I paint what I love, what makes my senses vibrate, no matter how complex an object or how simple: It can be a landscape, a kid, a roof, a plant, a leaf, a flower, a fruit or whatever object in Nature that brings in me the sheer urge for aesthetic expression. I’d like to be thought of as an artist whose work is pleasurable to watch. In other words, if I can brighten the viewer’s heart, then I have accomplished my goal.
That’s what I do. Drawing is the purest and oldest artistic expression. Whether a stick in the dirt, ancient drawings on cave walls or the crayon drawings of a child. We draw before we can write. But somewhere along the way we lose that. The regimentation and routines of life intrude. Drawing doesn’t seem that important. Many gifted artists use drawing as a means to an end. A preliminary sketch for the finished piece. For me it is the beginning and it never ends. It might be a few bold lines or thousands of carefully crafted strokes. It’s poetry you can see.
I am a mostly self-taught artist, working primarily with marker on paper. I've been drawing for most of my life, but have become more focused on my art over the last few years. During this time, art has become my way of "facing my demons" -- of understanding and expressing myself, my experiences, and my emotions in a healthy and constructive way. This has been immensely helpful to me in my long and ongoing process of recovering from anorexia.
Nina Magness (Nee Schroder)
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Nina Magness (nee Schroder) was born September 8, 1936 in Riga, Latvia to a German Father and Russian Mother. As a child she was exposed to numerous and diverse languages, music, cultures and peoples. Her tumultuous childhood and refugee status in war-ravaged Poland and Eastern Europe instilled a strong will to live and to create her own educational and professional path for success. Ultimately at the end of World War II, her family ended up in Berlin staring Russian tanks in the face - hanging white table cloths out the multi-story apartment. Fortunately, Nina ended up in the American Sector of West Berlin and survived on American Care Packages.
A lover of classical music, art and design, Nina received formal training at the prestigious Meisterschule für das Kunsthandwerk Berlin “MfdK“ (as called until 1964, and later merged into Universität der Künste Berlin “UdK“ or the Academy of Fine Art Berlin) founded in 1861 and directed by German Expressionist Painter Karl Schmidt-Rotluff from 1945 until 1952. Potter Jan Bontejes Van Beek was the director while Nina attended from 1956 to 1958.
Her training in functionality, design and color is made apparent in her artwork. She relies heavily on the objects, sights and sounds prevalent in her immediate surroundings and nature, specifically, as the subject matter of her expression. Various Mixed-Media, risks incorporating unique textures, and iterations of well thought out innovative progressions of natural design combined with bold colors and bold strokes epitomize Nina’s paintings.
Tamara D. Kontrimas has been drawing and painting in various mediums for pleasure and personal expression since childhood. She graduated from Louisiana State University Law School in 1987 and practiced labor law at a large Houston firm until the birth of her first child. Inspired by PBS art shows, she took advantage of her children’s naptime and began experimenting with watercolor.
Jared Knight, known by his family and friends as "Gesso", was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana and currently resides in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Growing up in an area that prides itself on the authentic Cajun Culture, i.e. art, music, and cuisine, he quickly developed a passion and strong appreciation for his Cajun heritage. Gesso is a self-taught airbrush artist, inspired by other artists he observed as a young man. He enjoys experimenting with different mediums, including acrylics, pen and ink, watercolors, and airbrushing. In 2015 his illustrations for a Christian Children's Book was published.
Through my art I hope to inspire a fresh way of seeing more than meets the eye in our every day surroundings. In this day and age people are busy. We often take for granted the hidden beauty that is present around us. Please take a few minutes and see if, after finding the meaningful connections in my art, you may find yourself having a fresher perspective on life.
Abiola Wabara was born in Parma Italy. As a child she always had a great passion for art, going to school in Italy art classes were always part of the curriculum.
Abiola attended Baylor University on a full basketball scholarship where she received a bachelor's degree in Spanish, Spanish literature and Culture. After graduating, she started her career as a professional basketball player in Israel, where she played for 3 seasons, then moved to Ibiza Spain and currently playing in Milan Italy. While in Israel she attended the art workshop of famous Israeli artist Eilat Tzin, and developed her skills further.
Abiola’s artwork is exciting, bold and expressive. Not only is she fascinated by the human form, but emotions, body language and especially eye expressions. Her style, sense of color is eye catching and being noticed by many.
D.R. (Dennis) Jones was born in Waco, Texas and raised on the High Plains in Lubbock, Texas. As a fourth generation Texan, he has roots going deep in the Texas soil. Jones says, "My mother even told me that I had an ancestor at the Alamo… and I believe everything my mother tells me!"
When Penny was little, she would lay in bed at nap time tracing every object in her room with her eyes. She would draw them in her mind so she would never forget what they were. This drawing without pen or pencil was invaluable to the future artist.
Writing about oneself is a tremendously difficult endeavor. For frequent visitors to my site you will know that I have procrastinated for almost two years in addressing this particular area of exploration. I suppose it helps, in some way, to be able to grasp where an artist is coming from. www.john-jenkins.net
Eva Currie was raised in Dallas, Texas by watercolor artist and mother Jane Currie. Eva studied at Kilgore Junior College and earned an Associate's degree in Commercial Advertising. Ms. Currie is an instructor of arts to all ages, holds a position in her Art League, a volunteer at the Texas Children's Hospital Art program, and Texas Wild life Rehabilitation Center.
Grace Hessman resides with her family in Magnolia, Texas. Her artistic journey has taken her from a small town in Pennsylvania to rural Magnolia Texas, with many years in between spent on the shores of New Jersey and the beaches of Northwest Florida.
Jennifer Loftis is a 30-year-old artist with eclectic taste from her time traveling and working on three continents. Her personal style is organic and geometric. She uses a mix of medium-intensive acrylic painting, complimented by watercolor and papier colle. Her unique point of view and technique have benefited from influences as divergent as M. C. Escher, Alphonse Muncha and traditional Korean designs and methods.
She has spent six years living abroad where she had the opportunity to absorb European impressionism and surrealism in the art galleries of the historic Lipscani quarter of Bucharest, Romania, and the traditional fine arts and handicrafts created in the alleyways of the Insadong art district in Seoul, South Korea.
Recently, she has enjoyed painting in Prague while taking in the artistic beauty of the city. She was encouraged by numerous pieces of street art, Muncha's architectural designs and David Cerny's sculptures.
My paintings are visual representations of every obscure and idiosyncratic detail of my life. I create work out of the desire to take an ocean of emptiness that is the blank canvas and turn it into a representation of the totality of my temperament. Juxtaposing different viewpoints and images on a single piece, along with a richness of layers and colors, allows me to move through various subject matter while staying true to the forms and themes that are crucial to my work.
As a fresh, Houston artist, Ms. Whitley is starting to make an impact on her own with her startlingly beautiful and emotionally expressive use of color and theme.
