I am a mixed media artist based in Northern California. My work blends conventional and unconventional materials, paints, colored pencil, book pages, inks, paper and found objects, into two and three dimensional works. Various techniques, painting, cutting, gluing, sanding and assembling found objects create my layered textures on wood panels and sculptural forms.

I love challenges, experimenting with disparate media and developing new techniques and skills. I believe in recycling and upcycling and adore texture, paints of any kind and flea market supplies. Through each step that leads to a finished surface, I try to bring out the relationship between differing objects, colors and textures; with each mistake being an irreplaceable component of my process. Figurative forms, letters and numbers are often incorporated into my work, as a graphic element or to convey a thought or theme. I am inspired by found objects, fragments of antique treasures, and everyday manufactured materials that were never intended to be art. 

City College of San Francisco offers a wide variety of classes at two sites in the city. For Open Studios we are highlighting our Fort Mason Center facility. We offer affordable Credit, Continuing Education and Older Adult classes during the day, evenings, Saturdays and online - all taught by practicing Bay Area artists. Classes include sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, painting, watercolor, drawing and art history. Please come by during Open Studios to see our facilities, meet our students and instructors and get information about joining us!

Korean-born artist David Choong Lee's intricate mixed-media paintings and collages merge photorealistic elements with graphic design and patterns to develop his own unique style. He draws from a classical figural style which he juxtaposes with vibrant graffiti elements. The San Francisco-based artist has been shown in galleries throughout California, as well as New York, Portland, Canada, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

Inspired by wandering, my work is a form of storytelling.  I salvage fragments of poetry from the detritus of our landscapes and explore the frayed tapestry of modern life.  I draw upon personal experiences, and tell stories through layers of manipulated media, sculptural space and mischievous word play.  I welcome commissions and view them as a good opportunity to meet curious people who share an odd sense of humor. 

For 25 years now, I have worked as a singular,  studio fine artist, my interests ranging from painting, to drawing, printmaking, encaustic, collage and photography.
ALL media explored are absolutely interdependent within my creative process.

Early in my career, my figurative work was often labeled "3rd Generation Bay Area Figurative;"
since 1999, this is no longer the case.  My exploration of the figure has become highly idiosyncratic 
and conceptually experimental.

Private drawing sessions with female models is a vital practice to the gestalt of my work.
This collaborative ritual, begun in 1994, is a source for inner grounding, focusing and allowing
eureka moments to bubble to the surface.

At present, I describe my work as eclectic and highly autobiographical. I define myself
as a versatile visual artist, continuously pushing boundaries, evolving via success and
challenges, to give meaning to my creative existence.

I paint to express my love for my children, family and friends, to express my excitement for life and its abundance.  I paint to express my happiness and my sorrows. 

I paint intuitively, but every painting has a story; a story that overflows with emotions. One day I paint flowers blooming and dancing for my mother, for a sick friend who has cancer, or sometimes just to say hello to a stranger! Another day, I paint the ocean, its extreme beauty and complexity, its abundance and its harmony.  And when I paint the figure, I ponder on who we are; I ponder on our complex emotions.

In the process of painting intuitively, I venture into a world of extraordinary discoveries, and one of these discoveries is whatever my feelings of the moment are, happiness or sorrow, I paint vibrant and colorful paintings full of life and excitement!  How can this be?  I choose to surrender to the process, and secretly dare to believe that perhaps I am meant to send all this creative energy to the world, to heal and to inspire.  Silently, this energy will ripple just like the flapping of a butterfly’ wings from far away.

Johane Amirault, 

Contemporary Artist

Wong sees color as a mechanism of infinite variety with which to capture the complexities of daily life.  Layering texture and paint in an effort to hide one world from the other, she finds that the subterfuge at the intersection of pain and privilege allows art making to become a symbol of redemption.  Her collectors see something of themselves and their own search for meaning in her work.  According to Wong, "All of nature is alternatively destined either for destruction or for a dance, and I want to catch a moment in that process."

My inspiration comes from learning and studying about the way of life in different parts of the world as well as local. Interacting with new and foreign environments fascinates me. My work draws from the many faces, lands, art, and architecture, which I encounter while traveling.

One theme I like to focus on includes the juxtaposing qualities of civilization and nature, sometimes clashing and sometimes in harmony. Another theme in my work is depicting the struggle between preservation and deterioration of cultures and land. The subjects in my work are landscapes, cityscapes, and portraits derived from scenes from my memory and photograph. It excites me to observe the color schemes that nature has brought forth and also to play with this using my imagination. The output is a combination of my experience, thoughts, understanding, as well as experimentation.

I believe art is wonderful platform to promote harmony because it teaches people respect and understanding for each other and our surroundings. I feel lucky and thankful to have the opportunity of experiencing life as an artist. This artistic exploration continues to help me understand who I am.

I am showing in SOMA with photographer, Mark Toal and abstract painter, Rick Fisher:

My limited-edition, signed, photographic and mixed-media images, are printed on paper or aluminum, and fall into two categories:

First, my botanical series, combines my love of nature with my passion for music. 

Second, my painterly series, presents fine-art prints of my original acrylic and mixed-media abstracts.