Graton Gallery - California Fine Art & Artisan Crafts ~ “A friendly destination for great art!”

Our Artist-Partners

The Gallery is owned and operated by a partnership of 7 local artists who are inspired by the local culture and beautiful natural environment and their inner visions.

Our artist~partners cover a wide variety of subjects, techniques and inspirations. The gallery walls are constantly changing with a wide variety of art to please any art lover. Please vist each artists section for samples of our work.

Sally Baker ~ Watercolors that create a specific moment in time.

Harry Frank ~ Unique one of kind monotypes, archetypal imagery, abstractions, figures and invented landscapes.

Bruce K. Hopkins ~ Landscapes, cityscapes and figure studies and abstract art in pastels, gouache, acrylics & digital media.

Heather Myler ~ Unique textile based fine art.

Rik Olson ~ Printmaking and painting of landscapes and more.

Sandra Rubin ~ Acrylic paintings of land, figure and still life expressing immediate and profound responses to being alive.

Tamra Sanchez ~ Pastel paintings of Landscapes, Cityscapes, Koi and more.

Mylette Welch ~ Colorful, playful portraits of dogs, children, old diners, and rusty trucks from a a surrealistic world of dreams and memories.

Sally Baker

I am a watercolor artist in Sebastopol, California. I live with my husband Neil. Our son Keith has left Los Angeles and moved back to Sonoma County. Originally from Los Angeles, I received by B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and my teaching credential from the University of Southern California. I have been teaching fine arts for the past thirty-four years and currently teach at Healdsburg High School. Artist’s statements, like their art, evolve over time. So it is with me. As I reflect on my work, I inevitably come to certain conclusions. My early work spoke of my affinity with the high desert. I felt passionate about adobe structures. I was fascinated with the intensity of the soft desert colors. I was also drawn to the intense shadows cast because of the special light quality of the desert atmosphere. Although my work continues to focus on strong shadow shapes, I would have to say that my love of color has dominated my more current work. I love to use very saturated pigments while still allowing the light of the paper to shine through. After visiting Japan seven summers ago and again three summers ago, my subject matter has focused on Asian still life. I have always been drawn the Asian aesthetic and it seems to suit my style. I visited Italy this past March and returned with pottery from Tuscany and my latest paintings include luscious colors inspired by the region. I would describe my work as sharp focused with emphasis on strong shadow shapes that create a specific moment in time. It is my hope that the viewer will be engaged, enter the picture, slow down, explore and visit for a while.

Sally Baker
website: www.sallybaker.com
e-mail: knsbaker@yahoo.com

Below are just a few samples of Sally's vibrant watercolor paintings:

Persimmon Partners

missing title

Green Glass Candlesticks

Fan See

Plums With Aaplomb

Fanfare

Glass Bowl With Kimono

Dancing Lily

Zinnia_with_attitude

Tranquility

Persimmon On Kimono

A Conversation

Naked Ladies

Lilting Lily

Harry Frank

Harry Frank
website: www.harryfrank.com
e-mail: hfrank@sonic.net

Below are just a few samples of Harry's monoprints and drawings:

Bruce K. Hopkins

As a long time resident of California's Bay Area, I work from my studio in Vallejo, California. Building on a life-long interest in fine art, a BA degree in studio art, and a career as an illustrator, I have been exhibiting my fine art since 2000. I joined Graton Gallery as a partner in 2013. I have a variety of visual interests, including geometric art, land/sea/cityscapes, figure studies and non-objective art. I currently work in a variety of media, including pastels, acrylic, gouache and digitally created art.

Bruce K. Hopkins
e-mail: bruce@bkhopkins.com

Images to be updated soon

Heather Myler

Information and art coming soon

Rik Olson

Born in Antioch, California in 1944, Rik Received his B.F.A. from the California College of Arts & Crafts, Oakland, in 1967. He studied and exhibited work in Florence, Italy, Germany and the U.S. Best known for his work in wood engraving, which he learned from Barry Moser and John DePol, he also works in Scratchboard, Pen & Ink, Etching, color linocut and about anything he can get his hands on. The last 20 years he has been freelancing his illustration work in the U.S. and abroad to corporate and publishing clients. Rik currently lives in Sebastopol California with his wife Brita and their two dogs.

Rik Olson
website: www.rikolson.com
e-mail: rik@rikolson.com

Below are just a few samples of Rik's prints and paintings:

Sailfish - linocut print

Kong - linocut print

Bosch Go Round - linocut print

Yosemite - Linocut print

Bodega Head Arch - Linocut print

Gothic Fish - Linocut print

Arno Rower - Linocut print

Sandra Rubin

My paintings - pigment on canvases- speak for me. While my words feel clumsy, I find a visual language expresses my response to being alive, and my desire to connect.

Sometimes I start with a particular image, idea or feeling (light behind leaves, spaces between branches, my dog at the beach-) usually something of beauty that “gives me pause”, that I would like to share.

In the process of painting I explore- make marks and respond- to colors, lines, shapes- until something of meaning and beauty emerges. In my favorite paintings something profound happens- something I can't anticipate or totally control- but deeply honor and appreciate.

I primarily work with acrylic paints- I paint figures, landscapes, sometimes still lives, often in expressive and abstract ways. I love mixing colors. I like to use marks that retain the energy of the moment. I appreciate interesting edges. I feel free to try different styles/colors/ mediums. I strive for a sense of space and simplicity- as a way to approach the “essence” of my subject and communication.

I like to leave space for the viewer to participate, and engage.

If you would like to see more of my paintings, please contact me:

Sandra Rubin
website: www.sandrarubinart.com
e-mail: rubinjohnson18@gmail.com
phone: 707-823-4728

Below are just a few samples of Sandra's paintings:

Tamra Sanchez

Tamra Sanchez
website: www.tamrasanchez.com
e-mail: ipaint@sonic.net

Below are just a few samples of Tamra's pastels:

Mylette Welch

Painter Mylette Welch was born in the sun-drenched, color saturated island of Oahu. Her family moved two years later to dusty, dry Bakersfield. “Something was missing.” She remembers thinking, “Where did all the color go? ”For anyone who has seen Welch’s paintings, its obvious that the color went into her playful portraits of stray dogs, children, old diners, and rusty trucks.

Mylette’s paintings are rooted in the Sonoma County landscape- gas stations, farmer’s markets, the vineyards, neighbor’s gardens, old trucks, and burger stands. But occasionally her paintings veer off into a surrealistic world of dreams and memories, where goldfish swim around the kitchen and accordions fly through the night sky.

Mylette Welch
website: www.mylettewelch.com
e-mail: mylettew@aol.com

Below are just a few samples of Mylette's paintings:

Blonds have more Fun

Crabbys

Space Patrol

Vineyard Managers

Swanky Franks

Stink Eye at the Crab Shack