Gallery Virgins is our new exhibition dedicated to the new and emerging artists! Whether you’re an art student or self taught, we’re looking for those who are ready to dive into the art world for the first time. 

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Angelique Bacia

You would never know it by looking at my paintings, which have been described as “ethereal,” but my art is actually quite rebellious. No matter where you go throughout your day, there is the omnipresent lingering of a ‘corporate world’, which tells you that you are not enough. Or that the world is an evil place. Or that humans are evil. The corporate world is responsible for a whole lot of ugly.

Instead of dropping to their level and making art that shines on all the injustice or angry, shocking art, all of my work is inspired to contradict everything for which the corporate​ world stands. I paint layers and layers of color to show the beauty in the depths of a human being, only to hide them under one uniform color – just like we feel pressured to do to be accepted. Marketing uses color psychology and words along with scarcity tactics to bully people into buying products. I use these same elements to remind people they are loved or to trust themselves.

To break away from our “put yourself in a box so I can understand you,” play is a serious matter in my studio, releasing the incredible stiffness of everyday life. Memories, emotion, desire and curiosity run the show. I refuse to plan, making space for myself to trust that it will turn into something I find interesting or beautiful, always with an intent to undo corporate persecution.

Check out more of their work here:http://www.abaciaart.com/

Barb Lanier

I have always been fascinated by the energy of things whether it be a living being or inanimate object or space, there is so much to glean just under the surface if I can be quietly focused. That quiet looking has helped me succeed as a bodyworker for the last seventeen years and who knows where this art field will take me if I can muster the courage to step into it. My first love was photography but

 as I allow myself to explore more modalities and materials, I find myself like a kid in a candy shop unable to decide what to choose because I love it all. I’m currently enrolled in my third semester at Moorpark College taking art classes for the fun of it.

There seems to be a loose through line emerging in my work that embodies contemplation at its core with an organic, free flowing sense as well. My hope is that when people engage with my art is that they can pause long enough to begin feel the energy of calm and introspection. It’s very similar to when people receive massage or energy work from me, I want them to be able to slow down th

e monkey mind and allow the mysterious and interesting ideas to emerge. Or to experience those feelings you get when you hear a great song. I think that may be a little too presumptuous but it sure would be cool to get there someday.

Beca Piascik

Native to upstate New York and working regularly in Southern California, Beca Piascik is an emerging bicoastal artist of the US. She is acknowledged as a prolific artist who is extending the creative boundaries of sculptural works with innovative processes, techniques and scale in her process of creating handmade paper.

Drawing from her cumulative life experiences, Beca’s artistic expression is inspired by the characteristics and dynamics of the basic elements of nature and the root cause links that bond people into various communities.

The artist is a May 2020 candidate for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (SMFA@Tufts) in Boston, MA. She pursues a strong self-directed curriculum working across multiple disciplines including photography, ceramics, printmaking and screenprinting in addition to her focus on handmade paper. She is establishing her primary studio practice in the greater Los Angeles area while remaining bicoastal in her pursuits.

Check out more of her work here: http://www.becapiascik.com/

Cornelius Kelly

Check out more of their work here: http://www.corneliusv.com/

David Larsen

I am a self-taught artist from Camarillo who aspires to represent the inherent beauty of humanity through portraiture. 

Eli Goldstone

Eli Goldstone is a multidisciplinary artist currently completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Florida State University. His work is primarily sculpture and video, with the intention of using his sculptures within his video work. Eli’s work focuses on themes from working-middle class life and his role within that system to physically testing the human body. The work he produces examines subjects through both private and public lenses.

Check out more of his work here: http://www.eligoldstoneart.com/

Jim Meredith

After an almost forty year absence from creating paintings and drawings on a regular basis, I returned to school in the fall of 2019.

Major influences on my artwork come from a variety of sources; Surrealism, Fantasy/Science Fiction cover art, album covers from the psychedelic and progressive music genres, and hot rod and tiki cultures.

I don’t have a particular style or favorite media. I generally use what I have at hand for a particular project or what interests me.

Judith Hamilton

I love nature and it’s consistency and surprises.

Karly Kennedy

My work is developing to be a visual representation of significant moments or passages of time. These experiences are cradled by the support I find within our wild spaces and the beautiful creatures that occupy those spaces. I am cultivating a symbiotic relationship with nature and therefore strive to bring greater dialogue to the protection and preservation of these spaces. Working figuratively and conceptually and employing various materials to act as metaphors where words fall short.

Kathy Whitesell

Lauren Melet

My paintings takes a romantic snapshot of the varied relationships between women, often focusing on the complexities of motherhood and sisterhood. The series is a celebration of the deep love and connections that exist in platonic relationships between women. This series has been a continued exploration for several years, born out of wanting to study the universally dynamic bonds that femininity and motherhood creates. As my work deepens, so does the intersectional understanding of what it means to be a woman. The figures in my work are diverse, allowing most anyone to recognize themselves within the art, and signal to the larger truths of femininity by way of simplistic studies of personhood.

Check out more of her work here: https://www.laurenmelet.com/

Leslie Stahle

I am a student at Moorpark and Oxnard Colleges studying 2D and 3D Art, and Classical Guitar. I find my inspiration in the motion of water and the beauty of nature.

Linh Cam

I am a contemporary painter of impressionistic landscapes and portraits. My work is a juxtaposition of soft blended color palette with bold highly texturized chiaroscuro, and contrast between light and dark in the composition to achieve a sense of depth, volume and movement. Adding thick impasto technique further enhances the three-dimensional perspective and implores viewers to take a closer look.
Painting for me is an art of observation and contemplation. It is about exploring the beauty of nature and personalizing the experience by capturing that special moment in time on a painting. It is about finding something magical in an ordinary or even mundane subject and turning it into an extraordinary experience to share with others. My passion for seaside and nature is evident by the lively strokes, free flowing style, use of shadow and light and vibrant colors in my paintings.

Macgregor Mason

I am an artist that uses influences from surrealism for both functional pottery and sculptural ceramics. I want to take a different spin on my design, creating textures that want to be touched while playing with new gravity glazes. Experimentation is always something we should explore and constantly push ourselves to do something we are uncomfortable with.

Check out more of their work here: https://macgregorceramics.com/

Mona Saii

I am a printmaker and illustrator from Moorpark, California that investigates profound human experiences and the human condition through visual storytelling. A purposeful use of dark and light elements, centrality of human characters, emphasis on expression, and fantastical situations help to express the emotion of my artwork and of my character(s). The Romanticist- inspired style of my artwork is a reminiscence of the humanities and of old classic literature. I feel that a reminder of the humanities helps to encourage a recognition of the depth and richness of human emotions as well as a reflection on being human.

Monica Moran

From childhood I have been deeply connected to two things: my Creative Instincts and Story. My connection to Story began with reading at an early age, then expanded as I grew to see Story in many forms such as Dance, Theatre, Music, Song and Performance Art. However, books have a special place in my heart, so it was inevitable that I would one day learn to create books of all kinds.

Art Books provide a variety of ways to play with the book form to tell a story, from a traditionally bound book with words, to art journals with visual art, to altered books that may utilize the words on the pages within or be revised with new words and art.

When sharing Story in my books, I might build a book using classic binding or folding techniques. I might choose to alter an existing book or I might create an artful book utilizing recycled elements, all depending on what will serve Story best, so my books tend to be an ever-changing experiment. My books also invite and encourage the Reader to interact with Story.

In my creative world, Art and Story are very real beings, as are Magic and especially Creativity. Each of us are all born with the Creative Instinct and I help adults reconnect to their Creative Instincts through workshops and creative play. 

Check out more of her work here: http://thecreativebeast.net/

Robert Chambers

When it comes to my art, I can’t tell you how to look at it. All I can tell you is that each painting is an extension of myself as they are autobiographical in nature. I am not trying to make any particular statement with my work — I am just existing in the here and now. I believe that something inside of you is always telling a story and art is the way to service the subconscious; to make something physically come into being that is inspired by emotions or needs. I don’t know what painting teaches me. I just know that it frees me – free from the future, free from the past, free from regret, and free from worry.

Yenelli Law

I am a Mexican mixed media artist who enjoys creating colorful and symbolic art inspired by nature, Ancient Mexican symbolism and Mexican Folk Art. Currently studding art at Moorpark College.

Yasemin Zografos

I feel that art, like life, is cyclical. I’m returning to Fine Art after 30 years. Returning to school with a mature eye, and distilling my experience into how I see and appreciate the world.
I am primarily a figurative artist with a love of nature and living things. I like images that tell a story.
My first love is Printmaking, but I also draw and paint. I am learning to interpret the world through art and enjoy experimenting.