Nighttime Birthday Cake
I was born and raised in NYC but mostly in The Bronx. I attended CCNY where I graduated with a BS in Mathematics and an MA in Mathematics Education. I taught high school mathematics in The Bronx. I have always been interested in the arts and started writing poems and playing guitar at age 19. I studied poetry under Professor Robert O’Clair. I studied guitar at The Guitar Workshop. I studied painting and drawing at SUNY in Purchase. I have had paintings in 8 live group shows at Jones Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri, and in many online shows. I have exhibited continuously at HMVCGalleryNewYork virtually since its inception. A wonderful state-of-the-art gallery with outstanding artists! My poems have been published.in magazines, books, and at HVMOCA. I self-published a children’s book, ”Mr. Fine Goes to the Eye Doctor”. My principal artistic interest has been abstract painting and drawing for the last 10 years, but I have written many poems as well. I live in Putnam County, NY.
My work in fine arts has principally been in 2 classes of abstract paintings: oils and water-based paints. However, I have completed numerous works in drawing. I focus on color, texture, methodology of delivery, and composition. In composition, I am interested in positive space and negative space as well. I believe the painting/drawing is a manifestation of my emotional state of both conscious and unconscious feelings.
NO
Sandra Douglas is a Canadian/American full-time artist living in West Palm Beach, Florida. She is a graduate of Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto, Canada.
The beauty of water and bubbles is a principal theme in Sandra Douglas’s work and an essential quality of her inspiration. Sandra’s works in oil have been featured in magazine publications. Her works are in Private and Corporate collections throughout Canada and the United States.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2019. – Artfully Discovering The Palm Beaches
2019-2020 – Palm Beach International Airport Gallery
2019 – Art New York -(Presented by Art Miami)
2018 – OCAD University – Artworks 2018
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
Newport Credit Group – Toronto Canada
Dentistry Asleep – Toronto Canada
CGOV Asset Management Corporation- Toronto Canada
Porter Management Corporation- Palm Beach Florida
PUBLISHED WORKS
Cornerstone 52 Foundation- Toronto Canada -Selected works published as greeting cards
Florida Design Magazine – 2017
Artistonish Contemporary Art Magazine – June 2023
PRIVATE COLLECTORS
Toronto, Canada
Thunder Bay, Canada
Ottawa, Canada
Palm Beach, Florida
Jupiter, Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
Chicago, Illinois
Rumson, New Jersey
New York, New York
Austin, Texas
EDUCATION
OCAD University (Ontario College of Art and Design University – Toronto, Canada
Fine Art Degree (with Honours) -1999
There is something so powerful and hypnotic about water that lures me in with an overpowering desire to portray on canvas imagined eruptions of movement in the mystifying ocean, scattering bubbles with light and motion.
Bubbles last for only a moment yet I try to transform them into beauty where time stands still. They are a constant throughout my work in oil. My “Environmental” series captures a fleeting moment of underwater escape in a way that creates intimacy with the viewer while the words and images reflect the harsh reality of the world we live in.
I continuously explore different ideas and emotions for inspiration for my work. It comes from within. I paint with gratitude every day.
No 132
George Gonzalez (53, born in the United States) . . . I have lived in Miami, Florida for most of my life (although I did reside in California, Minnesota, and New Jersey for a number of years). Following receiving my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Southern California (1997), I have been a professor of political science at the University of Miami (FL) since 1999. As a scholar, I’ve published a number of works on the environment (global warming, air pollution, water pollution), as well as work on popular culture (television, movies) and political theory (philosophy).
After studying the world scientifically (i.e., as a thing) for my entire adult life I found this approach lacking and came to understand that the world is much more than matter and energy (material reality). Henceforth, in 2015 I became intensely interested in photography, seeking out the poetry/beauty in the world. Since that time, I’ve passionately pursued a number of projects in South Florida – focusing on the flora (flowers, trees, leaves) of the region. The Banyan tree (somewhat distinct from Miami) is itself a work of art and a particular focus of my photographic interest. Also, my photographic interests have inspired me to travel to different regions of the world – photographing/engaging peoples, sites, and fauna (tigers, birds, etc.) around the planet.
I’m a global citizen and someone that cares deeply about nature and all people. Hopefully, my photography allows others to “see” the world – the profound beauty, and poetry that is the planet (in all its dimensions, shapes, colors).
My photographic work has been exhibited in a number of galleries.
The Banyan Tree in North America is only found in South Florida. The tree is a work of art — its means of propagation results in gnarled trunks, branches, as well as vines that run down along the bark. Its root system twists along the surface of the ground. Additionally, the Banyan Tree (in conjunction with the humidity of Miami) fosters lichen of different colors — yielding a mélange of vibrant images.
This photograph of the Banyan lichen is inspired by Abstract Expressionist art/artists — for instance, Jackson Pollock (Mural on Indian Red Ground; Blue Poles; Shimmering Substance; Number 27, 1950) and Willem de Kooning (the Untitled series). The strength of Abstract Expressionism is found in its frenetic use of shapes, colors, and lines. I believe my images of lichen on the Banyan Trees of Miami reflect, and convey the beauty and aesthetic power of Abstract Expressionism.
No Chaos
Before art became his passion, much of Rich Sheaffer’s prior career in engineering and management was rather mundane. The exceptions were when he did not follow conventional wisdom and explored on his own without necessarily doing things the accepted, “correct” way. That is when breakthroughs occur, discoveries are made and quantum improvements can be initiated. It is with that spirit that Rich creates art by inspiration and imagination rather than more conventional rules of how art should be created. Rich’s works reflect the angst of a common man regarding events occurring in society, and some of his works have also predicted future events. When events are so outrageous that he is left at a loss for words … he paints. Rich is active with the Artists Guild of the San Diego Museum of Art, the Artist Alliance of the Oceanside Museum of Art, and others. More information on Rich’s background, portfolio, and the art of Socio-Political Abstractionism can be found at www.RichSheaffer.com.
Since the events of 2016, Rich Sheaffer has been developing a genre of art he calls Socio-Political Abstractionism. While political art is common, it has generally taken the form of such things as cartoons and caricatures. Socio-Political Abstractionism, in contrast, is an art form in which hot-button social topics being divisively debated in the political milieu are “abstractionized” and expressed via painting in abstract form, to inspire thought and discussion. Such works are primitive expressions of dreams or visions that express the events and angst of our time in history. His works are experimental and inspired by current events; he never knows from the onset how the final work will appear. Topics covered by Rich have included societal fear and anger, climate change, human rights, assaults against diversity, truth versus “alternative facts”, degradation of kindness and compassion, migration issues, attacks against democracy, risks of conflict and war, self-created chaos, and so on.
No Complaints
Patti Walsh is an abstract artist living in South Minneapolis who hails from Detroit. She’s been painting since 2017.
My love affair with painting has been present my entire life, but in more recent years I have let go of inhibitions. I’ve “shushed” my inner critic and am creating and producing at warp speed as though my life depends on it – because it does! Something has been ignited in me and I am driven…. I keep going and just want to ride it out.
Riding it out involves my continuous journey to express myself through color, movement, working with intuition, and the rawness of every moment. My work is filtered through my road-weary, sometimes jaded and warped mind with a unique “woman-elder” perspective. It’s pure feeling, mainly allowing chaos to self-organize into a form that might be understood visually – as I evolve and learn to understand that visual art expresses what we know without words but with experiences and sensory understanding.
“Well, I never got my license to live
They won’t give it up
So I stand at the world’s edge”
Iggy Pop
No Day Is Ordinary
Ara-Lucia was born and raised in Southwestern Michigan. As a girl, she learned about photography and composition from her grandmother, an amateur photographer. Ara-Lucia shared her grandmother’s passion and pursued photography and drawing at the Texas Woman’s University and choreography at Mills College.
In 1997, she received her bachelor in Interdisciplinary Arts from Northeastern Illinois University.
Throughout her artistic career, Ara-Lucia’swork has explored the basic human need to be seen, known, and understood. Her recent works – paintings and drawings – take observers on a journey through time and space in a quest to fulfill that need.
Ara-Lucia’s works have been exhibited in over a dozen group shows and four solo shows including the ARS Gallery in Benton Harbor, Michigan (2017).
Ara-Lucia lives, studies, and creates in Chicago, Illinois, and Saint-Fraimbault, France.
Growing up as a bipolar child in the rural 1970s was heartbreaking. The augmented way I perceived life frustrated my family; I was regarded as the child who exaggerated and lied. At 29, when I was diagnosed, I was no longer the exaggerator, but I was left with a profound desire to be understood – a need that fuels my creativity.
My current work explores this desire through visual storytelling. The story is told by two female characters. The first is a woman who I call Her. In Her company, it’s possible to experience a deep sense of being known. The second woman, I or me. As a whole, the work tells the story of My attempts to locate Her in space/time, where I experience a profound sense of acceptance and grace. She resides on her plane of existence and I am on mine. The women’s clothing, representative of many eras, underscores their drift through time.
Nobel
Praveen Moodley Nadaraju grew up in a household of 5.
Originally born in South Africa, coming to Toronto, Canada in 1974.
His father, a practicing physician for 40 years in Toronto, is currently a retired mother, and a former director of the AWIC nonprofit women’s organization, his brother, proudly running his own business and teaching economics at the University of Toronto, sister resides comfortably on an apple farm with her own family of 5 in Tasmania.
Praveen took his own unique artistic route, training for over 20 years in Life drawing, Industrial Design, Classical, and Computer Animation. It is only until he sought and practiced years of conceptual teachings in Hatha Yoga, Buddhism, Christianity, Advaita Yoga, Islam, Judaism, and Physics, that his artistic mind flourished into a kaleidoscope of deep, transforming personal imagery.
Immersed in these concepts and practices, he has unfolded his own unique process and output, making both positive and negative connections, constantly teaching how to elevate, in both life and art.
I approach all my artwork with a heuristic mindset, mixing deterministic and nondeterministic processes and media. The distortion and uncertainties of my work, make it less true to life and more true to the viewer. Layering images and processes without resolving their contradictions, this approach reaches an internal quality of truth which allows me to act as an Artistic Research Neuroscientist.
Norma Desmond
Bobby J. Jones was born and raised in Texas from 1966 to 1989. Jones attended Texas Tech University and graduated from his family’s alma mater with a BFA in Art (Painting and Drawing) in 1989. Bobby moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and attended The University of New Mexico. He received his master’s degree in Art Education (Museum Education, Ceramics, and Photography) in 1994. Jones worked in Retail Management in California for 12 years and Customer Service for 4 years in New Mexico. He currently works for Albuquerque Public Schools. Even though Bobby has lived in Texas, California, and New Mexico, he considers New Mexico home!!!
Bobby is a Lifetime Member of Alpha Phi Omega, Golden Key National Honor Society, and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He was a member of the now-closed Matrix Fine Art Gallery. Jones is also a member of The New Mexico Imaginative Arts Collective and The Art Posse at First Unitarian Church.
He continues to exhibit his artwork at different art galleries in Albuquerque (The Tortuga Gallery, The South Broadway Cultural Center, The Albuquerque Open Space Visitor’s Center, and The Gallery With A Cause at The New Mexico Cancer Center). He also exhibits his art online through international art exhibits through The Biafarin Company in Ontario, Canada. Jones also creates publications of his coloring books, his photography, and his artwork. These publications are available on Amazon and online through Barnes & Noble. Jones has a website through Art Storefronts. www.bobbyjonesart.com. Where art lovers can buy prints and artwork from this artist!!!
Living in New Mexico, I have enjoyed creating my Dia Del Los Muertos paintings since 2018. I became more interested in creating these images during The COVID-19 19 Pandemic at my house in Albuquerque. The Jax DuChamp Dia Del Los Muertos Painting honors my Akita Sheppard dog named Jax, who died this past June. My dog bit into the painting’s canvas and left his teeth marks. This painting also pays tribute to the French Artist Marcel DuChamp for his readymades art. I found objects that represent this Hispanic holiday from my artist friend Nic Provenzo in Albuquerque. Then Norma Desmond honors Gloria Swanson’s character from Sunset Boulevard. Dia Del Los Muertos is a celebrated event in the Hispanic community throughout the Americas on November 1st and 2nd. It traditionally honors those ancestors, who have gone before us by building offrendas or altars with their photos and favorite objects.
North Sea Sylt Summer
Stephanie Bing studied painting in the master class of internationally renowned art professor Klaus Jürgen-Fischer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Mainz and photography in the master class of Professor Dr. Vladimir Spacek from Prague. Born in 1967 in Mannheim, Germany, Bing graduated with distinction from high school in Offenburg. Subsequently, she studied fine arts, painting, photography, art history, German, and literature at Johannes Gutenberg University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Mainz, again graduating with distinction.
Following her education, she worked as an associate professor for the Bavarian Ministry of Culture in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and the Bavarian Chamber of Architects until 2002. Bing focused on design, architecture, aesthetic perception, and digital media to promote visual literacy. Since 1991, her artwork has been shown internationally, in Rome, Paris, New York, Venice, and Zurich. She is a multi-award-winning artist.
I compose bright, surprising settings like a luxury jewel-box, and assimilate my interiors to unknown sanctuaries with high vibes.
The painting process itself is of the utmost importance in my daily life. Painting is comparable to breathing for me. I like to plunge into my painting process as others plunge into a pool. Creating a new painting is an effort to balance between visualizing and reflecting on my surroundings and emotions. The subjects of my work reflect a myriad of daily impressions from traveling and being in motion. While painting, I get an extraordinary sense of personal and creative freedom. The impressions I gain from my travels around the world, do greatly affect me. It’s always a surprise, even to me, what kind of influence these images will have on my art and which colors, emotions, and experiences will be reflected in my upcoming artwork.
My highly detailed paintings are reminiscent of Matisse, Bonnard, and Fauvism but continue to exuberant expression. My work is exhibited internationally, and I am happy to be featured by an international operating gallery.