Click here to read about the summer's FEATURED ARTISTS

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2025 WEBSITE SPECIAL GUESTS

     Over the years, guest artists have been invited to exhibit works on the site which either express or interpret the summer theme in certain ways. Please welcome the site's newest summer guest, painter Astrid Preston, as well as guest photographer Mark Comon.

GUEST PAINTER - ASTRID PRESTON. Astrid Preston, a Latvian American artist, was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She received a B.A. in English Literature from UCLA in 1967 and a NEA Fellowship Grant in Painting in 1987. Since the 1970s, her work has been the subject of numerous one-person exhibitions including shows at the Laguna Art Museum, Saginaw Art Museum and the Wichita Falls Museum, among others. In 2017 she was honored with a 30-year survey exhibition at the Bakersfield Museum of Art. She has had articles and reviews of her work published in the LA Times, Art in America and Artforum. Her work is in many public collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the UCLA Hammer Museum, McNay Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Nevada Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum and the Orange County Museum of Art. She lives and works in Santa Monica.

     If you would like to read more about Astrid Preston and/or view additional paintings, visit her website at www.astridpreston.com. You can find the images of her paintings on the All Cities By City concert page.

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER - MARK COMON. Mark Comon, CPC, CPI, is president of Paul's Photo in Torrance and founder of the Creative Photo Academy. He is an award-winning photographer, world renown educator and industry-leading retail professional. At Paul's Photo he has led the charge of a single-location family-owned camera store from the days of film to digital and into the online era. While other brick-and-mortar technology businesses struggle, Paul's Photo continues to grow and prosper. Mark speaks often at meetings of retail camera store owners and photo labs on customer service, retail ideas and leadership.

     Since 1988, Mark Comon has been a dedicated educator of more than 250 students per month in his Paul's Photo Creative Photo Academy classes. As a dynamic lecturer, Comon has entertained and educated audiences from first-time snap-shooters and hobbyists to industry professionals. He continually delivers concise information, plain-language explanations and inspirational images. Mark has taken student groups on photographic tours through Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. His popular Photo Adventures to California's natural wonders (Death Valley, Monterey, Eastern Sierra and Yosemite) are always sold out. Comon has taught and led photo workshops alongside many of today's legendary photographers, caputuring peoples and cultures plus wildlife and nature all while supporting responsible and sustainable travel.

     As a photographic artist Mark's images have been featured in many local and regional photographic and artistic exhibitions. His award-winning landscapes, insightful travel and stirring documentary images capture the light, drama and range of human experience while highlighting the fragile beauty of our planet. To read more about Mark Comon and Paul's Photo/Creative Photo Academy, visit the websites www.creativephotoacademy.com and www.paulsphoto.com. You can find his photographs on the All Cities By Date concert page.

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