"Audrey"

by Lori Earley

Lori Earley's oil paintings are a combination of classical realistic rendering with a personal element of distortion. This distortion comes from her innate desire to transform her emotions into tangible planes that express what she feels, not what she sees. Painting has always been a means of self-expression for her. Therefore, she paints because she must, not necessarily because she wants to. Subconsciously or not, the figures she paint are a reflection of herself and whatever mood she is in at the time, so every painting is in essence a self-portrait. Each mood is distinct, ranging from subliminal, cryptic expressions to more cognitive states of being and the eyes of her subjects are often the primary focus of expression.

Lori's work is a fusion of personal experiences and influences - moody atmospheres, Victorian-inspired couture, and timeless elements all laced with clandestine symbolism. The figures she paints exist in their own esoteric realm and time, and each painting offers a glimpse into their anomalous world.

You can find more of Lori's work at her website, LoriEarley.com.

"Judith with the Head of Holofernes"

by Lacey Lewis

The artist says, "I was inspired to paint 'Judith with the Head of Holofernes' by the many artists who had painted her before me, especially Artemisia Gentileschi and Gustav Klimt. Not only was I interested in painting this subject to feel connected with history, but also to portray a strong female historical character through my unique vision. Each rendition of Judith has its own flavor, influenced by the artist who created it and the time period it was created in. I am fascinated by this, and will no doubt revisit this and other historical subjects in the future.

For my version of Judith with the Head of Holofernes, I strived to depict a triumphant Judith standing over the severed head of the conquered Holofernes. I chose to create a painting that shows a scene after the event of his beheading, as opposed to showing the gory deed itself, to focus on not only Judith’s daring, determination, and victory, but also symbolically as a universal expression of the desire to defeat inequality and oppression in general."


An award winning contemporary realist figurative artist who paints in a classical style, Lacey Lewis was raised in Syracuse, NY and migrated to Kansas to escape the snow and cultivate a new future. Working mainly in oil, she employs traditional techniques and is committed to the revival of realist standards and archival methods. Her preferred subject matter is the human form, as she senses that all of humanity, throughout time and space, regardless of race, gender or age, share common experiences and emotions. It is therefore natural for her to identify with and communicate through images of people. The human subject forces the viewer to engage the artwork and enables the artist to express an entire range of ideas from the subtle to the intense. As a woman, Lacey instinctively relates to images of women in art. It is vital that her art, at a minimum, expresses the beauty that she observes; often that expression of beauty is an end in itself. Other times, it is used as a lure to entice the viewer to look a little longer so that a deeper meaning may be revealed to them. Through her narratives, she expresses various psychological states and processes, such as the inner turmoil that often ensues after an emotional trauma. Delighted by the variety among humanity, Lacey also work in portraiture, regularly taking on private commissions. You can find more of her work at her website, LaceyLewis.com, and her blog, Lacey's Studio. She can also be reached via e-mail.

"Dust"

by Karen Preston

The artist says, "This piece just came out of things I have read and things I have seen. Ideas and pictures form in my head. That’s how most of my art comes together.

I have always felt that art is magic. There is such an excitement that comes with creating something from nothing. One moment you have a blank space, and the next, there's a new world in front of you. When I finish a piece that I like, it's an incredible high. I can't sleep the night I finish a piece.

It takes between a week and forever to complete a piece. Some come easily, while others take much longer. Like many artists, I feel the ones that come easy are sent to me from somewhere else. Wherever that is, I am grateful for the glimpse inside."

You can find more of Karen Preston's work at her Etsy shop, and she can be reached via e-mail.

"In the Woods"

by CJ Metzger

The artist says, "'In the Woods' is an acrylic painting on wood with mixed media elements (vintage collaged papers). It is one of many portraits I’ve been creating that feature women among nature surrounded by various animals and landscapes. I am very interested in exploring human beings and their relationship with their natural environments, creating characters that subtly reveal their own unique stories, and allowing the viewer to interpret them however it moves them."


CJ Metzger paints in acrylics and collage, blending narrative, surreal and whimsical imagery. Her work is increasingly influenced by her 5-year old daughter, fairy tales, and her observations of relationships between humans, nature & the environment.

The daughter and granddaughter of artists, CJ began creating art out of an uncontrollable need to communicate this innate visual energy. In doing so she found that people adored the character-based, folk art inspired pieces and found them unique and endearing. CJ’s career continues to thrive in multiple directions including exhibiting in numerous solo and group shows, collaborating with her artist sister Miss Mindy, designing vinyl toys, and writing & illustrating her own children’s book. You can find more of her work at her website, and she can be contacted via e-mail.

Forgotten

by Andrea Heimer

Andrea Heimer is a self-taught artist and former Montana resident now living in the beautiful Northwest. She taught herself to paint and eventually to silk screen, inspired by the repetitious nature of the latter. Her belief is that art should demand attention and she accomplishes this in her own work with the use of bright colors and bold black lines. Heimer uses her lack of formal training to her advantage by making her pieces unencumbered by visual rules. She loves her husband, her pony, her cat, and Bloody Mary's (her very favorite drink).

You can find more of her work at her website, AndreaHeimer.com.

One Strawberry for Two

by Brandi Milne

Brandi Milne is a hardworking artist. The painted world she has created is laced with innocence, awkward beauty and a sense of great sorrow. She focuses on an emotional connection with her viewers, and seasons each piece with a unique playfulness – a combination she has mastered. Her work can be found in galleries throughout the Los Angeles area, and in other cities across the US. Her first children’s book will be released in June ’08 with baby tattoo books, so keep your eyes on this one.

You can find more of Brandi's work at her website, BrandiMilne.com.

Self-Portrait

by Kate Payne

The artist tells us that this portrait is 16X20 oil on masonite. Under the direction of Austin painter David Ohlerking, Kate is learning about color and brush strokes. Poet-turned-paint training is going well because color parallels word choice and brush strokes are similar to sentences with different components of varying importance. Kate's first paintings debuted in February 2008; this is her third attempt at painting.



Kate Payne's poetry has been featured on NPR by Garrison Keillor. Austin lured Kate from Tucson, Arizona where she earned her B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology. Interested in mixing media and mediums, she collects anything that seems handy or old. Her recent hobbies include painting self-portraits, avoiding housework diligently, and staring at her vegetable garden. Look for Kate's forthcoming poetry in "The Arms of Progress 2008 AD: analog dialogue", a series of photograph and poem diptychs opening at Progress Coffee on Sat. June 7, 2008.

Welcome Communication

by Eileen Doughty

Copyright © 2002 E. F. Doughty and Utah Public Art Program

The artist says, "This is a triptych commissioned by the Utah Public Art Program. It hangs in the reception area of the Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville, Utah. The colors and landscape were inspired by the American West.

Some of the symbology of the quilt, therefore, relates to Sign Language and Barrier Free Communication. The circles on the large tree have the manual alphabet drawn on in metallic foil, and the ground around the tree has over forty quilted pictorial sign language 'words'. The words relate to what the patrons of the community center might feel or do while they are there, for example: enjoy, celebrate, welcome, curious, dream, imagine, pleasant, succeed, teach, together, community, challenge, group, interact, advocate/support, and share. The tree itself has branches suggestive of a hand, and similarly there are five roots. The circles flowing between the large tree and the group of distant trees represent barrier free communication.

I learned sign language when I was a cartographer, many years ago, and supervised deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing cartographers. I was delighted to be able to use my knowledge of this wonderful, expressive language again."


Eileen Doughty founded Doughty Designs in 1991 and has been creating commissioned textile artwork, primarily landscape wall quilts, ever since. She loves the concept of “place” and previously worked as a cartographer. In 2001 she founded Q&A Quilt Artists, a regional group formed to share, critique, promote, and exhibit art in the form of nontraditional quilts. From 2002-06 Eileen was the co-representative for Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina for Studio Art Quilts Associates and is now the Website Coordinator. She has taught workshops and lectured in several states. Eileen's quilts have been shown in numerous exhibitions on five continents. They are in private, government and corporate collections in the United States and Japan. Eileen can be reached via e-mail, and you can find more of her work at her website, Doughty Designs.

Weddings Bored Her, Even Her Own

by Ann Marshall

Emotion and drama abound in Ann Marshall's complicated and imaginative works. Her subjects seemingly inhabit private interior worlds, but these are no fantasized utopias. By marrying both abstract and representational styles, Marshall's fragile creations hint at the uneasy compromise of individuals existing in chaotic, conflicting, and sometimes overwhelming environments. She remains sympathetic without simplifying, and respects the contradictions and complications within her individual subjects. Her deftly rendered pastel portraits share the same composition as her elaborate collages, and these two seemingly discordant techniques combine to form something unexpectedly intuitive and organic. Subjects remain inexplicably tied with their surrounding world, all steeped in a bizarre biological decadence. The complicated result is slightly unsettling, deeply feminine, and startling beautiful.


Ann Marshall grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from School of Visual Arts in New York City. She has worked in a gallery, illustrated children's books and traveled nationally and internationally as an ethnographer and consumer anthropologist. She now works as a portrait and fine artist. You can find more of her work at her website, AnnMarshallArt.com, and you can contact her via email.

Arches

by Rebecca Stern

Rebecca Stern is a landscape photographer and an avid outdoors enthusiast. She has traveled widely to capture moments in time from the wealth of nature’s library. Her work strives to capture the essence of a scene and resonates the connections with the spirituality and beauty of nature in all its realism. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College and is currently completing her final year in a Master of Fine Arts degree program in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta.


Her work has been presented at multiple juried shows around the country, including those at the Bridge Art Fair in Miami, the Rayko Center for Photography in San Francisco and at the Housatonic Museum of Art in Connecticut. In November 2007, she served as curator and organizer of a juried show at Art House in Atlanta, Georgia. You can find more of Rebecca's work at her website, RebeccaSternPhotography.com, and you can reach her via email.

Autumn Princess

by May Ann Licudine

The artist says, "I made this piece after I was very inspired by my own garden. This medium was acrylics + colored pencils + leaves (from my garden) on Philippine native wood."


May Ann's work can be found at sites all around the Internet, including MayAnnLicudine.com, her blog, Flickr, Deviant Art, MySpace and YouTube.

Flora

by Myrna Wacknov

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1942, Myrna was already demonstrating an unusual ability and interest in art as early as 5 years old. Her passion for color and for portraiture and figurative work have been ongoing themes since childhood. She studied with world renowned portrait artist Frank Szaz as a teenager and learned to paint in oils in the Old Master's technique. Myrna started her own company, Myrna Wacknov, Designs, Inc. in 1982 and has worked in many art mediums. In 2000 she began her love affair with watercolor. She has taken many workshops with top watercolorists including Joseph Bohler, Catherine Anderson, Roland Roycraft, Judy Morris Charles Reid, Arne Westerman, Frank Francase, Carla O'Connor and Karen Frey. She participated in "Watercolor Beyond the Obvious" (WBTO) with Mike Bailey. She received Signature Membership in the National Watercolor Society in 2005 and in the California Watercolor Society in 2007. In addition, Myrna has won numerous awards through exhibiting with the California Watercolor Association Blackhawk Gallery. Myrna's work is currently on exhibit at the Concord Gallery in Concord, California, where she was the featured artist for October, November and December, 2007. She is available to give demonstrations for art organizations and present 5 day workshops in Watercolor Portraiture.


Myrna continues to explore watercolor's limitless range of possibilities with a special emphasis on color, dramatic impact, and textures. Her figurative work seeks out the universal communication of humanity through expression and gesture. You can find more of her work at her website, MyrnaWacknov.com and at her blog.

The Reader (detail)

by Jennifer Zwick

The artist says, "My constructed-narrative photographs are nonlinear short stories. They focus on bizarrely adventurous young girls populating beautiful but uneasy worlds. To create these images, I draw from childhood fantasies and memories, then construct life-sized environments. By pushing these scenarios to an extreme conclusion, the girls become metaphors for our hyper-real childhood selves, where remembered emotions become stronger through time. In this particular image, a young girl sits dwarfed by stacks of books that rise in tandem with the surrounding trees. The books are bound in bright colors which glow in hues of candy, disparate from their subject matter: Concrete in Transportation, Patriotism Limited: 1862-1865; all will eventually be absorbed. Hints of future learning, further back in her stacks, show less academic lessons: To Be A VICTIM hovers behind her, in the midst of math and science and philosophy."

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and raised in a small American town a few hours from the border, Jennifer Zwick now lives and works in Seattle, Washington. While attending the University of Washington, she started out double-majoring in both Photography and Creative Writing – Short Story, before realizing that she could use photos to merge the two. You can find more of her work at her website, JenniferZwick.com.

Singing Stream

by Cathie Bleck

The artist says, "When I was a girl, I fell in love with darkness. The tools I work with--pen, ink and clayboard--became natural choices for someone drawn to observe and record the world in close detail, and to best orchestrate the balance between opposing forces: light, dark; intimate, huge; static, moving. I am also drawn to my medium's affinity with wood engraving, which evokes references to former artistic traditions and styles. My imagery is thus layered with this synthesis of contrasts both personal and historic."

Cathie Bleck, an artist whose medium of choice is scratchboard, describes herself as a “spiritually minded” and sometimes “surrealist” artist. Bleck produces art which contemplates past and present stories dealing with the human condition. She has received numerous national awards for her work, most notably a gold medal from the Museum of American Illustration at The Society of Illustrators in New York City. Seven of her eight siblings, as well as her parents, are artists and designers. She was raised in rural Illinois on her grandparents' tree nursery and within this setting, she developed a fascination with the sinuous forms in nature, which are reflected in her multi-dimensional form of storytelling.

Throughout her career, numerous international commissions underline the importance of Bleck’s work. Some of these include stamps for the U. S. Postal Service, Sony Records, Warner Brother Records, Rockefeller Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Carter Center, Random House, Fararr, Straus, and Giroux, The New York Times, Washington Post, Nestle, Habitat for Humanity, U.S. State Dept. Earth Day Poster and recently “Dante’s Divine Comedy” book cover for Barnes and Noble.

Bleck has exhibited in several galleries internationally and her work is in the collection of The Butler Institute of American Art and the Library of Congress as well as many private and public collections.

A definitive art collection of her work from a book entitled, “Open Spaces” was published in 2006. Two upcoming museum solo exhibitions of her work will be held in 2008: The New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut from February 8th through April 27th, with a reception and book signing on February 24th and at The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio: September 14th through October 26th.

You can find more of Cathie's work at her website, CathieBleck.com, as well as at Drawger.com.

Bubble Vision Sharpens

by Jude Cowell

Pencil artist Jude Cowell won't deny the remnants of the fashion illustration, layout and design classes she took at the Atlanta College of Art many moons ago when the institution was but a school on Peachtree Street within the High Museum of Art. Settling on first-love pencil drawing after years of creating lines of wire/candle art, felt and paper collage, and a line of hand-sewn evening bags/accessories for ladies and children seemed a happy idea to Jude in 1995 and continues until the present. Favorite brands are Prismacolor oil and Rexel Derwent watercolour pencils, most often applied to black paper, occasionally to white. An attempt is sometimes made to capture a 'snapshot of frozen action' flavor whenever possible. Art as pseudo-photo? From botanical drawings of tropical fish (a peek into their imaginary undersea worlds) which can be found at Dreamyfish Art to Children's Art viewable at Secret Moon Art, you may discover a variety of themes in Jude's pencil art, in spite of yourself! Somewhat racier art fare (for the 17+ers among us) is published at Cosmic Persona Designs, an online gallery of figure studies and other mask-related images of stage and backstage. A few ballerinas and a fairy or two may appear here and there, on this blog or that ... complimentary! Jude can be contacted via email and her downloads are available at Lulu Storefront.

Girl with Pterodactyl 2.0

by Liz Adams

The artist says, "This piece was made with acrylics and spray paint on wood. It shows a young woman holding a giant acorn to give to a pterodactyl she has befriended."

Liz Adams is an artist and illustrator based in Los Angeles. Her whimsical and offbeat work has been described as a "rock 'n' roll fantasy land." Much of her inspiration comes from childhood, the desert, and animals. She has illustrated for many magazines and bands as well as shown her artwork in galleries throughout the United States. You can find more of her work at her website, Liz-Adams.com.

"Mighty Girl"

by Maria Rendón

Maria Rendón was born and raised in Mexico City. She received a BFA at Universidad Anahuac in Mexico and a BFA at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Maria illustrated a children’s book of Native American riddle-poems titled “Touching the Distance” by Brian Swann. She has received awards and recognitions from the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Communication Arts, 3 Dimensional Awards Show, Alternative Pick and Society of Publication Designers. Her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout Southern California. Maria has lectured about design and illustration at several universities and she teaches at Art Center College of Design. She lives and works in Santa Barbara, California. You can find more of her work at her website, MariaRendon.com.

"Thalia"

by Ange Fitzgerald

Ange Fitzgerald grew up in & around Omaha, Nebraska, living briefly in New York City and spending several years in Seattle before landing in Dallas. She majored in English and minored in Art & (Film) Photography at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

She is mostly self-taught in the art of digital photography and got her start when a friend loaned her his camera on a road trip to Austin a few years ago.

In addition to photography, she works as a project manager for Siemens Corporation, is VP of the Goddess Squad (using their powers for good, not evil), CEO and Co-Founder of Team Sexy, part-time political activist, Sage Ryan’s Mom and Sam & Jack’s favorite Auntie. She began to grasp the medium in which she felt her creativity was best expressed two years ago when she started taking her camera everywhere.


She has since upgraded from the Canon 20D to the 5D and has developed an enduring love affair with her 16-35mm wide angle lens.

In her pictures, she communicates her impressions of life, ordinary things, favorite places, family and friends. Looking at lines, textures and colors through a lens is how she follows her bliss and it is her hope that you will perhaps find meaning, humor, beauty and charm represented in her photos.

For her first show at the Magnolia Gallery in April of this year she selected her best-loved portraits taken on the streets of New York, and of family and friends in Nebraska and Texas. Ange is planning a second exhibit of her work featuring objects and scenes shot in New York and Dallas and she is looking forward to traveling abroad and shooting Europe next year. Her daughter, her dog, family, friends, supporting live local music, spending quality time with her pet carrier pigeon and most trusted confidante, Frank, the city of Manhattan and the shooting and editing process that goes into creating her images are her primary passions... ...and shoe-shopping.

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c o n t a c t i n f o
ANGE F. DOES PHOTOGRAPHY
www.angefitzgerald.com
angelina.fitzgerald@gmail.com
214.733.2806

Anger in Purple

by Leigh Young

Leigh Young, the artist, says, "Anger in Purple was a rebellion against the happy, always smiling cartoons and pinups I happened to be doing at the time. Just a little something to get it out of my system so I could get back into the smiley stuff again. It was all done in vector using Adobe Illustrator CS2 version. I just scanned a pencil sketch and used that as my base to “ink” and
colour on top of."

Leigh Young has been freelancing as an illustrator and graphic designer since 1997 and has been lucky enough to get work doing everything from designing toys to t-shirts, lottery tickets to microgaming. Her background is in animation and she has managed to apply just about everything she learned in it to her art. She works in pencil, ink and on her trusty Mac, using Adobe Illustrator as her weapon of choice. You can find more of her work at her website, LeighYoung.com.

Dibujos inspirados en la película Groemul (the Host)

by Ana Galvan

Ana Galvan was born in Murcia, in the south of Spain. She attended a Secondary School of Art. She then studied Fine Arts in Valencia and Design in Southampton. Ana is currently working for a publicity agency in Madrid. She has been working on some personal illustration and comic projects for some time now. You can find more of her work at her website, AnaGalvan.com, and on her blog, Elmyra Duff.