Adventurous
Self-taught painter exploring the infinite realm where spirit meets matter. Symbols, colors, emotional/mental energy, and visual storytelling are my descriptive tools. I experience painting as a seafarer sailing out into a vast unknown ocean. In oil and acrylic, I paint figurative, abstract, still life, and a mixture of all three. My paintings are a visual diary of my life and the existential human experience. My work has been exhibited and lives in private collections throughout the US & Europe. I’ve been painting for 30+ years since the first little oil painting I made in the East Village, NY in the early 1990s. Once I started painting I never looked back! It has been my lifelong purpose, saving grace, and joy.
‘Adventurous’ was modeled by a friend who is courageous and has an indomitable spirit, the ultimate ‘Girl Power!’
She is so inspirational that I asked to make a painting of her; when I showed up to take the reference photos she was wearing a t-shirt that stated ‘Adventurous’. When I make a portrait, it is the essence of the person that is the focus; the physical attributes are important as a reference point to further describe their true nature as I observe it. While painting, the portrait will evolve organically until I find the personality of the subject starting to emerge, and then I go in that direction. I love this piece because it encourages people to pause and think, it creates dialogue. It shows the strength, courage, and determination of one woman who was not defeated by life-changing challenges. She triumphed to create a wonderful life for herself and her family, and with her current work, she brings joy to so many people.
Aechmea Chantinii: Amazonian Zebra Plant
Pauline Goldsmith worked in the global bio-pharmaceutical industry for forty years and then ran her own consulting company for seven. She originates from the UK but has made US homes in Philadelphia, Boston, and Miami.
She was the co-director of South Florida’s GroveHouse Artists and is a Signature Member of the Miami Watercolor Society. As co-founder and co-director of Miami’s Tropical Botanic Artists for over 10 years, she led the artists into new and exciting art-scientific arenas. She has served as a Board Director for the American Society of Botanical Artists and retains a very active involvement in fundraising and communications.
Her love of South Florida’s sub-tropical vegetation has encouraged her to use watercolors to translate their exquisite beauty to paper. In her attempts to render the likeness of such plants into visual art, she has become mesmerized by their subtle transformations in the changing tropical light. In botanical art, watercolors are applied with small brushes and a dry technique, which is challenging, but the resulting fine details and depth of color are rewarding and therapeutic.
Aerial View
I am at a point in my journey where I desire my art to be viewed by people from around the globe. For so long, I second-guessed my contribution to the art community. I once gifted my art pieces to friends and family, thinking they felt obligated to support me on this journey. lol However, through the resurgence of textile art, and its high demand in respected museums and galleries, I don’t question my talent anymore. Now that I have talked with people who have shown interest in my art, it has built my confidence, and I realize that if the world has never seen anything similar to what I do, that’s a GREAT thing, and it should be celebrated! I now embrace my journey, and I look to sell my work and have it exhibited alongside other great artists and pieces. In 2023, I participated in the Santa Fe Art Show in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was an experience that became a turning point in my journey. I met artists and patrons from around the world. There were no sales, but I received a lot of support and encouragement. In 2024, I exhibited my work at the Black Girl Art Show in Dallas. This experience was a full-circle moment for me as I was able to showcase my talent to black creatives and supporters, some of whom I knew from my time spent in Dallas. I lived in Dallas/Ft. Worth for 3 years. It was great seeing family and familiar faces! Currently, I have an art piece that is being exhibited in Kansas at the 80 Sant Fe Art Gallery through October.
My name is LuNeal, and I have lived in Albuquerque with my mother and two children for over 10 years. I am a self-taught fiber artist who utilizes yarn and repurposed clothing to make unique tapestries. Born and raised in Louisiana, I rely heavily on the influence of the African diaspora and American culture to fuel my passion. Growing up as the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, I also look at the heavens and the universe for influence as well. My desire is to encourage onlookers to lose themselves in my abstract art and revel in the handmade details, texts, and use of colors. My aim is to always leave the viewer pondering and reflecting on the what-ifs and the vastness of their own imagination. I like to think that my art gives permission to escape the mundane “rinse and repeat” of this world, and meditate on the whimsical energy that is both hypnotic and cathartic.
African Lilies And Iris
Rich Wagner grew up with art – his mother was a professional artist and his father was an amateur artist. Thus, his initial artistic training was in their atelier. With more than 300 credit hours of formal study, Rich is elected a member of the Art Students League. He has also studied painting and drawing at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In addition, he has studied art history, most recently at the Courtauld Institute, the University of Oxford, and the National Gallery of Ireland.
Examples of his work are included in private collections and in the Law Library at Pace University. He often participates in exhibitions both in galleries and online.
In my works, I am very concerned with the feelings and atmosphere conveyed by the subject rather than a literal depiction. Paintings of flowers allow for the expression of emotion through color. Still, lives are moments in time, which lend themselves to subjective interpretation.
After Haring (Summer Dance)
Greg Lastrapes is a glass artist based in Seattle, Washington. He earned a BFA and BS in Art History from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2019. He went on to study traditional Swedish glassblowing techniques, which he uses to create unique artworks that blend traditional forms and contemporary design.
As an American glass artist deeply inspired by the simplicity and elegance of Scandinavian design, I seek to capture the quiet beauty of nature in my work. I utilize the traditional Swedish glass techniques of Graal and Ariel to create images and narratives in my pieces. My goal is to create glass art that speaks to both the technical precision and emotional depth of the medium, offering collectors’ pieces that are both visually striking and meditative in their simplicity.
After The Recital
Carol Schmauder was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, where she currently lives with her husband, Glenn. Like most artists, she showed interest in art at an early age and has experimented with several media over her lifetime.
She is a graphic designer that entered the world of fine art in 1988 after taking watercolor classes from Stan Miller and MaryAnn Figgins. She began using acrylics for most of her work in 2017. Her professional life has led to participation in over a hundred exhibitions; both solo and in groups. She has paintings in collections nationwide and has won numerous awards.
Because she “doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up”, Carol experiments with different styles of art. She has experienced great success with her Shattered Reality series and is best known for this fun style of starting with a traditional subject and creating sections of warm and cool colors playing off of each other. Dark and light sections also add life to these paintings. She enjoys painting in different forms of abstract art as well as traditional forms. She has no desire to quit exploring different
techniques and art forms.
Carol enjoys painting themes that are happy in nature. Even though she has experienced many very rocky patches in life she has no desire to incorporate feelings of angst into her work.
My life has been full of many rocky patches, and through diligent attention to the problems, I have overcome many obstacles. My go-to activities during these times are both creating art and writing. These creative outlets allow my mind to expand, and solutions to problems seem to be released from within.
I enjoy the beauty of nature and the study of color and design in sweeping landscapes. I am blessed to live in an area of the country where there is no limit to the subjects I can paint, whether realistically or in abstract form.
I love the calm painting brings to my soul. Life’s problems seem to evaporate when I have a paintbrush in my hand and soothing music on the stereo. If my paintings bring happiness to others, then I have accomplished my goal.
Afternoon In The Harbor
Barbara West is an orthodontist and an artist. Her style is contemporary realism. Her mediums include oil, pastel, and monotype.
Barbara studied art at the University of Pittsburgh, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Boston Museum School, and the De Cordova Museum School. She has attended numerous workshops.
Barbara has been juried into many shows and has won numerous awards.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved art. I started drawing horses at age 5! Nothing is so exciting as a blank canvas and the scene I’m about to interpret. Ah. But the work begins!!!
Afternoons
Snjezana—whose name, whispered like winter wind, means Snow White in Croatian—was born in a land veiled by the shadows of communism. In a world where electricity meant the flickering of candlelight, voices were silenced, and scarcity was a daily companion, her name stood out like a promise. A symbol of light, innocence, and quiet strength, Snow White was not just her name, but a foreshadowing of the fairy tale she would one day live.
Her early memories are laced with candlelight and courage. She studied by flame, walked on dirt floors, and learned that even in silence, stories could sing. Her grandfather crafted toys from scraps of wood and told her tales of mystical lands and brave princesses. Her grandmother nurtured her imagination and taught her to love the wild, the soft, the growing things. Though her family had little, they gave her everything that mattered: wonder, wisdom, stories, love, and the roots of resilience.
Separated from her mother before the age of two, Snjezana remained with her grandparents and family until, many years later, they made a bold and secret decision. One crisp autumn morning, under the hush of moonlight, they crossed a graveyard, took a train, and boarded a plane that would carry her into a different kind of magic and marvels she’d never imagined. It felt like stepping directly into one of her grandfather’s stories.
And in many ways, it was. That moment marked the beginning of her own fairytale—not without darkness, but always with light.
Today, Snjezana’s art is born from this winding path and the course of her own life—infused with survival, memory, and the beauty she’s collected from both struggle and serenity. Each creation carries whispers from her past, the pulse of nature, and the longing to connect hearts through color, meaning, faith, hope, peace, and love.
“Creativity Unbound” is a dynamic show where imagination reigns supreme. Artists are encouraged to unleash their creativity and showcase the boundless possibilities of artistic expression. We are looking for artworks that are a testament to the artists’ fearless exploration of new ideas and their commitment to authentic self-expression. We want this group exhibition to inspire viewers to reconsider the definition of art and the artists to embrace the beauty of creative freedom.
Afternoons (mixed media on wood with embedded seashells) captures a timeless afternoon along the Moroccan coast, where fishermen drift in the quiet rhythm between tides. Seashells gathered from the very shore anchor the work in both place and memory, turning the surface into a living archive. This blending of organic material and painted image is a testament to fearless exploration — dissolving the boundary between representation and reality. Afternoons speaks to resilience, adaptation, and the beauty of traditions that endure, reminding us that creativity, like the sea, is boundless and whatever shifting.
Against The Wall
Babler’s work has been juried into: The Boston Printmakers 2026 North American Print Biennial”; “Human Expressions” MFA juried exhibition; GALEX 59 National Exhibition 2026; MFA juried “In the City” 2026: Anderson 2025-26 Winter Exhibition; 38th September Competition Juried Exhibit at Alexandria Museum of Art; “After Dark 2025”, “Fall Juried Exhibit 2025”, and “Reflecting 2025”– Maryland Federation of Art; 38th Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition; “In the City” exhibit juror Christina Gomez (Art Institute Chicago); North American Print Biennial juror Elizabeth M. Rudy (Associate Curator of Prints Harvard Art Museums, Boston); Dubuque Museum of Art Biennial juror Pamela Hugdahl (Rochester Art Center); Rockford Art Museum Biennial Juried Exhibit of Contemporary Artists; Amanda C. Burdan (Associate Curator – Brandywine River Museum of Art); Christiane Paul (Curator of New Media Arts at the Whitney Museum of American Art); Felice Frankel (Science photographer/research scientist); Malcolm Daniel (Curator of Photographs – Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC); Kenneth Baker (Art Critic, San Francisco Chronicle); William Lieberman, Director of Zolla/Lieberman Gallery – Chicago; Annette Carlozzi (Sr. Curator Blanton Museum of Art); Dr. Jefferson Harrison (Chief Curator Chrysler Museum of Art); Charlotta Kotik (Curator of Contemporary Art Brooklyn Museum of Art); David Houston (Chief Curator –Ogden Museum of Southern Art); Dr. Russell Panczenko (Museum of Art, Madison Wisconsin); Siri Engberg (Walker Art Center); Stephen Phillips (Phillips Collection – Washington DC); Sam Gilliam; and Ed Paschke.
A Ragdale Residency Fellow, a juried member of the Illinois Arts Council’s Arts-In-Education Roster, and she has exhibited at Northwestern University, Concordia University, Rockford Art Museum, and the Alexandria Museum of Art. She was a fine art consultant for Grumbacher/Prismacolor, along with developing a program for Blick Art. Her artwork is in corporate, university, and private art collections.
Color evokes emotion. Focusing on a single color intensifies that emotion, directly impacting the viewer. With a monochromatic palette, the artist can portray power or gentleness, confidence or tentativeness to intrigue and mystery. In my submissions, a golden palette pays homage to Michelangelo, and a hidden room with sketches of a genius is preserved. A blue palette illustrates the power of water, inspired by humans confronting one of nature’s wonders at Niagara. A single color is powerful!