Artscape Fall & Winter 2016-2017 Exhibition Artist Biographies
Gabriel Acosta is a sketch artist who was born and raised in Riverside. He has been drawing since the age of 7 and currently works full time as a security guard. Gabriel also sells commissioned of art pieces and items such as sticker, mugs, t-shirts, phone cases, etc. with his artwork on them. He has shown his work at local and distant places, such as the Riverside Artswalk every first Thursday, Back to the Grind and Claremont art walks. Aside from drawing, Gabriel also enjoys boxing, parkour, filming and video editing. He hopes he can one day make a living with his art and to work for himself.
Michael J. Elderman was born and raised in Atlantic City, NJ. After receiving his M.A. in English/American Literature from Syracuse University in 1966, Michael moved to Riverside to attend UCR. After finishing coursework for his Ph.D in American Literature, he worked at UCR as a scientific editor/technical writer and later for University Extension's publications department. Michael started his photography business in 1978 with a colleague at UCR, and then went out on his own in 1985. He continues to do commercial photography and has become well-known in the community as "The Eyes of Riverside." His work has been shown nationally and also locally at the Riverside Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum, Division 9, Inland Empire Gallery, National Orange Show, UC Riverside and Brandstater Gallery at La Sierra University. This is his third appearance in the Artscape exhibit at the Riverside County Administration Center.
Samuel Flores Romo is a mixed media artist who was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico and raised in Los Angeles. Samuel has been creating art from the time he was 8 years old and has opened his first business, Futura Concept and Design, where he builds custom classic vehicles with a modern twist. Samuel has shown his work at Sperone Westwater in New York, Chetelamur in Los Angeles, and other small art events around southern California. Aside from art, Samuel has a leather goods company called The Men’s Supply (TMSleather), where he and his team make handmade leather goods for men. The money generated from the leather goods is donated towards scholarships to help students struggling to pay for college. Samuel is working to become a full time artist and hopes that his art along with his skill helps him to make more inspiring art pieces for people to enjoy.
Jason Gallo is a fine artist who began learning the art of tattooing in late 2003. He has worked in several Inland Empire tattoo studios and currently works full time at his own private studio and gallery, The Art Parlor. Good music, drawing and painting, as well as the continued pursuit of his art education is about all he makes time for. His goal is an overall understanding of his personal artistic voice through versatility and balance of his chosen mediums of expression. For Jason, art and tattooing are his life and passion, focusing on bettering himself daily and is less interested in comparisons so much as following his bliss.
Lisa Mack is a visual artist and educator, predominantly using the mediums of charcoal and acrylics. Lisa was born in Los Angeles, but has also spent many years residing in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest until her recent move to Riverside County in December of 2015. Mack has been a practicing artist most of her life and has a Bachelor of Arts as well as an MFA acquired in 1998 from Central Washington University. She has been teaching Fine Art courses at the College of Southern Nevada since 1998. Mack has won numerous awards in California, Washington and Nevada, and has also exhibited in Budapest, Hungary.
M. Robert Markovich is a photographer and video artist who was born in Munich, Germany and has been living locally in Riverside since 1978. Robert has been creating art from the time he was 25 and has been nationally and internationally published. Robert has photographed the Historic Riverside County Courthouse Renovation, the California Museum of Photography Renovation in the late 80’s to early 90’s, as well as many other projects including the Eames Design Studio renovation in 1990, the film sets of Babylon 5 and the Manzanar Relocation site. Robert views artwork as both a transformative space and a recording space where the viewer becomes a visceral part of an ephemeral place in time.
Amanda Millar is a textile artist who was raised in Southern California. Amanda has been creating art her entire life and currently works at the Life Arts Center where she also has her private studio. Amanda has shown her work at numerous venues and galleries in Riverside and does yearly charitable donation pieces for organizations such as Camp Pendleton YMCA and Salvation Army. In addition to quilting, Amanda enjoys weaving, doll making, book making, zine writing and blog posting.
Donna Morin is a longtime painter and more recently a printmaker who has lived in the Inland Empire since 1964. She was born in Pontiac, Michigan in 1939 and was raised in San Jose, California. As a young girl, Donna attended Catholic schools and the all-girl Notre Dame High School in San Jose. After graduating from high school there seemed to be few options for girls to continue building their future, especially because Donna wanted to study art. Donna then married and created a busy family life full of creative holiday activities, cooking and gardening. Although this was a family time, each semester she enrolled in classes one at a time. Finally, after 25 years she completed her BA in painting at CSU San Bernardino. With children grown and suddenly alone, Donna continued her education at Claremont, receiving an MFA in painting in 1988. Teaching at the college level followed, along with a stint at LACMA in the museum bookshop, as well as retail at Geary’s in Beverly Hills. With a retail and teaching schedule between Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, Donna retired in 2012. She opened DM Studio in Laguna Beach where for two years she ran a gallery showcasing her work along with other artists. With her studio closed as of April 2015, she is now painting full time, has an archiving assistant and is looking towards developing a catalogue commemorating her art journey. Her paintings and drawings continue to be shown throughout the United States. She has received prizes and press, and been included in various collections, most recently The San Bernardino County Superior Court Collection.
Daniel Patterson is a painter who was born and raised in Riverside, California. Daniel has been creating art from the time he was a child and is currently running a small business selling his artwork at shows and galleries, as well as online. Daniel has shown his work at 2nd Floor Food ART Drinks and was published in an online comic book anthology this past July of 2016. Daniel is a lifelong learner of graphic art but is open to learning how to use any and all mediums, though his preference lies with acrylic paints and micron pens. Daniel lives with his fiancé and two German Shepherds, Apollo and Luna. He loves to golf any chance he gets and considers himself a “foodie.”
Jeff Ribaudo has taught and worked in Riverside for over 20 years. He holds an MFA from Claremont Graduate University and has shown work internationally. His collages reflect his view of contemporary society. Jeff strives to infuse his work with humor and identifiable imagery to create an alternative take on everyday life.
Stephen Rusher is a retired therapist who currently works as a full time painter. He is interested in exploring the imagery that comes from what is known as the "collective unconscious" first described by Carl Jung in his explications regarding psychology and the cultures of mankind. He uses images and symbols from all different past cultural heritages. Stephen is very interested in using printed symbols because he appreciates the difference between painted and printed marks. He recently had a show at Division 9 gallery titled "The Unconscious: Collective and Otherwise."
Gilberto Sanchez is an illustrator and painter born in Los Angeles and raised in the Inland Empire. He has been creating art from the time he could first hold a crayon and his Batman coloring books. He is currently working hard to develop and improve his work. Gilberto has shown his work at Riverside's Saturation Fest, The People's Gallery in Riverside and the Gallery at the Merc in Old Town Temecula. Aside from creating art, he also enjoys collecting comic books, listening to records and watching as many films as he can.
Mayra Spinks was born in 1964 and grew up in various areas of Los Angeles. Her interest in creating art was early on but it had to take a backseat to a few detours in life. Recently retired and looking for a fresh start Mayra’s husband encouraged her to follow her passion for art. She explored different mediums and techniques and found herself enjoying her work and finding great joy and excitement in every project she worked on. Mayra has been married to a wonderful man for more than 16 years. In her spare time they enjoy experiencing new cuisines and wine tasting, enjoying the sounds of great classic Blues and Jazz music, and spending time with her two rescue dogs, Maggie-Mae and Elise. She also loves traveling with her husband and seeking new adventures on their motorcycles.
Maggie Tello-Case resides in Riverside and is a textile-collage artist. She uses reclaimed and dead-stock fabrics, recycled linens, trims and buttons in many of her creations. Inspired by memories from her childhood, pop culture and her love of color, she creates imaginative pieces which demonstrate her sense of humor and whimsy. Maggie has been very involved with the local arts community, participating in group shows at Division 9 Gallery, Riverside Art Museum, Norco College Art Gallery, Saturation Music & Art Festival and the Artscape exhibit. Maggie placed at the Riverside Mariachi Festival Art Competition in 2013 and 2014.
Rosemary Vasquez Tuthill is an award-winning oil painter and the daughter of celebrated artist/muralist Emigdio Vasquez. Rosemary was born in the City of Orange, but she has been a Riverside County resident since 2010. Rosemary learned her art by observing and working with her father in painting mediums including oil, acrylic, watercolor and pencil art, as well as through many art classes in college. Rosemary has displayed her art in galleries alongside her father’s paintings and as a standalone artist. She enjoys creating portraits from vintage photographs and designing still-life layouts in her studio. Rosemary paints original still life, landscape, portraits and commercial art paintings influenced by old masters techniques in a contemporary style. Rosemary aspires to continue painting historical scenes as well as painting commissioned portraits.
