This Is How I Feel
When you grow up with an artist as your father, art will always be a part of your life. I always knew that I would be an artist in some way for the rest of my life. I would often sit down next to him, and we would paint the same still life as a way for him to teach me. I spent numerous hours in his studio exploring and experimenting. Eventually, I ended up at Pratt Institute studying fashion, but then moved to communication design at The Parsons School of Design, both in New York. I went on to a career in commercial art with a focus on poster design, corporate design, advertising, and cut paper illustration. I worked for Saatchi and Saatchi, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Sports Illustrated, and the Saint Martin Bureau of Tourism, designing their country’s logo. I have won numerous awards from the New York Art Directors Club, the American Public Transit Association, and Creativity Magazine.
In 2008 my husband and I moved to Vienna, Austria where I was mentored by Mag. Marianne Krambichler studied painting and drawing at the Vienna Volkshochschule. It was the first time I concentrated on just painting and drawing and not commercial art. I returned to the States in 2016 and continued my work. Remembering how much I loved silkscreening earlier in life, I signed up for a class and fell back in love with the process and haven’t stopped since. It was a way for me to create a series of paintings and I never had to give up my originals. My love of poster and silkscreening meshed into one with my love of drawing, painting, fashion, and color. I started exhibiting in 2019 and have been included in numerous juried shows throughout the United States, including first place in GRASSROOTS, An Emerging Artist Exhibition at the Rockport Art Association and Museum in Rockport, MA. My husband and I now divide our time between the UK and the US and I continue to work and exhibit in both countries.
What gets me excited? It’s the ruffle on a collar, an outrageous hat or dress, a feather, the combinations of great colors, the petals on a flower, too many sequins, beads, or necklaces, or just the best mustache. I start by painting a monoprint of my subject. I accept all the mishaps that happen in the process, loving the messiness of it all. I color-separate it, and then I build layers upon layers of color until all the beauty can be seen in the details and jumble. Each print looks like an original painting but is part of an edition limited to fewer than ten. I want to bring happiness, joy, a laugh, and a smile to everyone’s face through my art.
This Island Earth
Born and raised in the tough Italian neighborhood of Ducktown, Atlantic City, NJ, John Calabrese received his BA in Art from Catholic University, Washington, DC, his MFA in Painting and Drawing from Pratt Institute where he studied under George McNeil, and his Ph. D. in Comparative Arts from Ohio University, Athens.
He is Professor Emeritus of Art, at Texas Woman’s University where he taught art history, aesthetics, the history of film noir, and the art of Alfred Hitchcock, and was in charge of the art history study abroad program which he initiated in 1994. He has published articles on Paul Klee, J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”, and Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” and “The Trouble with Harry.”
He has painted the boxer Joe Frazier and drawn portraits ion Frank Sinatra and Mickey Mantle. He had coffee with Joe Di Maggio and is a lifelong Yankee fan.
A delicate nuance of value and texture becomes tools in conveying powerful dramatic statements about earthly beings who are not afraid to wonder, think, dream, and take that one step beyond.
The inhabitants of the cosmic atmosphere appear at odds with their surroundings, many of which are actual, specifically named astronomical objects. This is the result when the merely earthly confronts its unavoidable connection to the awe, mystery, and majesty of the heavens.
However, when fragile earthly beauty confronts sublime heavenly beauty the earthly is reverently and silently humbled.
This Lollipop Life
Juels Pellow is an Australian artist who resides on the beautiful Gold Coast of Queensland and is completely captivated by the wonderment and joy of creation and the unseen realm.
Her background in interior design & decorating, clothing design, and slow fashion has helped to feed into the creativity & uniqueness of her pieces, with a tendency to lean towards textured acrylic, watercolor, and pencil, but no medium is off limits and no style is un-touched! Most of her inspiration comes from nature or dreams and visions, where she is inspired by encouraging messages and insights from the unseen realm. She has been a featured artist in the Luxembourg art awards, a local gallery group and solo exhibitor at Creative Hearts Art Gallery on the Gold Coast, and an Internationally recognized artist with HMVC Gallery New York where her inspired pieces on the “Garden of Eden” and “Feels Like Home” were shown on the big screen in Times Square for 2 consecutive 4-week events and is a contributing published artist, poet, and writer in a recently released book called “The Voice in the Paint”.
Juels also has many of her paintings on display locally at the Bank of Queensland, BeScene framing and event hire, and local cafes. Most of her artworks and unique business logos are held in private collections and businesses all around Australia and the United States.
“I truly believe that we are all born to be creative, it’s embedded in our DNA. All of us have unique perspectives, gifts, and talents to share with this world. I love the fact that I get to encourage, empower and uplift others with all of the creative talents that I have been gifted.”
Thistle Flowers
Cher Pruys was born in Regina. Over the years, she lived in many places, including Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Fort Frances, settling into her present home in Devlin, on the banks of the Rainy River with her husband Mark and pets.
By age three, Cher was seldom found without a drawing tool in hand. She worked in pencil, charcoal, and ink over the years, picking up a paintbrush at the age of 35. Beginning with oil paints, she found her chosen mediums in acrylic, watercolor, and gouache, and her passion for hyperrealism.
Although self-taught, her dedication and talent have seen her work juried into 745 International exhibits. She has won 1146 awards for her work in the International Juried Exhibits.
Her work has graced the covers of 3 books, 42 magazines, including The Best Of Acrylic Fall 2021, cover of the May 2022 Arabella Magazine, #20 Hyperrealism Magazine with “Girls Girls Girls”, & #21 with “The Young Cowboy”, Artists & Illustrators March 2024 Artistonish 2024 July edition, Observica Elite 2024, Art Closeup Magazine#26 Jan. 2025, & The back cover of Novum Artis #007, 2025. She has been featured in over 600 International publications. Cher’s works have found a permanent home in private and public collections worldwide.
“To take my inner visions with my hands and create a work of art for you, the viewer …. That is the ultimate in self-expression.”
I am very drawn to shiny surfaces as well as transparent objects, especially when the lighting brings them to life. I look for beauty in everyday objects that most people take for granted or just don’t truly see as they are. The seemingly boring and mundane subjects can truly be like magnets if portrayed in the right light. Shiny metal is one of those materials that can host endless visions. The light hits it, and the reflections are captured on the smooth, sleek surface. Animals, people, living things with character…an artist’s dream!
Thorny Issue
Perhaps because she is from Connecticut, Barbara Bose is one of those people who loves to connect the dots, seek the hidden picture, the lesson, the meaning, the purpose lurking within or underneath any- and everything. The hidden chalice in the Highlights magazine illustration. The oracle of the car radio. A chance bird swoop perfectly timed as if in confirmation of a thought. A word synchronistically repeated from seemingly random sources. Like an alchemist, Bose takes delight in seemingly random elements conspiring to build something new and heretofore unimagined. She keeps this concept in a little purse of ideas she carries around invisibly, fermenting and growing them until they gel into artwork. She is certain that clues are always there because she believes that with faith and perseverance an underlying picture gradually emerges from the soup and that intelligence lies behind situations, and lessons are to be learned everywhere.
A retired illustrator, art director, and designer from the publishing world, Barbara Bose is happily painting in her South Florida studio.
70s:
Boston Museum School: studied painting, printmaking
Freelance illustrator: ad agencies, various art departments
80s:
Quincy Patriot Ledger: created art department, news illustration & layout
Boston Herald Sunday Magazine: design & photographic art direction
The Palm Beach Post: illustrator and designer
International Fine Arts College, Miami: taught advertising & production
South Florida Magazine: design & photographic art direction
90s:
Blockbuster Entertainment Magazine: launched, design & photo art direction
Ocean Drive Magazine: launched, design & photographic art direction
Miami Herald: layouts, special sections, illustration
BoseArts: my design business
Absolutely Florida: published my online travel magazine
Florida.TV: online videos, launched, editor & producer
The Real Food Revolution: documentary editor & producer
00s – 10s:
DC & FL web, video, graphic, and stage design, Washington DC
Wrote & illustrated award-winning novel, Tree of Lives
20s: painting in her South Florida studio, exhibiting in local and out-of-state galleries and online
This painting is about a dream I had recently. As a big fan of Carl Jung, the universal symbolism of dream language seems very similar to art language, in which we are all fluent. Here is how the idea for this painting unfolded for me:
I dreamed I found myself naked in a cornfield. There were hydrangeas nearby so I covered myself with blossoms. Within the bouquet were some thorny sticks. However, I was warned against the thorns because “they are only for musicians to clean their instruments with,” so I let them go. The next day I flew to Boston to visit friends. Everywhere I went, mounds of hydrangeas, in full bloom, were bursting with color. It was a banner year for them. I realized there was a message for me in this dream since the imagery was underlined by reality.
At the time I had been wrestling with my therapist’s suggestion to undergo ketamine treatments for PTSD. I have been suffering from the pain of estrangement from my daughter after, so far, 3 years. It was like a trap door opened up and swallowed me. I had been researching ketamine therapy and had been interviewing places that administer it, but something seemed off about it and I was at an impasse about how to proceed.
I consider the thorns to be dream language for a stick from a needle. After all, in dream language, an injection could be interpreted as a thorn. The chemical signature for ketamine is more or less spelled out by the thorns around my feet. I have thorny issues and need to watch my step, especially when in the darkness of estrangement. I am grateful to have the guidance of my dreams to see myself through this darkness.
Though He Slay Me Yet I Will Trust In Him
Bruce Sanders is a neo-expressionist/symbolist, and abstract painter living in Malibu, California. Bruce’s work blurs the lines between representational and abstract art. It delves into a space between the real world and a mystical-magical realm. Bruce employs kinetic forms, dynamic colors, and primal emotions in all of his art. By doing so, his work compels viewers to empathize, analyze, and interpret their own feelings.
Bruce’s work has been exhibited in shows in Laguna, Newport Beach, Santa Monica, Ventura, and Los Angeles; and he is a member of the Malibu Art Association, the Palisades Art Association, and the Los Angeles Art Association. Bruce has authored three catalog art books: INTROSPECTION, I BELIEVE IN ANGELS, and THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS. 12 of his paintings are on long-term exhibit at UCLA.
I am a painter living in Malibu, California. My work blurs the lines between representational and abstract art. It delves into a space between the real world and a mystical-magical realm. I try to employ kinetic forms, dynamic colors, and primal emotions in all of my art. By doing so, I hope to compel viewers to empathize, analyze, and interpret their own feelings.
Though You Dance In Living Light
In 2009, shortly after COP15 in Copenhagen, I resigned from my government employment, which included several years with Australia’s aid program in Africa and the Pacific to pursue a career as a full-time artist. With 20 years of experience as a volunteer firefighter, I have witnessed ecosystems in crisis and have become increasingly concerned about human impacts on the health of our planet’s environment.
Despite a lack of formal training as a visual artist, my passion for botanical art grew in parallel with my deepening interest in environmental issues. Since transitioning to art as my primary career, I have mounted 12 solo exhibitions; and have participated in numerous group exhibitions. Most of my work has strong environmental themes, and it has won awards both in Australia and overseas.
I have been sought after as a speaker on aspects of botanical art, and most recently to discuss my current artwork which addresses the issue of climate change and its impacts on our environment as well as on people. This artwork, called “3000 days … and counting …” has just been shown in seven countries to large and small audiences, all keen to engage in the issues surrounding climate change.
I work in graphite and watercolor on paper and vellum. My art themes are primarily botanical, also referencing the environmental partners of the plants.
Over millennia botanical art has always responded to the needs of the time in which it was being made. So there is a challenge there for me as a botanical artist in today’s world. My question to myself was: What are the needs of my time? The biggest issues of my time are the climate crisis and rapidly diminishing biodiversity.
I have long been concerned about environmental issues and the impact people have on the natural environment – sometimes positive, sometimes not so; sometimes intentional, sometimes unintentional.
Scientists and activists have tried their best to bring about an awareness of the changing climate and the impact that is having on the natural environment.
But, many people find it really difficult to comprehend these messages, and sadly, so few people have listened. They are overwhelmed by the scale and impact of what is happening around our globe. The result is that people just switch off. They just don’t know what to do.
Art provides a non-threatening way to engage with people on these issues without blame or guilt. Botanical art, in particular, engages people through the beauty of the natural world. People are absorbed by details in the plants and animals. People then talk. They listen and they learn. For me, my art then tells a story that people remember and reflect upon. It can also change their attitudes and behavior.
What more could I want from my art?
Three Beach Walkers
Vera Gierke is an artist who grew up in New Jersey, has lived in Michigan, Indiana, and Rhode Island, and seasonally on Nantucket. Living in Rhode Island, she engaged in a range of Continuing Education classes at the Rhode Island School of Design and worked with a few local artists. From having taken a variety of classes, Vera expanded her vision and found that the various areas of art interrelate, support, and broaden each other. She joined the Providence Art Club, where she explored a variety of art classes: acrylic, oil, watercolor, drawing, printmaking, photography, Photoshop, and collage. Through these classes, Vera discovered a fascination with paper collages and has made them her favorite form of art. Her work is not abstract; rather, she looks for a way to make an image or object different than what is expected, to add interest through the material used for the collage.
In speaking about her collages, Vera calls them A Fanciful View of a Realistic Subject. She describes them as more than what initially meets the eye.
“Something catches my eye, a scene, an image, a photo, and I begin to transform it in my mind into a collage, imagining how I would design the new work, what I would want to incorporate into it, and what I want the new art to express. The collage is made of pieces of paper, chosen not only for color and interest but also for the relevance and comment that it brings to the collage subject itself. I love taking one form of printed material and converting it into an entirely new image.”
I want my art to be appreciated up close just as much as from a distance. From a distance, the collages create a charming or interesting picture, but there’s more to it when fully appreciated up close. I invite the viewer in for a closer look, whereupon he sees how the pieces of paper relate to the collage and the subject of the art.
“I want the viewer to continue to explore, to discover more in the collage.
The art is intended to be viewed and appreciated up close as much as from a distance.”
Three Generations Theen Piriya
Subodh Maheshwari was born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, North India, where she learned folk art and classical music. She passionately believes: “In the threshold of my life, my present is the window to the past and a key to the future”. She acquired her degrees and studied art at Agra University, California State University, Fullerton, and the University of California, Irvine. Subodh has won numerous awards, including the regional Fellowship Award at UCI in 1986, the Bharat Gaurav Award in India in 2015, and the 60 Masters Award in 2017, 2018, and 2019. She is also registered in Marquis “Who’s Who in America”, the standard in biographical information. Her paintings have also won awards in a variety of categories, including landscape, open, all women, nature, elements, seasons, and abstract.
Subodh is a diversified artist who enjoys telling stories through her artwork, whether it is through landscape, flowers, or abstract art. Her art is a fusion of Eastern symbolism and Western composition, influenced by 16th and 17th-century Rajasthani and Mughal art, and accented by poetry, passages, and phrases in Hindi, Sanskrit, and English. She admires Georgia O’Keeffe for her floral influence and Frida Kahlo for her courage. Whether it is the serene beauty of nature, her spirituality, or the current political climate, she finds inspiration. Having a life shared between India and America, she sees the beautiful similarities, like love, which transcends all borders. Highly individual in her style, her works are described as emotional, mysterious, personal, spiritual, and humorous.
This mysterious and atmospheric painting reveals a forest scene that blurs the line between nature and spirit. Subtle human faces, some smiling and others solemn, are delicately embedded in the vertical forms of tree trunks, suggesting a quiet fusion of humanity with the natural world. Muted tones of green, grey, and soft blush flow like mist through the layered textures, giving the impression of a forest alive with memory and unseen watchers. The figures seem to emerge and vanish at once, evoking themes of presence, ancestry, and the silent sentience of nature.