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Some art is provocative, some is deep, some art is fun, some is pretty.  Some art is all of the above and some is none.  In our interviews with artists, one thing we’ve learned is that there is never a single statement or generalization that can be made about “art” or “artists.”  We’ve highlighted artwork from some of the artists we’ve had the honor of interviewing – we hope you’ll check out their work, follow the ones you connect with and perhaps support them through purchases and spreading the word about their work.

Chris Skeene

I hand-carve square headed figures that I call blockheads. I’m interested in bringing variety to the repetition of a single form. I love taking this one shape and pushing myself to somehow make it different each time. Sometimes adding to it and sometimes taking away. I take a lot of inspiration from collectable vinyl toys (Kidrobot, Bearbrick) and Pez dispensers. I used to collect Pez dispensers and I always enjoyed seeing a large display of them. Every one is the same but they are all different. Read More >>

EuGene V Byrd III

A few years ago, I stepped back and really looked at my body of work and I realized that I wasn’t telling my own story. I was addressing civil rights issue and things that were very important to me, but it wasn’t MY story. I realized that I was being guarded within my art. I wasn’t letting anyone in. For the last couple of years my work has organically become more personal. Some paintings are like dairy entries, while others I’m directly speaking to someone or the viewer. Sometimes I may not have the courage or unable to find correct words to speak out loud, but I can put it in my art. I talk though my paintings. Read More >>

Greg Noblin

My work comes in several forms as it’s mainly digital. I initially start with a mental image or a concept in my head. From there I gather all the elements I might need to complete the image. Next, I photograph everything I have for the picture and then cut out each element, stripping it from the environment I photographed it in. Following this I build the story in Photoshop and layer everything with textures I’ve either photographed or created myself. After the digital image is complete I export into another piece of software that divides the image into as many sheets as I want. I then print the large image, generally in the four to eight feet on the long end, over many sheets. Read More >>

Susan Kinsella

Painting provides balance in my life. For me, the process is a working meditation. It quiets my mind and soothes my soul. My paintings represent respite amid the chaos of life and are depictions of my emotions. Like the colors of the rainbow, these painted emotions range from bright and joyful to calm and quiet to solitary and somber. My work is tranquil and peaceful, quiet and serene with a touch of heartache. I use color and texture and perspective, and a scene beautifully cast in light and shadow to create powerful imagery with a sense of peace. The works of Vermeer, Van Gogh and Fantin-Latour are among my favorites and are sources of great inspiration. Read More >>

Melody Croft

My portraits begin with someone I have seen whose appearance, character, situation, or personality interests me and then slowly transform into narratives. Sometimes I weave poetry within the portrait to illuminate the individual’s essence as a way of introduction for the viewer. Using newspaper and magazine print, I hope that the various colors, sizes, and fonts of each letter add to the visual impact of the overall painting. The words formed by these letters provide a means to connect emotionally and intellectually to the individual in the painting.

I attribute my style to the hundreds of young children I have been associated with for the last 30 years in my former profession as a teacher. The daily interactions with the children and most importantly, the moment-by-moment immersion into their concrete thinking rests on my canvases via simplistic lines, shapes, values, and textures in bright colors. Read More >>

TeMika Grooms

Drawing art for children’s books has helped me to develop skills in visual storytelling. I am a fine artist and illustrator who loves to draw people. There is so much room for expression in the human form and I like to play around with translating body language without words. You can create a whole new layer to a story through the imagery in a book if it’s done well. But my main goal is to invoke emotion and hopefully create imagery and stories that empower the reader. It is important for children to see themselves reflected positively within the pages of a book. Read More >>

Ariel Dannielle

Strongly influenced by her experience as a young African American woman she uses her portraits as a narrative of the black experience. She started focusing on this topic her senior year of college after she realized how little representation she experienced throughout her whole time in school. She is currently steadily working on creating new work for upcoming shows. Read More >>

Erica Arndts

Music has always been the main influence in my art. I always liked to paint the people I liked to listen to. I started discovering my love for painting in high school, and Jimi Hendrix, Janis, the doors, etc. were my favorite musicians I listened to. I did several paintings of Jimi, Jim, Janice, bob Marley, etc. throughout high school and into college. Since then I have painted other icons in history, but mostly musicians. I try to capture the essence of how music touches my soul and bottle all the up and pour it out on a canvas. Bright colors, psychedelic, and BIG. I prefer to paint on large surfaces, and I mostly use acrylic paint. I also use oils and spray paint. Read More >>

Justin Coelho

My first passion is drawing. I have always loved drawing from real life, capturing and rendering light and shadow to create the three-dimensional form. With a strong foundation in fundamental drafting I ventured into watercolors. Once I got comfortable with my watercolor technique I started using my drawing skills to compose visually striking images that are brought to life with the paints. Watercolors are an unforgiving medium and I really enjoy that challenge. It’s a test to my patience and focus. Read More >>

Colin Sims

Well, I make surreal portraits mostly in oils. Sometimes I do mixed media work on paper too. People often ask if I use a reference photo. I almost always do. I use a good bit of creative license though, distorting features in a stylized way. To provoke an emotional response in the viewer, I try to land somewhere between adorable and melancholy. The melancholy part is really important. If a work of art, a song, or a movie is just cute, it strikes me as superficial. So, a bit of a tragic element is essential. I mean, imagine a story without any sort of conflict. It wouldn’t really be a story at all! Read More >>

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