Laguna Plein Air Painters Association

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Richie N. Vios

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LPAPA Signature Artist Richie Vios
Laguna Plein Air Signature Artist Richie N. Vios
Austin, Texas
ViosWatercolor.com

Born and raised in Cebu City, Philippines, Richie N. Vios hails from an artistic family. Studying architecture, in 1995 he graduated with a bachelor’s architecture degree and University faculty member, teaching architectural design and presentation. In 2004 they decided to leave the Philippines in hopes of a better future in America. For the next five years, he worked closely as an architectural designer at a local architectural firm in Clearwater, Florida until his family decided to move to Baltimore, Maryland. Seeking to introduce more western architectural concepts in Southeast Asia, Richie returned to the Philippines by himself to share, develop, and construct many of the things he had learned from America. During the next five years there, in his spare time, he refined and honed a unique mastery of watercolor painting evident in all of his art to this day. In the summer of 2017, his family would move back to south Texas and after being away from them so long he made sure to be there for them in Victoria, Texas. That’s where he knew he could passionately chase the American dream again not as an Architect but as a watercolor impressionist and PleinAir artist. Currently, he lives in Austin Texas but travels most of the time to compete PleinAir events all over the United States and conducts watercolor workshops along the way.

Ran Wu

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Laguna Plein Air Signature Artist Ran WuLaguna Plein Air Signature Artist Ran Wu
Cupertino, California
RanWuArt.com

Ran was born in Taiwan. At a young age, Ran showed her special interests in art so her parents sent her to learn drawing, watercolor, and Chinese brush painting with the local artist Liang Dan Mei. Ran moved to the United States in her mid-twenties and took a break from creating art in favor of starting a corporate career and family in Northern California.  In the early 2010s, Ran decided to resume her art career and become a fine artist.

To further develop her artistic craftsmanship and comprehension, Ran attended the MFA program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.  She also studied under the master artists Jove Wang and Huihan Liu. Though mainly focused on the portrait and figurative paintings, Ran has also painted plein air and still life extensively. Ran is always intrigued by the surrounding light, shapes and colors, and she has the keen eyes to extract beauties from common scenes and people she encounters at home or on the road. These are all the inspirations for Ran’s painting. With bold brushstrokes, strong colors to emphasize the design elements and fine details, Ran’s painting style can be best described as post-impressionistic modern representational fine art. 

Ran has been showing her arts nationally and juried into the most prestigious and competitive art exhibitions and won awards.

Danny Griego

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LPAPA Artist Member Danny GriegoLPAPA Signature Artist Danny Griego
San Diego, California
DannyGriegoArt.com

Most of Danny’s inspiration stems from how landscapes integrate with urban settings.  He finds great interest in how sturdy man-made structures coexist with organic forms of nature.  Alleys, freeway bridges, on-and-off ramps, shabby buildings, construction sites and subjects that don’t get a lot attention are of particular interest to him.

Mason Williams

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LPAPA Artist Member Mason Williams

LPAPA Artist Member Mason Williams
Laguna Beach, California
MasonWilliamsArt.com

Mason Williams (b. 1995) is a passionate landscape painter and teacher from Carmel, California. He received his BA in Studio Art from Principia College in 2017, but it wasn’t until after he attended a summer artist residency at Otis College of Art and Design in 2018 that his artistic path came full circle. Inspired and motivated to grow his technical skill, Williams took a job back home as studio manager at Carmel Visual Arts. During this time, he began mentorships with renowned Carmel artists Jesse Powell, John Burton, and Brian Blood. It was under their tutelage that Williams discovered his love for the landscape and plein air painting. In 2022, Williams graduated from the Laguna College of Art and Design with his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting. He was featured in the Southwest Art Magazine’s article 21 Under 31, Young Artists to Collect Now, and more recently featured in an article American Art Collector Magazine. Williams has exhibited work at the Laguna Art Museum, the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the California Art Club, Salmagundi Club, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, American Impressionist Society, and Oil Painters of America. Williams won the Landscape Award of Excellence for his painting in the Oil Painters of America Western Regional exhibition in 2022 and the Gold Medal for Landscape Award at the 112th California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition in 2023. In summer of 2024, Williams participated in the Hudson River Fellowship through the Grand Central Atelier. Williams is an adjunct professor for the Laguna College of Art and Design Entertainment Design program and a teacher at the Orange County School of the Arts in the Visual Arts Conservatory. Williams is also an exhibitor at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, California.

Received LPAPA Signature Artist designation in 2025

Kelley Mogilka

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Painting by LPAPA Signature Artist Kelley Mogilka

LPAPA Signature Artist Kelley Mogilka
Laguna Beach, California

Kelley Mogilka is a figurative painter born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma. After obtaining her BFA in Studio Art at Oklahoma City University in 2018, she ventured to California to pursue life as an artist and quickly found one in the historic artist community of Laguna Beach. Mogilka received her MFA in Painting at Laguna College of Art and Design and upon graduating joined their faculty ranks as an adjunct professor. At the age of 25, Mogilka was recognized in Southwest Art Magazine’s “21 Under 31, Young Artists to Collect Now”; her paintings have been awarded by the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the Salmagundi Club in New York; and most notably, Mogilka was the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award at Pence Gallery in Davis where she had her first solo exhibition in 2023. Her paintings exist in collections across the United States and beyond, including the Almenara Collection in Córdoba, Spain. A recurring exhibitor at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, she currently works out of her Laguna Canyon studio with husband and painter Mason Williams, both recipients of the 2025 Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award by Plein Air Magazine.

Learn More at KelleyMogilka.com