MEET OUR ARTISTS

Painter Heidi Palau sitting at a long outdoor dining table decorated with flowers, surrounded by wooden chairs, under hanging paper lanterns and pink floral decorations in a lush garden.

Meet Heidi

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and deeply influenced by time spent in Lake Tahoe, Heidi Kristen Palau has always been inspired by the natural world.-one that now flows into her artwork.

Working primarily in water-based oils, Heidi paints landscapes, seascapes, and still life’s with a focus on water, trees, and the quiet presence of the outdoors. Her work is rooted in observation and emotion—each piece aiming to capture not only a place, but the feeling it evokes.

Heidi’s creative journey began in floral design, this foundation in color, texture, and composition evolved into a career in interior design,  and eventually, a desire to create more personal and expressive work led her to study art and painting.

Heidi Kristen Palau has since shown work in group exhibitions and has sold to private collectors. Her art can be found in homes throughout the region. She is the Curator and Artist for the October 2025, Inspired by Water show at the Sausalito Center for the Arts.

Painter Aondrea Maynard with light blonde hair smiling, wearing layered necklaces and a blue lace top, standing in front of large green tropical leaves.

Meet Aondrea

Aondrea Maynard’s paintings are contemporary interpretations of the natural world, using light and color to evoke emotion and invite connection to our ethereal nature. Inspired by a lifelong relationship with nature and a love of travel, her work reflects the warmth of the sun, the depth of the sea, the richness of forests, and the mystery of the stars. Her paintings are infused with wonder, awe, and a deep love for humanity.

Her work is held in public and private collections worldwide—including San Francisco, London, Copenhagen, and Dubai—with clients such as Google Inc., Apple TV, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Crate & Barrel, Sutter Hospital, and The Hyatt. Having lived in Paris and Copenhagen, she brings a global perspective rooted in culture, transformation, and sustainability. Now based in San Francisco and swimming in the Bay, Aondrea creates art as a sanctuary—offering viewers a reprieve from modern life and a reconnection to the serenity and vastness of the natural world.

Photographer Christine Kennedy with red hair standing in front of colorful flowers.

Meet Christine

Christine Kennedy is a native New Yorker who has made the Bay Area her home for the past thirty-five plus years.  She attended the University of San Francisco where she earned a degree in Art History and Museum Studies. Kennedy is a self-taught nature photographer whose primary focus is on birds.

Her work has been on view in a group show entitled Nature Inspires at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, at the studio of April Dawn Parker in Sausalito and more recently in a solo show at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. She lives and works in San Francisco, CA and travels extensively in search of inspiring nature.

Painter Pat Lily Lee with curly hair wearing sunglasses, a black jacket with red accents, and a white visor, standing by a coastal railing with rocks and the ocean in the background.

Meet Pat Lily

After growing up in and spending her formative college years in Illinois, Pat Lily Lee found inspiration in San Francisco beginning in 1979. Graced with an early grounding in art, a few college courses, and a whirlwind year in Europe with her husband(Madrid, Paris, and Ireland being the key players), Pat has found her calling as a self- taught artist. Beginning in the 1980s with figures, objects, and minimalism, she has a renewed interest in landscape, rich color, and detail. 

Her work with torn paper on linen has been featured in the August 2025 show at SFW Gallery. She has been exploring photomontage and mixed media for 25 years, first as a background,  and then as an end unto itself. San Francisco continues to be her main artistic inspiration,  fueled by long walks in the park - studying every pebble and flower.

Photographer Gina Risso with a digital camera set on a tripod. She is smiling, wearing a grey hoodie, a black T-shirt, and blue jeans. The setting appears to be indoors with a table, food items, and a trash can in the background.

Meet Gina

For over 2 decades, Gina Risso has built her career as a portrait and commercial photographer, creating images that balance technical precision with a sensitivity to light and atmosphere. Her path has been shaped by years of travel through more than 40 countries, always carrying a camera—at first with rolls of film packed by hand—and always searching for the quiet details that make a place or moment unforgettable. She studied art, design, and photography at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, an experience that continues to inform her work with a strong foundation in visual storytelling.

Water has been a constant thread through her life and work. Gina has lived aboard sailboats, worked in the rugged waters of Alaska, and spent years on islands across Asia and the Pacific. What brought her across the bridge from San Francisco was the chance to live on a houseboat, which inevitably anchored her in Sausalito 22 years ago. Surrounded by tides, fog, and harbor life, she finds herself drawn again and again to water’s shifting forms, colors, and reflections. In this series, she captures water’s restless energy and luminous depth, inviting viewers to see movement and mystery within the familiar.