Steve Sweetser  Throughout my life I have incorporated art into my world. Even during my 40-year career as a Veterinarian, my Veterinary Clinic in Sacramento had a revolving exhibition of animal art. Now that I have left that career, I am concentrating on themes that I have been developing over the past 20 years. My current interest is mixed media collage, as well as a recent venture into pastel landscapes painting.   My Frida Kahlo series evolved out of a trip to Mexico City and the Frida Kahlo Museum, after which I noticed that the image of Frida appears everywhere, particularly in San Francisco. Also, I have always loved the work of Andy Warhol. These influences led me to silk screen Frida's image, ala Warhol, which I began to use in mixed media.Because of my interest in art history and specific artists, i.e. Warhol, Magritte, Dali, Kandinsky, David Hockney, I integrate classic images with more modern concepts. My mixed media pieces have no particular message. I simply use the various images for their aesthetic, design elements, with references to various artists.    

As Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to."