Interpretations XI

Cynthia Dunn-Selph
Scattered
Encaustic Mixed Media
Framed 15.5Wx12.5Hx1.5D
$200

I am a mixed media artist and photographer that has been exhibiting in Arizona and California for over 40 years. I have been a member of several artist cooperative galleries, and a board member of several artist organizations.

I am currently the President of the Arizona Artists Guild. I teach encaustic, collage, and printmaking in the Phoenix Metro area. I work in many different mediums and love to combine them to create something unexpected. The encaustic medium allows for the diversity and flexibility to work with different materials in harmony and is one of my favorite mediums to explore.

Daniel Ragsdale Combs
One More Drink
Scratch Art
8 3/16″ x 11 3/8″
$300

Daniel Ragsdale Combs is a Phoenix, AZ-based artist specializing in drawing, printmaking, and painting. He is inspired by shadows and reflections. His works have won numerous awards and have been shown in Museums and Galleries including The Cincinnati Art Museum, Canton Art Museum, The MAC Contemporary Art Museum, David Owsley Museum of Art, and The Gallery. His work can also be found in places including The High Art, Tera-Varna, and OneOhOne Galleries.

Daniel Ragsdale Combs is a Phoenix, AZ-based artist specializing in drawing, printmaking, and painting. His art is inspired by the natural shadows and reflections found around us in the form of Still Lifes and Figurative works. His current body of work has been exploring the indulgence of food and beverages.

Daniel Ragsdale Combs
Coffee for One at Chili's
Graphite
6″ x 8″
$200

Daniel Ragsdale Combs is a Phoenix, AZ-based artist specializing in drawing, printmaking, and painting. He is inspired by shadows and reflections. His works have won numerous awards and have been shown in Museums and Galleries including The Cincinnati Art Museum, Canton Art Museum, The MAC Contemporary Art Museum, David Owsley Museum of Art, and The Gallery. His work can also be found in places including The High Art, Tera-Varna, and OneOhOne Galleries.

Daniel Ragsdale Combs is a Phoenix, AZ-based artist specializing in drawing, printmaking, and painting. His art is inspired by the natural shadows and reflections found around us in the form of Still Lifes and Figurative works. His current body of work has been exploring the indulgence of food and beverages.

Dave Elliott
Canyon De Chelly #1
Oil on canvas
16x20x.75
$370

A Phoenix resident for 15 years, relocated from California. Self-taught artist at the age of 63, I create paintings to express my appreciation for the outdoors. I share my art that others might experience the beauty that I see and appreciate the wonders of nature.

My paintings are focused primarily on nature, which can be many things, from serene to foreboding. My subjects are the places I’ve been that I find beautiful, interesting, and memorable. My style is impressionism which allows me the freedom to translate the emotions I felt in those moments onto the canvas.
IG: @gdavidelliott

Dawn Zintel
Mannequins in the Window
Oil
18 x 24 inches
$1,800

Having painted since high school, I studied art at McGill and Concordia Universities in Canada. My creative outlet has included making hand-built pottery, stained glass art and painting using many different media. Since 2010, I have been mentored by and studied with award-winning Canadian and U.S. painters.

In Prescott, Arizona since 2017, I have been Vice President, President and Treasurer of The Mountain Artists Guild and recently was named Treasurer of Arizona Art Alliance. My mantra when creating is to always: incorporate my storytelling abilities into each painting; experiment with and combine different techniques and media; suggest reality as opposed to copying it verbatim; use color to brighten someone’s world. While I work primarily with oils paints, I integrate acrylics, inks, collage papers and stenciling into many of my more whimsical paintings, as well as paint impressionist landscapes, animals, birds and flowers.

Dawn Zintel
The Dry Wash
Acrylic
20 x 40 inches
$3,500

Having painted since high school, I studied art at McGill and Concordia Universities in Canada. My creative outlet has included making hand-built pottery, stained glass art and painting using many different media. Since 2010, I have been mentored by and studied with award-winning Canadian and U.S. painters.

In Prescott, Arizona since 2017, I have been Vice President, President and Treasurer of The Mountain Artists Guild and recently was named Treasurer of Arizona Art Alliance. My mantra when creating is to always: incorporate my storytelling abilities into each painting; experiment with and combine different techniques and media; suggest reality as opposed to copying it verbatim; use color to brighten someone’s world. While I work primarily with oils paints, I integrate acrylics, inks, collage papers and stenciling into many of my more whimsical paintings, as well as paint impressionist landscapes, animals, birds and flowers.

Debra Goley
First Snow
Fiber
50h x 28.5w
$1,300

Art is Debra’s language. She is an award-winning international and inspirational artist, beginning with a career as an architect, now a full-time artist and instructor for all ages and abilities. Her work in fiber is an exciting extension of her portfolio, adding depth to her work by collaging fabric and drawing with her needle. Her life’s work is a continued exploration which has its roots in a life lived overseas and the experience of a multicultural community.

Working with fabrics, I create pieces that are colorful and curious. In my studio I can cut it up. I make “random notes” where I say things without feeling I must be responsive. A person, place or a bloom emerges into the piece reflecting a time or place. This process has come to symbolize moments of peaceful contemplation for me. My work reflects my interest in art history, landscapes, architecture, life overseas, student teaching, and more.

Debra Goley
Scottish Yards
Fiber
20h x 17w
$350

Art is Debra’s language. She is an award-winning international and inspirational artist, beginning with a career as an architect, now a full-time artist and instructor for all ages and abilities. Her work in fiber is an exciting extension of her portfolio, adding depth to her work by collaging fabric and drawing with her needle. Her life’s work is a continued exploration which has its roots in a life lived overseas and the experience of a multicultural community.

Working with fabrics, I create pieces that are colorful and curious. In my studio I can cut it up. I make “random notes” where I say things without feeling I must be responsive. A person, place or a bloom emerges into the piece reflecting a time or place. This process has come to symbolize moments of peaceful contemplation for me. My work reflects my interest in art history, landscapes, architecture, life overseas, student teaching, and more.

Dennis Sullivan
Satisfaction
Acrylic
30×24
$500

I am an artist who works in acrylic, oil, and pastels. I enjoy painting Southwest life, landscapes, still life, and abstracts, many of which are drawn from my imagination. I studied at Mesa Community College and ASU and have attended numerous classes and workshops with both national and international instructors. I’ve been involved with several art groups in Southern California and here in Arizona. I am a WHAM Art Center studio artist in Surprise.

My work has been in many art shows and galleries and has won numerous awards. These Acrylic, impressionistic style paintings are based on imagined interpretations of life past and present.

Diana Parrill Wise
The Unexpected
Acrylic
36 x 36
$1,300

Diana Wise is a contemporary artist based in Sun City West who works in acrylic and oil across various scales. Her work ranges from vibrant explorations of color and texture to symbolic figurative pieces that challenge the viewer toward introspection. An award-winning artist, Diana’s work is held in many private collections.

My purpose is to forge a connection with the viewer, inviting them to reflect on how a story in paint mirrors their own life. I challenge the audience to move beyond the surface layer to explore the depth of their own consciousness. Whether the image is one of abstract emotion or a figurative story layered with symbolism and psychology, my work invites deep introspection. I am most gratified when the viewer pauses to study and contemplate the experience of the image.

Dyanne Locati
Fields of Green
Watercolor on Yupo
31 x 36
$1,200

Dyanne Locati – An award -winning Artist, Instructor, Past President of several art organizations. Convention Director of the Colored Pencil Society of America; Signature members of many Local and National art organizations. Dyanne has traveled around the United States to teach workshops and judge art shows. Her artwork is featured in and on the cover of over 15 books both in the US and Europe. She has written articles for magazines as well as step-by-step instructions for books. Dyanne has been honored with many awards a various accolades in her art career, including work in the collection of Oregon State University.

Texture, line and color play an important role in my imagined artwork. The process of layering and combination of each medium is very exciting! I love to see what will happen when each addition of pigment is introduced to the support. It is putting the puzzle together and making each layer work to create unity. Nature is a recurring subject in my paintings. My emotions and mood take over and allow life entwined with nature.

Dyanne Locati
Tree Roots
Water Media
30 x 24
$1,200

Dyanne Locati – An award -winning Artist, Instructor, Past President of several art organizations. Convention Director of the Colored Pencil Society of America; Signature members of many Local and National art organizations. Dyanne has traveled around the United States to teach workshops and judge art shows. Her artwork is featured in and on the cover of over 15 books both in the US and Europe. She has written articles for magazines as well as step-by-step instructions for books. Dyanne has been honored with many awards a various accolades in her art career, including work in the collection of Oregon State University.

Texture, line and color play an important role in my imagined artwork. The process of layering and combination of each medium is very exciting! I love to see what will happen when each addition of pigment is introduced to the support. It is putting the puzzle together and making each layer work to create unity. Nature is a recurring subject in my paintings. My emotions and mood take over and allow life entwined with nature.

Ellen Nemetz
Masqueradce
Acrylic
30×24
$1,050

Ellen Nemetz is a contemporary artist based in Phoenix, a former member of the eye lounge artist cooperative, and currently a co-curator of the First Studio Gallery space. Although Ellen always had an interest in art, she studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Madison, Wisconsin. Until her move to Arizona, Ellen was a self-taught artist. Her works are in public and private collections in Europe and throughout the United States.

My work explores how meaning is formed through perception. Viewers often assign emotion, narrative, or character to an image even when those qualities are not explicitly present. A single painting may hold many interpretations: what is truly seen and what is inferred. Each interpretation is shaped by the viewer’s personal experience and is equally valid. The work is completed by the act of looking – it exists in the eye of the beholder.

Ellen Nemetz
Water Dance
Acrylic
30×24
$1,050

Ellen Nemetz is a contemporary artist based in Phoenix, a former member of the eye lounge artist cooperative, and currently a co-curator of the First Studio Gallery space. Although Ellen always had an interest in art, she studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Madison, Wisconsin. Until her move to Arizona, Ellen was a self-taught artist. Her works are in public and private collections in Europe and throughout the United States.

My work explores how meaning is formed through perception. Viewers often assign emotion, narrative, or character to an image even when those qualities are not explicitly present. A single painting may hold many interpretations: what is truly seen and what is inferred. Each interpretation is shaped by the viewer’s personal experience and is equally valid. The work is completed by the act of looking – it exists in the eye of the beholder.

Ellen Nemetz
Visions in the Flow
Acrylic
30×30
$1,275

Ellen Nemetz is a contemporary artist based in Phoenix, a former member of the eye lounge artist cooperative, and currently a co-curator of the First Studio Gallery space. Although Ellen always had an interest in art, she studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Madison, Wisconsin. Until her move to Arizona, Ellen was a self-taught artist. Her works are in public and private collections in Europe and throughout the United States.

My work explores how meaning is formed through perception. Viewers often assign emotion, narrative, or character to an image even when those qualities are not explicitly present. A single painting may hold many interpretations: what is truly seen and what is inferred. Each interpretation is shaped by the viewer’s personal experience and is equally valid. The work is completed by the act of looking – it exists in the eye of the beholder.

Hank Keneally
Cosmic Cat Collage
20 x 30
$600

I am very fortunate. I have always been in the Arts. Learning the notes on the piano from my Grandmother who was a Piano teacher. Listening to Classical Music that my Brother brought before me. Playing instruments. Becoming a Photographer. Practicing Counseling and Social Work for 42 years, which I see as another Artistic process. Becoming a Painter.

I Create every day. I start with compassionate observation. I always have a camera with me. For me, Great Things Happen Where Arts Merge. I use Paint, Cameras and Digital Technologies. I aim for reciprocity between myself and my media. I love to be surprised in the act of Creation. My Artworks are all a result of these processes. My focus is to push Art forward into Modernist Abstractions. I find many Modern Portraits still use too many realist components. I reduce these components and make Portraits that are unlike those I have seen.

Ira DellaMonica
Before We Were Human
Charcoal on paper
16 x 20
$400

Ira DellaMonica was born and raised in Southern California, graduated from Sonoma State University with an art degree and received a graphic arts certificate from UCLA. DellaMonica moved to Mesa, Arizona in 2017. A series of life altering events during the Covid Pandemic deepened her spiritual connection with painting, nature, and the animals around her.

About her work, DellaMonica states: Over the past few months, I’ve been returning to my roots through drawing, reconnecting with observation, gesture, and quiet attention. Inspired by the life and work of Jane Goodall, I created a small series focused primarily on chimpanzees, honoring their intelligence, emotion, and kinship with humans. These intimate drawings are a tribute to empathy, stewardship, and the deep bond between looking closely and caring deeply.

Joan McGue
House of Chaos
Createx, colored pencil, black gesso, acrylic
20×24
$450

I am a juried member of Arizona Artists Guild. I use a variety of media in my artwork, including oil paint, alcohol ink, India ink, black gesso, colored pencil .

Finding faces in inanimate objects is fascinating. The whorls in a stump or rock can turn into an ancient face. A footprint on the ground can be a pattern that becomes something else. A leave on the ground can become an imaginary floating object in water. Nature is a spirit that likes to play with our senses. It wants to be art.

Joan McGue
Mr. Yosemite Stumpy
Colored pencil on drafting film, alcohol ink
16×20
$500

I am a juried member of Arizona Artists Guild. I use a variety of media in my artwork, including oil paint, alcohol ink, India ink, black gesso, colored pencil .

Finding faces in inanimate objects is fascinating. The whorls in a stump or rock can turn into an ancient face. A footprint on the ground can be a pattern that becomes something else. A leave on the ground can become an imaginary floating object in water. Nature is a spirit that likes to play with our senses. It wants to be art.

Joy Bezanis
Nevermore
Oil
20”x20”
$650

Joy is primarily a portrait painter. Whether it’s people, animals or birds, she paints them with the same care.Joy doesn’t just paint what she sees, but she paints the essence of her subjects the com essence of a raven in the woods, overseeing their territory or face line with wrinkles telling a story of a full life. They are all beautiful.

I find beauty and all faces whether they be human, reptile, avian or mammal.

Judith Visker
Meandering Lines
Acrylic on canvas
36x36x1.5
$800

Judith Visker is an American mixed-media artist whose work is rooted in memory, faith, and lived experience. Raised on a Minnesota farm, she draws from rural structures, land patterns, and the quiet labor that shapes identity over time. Working intuitively with paint, collage, wax, and markmaking, her abstract and semi-abstract works explore endurance, belonging, and what it means to hold and be held.

My work is rooted in intuitive mark making and material-led exploration. Whether abstract or loosely referential my works are shaped from memories, faith, and time.

Judith Visker
Exit/Enter
Mixed Media
30×20
$600

Judith Visker is an American mixed-media artist whose work is rooted in memory, faith, and lived experience. Raised on a Minnesota farm, she draws from rural structures, land patterns, and the quiet labor that shapes identity over time. Working intuitively with paint, collage, wax, and markmaking, her abstract and semi-abstract works explore endurance, belonging, and what it means to hold and be held.

My work is rooted in intuitive mark making and material-led exploration. Whether abstract or loosely referential my works are shaped from memories, faith, and time.

Kristine Kollasch
Home
Mixed Media on wood
24″ x 24″
$1,200

Kris Kollasch is an artist, designer and curator. Her business, Fine Art & Creative Environments, LLC, is currently in its 30th year encompassing Fine Art, Murals & Themed Environments, and Public Art. Her commitment to the greater Phoenix community is seen through her through her involvement with the non-profit, Free Arts of Arizona, as a volunteer and board member and teaching artist. She’s a Valley Leadership Alumni (class 30), the lead curator at First Studio Gallery in downtown Phoenix and manages the annual Sunnyslope Studio Tour that takes place in October. The business of art, creating for a living, is what she does. But when art is not the focus, connecting with people and hanging out with her dog while enjoying the beautiful Arizona weather is what you’ll find her doing… Going for walks, a bit of yard work, and a toast to love and friendships. Cheers!

Layers of meaning through images, symbols, dimensional objects, text and original poetry express my own interpretations of the world around me or within. My hope is to find our common ground through matters of the heart that might strike a chord within each of us.

Kristine Kollasch
Sorry Mixed
Media on wood
24″ x 24″
$1,200

Kris Kollasch is an artist, designer and curator. Her business, Fine Art & Creative Environments, LLC, is currently in its 30th year encompassing Fine Art, Murals & Themed Environments, and Public Art. Her commitment to the greater Phoenix community is seen through her through her involvement with the non-profit, Free Arts of Arizona, as a volunteer and board member and teaching artist. She’s a Valley Leadership Alumni (class 30), the lead curator at First Studio Gallery in downtown Phoenix and manages the annual Sunnyslope Studio Tour that takes place in October. The business of art, creating for a living, is what she does. But when art is not the focus, connecting with people and hanging out with her dog while enjoying the beautiful Arizona weather is what you’ll find her doing… Going for walks, a bit of yard work, and a toast to love and friendships. Cheers!

Layers of meaning through images, symbols, dimensional objects, text and original poetry express my own interpretations of the world around me or within. My hope is to find our common ground through matters of the heart that might strike a chord within each of us.

Linda Mathew
Resolution: The Ocean, Played Softly
Micron pen
9”x 11”
$100

Linda M. Mathew Linda M. Mathew is a mixed-media artist whose work explores controlled movement through disciplined linework, layered washes, energy and measured color. Drawing from natural structures found in water, land, and light, her practice balances abstraction and landscape while emphasizing rhythm, repetition, and quiet variation. Influenced by musical structure as much as visual form, her work invites sustained attention and close reading rather than immediate interpretation.

My work explores quiet movement and rhythm. Drawing from musical structure and the ocean, I use fine penwork, watercolor, and acrylic to translate sound into visual form. Lines act like phrasing and breath—tightening, loosening, pausing. Color functions as tone rather than decoration. The ocean appears as a held note: steady, reflective, intimate. Each piece invites slow looking, offering a place of solitude where motion softens and time briefly slows into a quiet listening space.

Louise Carroll
No Horning In
Oil
20 x 16
$650

“Louise Carroll Louise has pursued two careers. Writing about science for employers as diverse as the Bronx Zoo, Science News magazine, and NOAA, paid the bills and nourished her intellectual curiosity. Art is more of a compulsion that feeds the soul. Both endeavors are based on sharing: the wonders of science and the beauty of color and form. Art didn’t begin as a serious pursuit until mid life, when Louise and her husband were finishing a cottage among the tall trees of western Washington. Steve saw a notice for art classes and urged Louise to take a break from hammering and sawing. It was as if something dormant sprang to life. Though the writing career continued to be rewarding, wherever she was, she found classes, workshops, and mentors to develop her art. Her paintings were included in national and international shows and featured in galleries in Washington and Colorado. In Arizona, she has studied at the Scottsdale Artists’ School, Glendale Community College, and Sun West Art Club. She took up woodworking to save money on frames and found new gratification in creating custom frames unique to the painting. Mainly an oil painter, she has recently experimented with alcohol inks, combining strict realism with abstract designs. But she continues to focus on her first love: still life and landscapes in oil. Painting is about light: how it passes across a surface, falling on varied shapes, breaking up, reflecting, refracting, and hiding in shadows. Underlying all of it are the order and logic of science, the physical expression of ideas. Louise is active in the Oil Painters of America, Vanguard Artists, WHAM, and the Sun West Art Club”

Art is all around. Everything is a potential subject. How do we choose what to paint? I think the natural progression of an artist is from painting things to painting ideas. This is liberating because it erases the need for literal realism. There is a thrill in capturing the essence of something, beyond its appearance. The artistic journey is arduous and glorious… a rocky, twisted path with beautiful views in the distance, always beckoning but constantly receding. After years of classic representational work in oils, experiments with other media, many classes, books and workshops, a sense of something missing led to experiments with other media and a realization that anything you can put your hand on is fair game to express the idea. —Louise Carroll”

Lynne Rogers
Sun to Stars Hand
Woven Wall Hanging
30 x 55 x 1
$550

I began in fine art at age 10, then in high school my work was in the Phoenix Art Museum. In my 20s, I switched to craft festivals for 40+ years before coming back to fine art. I now love Color Pencil, Ink, Acrylic, Weaving, & Watercolor.

For me, all artists should be able to enjoy designing and creating their art no matter what the medium. We should do what we love and makes us happy. I get inspiration from all around me and I’m a very lucky lady to be able to create in many mediums.

Marilyn Watkins
Misty Day
Oil
24 x 30
$695

grew up in Maine and New Hampshire and went to college in West Virginia and California. Both my parents and my grandfather were artists so there was always an appreciation of art, nature and beauty. My father instilled in me a sense of beauty through  excursions like walking in the deep woods, looking for ferns and mosses, walking on a stormy beach, walking through ice crystal forests. This taught me the  importance of observation, stillness, and inner peace, which became an important focus of my painting. After teaching art and special education to high school students for many years, I retired to become a full-time artist and teacher

I love color and texture and often don’t know what will emerge as I paint. I let my intuition lead means trusting there is something deep inside that wants to be expressed. I see my work as a vehicle for a personal spiritual quest. Through it, I am exploring the possibility that color, composition, and light can create an energy or vibration to awaken the viewers awareness, to move beyond the painting itself  to a timeless state, free of thought and self-consciousness. My art is about opening to spirit to Light to life. It’s been a journey of letting go of all my ideas about what Art is learning and painting from that deep well of intuitive knowledge. It’s a process that requires a willingness to step into the unknown and the ability to relax in periods of uncertainty.It is about  trusting that the creative intelligence will have its way

Marnelle North
Airborn
Acrylic on wood panel
12″ x 12″
$275

Growing up in Texas Marnelle studied at the University of Texas at Austin earning a BFA degree. She continued her education at the Art League and Glassell School of Art in Houston. Over the years, Marnelle has studied under several notable artists across the country and is a past member of the Arizona Artists Guild. She is currently a member of Artlink and a co-curator at First Studio Gallery in Phoenix. She has artwork in many private collections around the country and internationally. Living and working in Phoenix for the past 30 years, Marnelle maintains strong ties with the Southwest. She is influenced by the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country as well as the rugged, arid landscape of the low desert of Arizona. Inspiration from her travels frequently show up in her work. Her fondness of animals is often reflected in her artwork because animals are inherently woven into our lives on this earth and we are inextricably bound together.

In both my daily life and during my travels, I am in awe of clouds. Whether they be light and wispy or dramatic and stormy they tell their own story. Clouds could be thought of as a reflection of human behavior, ever-changing yet familiar. My interpretation of clouds can be quiet and still or it can have a frenetic energy. Through these pieces, I want to capture the beauty of their physical form as well as the moods they can evoke.

Marnelle North
Under the Summer Sky
Acrylic on wood panel
12″ x 12″
$275

Growing up in Texas Marnelle studied at the University of Texas at Austin earning a BFA degree. She continued her education at the Art League and Glassell School of Art in Houston. Over the years, Marnelle has studied under several notable artists across the country and is a past member of the Arizona Artists Guild. She is currently a member of Artlink and a co-curator at First Studio Gallery in Phoenix. She has artwork in many private collections around the country and internationally. Living and working in Phoenix for the past 30 years, Marnelle maintains strong ties with the Southwest. She is influenced by the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country as well as the rugged, arid landscape of the low desert of Arizona. Inspiration from her travels frequently show up in her work. Her fondness of animals is often reflected in her artwork because animals are inherently woven into our lives on this earth and we are inextricably bound together.

In both my daily life and during my travels, I am in awe of clouds. Whether they be light and wispy or dramatic and stormy they tell their own story. Clouds could be thought of as a reflection of human behavior, ever-changing yet familiar. My interpretation of clouds can be quiet and still or it can have a frenetic energy. Through these pieces, I want to capture the beauty of their physical form as well as the moods they can evoke.

Martin L Daily
The Wonders of Nature
Copper – Brass – Stainless Steel – Arizona Lava Boulder
15″x10″x14″
Total Weight” 37.8 pounds
$395

I finished the last half of my 52 year career in Health Care as a Registered Nurse. The first half of my career was as a Registered X-Ray and Nuclear Medicine Technologist. I was in the right place and at the right time throughout my health care career. I was actively involved in both human and animal research with new drug trials, medical devices and surgical procedures. Plus, hospital care of ICU and Emergency Room patients. I graduated from schools in Illinois (X-Ray Technology), Ohio (Nuclear Medicine Technology) and Wyoming & Colorado (Registered Nurse). I have worked in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Washington State, British Columbia Canada and Ontario Canada – 52 years of fun, excitement, constantly learning and meeting new folks from all walks of life. There were many patients who I could not help or save however when I put a smile on their face I felt rewarded in making their life better. I have been involved in multi-media art my entire life, so, it was only natural that following my retirement from health care that I transitioned into the second love of my life – art.

Mary Unruh
Peace
Oil
16Wx20H
$300

Mary Unruh, Phoenix Arizona
I am primarily an oil painter but dabble in mixed media,glass and woodworking. I feel that whatever today gives is my inspiration for the next art endeavor. Just like life the possibilities are endless.

Matthew Werner
the scars we hide
sculpture in pecan wood
18 x 11 x 10
$8,000

A native of the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, my first introduction to fine art was the Philadelphia Art Museum; my first experience with carving wood was in Boy Scouts. I was born interested in everything. As a teenager in Philadelphia I would frequently go down town to visit the Art Museum (where Rocky practiced his victory dance), or the Franklin Institute (technology), or the Museum of Natural History. On one visit, I found Rodin’s Burghers of Calais installed on the Parkway adjacent to the Art Museum. I had never seen anything so powerful. After that experience, I had a wholly different perspective on what art could be. After earning degrees from Franklin & Marshall College (BA, Geology) and Pennsylvania State University (PhD, Geology), I pursued career work in geology consulting. In 2004, I started a gradual transition to a second career as a sculptor. In June of 2012, I finally was able to step out of my previous career in science and become a full-time sculptor. I have been trained in classical figure sculpture by Ben Hammond, Hal Stewart, Lincoln Fox, Vala Ola and Rick Casali. My work has been displayed at the West Valley Art Museum, the Phoenix Sky Harbor Art Museum, the Tempe Center for the Arts, the Shemer Art Center and Museum, Olney Gallery, Paradise Valley Community College, and numerous juried exhibitions of the Glendale Arts Council and Arizona Artists’ Guild. I am a Juried Member past-President of the Arizona Artists Guild (AAG) and past-Chairperson of the AAG Sculptor’s Group. I am also a Juried Member of the Sonoran Arts League.

I’m a positive-minded, non-cynical person. I see people as engaging, amusing, beautiful, joyous, and noble characters in life’s panoply. People are simply the most interesting part of the show. When folks see my sculptures, they see snapshots of people—like themselves—who are doing things that they have done—singing, dancing, sleeping, striving, running, praying—people living. It’s as if they see movements and moments from the show of life. In their minds, they create stories to go with the art. My art forces a narrative from the viewer. That’s what I do—I make narrative, realistic, people-sculptures. I see the essential humanity of folks around me—people of all races and walks—and I capture it in physical forms that encourage folks to find a story that is uniquely their own. The narrative may be long and involved, or it may be only a few words. Sometimes they tell me what they see. I admire the sculptor Bernini for his sense of movement and composition. I admire Rodin for his impressionistic abbreviations of human forms. I favor the illustrator Rockwell for his loyalty to the nobility of common women and men.

Melanie Harman
Hanworth Road
Watercolor
11 x 14 framed to 16 x 20
$350

I work in varied watermedia. I began my art journey in 2005 as a mid-life beginner and have since exhibited both locally and nationally. In addition to Arizona Artists Guild (Director- Exhibitions), I am a member of various Arizona and regional arts organizations and volunteer in several capacities. My work can be found in collections in the USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. I like hiking and traveling both within the USA and abroad.

My work reflects the world around me, places, people, things. I am currently working with poured watercolor from dark to light. This gives a strong value contrast and allows the paint to mingle on the paper with soft edges where I need them. Lately, I have found myself drawn to certain subjects that evoke a mood – peaceful, even melancholy. Painting then becomes a calming meditation.

Melanie Harman
Montreal II
Watercolor
20.5 x 14.5 framed to 28.5 x 20.5
$490

I work in varied watermedia. I began my art journey in 2005 as a mid-life beginner and have since exhibited both locally and nationally. In addition to Arizona Artists Guild (Director- Exhibitions), I am a member of various Arizona and regional arts organizations and volunteer in several capacities. My work can be found in collections in the USA, United Kingdom, and Australia. I like hiking and traveling both within the USA and abroad.

My work reflects the world around me, places, people, things. I am currently working with poured watercolor from dark to light. This gives a strong value contrast and allows the paint to mingle on the paper with soft edges where I need them. Lately, I have found myself drawn to certain subjects that evoke a mood – peaceful, even melancholy. Painting then becomes a calming meditation.

Pat Obrien
The Conversation
Oil
12 x 24
$450

I received my BFA from the University of Cincinnati, DAAP program, majoring in painting and received my MA from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. I taught in both high and college while continuing to expand my own artistic development. Since retiring, I have taught numerous workshops, teaching painting, pastel and ceramics.

Recently, I have been exploring new styles and techniques in oil painting. This has given me a new perspective and motivated me in ways I haven’t experienced in years.

Rafael Gutierrez
Profile and The Old Tree
Pen and ink
14″×11″
$175

Rafael Gutierrez iis an Arizona artist working out of Surprise. He holds BA from Arizona State US and AA South Mountain College. Born 1957 in the town of Guadalupe Az. Rafael is one of 10 children. Rafael works in multiple mediums. He enjoys the challenges and exploring the depths of multiple mediums.

With my art I reflect and ponder those things which effect my person. I reach onto the area of my mind that is thirsting for explanation and i consider my works a voyage which my physical limitations prevents me from taking but the mind permits. They are reflections and reactions to my surroundings and slices of my perspective.

Regina Cirillo
Cyberspace
Mixed media on canvas
30 x 24
$420

Famous Artists School, Westport, Conn,; Paintings with Maitre Foreaux,Paris,France and John Gundelfinger;Sculpture with Leslie Dor;Drawings with Elaine Schmitt Urbain; Watercolor with Edgar Whitney;Pastel at Westchester Community College,Valhalla,N.Y.

As a solo artist my work has been exhibited in Paris and New York City. I work in all media like Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings, Pastel and Watercolor.

Ruta Janiulis
Beach Day
$1,616

Lithuanian American painter , working in oil and mixed media, most common subjects of interest portraits , cityscapes, still life.

Ruta is enjoying exploring the distance between reality and distortion by using disproportions and bending reality

Samantha Peterson
Waterfall Over Fallen Log
Oil
18 x 24
$375

Samantha Peterson is an Arizona based artist who works in a variety of mediums such as oil, acrylic, and watercolor. She has a degree in graphic design and illustration from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. She has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for over 15 years in southern and Northern California and is currently residing in Peoria, AZ with her family. She enjoys running, painting, and making things.

Samantha Peterson’s paintings are an expression of the world through an artist’s lens. Using light and color, she transport the subject, whether it is a landscape or a figure into an ethereal realm. Searching to create depth and form, she explores different mediums to create a unique visual experience in her work. Through her paintings she welcomes the viewer to appreciate the beauty all around us whether it be man made or natural.

Sarah Simmerman
New Growth
Acrylic
24 x 24
$700

Based in Surprise, AZ, Sarah Simmerman is an abstract artist and Savannah College of Art and Design alumna. Her work serves as a bridge between the conscious and subconscious, exploring themes of growth and mental well-being. Beyond the studio, Sarah serves on the Board of Directors at Ground Floor Artists. Her acclaimed paintings are featured in exhibitions across Phoenix and held in private collections nationwide, reflecting a fifteen-year journey of creative transformation.

My work explores introspection and catharsis, using color and structure to navigate life’s challenges. This “organized chaos” blends atmospheric elements with deliberate forms to celebrate resilience. I strategically layer hues and marks to evoke specific emotions, turning the creative process into a therapeutic journey. Through the interplay of texture and light, I share my personal story, hoping these abstract reflections offer viewers the same sense of peace and healing I find in their creation.

Shahla Sepehri
Celestial Volcano
Acrylic
36 x 36
$1200

I began my artistic journey under the guidance of the renowned Iranian painter Nami Petgar, whose mentorship deeply shaped my early approach to art. In those formative years, I focused on realism—creating detailed portraits, still lifes, and landscapes in oil paint. Over time, my style evolved toward impressionism, and I began experimenting with acrylics to explore mood, light, and texture in new ways. A few years ago, I discovered the world of abstract Fluid Art, and it was a revelation. Drawn by its expressive freedom and transformative energy, I immersed myself in learning the techniques and experimenting with various mediums to achieve unique effects. This self-directed exploration opened a new chapter in my creative practice—one where intuition, spontaneity, and emotion lead the way.

For me, Fluid Art is more than a technique; it is a form of soul expression and personal transformation. Each painting becomes a journey—an inner dialogue, a moment of reflection, and a passage through time and memory.

Sheri Ashton
Scarab Shell
Oil Cold Wax
36×24

Susan J LaPlante
Distant Memory
Oil
15 X 30
$450

Susan’s early art training included earning her BA in drawing and painting at Portland State University, where she also earned her teaching degree. Originally from Oregon, she has lived in Arizona since 2008. Her paintings tend to reflect the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest. Acrylics, oils and graphite are her preferred mediums. Currently she is enjoying her association with the Arizona Artists Guild.

Painting for me is not just portraying an observed reality, but it is a blending of memory, experience and imagination.

Susan J LaPlante
Neuro Branches
Oil
24 X 24
$575

Susan’s early art training included earning her BA in drawing and painting at Portland State University, where she also earned her teaching degree. Originally from Oregon, she has lived in Arizona since 2008. Her paintings tend to reflect the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest. Acrylics, oils and graphite are her preferred mediums. Currently she is enjoying her association with the Arizona Artists Guild.

Painting for me is not just portraying an observed reality, but it is a blending of memory, experience and imagination.

Teresa I Chandler
On A Dark Desert Highway
Mixed
10”x10”x1.5”
$100

My journey started in high school with a 35mm film camera and a passion for photography. I spent most of my time in the darkroom and taking every art class available. After graduation, I landed a job in a commercial photography lab. After moving to the Sonoran Desert from Breckenridge, Colorado, in 2021, I found taking art classes was not only a great way to make new friends but a way to explore other mediums. I knew after my first abstract class, I not only found my new love but found myself. I continue taking classes and spend many hours of most days in my home studio learning, growing, and discovering unlimited possibilities.

I believe art is for everyone. Art should make you feel. You might even question exactly what you love in a piece and why you connect with it. Often I dream about my next painting, or the next layers. I’m inspired by nature, music and emotions. I paint intuitively, although a difficult process as the painting evolves, I love the journey. I’m an artist not afraid to take chances while creating original, bold and playful art.

Teresa I Chandler
An Irish Goodbye
Mixed
10”x10”x1.5”
$100

My journey started in high school with a 35mm film camera and a passion for photography. I spent most of my time in the darkroom and taking every art class available. After graduation, I landed a job in a commercial photography lab. After moving to the Sonoran Desert from Breckenridge, Colorado, in 2021, I found taking art classes was not only a great way to make new friends but a way to explore other mediums. I knew after my first abstract class, I not only found my new love but found myself. I continue taking classes and spend many hours of most days in my home studio learning, growing, and discovering unlimited possibilities.

I believe art is for everyone. Art should make you feel. You might even question exactly what you love in a piece and why you connect with it. Often I dream about my next painting, or the next layers. I’m inspired by nature, music and emotions. I paint intuitively, although a difficult process as the painting evolves, I love the journey. I’m an artist not afraid to take chances while creating original, bold and playful art.