Linda has been a  teaching-artist and environmentalist  for over 20 years. In that time, she has taught in schools throughout the bay area. Linda's curriculum, "Watershed Art" is based on the concept of watershed: Water and creatures that live in these habitats.

Toaa Dallo has offered classes and intensive workshops at his Santa Cruz Art Studios since 1994 and has also given numerous lectures and demonstrations for art clubs and organizations.

In 2012 he began teaching classes and all-day workshops at Palace Art in Capitola, where he has worked with thousands of students of all ages, interests, and needs.

Toaa’s work is included in many private and corporate collections and has been seen in art shows and galleries principally in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Mary Dettle has been enjoying painting with the colorful medium of pastels for over 15 years. She loves them for their versatility and richness in application and rich pigments. 

Mary has shown her work in numerous shows including the Scotts Valley Art and Wine where she was the featured artist in 2009, and the California Landscape Shows.

She has a bachelor's degree in Interior Design and a Credential in Art Instruction. She enjoyed teaching elementary school for 22 years weaving fun, laughter and creativity into her lessons.

Robert Regis Dvorák has been making drawing and painting easy to learn and fun to practice for over 35 years.

A California award winning artist, he has authored: Travel Drawing and Painting, Drawing without Fear, The Magic of Drawing, Experiential Drawing, and The Practice of Drawing as Meditation, The Pocket Drawing Book, and articles on drawing and watercolor painting in American Artist Magazine and Watercolor Magazine.

He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a Master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Joan Hellenthal has a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Brown University and a master's degree in Fine Art from San Jose State University.  Her work is exhibited in galleries and corporate and private collections.  She teaches painting at the Santa Cruz Art League.

Hellenthal is best known for her "painterly" landscapes and still-lifes, which feature vivid color and reflections of light.  The serene landscapes and sensual fruits, lovingly captured, remind one of the beauty of nature and the elemental pleasures of life.

Paintings range from realism to abstract impressionism.  Oils and pastels. Occasional use of gold leaf and collage materials.

Linda Lord is a self-trained artist and illustrator with over 16 years teaching experience in her studio and via the SC Watercolor Society; an Open Studio artist whose exhibitions include Cozumel, Mexico. Linda also publishes with a decorative art publisher.

Mark took over the role of Art League figure drawing facilitator in the summer of 2021, after Richard Bennett (a renowned landscape artist and sculptor) stepped down from running this session for almost 4 decades. 

“The Art League has had a long tradition of supporting the local artist community with these weekly sessions. They have provided an excellent opportunity for us all to improve the way we see and relate to the human form. Whether you’re a student, new to drawing, or a more experienced artist, our small group setting provides a casual and non-judgmental environment, where you can develop and explore techniques while striving to capture the model in a series of poses. In addition to the Monday night gestures and short pose session, we host two Thursday evening long pose sessions per month, where the model will hold one or two poses for the entire evening. One of these evenings, we work with a clothed model and focus on portraiture, or a study of the head.”

Mark uses figure drawing to enhance his illustration and satirical cartoon skills, and hopes that he — like Dick Bennett before him — is able to continue hosting these sessions into his 90s!