Gerald Walburg is one of Sacramento’s most talented and notable artists. The trouble is that over his long and productive career his local profile hasn’t kept up with his national one. I’m hoping to change that.

Barbara Dow put the final touches on the pet portrait just in time for Christmas. The custom oil painting of Tank, a 10-year-old Great Dane, was a surprise present for her client’s nephew, the owner of the silver and black senior dog. What made the artwork so special was that Tank passed away the day after Barbara took his photo from which she created the heartfelt gift.

Justin Marsh isn’t interested in being a flash in the pan. The painter and photographer is in it for the long haul. “I’ve tried to play the long game,” Marsh says on a break from an in-studio day at his house in South Land Park. “I didn’t pursue my master’s degree or residencies.

Although a budding rock star artist in her native China, Lin Fei Fei didn’t know a soul in Sacramento when she and her Detroit-born boyfriend moved here in August 2015. Lin completed her MFA at the prestigious Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, a city with a population of more than 8 million, and participated in art shows across Asia and Europe.

Kellie Raines likes a challenge. In fact, she prefers tackling projects she doesn’t know how to do.
“Half of the process—the fun of the process—is learning,” the Arden-area resident says. “The joy is the work.”

Artist Jose Di Gregorio is a big fan of the h-word: hustle. The Puerto Rico native uses hustle in every aspect of his daily life—as an artist, a father of two girls, a resident of Warehouse Artist Lofts on R Street and a member of Hacker Lab, a maker and coworking space. “With art, you don’t ever clock out,” says Di Gregorio. “I can’t not do it—it becomes so innate.”