Artist's Choice Exhibition presented by the Pasadena Society of Artists

Artist’s Choice Exhibition

September 30 - October 29, 2022

Exhibition Chair — Tom Oldfield

Montrose, California

Artist’s Reception Saturday, October 1, 2022

To view this artwork online please visit https://issuu.com/pasadenasocietyofartists

This catalog is available for purchase from Blurb.com

Artists represented on the cover:

Top left: Suzanne Urquiza

Top right: Jean Richardson

Bottom: Cyndi Bemel

Artwork appears courtesy of PSA members. Copyrights held by the artists. All rights reserved.

President’s Message

It is my pleasure to introduce the 2022 Artist’s Choice Exhibition. Forty-two PSA artists have entered 73 of their best works for display at Whites Fine Art Gallery in Montrose, CA.

Members submitted a wide range of media from traditional painting to ceramics, collage, photography, sculpture and more. This will be a spectacular in-person exhibition thanks to the hard work of our artist members, the Exhibition Committee and all others involved.

The Artist’s Choice Exhibition was first presented in 2009 at the Citibank Art Space in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. I know many of you were there. It was a great, cavernous space perfect for exhibitions if a little far from home. Over the years this exhibition has evolved depending on the venue. Whites Fine Art Gallery will superbly display our member’s work.

It is my misfortune or good fortune depending on your perspective that I will be physicallyabsent from the opening on October 1st. I am attending a plein air artist’s retreat in Taos, NM, learning new things and brushing up on old. I will miss seeing all of you at the opening recep tion.

Artfully yours, Kathleen Swaydan Acting Interim President and Treasurer

Exhibition Chairman’s Welcome

Welcome to the 2022 PSA Artist’s Choice Exhibit. Unlike our usual exhibits these works were not selected by a renowned artist juror. These works were chosen by each artist to show work that they are proud of and may not be their typical work. This may be a step out of their normal style or even something in a completely different medium. It is not quite an artistic free for all, but it does allow the members a great deal of freedom to exhibit works that they select. Enjoy…

Tom Oldfield Artist’s Choice Exhibition Chairman

This Artist’s Choice Exhibition catalog is available for purchase. Visit www.PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org for the direct link to order from Blurb.

Table of Contents

President’s Message 1

Chairman’s Welcome 1

Table of Contents 2

Artists Directory 3

MariBeth Baloga 4

Cyndi Bemel 5

Arnour Bieltvedt 7

Mariko Bird 9

KALLENA-Karen Chutsky-Naud 11 Liz Crimzon 13

Dominique Day 15

Marion Dies 17 Darien Donner 19

Karen Duckles 21

Martin Ehrlich 23

Mims Ellis 25 Sandy Fisher 27 Roger Dolin 29 Emily Goff 30 R. Rene Hoffman 31 Karen M Holgerson 33 Dorothe Horttor 35

Maryellen Eltgroth 37 Karen Hochman Brown 38 Nora Koerber 39

Victor Picou 40 Robert Michael Sullivan 41 Tom Oldfield 42 S. A. Smith 43

Sean Yang 44 Marvin Jackson 45

Jeffry Jensen 47

Joanna Kos 49 Warner LeMénager 51 Danny Mattijetz 53

Mike Pitzer 55 Rebecca Pollack 57 Rhonda Raulston 59

Serena Refoua 61 Jean Richardson 63 Kathleen Swaydan 65 Barbara Thorn 67 Suzanne Urquiza 69 Tsvetelina Valkov 71 Carolyn Young 73

Gayle Westrate 75

Contact the Artist 76

Catalog Production Team 79

PSA Board of Directors 2022–2023 80

A Short History of ACE & PSA 81

Call for New Members 82

MariBeth Baloga

Artists Directory

4

Cyndi Bemel 5

Arnour Bieltvedt 7

Mariko Bird 9

KALLENA-Karen Chutsky-Naud 11 Liz Crimzon 13

Dominique Day 15 Marion Dies 17

Roger Dolin 29

Darien Donner 19 Karen Duckles 21 Martin Ehrlich 23

Mims Ellis 25

Maryellen Eltgroth 37

Sandy Fisher 27

Emily Goff 30

Karen Hochman Brown 38 R. Rene Hoffman 31 Karen M Holgerson 33 Dorothe Horttor 35

Marvin Jackson 45

Jeffry Jensen 47

Nora Koerber 42

Joanna Kos 39

Warner LeMénager 51

Danny Mattijetz 53

Tom Oldfield 42

Victor Picou 40

Mike Pitzer 55

Rebecca H Pollack 57

Rhonda Raulston 59 Serena Refoua 61

Jean Richardson 63

S. A. Smith 43

Robert Michael Sullivan 41 Kathleen Swaydan 65 Barbara Thorn 67

Suzanne Urquiza 69 Tsvetelina Valkov 71

Gayle Westrate 75 Sean Yang 44 Carolyn Young 73

Artwork appears courtesy of PSA members. Copyrights held by the artists. All rights reserved.

© 2022 Pasadena Society of Artists www.PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

The Pasadena Society of Artists wishes to acknowledge and thank the Jeanne Ward Foundation for its continuing support.

The Pasadena Society of Artists wishes to acknowledge and thank the Pasadena Arts League for its support.

The Pasadena Society of Artists wishes to acknowledge and thank Arcadia Sign Company for its continuing support.

My creative process begins when I see an image that elicits a strong response from me. In this piece, it was a picture if an old lady, heavily wrinkled, and devoid of color. As I work and add pictures to the original, a narrative begins to develop. It is that narrative which gives direction to the piece and gives me a clear idea of what I want to convey.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Blurry Future Cyndi Bemel

Photography

Blurry future ahead is hard to decipher when you don’t even know your place. The time is ticking, and you’re on your way. Keep going to the blurry future ahead. There is no shame in the unknown or with thoughts astray. Remembering the moment re-sparks the memory. It’s easy to fall in love all over again surrounded by the smells of fresh pine flirting with the sky.

“I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.” Joyce Kilmer

5 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

On The Road Again Cyndi Bemel

Photography

Being on the road is a healing exercise – rejuvenate and recharge. The mind can drift off and explore the vastness all the way to the horizon and back. There is no need to feel that the road is leading to something as it’s a journey of its own. Riding the wind down the thunder road, rambling on the freeway of love, over hills and far away, being on the road, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before me” – Walt Whitman

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Bountiful Nature Mariko Bird

Nature heals. During the chaotic recent years, nature’s healing property was particularly needed. The surface of this vase is etched with Japanese characters that signify natural elements such as the four seasons, streams, wind, flowers, seeds and so on. It is perhaps my prayer for the restoration of lives.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Cliff Top Mariko Bird

My rock climbing days are over, and my interest in rocks has shifted from physical to visual. Some rocks have intriguing appearances, making me wonder what it would be like to live on top of one. I came up with this sculpture, following such a fantasy.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

I love the neutral palette of a desert landscape, ripe with earthy tones muted by the harsh sun and softened edges wrought by the brisk hot winds.

Composition wise nature seems to lend a hand with almost cookie cutter shapes balanced upon a cream sand foreground shelf and an undulating silhouetted skyline laid against rich tones of vibrant cerulean skies.

Always very striking indeed.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Any scene of Water Lilies lends itself to an impressionistic interpretation with the rich pastel tones flecked and flickering with highlights, the fluidness of the pond and lovely reflections floating and undulating in the water.

An artist’s dream subject matter.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Hidden Diamond Liz Crimzon

Original

Quite often, I will photograph an image without any understanding of what I am looking at. I just feel an emotional response. I have to search hard for what it is that attracted me to the subject. I keep digging deeper into the imagery, searching with my camera, until I finally come across the focus of my fascination. This, “Hidden Diamond” is such an image. It was born from a deep, subconscious, emotional connection.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Weathered Fence Liz Crimzon

Original Digital

Upon encountering this segment of fence, I felt as if I had found an ancient, sacred monument. It felt like I was encountering Stonehenge, or Machu Pichu. The fence was being engulfed and hidden away, by the untamed wilderness, of a lowly, common vine. Perhaps, someday soon, it will be lost to human memory – as is befitting of all, weathered old monuments.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Dominique Day (Pasadena, US) works with watercolor and digital media. Her work explores quiet moments in the everyday, creating new tensions from gilded representations of familiar moments.

This piece presents a step on the path to motherhood, exploring the first trimester. The gentle support offered by slow-flowing water reflects the nurturing of a new life in the warm embrace of the womb.

This piece was created during the artist’s first trimester, mirroring the transience of the artist’s experience.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Dominique Day (Pasadena, US) works with watercolor and digital media. Her work explores quiet moments in the everyday, creating new tensions from gilded representations of familiar moments.

This piece presents a step on the path to motherhood, exploring the first trimester. Slow-flowing water reflects steadfast endurance through rapid physical change and the fragile emergence of new life.

This piece was created during the artist’s first trimester, mirroring the transience of the artist’s experience.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Garibaldi Marion Dies

I’ve become engrossed with collage. I am enjoying painting color fields on absorbant fabric and then cutting out random organic shapes. The colors I gravitate to seem to lend themselves to underwater scenes, so I’m assembling semi-abstract So. California vingettes. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle, but backwards. The Garibaldi is the California State salt water fish and can be seen all along the coast and particularly around Catalina Island. It has protected status, and its bright orange color makes them unmistakable. It also makes them a great subject for artworks.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Underwater Scene Marion Dies

Media,

I’m doing more collage as a way to introduce some abstraction into my art. I paint fields of color on absorbant fabric and then cut out random organic shapes from them. The colors I gravitate to seem to lend themselves to underwater scenes, so I’m assembling semi-abstract underwater imagery, layering shapes with an attention to color harmony, contrast and composition. I can’t get away from imagery, so it has to suggest something to me, rather than totally abstract, so I can declare a piece finished.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Dwelling Darien Donner

Watercolor on Stained

Here is a round basket. A basket can hold and carry. This is a round basket. It doesn’t have handles. You have to carry it in your hands. You look inside. The contained space is a dwelling for something precious. Something that speaks to you. Something you want to spend time with. It is not small nor big. It is time-less.

What would you store in your basket? Where would you go with your basket?

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

In the painting Un-Mooring a life experience is depicted in which we find ourselves drifting into unfamiliar territory. It is like heaving up an anchor from a ship. Everything on the ship is still familiar but the landscape we see is changing while the ship is drifting free from its moorings. Questions and thoughts show up that are imbued with fear, expectations, worries, excitement, desperation, relief, morning.

Personally, I quickly want to check things out. Who is who? What is what? Am I still in control? Can I go back to where I came from? What is ahead of me? Where am I? Did I miss anything? Did I make a wrong turn? Am I okay? Will I be okay?

It takes me a while to calm down and be with what is right there with me, in each moment. What do YOU see when you look at this painting?

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Seaweed Karen Duckles

The title of this painting is “Seaweed”. The strong black markings have been inspired by the gestural quality of Sumi painting in the representation of the seaweed. Additionally, I have used a very thin wash of oil paint to achieve a luminous still quality in the depiction of the water. I am interested in this juxtaposition of hard and soft elements which remind me of the forces of nature.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

White Flower Karen Duckles

on Canvas

The title of this piece is “White Flower”. In this painting, I am using oil paint that has been thinned to a very watery consistency. I feel this tentative paint application depicts the evanescence and temporary nature of the living plant. It is as if the subject is positioned halfway between being and not-being, shimmering into and out of existence.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

The

River of Tears

I was listening to country music while glazing this piece, and the name just came to me. The crackle in the white background is reminiscent of a face full of wrinkles. The golden eyeliner and the blue streaks of tears provide a stark contrast to the aged face.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Dead of Winter Martin Ehrlich

High Fire Ceramic

The bare branches curl around this tree-trunk brown vase, stripped naked of their leaves in the dead of winter. This is part of a series I made inspired by Antonino Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

California Dreaming Mims Ellis

This is the fourth in a series of garden totems I have been making. California has so many iconic flora, fauna and colors that I found it hard to choose which ones to make for my totem. So I finally settled on a mixture of pieces that I either have in my own garden, or wish I did!

From bottom to top you will see: the blue Pacific Ocean swimming with fish, orange and lemon trees, ladybugs, monarch butterfly, palm tree, jacaranda blossoms, snails and mushrooms, California poppy, hummingbird, flying seagulls and bougainvillea blossoms.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Pink Pearl Clam Shell Mims Ellis

Irregular edges always intrigue me. They have a flow to them that is unplanned but pleasing. In making my giant clam shell, I took an overly large circular slab of clay and carefully folded it into a smaller size bowl mold to get the ruffled edging. Then I went to town on the great pastel colors I can get with cone 5 glazing. Imagine the size of pearl this shell could create!

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

It’s A Beautiful Day Sandy Fisher

This is a scene of one of my favorite areas to paint en plein air. It is off the Taylor Trailhead in Rivendale Park in Santa Clarita. On this particular day, I was struck with the beauty of the clouds over the oaks and the signs of spring turning to summer. It just seemed like such a beautiful day.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Prelude to Zion Sandy Fisher

Oil on Linen Panel

Just a few miles before entering Zion National Park from the East Gate, I came upon these cliffs which were being lit by the late afternoon sun, and I was mesmerized by the variety of colors in the rock. The sight of this stirred up a joyous anticipation of what might lie ahead!

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Griffith Park - Vertical Roger Dolin

My purpose with this painting is to record the natural world in a detailed painting. I want to share the feeling of being immersed in nature, engaged with our surroundings. From the tops of our local mountains, you can see the entire city of Los Angeles. We have built up to the very edge of habitable land and now have to learn to co-exist with nature. How will it look here 100 years from now? What does nature have in store for us? What kind of world will my daughter and future generations see and live in?

Painting by squares gives me a solid structure to work with, focusing only on the square in front of me. Each square is a small abstract painting. When you put them together, they form a detailed, realistic image. The resulting grid adds a layering effect; as if we are seeing through a window or perhaps looking back through time, remembering when access to nature was easy. The multitude of squares remind me that big things can happen in small steps. Life is made up of a multitude of days—some better, some not as good—but when you see all the squares together it makes a beautiful image.

29 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

No Te Pongas Triste, Solo Mira Al Cie Emily Goff

No Te Pongas Triste, Solo Mira Al Cielo (Don’t Be Sad, Just Look at the Sky)

The title of this painting is taken from a song called Mexicana Hermosa by Natalia Lafourcade. It’s a metaphorical love song in which she sings of the beauty and suffering of her homeland, while comforting the listener with restorative dreams. I have familial roots in Mexico and have seen tragic changes there within my lifetime. This painting was inspired by Lafourcade’s song, the memory of the Mexico I carry in my heart, and the hope and longing I feel for the world in general.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Inverted River R. Rene Hoffman

Archival Digital Print

No one expects water and wildlife in the L.A. River. This photograph was taken in the area where the river bottom changes from sandy soil to cement. The image is the reflection of the bird and things leading to to edge of the river. I have turned it upside down so that the image is right side up. (does that make sense?) Other than cropping, there are no photoshop effects.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Piano Orfano R. Rene Hoffman

Who dumps a piano the street? Abandoned, still in working order, needing a cleaning and tuning. As the first day passed, parts started missing; the bench, the panel in front of the harp. I knew that no one would pick it up now.I started to photograph it before the harp went to the scrap hunters. As time went by, it was the wood that was removed and all that was left was the metal harp and strings.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Lavender Triptych Reverie Karen M Holgerson

Fabric Collage on Panel 10" x 10", 10" x 33" total length $1000

My love of texture, abstract design, and the colors of lavender and blue were the inspiration for this triptych.

33 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Sherwood Forest Karen M Holgerson

Fabric Collage on Panel

Nature, color, texture, and design all move me to create semi-abstractly. On a recent trip to the Hudson River area of New York, I found myself inspired by spectacular natural settings. I continue to be inspired by memories of those wildly beautiful landscapes and quaint rural areas -- and all without billboards!!!!

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Beet Borscht Dorothe Horttor

These times can make people need comfort food, and that would be borscht for most of Eastern Europe and northern Asia. Borscht was first created in Ukraine, and it spread east through Russia’s expansions and emigrations. While today we tend to think of borscht as a beet-based Russian soup containing meat, beets, potatoes, and vegetables, many variations exist depending the location. Originally borscht consisted of meat, various wild greens and fermented hogweed. Today we can find green borscht (sorrel based), white borscht (rye based), and cabbage borscht. While usually served with sour cream or yogurt, its constant is its sourness.

35

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Menudo Roja

Dorothe Horttor

When I was a little girl growing up in Los Angeles walking to and from school, I regularly went by a Mexican restaurant offering “Daily Menudo”. The name made me think that the word menudo was Spanish for menu and that the restaurant was offering fresh food every day. Now grown up, I am thankful that I was never enticed to try it.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Prism Break

Maryellen Eltgroth

Ink

Splitting a light beam can reveal limitless competition possibilities. For me it is a subliminal process that imagines the future as past. Coming is going. Intense primal color helps reinforce the feel. Invisible energy marks its packet path. Nano spins galactic, and the ends of time come together.

37 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 76.

Circular Contrast

Karen Hochman Brown

One of the most used implements in my computer toolbox is a digital synthesizer with modular programming. Here, I am able to create virtual paint brushes for the computer to apply based on various factors. In “Circular Contrast” I created a tapered brush that lays out curved strokes based on the black and white gradient pattern I fed it as a source. The colors were created using a color randomization instruction. After the machine finished its rendering, I cut the results into wedges then selected a single wedge to reflect and create a true symmetry. I find the resulting mandala to be mesmerizing.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Flowers From Above Nora Koerber

Oil

This work was done from a still life of flowers that I arranged in a vase, looking downward upon them. The view encouraged me to blast the form of the vase outward in an abstracted manner, creating an expressionistic field of this powerful color red. The bouquet of flowers, however, are vibrant and are not eclipsed by their enclosure, but echoes the power and beauty of Nature.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Monarchs In Rainbow Meadow Victor Picou

Monarchs In Rainbow Meadow was an enjoyable 3.5 month experience using hundreds of Qtips for my pointillism composition. Flowers have been a part of my life and common in my sculptures and paintings for many years. I have a butterfly sanctuary in my yard. The bright, diverse flowers are fantasy, and connected with vines and roots; a metaphor for community diversity.

This uplifting colorful composition is for one to enjoy, to sit with and enjoy the details.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Autumn Delight

Robert Michael Sullivan

Photograph on Canvas 18" x 12" $700

The uplifting branches salute the fall foliage on a cool fall day.

Puffs of white clouds and splashes of deep shadows dazzle the viewer’s eyes. The tree trunk is an enduring presence that contrasts with the ephemeral nature of the seasonal colors.

Nature’s beauty nourishes my soul. My awareness and consciousness come alive in the sparkling colors of the season.

41 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Michigan Avenue Tom Oldfield

My photography is an escape from everyday reality. I am fascinated with the process of how things became what they are and where they are going, whether the subject is a grand landscape or some decaying technology from the past. All of my work is in black and white. To me a black and white image is more elegant and encourages people to participate by bringing their imagination into play. I mostly use traditional large format film and traditional darkroom techniques. Although large format film is my passion I use other processes when that avenue is more appropriate for my image.

Michigan Ave is a cellblock in Alcatraz, the former prison in the middle of San Francisco Bay. It is an eerie place. The eerie feeling is enhanced as the visitors all wear headsets to listen to a narrative history. This results in people walking around silently giving a zombie-like impression.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Kitsune Debate S. A. Smith

A common vehicle artists use to confront the foibles of the human condition is to present animals pursuing a human role. Artists around the world have reflected upon their societies through this type of presentation. The tradition is evident in the marginalia of medieval manuscripts and the Choju-giga scrolls of 12th to 13th century Japan in which artists present animals engaging in human pastimes.

Kitsune are Japanese folkloric fox creatures known for their mischievous nature. They shape shift to harass arrogant humans ending with the person in significantly reduced circumstances.

The work presents two kitsune assuming the roles of debating individuals. They observe the same natural elements but cannot agree upon their meaning nor appearance. They are unable to acknowledge the other’s view… possibly reflecting contemporary dialogues?

43

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Coca-Cola Buddha Sean Yang

Sean Yang [Korean American, b.1979] is a Los Angeles-based artist who became a naturalized citizen of the United States. His art practice revolves around sculptural ceramics to mixed media works using multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary methods to investigate social and internal space. He exploits the tension between the reproducible and the handmade object, in order to examine social control, collective unconsciousness, individual identity, socio-cultural transformation. The mixed media work Coca-Cola Buddha deals with the artist’s hybrid identity. As an interbeing through the lens of consumerism and mindfulness based on the essence of Buddhist teaching such as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Paths. Coca-Cola Buddha questions to the viewers rather than providing answers to the consumer culture and mindful living.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

NALA

Marvin Jackson

on Linen

Nala is my daughters little Cocker Spaniel who lives in Portland Oregon. Nala is 113 in human years. My wife wants Nalas presence around the house so I decided to paint a portriat of her for my wife to gaze on. My daughter and her boyfriend take Nala everywhere they go. This painting is a portrait in my daughters car.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Springtime Pruning

Marvin Jackson

on Linen

I love gardening, cultivating, and watching plants grow. I especially love drawing roses after they’ve blossomed. I was so pleased with the fruits of my labours I began taking pictures of the roses in my rose garden. I then decided to create a still life. I took off my gloves, put my prunners on a table, set it all up, and used photos I’d taken for reference.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Pushing Toward the Sky Jeffry Jensen

At first, I had a common image of a tree and the sky. I decided to alter the color scheme so that I can play with how the tree and the sky can interact. I wanted the tree and the sky to work together, to expand the color choices between the two. Sometimes, it is hard to know where one part starts and the other part ends. The world can be such a blurring of lines. In the blink of an eye, the sky can change, and we all see something new and different. Our reality can play tricks on us, so we must stay alert to how trees and sky present themselves to us.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Splashing on the Blue Jeffry Jensen

For this digital photograph, I went about changing a rundown fence that has seen better days. It was crumbling, but I decided to add a splash of color to spruce up the fence and make it look like it now stands out as a marvelous piece of craft in the yard. Now, it is more special in my imagination. Since I really couldn’t save it in real life, I decided to make it stand out as a digital photograph.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Dawn in the Desert Joanna Kos

I painted “Dawn in the Desert” during my stay in Arizona. Back then, I was fascinated by vast, empty spaces and spectacular lighting phenomena that are characteristic of these areas. However, this painting does not refer to a physical place. It is rather an image presenting overlapping regions of earth and sky that suggest an intensifying mystical experience. The picture exudes both silence and joyful anticipation of the new day to come.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Glass Castle Joanna Kos

Oil on Canvas

In my recent work, I attempt to emphasize the dualistic character of perceived reality; a world of physical sensations and intellectual or spiritual awareness. I strive to express that which is elusive and invisible. The “Glass Castle” is a metaphor for particular states of the soul - like hopes, illusions, and dreams. The blending of these states makes reality seem more radiant and alluring.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Kyudo Warner LeMénager

Archery is one of the oldest forms of martial arts in Japan. Kyudo is now an artistic form of archery and one of the two forms used in Japan. The other form is on horseback and is called Yabusame. Both forms are now open to both men and women who compete as equals.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Noren Warner LeMénager

Throughout Japan noren are used both commercially and for personal homes; but we see them at the doorways of most businesses. Besides looking like curtains, they identify the business by name and sometimes product. I saw this noren in Takayama, which repeats the design of the business throughout the establishment, and was caught by its artistic design and simplicity.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Six Feet

Danny Mattijetz

As 2020 headed for the end of its first quarter, the whole world focused on the pandemic catastrophe unfolding before us. In the end, we wore masks, communicated electronically, and sat six feet apart.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Trinity Ring Danny Mattijetz

While this sculpture appears to be composed of three intertwining rings, it is in fact just a single ring. This can be proven by placing a finger lightly on an edge and following the ring around with the other hand. After one full loop, your hand will be on the next edge. Another loop will move you to the third apparent edge, and another loop will finally bring you back around to the original point. Thus there are three in one.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Grape Tootsie Pop Mike Pitzer

This is another large Tootsie Pop drawing from my “Happy Art” series. With the pandemic in full swing, I was searching for the happiest of days as a child going up on the St. Clair River running through Algonac, Michigan. As a kid, we’d ride our bikes along M59 and pick up the pop and beer bottles people threw out of their car windows. Each bottle was worth 3 cents. We’d find a dozen each. After we’d wash them out with the garden hose, we’d head up to the Pte. Tremble Market and cash ‘em in. I’d buy a grape Faygo (25 cents) and a grape Tootsie Pop (5 cents) and still have a nickel left over. My drawing brought back all those wonderful memories of being outside, running around the city with friends on our bikes, not a worry in the world. So un-Covid-like.

55 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Mighty Mouse Paddleball Game Mike Pitzer

Graphite & Colored Pencil on Paper

As a kid, growing up on the St. Clair River that ran through the little town of Algonac, Michigan, we didn’t have a lot of games we’d plug in or that ran on batteries. Our games tended to run on our imaginations, sure determi nation, and probably cost a quarter at the local Ben Franklin store. One of my favorites was my Mighty Mouse Paddleball. If you couldn’t beat your brother or sister’s highest score, you’d best ‘em by doing it longer without stopping. I think the longest I ever went was 12 minutes non-stop. The only downside was these paddles could be used by Mom or Dad to give you a swat if you misbehaved — and what kid doesn’t misbehave?

In this direction, graphite and colored pencil on painted wood panel came about when I ran out of large rolls of drawing paper. I had the urge to do something and I had several wood panels so I thought why not give it a try? The interesting thing to me is that with my Happy Art drawings, I work very hard to keep the paper clean yet working on panels, the dirtiness of media added a lot of energy and feeling for me.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 77.

Divided We Stand Rebecca H Pollack

This piece is done in colored pencil. The flag symbol and eagle symbol represent our country. The two elderly people are in disagreement, and represent the current political polarization. My intent is to symbolize our divisive and frequently hostile political climate, and the palpable turmoil we are experiencing with current news, conspiracy theories and rampant corruption. I sincerely hope that “Divided, we do not fall.”

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Nightfall

Rebecca H Pollack

Colored Pencil on Paper 18" x 11.25" NFS

This piece is done in colored pencil. I was taken by the simplicity of the home, and the hint of life within it. The observer is almost intruding upon a very quiet and still moment. The sun set can only be seen in the window reflections. I wanted to emphasize and contrast the plain wooden siding with the rich deep burst of colors from the setting sun.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

I Remember Rhonda Raulston

I remember times and events from my childhood – memories rubbed smooth by frequent repetition and decades of time. How is it that my sister has a completely different memory of the same event?

The process of painting with cold wax echoes this confusion by obscuring imagery and shapes with layers of pastel and paint, both contrasting and complementing the initial colors, until the finished piece no longer resembles its original memory.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Memories or Dreams Rhonda Raulston

Cold Wax,

Scenes and events from the past come to mind, and I am unsure if they are dreams or memories. Perhaps they are some fusion of remembrance overlaid with stories, wishful thinking, regret, denial and the slow drift of time?

The process of painting with cold wax echoes this confusion by obscuring imagery and shapes with layers of pastel and paint, both contrasting and complementing the initial colors, until the finished piece no longer resembles its original intention.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Delta Serena Refoua

In “Delta” I use watercolor, gouache and ink in an intuitive and spontaneous manner to create an abstracted river delta of my imagination, free from global warming and the negative consequences of human technology. Using a vivid color scheme and evocative line work, I tried to capture the vibrancy and potential of an ecologically healthy river delta. It’s not any delta in particular, but in an alternate, surrealistic environment, lt could be.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Mountain Spirit Serena Refoua

Using watercolor and ink, I improvise on paper the spiritual core of a New Mexico landscape with cliffs and minerals and a potential thunderstorm. The lines are intuitive at the beginning and then suggest a subject to me over time. I never set out to make a specific subject. I let the painting decide for me when it’s time.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Blue Night Reunion

Women dance at night to bring unity to their community and good fortune to those they love. By dancing together they express their joy and longing for health and peace and the need to touch each other with kindness and friendship.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

On the Shoulders of Others

Jean Richardson

Women support each other in community and across generations and in this way secure the safety and growth of the next generation.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Cherry Tomatoes Kathleen Swaydan

Cherry Tomatoes is a fun, colorful painting. The seasonal heirloom cherry tomatoes come in a wide range of colors and contrast nicely with the turquoise mug. The mug and plate have highly reflective surfaces which, I hope, adds to the illusion of three dimensionality. The tomatoes have a translucent quality that adds to the play between hard and soft surfaces. While most of the tomatoes are in the mug and on the plate, a few renegades have slipped into the background. The background is intentionally muted which makes the colorful items pop.

My art focuses primarily on realistic still life and landscape paintings. I work in several media but have gravitated toward oil over the last few years. My art is influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman tradition of landscape and still life paintings.

65

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Matilija Poppy Kathleen Swaydan

Oil on Ampersand Panel 5" x 7" $105

There are several items I paint every year; this is one of them. The petals are translucent and luminous when caught in the sunlight, and they are crisp like paper. Although the petals are white, they tend to display a wide range of color. These qualities make the Matilija interesting to paint. This is not a view most artists choose. I chose it because I love the way the yellow center glows through the petals. Matilija Poppies are a reminder of my childhood. They grew wild in the dry streambed behind my Grandparent’s house in Big Tujunga Canyon.

My art focuses primarily on realistic still life and landscape paintings. I work in several media but have gravitated toward oil over the last few years. My art is influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman tradition of landscape and still life paintings.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

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Griffith Park Sees Downtown Los Angeles

Barbara Thorn

A few years ago, I was with a group of plein air artists and we decided to go to Griffith Park to see what the view was like looking towards Los Angeles. The weather was perfect, and we set up our easels and went to work! The elevation was extremely high at the Observatory, and I was a bit nervous because I don’t do much outdoor painting. The buildings were engulfed in a light haze, and I could bearly see them.

It turned out to be one of the most unique paintings I’ve done!

67 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Lady Abigail Barbara Thorn

Pastel & Ink

I was in an art class a few months ago and was not inspired to create anything!

I found an old art magazine and found this lovely portrait. I decided not to use my medium of watercolor and chose pastel!

That’s it!

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Places Where I Walk Series 1

For over 30 years I have walked the paths in my canyon The landscape changes with the light and dark coming from the shade and sparkling sunshine that burst through the grand oaks that hug the mountain sides.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Places Where I Walk Series 2

Urquiza

For over 30 years I have walked the paths in my canyon The landscape changes with the light and dark coming from the shade and sparkling sunshine that burst through the grand oaks that hug the mountain sides.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

One of my favorite “constructions” of my monoprints is a geometric background that “holds” a watercolor image. As the base of the inked plate is oily, the watercolor paints applied on it create an effect of hundreds of bubbles. Perhaps, they hide what is “missing” deep under their surface…

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Meerkat with Backpack

Young

The meerkat

artist

found on

Mr. and Mrs. Meerkat Carolyn Young

I went to the Zoo lately, and one of the first exhibits was the one of meerkats. I was so taken with their whimsical looks that I have been painting them ever since. My way of painting has been very whimsical so they fit my style perfectly.

Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Entropy - Rustways Gayle Westrate

Mixed media -- butane torch, cold-bluing acids & phosphate, watercolor pigments on steel plate 12" x 16" $2400

Humans, especially artists, are attracted to patterns; we seek and reward them in a universe of varying degrees of disorder or randomness called entropy. The metal plates I’m using instead of canvas or paper were mined, fabricated, discarded and are gradually devolving to iron oxide. I see patterns in this encroaching rust, and tease them out in sinuous shapes trailing off into glowing wisps.

Drawn with cold bluing applied in calligraphic strokes, hot torching, and water color pencil, on a pale galvanized 12 oz. steel plate (part of whose zinc coating I removed using vinegar and abrasion controlled by the sweep of my arm, the urging of my fingers), and mounted on the dark 7 lb. base plate of hot-rolled steel whose accidental rust patterns inspired my hand’s choices.

75 Contact information for this artist can be found on page 78.

Contact the Artist

MariBeth Baloga mbbaloga@gmail.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/maribeth-baloga/maribeth-baloga.html

Cyndi Bemel chemel3@me.com https://cyndibemel.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/cyndi-bemel/cyndi-bemel.html

Arnor Bieltvedt arnor1@aol.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/bieltvedt/arnor-bieltvedt.html

Mariko Bird

marikoceramics@gmail.com http://www.marikobird.com

FB: marikobird

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/bird/mariko-bird.html

KALLENA Karen Chutsky-Naud karenchutsky@aol.com www.kallenaartsite.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/kallena/kallena.html

Liz Crimzon crimzon@charter.net https://lizcrimzon.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/liz-crimzon/crimzon.html

Dominique Day dominiquekang@gmail.com http://dominiqueday.com

Marion Dies marion.dies@gmail.com

FB: marion.dies.1

IG: @marionsilverlake https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/dies/marion-dies.html

Roger Dolin muralenvironments@gmail.com https://rogerdolin.com https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/roger-dolin/roger-dolin.html

Darien Donner dariendonner@gmail.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/darien-donner/darien-donner.html

Karen Duckles karenduckles@gmail.com

https://karenduckles.com/karenduckles.com/Home.html

IG: @duckles_karen

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/karen-duckles/karen-duckles.html

Martin Ehrlich me_rakuman@aol.com www.firewaterceramics.com/index.html https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/ehrlich/martin-ehrlich.html

Mims Ellis

mims.e@charter.net

www.MimsEllisCeramics.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/ellis/mims-ellis.html

Maryellen Eltgroth rettacox26@gmail.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/maryellen-eltgroth/maryellen-eltgroth.html

Contact the Artist

Sandy Fisher sandyfisherfineart@yahoo.com https://sandyfisherfineart.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/sandy-fisher/sandy-fisher.html

IG: @sandyfisherfineart

Emily Goff goffritchie@gmail.com

IG: @emilygoff1

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/emily-goff/goff.html

Karen Hochman Brown hochmanbrown@gmail.com www.hochmanbrown.com

IG: @hochmanbrown

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/brown/brown.html

R. Rene Hoffman renesfear@verizon.net

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/r-rene-hoffman/r-rene-hoffman.html

Karen M. Holgerson kmholgerson@msn.com https://kattail.com

FB: kmholgerson IG: @kmholgerson

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/karen-holgerson/karen-holgerson.html

Dorothe Horttor rndhorttor@earthlink.net

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/horttor/dorothe-horttor.html

Marvin Jackson jacksonmarvin4@gmail.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/jackson/jackson.html

Jeffry Jensen jjensen011@earthlink.net

FB: jeffryjensen

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/jensen/jeffry-michael-jensen.html

Nora Koerber noragroups@gmail.com www.norakoerberfineart.com

FB: Nora Koerber

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/koerber/nora-koerber.html

Joanna Kos joannakosart@gmail.com https://www.joannakos.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/kos/joanna-kos.html

Warner LeMénager ilmigliore@earthlink.net

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/lemenager/warner-lemenager.html

Danny Mattijetz dtmattijetz@gmail.com http://dtmattijetz.wix.com/aspect-sculpting

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/mattijetz/danny-mattijetz.html

Tom Oldfield toldfield@earthlink.net toldfieldphoto.smugmug.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/tom-oldfield/tom-oldfield.html

Victor Picou vicpicou@icloud.com https://www.victorpicou.com

FB: victorpicou IG: @victorpicou

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/picou/victor-picou.html

Michael Pitzer michael@michaelpitzer.com https://www.mpitzer.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/michael-pitzer/michael-pitzer.html

Contact the Artist

Rebecca H. Pollack beckpollack@hotmail.com

FB: RebeccaPollack

IG: @beckpollack

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/pollack/reecca-harvey-pollack.html

Rhonda Raulston RaulstonART@gmail.com https://www.rhondaraulston.com

FB: RaulstonART IG: @RaulstonART https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/raulston/rhonda-raulston.html

Serena Refoua sbellref@mac.com

https://www.serenabellrefoua.com IG: @bellref

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/refoua/serena-bell-refoua.htm

Jean Richardson jean.richardson@med.usc.edu jeanrichardsonart.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/jean-richardson/jean-richardson.html

S. A. Smith www.smithartonline.wordpress.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/smith/sa-smith.html

Robert Michael Sullivan bobs2000@hotmail.com http://robertmichaelsullivan.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/sullivan/robert-michael-sullivan.html

Kathleen Swaydan kdswaydan@gmail.com

http://www.kathleenswaydan.com

FB: KathleenSwaydan IG: @kswaydan

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/swayden/swayden.html

Barbara Thorn beotto@gmail.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/thorn-otto/barbara-thorn-otto.html

Suzanne Urquiza suzyq991001@yahoo.com https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/urquiza/suzanne-urquiza.html

Tsvetelina Valkov

lozenez1@yahoo.com

FB: TsvetelinaValkov

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/valkov/tsvetelina-valkov.html

Gayle Westrate

gayle@designwest.com

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/gayle-westrate/westrate.html

Sean Yang countryyang@gmail.com https://www.seanyang.net

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/sean-yang/sean-yang.html

Carolyn Young cjymesalila@gmail.com

IG: @CarolynYoungArtist

https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/artists/carolyn-young/young.html

Catalog Production Team

Exhibition Chair: Tom Oldfield

Director of Communications: Debbi Swanson Patrick

Editor: Danny Mattijetz

Treasurer: Kathleen Swaydan

Technical Lead: Rhonda Raulston

Instagram Content: Emily Suñez

Facebook Content: George Paul Miller

Webmaster: Fred Chuang

Catalog Designer: Lawrence D. Rodgers

Cover Design: Karen Hochman Brown

Artwork appears courtesy of PSA members. Copyright held by artist. All rights reserved.

© 2022 Pasadena Society of Artists www.PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Pasadena Society of Artists Board of Directors

President: Kathleen Swaydan (Acting Interim) President@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Executive Vice President: Robert Asa Crook VicePresident@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Vice President - Exhibitions: Lawrence D. Rodgers Exhibitions@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Recording Secretary: Rhonda Raulston Secretary@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Treasurer: Kathleen Swaydan Admin@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Director of Communications: Debbi Swanson Patrick News@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Director of Grants: Kruti Shah Grants@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Director of History & Archives: Robert Asa Crook Historian@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Director of Membership: Marion Dies Membership@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Director of Programs: Rhonda Raulston (Interim) Programs@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Past President: Victor Picou PastPresident@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Member at Large: Art Carrillo

MembersatLarge@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Member at Large: Liz Crimzon

MembersatLarge@PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

www.PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

FB: PasadenaSocietyofArtists IG: @pasadenasocietyofartists

A Short History of the Artist’s Choice Exhibition

The Pasadena Society of Artists began the Artist’s Choice Exhibitions in 2009, with an inaugu ral show which featured 110 artworks presented by 48 members. Each member was assigned ten linear feet of wall space and allowed to install as many pieces as they desired within that space. Three-dimensional artists were assigned a location in the gallery space or a certain number of pedestals. The exhibition was presented at Citibank Art Space in Silver Lake.

How does an “Artist’s Choice” exhibition work, you ask? Simply put, an “Artist’s Choice” exhibition allows the artist to self-jury their artwork and select the best pieces created within a certain time period. This type of exhibition opportunity has proven to be very popular with the membership since all entered artwork is accepted.

Over the years, PSA’s Artist’s Choice Exhibitions have been presented in a variety of other venues including The Women’s City Club of Pasadena, Whites Fine Art Gallery in Montrose, the Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center in Burbank, Keystone Gallery in Los Angeles, and the Pasadena Central Library in Pasadena.

The 2022 Artist’s Choice Exhibition carries on this tradition. It is the ninth in the series and will be presented online for a worldwide audience and in gallery. Forty-two members are present ing 73 artworks, many never seen in public until now. This is truly a diverse exhibition in subject matter, media and approach. Enjoy your journey through the artwork.

A Short History of the Pasadena Society of Artists

The Pasadena Society of Artists came into being in early 1925. Benjamin C. Brown, the “dean of Pasadena painters,” sent out a notice to local painters to discuss the formation of a society for local artists. In addition to Mr. Brown, attending this meeting were Edward B. Butler, Maud Daggett, Antoinette De Forest Merwin, Louis Hovey Sharp, F. Carl Smith, Orrin A. White, Wallace LeRoy De Wolff, and Frederick A. Zimmerman. The consensus was that the Pasadena Society of Artists should be formed. Seven more artists then joined PSA to form the founding charter members. They were Herbert V. B. Acker, F. Tolles Chamberlin, Alson S. Clark, John “Jack” Frost, Jean Mannheim, Katherine B. Stetson and Marion Wachtel.

It has been suggested that PSA was formed out of the desire of the founders to exhibit their contemporary work, which was not acceptable in exhibitions of the California Art Club. The first Annual Juried Exhibition was presented in April 1925 at the Pasadena Art Institute located in Carmelita Park, now the site of the Norton Simon Art Museum. The PSA founders stated that “the standard will be high and only work of real merit will be accepted.” Every year since 1925 PSA has presented an Annual Juried Exhibition as part of arobust exhibition schedule.

PSA continues to adhere to the guiding statement of the founders by accepting new members by juried submission.

www.PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

Facebook: PasadenaSocietyofArtists

Instagram: @pasadenasocietyofartists

Call for New Members

Are you an artist?

Throughout Pasadena Society of Artists’ 97-year history, works by PSA members of have been sold at major auction houses, collected in important art collections, and displayed in museums throughout the United States and Europe. Our legacy is immense!

Would you like to be part of our organization?

We are always looking for new, dedicated members. Our artists work in all media and styles of drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography. All have been juried into the society.

New Member Screenings for the Pasadena Society of Artists are usually held twice a year, in the spring and fall. Please go to our website at www.pasade nasocietyofartists.org for more information. If you are interested in becoming a member, please complete a Membership Inquiry Form, found online, and contact our Director of Membership, Marion Dies. Ms. Dies will notify you when the next screening has been scheduled.

Qualifications considered for membership include the applicant’s dedication to artistic standards of excellence, professionalism, accomplishments, skills that benefit the Society, and the artist’s future potential. Applicants submit three (four if a virtual screening) pieces of artwork representing current media and style, created in the past two years. Artwork submitted is judged by presentation, tal ent, and originality. We encourage perseverance; a number of our members have been offered memberships after having been declined multiple times.

Former members include Charles White, Walter Askin, Jirayr Zorithian, Conrad Buff, David Green, Enjar Hansen, Frode Dann, Jae Carmichael, Leonard Edmondson, Mildred Lapson, Paul Sample, Hanson Puthuff, Sam Hyde Harris, Martin Mondrus, Betye Saar and many more.

We look forward to welcoming new artists to the Pasadena Society of Artists as we approach our 100th anniversary in 2025.

For a Membership Inquiry Form go to: https://www.pasadenasocietyofartists.org/get_involved/join/application.html

Pasadena Society of Artists

P. O. Box 90074

Pasadena, California 91109

www.PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org

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Instagram: @pasadenasocietyofartists