Goddess
My name is Barbara Page I live in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Originally, I am from a dairy farm in northern Wisconsin. I started out by drawing the markings on our cows, beginning my artistic journey. I attended the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. I have a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art. At 30 years old I was in an auto accident. The accident left me with traumatic brain and spinal injuries. I love to draw and paint realistic art with the mediums of watercolor, pen, and ink. My inspiration is the artwork of Alphonse Mucha; with my focus on nature, florals, and human figures. Because of my injuries, I visualize things differently. My injuries resulted in clouded thinking and hand tremors. Unsteady hands made it difficult to do fine details. Today my artwork is influenced by the traumas and blessings I endured.
As an artist, I love to see and create artwork that evokes emotion and different perceptions of what my piece says to the viewer. I love to paint with watercolors and use pen and ink pointillism in black and white to illustrate emotion and beauty.
Goin Fishin
Belinda Balaski, a native of Southern California, creates colorful watercolor and pastel paintings of people, landscapes, seascapes, flowers, and animals. She is especially fond of painting horses, influenced by her childhood on the racetrack with her father, the well-known jockey, Lester Balaski. Her work focuses on capturing the spirit and unique beauty of living creatures and the natural world. She is motivated by the desire to share a spiritual sense of serenity and peace.
Belinda’s creativity expressed itself at a young age in acting, photography, and art. When not performing in theatre, she was shooting pictures and drawing incessantly. At fourteen she won a four-year scholarship to the Minnesota Corresponding Art School, where she nurtured her affinity for representational art and learned many techniques that serve her well.
Belinda’s gift for acting took her on a different path. She won many awards and excelled in a 50-year career in Hollywood. She created BB’s Kids Acting School, where she taught, filmed, and nurtured thousands of children, all the while writing and producing original plays. These experiences developed her artistic eye for framing, beauty, and editing a myriad of choices.
Recently she retired from the film industry and closed her school, to return to her original pursuit of visual art. She enrolled in courses at Emeritus College, discovering a passion for watercolor and pastels. Drawing from a well of diverse talents and life experiences, Belinda uses her gift of capturing a feeling with instinctual ease of composition.
Belinda lives and works in Southern California but spends several months a year on Kauai, her spiritual home, where many of her inspirational paintings are born.
I am an LA/Kauai-based artist who specializes in watercolor and pastels. I am forever seeking peace and spiritual tranquility in my work, drawn from a myriad of life experiences that have etched; people, landscapes, seascapes, animals, faces, children, and a zillion more images inspired by these cellular memories, into my very soul.
Working in water is like magic ~ when you finally tap a color into the invisible watermarks you lay, the magic begins as you tap darks for shadows, lights for highlights ~ trying to keep your values, just like in life.
You can wet the whole paper, saturate it in water and sweep colors across to let them blend and mix at will. Let the water lead you, the colors, the mixes, the forms. You can try to control them, but wet on wet has its own life.
Of course, you can then let that dry and slice a hard line on top sending your blends into the background, defining your edges, and sharpening one’s focus into your subject.
There is so much diversity in watercolors, one can only be limited by one’s own imagination. But if you are open to listening to the muse, tuning into the moment, the flow of the water can lead you where your imagination is endlessly open, allowing the kind of awesome creativity that real “Art” is truly made of. The kind of Art that takes you out of yourself and frees you of all limitations. This is my goal. To allow your eyes to rest on an image that will open and inspire your imagination beyond your physical world, allowing you to relate and yet freely fly…
Going Green
I was born and raised in Scotland and now live in the Pacific Northwest, a similar land of mists and mountains. I discovered I had a passion for painting Watercolors when my children were born and I was at home all day, however, had to put away my brushes as the needs of my family increased.
I rediscovered my passion, once my children were grown, and have done classes and workshops with local, national, and International artists. Over the past few years, I have continued to explore the medium.
I love the transparency of Watercolor and the dynamic nature, and fluidity of the paint. I am intrigued by the way the colors blend together, the way the paint reacts with water, and the magical unexpected things that happen. It is the perfect medium to capture Atmosphere and Mood.
Going Through Changes
Petra Stelling is a self-taught German painter and musician, born in 1968, living in Neumünster (Schleswig-Holstein). Her art is a vivid reflection of her internal world, characterized by lively, multifaceted, and expressive creations.
Petra Stelling loves the colorful life with all its changes and challenges – the sunny days as well as the dark phases in which we withdraw, heal internally, and grow. In her intuitive, creative process, the experienced artist deals with changes and new beginnings.
Her modern, lively works of art tell of upheavals, of inner strength and the courage to go your own way. The multi-faceted, abstract-expressive paintings make deep emotions visible and touch hearts in a very special way.
She is composed of structure and color, which is applied in several layers. Usually, she starts work with handwritten words and good wishes, which then become energetically intertwined with the applied paint and contribute to well-being. Colors and structures dance wildly across the canvas and communicate with each other. It is a game of contrasts where inner unrest and chaos meet the need for clarity, freedom, and serenity. By adding, blotting, scratching, or scraping off, exciting effects, rough surfaces, and unique color tones are created. Cracks and lines that are reminiscent of scars and traces of life.
“My hand-painted artworks invite you to investigate your inner world. They serve you to feel, recognize, transform, and heal. My art supports you in finding the courage to dive deeper and come back with your inner treasure. It reconnects you with your soul, gives you strength, and reminds you to be 100% yourself!”
The colorful life with all its challenges, the dark and beautiful sides, excites and inspires me as a versatile artist. I mainly use acrylic paints, gouache, and oil pastels. Materials such as coffee, glitter, or fabric scraps also find their way into my works of art. I paint with brushes, spatulas, sponges, or directly with my hands. In the painting process, I compose with structure and color, which is applied in several layers. By adding, blotting, scratching, or scraping off, exciting effects, rough surfaces, and unique color tones are created. Shadows, cracks, and lines that are reminiscent of scars and traces of life. My painting is lively, multifaceted, and expressive — each piece is a journey through the complexities of human experience.
Gold Aura
I was born and raised in Santo Andre, a suburb of Sao Paulo in Brazil, and since I was a little kid I was always creating something. I remember writing and illustrating comic books with characters I created, customizing outfits for my dolls, and making colorful drawings on the walls against mom’s will, among other creative adventures. My first artistic expression in the world was as a dancer, I was a professional ballerina for 12 years, and I danced in a company all over South America. I have a dancer’s soul, I always want to move my body like a constant dance.
When it was time to choose a college I decided to study fashion, I went to London and later FIT in New York City. I first chose London for that seamless balance between traditional and vanguard in all they do, design, fashion, art, and music. I love starting with traditional and deconstructing it, breaking all the rules and challenging the techniques, almost not even wanting to know too much so I can keep doing art or fashion my own way, with an open mind and creativity.
I then had a career in fashion and eventually started my own line, called Philosofée, I launched and sold collections for around 15 years. I’ve been part of designer collectives in London and New York, I had the amazing opportunity to present runway shows at both cities’ fashion weeks.
Every time I created a fashion collection it was never about the clothes, but the inspiration and story I was telling through it. I created characters, and a universe for them with photoshoots and short movies that I produced almost every season.
On the side, as a creative outlet, just for fun, I was painting, but in the closet. I never showed anyone my paintings for years, I did not see myself as an artist by then. Until a couple of friends saw them in my house and really had strong reactions to my pieces. Then something shifted in the way I was looking at myself as an artist, I realized it is a good thing to cause emotions and reactions through my art and that they are meant to be seen. Since then my motto is if it inspires one single person in the world it was already worth it, if it puts a smile on a face, if it brings tears or memories, it means I did it from my heart, with depth and truth connecting with other hearts and souls. Isn’t that what art is all about?
I slowly and organically started shifting most of my time and energy towards painting rather than fashion and the ways started to open in this field for me. I did a few collaborations with other artists, I had a solo exhibition in Los Angeles, I have my pieces in a few designer collective stores, and I have my paintings and illustrations in books, including my own first poetry book, called Unfiltered Thoughts & Poetic Moments.
I have now based in Austin, Texas, since 2022, I moved here following my intuition. When I got here I reconnected with dance and that inspires me even more to keep creating, moving the body, moving my energy, and expressing myself in different ways.
My family is still in Brazil and I visit at least a couple times a year, I spend lots of time on an island I lived for 6 years, Florianopolis, my favorite place there. It is recharging and inspiring to me.
In most of my work, I do figurative, with shapes and forms very much influenced by my experiences as a fashion designer, but not limited to it.
I started painting on a different level as I got into my kundalini yoga and meditation practice. The journeys I went through with these practices were so deep and transforming to me that I wanted to somehow share it with others and painting those was a way I found it possible.
You will see mantras in Gurmukhi or Sanskrit in some of my paintings, they are like codes to direct the mind to a higher and better stream of thoughts, mantras that I have a very deep relationship with. You will also notice references to the chakras, the energy body, and other elements that are very present in a yogi way of life.
I create to express my journeys, feelings, and emotions in a visual form. I intend to use my art as a portal for myself to go back or forward to those moments and experiences. They were so meaningful that I wanted to immortalize them somehow. They came to me through either a real experience or from the dream world, etheric and subtle realms journeys.
I paint energy moving through people, places, and etheric beings; angels, archangels, fairies, elves, and devas, are also part of my universe.
Gold Leaf
Sylvia Bandyke, Royal Oak, MI, USA, is largely a self-taught photographer, having taken studio and art history classes in college. She began her art career by displaying photo collages in ArtPrize, an independent international art competition in Grand Rapids, MI, from 2014 to 2018. Subsequently, she has been juried into more than 100 group exhibitions in 24 states and accepted into numerous online international exhibitions. An awarded artist, she keeps an eye open for interesting views of a subject while looking for hidden beauty every day. Most recently, she was a caregiver to her elderly mother and was able to create some memorable, unique art as a result of this experience.
I prefer using the collage format to integrate associated images into a cohesive unit that is even more compelling because of the embedded story. Having been a playwright and technical writer, I am accustomed to delivering content with a message. So now, as a visual communicator, I continue to provide meaning via the structure of the collage format, wherein the four photos confirm, augment, or even contradict each other if warranted. I enjoy offering the richness that the multiplicity of images provides, along with the impact gained through thoughtful positioning of them. Ultimately, I intend to have my work act as a doorway to the viewer’s own mental and emotional framework regarding the collection of images, perhaps finding their own very personal meaning in them.
Gold Leaves
Barbara Miner holds the position of tenured Professor and Chair in the Department of Art, at the University of Toledo, Toledo, OH. Miner has been a working artist/scholar for 26 years and a full-time, self-employed studio artist producing ceramic tableware for 10 years prior to that time.
Her mixed media sculptures, installation works, paintings, and prints, informed by the nexus of human/nature interaction, and the practice of meditative repetition, have been exhibited nationally (Maine to California) and internationally (Sweden and Poland) in over 107 exhibitions.
Most recently, she was the first-place award winner for the third international online juried art exhibition of the International Visual Literacy Association and was awarded an Individual Artist’s Grant from the Ohio Arts Council for the 2022-2023 year. She has curated three exhibition events, including a lecture/workshop with the noted Author and Photographer, Rosamond Purcell and the sculptor Dewey Blocksma. Miner has participated in numerous national and international artists’ residencies, from Maine to Poland and Sweden. She has presented at national and international conferences and contributed articles to Ceramics Monthly, Dialogue/Arts in the Midwest, and the journal published for the International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability. Miner has received many internal and external grants in support of her research and art practice, as well as numerous Awards for Excellence/Merit.
I live in a 15-acre woodlot in an area of Ohio called the Great Black Swamp. I quietly walk the property every day and I am struck by the clash between the speed of the external digital world, and my sanctuary bubble where the slow and steady reclamation of human-abandoned fields by the natural world continues on relentlessly without my intervention. Poison Ivy, wild strawberries, Virginia creeper, ash saplings, and thistle repopulate lawns once wrenched from the rich black Ohio soil. Any tiny space that is left “unimproved” by weed killer or asphalt becomes a complex and layered miniature biome for mosses and insects. I borrow shapes and patterns from nature but rather than duplicate what I see, I strive to create an impression of the rich visual tapestry I experience during my time in nature.
In my studio, I gather together paint and plan a suite of colors to use for a given painting. I create layers of texture, pattern, and color, just like the fabric of the landscape. I cut stencils and respond to each painted layer in turn, both hiding it and revealing it so that there is a potent history of the artwork’s life and process embedded in the DNA of the artwork.
Gold Rush
Creating is my nature. Creating unique, unpredictable art that intrigues the viewer is my passion. My obsession. I have a strong desire to create art that makes people think.
Being the daughter of an artist, art has been a part of my entire life. I’ve dabbled in many different mediums throughout and in 2018, my artistic soul was finally ready to come alive. I suppose I had an awakening. Creating is something I must do. It’s really fascinating creating art using mixed media. It’s much like building a structure one layer at a time. First the foundation and once that dries, I’ll add to it. One layer at a time. I want my art to have a rough texture but also a graceful and beautiful appearance. I want all of the layers of texture and color to show and have a purpose. I really enjoy challenging myself and experimenting with my art. It’s exciting to see how it will evolve in the future. This is my inspiration. This is my calling.
As a contemporary abstract mixed media artist, when I make art, I make art for myself. I’m not concerned about whether someone will like it or not. I think about four things: Does it bring me happiness? Is it unique? Will the viewer be drawn into it? And will it capture the viewers’ imagination? If I feel that I’ve achieved this, then I feel like I’ve succeeded as an artist. Then, when it’s completed, the bonus is how other people respond to it. I want someone to see my art and have it distract them from everything going on. I want them to be transported into the painting and back to a place that brought joy into their lives. Or even to a place in the future that gives happiness or a sense of tranquility. Look at the colors and shapes and allow yourself to imagine what they could represent to you. They can represent anything! A memory, object, animal, or even an emotional response.
Golden
Gayle Faulkner, with over 35 years of artistic exploration and creativity, stands as a seasoned watercolor, acrylic, and mural artist. Her journey has been marked by constant exploration, a playful engagement with diverse media, and an unwavering commitment to growth in the world of art.
Her academic journey, rooted in a BA in Sociology from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, initially led her to work with children, integrating art into their day-to-day experiences. Gayle’s passion for art eventually pulled her into a more immersive pursuit. She delved into Art and Design courses at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, unlocking her artistic soul. The willingness to ”put herself out there”, coupled with years of hard work and a penchant for thinking outside the box, allowed her to undergo a major growth period.
Finally, the challenges posed by the COVID-19 quarantine became a catalyst for Gayle’s artistic metamorphosis, leading her to focus on acrylic paintings on canvas. Engaging in online courses and dedicating countless hours in the studio has led Gayle to newfound success in her career as an artist.
In her current artistic chapter, Gayle has embraced the multi-dimensional world of layered acrylic painting. These layered landscape paintings pulsate with depth, intricate patterns, and whimsical interpretations, inviting viewers to step into a space that offers a sanctuary from life’s pressures. Her aspiration is clear — to guide everyone towards a place, be it a memory or a dream, where they can meander, savor the fragrance of flowers, feel the gentle breeze, lean against a tree, and simply breathe.
Gayle’s works have graced numerous exhibitions, gallery shows, and juried art festivals, earning accolades and finding homes in corporate and private collections across the globe.
In my art practice, I describe my creations as Textural Acrylics. This term represents the exciting experience of observing paint flow from the palette knife, forming captivating textures and colors. Each stroke channels emotion, and every canvas captures a moment of creative inspiration.
My process is spontaneous – I start with a loose outline, sketch the composition, and then fully immerse myself in the act of creating. Throughout the process, music is my closest companion, its volume soaring. I dance to the rhythm, losing myself in the beats, and, on occasion, even letting out a song. My painting process is a multisensory experience, an immersive journey into the fusion of sound and color, where each note becomes a brushstroke, and every stroke on the canvas is a dance of creation. I often liken my paintings to cherished children—it’s a relationship that involves nurturing, engaging in heartfelt conversations, and weathering the challenges of creative adolescence with boundless love and patience. With each brushstroke, I invest love, patience, and understanding, allowing the artwork to evolve organically. The end result is akin to witnessing a child mature into a beautiful, fully-formed adult—a testament to the transformative power of artistic expression.
When the viewer engages with my work, I want them to do more than observe; I want them to partake in the sensory journey. Inhale the delicate fragrance of blooming flowers, listen to the subtle rustle of leaves, lean against the painted tree, and simply breathe. My paintings are meant to cease to be static images—they become portals, immersive experiences where anyone is welcome to wander, explore, and connect with the essence of my artistic vision. Through my Textural Acrylics, I aim to create a sanctuary where the boundaries between creator and audience blur, and the shared experience becomes a celebration of art and life.