★ Patterns ★
The beauty of nature surrounding Los Angeles was the impetus for her entrance into the field of photography. Joanne began vigorously studying photography and other art arenas to hone her skills as a visual artist. In 2000, she graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with a Master of Fine Art (MFA). She is now a full-time artist.
In addition to color and black and white film, Joanne shoots digitally employs the techniques of infrared imaging, and enjoys creating 3D anaglyphs to be viewed with red/blue lenses. As an extension of photography, she has branched out to do videos and has a YouTube Channel, THE VIDEO ART OF JOANNE CHASE-MATTILLO. Along with nature, Joanne frequently photographs female and male subjects in fun-themed studio shoots.
Joanne has exhibited throughout California, nationally, in Korea, France and England, Switzerland, Scotland, Greece, Spain, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Holland, Brazil, Dubai, and Italy. Her work has also been selected for Lunar Codex, a very special project partnered with SpaceX to deliver the images of art in a time capsule to be permanently affixed to the surface of the moon, selected by Era Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of “Legends Of The Moon”.
As a photographer, I am constantly in search of iconic imagery. The craftsmanship and perfection of classic Hollywood cinema have always been an inspiration and goal I seek to achieve in my photography. While enjoying the technology of the present and how that has enhanced photography, I am very drawn to recreate photographs that reference the best of the past. It is my intent that the viewer of the images I create will be taken out of the everyday present to a magical place where at anytime they would dream of going. Whether photographing people or nature, I strive to honor the best and beauty of all that I have an opportunity to capture with my camera.
Summer days are the dream moments of the year that are looked forward to in dreary seasons. The beach, pool, lakes, and oceans draw all to embrace the sun and beat the heat. When we think of summer, we embrace all that the warmth of the sun brings.
★ Remembrance Of Things Past ★
Gerard Huber was born October 2, 1949, in Waterloo, Iowa.
He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Painting and Printmaking in 1971. Following completion of undergraduate studies, Huber studied Figure Drawing and Contemporary Theology at the University of Notre Dame in 1971 and participated in the Blossom-Kent Art Program at Kent State University in 1973. Huber earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1975, studying with George Ortman.
In 1994 Huber received a Mid-America Arts Alliance/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Painting, and has been a Visiting Artist/Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 2013 and 2015.
After forty-seven years of teaching in the Department of Art at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, Texas, formerly East Texas State University. Huber retired in August 2022.
His studio is located at 3500 Oak Lawn Avenue, #275, Dallas, TX 75219
I intend these pictures as mythological footprints of conflicting values in our times. Present-day worship of the human body, the perfect physique – and its tangent to an ancient Greek concept, physical perfection as a mirror for spiritual perfection – is expressed here by the contrast of modern, live figures arrested in a moment of interaction with archetypal forms.
In Christianized Western civilization, depictions of naked male flesh have been closely associated with evil that the only way a nude male body could be tolerated as if it was being abused, punished, or mutilated – a sort of sadomasochistic expiation of unconscious guilt about merely having a body, whereas depictions of female nudity are culturally acceptable according to John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” because they provide opportunities for “acceptable” male possession whether in fact or desire.
My goal is to challenge contempt for the fully nude male figure, which is thought to be, at best, embarrassing and, at worst, indecent. My exploration involves placing homoerotic male nudes in intimate domestic locations, which engage the viewer either as voyeur or partner. The work is meant to challenge the viewer to examine their values and prejudices vis-a-vis intimacy and the nude male. My intent is to invite the viewer to confront their own beliefs and values about the naked body and to resolve for themselves the question of good and evil regarding nudity in general, and male nudity in particular, as well as provide a peacefully sensual way of drawing the viewer into a space that challenges heteronormative assumptions of male competition, and which demonstrates that same-sex relationships are wholesome, healthy and life-affirming.
★ Resilience ★
Debbi Homola, an award-winning acrylic/mixed media abstract artist is based in Novelty, Ohio. Debbi began painting in 2021 after 20 years as a lampwork artist creating glass beads/marbles. She enjoys painting and experimenting daily with different tools creating layers, blends, textures, marks, and colors to share feelings of calm, peacefulness, and wonder.
“Ascent” and “Summer’s Last Bloom” selected for International Artist Space Gallery online Nature Art Exhibition, December 2024; Placed in 15th Abstracts Exhibition for “Breaking Through” in LightSpaceTime online Gallery, April 2024; Placed in Art Fluent online gallery Abstrakt for “Resilience” /’ab,strak(t)/ May 2024; Geauga Arts Council Solo Exhibition August-October, 2023; Placed 2nd in the “Artists to Watch” competition, November/December 2022 issue Artists Magazine.
Intuition guides me through my paintings as I create, sometimes with no goal in mind. Listening to my inner thoughts and feelings, I guide a myriad of brushes and tools on blank pages/substrates. Through many layers I ask and answer questions, adding and subtracting, and covering up parts. It takes patience and letting go of parts I love only to be covered up with my fascination with a new line, color, shape, or different mark.
It could be days, weeks, or months for one of my pieces to say “I am done and ready to share with others.” It is all part of the creative process: joy and gratitude in creating a piece of art.
My art takes viewers on a visual experience as they explore textures, and multiple layers and discover little surprises throughout the piece; basically an invitation to take their own journey as they view a piece of my art.
I currently live in Northeast Ohio with my husband and 2 dogs, having lived most of my life in Kansas and Missouri. After 20 years as a lampwork artist, I now find joy in creating intuitive acrylic abstract paintings. Many of my art pieces reflect my sights, emotions, and feelings abstractly inspired by nature’s beauty in NE Ohio.
★ Sea Stacks At Sunrise ★
Jean Carter is a native Oregonian with more than 20 years of experience as a professional nature writer/photographer. Her love and respect for nature began at an early age when her family purchased a 55-acre stump farm in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains east of Eugene, Oregon. With trails through the forest and a year-round creek, the stump farm was an idyllic place to grow up. Jean graduated from McKenzie River High School in Finn Rock, Oregon, and received a degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon in 1960, and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 1971. A single mother, she raised her two children in Coos Bay where she taught 5th and 6th grades in the public schools for 24 years. Her passion for photography began in 1986 after a tragic accident claimed the life of her son. She signed up for a photography class at the local community college they had planned to take together. For many years photography was a weekend hobby, but driving to work became more difficult with each passing year. There was always something that begged to be photographed: a sunrise over the bay, maple leaves back-lit against the sky, or wildflowers blooming along the road. In 1995 she took a giant leap of faith and retired early. The plan was to have a second career as a writer/photographer. For several years, Jean had many articles and photos published by Oregon Coast and Northwest Travel magazines, but gradually her focus shifted to photography only. Her first national sale came two years later when Outdoor Photographer selected two photos for publication in their magazine and calendar. That was followed by acceptance in the year 2000 Inner Reflection calendar, published by the Self-Realization Fellowship. Jean’s photos were first marketed nationally by Jon Gnass of Bend, Oregon. In 2006 she signed on with AGEfotostock, an international photo stock agency in Barcelona, Spain, where her photos were sold in 36 countries. In 2007 she teamed up with another photographer and led workshops for many years on the Oregon coast and scenic locations throughout the western United States including Olympic, Crater Lake, and Redwood National Parks. Since 2017, Jean’s photos have been marketed by danitadelimont.com, a photo stock agency in Bellevue, Washington. They have distributed and sold her photos to numerous companies including Art.com, Gallo Images, Fine Art America/Pixels.com, iCanvas-Kroto Inc., Shutterstock, Metaverse, Interia, Print on Demand, and Wall Decor. Jean is now semi-retired enjoying her new passion altering her photographs to create unique art images. Each new image begins with a photograph that is then altered using various plug-in filters in Photoshop.
I am especially drawn to subjects in nature with artistic potential. I often wished I could travel the world over, discovering new locations and subjects to photograph, but that was never an option for me. Like Robert Frost, I have taken the road less traveled. Now, at 86, I am no longer able to photograph out in nature the way I used to. Physical limitations have been hard to accept. Out of necessity, I have been forced to adapt. After years of straight unaltered nature photography, I am doing what was once unthinkable, altering my photographs using tools in Photoshop and a variety of plug-in filters. The purist in me is gone, but I still maintain a distinct difference between straight photography and the abstract images I create in Photoshop. While the choices in each filter package are limited, by using a combination of filters from a variety of filter packages, the potential to create unique images becomes infinite. Each new image begins with the selection of a single filter. It’s not a mindless endeavor. Quite the contrary, it’s the beginning of what often seems like a long and winding road. Inspiration comes during the process of creation. With each alteration ideas come to me, step by step along the way. I try different filters and combinations of filters, delete and clone out portions of the image, move things around, and sometimes crop the image. Unfortunately, some of the filters create artifacts when used in combination that must be painstakingly removed. I’ve spent hours, even days, spotting a single image only to give up and send it to the waste basket. Other images are set aside to work on later. The process can be tedious and challenging as each step moves the image in the direction I want it to go, but in the final moment of creation, when there is nothing I want to add or change, I feel that sudden ‘aha’ moment the Gestalt psychologists so beautifully described. It’s exhilarating, like diving off the high board for the first time. By then my original photograph is likely to be abstract beyond recognition. It has morphed into something unique that can not be reproduced by anyone else. Nature photography is all about finding a perfect subject and reducing the image to eliminate distracting elements. Art Photos, as I like to call them, require more creative energy on my part. As with both art mediums, inevitably the ‘aha’ moment fades and I am back looking for another image to work on.
★ Solitude ★
Lale Gerger’s life and artistry are a testament to resilience and passion for expression. Born in Colorado and immersed in Turkey’s culture until she was twelve. Her adolescence spanned the U.S., England, Kuwait, and Mexico, culminating in a return to the U.S. and later, Turkey, at 24. These experiences broadened her global perspective and shaped her artistic outlook.
During her middle school years in America, Gerger’s struggle with language and cultural assimilation led her to discover her passion for the arts. A theatre class became her sanctuary, highlighting the power of artistic expression in fostering connection and understanding. She pursued a degree in Theatre from UCLA and later earned her Master’s degree from the University of Florida, exploring the nexus of art, health, and business.
Gerger’s professional life took a practical turn as she embarked on a career in HR, driven by her responsibilities as the first single woman to adopt in Turkey, a five-year legal battle that saw two laws change. Simultaneously, she worked as an actress and director. Her mother’s battle with cancer and the economic impact of COVID-19 led her to find solace in art again. After multiple layoffs during the pandemic, she shifted to painting full-time.
Now in Florida, Gerger is a celebrated contemporary abstract painter. Her vibrant works capture universal and oceanic essences. Through her “Shine Your Light” series, she encourages finding your own light and shining it for others, which she describes as her golden thread.
Gerger has earned numerous accolades, including the Award of Excellence from the Gainesville Fine Arts Association in 2022 and 2023. She participates in fine art festivals across Florida and Georgia and regularly exhibits at various galleries. As she continues to evolve as an artist, Lale remains committed to creating meaningful connections and fostering positivity through her art.
As an artist based in Gainesville, Florida, I aim to combine artistry, empathy, and resilience in my creative journey. From my theatre background to navigating personal challenges, art has been my compass. Through mediums like acrylics and pen and ink, I explore life’s complexities, inviting viewers to embrace resilience and share their light.
My journey is a testament to the transformative power of art in navigating life’s challenges and discovering purpose amid adversity. Driven by a deep passion for the arts, I received my theatre degree at UCLA and then went to Turkey, where I reconnected with my cultural roots while working both as an actress for the State Theatre and as a faculty member at a conservatory.
However, a pivotal moment in my personal life reshaped my path. Through a five-year legal battle, I fought for the right to adopt as a single woman in Turkey, ultimately changing laws and welcoming my son into my life.
Returning to the United States, I delved into nonprofit work and later ventured into Human Resources to provide stability for my child. During a personal tragedy with my mother’s cancer diagnosis and the onset of the pandemic, I rediscovered solace in art.
Spanning a diverse range of mediums and techniques, with a focus on acrylics through abstract art, my artwork reflects a unique perspective on life’s complexities. Art has always been my solace and my form of expression, helping me navigate through life’s trials. I am continually inspired by the resilience of the human spirit, the profound beauty of the cosmos, and the strength of inspirational women. My technique combines meticulous attention to detail with spontaneous expression, making my art unique in its genuine reflection of life’s dualities—light and dark, struggle and triumph.
★ Still Life On The Edge Of Enlightenment ★
Coriolana Simon has exhibited widely in the Washington, DC area since 2010. Her solo exhibits of still life include a large show at the region’s premier arts center: The Mansion at Strathmore. Occupying the entire first floor of this historic mansion, the exhibit ran from mid-November 2023 to mid-January 2024. She has also presented a 2022 online exhibit through Biafarin / Exhibizone as well as at live venues such as Penn Place Gallery, Artists and Makers Gallery, the Art Gallery of Brookside Gardens, and Glenview Mansion, all in suburban Maryland. Recent group shows – 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 – include several with Biafarin and Gallerium online, the Friendship Gallery in Chevy Chase, MD, and the Maryland State House. Among her honors is an honorable mention by the Maryland Photography Alliance in 2022, a special honor from the Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography in 2021, Best in Show and Best in Still Life at Mid-Atlantic Photo Visions of 2020, as well as 2nd place at the Strathmore, MD, multi-media juried exhibit in 2019. In 2020, she was the winner of the international still life competition sponsored by MPB. Lenswork included one still life in their 2023 monograph, three of her images in “Trilogies,” published in 2022, and another in “Our Magnificent Planet” in 2021. Simon also lectures and gives workshops on still life. Her work is held in private, corporate, and ecclesiastical collections.
For decades, I have admired the still life paintings by Dutch artists of the 17th century. Not only do they give us a detailed view of Dutch culture, but they were painted in a style as realistic as photographs. Now, in the genre of what’s become known as “history photography,” I create still lifes with my camera, using classic approaches to composition and lighting. While never copying a painting, I re-interpret the historic themes, using only objects that would have been appropriate in the 17th-century paintings.
Reconsidering the art of another culture in another era – and making it relevant for us today – is a complex idea to bring to one’s photographs. Nonetheless, I hope that my work not only reinterprets the styles but also the spirit of the 17th-century Dutch – and through them, creates a reflection back onto our own culture.
★ Sun Joy ★
Tricia Faulkner is a self-taught artist who began at around age 5. Perhaps her greatest childhood influence was living in New Orleans where she first experienced many art cultures. When not moving about from city to city with her family, her time was spent on a farm in North Alabama. Tricia sketched from books for entertainment, relaxation, and as her greatest coping mechanism. However, she never truly believed in her abilities. As the years passed Tricia earned a Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy while raising two children. In April of 2020, Tricia left everything behind and took an online painting course in Bold Color Art.
Her heart drove her to a passion for portraying strong emotions in faces. In her first 18 months of painting, she finished over 60 commissions. Although grateful for the work, her soul felt suffocated from the lack of her own inner voice and put commissions on hold. She then began painting from photographs she had taken over the years from serving as a missionary pharmacist in Central America. She also had a strong Spiritual upbringing and began portraying the visions of Angels she often had in her dreams (works that are still in development). The feeling of good versus evil plays a big role in her concept artworks; an art form she sketched out during some of her most passionate struggles.
Tricia has been advertised in Vanity Fair Magazine UK Editions for Artist to Watch, Interviewed on Bold Art Podcast December 2021, Featured in Nashville (TN) Voyager Magazine in the Inspiring Stories Segment, won Best In Show, and 1st place in a Regional Juried Exhibit, 3 National Juried Exhibitions, 3 International Juried Exhibitions, and awarded the Certificate of Artistic Achievement by the Pinacothe’que Museum in Luxembourg for the Angel portrayal “Breaker of Chains”
I sketch and paint with pens, pencils, markers, and high-quality heavy-body acrylic paints. One of my first and most passionate forms of art is the human struggle and/or joy in facial expressions. I am a huge empath and 10 years before I ever picked up a paintbrush I bought a professional camera and just photographed faces when I could. My soul always nudged me to get ready to paint!
When I am not photographing my subjects I am dreaming! I recall some of my most vivid dreams and many are nightmarish. I believe the Spirit that binds us all moves through us if we are open to receiving the messages. Many of those messages come to me in my dream state. With the binding spirit comes nature! I love the evolution I have come from; human faces to animals and wildlife in nature. My hope is to continue into the lane of concept art and fantasy that will combine both.
In my bold color art style, I use many textures, and heavy body acrylics layered in a dry brush technique and may include gel matte, spray paints, pastes, inks, or pens to give more dimension and emotional pull.
★ Support To The Top ★
When I was studying architecture, photography was a tool I used in the creation of projects and to enhance the presentation of the final product. I incorporated the camera lens as a part of the design development process looking at elements of design such as form, space, geometry, light, texture, and color. Over time, as I improved my knowledge of creative design, I also increased my interest in photography learning that the elements were the same. Just as I had photographed the components of my designs, my work became focused on looking for the elements of architectural design in every image I create. To me, composing a photo is similar to designing a building. I like to see how the visual building blocks in the elements of design can be combined into a unique whole.
“I look at every photo opportunity as if it were a design with architectural, structural, and artistic integrity, regardless of the subject matter.”
The study of design has allowed me to expand my horizons to all avenues of photography. Just as I had photographed the composites of my designs, my work is now focused on looking for the components of a creative design or story in every photograph I take. To me, composing a photo is similar to designing a building. I like to see how the visual building blocks in the elements of design can be combined into a unique whole.
★ The Bride Amidst Vesuvian Ruins ★
Audrey Brown is a California artist, born in Pennsylvania. Attended the University of Michigan, and degrees from California College of Art and San Francisco State University. She has taught art from 1988 to the present. Post-degree workshops include Florence Academy of Art, Italy, the Slade School, University of London, UK, CCA Atelier program, Paris, and Aix en Provence. Also, Atelier Sadie Valeri, San Francisco, Teresa Oaxaca, Scott Conary, San Francisco, Alyssa Monks, The Rome Art Workshops, Alex Kanevsky, Asilomar, CA, and David Shevlino, Sacramento, CA. Grants and Awards: East Bay Fine Arts Foundation Grant, National Institute for Humanities, Harvard. Featured in Scholastic Art Magazine, and Artists of the Bay Area ( Jen Tough Gallery ) she has had numerous one-person and group shows in the Bay Area. Recent Juried Shows include “Summer Feelings” at the HMVC Gallery, NY. “Connections” a group show in Berkeley, CA., the De Young Museum Online Open Call, San Francisco, Coastal Art Gallery shows “Kindred Spirits” and “Enduring Moments”, Frank Bette juried Plein Air Paint Out, and the Art Preservation Institute Group Show.
In this portrait, I sought to explore themes of time, mortality, and the potential explosive ruins of relationships. Using multiple translucent and opaque complementary colors, I aimed to give the artwork depth and complexity while visually representing the intricate layers of emotion of a person set adrift by an explosive end to a relationship. I began with a model in the studio, a veiled woman holding a skull, and an hourglass on a ledge near her shoulder. Every few months I’d play with the layers and her expression, adding some fresco elements like olive leaves, seen in the ruins of Pompeii.
It wasn’t until I had an explosive breakup while visiting Italy for a long-awaited dream vacation with a man I expected to spend my life with. Oddly enough it was the day after a torrential rainstorm which turned a visit to Pompeii into one more thing to argue about. Within days I was alone, and my life exploded like the eruption from Vesuvius. It’s been my job to rebuild and I’ve done it through art.
There are layers of paint, layers of objects, layers of personal meaning unseen, but best of all, the layers of evocative feeling I hope to inspire in the viewer.