Alan Mazzetti is a contemporary artist living and working in San Francisco California, specializing in abstracted landscapes and cityscapes. As a second generation artist and Californian, he is strongly attracted to the many visual delights of the Bay Area and has developed a unique approach to depicting them in his acrylic paintings.

Re-locating to San Francisco from his native Santa Barbara, Alan studied at the Academy of Art College in the mid-70’s, concentrating on Graphic Design and Illustration. Since 1979, he as been working as an independent designer and artist, initially focusing on designing logos, posters, collateral print material, packaging and book jackets, working with typography. This experience continues to inform his paintings. Ten years of graphic design eventually evolved into the next ten years of illustration work, as he was increasingly attracted to developing a more personal pictorial style. The fine art he has been doing since the mid 90’s is now totally self-directed in both subject and style.

Alan’s fine art was originally an extension of his Illustration work, using collage and photo-transfer imagery to describe his environment, primarily urban scenes from San Francisco and from his travels. Still intrigued with the idea of “essentials” this imagery was gradually edited down to basic shapes, colors and textures, leading to geometric abstractions. These paintings were exhibited and sold through galleries and consultants in San Francisco, Palm Desert, Tucson, Washington DC, Boston, and other cities.

Around 2010, the abstract paintings developed “horizon lines” and while still non-representational, suggested the natural forms of landscapes. With no shortage of subject matter in the Bay Area, or in frequent trips to southern California, Alan is now concentrating on making his landscapes and cityscapes more cohesive, more identical in style. He continues to participate in various solo and group exhibitions.

Gail Ragains expresses, “I paint like a jazz musician improvises” She starts each painting with a strong foundation and branches out to make it her own. Her paintings have a robust physical and expressive style. Pushing the envelope with bold brushstrokes and compelling colors, she explores the limitless feelings and harmonies that the paintbrush can evoke. The abstract shapes and colors of her figurative works are reminiscent of the Bay Area Figurative artists of the 1950s, yet holds a strong style of her own.

Ragains’ abstract paintings are a kinesthetic reaction of color and design, giving the viewers the pleasure of their own interpretations. Ragains works mainly in acrylic and mixed media. She has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group shows, and she is represented by several galleries in the US and Canada. In 2012, San Francisco Magazine highlighted her as one of the “Eight Local Artists to Watch.”

Gail Ragains is a Redwood City-based artist; she was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. After her first drawing class in 1993 at the Palo Alto Cultural Center, she enrolled in painting and drawing classes and participated in workshops with various artists. A background in dance and athletics, and weekly drawing sessions with a live model, has given her an intuitive connection to the human form.