Skip to main content
Add Me To Your Mailing List
Home09x2026 Newsletter January/March
The_Palette_HEADER_2.JPG
www.lgaa.org

January/March 2026


Letter from the President

As spring arrives, I hope you are enjoying the outdoors. As many of you know, we are having live demos again. I have seen many members attending at the new venue. The peer gallery is in full swing and I hope that I will see many more of you at the next demo. The April demo is with Warren Chang and it should be a really special one as Warren is going to paint a portrait of a live model.

We are still looking for a couple of members to help with the hospitality as a backup to Kari Kumar. If you are interested, email me.

Warmly,
Susan
LGAA President
newsletter art

 		 



Best in Show
2026 Annual Members’ Juried Show
Leslie Autery
9 x 12
Pastel on Paper

"If you hear a voice within you say, 'You cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."

 

— Vincent Van Gogh

Events



Mark Dobrin
Watercolor Landscape Demo

March 14, 2026

Saratoga Prospect Center
19848 Prospect Road, Saratoga
Grace Room

2026 Annual Members Juried Show

Addison/Penzak JCC

Reception: Saturday, February 7, 2026

Open to the Public thru Feb. 28


View the show online: View Now!

Dmitry Grudsky
Member Painting Critique & Demo

January 10, 2026

Saratoga Prospect Center
19848 Prospect Road, Saratoga
Grace Room

What We've Been Up To


The January and March meetings, displayed above, are the first 2026 LGAA in-person meetings. Mark Dobrin and Dmitry Grudsky presented demonstrations of their expertise . Dmitry provided critiques for members who brought artwork. Members also displayed their artwork in the Members Gallery. Meeting attendees determined 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards.

In February, a reception was held for artists participating in the 2026 Annual Members Juried Show. It was held at the Addison Penzak Jewish Community Center. Reception attendee's viewed 38 wonderful pieces of LGAA member's artwork. A total of ten awards were presented. Best in Show, First, Second and Third place, five Honorable Mentions and a People’s Choice Award. The show was open to the public and ended on February 28th.


But wait, that's not all we have up our sleeve! Take a look below at all the rest of the upcoming demos scheduled for 2026.  We think you will find that we have tried to find a little something for everyone and hope you will agree!


We are looking forward to seeing you at the next LGAA meeting.


Upcoming 2026 Artist Demonstrations

Demo's are held monthly on the 2nd Saturday

 

NEW Location: Saratoga Prospect Center,
Grace Room
19848 Prospect Ave, Saratoga
Time: 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Facility website: Venue Info
Demo Date    Artist    Medium    Subject
April 11, 2026    Warren Chang    Oil    Portrait 
June 13, 2026    Guy Magallanes     W/C     Ink & W/C 
Sep 12, 2026    Pat Moseuk    Mixed Media     Abstract 
Oct 10, 2026    Jim Gleeson    Oil    Cityscape
Nov 14, 2026     Will Maller    Pastel    TBD


 

Warren will demo an oil portrait of a man.
Demo’s are free and open to the public.

Note the new day and venue.

   

Saturday, April 11, 2026 (1-3 pm)

Saratoga Prospect Center
19848 Prospect Road, Saratoga
Grace Room
Saratoga Prospect Center Info

Plein Air Group

January - March Paintsites

 

The Plein Air Group meets every Monday from 10 am to 1 pm at various locations around the Bay Area and sometimes beyond.  Annie Haines arrives early each Monday to greet artists as they arrive. Look for the LGAA orange cone to find the group. Be prepared for weather changes by having layers of clothing.

Artists of all experience levels using any media are welcome to attend. Guests are always welcome to paint with the group and might consider joining LGAA at some point. Reservations aren't needed to attend. Just show up! If you have questions you can email Annie from the website's Contact page.

UPCOMING PLEIN AIR EVENTS
MAR
16
Plein Air Paintout: Martial Cottle Park, San Jose
Park entrance on left, park 1st lot. Six dollar parking
fee. Look for LGAA sign, restrooms available. 
MAR
23
Plein Air Paintout: Waddell Beach, Davenport
Parking across from Skyline-to-the Sea Trail Road. Restrooms available.
MAR
30
Plein Air Paintout: Picchetti Winery/Open Space
Preserve, Cupertino
Park in the upper parking lot. Restrooms available.
APR
6
Plein Air Paintout: Don Edwards, Fremont
Park at the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center parking lot. Restrooms available. 
APR
13
Plein Air Paintout: Santa Teresa County Park, San Jose
Meet at the last parking lot. There is a six dollar fee
per vehicle. Restrooms available.
APR
20
Plein Air Paintout: Capitola Beach Esplanade
Meter parking on Esplanade in front of beach - look for LGAA orange cone. Click on map icon for exact
location and written directions. Restrooms available.
APR
27
Plein Air Paintout: Japanese Friendship Garden, San Jose
Restroom outside the E gate. Parking $10.00. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.

January 5, 2026

Cancelled due to rain - Horseshoe Lake, Los Gatos

Park in regular lot and walk a short distance on paved path to see the lake. Accessible lot available. Restrooms Available. Click on map symbol for map and written directions.



Map

Canyon Creek Park

January 12, 2026

Canyon Creek Park, San Jose

Park along Larkspur Canyon Drive. No Restrooms. Click on map symbol for exact location and written directions.



Map

January 19, 2026

New Brighton State Beach, Capitola

Look for the orange cone. Parking fee $10 per day. Restrooms available. Click on the map symbol for map, address and written directions.


Map

Los Alamitos Perc Ponds

January 26, 2026

Los Alamitos Percolation Ponds, San Jose

Park at the Santa Clara Valley Water District/ChargePoint Station. No Restrooms. Click on the map symbol for map and written directions.



Map

February 2, 2026

Año Nuevo State Park, Pescadero

Park in the lot off of New Years Creek Road. Restrooms Available. Click on map symbol for map and written directions.



Map

Montalvo

February 9, 2026

Villa Montalvo, Saratoga

Park in lot number 3. Restrooms available. Click on the map symbol for map and written directions.



Map

February 16, 2026

Cancelled due to rain - Sandholdt Beach, Moss Landing

Park at Moss Landing Harbor parking lot. Parking fee $11 for the day. Restrooms available. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.


Map

Rancho Canada Del Oro

February 23, 2026

Rancho Cañada del Oro, Morgan Hill

Plenty of parking. Restrooms available. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.


Map

Vasona Perc Ponds

March 2, 2026

Vasona Perk Ponds, Los Gatos

Park at the end of Oka Ln and go through fence to the trail leading to the perc ponds. Look for LGAA sign. No restrooms. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.



Map

March 9, 2026

Horseshoe Lake, Los Gatos

Park in regular lot and walk a short distance on paved path to see the lake. Accessible lot available. Restrooms Available. Click on map symbol for map and written directions.



Map

Martial Cottle Park

March 16, 2026

Martial Cottle Park, San Jose

Park entrance on left, park 1st lot. Six dollar parking fee. Look for LGAA sign, restrooms available. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.



Map

March 23, 2026

Pescadero Rockside Beach, Pescadero

Parking lot off of HWY 1 and Pescadero Creek Road. Restrooms available. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.



Map

March 30, 2026

Picchetti Winery/Open Space Preserve, Cupertino

Park in the upper parking lot. Restrooms available. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.


Map

April 6, 2026

Don Edwards, Fremont

Park at the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center parking lot. Restrooms available. Click on map symbol for map and written directions.


Map

April 13, 2026

Santa Teresa County Park, San Jose

Meet at the last parking lot. There is a six dollar fee per vehicle. Restrooms available. Click on map symbol for exact location and written directions.



Map

Capitola

April 20, 2026

Capitola Beach Esplanade

Meter parking on Esplanade in front of beach - look for LGAA orange cone. Click on map icon for exact location and written directions. Restrooms available.



Map

08 JapaneseFriendshipGarden

April 27, 2026

Japanese Friendship Garden, San Jose

Restroom outside the E gate. Parking $10.00. Click on map symbol for map, address and written directions.


Map

Member News


Eileen Cervera

Eileen's "Tahoe Spring" has been juried into the California Art Cub Excellence in Traditional Fine Art Competition, From Sea to Sierra! March 23 - June 29, 2026. This competition was particularly competitive with almost 500 submissions to deliberate.

Tahoe Spring
Tahoe Spring, 12" x 16", Oil on Panel

Call Description:
Celebrating California’s 175th anniversary, From Sea to Sierra traces the state’s diverse landscape, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Sierra Nevada mountains. The artwork will highlight the natural contrasts of the land from the soft blues and rolling waves of the coast against the rugged granite peaks, pine forests and alpine lakes of the Sierras. This exhibition will encapsulate two of the state’s most defining natural landmarks, showcasing its beauty, variety and abundance.

Visit the California Art Cub Virtual Gallery



LaRhee Webster

LaRhee received an Honorable Mention award in a national contest: the December FASO Bold Brush Art Contest. 
This contest typically has upwards of over 2500 entries and only gives out 28 awards total. Additionally, this painting was also placed in the ‘Fav 15%’ group, which is a category awarded separately by the staff.




View LaRhee's painting online.
Suzanne J Levy

Suzanne has received the following news on two of her paintings.  "Cherche la Femme" and "man... Under Pressure", were selected as a winners of the TERAVARNA's  International San Francisco Art Fair Juried Art Competition and  "Cherche la Femme" has been accepted into Olive Hyde Art Gallery’s biennial open exhibition, Hidden Treasures, Local Talent. "Cherche la Femme" will be displayed  in person at Olive Hyde Gallery and virtually on the web as follows:

In-Person Exhibition Dates: Thursday, April 2 – Saturday, May 23
Virtual Exhibit: Thursday, March 26 – Saturday, May 23
Opening Reception: Friday, April 10, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Gallery Hours During Exhibition: Thursday – Sunday, 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Visit Olive Hyde Art Gallery for additional information.



Cherche la Femme
 		  
man... Under Pressure
   Best wishes and a very Happy Birthday to our members celebrating in January, February and March.

Birthday Greetings were sent out to members with birthdays in January, February and March. if you did not receive a greeting or want to check your date, please follow the instructions below.

On the LGAA Website, look at the menu bar at the top of the page and click on Members Only. In the Members Only drop down, click on Find Members and on the next display click on 'CLICK HERE'. On the next screen enter your last name in the search box and click search. Next display, find the header 'Additional Information' and click edit. Respond to the question "What is your birth month?" by using the month pull down. Click SAVE to complete your choice.


Classes and Workshops 

Suma CM

Spring Watercolor Sketching
Saturday, April 25, 10 am - 1:30 pm

CURA Contemporary
17395 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill, CA 
$90

Capture the vibrant hues of springtime with expressive line and juicy color. Through a series of exercises designed to build confidence, we’ll create several sketches using various styles of mark-making with pen, pencil, and watercolor.  

Sign up here!

Suma CM

Get Started With Urban Sketching
Saturday, June 13-Sunday, June 14, 10 am - 4 pm

Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center
2841 Baldwin Ave, Makawao, Maui, HI
$119 

Learn to sketch “on the go” in this beginner-friendly two-day urban sketching workshop in the lush setting of upcountry Maui.

Sign up here!

LGAA Board Members

President, Susan Jochheim, President@lgaa.org
First Vice President, Elke Groves (Interim)
Second Vice President, Suzanne Levy , VicePresident@lgaa.org
Recording Secretary, Susanne Koga
Treasurer, Kari Kumar, Treasurer@lgaa.org
Corresponding Secretary, Kat Williamson
Membership, Director Eileen Cervera,  Membership@lgaa.org
Webmaster, Marilyn Haley, Webmaster@lgaa.org
Newsletter Editor, Suzanne Levy
Historian,  Ken Wallace
Parliamentarian, Jeff Janoff
Past President, Jane Loomis

Committee Chairpersons
Awards, Ken Wallace (Peer Review Members Gallery)
Plein Air, Annie Haines, PleinAir@lgaa.org
Programs, OPEN POSITION
Publicity, OPEN POSITION
Instagram Members Gallery, Suzanne Levy, LGAA.inst@gmail.com
Hospitality, Eileen Cervera & Kari Kumar
Museums Liaison, Elke Groves, GBAO@lgaa.org



Mailing Address

PO Box 1193

Los Gatos,  CA  95031


Meeting Address

Saratoga Prospect Center

19848 Prospect Road, Saratoga

Grace Room


Map

Art News?
Upcoming Workshop?
We'll let everyone know!
Send an email to Eileen Cervera and Jane Loomis at President@lgaa.org.

Include the name of your event or award, date, a maximum two sentence description that includes the location and address, and event website. You may attach one .jpeg image. 


Art Supplies For Sale?
Do you wish you could free up some space in your studio? Advertise here! Send us your information and we will put it in the next newsletter. Send an email to Jane Loomis at President@lgaa.org.