L
Lin La Mer
Artist Statement
THE ORDINARY things that surround us, that fill our lives, these are beautiful to me. Every object reflects light. Even dull objects are reflected in shinier things, and they also cast shadows of their own colors onto the surfaces
where they sit. The way light transforms objects, how it seems to distort them, how it
reflects from one surface to another, fascinates me. So, I focus this fascination using still life compositions of ordinary things, in oil paints,
usually on oil-primed linen. I first develop the composition in detailed drawings, then a value study. I create the underpainting in oil, over which I put down thin layers of color. The glazes accumulate to build depth in the objects and complexity of light and dark.
My desire is to elevate the beauty of ‘ordinary,’ to evoke wonder in us. I if my still life paintings help people see the wonder beauty of everyday life, then with each painting you enjoy, I achieve my goal.
Leonardo Lanzolla
Artist Bio
Influenced by Picasso, Debuffet, Basquiat, De Kooning. His paintings are spontaneously fresh, intuitive and original, reflecting the nature of mankind modern life and his senses. His work express unique influential qualities with an experimental continuity approach. On studio practice he is comfortable with the “Unintentional~ Direct approach”, with passion and perseverance to investigate the unknown. Through intuitive visions of characters and creatures his artwork reveals to us esthetic substance.
He studied in his native Torino (Italy) and moved in the United States in 1984. He has lived and made art in Seattle since 1986. His paintings are collected in many homes, in Seattle, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Austin, Miami, Palm Desert, San Diego, Los Angeles. His work was included in important exhibitions in France, Sweden and Germany.
John Leahy
Artist Statement
When I paint, I release myself to the process, seeking mental states of flow. I have developed a distinctive visual vocabulary through years of observation and experimentation. Using water based media to play with texture and layers of color that flow and bifurcate, I create evocative personal dreamscapes. My compositions come from drawing, painting, and mono-printing techniques to explore themes which emerge from my subconscious, memories, and experiences. I have been influenced by the Surrealists, Abstract Expressionists, and the Northwest School (among other art canons) in how I use the creative process to explore imagery, process, and emotion. While I stand on the shoulders of giants, I am also unique in how I consolidate my personal experiences into evocative images that are at once personal yet tap into the universal collective consciousness. My work makes connections with spatial juxtapositions playing with metaphors of space and time within the picture plane, often extending within a series of paintings. The artworks record overlapping moments infused with archetypes and narratives. I want to invite the viewer to contemplate figure ground relationships, connecting to a shared psychological experience. It is through art that we can connect in ways that go beyond literal, verbal, and explicit language to a more figurative, ephemeral, and implicit form of communication.
Kimberly Leo
ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint as a way to connect with myself and others. Whenever I get inspired to paint something new, I focus on the series that is to come. I think about it, doodle around, dream about it and then begin. The Garden District is a place in New Orleans that is unique in its gritty beauty and culture like so many neighborhoods in Paris. These abstract florals are rooted from memories of my South Louisiana upbringing and discoveries made last year on a an unexpected trip to Paris. Expressive flowers everywhere! I hope you enjoy these new paintings. -Kimberly Leo Kimberly is a full-time artist originally from New Orleans. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from LSU. She has lived in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I’m inspired by friendship, natural shapes, crystals, the moon, ebb & flow, and the cycle of life. Kimberly Leo is an artist from Greater New Orleans and has been living in Western Washington since 2000. She has a degree in Fine Arts from Louisiana State University. She specializes in resin and mixed media.
See Kimberly's available work here.
To learn more about the artist visit her website at: www.kjleodesigns.com or Instagram @kj_leo_designs
John L'Esperance
ARTIST STATEMENT
I'm an artist in the Outsider tradition, unschooled and self-trained, utilizing found objects and reclaimed materials to construct multi-dimensional, mixed media art pieces that offer a fresh new vernacular.
My work seldom springs from an intentional, well-thought-out plan. My creative process is deeply intuitive. I often utilize objects that are aged and weathered...ones adorned with the well-worn patina of use...because these things speak to me and beg to be redeemed. While observing a group of random objects, I "receive" intuitive insights into what form they intend to become: a process that often takes me outside the boundaries of ordinary reality, placing me in a slightly altered state where I'm free to create from inside a kind of unrestrained magical reality.
Slowly but surely my assemblages spring to life from within this entrancing and sacred space, anointed by my refusal to let physical challenge overpower my deep need to create. They become vessels of voice, speaking for me.
BIO
Although I was born an artist, with a deep need to create, I didn't begin to dedicate myself to my craft until my late 30's. At that point in time, my creative efforts became a much-needed outlet to an often-hectic existence as a real estate broker. Still, it was a starting place, providing me a vehicle through which I could give voice to the passion to make art I'd always felt.
In 1996, just as my reintroduction to the passionate pursuit of art was taking off, I received a terminal diagnosis and was given two years to live. I made little art in the ensuing years as I struggled with more pressing issues. Twenty-seven years later, disabled but decidedly alive and kicking, the fantastic story of my unprecedented survival can be found in my memoir,
Will to Endure: Surviving Terminal Illness by Extraordinary Means, available on Amazon.com.
Now confined to a wheelchair and speaking impaired…yet undaunted…I rely on printed instructions typed on my computer, an alphabet card to spell out basic words, along with my own form of sign language, to communicate my artistic directions. Today I employ assistants I personally train...my art elves...to bring my creations to life.