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I took the Mid City Studio Tour on a lazy Sunday, October 4th. I visited the home of Doug Orr, who is not only a painter, but a landscape designer. His home was a wonderland of objects d 'art, with angels and a tranquil koi pond and a separate studio in the backyard. His newest series of paintings have an angelic theme painted on huge wooden cabinets. They are breathtaking in their celestial beauty. I also got to see the photographs of David Rodriguez, who had some beautiful framed black and white prints for sale.
I also stopped by Caryn Baumgartner, who had a studio converted out of a spacious garage to create her mixed media paintings. She was busy with the sale of some work, when I visited so I just walked around admiring the lovely courtyard fountain and work on display.
The home of Gisele and Bill Thompson was welcoming and a work of art in itself. There were Gisele's paintings throughout the home, which are inspired by landscapes, the sea, nature and sea glass. The decor compliments Gisele's paintings well. There is also a shelf housing jars sea glass, which was collected by Bill and Gisele from local beaches.
Lastly, I went to the Wrigley area, to see the work of Monica Fleming. I was immediately greeted by friendly faces, hanging out in the living room. There was a huge vase of exotic flowers and behind it her worktable. She also had a studio, which housed a lot of her acrylic work.

All of the artists were friendly and welcomed guests warmly. It was so refreshing to view work in the intimate studio setting, rather than a generic gallery. The good news is some of the artists sold some pieces. Gisele told me she plans to work with Long Beach Arts to hold the tours annually instead of biannually, adding even more artists to the tour. Everyone worked so hard in bringing the tour together and I look forward to future tours, which are such a unique way to spend a weekend.