Studio Seven Gallery in Pleasanton.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
 I consider myself a naturalist as well as an artist and I am continually learning new things about plants and animals through painting.
      

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
 I enjoy the process of painting.  My paintings evolve as I work on them and can go in unexpected directions. Sometimes these are disasters but I enjoy the journey.
   

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
 I am inspired by Japanese and Chinese ink paintings   

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
no idea

When do you get your best ideas?  
 Watching birds in my backyard or hiking with my husband

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
 I have been experimenting working with watercolor on a variety of surfaces.  For several years I was working on canvas and I am now experimenting painting on wood panels.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?  
My formal training was in biology but I studied watercolor technique under Jane Hofstetter and taken numerous workshops.  It took a while to gain confidence because I did not have a formal degree.

What would your creative work taste like?
 Fresh produce or something earthy like mushrooms.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Travel, hike, birding.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience? 
I began working as a scientific illustrator and later moved to selling my own creations.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?  
The more you paint the better you get and the process of learning can be a lot of fun.

Jane Ferguson

Name: Jane Ferguson
Website: www.janewferguson.com

What do you do?
I am a Fine Artist, my primary mediums are watercolor and acrylics but I enjoy experimenting with mixed media.

Where can we find your work?
The Viewpoints Gallery In Los Altos. I take part in Silicon Valley Open Studios every year. I also show my work with various local art club .Currently I have a solo exhibit of my work at the PHO 69 Restaurant in San Jose called “Outside The Lines In Side The Box” This whole exhibit will be moving to Intero Real Estate in Santana Row in February.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I get excited using color and creative designs and look for my inspiration for this in unusual places when I travel and go about my daily life. I enjoy cycling and hiking and these help feed my inspiration. People also fascinate me and what they wear .When my creative juices stop flowing I start to play and take the seriousness out of my work. I reduce the size of the paper or canvas I am working on. Actually some of my best work has been done doing this.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Both are need to help me grow and improve as an Artist.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I am fortunate to belong to an excellent critique group and they have helped to keep me motivated and pushing forward to get better at what I do. Mike Bailey a local art teacher helped me find my own voice by teaching me more about design and less about technique.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Robin Hood

When do you get your best ideas?
First thing in the morning as I am waking up from a good nights sleep.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I have a huge selection of pens and pencils and all manner of tools to create line in my work. I do use brushes but for my larger abstract canvases I like to use decorating household rollers.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I am mainly self taught with classes from local artists and workshops arranged by the Santa Clara Watercolor Society. I feel it has allowed me to have more of my own voice and less following a set out path with lots of rules. Although I certainly will use rules to my work when I feel things are not working.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sweet , fruity with zesty under tones and some herbal fragrances.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Meet with friends, ride my bicycle, hiking and hang out with my family. I love listening to music and watching a good movie. When I cannot paint creating in the kitchen is also something I enjoy doing.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I feel it has always been there and I have a rather extravert personality . I love meeting people who enjoy my work and will even buy it .It still give me a huge buzz.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Relax and enjoy what you do. If you are not having fun.....STOP!

Lacey Bryant

Name: Lacey Bryant
Website: www.laceybryant.com

What do you do?
I'm mainly an oil painter. I've experimented in a variety of media such as polymer clay sculpture, knitting, installation, watercolors, block printing, chalk on sidewalks, etc. I always come back to oils, though!

Where can we find your work?
I show at a few galleries on a regular basis. I'm a part of group shows at Cactus Gallery in L.A., Studio Gallery and Modern Eden Gallery in SF, Tasty Gallery in Seattle, Psycho Donuts in Campbell as well as a few shows at other venues here and there. I also have an ongoing display at KALEID Gallery in Downtown San Jose, where I also keep my studio. I will be having a solo show at Modern Eden Gallery opening on January 21st in 2012 as well. I also try to put pictures online from time to time, my website has links to the places I post as well as information about current shows.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get
tough?
I'm inspired by a lot of things. Often something I read will bring pictures to my mind, other times just watching or talking to people or going for a hike in the woods will inspire me. I develop a lot of my ideas in my sketchbook, when I don't know what to do I will just start with a face and the rest will usually come from there. My work is mostly about giving form to intangible things like emotions so I often think about how I might give form to a particular thought or feeling that I'm interested in when I'm doing other tasks. My mind is constantly wandering. I love to look at art books, seeing work that really amazes me makes me itch to try to make something of my own. I don't feel so much like I need to be motivated most of the time, the desire to paint is sort of a compulsion for me. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. If I'm feeling a bit blocked, sometimes I will play with a different medium for a bit. When I'm feeling stressed or tired I try to keep in touch with the excitement I feel for all of the fun things I get to do!

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I don't think I can separate the two, they are equally important in my eyes. I think you have to love every moment of the process in order for that love to come out in the finished product. There has the be a willingness to do what it takes to make the best picture you can make even if it takes lots of time and patience. Technique is important as it is the tool that you use to convey the meaning of your work. On the other hand, what is form without substance? The content of the work is the ultimate point, isn't it!

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
There are so many! I love the work of Henri Magritte, Jenny Saville, Henri Matisse, Dorthea Tanning, Alice Neel, Gustav Klimpt, Egon Schiele, Zak Smith, Henrich Klay, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry Darger, Arther Rackham, Jim Henson, Kurt Vonnegut, Vladamir Nabokov, Niel Gaiman, Shel Silverstein, I could go on. I subscribe to Hi-Fructose Magazine, so it seems like every time it comes in the mail I have several new favorite artists of the moment, too. I love Victorian death photography, children's picture books, science fiction books & b-movies and the passionate artists that show at the gallery where I work.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Perhaps Door from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere or Alice in Wonderland.

When do you get your best ideas?
I think about things I want to paint while I'm stuck in traffic or working at other jobs or while I'm laying in bed trying to sleep, so pretty much all of the time. A lot of my ideas occur while I'm messing about in my sketchbook.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I use oil paints on my handmade cradled panels a lot. I also love painting on found wood, especially cabinet doors and cigar boxes. I like flat brushes and a glass palette. When I work with clay, I'm especially fond of Puppen Fimo polymer clay. I also like to build installations with cardboard and found objects. I love to play with different mediums so I've got a pretty eclectic collection of art supplies!

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have an Associates Degree in Fine Art with an emphasis on painting but I didn't get really serious about making art until a year or two after I'd graduated. I think it took a little life experience for me to develop my voice through my art. I spent a long time developing techniques and learning about color and such before I really figured out what I wanted to say with my art. Much of my learning has always been on my own, if I'm
interested in something I read about it and experiment.

What would your creative work taste like?
Bittersweet chocolate or beets. Sometimes tart cherries. (But it would smell like fall leaves burning.)

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like hiking, gardening, baking, reading, watching old movies, playing video games, spending time with my friends and family and snuggling with my black cat Hecubus.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
My mother was great about giving us access to all kinds of art supplies when I was a kid (not to mention some things which I saw as art supplies that maybe weren't). I loved to decorate our house for Halloween and volunteer to paint sets for the children's theatres I was involved with. My little brother, Jeff was my partner in crime, always egging me on. His delight in my silly creations made it so much fun to try and come up with things to
entertain him. I was very shy about showing my work publicly at first until my friend Lara Sophia and I started showing together and even making art together. We were able to give each other the moral support that it took for us to start putting our work out there. The work we're each making now is very different from each others, but it has all been built upon those early experiences and I don't think our work would have developed quite the same without that collaboration.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
You have to be willing to work very hard to accomplish things you never thought possible! Make a lot of work and make it good work, don't slack off (and you know when you're slacking). Be willing to experiment, you never know when you might find your new favorite medium. Come out of your cave once in awhile and talk to other artists. Your community is one of your greatest assets-it is a source of inspiration and encouragement. Set goals for yourself and stick to them. It really helps to have a project. Don't quit! If you're serious about making art, then stick with it past the ugly duckling phase and give yourself a chance to grow. Don't compare yourself to other artists and think that you will never measure up. You are the only you there is, find your own voice and don't try to fit in or be anyone else.

Night Taste By Lacey Bryant

David Mejia

Name: David Mejia
Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mejia-Arts/122796911150958?ref=ts

What do you do?
I love to paint watercolor portraits of people. I write, draw and publish my own web comic called “BALLMAN”, and contribute artwork to local galleries. I will often draw portraits for people at the MejiaArts booth at local arts and crafts venues.

Where can we find your work?
You can email me at mejiaarts@yahoo.com. ‘Ballman’ appeared online at www.drunkduck.com/BALLMAN/. My latest art pieces are on display at Kaleid Gallery 88 So. Fourth Street, San Jose, Ca. My work can also be viewed on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/Mejia-Arts

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I have a relentless passion for drawing, which keeps me working, even on bad days.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
The process is the most important part. My mind must be balanced and fluid.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
My uncle who is also an artist inspired me, initially. My mother and grandparents always encouraged me. Today, my wife encourages me. I was also inspired by notables like Charles Schultz, of Snoopy fame, Joseph Campbell, who studied mythology, and Jim Morrison, the Lizard king.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
If I could be any fictional character I would be Clint Eastwood character from the Spaghetti Westerns, because he always cool and focused.

When do you get your best ideas?
My best ideas come when I’m alone

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I use simple mechanical pencils, paintbrush, and paper, watercolors, micron pens and calligraphy pens. Some times I’ll use the computer.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I took some school for art, however, I’m mostly self taught. This has made me strong in some areas like tribal designs, and rendering what I see, but not in things like oil painting, or silk screening.

What would your creative work taste like?
If you could eat my work, it would taste like ink and wood pulp.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I love hiking, dancing, philosophizing with friends, making fun of movies, and reading.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I learned to access my creative talents by isolating myself from the big confusing world, putting on my favorite music and drawing, drawing, drawing, for years. I’ve gained confidence at drawing for the public by making myself draw at parks and coffee houses.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
My advice to anyone starting out in art is, “To hell with other peoples' opinions. Draw what you want.”

Jade Empress