February 2026 Newsletter

published by The Mountain Arts Network

A Non-profit 501-c organization.

"Inspiring Visual Arts in the Mountain Communities" 

 This e-newsletter is expressly for members, patrons, artists and fans of the Mountain Arts Network, The Mountain Arts Gallery, The Mountain Arts Community Art Center and The Mountain Arts Photographic Society, all located in the Lake Arrowhead Village in Lake Arrowhead, CA.   

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Something Special

FEATURED ARTISTS

LISA COOK

I was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, lived for many years in Los Angeles where I owned a record shop for 17 years. In 2002, I moved to Lake Arrowhead, California, with my husband and 7 cats. 

I received my art training from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where I earned a BA in Fine and Studio Arts. In the work-study program, I spent 3 years photographing, mounting, and archiving thousands of slides which were used in Art History lectures and classes. 

Raven Study

Relocating to Lake Arrowhead 20 years ago has profoundly influenced my subject matter. I have traditionally painted commissioned portraits and the female figure, almost exclusively. Once settled, I found myself compelled to try and capture the wonder of this mountain environment. Landscapes, which had never figured in my work previously, began to flow forth from my brush. Soon, there were bears, then fairies, and even squirrels! 

Disheveled Raven

Oil on canvas is my preferred medium, but I also craft 3-dimensional “found art” multimedia pieces. I like to indulge in pen and ink, watercolor, pencil sketching and photography. I have spent the past 20 years as a graphic designer and desktop publisher. I have created numerous CD and album covers for New Orleans music labels such as Vigotone, Peg-Boy, Howdy! and Madman Records. 

"I cherish my life in this wonderful community and have met the many artists who also reside here. We are all living in a beautiful and enriching environment, and I am sure it will continue to generate many, many beautiful expressions of art".

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

Doe Eyed Fawn

MARLENE AKEROYD

Marlene Akeroyd is an experimental artist, with a keen appreciation for nature and its seasons, Mar sees the potential for expression in even the humblest of materials. She is unfettered by academic art constraints. Her works are in traditional and in unusual materials, and in a variety of techniques.

Born in Louisiana, Mar spent forty years of her life in both Lake Charles and New Orleans. The next twenty years were in Southern California, and five years abroad, living in Switzerland. Upon her return to the U.S., she resumed living in California, later relocating to Middletown N.J. Her life, in these diverse cultural locations, is the creative infusion that informs her artworks. Mar has learned that art, and the potential for art, could be encountered anyplace.

As a member of the Middletown Senior Center, Mar attended watercolor classes. In 2019 at the Middletown Art Center, she had her first art showing. In 2020 she was awarded honorable mention at a showing of Monmouth Arts Center of Middletown, N.J.

Marlene devoted nine years to volunteering for the New Jersey Blind Citizens Association in Leonardo, N.J., in Anne’s Thrift Shop, and occasionally taught the visually impaired inventive art techniques.

In October of 2020 she moved to Lake Arrowhead, and shortly afterwards joined the Mountain Arts Gallery. Currently her work may be viewed at the "Mountain Arts Gallery", Lake Arrowhead Village, Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352 and on Facebook at Mar’s Art. 

JOHN TOBIAS

I began expressing myself through photography as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan from 1970 through 1972. I roamed the crowed bazaars of Kabul in search of photo opportunities which presented themselves generously in the form of faces rich in character, framed in colorful and exotic scenes painted with a timeless brushstroke. 

I now have a catalog of nearly 1000 images that beautifully capture that peaceful sliver of time in Afghanistan’s history prior to 40 years of war. I also have an extensive portfolio of photographs from India, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Jamaica, Europe and the United States. These include landscape, portrait and street photography. I pride myself on strong composition, rich color presentation of intriguing places and faces.

I have been a licensed addiction counselor (LAADC) for thirty years with a MS degree in Counseling. I specialize in group therapy, and often use my photography as a therapeutic tool. My wife, Laurel, and I reside in Crestline, CA with our dog and cat, Fiona and Taji. I have been making Eye Contact with the World for 50 years. I intend to continue until the final click of the shutter.

GALLERY NEWS

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.”

– Georgia O’Keeffe


(1887-1986) 
Georgia O’Keeffe
was a pioneering American modernist painter known for her large-scale depictions of flowers, desert landscapes, and abstract forms, making her one of the most significant artists of the 20th century.

ARTISTS ON THE MOVE

GRAEME GALE 
Graeme crafts these lamps from wood he sources his own yard and others. Much of this wood is from the terrible bark beetle scourge we experienced some years ago. They have been debugged and recycled.

LYNN BAKER-WARNESKY 
Ceramic artistry by potter Lynn Baker Warnesky

PRIVATE ART CLASSES

RICK ROTANTE OIL PAINTING CLASSES

“RAVEN ART STUDIO” 

WEDNESDAYS AND THURSDAYS

$35.00 per three-hour session. 

10am - 1:00 pm in Running Springs

Call to register 909-233-0425 and address location 

Please Leave msg.

Come to learn, improve or expand your ability.

Bring your own supplies and paint -- No phones in studio

WOOD TURNING CLASS

Instructor: Darrell Harris



One-on-One Instruction by Appointment

Cost: Ask Instructor - All materials included

Class dates: Class by Appointment

RSVP: call Darrell Harris at 909-605-3378

Accepts Cash at the door.

Location: Artist Workshop.

Want to learn to turn a pen on a wood lathe? Sign-up for a 3-hour class and you will have a complete pen. 3 hour class with all materials supplied.

Instructor Artist: Darrell Harris.

MOUNTAIN ARTS PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Want to Join MAN or Renew Your Membership?

    MAN Memberships are good for one year from the date of joining. CALL (909) 744-8450

or check our website for more info: mountainartsnetwork.org

  ART GALLERY PARTICIPATION

is based on a jurying process. 

For more details, please contact JO ROBINSON 

jomamacita@hotmail.com

818-720-3682

Memberships: $30 Individual, $20 Seniors (55 and up), $20 Student (17 & under), $10 each additional family member

Enjoy the benefits: 10% off all Gallery items, Invitations to special events and receptions, Open Studio opportunities, teaching & volunteer opportunities.

MOUNTAIN ARTS NETWORK COULD USE YOUR HELP!

Download and print this Donation Form

Mountain Arts Network

PO Box 1275 Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352 | Phone: 909-744-8450

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