Slyvester Guard (SF) uses comic and street trend setting styles to express himself in the early morning hours when he works.  He has displayed at Art Attacks SF! and the SF Live Worms Gallery in addition to many underground stops on RipStar’s Art Tour.  He recently won a contest to place a mural on the corner of Haight & Fillmore in SF.  An accomplished muralist, Guard has collaborative and individual works gaining attention with his growing collector and fan-base.

James Gayles is an Emmy Award winning artist based in Oakland, California.  James has won public art commissions from cities across the US and Asia.  He is very committed to cultivating artists and sharing his work in the Bay Area where he has lived for the last 20 years.  Gayles is a two-time winner of Art Direction Magazine’s Creativity Award, one for the NewsCenter 4 logo redesign, and the other for an editorial illustration for the New York Times.  James has illustrated for McGraw-Hill, Random House, Essence Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, as well as several advertising agencies on both the East and West coasts.  Most recently James is self-publishing his own art in elegant art presentations which come highly recommended.  James work is of particular interest to RipStar because he is documenting esteemed symbols of life including celebrating the lives of artists, animals, and nature. Dance with the movement of color with water have led this master to develop his own technique which is undeniably a great accomplishment (see http://www.jamesgayles.com)

John Chui was born in China, moved to Hong Kong and started doodling on textbooks, hanging out on the Colony's delightful tropical beaches, and listening to rock and roll for spiritual initiations. Upon moving to the USA, he worked his way through a succession of painting styles before developing a unique figurative expressionism with subject matter that reflected my own spiritual evolution.  In the beginning of the digital revolution, he mastered many digital design tools, and then eventually received an international grand prize for 3-D graphics at the annual Seybold Convention.  Chui is bringing original works on water, wind, and earth to share. (see http://www.twchui.com)

Cade Burkhammer has created a new method of painting and a recent customized tarot deck.  Among the few artists Rob Jackson lists as most influential on his own understanding and experimentation in the arts, Cade is one of the top selling artist on Art Tour.  He is a drummer and recording artist on various projects.

Thomas- Joseph Carrieri is Brooklyn born, (now SF based) post-pop artist inspired by Haring, Warhol, Koons, and NYC graffiti covered subways.  Toys, games, science-fiction, give way to playful works that allow an escape into a comical world of make believe where fun smiley commentaries serve a function that fills the appetite or laughter and appreciation.  Coming in for a second year of Art Tour as we head south, Carrieri is helping to spearhead the development of Art Tour.    

Susan Kraft is an abstract painter, a thinker and a problem solver, but she has realist tendencies that keep her very much down to earth in her leadership style.  Having easily hung and hosted hundreds of events in her time, she embraces the inspiration and opportunity to communicate her vision of a better world and sponsored Art Tour in 2014.  Themes of equality, justice, and the balance of nature are subtle, but apparent in her works.  Her background as a biologist, natural talent, and personal challenges seem to surface in the content.  She commented once that often she does not know what a painting actually is until the final stages.  She has learned to trust her instincts and shares her discoveries in her 4 Elements entries.

2015 showcase: