It’s All About It

Adriana Azevedo was born in 1970 in Natal, Brazil. During the Covid pandemic lockdown, she’s unleashed her artistic passion and embraced it. As an immigrant artist based in Florida, her unique Brazilian perspective and cultural background inspire her creative expression.

She worked as an architect in Brazil for 2 decades before moving to the United States. She is proud and honored to contribute to the vibrant and diverse artistic community in the Orlando area.

I find my deepest inspiration in the fascinating worlds of Cubism and Surrealism. These influential movements have ignited my creative spirit, guiding me to explore the intricate interplay between reality and imagination on canvas.

My work is a reflection of the multifaceted nature of existence. Through the lens of Cubism, I deconstruct the ordinary, breaking down conventional forms into a tapestry of geometric shapes and angles. This allows me to unveil new dimensions within the familiar, encouraging viewers to contemplate the essence of what they see.

It’s Time

In my work, I explore the transformative power of abstraction; how color, texture, and form can combine to create something far greater than their individual parts. I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, watching my mother paint. She taught me to paint what you know, and how you see and feel it. I add texture that pops off the canvas and tricks the eyes into feeling the bumpy tree trunk. I use my palette knife to paint just as much as my brushes. Unless I’m working on a commission, I rarely know what the end of my painting is going to look like. Experimentation is the most gratifying part of the painting process. Each painting begins with a variety of underpainting techniques, including alcohol ink, mixed media paper, texture, and sometimes oil pastels. After the underpainting sets, I finish my story with oils for a rich finishing layer of depth. The layers of texture invite viewers to see beyond the flat surface of a landscape or portrait. The gold woven into my paintings is a reminder of the beauty and magic found in unexpected places. My inspiration is driven by the colors of nature and the emotions of gratitude. I’d like to think each piece I create will give some warmth and brightness to whoever stands in front of it.

When we face adversity, whether it be loss, failure, or emotional upheaval, we are forced to confront vulnerabilities and weaknesses. It’s in this confrontation that healing and growth occur. Last year was a difficult year personally for me, as I lost my mother to cancer, and I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Through my treatment, I felt so overwhelmed by a range of emotions that eventually inspired my artwork. My current collection symbolizes the unique process of overcoming emotional trauma and evolving into a more resilient, gracious, and powerful version of oneself. Each piece is a visual and sensory narrative of my personal experience, a reflection of both the struggle and the eventual emergence of strength and clarity, or even a simple moment of gratitude for the earth’s gifts we receive. The works share not the grief and despair, but the rebirth and awakening of a new beginning by including imagery that inspires and connects with the viewers. My hope is to encourage, connect, console, and give hope to others who may need comfort in the notion that we are resilient creatures. Collaboratively, the collection of artwork is bright, expansive, full of vibrant colors, fluid lines, and forms that are whole or mended. Lavish underpaintings of mixed media and layers of emotion reflecting my personal evolution and a universal invitation to the audience to see the potential for resilience and hope in their own lives, no matter how difficult their journey may seem. “The Journey of Resilience” is a message of hope, gratitude, and perseverance to anyone sharing the same difficult path in life.

It’s Time To Go…

Darling Graham is a contemporary visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice incorporates drawing, photography, and digital media. She describes her distinctive style as “feminine superflat art,” a refined and concept-driven approach that blends traditional techniques with digital tools to explore identity, femininity, and personal evolution.

Born in Rome, Italy, Darling began her artistic journey at the Liceo Artistico Via Ripetta, where the city’s rich history and architecture left a lasting impression. At nineteen, she moved to Canada, later earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts and Photography from the University of Ottawa. After graduating, she relocated to Montreal, where she gained recognition as one half of the acclaimed photography duo Leda & St. Jacques, known for their visually compelling work in both editorial and commercial settings.

Now based between Canada and the United States, Darling has developed a unique visual language that feels intimate yet symbolically rich. Her work often pairs soft, flat color palettes with the presence of a central female figure, who is stylized, ageless, and emotionally complex. The character’s direct gaze invites the viewer into a layered inner world shaped by memory, mythology, and quiet introspection. A recurring element in her work is her cat, an enigmatic presence that can be seen as a companion, observer, alter ego, or symbol of emotional continuity. This subtle detail adds a sense of tension and depth to her compositions.

Darling’s process often begins with photographic self-portraits, which she then translates into delicate graphite drawings and digitally paints in soft pastel tones. The final creations are predominantly large-format inkjet fine art prints, presenting introspective visual stories that blur the line between personal narrative and universal experience. Her witty titles serve as gentle guides, offering context without limiting interpretation.
Overall, Darling’s work functions as a personal journal: elegant and emotionally resonant, inviting viewers into a space where intimate reflection and broader themes quietly converge.

Art is my existential library. I unfold my work as a personal journal of dreams, fears, happiness, and insecurities, always touched by humor. My style, which I call “feminine superflat art,” blends photography, drawing, and digital painting to create delicate, symbolic compositions. Each piece begins with self-portrait photography and evolves through graphite, pastel, and digital color, forming soft narratives about identity and transformation. The recurring female figure and her cat act as reflections of self and emotional continuity. Creating art means existing in a parallel universe where dreams meet reality, and everything becomes possible. My goal is to offer a moment of beauty, thought, or quiet wonder to those who look at my art, to invite them into my world where fragility becomes strength and imagination gives meaning to being.

Ivory Tower

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.

Izza

She worked as an architect in Brazil for 2 decades before moving to the United States. She is proud and honored to contribute to the vibrant and diverse artistic community in the Orlando area.

Jack N Jill

Leombruni is a Connecticut-based painter whose work explores the emotional and psychological dimensions of human experience through a lens of expressive realism. Janet Leombruni is President Emeritus of CT Women Artists. She is an Elected Member of the CT Academy of Fine Art, New Haven Paint &Clay, West Hartford Art League, and her work is part of multiple collections in the US and Europe.

Solo shows: Celeste LeWitt Gallery at UCONN Health Center, Arts of Tolland CT, the Monastery Gallery in West Hartford, Atrium Gallery at Raymond Library EH CT, FIAT LUXE at the Art League of New Britain, Workspace Manchester, CT. Leombruni has held artist talks at Kehler-Liddell Gallery in New Haven and the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, and was a featured artist for the CWA Art Chat Series. Her work is currently in the Hillstead Museum, Farmington, CT.
Group Shows: Jorgensen Gallery, UCONN, Mattatuck Museum Waterbury, Monastery Gallery, West Hartford, Slater Memorial Museum, CT, Barnes-Franklin Gallery Tunxis, CT, Flinn Gallery with the Greenwich Art Society, Theaterworks, Hartford, CT, CAFA at Lyme Academy of the Arts and Sill Gallery, Old Lyme, the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Haven Paint and Clay, SOHO20 Chelsea, NYC, KBM Gallery Riverside, CA, Rhode Island Watercolor Society, San Fernando, CA, dodomu Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, and San Rafael, CA.

Leombruni received a BA from Hartford Art School, an MA in Education from UCONN, and a Master Plus 30 in Painting and Art Education from CCSU.

In my work, I tell the stories of my experiences in the classroom. I also explore relationships, sometimes utilizing tropes or idioms in the form of children’s literature, myths, films, or portray stories as told to me by my students. I like to examine themes of hope, impulsivity, family, fantasy, innocence, and coming of age. My colors are powerful. Figures often occupy charged, ambiguous spaces, where gesture, symbolism, and narrative intersect to reveal underlying tensions between individuals and their environments. I seek to draw the viewer in, to elicit an emotional response. I like to ask the viewer to determine: What is really going on here?

Jade Plant

Steve Walag has been a photographer for nearly 50 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and Religious Studies from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and a BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He has enjoyed a varied career as a photojournalist, public relations photographer, freelance architectural shooter, photo instructor, and campus photographer at Inland area schools (UCR and Riverside City College). All the while, Steve has pursued his artistic path on the side, beginning decades ago with a strong affinity for the black and white photography of the West Coast “straight” photo school. It is only since 2015 that his attraction to Japanese art led him to formulate the style shown here.

Although Steve’s images may resemble paintings, they are in fact digital photographs printed on textured paper. They were inspired by traditional Japanese paintings in the centuries-old Rinpa tradition. Rinpa artists favored simple, natural subjects – flowers, trees, birds, and landscapes – set against a plain or minimized background. Steve’s fascination with Japanese art led him to emulate those works using digital imaging, lighting, software, and printing techniques.

Jaipur Setting Sun

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, IAA-USA, Women United, Praxis Gallery, LACMA, MOCA, IAA-USA, in 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.

Jangle

Kylo-Patrick Hart is an award-winning photographer and chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media at Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas, USA). He received his formal training in digital media arts while a student at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, with additional instruction provided by offerings of the Maine Media Workshops and Santa Fe Workshops. His photographs have been exhibited in numerous cities throughout the United States and in several countries abroad.

Photography has been my passion since early childhood. My motivation is to discover and capture the beauty, even when it is not always readily self-evident, that surrounds us continuously in all areas of our everyday lives. I believe the finest images are those that are serious yet playful, aesthetically appealing yet a bit quirky. As both an artist and an admirer, my favorite photographs tend to be ones whose contents speak loudly for themselves — even when it is not immediately clear exactly what they are saying.