Ray Roberts is a world-renowned plein air and landscape artist. He was inspired by early California impressionists such as Maynard Dixon, William Ritschel, Hanson Puthuff and William Wendt, and seeks to capture the natural beauty of color and the light of the landscape around him through his work. He is best known for his seascapes, breathtaking landscapes of the Southwest and California, as well as his figurative work. His love of the untamed and undeveloped California countryside comes honestly— he grew up in California’s Orange County when it was alive with orange groves, before it became overrun with subdivisions and freeways. 

Like his wife Peggi, Ray’s original career was as an illustrator—in fact, it was at Pasadena, California’s Art Center College of Design that Ray and Peggi met and began dating. Their dates were quite unusual—they would go out nightclubbing, but instead of dancing, they would sketch. In 1992, while living in Scottsdale, Arizona and raising their three children, Ray and Peggi got up the courage to pursue fine art, and ever since, they have enjoyed the successes of that decision. They now live on a 20-acre ranch in the California gold-rush town of Angel’s Camp, surrounded by cats, dogs, chickens and horses. 

Ray has won many best-of-show awards, including the recent Irvine Museum award at the California Art Club’s Gold Medal show held at the Hilbert Museum of California Art in addition to the prestigious Gold Medal at a previous show. 

Peggi is stylistically very different from her husband, excelling in impressionism and abstracts. She specializes in utilizing bold brush strokes and colors, while capturing a scene’s essential values, qualities, light and colors, and the contrasts between them. Focusing on capturing images as the mind sees them rather than the eye, Peggi’s primary influences have been abstract impressionist painters such as David Park and Elmer Bischoff. She is noted for her beach scenes, which have in part been inspired by watching her children.

Prior to launching her fine art career along with her husband, Peggi worked as an illustrator in the fashion and advertising industries. Born and raised in Arizona, she attended Arizona State University before relocating to California and attending the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where she and Ray met. 

Peggi has won many awards and has been featured in both museums and several publications like Southwest Art and the Western Art Collector. She is a member of the Oil Painters of America, the California Art Club and the American Impressionist Society. 

Peggi and Ray share a studio in their ranch in Angel’s Camp, California, where they continue their painting careers. Both have a fierce love of teaching, conducting both online and live workshops, and enjoy the interaction between student and teacher.