Agua Grand Turk
Karen Safer is an international, award-winning photographic artist and poet with a musical bent. A Los Angeles native, born to creative, scholarly-minded parents who encouraged her world travel (230+ countries/territories visited).
Early on, she was greatly influenced by movies, music, books, and plays, and as a student of art and history, inspired by ancients to moderns – Assyria to Cindy Sherman. She has a bachelor’s/master’s degree in Art from UCLA and California State University. She is a member of the Los Angeles Art Association, Women United, Praxis Gallery, LACMA, MOCA, IAA-USA (UNESCO), Who’s Who of Professional Women, ArtTour Magazine (NY), AATOLAU interview, Artist Talk Magazine (UK), Lens Magazine, etc. She was given a camera and crayons at 3 and exposed to/inspired by California motifs: light, trees, the ocean, music, and vernacular architecture that defined/influenced her left-handed aesthetic. She began taking pictures of family and friends, progressing from painting to developing black-and-white photos in college. She was fortunate to begin a life of travel as a teen that shaped her love of the exotic paired with an eye for the formal, accidental, and unusual while subliminally seeking the “beautiful” that jiggles the lens/frame of my eye.
She is featured in magazines, catalogs, and books and exhibited internationally in over 80+ galleries/museums with over 370+ exhibitions from London, Rome, Berlin, Glasgow, Budapest, Athens, Prague, Paris, Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Sao Paulo, from California to New York, winning 360+ First and other awards – most recently: Black & White SPIDER Awards nominee, 21st Julia Margaret Cameron Awards in Abstract and in Architecture categories, Botticelli International Prize in Florence, LA Art Show 2024, 17th Annual Color Awards and soon in Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Art Expos in Basel and Armenian Modern Art Museum in Yerevan.
“A photographer has the whole world big or small to capture.” – kjs
Influences: I am a student of art, architecture, history, literature, film, and music. I have been heavily influenced by so many sources but here I’ve chosen to highlight art and photography influences from Hopper to Cartier-Bresson and from Atget to Cindy Sherman. So many influences on life from cities to nature to music and art. I love color and all its vibrance while I venerate black and white. I embrace all the many influences that have touched my art and my life deeply.
Airport Labyrinth
Andrea Hellman, Ed.D., is an associate professor of English at Missouri State University. She holds a doctorate in Language, Literacy, and Cultural Studies from Boston University. She is best known for her publications in TESOL and directs a National Professional Development grant project called Show Me Multiliteracy.
Andrea is a prolific fine artist, who maintains an online gallery of her works. She is a member of the Fresh Gallery in Springfield, Missouri. Her preferred medium is digital painting although she has worked in oil painting, watercolor, etching, collage, mixed media, and photography. Accolades for Andrea’s art in 2023 include two Gold, a Silver, and two Bronze Awards from the J. Mane Gallery, two Artist-of-the-Month Awards and five Bronze Awards from the Camelback Gallery, a Second Place Award and an Honorable Mention from the Ten Moir Gallery, a Bronze Award from the Global Painting Conclave, two Talent Prize Awards and an Honorable Mention from Teravarna, an Artistic Excellence Award and two Honorable Mentions from Fusion Art, two Special Merit Awards and several Special Recognitions from the Light Space Time Gallery, a Best-in-Show Award and a Crystal Award from the Gallery Ring, two Laurel Awards from Gallery 4%, an Honorable Mention from the Art Show International Gallery and the Art Room Contemporary Online Gallery. Her art was published in the Passengers Journal, the Beyond Words Literary Magazine, and New Note Poetry, and she was a featured artist in Hayden Ferry’s Review Issue 72, Spring/Summer, 2023. (https://www.andreahellman.com/).
Andrea’s current art projects are about play and exploration. She lives in a vibrant arts community; her works reflect the relationship of art forms, theater, poetry, dance, and music. She occupies herself with “what if” questions to generate creative imagery visualizing her musings and sensations in the present.
My current art projects are primarily influenced by my passion for play and exploration. I experiment with color schemes, curious shapes, light patterns, varied lines, dynamic compositions, my collection of digital materials, and texture brushes. I occupy myself with “what if” questions to generate creative imagery: What if I captured the flight patterns of my backyard birds? What if I condensed the colors of my favorite Florida beach into a single image? What if I could recreate the feeling of silk through colors? What if I merged different poses of a figure into a single image? What shapes and patterns would result from layering objects in various blend modes? Another main influence comes from observing other artists at work and visiting art museums wherever I travel. I focus on the finer details of underpaintings, blending, brush strokes, paint mediums, and varnishes. I photograph textures and patterns that inspire me to try something new in my work. I usually have the best time when I am left behind in a museum to roam in circles around the art.
Alexandria 2
For more than two decades, I have pursued a successful career in digital animation and fine arts, as a professor, animator, and director/producer of animation films and commercial products. My experience includes college-level instruction, course and curriculum development in the United States and abroad, and production and promotion of professional shows and festivals. My films have won awards in a number of such venues. I also provide consultation in animation, design, and illustration for both academic and commercial applications and his clients include some well-known names in the animation industry.
The following paintings show my investigations of color, in particular, the color pink. The psychology of pigment as it relates to the subject and its environment is of particular interest. The colors’ complements are pushed and played against each other as a reflection of this relationship. The piece is also a mixture of mixed media. The process is a creative cocktail of materials from my various sources to produce the art. This painting is the investigation of unconventional uses of this particular color.
Please enjoy.
Alice At The Tea Party
I came of age during the 1960s. As a lawyer and citizen, I was and am a champion for gender equality. I paint the female figure in sometimes absurd, sometimes haunting locations. Far from creating emotionless family portraits, I blend color and imagery to explore themes of mythology, literature and philosophy, and emotion. Here and there I will do floral or landscapes and faces too.
I studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. My work has been shown in Galleries across the nation. I am a signature member of the Baltimore, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia watercolor societies. I choose watercolor as a medium because it is fluid and sometimes serendipitous. I also do woodcut prints and carvings in wood.
Thirty years ago, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. In addition to painting, I am highly visible in the community providing support and advocacy for all those who suffer from mental illness. The bipolar helps shape my work, more in some collections than in others.
Bipolar shapes my art. It gives it passion, often oddness, and emotions from joy to the weight of depression. My work is almost exclusively figurative though the folds and patterns of fabric fascinate me. I am always amazed at the reactions to my work and the many meanings different people find in it. Sometimes these are far from anything I consciously intended, but always a pleasure. Art is communication. It is an active process in which the artists and viewers are participants.
Alices Daydream
Rebecca J. Jones was a scholarship student at East Carolina University from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Since then, her illustration, production, and directorial efforts have resulted in numerous awards individually as well as for the animation studio that she is a part owner of, including over 300 “Best of” awards, 2 Hollywood International Film Festival “Best of” awards, a BAFTA nomination in 2004, and inclusion in the prestigious Society Of Illustrators of Los Angeles‘s Illustration West 62 Exhibition and a Winner in the Fine Art category of Creative Quarterly 77.
She is an active board member of the Visual Art League of Lewisville in North Texas, where she resides, a board member of the Young Men’s Service Club: Integrity Chapter, as well as a member of 4 other art guilds/leagues/societies including the Society Of Illustrators of Los Angeles.
I grew up with a pencil in my hand and drawing on everything – paper, my bedroom walls, my clothing, test papers… a habit was formed, so off I went to art school. I studied photography and sculpture which was perfect for starting a career in 3d animation where I sculpt characters and light scenes. A couple of decades later, I rekindled my love for drawing and fine art. As someone who has spent most of her life in animation, I have always loved telling a good story. I gravitate towards simple moments that are impactful and I am a sucker for the happy ones… the stories that make us smile. In a world that is full of sadness and hurt, I hope my art is a reprieve from the brokenness. I share positive moments, inclusivity, and empathy and hopefully make an impact however small it may be.
Aliens
My photography is driven by a desire to capture fleeting moments and turn them into lasting impressions. I focus on the details that are often overlooked, finding or creating meaning in everyday life. Through each image, I hope to inspire viewers to pause, look closer, and discover something new or reconnect with a shared experience. It’s not about perfection but about connection — encouraging others to see beauty, humor, or emotion in the world around them and within themselves.
I’m a photographer and small business owner from Madison, SD. I specialize in high school senior portrait sessions but also periodically book corporate and event photography. I graduated from Dakota State University in 2006 with degrees in Computer Graphic Design and English for Information Systems. I joined the workforce one month after graduation for Heartland Energy, where I’m still employed full-time today as a Communications Specialist. I’m also a wife and mom to two rascally, fun-loving kids who emulate their boisterous dad. They are frequently the subject of my work. I stay busy balancing my time between kids, work, and community service organizations with a variety of games, activities, and naps in between.
All Dressed Up Nowhere To Go
Colleen Martinelli is a Portland, Oregon-based artist and photographer who is deeply passionate about her art practice. As a lifelong lover of art, she has been creating and taking art lessons from an early age. Her first preferred practices were drawing, painting, and sculpture. These remain part of her art practice today. But, at the age of nine with a disposable Kodak camera in hand, she discovered her fascination with photography. After getting her first digital camera that same year, she has been taking photographs on both digital and film ever since. Colleen graduated from Portland State University in June 2022 after completing her undergraduate degree there. She majored in art practice and double minored in theatre and business. She is enjoying life post-undergraduate and is looking at graduate school in the near future.
Over the past few years, I’ve explored editorial photography, particularly in my day-to-day life. I’ve found that photographs do not require showcasing the sensationalized aspects of life to be engaging. But, rather there can be beauty and whimsy in the ordinary and mundane. I found while in lockdown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine gave me plenty of opportunity and time to explore this concept. Since I was limited in my creative endeavors by being confined within the walls of my home with my immediate family. However, this turned out to not be a bad thing. I was able to think more creatively about the people and things that occupied the space around me. I also wanted to document what an interesting time it was living through this pandemic, including what daily life looked like, such as experiencing the dichotomy of wanting to dress up and go out but having no choice but to stay home and do daily tasks such as chores. I wanted to document my family during this time as well. Creating a “usual” family portrait did not seem appropriate for the time and circumstance that we were living in. Nothing about life felt normal, the whole world felt whacky and that was what I strived to portray in these photographs.
All Parts Matter
Percy is a studio partner at Open Sky Studio and Gallery in Tarpon Springs, FL, where he paints, writes, and holds poetry readings. His art is exhibited nationally on-premise and online. He has had solo exhibitions locally as well as group exhibitions. He self-published his first book of poems and art in 2018, “To Keep Us Human “. He is the author of 6 Poetry Chapbooks. He is working on 12 additional Chapbooks of poetry and art to be completed by the end of 2024.
Percy is a humanist. Over a lifetime of experience which includes being a law enforcement officer, volunteer firefighter, lawyer, a pioneer in the organic and sustainable food service industry, and entrepreneur, Percy traveled to every state in the USA and most countries in Europe.
He was born in Latvia during World War II and immigrated to the US as a young child without the benefit of speaking English. Enduring the challenge of learning a new language and acclimating to life in a new land with plenty of food, beautiful schools, and long pants prepared the foundation to build a perspective on humans that he reveals in his work as a visual artist and poet.
Percy’s curiosity about being human has developed into a fully unafraid supporter of women’s equality, racial justice, social justice, the LGBTQI+ community, and human justice. His poetry and art speak to these issues often in the first person. It is the emotional connection to his work that results in his unique style of painting and writing, simple yet powerful. His paintings often are accompanied by poetry and/or narrative to offer the viewer a map of a journey of his work.
He gives credit to two years of semiprivate professional training, engagement with fellow artists, and the encouragement of his studio partner.
Thomas Jefferson sent a letter to Thomas Paine in 1796, in which he wrote: “Go on doing with your pen [brush] what in other times was done with the “sword.”
The lens through which I see is forged within from materials gathered over a lifetime, with all the baggage accumulated during my unique journey; first as a child in Latvia, carried by my Mother in search of safety during World War Il, not unlike what many witness in Ukraine and other areas of war and conflict; then as a child immigrant to America facing challenges of a new language and acclimating to a new land and its culture, experiencing the failures, accomplishments and successes and discovering, observing, learning the realities of the world in which we now live. I became a volunteer fireman, a cop, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, and a pioneer in the natural & organic food service industry. All have added richness to my work as an artist and poet. However, all my previous experiences also add to the many questions about us humans.
These questions are not of the young and untested or unchallenged by life but rather of those who survived life’s tests despite their scars and regrets. Yet not all questions have answers, some questions remain questions.
Examples are:
1. Why is much discrimination over that which the human has no control such as color of skin, sex, who is loved, gender, ethnicity, and looks?
2. Why do we seek differences to separate instead of commonalities to bring about inclusion? Why not search for more insight to empower ourselves and others, realizing that within our uniqueness, we have shared aspirations?
3. Why don’t we see others, their pain, their needs, that they are like us?
I CARE – I PAINT – I WRITE
All The Roads To Nowhere
Gerrit “Gert” van Ommering is a fine art photographer based in Gold River, California. Originally from the Netherlands, he relocated to the United States at the age of 19 to pursue a dynamic career in the aerospace industry, specializing in the invention, design, development, deployment, and management of space systems. Following retirement, he transitioned to photography, channeling his technical and creative energies into a new artistic medium.
Gert is actively involved in Northern California’s photography and arts communities. He contributes to the Viewpoint Photographic Art Center and Gallery and serves as the Print Director for the Sierra Camera Club. He also holds memberships in various arts organizations across Sacramento, Yolo County, Rancho Cordova, Lodi, and Placerville. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and competitions, earning regional awards and entering several private collections.
In July 2024, he co-presented the successful duo exhibition “REALISMFantasy” with his wife Lucille at the Mills Station Arts & Culture Center in Rancho Cordova, where he contributed the “Fantasy” segment. His upcoming solo exhibition “Embellished Emblems” is being installed at Gallery 1075 in West Sacramento for a June 2025 run. This body of work explores classic and vintage car emblems through radical digital manipulation, emphasizing bold color, texture, and abstraction.
Gert’s work consistently explores the tension between realism and imagination, blending technical precision with experimental expression.
I’ve always been drawn to images that surprise – ones that feel a little offbeat, mysterious, or just plain strange. While I do plenty of straight or lightly enhanced photography, what I really enjoy is taking an image and pushing it into new territory: twisting, layering, abstracting -basically playing with it until it feels like something unexpected has emerged.
My eye tends to land on unusual shapes, odd juxtapositions, or scenes that others might overlook. I collect these visual ingredients and let instinct take over in the editing process. Sometimes I know where I’m going; often I don’t. I keep experimenting until something clicks – when the image feels done, or at least done enough to walk away from.
Let’s face it: we’re living in a world flooded with photos. With billions of cameras clicking away every second, the challenge is to make something that doesn’t get lost in the flood. That’s where the odd, the abstract, or the slightly weird come in. If my work can get someone to stop for even a few seconds and think, “Wait, what am I looking at?”- then I feel that I have accomplished something.
The pieces I’ve submitted for “Abstract Realm” lean into that idea. They’re not trying to document the world so much as reimagine it. They’re meant to be a bit jarring, maybe even puzzling, but hopefully also engaging – something to pull the viewer in for a second look.
At the end of the day, I’m just chasing that feeling of creative play and discovery, and hoping some of that comes through in the final image.