Every work I do is allegorical. Every object in a still life is a symbol. Every landscape is a message about life. My family has been in Texas for more than 150 years, small wonder that the big sky, the vast austere beauty of the American West latches on to me. The self-reliance and integrity required to live in such a remote and challenging land has honed my values. It is no wonder that I return to it time and again. I value endurance and respond intensely to the strong light of the southwest. I look at a clump of cactus and see hope, strength, beauty. My work is about looking farther and looking closer to find the enduring beauty of being true. I am drawn to the implacable revelations of the harsh, glorious, and the remote dry earth of home.

I have long been drawn to the natural world whether it be landscape, flora, or fauna. This is where I find not only great outer beauty but genuine inner peace. It is easy to understand why capturing moments in nature has long been my creative focus. When creating my acrylic or watercolor paintings, I strive to strike a powerful balance between technical precision and emotional depth. To this end I am careful to produce balanced and often dynamic compositions while imparting radiant color and light through the careful use of color theory. I am well known for my use of delicate detail as an accent to my finished works.

Lorraine is an artist whose work embodies the light, mood and atmosphere of the moment, which is why she particularly loves plein air painting. She aims for viewers to feel the emotion in her paintings and encourages them to notice the landscape and people around them in a new way. Her style is impressionistic, characterized by bold brushstrokes, dynamic compositions, and a variety of marks. She paints so that her work remains compelling both from a distance and upon close inspection.

I create art because the process is my meditation and my connection with a power greater than myself. When I see the feeling of a joyful childhood, the beauty of the play of light on a rusty Model A, or the drama of red poppies in early spring, translate from my brush to the physical page, I know that there is a benevolent force at work in me and in the world around me.

Unlike the spoken word, where language can leave a listener feeling like an outsider— visual art has no prerequisites to participate. As such, we as artists have the supreme honor of taking a vision and sharing it with our viewers. When we create, we ask ourselves the ultimate question: Why? What is it about a place, a person, a subject that makes us want to share with our viewers. What do we want them to experience? Do we want to dance? Do we want to fight?

My work begins with a moment in the natural world — a quiet encounter, a held gaze,
or a fleeting gesture from an animal that lingers long after the moment has passed.
These experiences stay with me, and they become the stories I bring into my
paintings and sculptures.

I paint daily and my medium is oil. Sometimes I use cold wax for my abstracts. I also use oil sticks for some added line work.  I am inspired by so much beauty around me that I can’t be in a "pigeon hole” so I go with my "intuition in the moment" in my studio. I live in Ogden Utah.  I use my photos from my adventures out and about so all paintings are done in studio.  I have ' essential tremor' and paint with two hands;  we all have something to overcome in pursuing the love of life,  some more than others. “

As an educator and artist, I desire to bring curiosity to the canvas and explore our world through Visual Art.  As I step through the Looking Glass, I desire to reveal the glory and beauty in God's creation as He reveals it to me.  I focus on color and light as I see it in God's majestic creations. 

Every day in America, there is a tragic loss of family owned, working ranches. Through my paintings, I am trying to capture this lifestyle, before it disappears altogether. I want to provide a window into a world of how the ranchers work, and to commemorate the disappearing landscape, animals, ranchers and traditional tools of their trade.

I have lived all my life near the border of North Dakota and Montana, and it is in this area I spend time on these vanishing ranches.

Every day in America, there is a tragic loss of family owned, working ranches. Through my paintings, I am trying to capture this lifestyle, before it disappears altogether. I want to provide a window into a world of how the ranchers work, and to commemorate the disappearing landscape, animals, ranchers and traditional tools of their trade.

I have lived all my life near the border of North Dakota and Montana, and it is in this area I spend time on these vanishing ranches.

“Art has always been an intricate part of my life. I feel that a successful work of art is a combination of creative vision and the integrity of the subject matter. To me this makes for a finished and honorable painting... job well done.” 

I find myself constantly inspired by light, color, and the sense of atmosphere found in western landscapes- from grand vistas to simple scenes with interesting light. My goal is not strict realism but rather to convey the 'feel' of a particular place and time; I want to share the sense of excitement with you that made me want to paint that scene in the first place!

I'm a Southern California artist who has returned to an early love called painting. I have a BFA in Illustration from CSULB and worked in a corporate art department before taking time off to raise a family.  I picked my brushes up again during the COVID epidemic, and am now happily wrestling with the challenges and pleasures of painting on location (aka “en plein air”) and in my studio.  

Brenda Whicker is an impressionist painter of still life, horses and landscapes known for her painterly brushwork and her use of rich, dramatic color.  Farm life, changing seasons, and the effects of natural light are recurring themes and inspiration in her oil and acrylic paintings.  She is influenced by traditional still life painting from the Dutch Masters of the 1600s to French Academics of the 1900s. 

Her early career began when she was 15 and working as a pastel portrait artist at Six Flags.  After college, she worked as an illustrator in the children's and gift book market.  Her paintings have graced many books, including her Gold Medallion winner, "The Crippled Lamb", by Max Lucado, and her Silver Medallion winner and Angel Award or Excellence in Media winner, "Timeless Moments", by Alton Howard. Her book "The Crippled Lamb" has sold almost two million copies.  The collector edition of this book includes songs and the story recorded by the voice of Jodi Benson, the voice of "The Little Mermaid". Her books are sold around the world in different languages and her publishers include Harper Collins, Scholastic, Word, Howard and Chariot Victor.  She has also been National Show Artist for the Appaloosa Journal Magazine and was featured in the magazine. 

Dee Kirkham is an accomplished artist, living in the foothills of the Lake Tahoe National Forest in Nevada and has been flourishing as a distinguished fine arts oil painter for over 40 years.  Her exceptional talent in still life, figurative and plein air has put her in the forefront of the American Art Scene, won her many awards, and given her the opportunity to share her passion with students.  Her motto is “Art is my God given passion and journey – more fulfilling and beautiful shared than alone”.

Christine Obers is a realist artist working in pastel, colored pencils and oils.  She creates beautifully sensitive paintings of animals, people, landscapes and still life.  She likes to use photographs for her initial inspiration.  She then edits and enhances them to create pleasing compositions that create rich emotional connections with her subjects.

"Betty Jean Billups is a superb Impressionist painter, blessed with the talent to produce rich and colorful paintings of her everyday experiences.  She paints powerful works of visual delight and honest truth. 

Using a bold brush and solid colors, she paints from her heart and her soul."

—     (Mr.)Jean Stern, Director Emeritus, The Irvine Museum

Beth has a BA in Art from Bethany College, and studied drawing and painting at the graduate level. She has enjoyed teaching painting to adults for over 20 years.

Her paintings hang in numerous private and corporate collections, hospitals, restaurants and country clubs around the country.

She has been featured in Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine, Southwest Art, American Art Collector, Images Magazine, So Scottsdale and many other publications.

Denise Horne-Kaplan started her professional career in 1983.  She has participated in exhibits and juried shows — over 74 national and International juried shows and eight solo shows to date.  She is in six international publications, including being a featured centerfold Artist with thirteen paintings in the 1999 Winter Issue of Watercolor magazine.  Horne-Kaplan is a signature member, one of only 130 in the country, of the Miniature Artists of America.