A view into the hall of La Luz de Jesus' showcase at Beyond Eden 2011.

La Luz de Jesus had four beautiful, large modern baroque oil paintings by Alexandra Manukyan. Her works incorporate common elements of the female form, chains, masks and things from nature like antlers and fur. Alexandra's paintings are about the human experience, the emotions we all share and the weight of grief. Many of them show "the feminine form bearing the burdens of worldly grief." These painting are so gorgeous and powerful that I immediately placed Alexandra on my list of artists to watch.

La Luz de Jesus offered a preview of a thrilling work that will be shown during the second 25th anniversary show in November. Yama, by Wayne Martin Belger, is an extraordinary functioning pinhole camera named for the Tibetan God of Death. Each eye is cast from bronze and silver with a brass pinhole. A piece of contact print paper is inserted behind the skull to record what Yama sees. You can see three of the images taken by the camera to either side and above. The artist said that if you cross your eyes while looking at the images, you can see them in 3D, but I couldn't do it. Materials include a human skull, the artist's blood, wood, various metals, pearls, sapphires, turquoises and sand. Priced at $240,000. As Gallery Director Matt Kennedy said to me, "This is a real museum piece."

A closer view of Yama by Wayne Martin Belger.

Good to see Krystopher Sapp's magnificent assemblage piece, Ragnarok, again. I was introduced to Krystopher's work at the first Beyond Eden I attended, in 2009. And now we're friends and his work gets better and better.

C.A.V.E. Gallery showed Sacred Heart by Mexican-American artist Gustavo Rimada. The saturated colors are stunning. I love the skull face inside the sacred heart and the woman's dark, blasé expression. The painting is acrylic on canvas and available for $2500.

This is a very cool piece by illustrator Jeremy Hush called Lying in Wait. Shown in Thinkspace's area, the inhumanly white eyes and ghastly pallor of the girl really give me the creeps. I like the sense of movement, flapping wings, created by the group of birds. This piece is ink and watercolor on paper. Available for $750.

Also in Thinkspace's area were two acrylic paintings by Anthony Clarkson, On a Lake of Tears (left, sold) and Mother of Mercy (right, sold). The dreamy use of color in Anthony's works really grabs me. His world seems to be a mix of twisted cartoon characters and impossible landscapes.

The Martyrdom of Saint Kymberly Jane by William Zdan was on exhibit in Cannibal Flower's area. The red tones in this painting, from the apocalyptic city scape, to the dynamite, to the martyr's robe, parted lips, puffy eyelids and erect nipples, create a striking effect. It's a superb use of color. I like her pose as well. This piece is oil on distressed panel, $2000.

On display in Copro Gallery's area, Mourner II by Chet Zar. I like the bright orange yellows behind the wraith. This painting strongly reminds me of Edvard Munch's The Scream from the S posture and black robe of the wraith to the colors in the sky. The painting is available for $6,000.

Toy Art Gallery had the most vibrant display with large scale toys and sculptures along the floor and on shelves and pedestals and paintings above. My only criticism is that there were no identifying tags of titles or artists for the works in this gallery area. No surprise that I loved the skull bishop painting above the best. The textures in that piece are remarkable.

Attendees look at art on display in Gallery Nucleus' area.

On display from Gallery Nucleus, from left, acrylic paintings Waiting 1, 2 and 3 by Junko Mizuno. $3,200 each. I always admire Japanese artist Junko's kooky, spirited and unique compositions.

A selection of works by Los Angeles street artist Euth. Euth curated 'Creator/Spectator' for Beyond Eden, which showcased works by several LA street artists.

After showing in San Francisco and New York, Spoke Art's 'Quentin vs Coens' exhibit made its final stop in LA. The show was much bigger than I expected with floor to ceiling works, featuring art inspired by the films of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers proved a big draw. This was one of Beyond Eden's more packed rooms.