Mary Hargrave has been President of the Board of Directors since 2018.

      I graduated from King Hall School of Law at UC Davis in 1983. After a stint doing family law, I worked in public policy law, first at the State Capitol in Sacramento and then for AT&T as a lawyer for their public affairs team.  

  When I retired at the end of 2015, I knew that art would be a major part of this new phase of my life. I joined Sacramento Fine Arts Center in 2016 because I was entering some pieces into the Magnum Opus show, and I received a membership form at that time. I had never entered a juried show before and was interested in all aspects of the process, so I joined Sac Arts and NCA and started volunteering as a way of learning how everything worked. Shortly thereafter, I received a call asking if I would consider joining the Sac Arts Board as Secretary. I did so, and aside from a hiatus while dealing with a family member’s serious illness, I have served on the Sac Arts Board since then.  

      Along the way in my volunteering journey, I have met so many interesting and friendly people — all of whom have a passion for art — that I find myself being drawn into this family that is Sac Arts. Part of what makes Sac Arts such a great family is the people who unflaggingly contribute their time and energies to it.  

      Aside from my work on the Sac Arts Board, I continue to experiment and grow in my art career. I work primarily in acrylic and oil, but occasionally dip my brush into watercolor and mixed media. I also volunteer for Saint John’s Program for Real Change, where I served on the Board for 4 years and continue to teach an art therapy class for homeless women.  

Sacramento County artist and photographer Dana Meinders has worked behind the lens since 1971. Early academics in art gave way to degrees in science and a career in agricultural and environmental science for the State of California that paid, none-the-less, efforts during that career yielded photographic documentation of several unique agricultural practices. 

For two years in the mid-seventies, Dana apprenticed to C.S. Papp, one of California State Government’s most prolific scientific illustrators. This sent him on a career path that included graphics and technical illustrations. While studying agriculture at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo he provided graphics support for departmental projects and interned as a graphic artist for the City of San Luis Obispo.  In the scientific career that followed, 

A Governor’s Employee Safety Award for an emergency graphics project and a simple suggestion that led to one state unit’s report formats being completely revised, were highlights.

Post-career photographic activities included shooting for the “Hornet” newspaper at California State University Sacramento and working with favorite subjects including Sonoma County and California’s “Lost Coast”, and candid family portraiture. Dana has extensive experience in most film formats but shoots digital exclusively today. Artistic efforts since retirement include pen and ink and watercolors. Stippling is a favorite pen and ink technique.

   I draw and paint for enjoyment.  My paintings are representational – mostly landscapes, some animal scenes and still life. I began drawing at a very young age, I had lessons in various medias during summers at the Cleveland Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cleveland Institute of Art, and majored in visual art during high school when I began using oil paints and continued for nearly a decade.  My career, however, took a different path - Associate Professor of Engineering at Case Western University in Cleveland and later an Orthopaedic Surgeon in the greater Sacramento area – but my interest in art continued.  After I retired, I began drawing and painting again.  I never actually stopped drawing - it was a great help when explaining a proposed surgery and testifying in court.  I joined Sac Arts and NCA in August 2021 for comradery with other artists.  I have enjoyed volunteering for shows and have been fortunate to have had some works accepted for juried shows at Sac Arts.  I worked with pallet knives many years ago and recently took some classes on the technique at Sac Arts by Rhonda Eagen.  Drawing and painting are fun and rewarding.

Renée Goularte is a retired elementary teacher who spends her time making art, gardening, doing needlework, and occasionally writing poetry. She grew up in San José and attended San José State University, where she earned a BA in Art and a Masters’ Degree in Elementary Education with a focus in Early Childhood Mathematics. Renée taught elementary school for ten years in San Jose, then relocated to Butte County where she taught another ten years, finishing out her career teaching Art to kindergarten, first, and second graders. While living in Butte County, Renée’s interest in art-making was rekindled when she joined Paradise Art Center, where she served on the Board of Directors for several years. In December of 2018, Renee and her significant other, Stephen, moved from Magalia to Orangevale. One of the first things she did when relocating to this area was look for a place to paint with other artists, which led her to Sac Arts. Renée is primarily a landscape artist with an interest in the use of space and abstractions, working mainly with watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, and colored pencil.

Paul Dessau has been interested in art all of his life, took studio art as general ed electives in college, and began creating art in earnest shortly before retirement in 2015. Art history is his chief interest,  and he has a large art history library. He has chaired art shows in Nevada county, and continues to chair Bold Expressions for Northern California Arts, as well as chair the Artist Standing and Artist of the Month activities. He is also the Docent Coordinator for the Sacramento Fine Arts Center.

I have been painting all my life as a hobby. My profession as owner of Taylor’s Art Center Inc gave me the opportunity to be involved with every art group in Sacramento. We supported the arts including the Crocker and KVIE sponsor. After my retirement and sale to University Art in 1998, my interest in painting has increased. I paint mostly in acrylics doing whatever subjects interest me. I was featured on the cover of Inside Sacramento December 2018.

Growing up in a large dysfunctional family, drawing and painting was a way to receive positive feedback. I was noticed in and out of my home. So, my love for art began as a young girl, and as a result, I am an advocate for giving children and adults an opportunity to express themselves through art. Today, I am awestruck by the creativity I see coming from emerging artists. Just when I think I have seen it all, someone comes up with a new way of creating something new and exciting. 

Art is nourishment for the soul. When I first walked through the doors of the Sacramento Arts Center, I quickly realized that this is a place where I can explore new art mediums through expertly taught classes. This is a place where I am encouraged to exhibit and sell artwork by participating in juried and non-juried shows. My creativity is fueled by attending gatherings, volunteering, and observing the work of other artists displayed at the center. 

I hope to make a difference in the art community as an artist, and I especially want to see the Sacramento Arts Center thrive.  

As a native Northern Californian, with three generations from San Francisco I was fortunate to see the Bay Area Figurative artist’s exhibits along with the great masters at the San Francisco de Young Museum and Legion of Honor Museum throughout my years in school and college. This Fine Art exposure would play an important role into my development as a painter.

With a B.A. in Art in drawing and painting and formal training from the Academy of Art University (awarded from a scholarship) the road to art would first lead to a career in Visual Display with prominent department stores, designing window displays, props and settings. Later starting a Floral and Event business from the ground up, the colors and textures of flowers were to be the natural palette for 24 years leading to signature work and articles published in books and other recognitions.

Today the primary focus is in watercolor and oil with figurative work and portraits. To capture an emotion, a grin, a fleeting glance, telling the story with integrity of ordinary people from all walks of life is the heartfelt intent.

The California Watercolor Association has provided the companionship of other artist’s. Watercolor classes from instructor Leslie Wilson renewed the love of painting and drawing. David Hill’s weekly life drawing class with a model, still ongoing after 10 years, has provided the rigor and discipline needed to capture the likeness of an individual. My gratitude extends to the artist Ted Nuttall who graciously shared his insights for painting portraits in his workshops both in California and Arizona. I have a deep appreciation for the warmth and generosity for all of these wonderful artists who have helped make me a better painter.

BJ Taylor. I am originally from Chicago, but lived and worked in New Jersey for 30 years before moving to California in 2020.

My professional background is in technology, I retired from Bell Laboratories and then taught at University for the next 21 years. 

I started on my art quest in 2013 with a drawing class at my local community college. It was so much fun and they people I met became fast friends. Drawing led to oil paint and then pastels. I have been learning watercolor for the past 5 years…it remains a challenge! 

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, David moved to Altadena, California during his formative years.  He sold his first painting (an acrylic abstract) while in high school.  He is a Juried Artist Member of American Society of Aviation Artists and past Treasurer of the Pastel Society of the West Coast.

Kalbach attended The Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles (now Pasadena). Graduate Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, Undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

He studied under Howard Warshaw, Robert Dole, Lorser Feitelson, Don Putnam, Nita Engle, Margot Schulzke, Don Teiwes. And earned a Masters Degree at the University of Southern California.

His work has recently been shown at the Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA and the Thurgood Marshall International Airport in Washington D.C./Baltimore, MD,  Three Stages Gallery, Folsom, CA, and The Art of Aviation, a Three Man Show, Gallery at 48 Natoma, Folsom.

Articles featuring Kalbach have appeared Visual Language Magazine and Style Magazine.