Penny Soto CWA SWA soto@internet49.com AWARD winning California artist and teacher Penny Soto lives in Pollock Pines, California. Her formal art training began at Chabot College in Hayward, California and San Francisco Academy of Art. She's since studied with prominent portrait and figure artists. Soto has had many Gallery and Museum exhibits in her career. She has received more than 250 awards and honors. She was awarded a $ 10,000 scholarship to the San Francisco Academy of Art where she pursued a degree in illustration. (1995) She has been commissioned by Nordstrom's to paint mural size watercolors- 4 foot x 6 foot and 6 foot x 9 foot for their Permanent Art collection display in the stores though out the United States. They currently have 26 of her works to date. Soto has designed and illustrated "The Strawberry Country Festival" poster and T-shirts. She recently won the state of California Parks and Recreation Society Award for her design of the "San Ramon Art & Wind Festival" poster 1996, a statewide competition. She has been commissioned by her city, San Ramon, to do the Art & Wind Festival Poster and T-shirts for 1999 and this years 2003. She also has designed Posters for clients at the "Mardi Gras" convention in New Orleans, and Sacramento Posters including: Commerce Printing, American River Parkway Foundation, Old Sacramento, The World Peace Rose Garden, Dance In The Wild, and the PGA Senior Tour sponsored by Raley's. Soto was the "Featured" artist in the January 1996 issue of "The Artist's Magazine, a nationally renowned magazine. She also had an article on watercolor and air brushing in "The Decorative Artist's Magazine in May 1996. One of her paintings, "Lost Loves" (watercolor) has been selected to be included in 1999 North Light Book "The Best of Florals." She has just completed an article on fine art painting with the airbrush and an artist's profile for the word wide magazine "Air Brush Action" which was released December of 2003. She is in the process of writing a contract book on watercolor for North Light Publishing entitled "Paint Glowing Colors In Watercolor" which will be released April of 2003. Soto has just recently finished a 50 foot x 6 foot mural for the Alameda County Fair Model Railroad Club depicting sky and scenery relating to the miniature trains. The association has commissioned her to continue the wall for the next year- 2002 Fair and has presented her with an honorary plaque for Artistic Excellence. Soto entered "The Artist's Magazine" competition in August of 1997 and was placed as a finalist with her portrait painting "Contemplation" from some 11,000 entries in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The magazine has selected 200 finalist from the 11,000 entries. This award made her an associate member in "The International Artist Society." She was the "Artist in Residence" for the Danville Fine Art Gallery in 1995 and continues to teach watercolor and pastel classes, including many National workshops. Soto is represented by "Creative Impressions" in Sacramento and Main Street Fine Art Gallery in Pleasanton, California . She writes monthly articles for the World Wide Web art magazines www.worldofwatercolor.com and in the UK www.artmagazine.co.uk. Soto is a member of the San Francisco Society of Illustrators. California Watercolor Association CWA (an award signature member), Society of Western Artists SWA (an award signature member) and Los Angles Society of Illustrators and The International Artist Society. Her paintings and murals are in a number of public and private corporations throughout the United States. Pacific Bell, Kaiser Foundation, Arlen Ness, Inc. Nordstroms, Arlen Ness, Inc., Jamaica Plaza, Ralston Purina Corporation, Pepsi Cola, Inc., just to name a few. I have finished a painting for the Untied States Air Force Aviation Program. The painting is a part of the Air Force's Museum collection. My subject matter on this project was the World War 2 fighter-bomber aircraft "The Liberator." The Air Force has presented me with a certificate and plaque in Artistic excellence 1998. Among her art projects she is most proud of is her invention of a watercolor palette that spins and had 84 wells as well as many other features. This is a Patent product and will be sold worldwide.