Chester is a San Francisco Bay area native. As a youth he was steeped in the vibrant art scene of 196O's counter culture San Francisco . Back then, it was possible for one to walk a short distance and experience both the DeYoung Museum and a free Jefferson Airplane concert in the same venue. One could walk a few blocks and experience countless ethnic traditions melted together in a free exchange borrowing and adapting of each other’s beliefs and customs. The cosmopolitan nature of the area played a great role in Chester ’s artistic and philosophical development.

Chester was exposed to a cornucopia of artistic concepts and cultural crossroads through many mentors that had gathered in the area to create a new language of African American artistic expression. Chester enjoyed several successes as a youth, winning many local competitions. As an adult he took a hiatus from fine art and took a position as a technical artist. After a successful career and subsequent retirement he has returned to pursue a career in the fine arts.

It is Chester 's hope that his reentry into the art community will allow him to continue the traditions of sharing art with youth and adults in the greater community that would otherwise suffer a lack of exposure.

“There is a great need to expand access to art for all people. It is imperative that all people, especially our youth connect with the aesthetic and social commentary that connects works of art with the time and space in which they were created. Art is essential in the development of group identity as well as acting as a bridge to a greater society.”

– Chester Elmore

Joan Vonglis was born and reared in Upstate New York and still resides there.  Joan is a self-taught artisan and has spent many countless hours on the computer doing research and studying both  the American Indian and African cultures.  She's gone around the Southwest filling her eyes and mind with beautiful things she has wanted to create. 

When it came to naming her studio, it was a natural pairing of Gourd and Love to equal Gourdamore. 

"It's been seven years since my first gourd encounter and I can honestly say that I feel the same passion today for creating that I did back then."

- Joan Vonglis

Throughout my life, I found it difficult to choose whether to pursue art or science.  What a wonderful thing it was to discover that they are really one and the same and I didn’t have to choose at all.  My admiration of the sea has steered me through a degree in Marine Biology and a graduate certificate in Natural Science Illustration.  I have worked as an illustrator, painter and sculptor, doing my best to pay homage to the beauty and magic of our world’s oceans.

My paintings have been shown at Gallery Route One in Point Reyes, The Glass Fire Gallery in Fort Bragg , Local Color in Big Sur, The Bay Gallery in San Francisco ’s Aquarium of the Bay and restaurants in the East Bay as well as New York City .  I have studio space that is open and visible to the public six days a week at Swarm Studios in Oakland .  My clients (who are not necessarily all ocean lovers) have often told me that my work brings peace and tranquility into their homes while still suggesting the “movement” within an environment.

The paintings in this series are done on oil on canvas.  In some cases I use acrylic for the underpainting due to the watercolor-like effects.  For each new piece, I draw on my personal experience in the ocean and my training as an illustrator.  For reference, I use multiple photographs of the same subject and sketch from live animals and kelp whenever possible.  I tend to work up many thin layers of paint, requiring several days of drying between stages.

-Cleo Vilett