Initially attending San Jose State for photography, Ben Alexy quickly became frustrated with the process and physical character of the medium. It was this dissatisfaction that steered him toward painting. In painting, he found a voice and a strong sense of purpose and direction. His early photographic training continues to inform his work in terms of both composition and the implication of time inherent in stop motion. Ben Alexy remains an active exhibiting artist in California.

Valerie P. Cohen has spent much of her life in the mountains above timberline, among relic forests, and within America's western deserts. As a painter, she abstracts these landscapes and their life to elemental forms. Her cartographic pieces – the Topo Map Series – dream a geographical information system that layers topography, biogeography, and the cultural shapes of the Great Basin. Cohen is a Signature Member of the California Watercolor Association and of the San Diego Watercolor Society.

“Every day I am startled to learn something new about plants, flowers, and animals that I encounter. I am inspired to transmit the peace, tranquility, and optimism of the natural world to those who observe my paintings. Although I take my inspiration from nature, I have no interest in making pictures of real things, but wish to distill the essence and the emotional content of the thing.”

Kyungsoo Lee has been painting since she was a very small child. She has always gotten great pleasure from colors, line, and forms as they grow on my canvas. She prefers big canvases, when the painting gestures become a sort of dance and musical composition. When people enjoy her paintings, she feels that they are entering the paintings and touching her personally.