Santa Cruz is home to quite a few artists. Every year they put on an Open Studios tour where local artists open their studios to the public. There's quite a wide variety of art to suit every taste.

My wife's sister, Valri Peyser, was admitted into this select club for the first time this year. Her new studio was a recent addition to their house and gives her a ton of room to work. Her style is very colorful as you can clearly see. She works on canvas and sometimes glass. She's done a quite a few painted glass lamps that make great night lights.

There were so many paintings that they spilled out into the backyard as well. Visitors also had lots to snack on and drink. Naturally we have a few of these hanging in our house. Monica really enjoys her aunt's artwork. Three of her boys were hanging for a while to soak up the art vibes too.

Here's a few shots of Gabe's buddy and cousin Doug. I'm not quite sure what he thought of all this, but I sure would have loved to ask him.