★★★ Blu Bamboo ★★★
Born in Beacon NY, Mark is an artist based in Las Vegas, who is known for his impressionist paintings that capture people, places, and the events in his life. Timeless and tasteful, or modern and messy, images in his life demand to be examined. Mark often uses acrylic paint to create highly textured, three-dimensional works on canvas. A graduate of San Jose State’s art program, Mark’s first influence was his great uncle, Alfred Pizzarelli, an artist from New York City in the 1950s-60s. When admiring his uncle’s wonderful paintings, Mark would daydream about the people he painted, and interpret their expressions and colorful surroundings. Mark’s paintings are meant to burst with energy, life, and texture, beckoning the viewer to engage with the same wonderment he experienced as a child. You can find Mark’s artwork across Las Vegas in restaurants, wineries, and local galleries. When Mark’s not working, he’s spending time with his wife, Alicia, and their English bulldog, Belma.
So many things I think about when I look far away. Things I know, things I wonder, things I’d like to say.
After 20 wonderful years of painting, I decided that it was a perfect time to explore different landscapes. After months of researching different regions, I settled on Nara Park Japan. I found the history and landscapes to be intoxicating.
My artwork is a direct reflection of the different seasons of the park. I like to work in acrylics on canvas to enhance all the emotions and colors that Nara has to offer. I use bright or muted colors to communicate the magic and essence of the ever-changing seasons. Even as I branch out to other mediums or subject matters, I’m always tempted to come back to Nara Park.
If a viewer stops for just a moment to reflect on a piece I have created and feels emotion from the thousands of colors captured on canvas that reflect the different seasons, then I have succeeded in my work.
★★★ Celebration ★★★
Bruce Sanders is an expressionist 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, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Palm Springs. Bruce is a member of the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825. He is a Member Artist of TAG Gallery in Los Angeles near LACMA. Bruce is also a Member Artist of Artlounge Collective in Los Angeles. His work has been purchased by collectors locally, nationally, and internationally. Three of his paintings are in a private gallery in Vienna, Austria. Bruce has authored four catalog art books: INTROSPECTION, I BELIEVE IN ANGELS, THE HEART WANTS WHAT THE HEART WANTS, and IMAGINATION. UCLA School of Dentistry has a collection of eighteen of his paintings.
THE COLORS OF MY IMAGINATION
Why do I paint? I do not try to create on canvas, a “picture” of the external world that can be observed by all. Rather than look “outward”, my paintings are humble attempts to “look inward.”
My work has been described as having expressions of deep and primal emotion. In the case of my abstract paintings, I try to employ dynamic color, thickly-layered texture, bold lines, and unrestrained forms to express what I am feeling. It has been said that this painting explores the depths of spirituality and enters a realm of mystical and magical. And “yes”…I am a daydreamer, and my works truly have their origins in dreams and visions.
Bruce Sanders
Malibu, CA
★★★ Corporate Fairy Aura No 10 ★★★
Anna Mathai is a multidisciplinary artist based in San Francisco with a practice spanning from mixed media and painting to sculpture, decorative residential wall installations, and writing. She creates sculptural and textured works that use color, light, texture, and shadow to tell her story, and frequently works with plaster, textile, and metal. Her goal is to create things that hold some strange magic. It’s why she likes to experiment with and create new methods (like her “canvas kintsugi” and hardened silk origami). She makes works that interact with their viewers and the light around them, reflecting, shifting colors, and jumping off of the wall to mingle art and enjoyment, to transcend viewing into experiencing. She feels that the aesthetics (and a touch of whimsy) are paramount. However, on the “series level,” her work often references deeper themes from her life, such as rebellion, feminism, “otherness”, and the immigrant experience. Her work, however, is not overtly political. In her mind, her art generally reflects on boundaries, both real and imagined and blurs them.
Mathai was born in the UK to Indian parents but spent most of her childhood in the rural Deep South. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Rice University after graduating from the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and Arts, then went to medical school, and eventually law school, later practicing as an entertainment lawyer. Since pursuing her art professionally, her work has been featured in international art magazines and exhibited nationwide. In her other time, she writes lyrics and screenplays, enjoys nature with her Australian Shepherd, and Cowboy, and tests jokes on friends and family.
I create sculptural and textured works that use color, light, texture, and shadow to tell my story, and frequently work with plaster, textile, and metal. I want to create things that hold some sort of strange magic. It’s why I like to experiment with new methods and create works that interact with their viewers and the light around them, jumping out of the canvas to mingle art and enjoyment, to transcend viewing into experiencing. I feel that the aesthetic (and a touch of whimsy) is paramount, though on the “series level,” my works sometimes reference deeper themes from my life, including those of rebellion, feminism, and the immigrant experience. My work is not overtly political, and it would be unlike me to have one meaning for any single work—in fact, the exploration of dualities and the blurring of them is conceptually central to most of my art. Even in my poetic writing, I find beauty in the multiplicity and ambiguity of meaning. So, I prefer to avoid prescribing meaning to each work and let the viewer interact with it themselves, adding to the art with their own interpretation. It’s a sort of acceptance of all meanings: each one is true as it applies to you—I call it my “quantum art” philosophy. All that being said, in my mind, my work generally reflects on boundaries, both real and imagined, and blurs them.
★★★ En Busca De Mi Cicatriz ★★★
Julien Cardinal Romero was born on July 26, 1976, in Matanzas, Cuba. He fled to Panama City at the age of 35, fleeing the dictatorship that has oppressed his country for more than 60 years. He sought refuge in Panama City, where he spent ten years.
During his student years, Julien was able to meet people from various generations. He uses a variety of techniques such as oil paints, acrylics, and pastel pens. Influences in his work include modern painting, Cuban cinema poster artist, African art, expressionism, and surrealism.
My name is Julien Cardenal Romero. I am a Cuban artist. My work is a personal journey where the answers sometimes come before the questions in the form of art. Through my work, I study myself, my conflicts, and my internal struggle, and I employ art as a tool, as well as its history and influences. I use modern art, expressionism, surrealism, African art, Cuban movie posters, Ukiyo-e, and abstract expressionism as tools.
★★★ Everything Is Energy ★★★
I started painting after a career crisis in 2020. I was working as a healthcare professional and went through burnout, which led me to switch my career to business and finance. During the crisis, I needed something to let go of and process my feelings so I registered for a painting course. I just fell in love with making art! I love that I can do something with my hands, work with beautiful bold colors and express myself. Art saved me.
I create artwork that is meant to be a moment of inspiration and joy. My process is intuitive, I start by using bold colors and let my feelings guide me from there. I love the colors magenta and turquoise, and metallic paints. Bright and beautiful colors make me happy. My way of using contrasting details and multiple layers add texture that is unique to my artwork. With my artwork, I want to convey the message that we all need to love ourselves, take care of ourselves, and appreciate life! Everything happens for a reason and we should just travel within life`s current and trust. I want to bring beauty into homes and remind us of our own strength and the importance of love and gratefulness.
I paint with acrylic colors and my process is very intuitive and spiritual. My inspiration arises from many sources and strong colors are a big part of it. While painting, I let myself go and just paint without thinking too much and let the colors and my feelings guide me. I like to play with contrast and duality, texture, and add details to my artwork.
★★★ Fine Dining ★★★
Amy Lewis is a self-taught artist from Washington state. Her watercolor and oil paintings are vivid lifelike snapshots of ordinary life glamorized. Amy, inspired by fashion editorials and historic paintings of aristocracy, pairs everyday objects with rich backgrounds. The juxtaposition of the ordinary and the luxurious sparks an appreciation for the things we take for granted. She paints to cultivate joy and an appreciation for the beauty that is all around us.
My work is a practice of gratitude. It is the cultivation of joy and an appreciation for the beauty that is all around us. I’m constantly exploring ways to portray ordinary life as glamorous. Everyday objects with luxurious backgrounds create a juxtaposition that sparks an appreciation for the things we take for granted. In the beauty of the ordinary, I am reminded to be grateful and to use my privileges for the good of others. Fashion editorials and historic paintings of aristocracy are rich sources of inspiration. I work in watercolor and oil paints. For watercolors and oil paintings, alike, I paint roughly 3-4 layers. Many layers mean that the resulting painting has a smooth finish and vivid complex colors. Depending on the size, medium, and complexity of a piece they can take 1-2 days or 1-2 months. Most recently I am proud of being featured in Gita Joshi’s Art Seen Magazine and throwing my own group art exhibition in Seattle, WA.
★★★ Flirting With Joy ★★★
Alicia is a storyteller at heart and interpreting her visual tales, through her paintings, brings her great joy. These inspirations stem from Alicia’s symbolic imagination representing secret realms filled with magnificent depths of femininity and beauty. Alicia’s paintings are captivating, and her compositions are executed with intent and motive. “My portraits are linked together through precise and distinctive placements. I purposely fill the atmosphere with visual fragrances that linger in the air and connect with viewers as they personally identify with the unfolding narratives.”
I am convinced that each of us holds treasure hidden in the depths of our hearts. As a professional artist, it is my aim to provide images that help unlock these great treasures. The illumination of beautiful narratives has the power to resonate with the collector. The image reflects the truth, promoting a release of identity and value. As you view my work, take it in. Allow what might lay concealed to be realized.
★★★ Frozen Cactus ★★★
Yue Zeng is a Chinese-American self-taught artist, mother, and wife, who has been living in the United States since 2008 and currently resides in Woodbury, Minnesota. Zeng’s artistic practice focuses on oil painting, with her subjects mainly being mythical creatures and imaginary landscapes. With a style between impressionism and fantasy, she explores the vividness of their spirit in saturated colors and organic forms. Zeng’s interest in the arts started in elementary school, sparking her desire to create later in life. In her twenties, she obtained her Master in Science from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York. In 2017 due to physical complications, Zeng had to leave the chemistry industry. Transformed by the experience, she decided to revisit her art practice and make it her career regardless of the obstacles she would face. Since then, Zeng has flourished in her artistic expression, finding her true passion in oil painting. Although Zeng explores other painting mediums such as gouache, pastel, and digital, oil and canvas feel the most natural. This medium allows her to relax and be free with the changeability of the material and exploration of color within the subjects she paints.
My paintings are an outlet to express the imagination I have inside my head that I can not put into words. After trying many mediums, I always find myself coming back to paint and brushes. In my current artistic practice, I use oil paint and mainly create portraits of mythical creatures and animals transfixed in the shifting colors of seascapes and landscapes. There is a natural spirit and magic to these creatures and their energy draws me in. Choosing to paint these creatures as real living wildlife rather than abstractions, I use bold and vivid colors to express the imagination intertwined with reality, finding magic between the seams. Using a saturated color palette, I create bold and striking imagery, contrast between foreground and background, subject and landscape, and light and darkness. Weaving their bodies and the surface of the landscape into each other through organic forms and flowing brush strokes, I find beauty, strength, and innocence in these creatures that reflect my inner world.
★★★ Golden Kaleidoscope ★★★
I’m a paper artist deeply inspired by nature, culture, and personal connections. Using the ancient art form of quilling, I transform strips of paper into intricate, vibrant compositions that tell meaningful stories. Originally from India and now based in the U.S., I blend traditional techniques with modern aesthetics, often collaborating with illustrators to add depth and emotion to my work. Each piece is a reflection of my journey—rich in color, texture, and intention. From wall art to fine jewelry, I create with the hope that every design evokes joy, curiosity, and a sense of wonder. My work has been part of gallery exhibits, art shows, and cherished as personalized gifts that celebrate love and identity. Whether it’s a Tree of Life, a mandala, or a custom initial, my art is a quiet offering of beauty in a fast-paced world. I believe in the power of handmade and in making art that connects people deeply.
In a world teeming with patterns, where chaos and structure intermingle, my dual passion as an engineer and artist is ignited. Fascinated by the harmony that emerges from shapes and colors, I found my medium of expression in the ancient art of quilling. Through Paper Sweetly, born in 2016, I embarked on a creative journey that began with paper jewelry and expanded to encompass a diverse range of art forms, from earrings and necklaces to wall art and sculptures.
Within the confines of my San Jose home studio, I immerse myself in the process of translating my perceptions, moods, and glimpses of inspiration into tangible creations. With each sketch, color selection, and delicate curling of paper, I witness the transformation of intangible ideas into exquisite reality. The entire journey, from inception to completion, fills me with an overwhelming sense of joy and relief from stress.