South Shore landscape artist Bonita Paulis has lived in the Lake Tahoe region for 25 years. Three of her pastels have been selected for The Best of America Pastel Artists, Volume II published December 2009, which features artists from across the country. Visit her website at www.bonitapaulis.com.

Bruce Rettig is a writer, graphic artist, and photographer. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts and Fine Arts History. For more information about Bruce's work, visit http://brucerettig.com.

Night’s work has received praise from art critic, essayist and Pulitzer Prize winner John Updike, jazz composer, pianist and creator of NPR’s "Piano Jazz", Marian McPartland and best-selling author of "Art & Physics", Leonard Shlain. "My work is influenced by Jazz. Miles, Coltrane, Dizzy, Evans, Brubeck and, as Count Basie used to refer to him, "Oscar Pete." I love listening to the old guys tell their stories and talk about their struggles. Listening to Jazz Profiles on NPR, it's like hanging out with them late at night. The music is alive, always changing. They push space. They push themselves to take risks. This is what I try to do with my paintings. http://kitnight.com

Oklahoma-based artist Matthew Moffett started to paint when one of his dogs died from an aneurism. Seeking an artist to create a portrait to commemorate his companion, he wasn't satisfied with his options and decided to try it himself. Matthew's work is now in collections all over the world. www.m2studioportraits.com

Zack Zdrale takes a traditional, academic approach to his work, as much of his training was focused on the study of 16th and 17th century masters. His work describes the human condition as he perceives it, as well as one's relationship to self. Although classically rendered, the compositions and subject matter place his work in the present. zackzdrale.com

Desert is a mixed media series combining photography with oil painting. I’m attracted to the old boom towns of the Nevada desert because they are seedy. These places are seedy and lonely. The people that occupy these places fascinate me. My faces are meant to be very human, almost innocent in their ugliness. www.aliwarren.com

My artwork explores my never-ending fascination with texture, form, and color. I describe my art as "contemporary mixed media," which means I'm primarily applying acrylic paints and mediums onto wood, canvas, metal, paper, or anything else that interests me at the time. www.carolesesko.com

My work is concerned with the wordless storytelling of our faces and bodies. I paint in oils, in a style you might call 'expressive realism', which is emotionally driven observational painting. www.shelleyhocknell.com