Faculty
Palos Verdes Art Center instructors are highly-qualified and have a wealth of experience. Many also teach at local colleges, and all are artists in their own right. They focus on the individual needs and interests of their students. In addition, children’s teachers (rather than relying on formulas that stress strict rules and copying) have special experience in bringing out children’s unique creativity.Pong Apinyavat , is a juried member of Watercolor West, a winner of many awards and teaches workshops throughout California. www.pongapinyavat.com
Robin Bott has created projects for and taught children’s art in several area schools through Angels Gate Cultural Center and LA’s Best After School Arts Enrichment Program. Her work, including sculptures, mosaics and puppets, has been a part of numerous exhibitions, particularly in the Harbor area. She is also a puppeteer with a flamboyant variety of puppet characters who often participate in her arts workshops. She is co-manager and co-curator of Gallery Eleven Seven in Long Beach's East Village Arts District. Her children’s classes and camps often feature whimsical three-dimensional constructions, ranging from giant foam masks to complete puppet theaters.
Annie Clavel (MS, Universite Paris, France) formerly a mathematics teacher, now gallery director and abstract painter, teaches drawing and painting in Long Beach. www.annieclavel.com
Gilles Clavel (PhD, computer science, University of Nice, France) has more than 20 years teaching experience, instructing students and teachers at the University of Paris as well as technicians and engineers at such companies as Siemens, IBM, Borland, ImaInformatique and Deutsche Telekom, amongst others. http://web.LesJolisTresors.com
Karla Commins (BFA, sculpture, UC Santa Barbara) is a jeweler, teacher and educational consultant. She teaches middle school students at Chadwick School. At the Art Center, she is a favorite Art Camp and children’s teacher, bringing energy and creative projects to every session.
(Stanford) is an artist member of the California Art Club and a Signature member of the American Impressionist Society. Was a past president of the Palos Verdes Art Center for two years.
www.doncrockerpleinairart.comA graduate of the Studio
Berçot, Paris, France, Gerard has worked in the fashion industry for 30 years
in Paris, Brussels, New York and Los Angeles.
In France, he worked for
Chantal Thomass as a designer, creating apparel and accessories, sourcing
exclusive fabrics and prints, and styling fashion shows.
In Brussels and New York, he
was responsible for the creation and marketing of denim fabrics through
innovative weaving and dyeing techniques.
For the following 10 years,
he worked at Juicy Couture in Los Angeles, establishing, leading and
coordinating various creative and product development teams.
Gerard currently teaches
fashion at Woodbury University. He also curates vintage clothing events such as
A Current Affair and the Manhattan Vintage, going back to his roots of working
with high-fashion designers.
Mark Doddy (BA film production, Cal State University - Long Beach), the television station manager for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, has been making films and working in broadcast journalism for 10 years, has film credits on IMBD for directing and editing and has taught film production and newscast editing at SCROC.
Frank Eber award winning artist, signature member of the National Watercolor Society (NWS) and member of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America (TWSA), grew up in Europe and was mentored by Italian master painter Renato Cesaro. This painting titled Redondo Beach "Dordogne River Valley View" was juried into the American Watercolor Society's annual show, where it won the Alden Bryan Memorial Award, a medal, and entry into the following year's Travel Show.
http://frankeber.wordpress.com & http://watercolor.indus3ous.com
Jennifer Fabos Patton and the Gallery Girls have been doing amazing workshops filled with fun and inspiration for over 8 years. www.gallerygirls.org
Bernard Fallon (BA, Liverpool College of Art; Leicester University School of Photography) has traveled around the world to create pictures. His work is in collections both in the U.S. and abroad, and he has taught many pastel and watercolor workshops. A member of the California Art Club, he often paints “en plein air” and says: “I’m not copying nature, I’m translating its effect into patches of color. Isn’t it the artist’s calling to declare the beauties of nature?”
At the Palos Verdes Art Center, he teaches oil and pastel painting classes for all levels and teaches photography. His photography career began at the BBC in London in 1973 and his book, Bernard Fallon's Liverpool, may be purchased on Amazon.co.uk.
www.bernardfallon.com
Pauline Falstrom Ph.D., Education - U.C.L.A., B.A., M.A., Psychology - CA State University, Fullerton, PVAC - 1998). In the 1960's, I studied figure drawing with Manuel de Leon and pottery with John Shulps in Calabasis, CA. I have worked with Jim Murray at the Palos Verdes Art Center since 1998. With Jim, I have studied figure, basic and landscape drawing and painting. I have also taken oil painting with Andrew foster, Lance Ritchlin, Lee Kim, and ceramic painting with Vladimir Gorbachef, Chynthia Joyce, Robert Ortlieb, Jeff Stellges, and Shane Keen, and print making with Jenny Wyper at the Palos Verdes Art Center. I have also participated in numerous exhibits and shows.
Ghislaine Gargaro (LaVal U, Quebec City), mentored by master artist Jove Wang, exhibits extensively and has won numerous awards.
Sherri Gleason (BA, University of Georgia) is a local jewelry designer who works in the fashion industry. http://www.agtresors.com/ourartists/shgle
(BFA, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.; MA, Mythological Studies Pacifica Graduate Institute) Mythologist, artist and researcher into the role of the imagination in cultural history.
Don Holmes Computer Graphics Teacher-Platt College Los Angeles / Newport Beach CA (1996 - 2001): Instructor - Desktop Publishing (Quark, Pagemaker, Indesign), Systems Paint (Adobe Photoshop), Illustration (Macromedia Freehand & Adobe Illustrator). ArtCenter College of Design: "Saturday High Program" and Special Needs Program - (Adobe Photoshop). Culver City Adult Schools Evening Program: Instructor (Adobe Photoshop Intro & Intermediate classes). Giantsteps Training Program: Teacher- Life skills for adults using computers (all Microsoft and social networking applications in the community and lab time). Guest speaking engagements and video documentaries plus one-on-one Tutoring & Portfolio direction. Palos Verdes Art Center: Evening Program - Instructor (Adobe Photoshop Intro & Intermediate classes). Have traveled the earth and have worked with people from all walks and cultures of life. Lots of experience in Auto-Racing Photography - NASCAR/FORMULA1/INDYCAR/ALMS/NHRA/SCCA/VINTAGE VARA (1973-Present).
Kristy Jimenez (BA, art history, UC Santa Barbara; MA, educational technology, Pepperdine University) teaches photography and animation at Palos Verdes High and also makes and sells her own art. She teaches Palos Verdes Art Center classes in Photoshop.
Dr. Jill Kiefer (BAFA, art & art history, University of New Mexico; MA & PhD, art history, Warnborough University) is a published author, editor, artist and illustrator. She has taught art and art history classes for more than 20 years.
Utilizing her various skills, she teaches numerous classes at the Palos Verdes Art Center, but is perhaps best known for her coordinated art history/art making classes. She complements lectures on a topic in art history with classes in which students sample mediums and techniques used by the artists discussed in the lectures. Students can take either or both classes. Other art history classes focus on a current Los Angeles-area exhibition and include museum visits. She also teaches drawing and painting, giving special encouragement to beginners. Finally, she teaches digital art classes ranging from the very basic to creating art with the computer.
whataboutart.org
Laurel Koss (BA Temple University, Philadelphia ) is a freelance artist who teaches adults and children throughout the Los Angeles area.
Roy Kunisake (Cal State, Long Beach) describes his wheel-thrown porcelain vessels as “fine crafted pottery inspired by nature, cycles of aquatic ecosystems, Japanese ethnicity and California life style.” A native of Japan, he has lived in California most of his life. He says: “When I go to Japan to visit my family, I go to the pottery villages to absorb what the potters are creating. And usually I bring back small pieces and tons of ideas for my future projects, taking small steps toward crossing bridges of ceramic art.”
At the Palos Verdes Art Center, he teaches both hand-building and wheel-thrown ceramics to adults and wheel-throwing to youth, ages 10 and up.
www.artawakening.com/roy/
Linda R. Lo (Shih Chien University, Taipei, Taiwan degree in fine arts commercial & interior design) is an artist, florist, designer, and entrepreneur who has won numerous awards for the Western and Ikenobo Ikebana floral designs. lindarlo@yahoo.com
Frank Minuto (Chouinard Institute of Art; Otis Institute of Art; University of London) has work in numerous private and corporate collections. He has also worked in illustration, art restoration and stage design.
His painting classes fill extremely rapidly, because, as one student wrote on an evaluation: “Frank has a wonderful ability to communicate with his students. He is able to quickly assess the problem and give wonderful ways of attacking it. He is easy to talk to and very knowledgeable about all areas of art.” www.frankcharlesdanteminuto.com
is a Signature Artist Member of the California Art Club and founding member of the Portuguese Bend Artist Colony.
Mario Mirkovich Classically educated in Europe, marries traditional art skills, superb draftsmanship and expert use of color. His paintings, characterized by robust and sculptural brushstrokes, hang in collections throughout the world. He says: “My favorite thing about living in Southern California, which I use as subject matter in many of my paintings, is the resemblance it has to my homeland on the Adriatic coast of Croatia….Feeling that the light of natural scenery is its most attractive aspect, I strive to accentuate that light in my painting technique.”
He teaches landscape, portrait and still life painting, primarily in oils. Students often work from photographs that Mario has taken.
www.mariomirkovichfineart.com
Carol Morris-Ward (BA, Cal State, Long Beach) exhibits locally and is the recipient of many awards.
Jim Murray (BFA, illustration, & MFA, painting, Art Center College of Design) is an artist, educator and former gallery director. He taught art and directed the gallery at Mount St. Mary’s College. He has had numerous exhibitions.
In his gallery visitation class, he shares his unique viewpoint, providing an artist’s opinion and historical perspective to the exhibitions the class tours and leading discussions of contemporary art issues.
Jan Napolitan who has studied with some of the best ceramists in the country, has been a studio potter for more than 35 years. Her pieces range from elegantly classic to abstract, from sculptural to functional, from large stoneware to small porcelain. She says: “Taking a lump of clay, with an idea in mind, through the process of forming, decorating, glazing and firing is demanding and rewarding.”
Her classes (for intermediate and advanced students) focus on the functional ceramic forms used in everyday life and on how to produce a consistent product. One student said: “Jan’s knowledge is encyclopedic, and she really cares about the students.”
Dael Patton (BA, art education, & MA, painting, Cal State, Los Angeles) has been a painter and art instructor for over 30 years. She also has taught at LaVerne University, Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Los Angeles and Bonita school districts. She has been featured artist at The Tang Gallery in Brisbee, Arizona, as well as with The Artists' Studio at the Palos Verdes Art Center and the Courtyard and Songolo galleries in Idyllwild. She says of her work: “This mixed media process is both challenging and exciting for me. My goal is to achieve an interesting painting surface.”
She teaches an abstract painting class.
www.daelpatton.com
Lerri Peterson teaches art to adults and focuses her own painting on animals and nature. She is a member of The Artists’ Studio.
www.artbylerri.com
Lance Richlin has been an instructor of classical figure painting at Art Center Pasadena and Otis Institute.
www.lancerichlin.com
Rodolfo Rivademar is a charter artist member of the California Art Club. His work is in collections nationwide and abroad. www.rodolforivademar.com
nicanor.fineartstudioonline.com
Roxana Rodriguez (CFD, B.S., Idaho State University) award winning floral designer and educator was recently granted honorable designation by the internationally distinguished group of the American Institute of Floral Designers.
Lucinda Rudolph (BS, MBA, USC, art teaching credential, Cal State, Long Beach) worked in marketing and architectural and interior design before embarking on a second career as an art educator. She’s teaching a class in architectural rendering.
Leslie Saeta recieved her education from U.C. Santa Barbara, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. Saeta paints fresh and colorful paintings using only a palette knife. She paints in her studio full time and has over 30 years of marketing experience. In addition to painting, she is devoted to helping other artists sell their art, especially on-line. She hosts a weekly talk radio show titled “Artists Helping Artists” which is a great resource tool for all artists. She currently is a member of several artist groups including: Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, Pasadena Society of Artists and American Women Artists.
Adrian Sandstrom (BA, Buena Vista University) teaches ceramics, works as a gallery assistant, has supervised a large-scale production studio and exhibits throughout California.
Sylvia Shap known for her exquisitely rendered, insightful portraits, has lived and worked in Los Angeles for over 40 years. Her professional debut was at LACMA in 1976. She exhibits in museums nationally and internationally.www.sylviashap.com
Jennifer Siegal (BA, studio art, UC Santa Barbara; Florence Academy of Art) has been sculpting, painting and teaching for over 10 years. She says: “Drawing from life is a wonderful artistic inspiration, and capturing the ‘look’ of the sitter is something you can’t plan, but which is revealed in the time spent with the model. It is most fun when it all comes together in the end….my initial training of working from figures from life prepares me as an artist to paint anything—a still life or landscape—with the same bravura and keen observation.”
Her diverse background has helped her teach a number of adult courses from figure painting and sculpting to painting impressionistic still lifes. She also teaches figure drawing for teens and children’s drawing, painting and cartooning classes as well as imaginative camp sessions. www.siegalstudio.com
Sara Smelt (PhD, University of London) a former scientist has always seen art in science and science in art. But when wool roving transforms into felt fabric; that, she says, is art, science and a little magic. www.feltevolution.com
Kim Sowersby (BA, and credential in art education, Cal State Long Beach) has also studied in Florence, Italy and teaches at local elementary schools and the Long Beach Museum of Art.
Jeff Stellges Jeff Stellges is the Head of the Ceramics Department and has been at the Art Center for over 17 years, both teaching and managing the ceramics studio during that time. He has been involved in Ceramics for over 30 years, teaching, building kilns, firing kilns, developing glazes, tools and equipment all with the goal of helping his students have a better ceramic experience. Jeff is very hands on and continues to learn new techniques to pass on to his students.
Jennifer Stillwell (BFA, California Institue of the Arts) has taught animation and storyboards at Cal Arts and Mt. San Antonio College and has worked on numerous projects incluing "Super Mario Brothers" and "Zelda."
Bo Struye (University of Brussels) born and raised in Europe, has been working as a photographer and a special effects motion picture artist for more than 30 years.www.bostruyephotos.com
Teresa Tolliver (Cal State, Northridge) has more than 25 years experience as an arts educator with both children and adults.
Lauren Volk (MD Loyala Chicago) studied sculpture and art at the Palos Verdes Art Center, Scottsdale School of Art and with private instructors. She runs a successful illustration and design studio: LV Design.
Scott Washko who has extensive experience in hand-building, wheel-throwing and glaze mixing, is manager of the Palos Verdes Art Center’s ceramics studio. He has developed several unique glazes for the studio.
He teaches an experimental ceramics class and leads the two non-instructed ceramics workshops. His students describe him as “inspiring,” “wonderful,” “very patient” and “terrific.” One wrote: “This is the end of my third semester in this class and I plan to continue ad infinitum, so I guess this says it all!”
Arlene Weinstock (BFA, Boston University) earned her Signature and Experimental Signature from the Colored Pencil Society of America. She is a leading proponent of the loose colored pencil style. She shows her work locally and nationally. www.arlenew.com
James Wisnowski (American Academy of Art) is a signature member of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and a member of Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, Laguna Plein Air Painters of America, Chicago Artists Association and the Palette and Chisel Fine Art Academy. He says: “I am a realist painter who paints my environment as I see it….My focus is on outdoor landscape, which includes city scenes, seascapes and rural countryside. The beauty of the four seasons allows me to become a colorist, frequently changing my palette of colors when interpreting my subject.”
His watercolor classes, for intermediate and advanced students, include the use of simple classical concepts as the bases for successful paintings. One student called him “the best instructor I ever had at PVAC.”
www.jameswisnowski.com
David Wolfram (BA, Art Center College of Design) is a plein air painter, working in oils and pastels. He has professional affiliations with several organizations including the California Art Club, Torrance Artists Guild and the Pastel Society of Southern California. David worked as a Toy Designer and Design Manager at Mattel Inc. for 22 years before leaving corporate life to express himself as a Fine Artist.
www.davidwolframart.com
Virginia Wyper a member of Women Painters West, Los Angeles Printmaking Society and South Bay Watercolor Society, has won many awards for her prints.
,was executive director at the Tucson Museum of Art and Indianapolis Museum of Art, prior to his tenure at the Palos Verdes Art Center.
(Professor, California State University, Fullerton) Professor Yun holds a Master of Fine Arts in Drawing/Painting and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from California State University, Long Beach. In addition to numerous exhibitions at prestigious art venues, his work can also be seen in the television programs, including Luck (HBO), The Guardian (CBS), Eli Stone (ABC), Monk (HBO), and Knight Rider (NBC) and movies, including Daddy Day Care (Columbia Pictures), Meet the Fockers (Universal Pictures), and Transformers (DreamWorks).
Shadi Zafarpour (UC Berkeley) is experienced in teaching graphic design, television, 3-D film and advertising. www.zhibit.org/shadiz
Edie Zelon (BFA, illustration, Cal State, Long Beach) has taught children and teens at many South Bay locations.
Lian Quan Zhen (BA, UC-Berkeley; MA Architecture, MIT) has taught watercolor at Berkeley and in workshops throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
lianspainting.com
