The Board

  • Young woman with long dark hair wearing a red floral crop top standing against a plain beige wall.

    Natalie Gavidia | President

    Natalie Gavidia is a nonbinary, latino artist, and an organizer based in San Francisco, California. Their creative pursuits include printmaking, silversmithing, ceramics, writing, and event programming. They started Sketchboard Co. to fuse the love they had for live music, figure drawing, theatre, and community building, with eccentric collaborators from all backgrounds. This marriage has created a powerful creative community they have sustained alongside other organizers for over a decade. If you can’t find them hosting an event or at an art gallery opening - you can find them at home, playing their dog Stella the pit-chi while listening to vinyls, or at a cafe ordering a dirty chai.

  • A woman with long brown hair, wearing a beige dress, sitting on a chair, holding a bunch of green eucalyptus leaves, and looking slightly to the side against a plain light-colored background.

    Alida Pepper | Vice President

    Álida Pepper is an intersex and trans artist, filmmaker, and writer based in the SF Bay Area. With the support of a Yerba Buena Center grant, she created and team-taught a course that re-examined the Human Anatomy curriculum to reflect our growing knowledge of gender. During the pandemic, she played a key role in moving figurative drawing spaces online, and has collaborated and presented a paper with Ang DeCarlis on technology’s role in changing the artist-model relationship. She is a former board member of Bay Area Models' Guild and former officer of UAW Local 2865, the graduate student union of UC Berkeley, from which she holds a master's degree. She edited and contributed to a collection of academic essays published by Harvard University Press, and a short essay of hers is in the 2nd edition of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (Oxford: 2022).

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    Nick Derenzi | Development + Media

    Nick DeRenzi is a Bay Area raised photographer and community organizer. Using photography as both a storytelling and archiving tool, his work focuses on capturing the essence of people in their environment  - from traditional portraits to moments of protest. He also uses his camera to break perceived barriers to interact with others - which is a pilar to his artistic practice influenced by his community organizing work.

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    Alphonso Cornelius | Media

    I'm a new age Renaissance man, and I'm always exploring what's next. I started out in IT, but my real journey began when I merged my technical skills with my creative side. I spent years working in animation, painting murals, and drawing comics, eventually landing at some of the biggest studios out there think Cartoon Network, DreamWorks, and Industrial Light & Magic. Storytelling is my true calling, and I've worked my way from comic artist and story-boarder to now writing, directing, and showrunning.

    Lately, I've been busy. I'm a serial entrepreneur who has launched five businesses in the past year, and I have a full slate of creative projects, including an animated TV series I'm directing, a fantasy novel I'm writing, and another animated show I'm co-showrunning. I also volunteer on the board for the Children's Media Association because I love helping people, especially kids, unlock their full potential. Life is an adventure, and I'm all about living it to the fullest while helping others reach for the stars.

The Facilitators

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    Lian Morales (She/They)

    is a local artist in the mission, and specializes in detailed linework paintings and murals. She draws inspiration from her background in STEM and biology to create her bio mechanical paintings. Lian freehands her work to allow for a creative and fantastical flow and style. Lian graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a bachelors of science in computational and mathematical biology. After graduation, Lian worked at Stanford in a biology research lab as a software developer. However she did not want to continue working in this field, and in 2024 decided to change career paths towards something she always loved, which was art. After this transition, Lian has been featured in multiple venues, including Arcana, The Smart Collective, The Drawing Room, Faultline, and has had two solo shows at The Bird Cage and Adobe Books within the span of one year. Lian also has murals across San Francisco in the Haight, Tenderloin, and Mission. She is now attending graduate school to pursue a MFA in Fine Arts at CCA. Lian hopes to become a full time mural artist, and continue to have shows throughout her career. Lian has been with Sketchboard for 3 years, and enjoys drawing the model as characters for future comic books and loves the beautiful and amazing art community of San Francisco.

  • A person with dreadlocks wearing glasses, a green sleeveless top, and two necklaces with moon and geometric pendants, smiling at the camera.

    Prince Faulkner (They/Them)

    has been in the bay for 10 years, and working with sketchboard for 2 years. Their connection to nature is entwined in all their art disciplines which include drawing, painting, book binding, paper flowers, sewing, basket weaving, and gardening. They are inspired by the geometry and rhythms of the natural world, ephemeral moments, clouds after a storm, harsh dichotomies, and soft curves. They can draw with their left hand, see smells, and put their feet on their head. Currently, their monetary pursuits are focused in tattooing and book binding. You can catch them at our Tuesday and OMCA events in Oakland.

  • A young man in a blue shirt and tie, wearing a blazer and a fedora, smiling and sitting in a bar or liquor store with bottles of alcohol displayed on shelves behind him.

    Nathaniel Bice (He/Him)

    is a muralist, plein air painter, scale model builder, and craftsman whose works encourage their viewer to celebrate the beauty of the San Francisco Bay Area. His work has been shown in galleries and shops around the Bay Area, such as STUDIO Gallery, änalog Gallery, Queer Arts Featured, Fleet Wood, The Drawing Room, Sanchez Art Center, and Gearbox Gallery, and in other places such as The Studio Door in San Diego, and Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Maryland. He is an award-winning participant in the annual Frank Bette Paint Out in Alameda. He is an organizing member of The Spooky Haus, a Bay Area transgender art collective. The Spooky Haus hosts Art Jam, an annual weekend long event during which trans artists teach each other skills and crafts and build community. The Spooky Haus also pops up with Nathaniel’s art at numerous Bay Area art fairs and events, including SF Pride, Head West, Fierce Fat Flea, Quartz, Oaklash, and SF Zine Fest. Nathaniel organizes artmaking workshops for ARCH Art and Drafting Supplies, San Francisco’s oldest independent art supply store. He also facilitates weekly figure drawing at Madrone Art Bar with Sketchboard. Nathaniel has several murals in small businesses in San Francisco, including Tala Wine, Mersea, House of Tadu, and Sour Cherry Comics. (photo by Kayleigh Shawn).

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    Sabine Belofsky (She/Her)

    is a concept/visual development artist and illustrator working in entertainment, passionate about telling stories through visual art and being involved in fun projects. Originally from the Philippines, they moved to Oakland California in 2016 to attend California College of the Arts where they graduated with a BFA in Illustration in early 2020. Since then, Sabine has had experience working for freelance clients, professional internships, and currently some exciting video games at Steel Wool Studios.Sabine is also passionate about figure drawing, plein air painting, and being a part of the local art community. Previously a regular attendee and volunteer at Sketchboard, Sabine is now a Facilitator for the weekly Monday evening long pose in San Francisco.

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    Kyra Kabler (She/Her)

    started figure drawing as a teenager in Provincetown, MA and early on recognized not only the artistic, technical value of it but also how it brings people together. She now focuses on gouache and oil figure painting as well as plein air painting, hosting group sessions throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area. Professionally, she works in the animation industry as a background painter and 3d artist.

  • A young woman smiling while holding a tabby cat outside on a sunny day. She is wearing a white scarf with black patterns and has sunglasses on her head, with a yellow house and blue sky in the background.

    Farah Hamade (She/Her)

    Farah (she/her) is a Lebanese artist and doodler living in SF. She specializes in medical and science visualization, and received her Masters in Biomedical Communications at the University of Toronto. Living in these times requires us to constantly examine our role as artists. She turns to community as the driving force in her art making, and has contributed to actions through art builds and screen printing. There is always more to do. Being part of Sketchboard is truly special, and a place where we can practice our craft while finding community.