Art of and by rowers
Michael Konrad is an OWRC member and retired molecular biologist. In the last few years he has been studying marine biology and learning how to photograph the animals and plants that live in the waters around Sausalito.
In this photo essay he looks at the tunicates (sea squirts) that attach and live on the docks and boats around the Rowing Center. These animals, each about 2 mm wide, form large colonies many centimeters across. They produce "tadpoles" that can swim long distances to create new colonies. His photographs illustrate the method used by tunicates to catch and eat smaller organisms, the modes of reproduction, and some of the neighbors of the tunicates.
More essays by Michael can be found at: www.scienceisart.com
It's been more than forty years since Ben Farnham moved from his home-town of Woodland, California to Sausalito where he started a family and commenced his hobby of watercolor painting of Marin landscapes.
Ben began as a Sunday painter while working thirty-seven years for Emporium-Capwell. He has enjoyed classes at College of Marin and has taken workshops from Robert E. Wood, Christopher Schink, Charlotte Britton, Charles Reid, Frank Webb, and Skip Lawrence. For twelve years he was a member of Jerry Stitt's class in Sausalito.
Marin is not the only place Ben studies, however. He has painted in the Greek Isles with Carolyn Buchanon, in Italy with La Romita artists, in Provence with Shirley Landgraf and most recently on a four-painter fishing boat in Alaska with Catherine Gill.
Since 1989 Ben has been honored to be accepted in the Marin/Scapes art exhibits every 4th of July weekend at the Escalle Winery in Larkspur. He has also been included in exhibits organized by the Marin Watercolor Society, the Mendocino Art Center, The Northwest Watercolor Society, the Salmagundi Club in New York, the New England Watercolor Society, and the Marin Society of Artists. He achieved his signature status with the California Watercolor Society in 1998 and is an associate of the National Watercolor Society.
November 2006: Watercolors by Susan Black
OWRC member Susan Black, has won First Place in the 79th Annual Members Show of the Marin Society of Artists. You can see some of Susan's paintings in the OWRC office. More of her works and those of other members of the Marin Society of Artists can be seen at their gallery, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross; 415-454-9561. The show is open until November 26, 2006.
Above: Lake Merced, San Francisco
David has painted many scenes of rowers, as well as landscapes. He is a member of the OWRC and rows almost every day. David has donated paintings to the OWRC to be used as Regatta prizes. There is always at least one painting of David's in the office.
The artist is Kay Bradner. Links to images and information are to the right.
Kay Bradner at Contemporary Fine Arts (this links to a biography of Bradner as well as images).
He also painted medical scenes. The most famous, "The Gross Clinic", is displayed at The Thomas Jefferson University, a medical school in Philadelphia. In November 2006 the medical school, short on cash, proposed to sell the painting for $68 million. Groups in Philadelphia are attempting to match that price to keep the painting [NY Times Nov 18, pg A18].