“From the alone to the alone, of the dark night of the soul and of the final ecstasy in which the creature becomes at one with the beloved.” - Somerset Maugham.

In my art, I am concerned with the drawing of parallels between natural phenomena and human consciousness in order to converse about the soul of nature and the nature of the soul. The sublime experience of nature defined by the northern romantic tradition of painting in the 19th century in America and Europe contextualizes for me my position and suggests that in order to experience the landscape in terms of beautiful, awesome and powerful, there must be in the work the presence of the shadow, or a malevolent force that is dangerous, violent and horrific. This idea of the sublime in nature is also found in our ideas about religion that we are meant to fear God because the idea of God is awesome to think about and that is humbling, which is supposed to make us a better society.

It is fear and danger that often motivates the transformation of consciousness. It can be said that during the most volatile and tumultuous times in history was when some of the best art was produced. In my paintings I describe the primordial acts of creation existing on the edge of the great abyss. This to me is a fearful and humbling thought and one of the great mysteries that surround man’s existence in the universe. Through the fear of our precarious position in the universe we are made aware of how special, wonderful, unique and rare life really is. It is this uncomfortable awkward presence of danger and fear married to beauty and harmony in my work that I use to motivate the viewer out of their comfort zone of ideal ideas of safety and beauty and into an alert edgy awareness that is at times emotional and philosophical.

                                                   “Half light at Dusk and Dawn”

Some of my best thinking is accomplished in the early morning hours just before the sun rises or just as the day is ending. These are enchanted hours when the voice of the soul can be easily heard, and when the veil between the worlds is thin. This is a time of fantasy and of fear, a time of anxiety and hope, a time that challenges who I think I am. Dusk and dawn are half light times when I feel a deep connection to being alive on the planet. It is a time when I invent my personal mythologies and draw from the interior of my being the inspirations for my art, a time when I draw the parallels between my personal power and the forces at work on the planet. From these wanderings in the interior of my psyche, it can be said that I walk the mountain and I am the mountain, I swim the ocean, and I am the ocean and I eat from the tree of life, and I am the tree of life.  

- Gail Weissman
www.gailweissman.net

People are my main source of inspiration, through watercolor I love capturing someone's color or "aura" and character. I love a dramatic portraits expressing pain, shock, laughter, black eyes, funny faces etc. Anything that shows the person intensely RAW and true. Animals come next, as a dog lover myself the term "those big puppy eyes" is exactly what I love to capture. Just like people, dogs have strong personalities and such powerful connections. Right now, I would consider myself a portrait artist with illustration tendencies.

I am a soon to be graduate of the Academy of Art University, but I've been an artist since birth. Recently, I have grown confident and really thrown myself into my work. I sketch a lot and also do some acrylic work as well but nothing excites me like watercolor.

- Diana Beach, Dynamight

Colin is an illustrator living and working in Oakland, California. Born and raised in the Sierra foothills two hours from the bay, he is inspired by nature and the innate savagery of mankind. Romping about in the woods and hunting for pollywogs are key elements in his creative influences. His main interests are in the genres of science fiction and fantasy illustration. With a love of color and dynamic action, Colin works primarily in acrylics and oils, combining the two to create traditionally rendered paintings with a pulp twist.

Colin counts among his influences masters of 20th century fantastic art such as Frank Frazetta, Jeffrey Jones, N.C. Wyeth, and H.R. Geiger. He sees the authenticity of their original work as proof that man was meant to create art that exists in a tangible form. He aspires to achieve a level of work that not only stands on the shoulders of these giants that came before, but surpasses the standards they established in an innovative, intriguing fashion.

Having read the work of imaginative authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Ray Bradbury in his early years, Colin has always had a love for fantastic literature. His dream is to illustrate the novels he remembers excitedly envisioning as a youngster with all the skill and maturity of an adult. With the 21st century advent of virtual entertainment, Colin affirms the age-old tradition of sitting under a shady tree and reading a beautifully illustrated book. Nothing technology can conjure will ever compare with the stunning capacity of one’s own imagination.

His work can be found online at colinnitta.com.

Clay Chollar grew up in a very creative household in Santa Cruz, CA, where he was saturated by art and music from day one. For Clay, art isn’t just something you do -- it’s something you live. Clay is here to inspire people by constantly creating and manifesting his dreams on a daily basis!

Live visionary airbrushing is a truly interactive experience. You can watch as the paint comes to life before your very eyes, but if you get too close he might turn you into the canvas. Clay can be seen painting live, dj'ing, body painting and setting up interactive installations at festivals, art events, and underground shows all over the west coast and beyond.

Also in the works is MIndAltar, an all original audio/visual DJ set. It will be a multimedia journey through the psychedelic nature of our minds, blending art ,video, music and live performers to create a visionary dance portal.

I have no formal training in art--I studied physics and neuroscience--but I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I started drawing comics for my friends in grade school.  Back then, I satirized our teachers and classmates, but I've since been developing a kind of graphic poetry that chronicles the imagery and dialogue of dreams, mimicking the mind’s attempt to impose a narrative structure on the subconscious.   My exploration of these themes is informed by my scientific work in neuroscience--the rationalization of what is supremely irrational.  Check out more on my website: http://www.thedivinebanquet.com.

I recently published my first graphic novel, "Soldiers of God." The story takes place in Central Asia, where I served with the Peace Corps for several years, and parallels the life of a tribal youth joining a religious extremist group in Central Asia with that of an American youth joining the US military. Read more about it here: http://tinyurl.com/42qarhv

- Kelly Clancy

I graduated from CSU Chico with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in electronic arts with an emphasis in multimedia. My work has evolved from pen drawings to photography, stenciling, ink, computer software, and film that mix traditional and non-traditional mediums to address themes of pop culture. My inspiration stems from a combination of cinema and musical influences that shape my imagery in a photographic style, allowing an affinity for cinematic aesthetics to be explored.

I’m also a musician and compose original material under the name Bubble Gun. My website is http://studios25pictures.wordpress.com/

- Christian Marquez

Max Ehrman A.K.A "E.O.N 75" (Extermination of Normality) was born in 1975 in the sunny little beach town of Naples, Florida. He found the world of art in his early 20s when he was living in Gainesville, Florida and attending the University of Florida. Having never seen graffiti art in his life, he had no understanding of what the culture was, or even what the medium of spray paint was.

One day, a mural was produced on a public wall in his city by three German muralists as a memorial wall to a child that had died tragically. This event changed the course of his life and career. Conceptually, the mural was beyond anything he had ever seen. The layout, design, execution, and color balance was incredible. The next day, Max went to his local paint store and bought spray paint. He then went to the wall and hasn't stopped since.

Since that first chance encounter, Max has excelled at the art form. He moved to Europe in the Fall of 2001 and studied architecture at the Dessau Institute of Architecture, where he received his Masters Degree. While in Europe, he painting in six countries and showed at galleries in four countries. After returning to the US, he has been very busy. Max currently living in San Francisco. His work has been published internationally and nationally. EON75 has also produced murals for the city of San Francisco and known muralist documentarian Jim Prigoff.

EON75's signature style draws the viewer in with its organic forms and color harmony. Only through his connection with nature and a strict schooling in architecture could this harmony and precision come forth in his paintings.

My art has been both my greatest source of pride and accomplishment, and my greatest source of grief and inadequacy. I never decided to be an artist... because it isn't really a choice. It is something that festers inside me, and without proper attention, it would only drive me mad. And so, I create. Without reason or purpose, and often without direction. Really, its quite unromantic.
    
I paint on the floor, seated, and cross-legged. I have a studio, but it is filled wall-to-wall with forgotten projects, discarded tools, and thrift store treasures that I once thought might insight inspiration. And so instead, I paint in corners of the house where debris has yet to find a home and small dogs battle for my attention.

And on the occasion that I can separate myself from daily life and the mere trepidation of being, I paint reflections of these melancholy moments. I seek to capture that indescribable sense of lightness that exists somewhere within the heavy nature of existence. And yet, I am simultaneously hoping to capture the antithesis of that, the sentiment of disenchantment that rears its head in the most magical of moments. And so, I suppose, what I am really painting, is reality cloaked in fantasy. It is the dichotomy of a mysterious word filled with unwavering realities. It is my dream word, colliding into my waking life, attempting to create something definitive out of all things indefinite.
    
You can learn more about my works of art by visiting www.ErinOart.com .
    
You can learn more about my voyages into the world of fashion by visiting www.DoeEyedAndPigeonToed.com

- Erin Opperman

Adriana Sparkuhls is an artist of many passions. Her paintings typically illustrate visualizations of music and environmental issues while demonstrating a keen understanding of the human form and divine symbolism. While much of her imagery is acutely ornate and feminine, the work itself proves to be significantly expressive, with an energetic use of paint and obscure material combination.

She is often involved in large scale projects has worked on many installations including projects with the likes of Camp Questionmark, the installation artist Shrine and music producer Bassnectar.

As a promotional designer and artist for the San Francisco electronic party posse Soundpieces, you will find her work all over San Francisco and the internet in the form of event fliers, posters, and CD covers. Adriana and DJ Bogl began throwing Soundpieces events and art showcases in 2006. For years, she has been notorious for rocking out, painting live at shows headbanging with her paintbrush.

During her recent adventures in Barcelona, Adriana has been developing a very new series of work representing the weakened environmental state of the ocean by putting a spin on endangered marine species and human gluttony. These boutique pieces will be on display at RAW: SF and will consist of a variety of different mediums and surfaces while integrating random articles of waste. 

I once had my style described as "Trip Art" in high school. It was "Alien Pop" in college. And now? Some say "Visionary Art"-- but the verbiage doesn't resonate with me so much. "Interdimensional" maybe. From the feedback and feelings I get, "Transmissions through the Collective Pineal Gland" would be a good description. Haha, no, but really.  However you word it, I've been going for this Earth Medicine feeling, akin to a vision from a shamanic journey, a hallucinogenic trip, or a meditative vision.

My inspiration flows through me relative to what I'm experiencing in life--so it could be science, it could be a politics, it could be crop circles, it could be a personal experience, it could be a collective shift in consciousness, it could be cookies... The works here were influenced by Chief Golden Light Eagle and his texts Iktomi Wicahpi Wicohan; Star Law Manual of the Galactic Federation, and Maka Wicahpi Wicohan (Universal and Spiritual Laws of Creator), as well as some of my own experiences within this Collective Experience. I'm influenced by the rich cultural heritage of the peoples of Earth and our relationships to the Star People. With my work I intend to shed the collective of fear-based programming and genetic habits, that we may remember Living in Right Relationship with each other, with the Earth, with the Stars, and with Creator.

To see more of my work, visit www.mystictransmissions.com 

- Ashely Foreman