The Night Before

The Night Before

Cover | Carol Aust

The Night Before (acrylic on canvas). Oakland artist Carol Aust’s figurative paintings are infused with mysterious tension and secrecy. She often places her figures in precarious environments where anything could happen. Her influences include Emil Nolde, Marc Chagall, Käthe Kollwitz, and the German Expressionists. Aust is one of 150 artists holding open studios at the Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco on May 6-7, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Building 101, basement #303. She is represented by the Donna Seager Gallery in San Rafael (www.donnaseagergallery.com) and Studio Gallery in San Francisco (www.studiogallerysf.com). View her work at www.carolaust.com.

Faces of the East Bay

In the Philanthropic Swim

In the Philanthropic Swim

Rockridge residents John Bliss and Kim Thompson may live far removed the gritty flats of East and West Oakland. But this philanthropic couple see themselves as one with the citizens of Oakland, particularly those who are struggling financially, and they’re leading a campaign to get their “financially blessed” peers to invest in the community like they have by funding city programs to teach kids how to swim.