Selected artists in ATH magazine issue 3

My name is Liz Lidgett and I am a gallery owner in Des Moines, IA. I was raised by two wonderful and supportive parents and I take a lot from that with me. They both value creativity and beauty so I never thought that going into the arts was a lesser option than any other profession. My parents were entrepreneurs (although in the insurance industry) so I always felt like it was a “when” not an “if” that I own my own business. Additionally, I am the eldest of three girls and we were raised in a home where women were every bit equal of men and so I look through that lens as I try to support women artists and bring equality in their representation. 

In my photographs, I use botanicals as metaphors for human experiences like aging, death, betrayal and the alchemy of changing pain into beauty and strength. I use natural light and inspiration from Dutch still life painting to play with the dichotomy between traditional art historical genres and current photographic technology.

Sara is a photographer that started using film to capture her kids in their everyday moments. Her range of creating images includes timeless looks along with experimental and non traditional portraits. She has a love and enthusiasm for photography that is deeply rooted in personal projects. It’s been through these projects that Sara has been able to forge her own path in her creativity and business side of photography.

Sarah Jane is a Christian artist based in Wilmington, NC, creating peaceful, coastal paintings for happy homes. Her artwork is often described as calm, joyful, light and airy — and she’s here to help you fill your home with meaningful art that inspires you to live a beautiful and fulfilling life!

Amy Salomone is a mixed media and digital collage artist whose art focuses on natural themes and our scientific understanding of the natural world. She uses her art as a platform to discuss concepts such as cosmology, animal behavior, evolution and natural selection and neurobiology, as well as our place within that larger conversation. Amy’s hope is to change our perspectives of how we see ourselves and to celebrate so many “Forms Most Beautiful”.

Michele was born and raised in Modjeska Canyon, CA, where she recognized her symbiotic relationship with elements of the natural world and developed a fondness for artfully capturing those interactions. She demonstrated an interest in drawing and painting from a young age, developing her skills gradually. Although she was accepted into the fine arts degree program at Laguna College of Art and Design in California, she chose to pursue a career path which better suited her vision of combining art and nature. She attended Colorado Mountain College and Alaska Pacific University in Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness Therapy degree paths, where she began working in the outdoor industry. Her life was altered in 2019 with the passing of her father, an event whose chaos inevitably manipulated the course of her life. Now, Michele is devoted to her art practice as she seeks to deepen her understanding of life and death, and to demonstrate the commonalities of these collective experiences. She has participated in three international artist residencies which have allowed her to expand her understanding of the vast cultural and spiritual leverages between humanity and nature.

Alyssa Wolber is a figurative artist residing outside of Indianapolis, IN, where she lives with her family. Watercolor is her primary medium utilizing a saturated palette by layering many veils of color. Art has been a woven thread throughout her life. Daughter to a cake artist and granddaughter to a carpenter, she has been surrounded by makers. Alyssa studied art in college, but shifted focus to receive a B.A. in Education. After nearly 15 years of her hands sitting idle, she felt the call to dust them off and rediscover her first love again – creating.

I am a multidisciplinary artist, specializing in abstract paintings with an emphasis on mixed media collage. My work explores the relationships and interplay between opposites; I am curious about the nature of duality and authenticity, and often reflect on these themes. I combine intuition and discipline to build textural, multi-layered compositions with compelling hidden details. I often find myself revisiting quilt-like patterns and geometric shapes. I began painting as a hobby/side-hustle in 1999 and did so for over 20 years alongside a career in leadership consulting and executive coaching. I have a Ph.D. in Psychology, and constantly apply my interest in the human experience to my artwork. Since transforming my professional focus to art, I now sell my work independently and with gallery partners. I produce original fine art paintings, custom commissions, and residential/commercial murals.

Michelle started painting at the age of 52 as a result of a question a gentleman asked in a job interview; “What are you passionate about?”. This led her to go back to school for an interior design degree. But along the way through course work, she started to paint and never looked back. Today, 4 years later she paints full time in her home studio in Nashville, TN, is in 4 galleries, has won 30 international awards, attended residencies overseas and has been published in numerous books and magazines. Michelle is drawn to color and the beauty the world has to offer. She translates the emotive life through color and flowers in an abstract and expressionism fashion. Her goal is to bring joy and beauty to all that meet her work in the hopes of lifting burdens and sharing life.

I am a mixed media artist who uses vibrant color and elements of nostalgia to challenge society’s pull toward dark pessimism where hope struggles to surface. My work celebrates the thousands of youth who challenge societal and familial norms and who inspired me in my years as a former high school counselor and advocate. My natural desire for playful themes in my work serve as reminders to revolt and release ourselves from oppression and sadness that has reigned in society, especially during the mental health crisis in our current world. My intention is to create a playful sophistication with the American symbol of mounted popsicles that demonstrate their automatic collective delight with their vibrant abstract designs, collage, mirrors, textiles and rice bag papers, while my handmade fortune cookies sculptures evolve into messages of hope, respect for my Chinese/Thai family history discovered later in my adulthood and to honor and bridge the disconnect of my identity.

Jovanitha Le Long is a Mauritian-French oil painter from Beauvais, France. She is obsessed with light and the relationship between light and colours, heavily influenced by Italian Renaissance artists for their mastery of it. Her work has been featured by The Purposeful Mayonnaise, Art feeds souls and Create Magazine. She has exhibited multiple times locally at Maison des Arts (Créteil) and internationally through the Art Queens’ inner power exhibition (virtual). Her work is currently featured in Singulart gallery in Paris.

Sareka Unique Is an Artist, Illustrator, Designer and Creator of bright, fun colorful things. She is also a Freelance Marketing Manager and Founder of Black Girls Illustrate. Sareka Grew up in Detroit Michigan and studied Visual Communication Technology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Later after studying Graphic Design, Sareka fell in love with Illustration and Surface Pattern Design and eventually gave into her calling to paint. Since then she has been using her love of color to transform products and create artwork that evokes a sense of vibrancy and joy. Color has a way of telling people how they should feel and what they should think. Sareka uses color as a tool that brings happiness through her artwork. When creating she allows the colors to tell her where they want to go and what form they want to take. Using a variation of strokes and marks Sareka allows the colors to playfully come together until they are satisfied with their new home and a new painting has emerged

Megan is a fine artist and graphic designer living in Louisville, Colorado. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Megan moved to Fort Collins, Colorado with her family in 1986. Megan graduated from Colorado State University in 1995 with a B.F.A. in Fine Art – Graphic Design. Megan worked as a junior designer at the prestigious Monigle Associates agency in Denver, CO before moving to Steamboat Springs in 1998 to fulfill a lifelong dream of rocky mountain living. Megan opened Strange Bird Designs as her small graphic design studio in 1999 working with many clients within the Steamboat Springs resort community. Megan returned to Colorado’s front range in 2012, where she owns & operates Strange Bird Designs together with her husband, Jamie, now based in Louisville, Colorado.

Vanni, formally known as Vanessa Wendland is a self-taught abstract artist born and based in Berlin, Germany. Encouraged by her Mother she has been painting and tinkering since her early childhood and was inspired by nature even then. After a long break, during which she tried out various professional ideas, including a bachelor’s degree in equine science, she rediscovered her passion for abstract painting seven years ago. From then on, she devoted every free minute to her love for visual art, experimenting with different techniques and gradually teaching herself her artistic skills. In recent years she has elevated her hobby to a part-time profession and is constantly working to make her art a full-fledged professional career. Since 2021 Vanni is represented by Greenhouse Interiors in Australia. In addition, her work is currently sold by Australian retailers MYND Interiors, Norsu Interiors, Granite Lane, Hart Co. Vanni accepts commissions, enjoys collaborating with interior designers and her works exist in private collections around the globe.

Born in 1998 in Riga, Latvia, Ruta Jansone grew up playing in her grandmother’s lush garden, riding her bike, climbing trees, and exploring nature. Inspired by her mother’s creative handiwork and artistic mindset, she naturally gravitated toward making arts and crafts with whatever materials she found at hand. During her teens, this idyllic life turned bleak, and she discovered a form of escape by immersing herself in creating art and fine-tuning her craft in classes at the Janis Rozentals Riga Art School and private tutorials with local painters. Immediately after graduating high school, she moved to Oslo, Norway, where she now lives and works – when she’s not outdoors gardening, skiing, or scuba diving. This fresh environment and culture awakened in her a newfound sense of freedom, confidence and exuberance that she began expressing through the use of bright colors and vibrant imagery representing the journey of the mind away from pain and toward joy. Drawing from the imagination, she paints euphoric, richly textured floral canvases and collagelike psychedelic dreamscapes that interpret the essence of the natural world and the human spirit. In 2023, she will exhibit in Oslo group shows including the VIA Showcase exhibition Art & Glam.

Rebecca Youssef (b. 1973) is a Los Angeles-based mixed media artist who was raised on the north shore of O’ahu, Hawaii. Galvanized by the sustainability movement to protect our planet, her work gives new life to discarded paper, boxes and bags by immortalizing them in art, thus honoring their journey from tree to canvas. Rebecca employs a broad range of sustainable practices and natural materials inspired by her love of cultivating native trees. Rebecca received her BFA from the University of Arizona in Tucson and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue her MA in Art Education at Loyola Marymount University. Following graduate school, Rebecca taught art at various schools across Los Angeles. Currently, she is an artist-in-residence at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, California.

As an intuitive painter, I find inspiration in the process of making art. Often it’s a color, texture or shape that sparks a memory. I use crayons, oil pastels, pencils and collage to add marks and tell a story. Layer by layer, I search for beauty in the chaos. Mistakes happen and I embrace them as they are valuable lessons in art and life. My muse is my younger self, she is fun, rebellious and absolutely fearless. While abstract in nature, each painting is it’s own singularity that reveals itself slowly overtime, allowing the viewer to have their own experience with the work. My art is sourced from within, I reference my life experiences and sharing my art is how I connect with others.

Stephanie Kirkland is a contemporary expressionist painter living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her work includes abstract and landscape paintings informed by the many miles she’s spent hiking in remote parts of the globe. Using elements of nature as metaphor, her paintings explore themes of imperfection, resilience, authenticity, releasing control, and finding beauty in challenge. Her paintings are known for their expressiveness and uniqueness of color, and they are collected in homes across the United States.

Alicia is a mother, painter, mixed media artist, arts ministry leader and a senior registered interior designer at 10Fold Architecture + Engineering in Ames, IA. Alicia creates paintings with thick texture, fiber and other mediums while exploring beauty, texture, color and things she is processing internally. Alicia’s inspiration comes from her Creator as she processes through the pain and joy in her life alongside the desire to bring transformation into other people’s lives. Her heart to end injustices drives her to create work that has the hope to bring restoration and renewal on the earth.

Jess Quinn is a Waterloo, Iowa native and former public school art teacher. She discovered her passion for painting during her undergraduate studies at the University of Northern Iowa and went on to complete her Master’s in Education from Viterbo University. In 2014, Jess decided to pursue her art full-time. It was her love of photography that led her down the path she is on today. Jess is drawn to the beautiful and sometimes almost alien appearance of botanicals that are all around us in nature. She captures the intimate details of her subjects through her lens and paints their vibrant hues, intricate patterns, mesmerizing lines and flowing movements. Jess’ paintings allow her to share how she sees her subjects and provides viewers an arresting, frozen moment where they can truly admire the poise of a flower.

Cynthia Holien is a self-taught artist. Although she has always had a passion for art, museums, and galleries, she only started painting in the last few years. Interiors, fashion and repeating colors and shapes are sources of her inspiration. Cynthia uses acrylics to paint on a variety of surfaces and a wide range of color palettes, she finds the most satisfaction in the unexpected results of blending and layering of paint. Despite being new to selling her art, numerous exhibitions and galleries around the nation have included her work. Cynthia lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

KT Arnesen and Ellie Grimm are a mother/daughter artist team and co-founders of Castle Place Designs who create immersive interior murals. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, they paint landscapes referencing local midwestern terrain and incorporate personal textile patterns to add a nostalgic lens on how landscapes are seen. Ellie Grimm was raised in Madison, Wisconsin. She got her degree at the Penny Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan in 2017. Additionally, she studied oil painting at The Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland. Trained as an oil painter, her work is in public and private collections across the country. KT Arnesen grew up in Madison, WI. After a degree at UW, she went back to school for a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration at Madison College. She worked for a few years as a graphic designer for a small PR firm, after which she started oil painting for private collectors. For the last 6 years, KT has been managing both private and commercial art collections. Curating spaces for her clients, she has traveled locally and nationally. Due to covid restrictions in 2020, Ellie and KT were not able to paint together in their shared studio. This loss inspired the idea to create a company together once they were able to be in the same space again.

Laura Dunn is an artist from St. Simons Island, Georgia. She graduated from Salem College with a BA in Interior Design and has since worked in various parts of the building and design industry as well as the arts. Laura is known for painting bright and bold florals and botanicals with a slightly abstract twist. Instead of portraying them as delicate, Laura’s style shows flowers as strong and resilient. She feels a strong connection between color and her energetic waves and this comes through in her work. Pastels allow her to capture a calm, peaceful energy, earthy tones signify the groundedness she feels when stomping through the woods, and bright, saturated colors show enthusiasm and passion. No matter what she is creating, Laura finds that she feels like her truest self when she paints and hopes that her work inspires others to share that version of themselves with the world. Laura’s work has been shown at solo shows sponsored by the Glynn County Public Library, and she has been featured at the Little Green Door in Columbia, SC and Glynn Visual Arts on St. Simons Island, GA. She has shown work with The Pre•ten•tious Collector in Athens, GA and has twice been included in the Scouted Studio’s Emerging Artist Show. In April of 2022 she had work featured in issue 53 of Uppercase Magazine. Most recently was accepted into The Spotlight on Art in Atlanta in January of 2023 and will be included in the upcoming Emerging Artist Show in March of 2023 with the Scouted Studio. To see more of her work, follow Laura on Instagram at @maclucille.

Kelly Sheppard Murray’s multimedia sculptural work fashions a wide range of polymorphic, multicolored structures that have their roots in natural forms. She draws from the shapes of plants, moss, lichen, fungi, shells, and geological forms. Collecting hundreds of sculptural elements, Murray slowly and deliberately assembles her pieces for installation—each one a unique building block within the visual language she articulates within her exhibitions. By developing her own malleable visual idiom, Murray expresses her curiosity and invites that of her audience. Further, through her careful and consistent day-to-day addition of sculptural elements, she reminds us how small steps can significantly impact our perceptions of the world and our environment. Kelly Sheppard Murray lives, teaches college-level art, and maintains her studio in Raleigh, North Carolina. Charlotte Russell Contemporary, VAE, Artspace, Durham Art Guild’s Truist Gallery; and Wilma Daniels Gallery, Wilmington, NC have exhibited large groupings of Murray’s biomorphic encaustic sculptures. Commissions and recent corporate placement include Allspring offices in Charlotte & London; UNC Hospital, Holly Springs, Pinnacle Bank Nashville & Memphis; and Design Dimensions, Zebulon.

Originally from Queensland, Australia, Michelle Biggar is a visual artist living and working in Vancouver, BC, Canada. After completing a Bachelor of Built Environment, majoring in Interior Design, at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia; and with a prolific 25-year career as an Interior Designer, Michelle’s art practice is born as a territory for the exploration of expressive freedom within the structures and geometries that dominate her work.  Michelle’s art practice is an exploration of the structured and the organic, the rigid and the soft, the free gestures of the hand and the precision of geometry – bringing these concepts together in a layered mixed-media expression that combines the tactile qualities of paper and thread into balanced compositions.

Originally from Queensland, Australia, Michelle Biggar is a visual artist living and working in Vancouver, BC, Canada. After completing a Bachelor of Built Environment, majoring in Interior Design, at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia; and with a prolific 25-year career as an Interior Designer, Michelle’s art practice is born as a territory for the exploration of expressive freedom within the structures and geometries that dominate her work.  Michelle’s art practice is an exploration of the structured and the organic, the rigid and the soft, the free gestures of the hand and the precision of geometry – bringing these concepts together in a layered mixed-media expression that combines the tactile qualities of paper and thread into balanced compositions.

Poonam Choudhary A Passionate Artist Painting Her World from Upstate NY. She displays a strong interest for the arts and painting at a very young age. Few people can say that they’re lucky enough to live their passion every single day. As a full-time contemporary abstract artist, She is one of those people – expressing her character through color and creativity from her art studio in Upstate New York. She has even had the honor of working for household names like Samsung – perhaps you’ve even seen her art light up your living room while your TV is in Art Mode! Her recent works have a combination of abstraction and Still life, showing the subtle relationship between her and nature. Use of texture and layers build the drama and mystery. She hopes that viewers can see a hidden power through the narratives. She is exploring the intersection between Abstract layers and still life through Overlapping and blending colors that creates its own story through markings and scratches, that’s subtle but full of details. Her work allows her to connect emotionally and spiritually to the viewer through its depth and intensity. She share the moments of enlightenment with the viewer to help them feel less alone by seeing their emotions expressed through it. Her hope is that, through art, She can awaken emotions in the people who view her work – be it ecstasy, elegance, retrospect, or pensiveness. Art is a universal language everyone can understand, even if they don’t share the same native tongue. Art changes lives, and sometimes, can even save lives, by inspiring people to slow down, breathe, and truly absorb the raw beauty of life. In the last 10 years she has presented her work in various galleries. Her work can be found in both private and corporate collections around the world.

Emma Bass is an established artist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Bass’ floral compositions inspire metaphorical and narrative interpretations, they are regularly exhibited in leading art galleries in New Zealand and internationally and held in private collections throughout the world. Bass is the only New Zealand artist invited to exhibit at the prestigious Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London both in 2016 and 2022. Bass seeks to cultivate a sense of hope, her work addresses a psychic human need for the uplifting power of beauty. This connects with her earliest career as a nurse in which she sought to heal and comfort. Bass says “Flowers are one of the most universal forms of beauty. They are tokens of love, a natural expression of the environment. Everywhere in the world flowers are cherished in some form. What’s more, they are scientifically proven to improve mental health and wellbeing. Flowers have power!” Bass’s Floral Portraits constitute the main body of work in her current practice, these works showcase her unique compositional approach to floral photography, ‘posing’ flowers, upright for the camera. In these, artist, flower and vase all align for a brief moment, and the occasion for this may be the desire to memorialise a state of being, a relationship or a circumstance or perhaps simply to record the artist’s surprise and sense of exhilaration after a floral foraging adventure. Emma sources her flowers from her immediate environment of Mount Eden, one of Auckland’s ‘garden suburbs’.

Sara Drescher, a Texas based painter, creates hyper realistic watercolors of ordinary objects with a hidden story. Currently her work centers on issues regarding double standards and other obstacles that women face today, as well as issues surrounding sustainability in the environment. Drescher earned her Master of Fine Arts degree at Texas Tech University and her Bachelor Fine Arts degree at the University of North Texas. She has more than 20 years of experience as a professional artist and more than 10 years of experience leading popular workshops and ongoing art classes for adults. Her work has been recognized in numerous juried art shows around the United States, and she has been the artist in residence at the Museum of the Southwest Children’s Museum, the Midland County Centennial Library, and at Elsewhere Studios in Paonia, CO.

Lindsay is a fine artist working from her home studio in Edina, Minnesota. She is a self-taught artist that mainly works with acrylic and gouache to create vibrant pieces of art that are often inspired by organic shapes found in nature. In addition to her acrylic work, she initially started her art career in 2015 creating watercolor home portraits, which she still offers and creates for various real estate agents. Her work is available online via her website and Liza Pruitt Gallery.

Nina Lee Ruiter is a contemporary artist from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She began sketching at a very young age but it wasn’t until later in life when she discovered her love for painting. Nina left her successful career as a Professional Engineer to pursue her desire to become a full time creative with the support of her husband and two sons. Nina’s abstract interpretations of landscapes and figures utilizes hard-edged shapes and bold colors. She often uses her “backyard” of the Canadian Rockies as inspiration as well as other locals and moments from her travels.

Emily Ward is an acrylic painter in Columbia, SC where she lives with her husband Travis and their dog, Dexter. Emily’s passion for art began in kindergarten with an incredible art teacher who inspired and encouraged her to create. Emily continued studying art throughout her education and graduated from the College of Charleston in 2014 with a BA in Art History. In September of 2020, Emily was inspired to reconnect with her passion for painting and the pursuit of a career as an artist. She started by painting places and things that brought joy to her home. The South Carolina low country has been a recurring subject for her landscape paintings. Emily often finds herself working from photographs and memories of her travels throughout South Carolina and the Southeast. By mixing elements of reality with imagined colors and details, she strives to express a combined sense of tranquility and playfulness.

My artwork is meant to be representational of change and rebirth as a beautiful experience. Influenced by the feeling of being stuck growing up in a small southern town, I focus my work today on the sparkling oddities and natural wonders that act as symbols of metamorphosis and unapologetic authenticity. Predominately depicting various butterflies and gemstones, I see how Mother Nature and humans act as master reincarnators – both granting new life and purpose to their respective subjects. It is important for me to maintain any occlusions or imperfections of my subjects in my paintings, because as with life – beauty still persists. My current works are created on custom cut birch wood panels to various gem and insect shapes and painted with acrylics.

Ali Hval (she/her) (b. 1993, Sacramento, CA) is a visual artist currently living and working in Iowa City, Iowa. She is currently a Lecturer in Painting and Drawing at the University of Iowa. She earned her MFA from the University of Iowa in Painting and Drawing with honors, and BFA in Painting from the University of Alabama with honors. Ali has received grants from the Iowa Arts Council as well as from the nationally competitive Windgate Fellowship by the Center of Craft, Creativity, and Design in Asheville, North Carolina. She was the 2022 Stuart Artist-in-Residence at South Dakota State University, and was a 2020 resident at the Chautauqua School of Art. She has exhibited her work across the country, including at Ceysson y Bénétière in New York City, Site: Brooklyn and Atlantic Gallery in New York, and South Bay Contemporary in Los Angeles. She has had mentions in New York Jewelry Week, CultBytes and The New Yorker.

Sarah Chavez (b.1988) is an artist endlessly inspired by the quirkiness of the world around her. Working primarily in oil paint, she explores a wide range of painting subjects including still life, portraiture/figurative, as well as landscapes. She studied Studio Arts & Art History at Kansas State University. Sarah grew up in Wichita, KS where she currently lives with her husband, Jerraldo, dog, Archie, and cat, Lizard.

A fourth-generation floral crafter, my sculptural works explore humanity and nature co-existing, petal by petal. All of the works begin with a hand-sculpted clay petal. Then that petal is built upon with more petals and turned into a rose, or instead pulled to create a flimsy petal and then built upon to make a tipsy rose, or instead left to itself and pulled and smashed and stretched against the canvas like a paint stroke. Or the petal is turned on its side like a sleeping child or rolled into itself to resemble some sea creature or pushed to stand tall with other petals like an army of soldiers, or gently pressed to lean, sway, dance, flit. Or rolled up completely into itself like a ball. My petal language grows organically over time as I sculpt, using only my hands as tools to create my sculptural compositions.

Jennifer M. Allevato is a fine art painter located in Alexandria, Virginia. She works from a light-filled studio where she creates colorful post-impressionist inspired mixed media paintings, often visited by her two cats. Jennifer’s art and design work have been shown in both the U.S. and abroad. Her artwork has been sold through Anthropologie and Serena & Lily, and has been featured on The Hallmark Channel, Apartment Therapy, HGTV Magazine, In Her Studio, and Real Simple.