Ann Metzger National Biennial Exhibition

Artwork And Statements

Bill Abendroth

I’ve been a woodworker all of my adult life. I have always been inspired by the natural beauty of wood. As I often say “Mother Nature does good work”. I’m normally opposed to using stains since I want to show off the natural beauty and warmth of a beautiful piece of wood. However (and it’s a big HOWEVER), as an artist, I love to “play with color”. The different hues of the artist paints provide an almost infinite number of possible color combinations.

My current body of work manages to combine the natural warmth and beauty of wood and my desire to “play with color”. Although I prefer not to stain wood, I do sometimes fall victim to the alluring call of some dyes or stains.

There is an old saying that no amount of color or surface decoration can make up for bad form. I find this to be especially true with my work so I spend a lot of time perfecting the shapes. Sometimes an ⅛ of an inch is the difference between a successful implementation or a clumsy and awkward piece. The Moody Blues had an album in 1968 titled “In Search of the Lost Chord”. I guess my life could be titled “In Search of the Perfect Shape”.

Wood can have a somewhat iridescent quality so I use this to my advantage by using segmented construction. Segmented construction is where wedges or pie shaped pieces of wood are glued together to form a circle. This technique provides a very stable vessel, allows me to show off very precise joinery and provides those iridescent qualities as the light strikes the piece from different angles. After the vessel is assembled it is turned on a lathe and then paint and metal foil are added to complete the look. Although no two pieces are the same, 40 to 50 applications of primer, paint, foil, and clear coat are not unusual.

Dora Agbas

I investigate. my environment by collecting, sorting, organizing , and experimenting with materials which present themselves in the place I inhabit. My attention is focused on the non-man-made. Above all, I am inspired by flora: I am intrigued by the quiet strength and immense growing power of plants.
Material manipulations by simple primeval techniques result in haptic knowledge. This elemental understanding and learning based on touch and playful experimentation generates new artifacts, which combine and transform these materials.
I entice the viewer to notice the commonly overlooked. I invite them to acknowledge and appreciate the ephemerality of materials. My construction reorganize materials and reimagine them in new forms. My work touches on life, death, and renewal; just as all of nature is constantly in the process of transforming.

doraagbas.com

Miguel de Aguero

The pattern embodies a set of rules, principles and assumptions.
The pattern provides the skeleton that supports the rest of the image.
The pattern evokes a certain time, a certain flavor, or a certain memory.
The pattern sets the eye?s clock as it ticks around the image.
The pattern defines a very small world, but it contains everything.

Renee Alyson

My work stems from nature and is filtered through my experiences. It has representational tendencies and straightforward narratives. The rural setting in which I live provides a wealth of visual intimacies with nature.

http://reneealyson.net

Kayla Bailey

My current body of work is primarily embroidery, embellishment and applique. I am also branching out to include wooden elements in order to give my pieces more depth. Throughout the artworks, the main themes are science and nature. Some pieces are stitched from patterns I made using an amalgamation of photos that I have taken. Others use images from the lenses of microscopes and telescopes to blend together the visual similarities between the micro and macro world. Lately, I find myself struck by the fact that while humans are making a massive impact on the health of the planet, we are also small and inconsequential in the grand scheme of the universe. I hope that when people see my work it makes them curious.

https://kaylabailey51.wixsite.com/kaylabailey

April Behnke

Eldon Benz

Art - Fun - Whimsy - Process.

Balance is lacking in our world today. Making otherwise discardable materials into something interesting, fun, and balanced is my challenge.

There is no one process. A large part of the art is selecting and manipulating the media to fulfill the fleeting vision of the day. Can the vision and the materials at hand generate enough internal interest to become a complete tangible object, just bits and pieces on the work bench, or just a figment?

http://www.eldonbenz.com

Sarah Blumenfeld

Sarah Blumenfeld is an American studio artist working in charcoal and oil. Her artwork combines classical figurative training with more contemporary expression.
Painting within the tradition of realism and often from a full-frontal perspective offers a powerful moral counterforce to the world’s current climate of false narrative and dissociation. Sarah’s artwork presents the urgent observations of an artist awakening and sharpening her senses. Both her naked gaze, and her gaze at nakedness, signify the dropping of veils and looking boldly at the world.

In 2017, Sarah Blumenfeld imagined and and co-founded the Gateway Academy of Classical Art, in St. Louis, Missouri, recognizing her community’s need for a challenging skill-based traditional art curriculum and a place for artists to draw and paint from life every day. She hosted many internationally renowned artists who visited St. Louis to teach master workshops.

After retiring from her work at GACA during the pandemic, Sarah intensified her studio practice, painting from life and continuing her art studies in New York and abroad. Her creative influences include the artists Velasquez, Manet, Picasso, and Neel, numerous poets and writers, and her experiences as a mother, a writer, a poet, a lawyer, and a teacher of law and literature.

Robert Bolla

A photograph gives a photographer a voice to ask or answer a question, record a time in history or study the relationship of art and science. This voice tells the story by asking the viewer to examine the image, step into it and then write their own “novel” or story about what they see or feel. It urges the viewer to use his or her imagination to both experience the image and to learn from it. In today’s world digital photography and the digital darkroom gives the photographer easy access to many tools with which to enhance an image or alter it to better tell a story; it is easier for the photographer to use his or her imagination. It also gives the photographer the opportunity to take the image back to the time of early photography when monochrome images emerged from the developer and were printed with chemical modifications to give them personality. A photographer can now, using post processing turn a photograph into a simulation of a “painting” if that better expresses the intent of the image. When working with wildlife photography the photograph should depict animals in their natural habitat and should express some aspect of the ecology of the animal, i.e., how does it live, where does it live, how does it survive, what is life about for the animal, how has it evolved to fit into its environment? Often this is done best with a monochrome image. Does a monochrome image of a small group of zebras in a plain in Africa distort the art and beauty of these black and white striped animals or does it tell something different about them? Landscape photography offers a different challenge to storytelling. A riverside house collapsing into the water tells the story of a faded dream whether it is printed as a color photo or as a monochrome image which may better express the loss and loneliness of the faded dream. Oft times however, color best expresses the mood of the photo and if the color photo is manipulated to an abstraction that story may even a bit more different and may invite the viewer to step onto the bridge over the steam in the shady glen. The photographer may find one answer from the photo and the viewer another, thus opening a discussion and a knowledge base. A photograph gives a photographer a voice.

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/robert-bolla

Marilynne Bradley

My painting requires endless change, experimentation, and variation both in content and technique. I begin blocking out the darks and details of the composition. The action of the brushwork is part of my energy to establish the movement of the subject matter. Color, contrast and composition are the key elements to any of my paintings.

http://www.marilynnebradley.com

Madeline Brice

http://www.madelinebrice.com

Paul Burkhardt

http://paulmatthewburkhardt.com

Tiélere Cheatem

Bold, ethereal, rich in whimsicality, a nouveau artist with a modern queer sensual twist. These are just a few words to describe The Rusty Artist?s work. Tiélere Cheatem is a daring artist whose vibrant and emotionally charged oil paintings showcase the beauty of expression through the male form. Cheatem?s artistic career has quickly grown popularity, leaving a lasting impression across the United States, Canada, and the UK. A St. Louis native, and contributor to the local Theatre scene. Cheatem was awarded Best in Show with the Metro Trans Umbrella Group?s (MTUG) art show and has had work appear in productions such as The St. Louis Actor?s Studio?s Predilections, Rebel & Misfits Productions? Macbeth: Come Like Shadows, Community Arts Festival Live at The Grandel, and Fly North?s world premiere of The Gringo. Cheatem recently partnered with Painted Black STL an organization created to empower black artists and partner them with local businesses to paint their boards in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

http://www.therustyartist.com

Emily Choi

As a native of South Korea, my work reflects the influence of my early experiences with the East Asian style of ink painting, I have always been intrigued by the idea of leaving space for breath in my work.

I want my artworks to draw the viewer into a relaxed and flowing space, so I work to create a subtle interplay between the positive and negative spaces in my work, inviting the viewer to engage freely with these flowing landscapes.

Kelly Cook

http://Kellycookart.com

Douglas Dale

How does our identity differ from our exterior presentation? How does our history of gendered materials apply to a transgender landscape? My practice investigates these questions, revolving around the creation of Second Skins:, currently contouring yarn to trace grain on found wood. My work embraces antinomy, encouraging the radical idea of “both.” Proudly nonbinary, I extend my own queering unto inanimate objects: mixing masculine and feminine materials, marrying textile and sculpture.

http://douglas-dale.com

Karen Elshout

I am a retired photojournalist, but have always been drawn to sculpture. I began in high school, and was able to work again when I had a studio for about 5 years in the early 2000s. The last six years I've been studying at St. Louis Community College at Meramec in their art department. I was fortunate to find a studio right before the pandemic, and have produced many pieces during this period.

http://www.karenelshout.com

Tracey Farmer-Luster

Tracey Farmer-Luster is a avid yet amateur photographer. Her love of nature and the outdoors drew her to photography which allows her to capture those moments of awe and wonder she often experiences during a weekend hike or casual outing.

Suzy Farren

As a writer for my entire career, I focused on my intellectual self to identify the precise words to communicate a concept. My art evokes a very different side of me. When I create a piece, I rely on emotion and intuition. I feel rather than think. I allow myself to be imperfect and spontaneous. I incorporate mistakes into my finished pieces because they are the voice of my subconscious. I am drawn to the raw, the unfinished, the ragged. I relish the physicality of ripping canvases into rectangles onto which I stitch, paint, make marks and glue objects.

Michael Frank

Michael Frank has been painting for over 40 years. Because of his attention to detail, coloring and strong direction of light, he puts his viewers at a magical place while in a magical moment.

http://www.MikeFrankEnchantedVisions.com

Ghazal Ghazi

My work seeks to expand the restricted nodes of modality within which diasporic bodies from the Global South are relegated, wherein macro-power structures interweave with generational memory in the physical corpus of the body, the painting, and the text. The paintings illuminate contemporary issues facing the Iranian-American and broader SWANA (Southwest Asian North African) communities, within the context of diaspora, migration, state violence, and the trans-generational transmission of culture. This body of work shows great promise ? in 2021, a painting from this series was chosen as a semifinalist in the National Portrait Gallery?s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022 at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

My work addresses (un)belonging and intergenerational embodied memories in the context of transnational migration. In these tapestry paintings, familial and community portraits are the primary vehicle for exploring memory, language, and immigration. These portraits intervene in the genre of portraiture by translating the symbolic language of carpet weaving in order to create subversive genealogical tools that re-imagine resistance across time and space. The stitching on the tapestry painting creates a metaphorical language of the (inter)woven, wherein the matriarch engages in the archivist work of collecting, preserving, and transmitting generational memory.
In these works, the patchwork corpus of the brown immigrant body politic is a site of compulsory racialization and transnational state violence wherein dual nationalities result in dual (un)belongings. The question transforms into the resurrection of trans-generational, trans-national memory, the radical (re)framing of power within and despite imposed hegemonic structures that frame human lives.

Michelle Graf

https://michellegraf.com/

Donna Hasegawa

My work is about abstract compositions, both simple and complex that express ideas of nature, music, and spiritual truth, through color and form.

I begin a painting by making marks on the canvas, through writing ideas and inspirations, followed by transparent washes that transform into a patina of color. I step back and respond to these initial marks by adding and subtracting colors to create shapes. Some areas are left transparent allowing a juxtaposition of transparency and thick paint, suggesting ideas of matter and spirit.

I chose to use oil paint and mixed media in my work. I like the smell of oil paint and find it lends an expressive quality to brush work. I find mixed media, use of paper and paint, can be just as fluid and expressive in the process.

The influence of art history in my work derives from Prehistoric Man, Impressionism, and Abstract Expressionism. I am fascinated with the cave paintings of Lascaux. I love the studies of light Monet explored. And, I love the passion and freedom of the Abstract Expressionist.

I continue to find inspiration from mystical ideas. I find the inner states of consciousness achieved through stillness can be expressed as inner landscapes of spirit.

art-donna-hasegawa.com

Joshua Heimsoth

In my body of work the main themes that consistently reoccur are sculptures with a post industrial aesthetic, shrines/altars that are religious in origin or works that combine both concepts. These themes recur alongside the observation that our society seems to treat industry as sacred, or even religious and most religions seem to mirror many practices of corporations. Both religion and industry are capable of very positive things and each has contributed beautiful additions to cultures throughout the world. But these same entities are also responsible for great suffering. Neither is inherently bad, but blind trust in either is dangerous and examples abound throughout time from the crusades to DDT that both parties should be viewed through a lens of sensible caution.

Within my work you will see filigree and pulpits, bolted flanges and welds. All of my work incorporates the aesthetics of industry, religion or both. Going past the surface I infuse each piece with something from these two major sources that has sparked my interest and lingered long enough to incubate into a concept for my art. It may be extremely serious dealing with death on a global scale or poking fun at the absurd transparency of corporate greed. Through all my pieces I try to present a viewpoint that is honest about its biases and encourage the viewer to think about the topic and draw a conclusion independently for themselves. In a world insidiously laced with propaganda and personal bias I believe it is important to respect my audience as intelligent people with the ability to draw conclusions about my commentary on their own. In my work I try to show a small cross section of the beauty found in utilitarian industrial design and the intentional opulence of religious art while drawing attention to the absurdities that exist within both power structures.

http://www.joshuaheimsothart.com

Ryan Horvath

http://www.ryanhorvathart.com

Robert Hunter

https://www.washingtonprintmakers.com/artists

Joe Jacobson

My goal in art is simple: To make beautiful things that people want to look at for a long time, again and again.

http://www.JoeArtist.us

Steve Juras

My work is based on a daily drawing practice and the ritual it provides. My most recent activity has generated a body of work dealing with primitive vessels, abstracted figures and contemporary pattern work. Concepts underpinning this direction include methods of (museum) display, self-representation and identity.

http://stevejuras.com

Robert Kokenyesi

I intend to tell bursts of stories of elegance, beauty and vulnerability of the creatures that live on beaches and in the oceans, stories of the humbling and unstoppable power of the waves and currents, stories of menacing and enigmatic mysteries emerging to us on the beach or in the depth of the oceans.

http://www.beachfrontpottery.com

Ken Konchel

As a photographer, I am drawn to the expressive power of buildings. Provocatively capturing architecture in an abstract, graphic way keenly interests me. My intention is to make compelling photographs that remove the context and distill architecture to nothing but relationships of shape, line, pattern, detail, tone and/or texture.

Architecture forms the physical environment of our lives. It connects us to the past, it helps define our relationships to one another, and it gives us a sense of place and identity. Architecture also embodies our values and expresses our individual and collective aspirations. And most importantly, architecture enhances and advances our creative legacy. Yet something so integral to the sense of who we are - something that contributes immeasurably to our quality of life – is often dismissed as mundane, taken for granted, or at worst ignored. My ambition is to raise awareness of and appreciation for architecture by presenting it as engaging and dynamic geometric arrangements and interactions. More concisely expressed, I use photography to substantiate the connection between art and architecture.

In its early days, photography was referred to as the art of fixing a shadow. What a novel, yet appropriate definition. Taking some liberty with that reference, I would describe my photography style as the art of fixing a building, portraying architecture in original ways that include:
- calibrating precisely the placement of all lines, shapes, forms, and shadows to end at the edges of the composition,
- showcasing the range and subtlety of black and white photographic values by depicting the interplay of lights and shadows buildings evoke,
- exploiting unusual vantage points to craft spatial ambiguities between buildings,
- flattening space, to fashion collages in which buildings are juxtaposed on the same plane,
- highlighting a building’s repetitive elements to suggest associations and contrasts between recurring facets,
- cropping negatives tightly to generate altered perspectives of buildings,
- concentrating on a building’s sculptural qualities to reinforce its design,
- utilizing the sky as an integral feature of a composition to accentuate a building’s contour, and
- isolating a distinct architectural component to emphasize a building’s essence.

My aim is to photograph buildings in arresting ways, creating compositions that do not immediately reveal themselves as architecture. Buildings present rich opportunities for me to imaginatively explore the angle, the cube, the curve, the triangle, and the rectangle. By examining these forms individually or by grouping them into unconventional configurations, I aspire to challenge and captivate people by introducing them to architecture’s intriguing visual possibilities. I strive to take photographs that disclose their content in layers of meaning that more richly reward with repeated viewings. I also hope to convey the value of patience and observation, and the power of making careful choices.

The celebrated photographer Minor White once said “I photograph not for what a thing was, but for what else it might be.” These words perfectly and eloquently express my own motivation in photographing architecture.

http://www.kenkonchelphoto.com

William Krug

Through my work, I try to clarify my views on world events and culture, while aspiring to irony and humor. It's an egocentric exercise that's both therapeutic and entertaining. My art cheers me up though I make no claims for the impact of my art on others.

I rely on traditional oil painting techniques. I jokingly call my style a form of Queer Surrealist Symbolism and hope it is engaging and provocative.

http://www.williamkrug.net

William McNeil

https://willmcneil.artstation.com/

Amy Miller

My mixed media and oil paintings are a contemporary take on 18th century Romanticism with narratives illuminated by the whimsical and surreal.
I invite you to step into these dream-like worlds with me. Celestial skies and serene waters melt into abstract textures and patterns and vibrant colors engage your imagination.
My love of all things retro and vintage as well as my own personal memories, passion for travel and awe of nature inform my artistic vision. I blend these elements into powerful narratives that invite you to see beyond what you see, and think beyond what you already know.
I believe art can speak to places in us we didn’t even know existed. It meets us where we are and allows us to discover it at our own pace. I feel, through my art, I can addresses heavy topics with a sensitive perspective that speaks of understanding and pries open the door of hope.

www.millerartcreative.com

Emily Mohler

Constantly inspired by humans and their emotions, I seek to showcase how humans are interacting and feeling, either verbally or nonverbally. Through exploration of multiple mediums including painting, collage, and drawing, I constantly search for the strongest representation of those unsaid feelings, wants, and needs.

Anne Molasky

http://www.annemolasky.com

Allen Morris

A multitude of lines exist in the world that divide us from one another, some are visible, and others are more conceptual. Regardless of their physical or ethereal form, these demarcations also impact the opportunities that are afforded to those that inhabit the space on either side of the line, they determine how the land and resources are managed, but perhaps most notably ? these lines help us define who we are. 

The images that comprise ?The Same Dirt? question these lines, their importance, and explores their perceived permanence. By deconstructing these lines, my work opens up the spaces that these lines once enclosed and returns the whole of the land to a singular place. Further, the images deconstruct the idea of Place into some of its most basic components. While place can be defined in its simplest terms by the addition of narrative to space, borders become integral to the equation by separating the territories on which these narratives play out. 

http://www.allenmorrisphoto.com

Alex Paradowski

The satisfaction of being a multi-media artist is the freedom to explore and combine the endless possibilities available to create an image.

www.alexparadowski.com

Caroline Philippone

http://www.carolinephilippone.com

Kristi Ponder

My artwork focuses on the commonalities that the human race shares, instead of the differences that pull us apart. Through serene landscapes with large colorful skies, I emphasize the vastness of nature and the smallness of humans. The colors and angles are reminiscent of German Expressionism, while the foreground speaks to Surrealism.

https://sites.google.com/u/0/d/1AsohMHQuRLfgCZIH2TN82c_wno9xayGL/edit?authuser=0

Anna Reed

My work examines the boundary of the self in what is experienced in the physical body and what is experienced virtually. The boundaries between these versions become increasingly nebulous. I am exploring what is lived, felt, fragmented, and controlled.

I grew up at the pivotal time when the internet and digital cameras were just beginning to change mainstream culture. Landlines were replaced with cell phones, email replaced letters, digital cameras replaced darkrooms, inexpensive laptops replaced computer labs, and social media has since replaced everything else. Having lived with and without a virtual world I began to question both experiences and consider the points of intersection and overlap.

Our media saturated world shapes how we see and project ourselves by making daily events simultaneously precious and mundane. Through this virtual space we become simultaneously hyper connected and disconnected. I am exploring the issues of self and the variance of the self through changing digital forms and the use of media. Digital devices and online platforms create blurred boundaries between what is lived and what is observed. This work questions the sense of self through the images and information that is both curated and fragmented. Do we have a human future or have we become commodities that as we project and consume our own images? Is our future already automated and curated for us? Do we have a choice in the formation we seek or do we live in our own echo chambers? Our lives are often lived in response, or with intention, to the virtual world and this work questions both human choice and human agency.
In exploring these questions, I use my body as source images. My images are sources from Xerox, scans, and other low-fi devices creating an intimate performance between human and the machine. The physical body confronts the screen and pushes the boundary of human, device, and the virtual. The works exist in multiple forms; layered, collaged, printed, virtual, collaged creating a complexity between what exists digitally and what is physical.

http://www.annaoreed.com

Mary Rhein

Bob Rickert

The convergence of photography and digital imaging has created opportunities for images which no one really considered possible several years ago. It has also created more photographers than ever before. What separates photographers with various ability levels and training is their ability to see the various dimensions of the subjects. Being able to use a camera is not enough, one has to be able to see things differently in a way that viewers of images will find interesting or at least thought provoking. Hopefully, the way I see things differentiates my work from others and provides the viewer with a new and interesting perspective of everyday images.

http://www.bobrickertphotography.com

Dennis L. Ringering

The artist has always been interested in the symbols, images and objects that man makes. His current work evolved from his research of Native American petroglyphs and pictographs in the Southwest and the caves of France and Spain.

http://ringeringstudios.com

Marceline Saphian

My work is an effort to share with others feelings and responses that are difficult, if not impossible to put into words. Rather than copying nature, I use it to call on inner responses to what I observe. Subject matter is a point of departure rather than a destination. One of my interests at this time is using older work to add overlays of paint and collage. This leads me to new development as an artist, and I find it is a way of melding the past with the present and the future - a way of making time an unending continuum.

James Scheller

I work exclusively in glass; Kilnforming and casting at my Macoupin Prairie Glassworks studio in Staunton, Illinois near my childhood home of Mt. Olive. In September 2018, After 27 years, I moved from my forest home and studio - Chehalem Mountain Glassworks in Scholls, Oregon.
After a long career as an engineer and technologist I was taken hostage by glass kilnforming in 2012. I have dedicated myself to my craft and art. Extensive study of and experimentation with the medium is a passion and healthy addiction.
I enjoy creating pieces with depth and weight. Glass sheets, crushed glass (frit) and glass slabs (billets) are contained within dams and hand built plaster silica molds then fired to over 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. Fired works are then extensively coldworked for hours to achive the final finish.
Inspiration comes from a fascination or forms, textures and colors.
The most subtle details of natural and man-made objects, and objects imagined are studied. The engineer joins glass, heat and gravity to capture thoughts and memories. The works invite one to gaze inside and view the flows of the once molten glass; to get lost in the dance of light and color.

http://www.jimscheller.com

Marshall Sharpe

My artwork explores the intersection of my identity as a queer person and a White man. Growing up in the American South as the gay son of a Presbyterian pastor made me more sensitive to issues of social justice. Drawing on my own experience with alienation, my paintings explore the vulnerability of being seen for who you really are.

http://www.marshallsharpe.com

Judith Shaw

http://judithshaw.com

Natalie Shaw

In a move counterintuitive to our appetite for instant gratification, Natalie Shaw invites us to consider the fragility of things half-formed, and the role patience plays in their survival. Structurally exposed, the mixed media paintings explore themes of vulnerability, human flesh, and the power of process.

www.natalieshawart.com

Sampy Sicada

Sampy Sicada is an artist and designer from Hong Kong. He mainly practises art in traditional medium such as graphite, colour pencils and oil paints. The themes depicted in his work range from being grounded in real world ideas to the abstract and theoretical. His main interest is exploring social constructions through use of objects and the human form.

http://www.instagram.com/sicada_art

Shyun Song

Painting is not merely an aesthetic endeavor for me, but also an existential one. Life has always been the most intriguing subject to me. I see it as a giant sphere which coalesces with the myriad facets of the shared human experience. I aim to express how I perceive such facets on canvas.

I begin my delineation with a subject, which usually becomes the title of the painting. The delineation is succinct in order to capture the essence of the subject. I let my intuition dictate a geometric composition by applying my own symbolic logic. The lines, shapes, angles, and placements are formed and the color scheme follows. While executing it on canvas, I find myself instinctively improvising along the way to achieve its aesthetic value.

Art satisfies me fully as it demands all of my being, as well as that of the viewer. I believe that a total rapport through art can expand our souls.

http://www.shyunsong.com

Joanne Stremsterfer

Ria Unson

http://www.riaunson.com

Susan Wehrman

Susan didn’t set out to become an artist, but her passion for art began early on; in elementary school tempra paints, construction paper and ordinary glue represented a vision to be fulfilled. While other children longed for toys, her greatest excitement came from visits to the local hobby shop for paint-by-number kits. She would spend many marathon weekends working on these cardboard canvases.

Today, she specializes in pet and nature portraits; her artwork represents the special bond we share with the animals that have etched special places in our hearts. However diverse we may be, this love for our animals is universal and transcends all languages and borders. Her mission is to create realism and evoke emotion ? beyond two-dimensional photographs ? she wants to portray the spirit and essence of her subjects. By the time a piece is complete, having sculpted every curve of their faces and every nuance of their expression, she has come to know them intimately; and they have etched their place in her heart.

http://www.tippany.com

Mary Wertsch

I paint in acrylic on canvas. My subject matter is all over the place, but all my subjects have one thing in common: Beyond the aesthetic appeal of their composition, color, or other aspects, they snagged my imagination in some way. Over the past couple of years I allowed myself to explore a whimsical approach, which turned out to be a therapeutic and useful escape during the pandemic.

It began with a whimsical question: What if I painted a large canvas in a playing card format, using an animal rather than a human being on each royal face card, dressed to suit its imagined personality? I had such a good time with the first one, a Jack of Spades zebra warrior, that I went on to complete large paintings of 12 face cards, two jokers, and a cardback design. I took the whole thing far enough to produce an actual card deck that I sell.

In the wake of this very fun project, I decided that what the world really needs in a continuing nerve wracking pandemic is a deck of playing cards featuring reptiles playing sports. Obvious, I know. But I hear the word is out in the reptile community that this new 'deck' of paintings will soon be done!

David M. Yates

My involvement in drawing and painting birds started in college. After more than 25 years, I still have an enthusiasm for the topic, and I try to capture that excitement in each and every one of my compositions.

http://www.davidmyates.com

Shanlin Ye

I grew up in China and received my education in China. I moved to the US in 2012 and blended into this country of immigrants. Still I feel quite lost from time to time. After a couple of years of living in the US, I came to feel lost when I visit China, too.

Recently I have worked on paper with portraits and figures. I am fascinated by the fluidity and ungoverned nature of watercolor. I enjoy watching the water and the color dancing on paper. It is like a poem.

I paint portraits because they are so interesting individually and because we can engage with the power of emotion hidden from view. My portraits are not about realism or perfection; rather, they are about the opposite: the coarse, imperfect and aberrant. I try to reveal the unseen part of human existence and identity in my painting. It is a spiritual communication when I paint a portrait. I will be thrilled if you can find a way to 'talk' to the persons you meet in this body of work.

http://www.yeshanlinart.com

Barbara Zucker

I'm interested in historical processes and contemporary image making techniques.