Board Members

Steve Stein

Workshop Co-Chair

Steve earned a Masters in Art from Sacramento State in 1981 but struggled to make a living out of it. During a summer job shortly after graduation, he was introduced to computers and soon began what turned into a 40-year career designing software. He eventually worked for both large and small companies, started, grew, and sold his own business, and then worked as a consulting technical architect to organizations across the US and Europe. Along the way, Steve often attended figure drawing studios to keep the spark alive. Steve and his wife Joni both started watercolor during a 2019 vacation trip to New Zealand, but it wasn’t until 2021 that Steve began to paint regularly. Since that time, he has started showing his work at the High-Hand Art Gallery in Loomis and the 480 Lighthouse Gallery in Pacific Grove. He has exhibited in several juried exhibitions at WASH, as well as the AWS Associate show and the 2025 Watercolor West International Exhibition. His work can be viewed online at https://stevesteinwatercolor.com

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Scholarship Chair(s)

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SFAC Liaison

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Media Communications

Chris Harper Triplett

Webmaster

I joined the WASH Board in January 2025 as the Website Administrator. After moving to the Sacramento area from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2020, I became a WASH member to connect with the local art community. I’ve been painting all my life, with my first show in high school. I earned a degree in Art Practice from UC Berkeley and spent years creating personal commissions and artwork for my children’s schools, while also building a long career in computer technology. In 2007, I began pursuing art professionally—teaching, entering shows, and selling work. I’m a mixed-media artist working primarily in watercolor. My work centers on the everyday rural life of cowgirls, farms, and country households.

Ronnie Rector

Newsletter Editor

I started painting after taking my Girl Scout troop to a watercolor workshop. They had so much fun that I signed up for a class with the same artist, and was told I “intimidated the other students.” Not sure that’s a good thing, but oh how I love this medium; how the colors mix in water, how they sometimes fight with each other, building layers of colors to create something amazing.

I am a past President, Secretary and Newsletter Editor for the Sierra Watercolor Society in Reno, a member of the Nevada Artists Association, the Latimer Art Club, Sacramento Fine Arts’ WASH club, and hold signature status with the California Watercolor Association and Women in Watercolor. I received the inaugural “The First Lady Presents…” award from First Lady Kathy Sisolak in 2020, and the inaugural Reno Tahoe Artist Excellence in Watercolor award in 2022. I also received the Excellence in Watercolor Gold Award from the Transparent Watercolor Society of America in 2023, and judged the 2024 California State Fair Fine Arts – Watercolor category. Oh…and I work full time with a local architect.

Sandi Mele

Workshop Co-Chair

Susy Soulies

Show Co-Chair
Susy Soulies is a graphic designer, Northern California watercolor artist and teacher and book illustrator. She graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in design and takes her greatest joy from painting and her children and grandchildren and her dog, in no particular order.

Kristi Warren

Show Co-Chair

Kristie’s paintings might best be described as abstract realism. She works with oil, watercolor, and gouache, focusing on color and composition in her work. Leaves and flowers are a common subject of her paintings and occasionally she adds insects or other whimsical elements to add interest.

Education:
California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA

Art Center College of Design, Pasadena

California State University Sacramento

Sally Bostley

Membership Chair

I love to travel to photograph subjects for more paintings. I have visited France, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, including the Palatinate and Bavaria; Austria, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. In this part of the world I have visited Mexico, Haiti and 49 of the 50 United States of America. I am active on TravellersPoint as Beausoleil and wrote the Accommodations Guide for Paris on that web site.

I am an amateur painter but have won several awards in local shows and had my paintings chosen for display in local offices and lobbies. I’ve donated several paintings to charity auctions and also given paintings to friends who enjoyed them and have done a couple commissions.

Rose White

Program Co-Chair

Born and raised in the Sacramento area, Rose loves reading, gaming, spending time with family and friends, and making art, of course!

Alyssa Gorman

Program Co-Chair

Cordi Sogge

Treasurer

I’ve had a life-long love of art, but work as a graphic designer and motherhood kept me an occasional art-dabbler for many years. Then an early retirement, a real studio, and discovering the supportive camaraderie of WASH allowed me to dive headlong into art, especially watercolor— my favorite medium. My artwork is inspired by a deep love of nature, often focused on its smaller details such as leaves, moss, and rocks. I also admire more abstract painting styles, and hope to move my paintings in that direction while still keeping a foot in the natural world. Joining WASH has been instrumental in helping me push my art in different directions: there are so many wonderful artists— of all levels— that keep me inspired and motivated!

BJ Taylor

Secretary

Carmichael, CA.
I moved to California from New Jersey at the end of 2020. I found SFAC and WASH in 2022.
I started painting in 2015. I have worked in oil and pastel, but am challenged by watercolor.

Chris Knopp

President

I’ve painted watercolors off and on for most of my life, but regularly since about 2010.
Watercolors provide me with an endless challenge, and enough accomplishment to provide
motivation to keep painting and learning. My professional life was in land and water resource
management, so I find landscapes to provide a fertile source of inspiration. However, since
taking several workshops, I’ve also expanded into the ‘scary’ world of figures and portraits. My
paintings tend to have a more realistic quality but I’m currently aiming for pictures with less
structure and a more fluid, emotional style.

Board Members

Chris Knopp

BJ Taylor

Cordi Sogge

Alyssa Gorman

Rose White

Sally Bostley

Kristi Warren

Susy Soulies

Sandi Mele

Steve Stein

Ronnie Rector

Chris Harper Triplett

Vacant

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Hours Open:

Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Inc.,