PLAY: where ideas are born

Acrylic on canvas 45 x 11 x 1.5  $500

I first played with water-colours at the age of three with my father who painted in oils.
While playing with paint allows freedom to create, the basic principles of composition give structure to emerging images.

I can render most images but playing with abstract shapes in bright acrylic paint is more challenging. Abstract art affords a playground of colour, value, line, shape and texture in creating a composition.

Happy accidents, layering transparent paint over dry texture, stepping back and seeing further possibilities are all part of the dynamic process of playing in art.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

Acrylic on Canvas 40 x 35 x 1.5  $800

I first played with water-colours at the age of three with my father who painted in oils.
While playing with paint allows freedom to create, the basic principles of composition give structure to emerging images.

I can render most images but playing with abstract shapes in bright acrylic paint is more challenging. Abstract art affords a playground of colour, value, line, shape and texture in creating a composition.

Happy accidents, layering transparent paint over dry texture, stepping back and seeing further possibilities are all part of the dynamic process of playing in art.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

Oil on Canvas 36 x18 $2,950

Through playful, expressive brushstrokes and dramatic colors, I explore the spirit and energy of my subjects. My recent work, including a horse captured in deep hues of maroon, magenta, and burnt sienna, reflects my evolving relationship with art. Having returned to painting after 20 years, I embrace the freedom of experimentation, letting the process guide me.

For me, play is about curiosity—exploring new tools, techniques, and vibrant palettes without fear of imperfection. It’s a joyful dance between spontaneity and intention, where each brushstroke becomes a discovery. This playful approach fuels my creativity, unlocking deeper connections with my art and myself.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

Acrylic , Bark paper on canvas  25 x 37  $575

My entire process involves play as I use movement and motion to influence my painting practice.  I incorporated different forms of paper and tiles to influence the direction of the piece.  In Sandstone, I painted on bark paper with acrylic paint.   The bark paper moved the paint in a completely different way, and felt very organic in nature. I found it interesting how the bark absorbed the paint, creating interesting shadows and highlights of color.

Member:  Sonoran Art League

Cold Wax and Oil 21 x 17 $275

I am a multimedia artist. Exploring a variety of mediums helps to make my art fun. There is always something new to experiment with in art. Oil painting was my first experience in the arts and I have continued to find new ways to work with it. With this painting I had never worked in Cold Wax before and it sounded like a new, fun process. It requires using a cold wax resin material, mixing it with oil paints and creating a mixture to use as your painting medium. The process is then up to you, whatever you come up with is your inspiration. I really enjoyed this process, it opened my eyes up to a whole new medium and I really have a great time working with Cold Wax.

Member:  Az Artists Guild, Scottsdale Artists League

Mixed Media 16 x 12 x 1.5  $125

I play with color, shape and texture when visualizing and making my found object art and like a puzzle, placing the final piece is so very rewarding. But the best part is how people react when they look at my art and smile, because they see something from their past that makes them happy.

Member:  Mountain Artist Guild

Acrylic and collage 24x24x1.5 $595

Now that we live in the Central Highlands surrounding Prescott, we have a feast for the eyes throughout the year with each season adding its own distinct variation. Cougar, coyotes, deer and javelinas roam throughout our neighborhood while hawks and golden eagles soar overhead. Inspiration springs forth and manifests itself in my studio where I create fanciful and impressionistic interpretations of my everyday life and surroundings.The favorite part of my day is creating art moments when I paint my stories and anecdotes.

Currently, I am a member of The Mountain Artists Guild in Prescott and the Sedona Arts Center. While I work primarily with oils and acrylic paints, I integrate acrylic and alcohol inks, collage papers and stenciling into many of my more whimsical paintings, as well as continue to paint impressionist landscapes, animals, birds and flowers.

Member:  Mountain Artists Guild

Oil 20 x 20 x 1.5 $495

Now that we live in the Central Highlands surrounding Prescott, we have a feast for the eyes throughout the year with each season adding its own distinct variation. Cougar, coyotes, deer and javelinas roam throughout our neighborhood while hawks and golden eagles soar overhead. Inspiration springs forth and manifests itself in my studio where I create fanciful and impressionistic interpretations of my everyday life and surroundings.The favorite part of my day is creating art moments when I paint my stories and anecdotes.

Currently, I am a member of The Mountain Artists Guild in Prescott and the Sedona Arts Center. While I work primarily with oils and acrylic paints, I integrate acrylic and alcohol inks, collage papers and stenciling into many of my more whimsical paintings, as well as continue to paint impressionist landscapes, animals, birds and flowers.

Member:  Mountain Artists Guild

Oil 20 x 10 x 1 1/2 $195

In creating this series, play was my guiding principle. I explored the interplay of light, texture, and color by experimenting with bold, unexpected hues and layering techniques. Inspired by time spent outdoors, I approached each canvas with curiosity, “playing” with how light filters through trees or dances on leaves. The tactile experience of mixing paint and discovering surprising combinations felt joyful and freeing. I allowed intuition to guide my brushstrokes, letting go of rigid expectations. This playful mindset fostered spontaneity, unlocking a sense of wonder that shaped the series and deepened my connection to both my materials and my subject.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League, Scottsdale Artists League

Mixed Media Sculpture with Stand 50 x 24 x 10 NFS

Creating narratives using mixed media and assorted found objects gives playful, unexpected results. Combining these dissimilar things along with with original art and photography leads somewhere you often don’t expect to go. The journey to the final finished piece is half the fun! The artist as storyteller who presents a strong narrative is my objective and expression in my current work.

Member:  Arizona Artist Guild

Acrylic 40 x 30 x 1.5 $1,200

The Palette of Play

Color is a language, a rhythm, and an exploration. For me, shifting the colors in my palette is a way to embrace the unexpected, to allow curiosity and joy to take the lead. When I think of "play," I imagine the way light dances on a wall, the vibrant collision of hues in nature, or the unrestrained creativity of childhood.

By choosing colors that spark a sense of wonder or make unexpected combinations, I challenge myself to let go of predictability and embrace discovery. This approach isn’t about control—it's about a conversation between intention and spontaneity. The colors I use become more than pigments; they are emotions, memories, and bold steps into the unknown.

To play with color is to reimagine boundaries and invite surprise into the creative process. It is to see the world, not as it is, but as it could be, infused with imagination and endless possibility.

Member:  Sonoran Art League

acrylic 32x46x1.25 $900

As an artist I play with capturing the moments of my pets in action.

Member: Arizona Artists Guild, Sonoran Arts League

Gourd  8 x 8 x 8  $389

“Play,” related to my art, has its beginnings in a childhood rich with encouragement to be a creative. This included freedom to experiment, trouble shoot, task analyze and rebound from failed endeavors. It was certainly fun, but it was also serious practice for the artist I became. Today, I am still inspired to continue trying out new techniques, materials, concepts, and processes. I remain grateful for those lessons learned at my family’s kitchen table!

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

Line Dance Gourd, assorted natural and found objects, tree wrap 10×18  (11.35 x 19 framed) $315

“Play,” related to my art, has its beginnings in a childhood rich with encouragement to be a creative. This included freedom to experiment, trouble shoot, task analyze and rebound from failed endeavors. It was certainly fun, but it was also serious practice for the artist I became. Today, I am still inspired to continue trying out new techniques, materials, concepts, and processes. I remain grateful for those lessons learned at my family’s kitchen table!

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

Mixed Media $250

“How I wish I incorporated PLAY more often into my art practice. When it occurs, there’s an element of surprise and joy. I am exhilarated, with a sense of freedom, to experiment and PLAY – with “what ifs”, bringing my creativity into another realm.

Ooo, what if I added painted strips to my abstract painting placing them strategically to create another dimension? Will that compliment the shapes, or conflict? And what if I embroider thread at their cross angles. PLAY is not only for childhood, but are essential for creativity throughout our age.

Mixed media, exploration and curiosity are my PLAY.”

Member:  Arizona Artists Guild

gesso, acrylic, alcohol ink 16x20x1 $400

“I use a variety of media in my artwork, including acrylic paint, alcohol ink, India ink, black gesso, colored pencil, textured paper and occasionally tires.

Play can be deliberate in realistic art. The idea may form ahead of with a photograph or out of the process itself. With more intuitive abstract art, the idea may arise from random forms that are created.
Either method requires manipulating color and form to make an image. The essence of play is that different interpretations of expression are tried. The fun is in the process, and the result is a bonus.”

Member:  Arizona Artists Guild

acrylic, alcohol ink, posca pin, textured paper 20x16x1 $400

“I use a variety of media in my artwork, including acrylic paint, alcohol ink, India ink, black gesso, colored pencil, textured paper and occasionally tires.

Play can be deliberate in realistic art. The idea may form ahead of with a photograph or out of the process itself. With more intuitive abstract art, the idea may arise from random forms that are created.
Either method requires manipulating color and form to make an image. The essence of play is that different interpretations of expression are tried. The fun is in the process, and the result is a bonus.”

Member:  Arizona Artists Guild

Oil On Canvas 20 x 20 x 1/2 $1,100

“John was introduced to photography in 1960 at 11 years old and has never looked back, .

“I took up oil painting to make sure I had an adequate amount of stress in my life after my retirement from a life long career in photography.’ So far it has worked wonderfully, the stress that is.  The two mediums have a great deal in common, both can record an image using color and light, composition is required in both, each limited only by imagination.

The play or fun part of art lies in the challenge, can I make the concept work, how do I get there from here.

The new tool to spread paint or an unexplored technique can
turn serious quickly, just because the title or the subject matter are fun and playful the journey can be most demanding.

All art combines a playful engagement of materials and subject matter. Play can become a “serious” part of
art no matter the medium.

Some things by nature are just fun, banana peels and rubber chickens come to mind.

Hmmm, maybe I just need to learn, how to paint with a rubber chicken.

Member:  Arizona Artist Guild

Oil 20x20x1.5 $700

Childhood memories of playing outdoors often show up in my artwork. I remember pulling apart milkweed pods to release the seeds that would float away in the breeze. My friends and I called them “money stealers.” This painting was inspired by those playful childhood memories.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League,  AZ Clay Association

Monotype, Pastel, India ink  17 x 19  $995

All of my art results from play. As a process painter/mixed media artist, I often use the monotype as a scribble unlocking the sub-conscious. Cold wax and oil can result in wonderful surprises, textures and patterns. Masks and disguises have fascinated me, now, and as a child. They allow us to be “other”–prettier, sweeter, kinder and more powerful than we think we are. My art is of dreams, memories, psychologies, ideas and fears. My work is creative and imaginative, colorful, filled with patterns, textures and lines. What could be more playful?

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

watercolor 17 x 22 x 1 $395

Pushing the boundaries of media and design are an energizing motivation in my artwork. I enjoy capturing a moment in time realistically as well as pushing an image into various levels of abstraction. Painting is a joy and often feels like play in the way that it is relaxing and satisfying.

Member:  Arizona Watercolor Association

acrylic 24X20X1.5 $300

I enjoy taking photos from my runs and mountain bike rides. I love to paint from my photos and play around with colors and change what my photograph captured into what my mind wants to see. I start with a plan and let my mind run wild with my brush in hand.

Member:  Sonoran Art League member

Oil on Canvas  24 x 18 x 3  $900

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” -Winston Churchill.

My love of horses has always been huge. Riding my imaginary horse through the woods, pretending to be either a cowgirl or an American Indian. Finally receiving my first horse as a teenager.  I became aware of how much I love the outdoors. My love for nature blossomed into my communion with GOD. In each landscape I paint is a connection to that communion.”

Member:  Sonoran Artist League

ceramics 7 x 15 x 21 $195

I am a ceramic artist working with stoneware clay, fired to cone 10. Clay is the quintessential medium for play. Play allows me to try something different with the clay and the glaze. Even though I have worked in ceramics for many years, the growth that occurs with play is endless. The traditional form of this jar has been altered by cutting into the wet piece. The application of lugs and surface stamps adds a playful, whimsical nature to the fired piece. The classic Celadon glaze plays over the surface, highlighting the alterations made to the surface of the jar.

Member:  Sonora Arts League, Arizona Clay Association

ceramics 6 x14 x15 $115

The joy of creating by playing with clay begins when I first put a lump of clay on the potter’s wheel. I have been a ceramic artist for many years and playing allows me to explore the boundaries of what the clay and glazes can do. This basket reveals my play with changing the round shape from the potter’s wheel to an altered square shape. I played with the clay qualities by adding textures and patterns to the surface and layering the glazes. The added rattan handle is simply having fun and enjoying adding something surprising to the stoneware piece.

Member:  Sonora Arts League, Arizona Clay Association

Ceramics 8 x8 x17 $125

As a ceramic artist, playing with clay inspires me to modify traditional forms, exploring the boundaries of both the clay and the glaze.
I have fun altering the wheel-thrown pot to show movement and pattern in the clay pot and the glaze. Faceting the sides of this jar when the piece is still wet sets up a palate for the final glaze firing, allowing the glaze to reveal the altered surface with subtle expressions of color. Creating the driftwood and rattan handle is a chance to have fun and explore an entirely different element to add to the piece.

Member:  Sonora Arts League, Arizona Clay Association

Fiber clay/ mixed media 20x18x12 $225

“Jump in with 2 feet and see what happens!”
For me, very often the best projects evolve without much preplanning. I’d rather “play” than stress over trying to create a masterpiece. Art should be fun. Join other creative people and be inspired. Play with ideas and don’t get stuck worrying about a finished product. Art is a journey. Enjoy the ride. It is much more fun than housework.

Member:  Sonoran Art League

Acrylic 28 x 22 x 1.5  $375

Playing with colors gives me the feeling of freedom, no rules or restrictions . The brushes, colors and me on a journey to the finish line – the surprising result

Member:  Sonoran Art League

Acrylic Gel Print Collage  17 x 17 x 1  $250

“I like to play with acrylic paints to create brightly colored and textured papers for my collages. This is the fun part of my technique where I can experiment with different papers, colors, mediums and texture makers to make one-of-a-kind prints. Lifting the paper off the gel plate is always a surprise! Flowers are a favorite motif, both abstract and realist. I have learnt so much about painting by observing and painting flowers.
Melanie Harman is a Phoenix-based artist and curator who paints and creates collages in watercolor and acrylic. Her works are in collections in the United States, England and Australia. She is currently the VP of Exhibitions for Arizona Artists Guild and is Co-Chair of Exhibitions for the Contemporary Watercolorists of Arizona.”

Member:  Arizona Artists Guild, Arizona Watercolor Association

Art glass  11 X 9   $120

Nataly has an innovative method in creation the glass art.
The glass art pieces are characterized with distinguished details,
cautiously and masterfully carved glass elements.
This approach makes her art unique.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

gourd  6 x 7 1/2 x 7 1/2   $450

Buttons

My mother, Ros, sewed the most elegant dresses, suits, and jackets, using Vogue Couturier patterns. When I was young, she sewed mother and daughter matching outfits for us. Over the years, she collected hundreds of buttons that she would incorporate into her creations. Mom died at the age of 96 in 2015 and I inherited this collection. I played around with the idea of incorporating some of the buttons into my gourd art. When I look at “Buttons”, I remember mom.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

gourd  15 x 9 x 9  $775

Imagination

I love to play with color, shapes, movement and texture. This pear-shaped gourd called for a twirling, swirling design. I imagined a botanical sort of scene with flowers and leaves. The shiny metallic paint contrasted with the dull color of the gourd’s skin and the colored glass added additional dimension and texture.”

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

Acrylic on Canvas  20 x 16x.75 x 1.5   $240

Play is a powerful concept central to me as an artist and person. Play is a gift that comes naturally and it’s how I learn of myself and the world. Play exposes my interests, talents and motivation. It can be about experimentation and trying new things, like new art materials and techniques. It is also about exploration, experiencing different places and lifeways, and still other times play is about the familiar, about experiences and activities that have given me past pleasure. My artwork examines these aspects of play.

Member:  Arizona Artist Guild, Phoenix Artist Guild

Oil  10  x 14 x 1  $300

I play when hiking in the beautiful Sonoran Desert and elsewhere, and then painting landscapes when l return to my studio. When l am painting, l imagine myself walking down trails and up slopes, whether it is in the desert, the Berkshire hills or the Swiss Alps. My paintings represent my love of color, nature, and wilderness, and l hope to entice my viewers in becoming more engaged with the land and its grandeur.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

oil on canvas  36 x 48  $1,818

Member:  Arizona Artists Guild

Watercolor and Ink   7 x9 x.05  $125

Play allows the investigation of various aspects of art without concern for performative judgment. It focuses on the process of exploration rather than the end product. In this way, it not only provides the opportunity for mindful immersion in the artwork, but also deepens the connection between the artwork, the artist, and the viewer. The stress and strain of striving toward perfection is subverted to allow for a joyful experience of freedom and expression.”

Sharon Mensing is a fiber artist and watercolorist who explores the Southwest and beyond in her art. She lives and creates in Arizona and New Mexico.

Member:  Sonoran Arts League

oil, mixed technique on board  24 x 24  $650

As a third-generation Arizonan, I cherish my memories of growing up in the desert.
My current work’s inspiration is sparked by a childhood memory of play. We would ride our bikes into the desert and create forts under desert broom bushes. Their canopies dropped speckled light upon our blankets. I remember the cool, soft clay soil sifting through my fingers. We dug out seats and benches, carved nooks for our water bottles and desert finds. I want to hold on to these memories of play through my work.

Member:  Arizona Artists Guild, Scottsdale Artists League

Acrylic 20x16x2 $400

“My “Play” was to capture in a whimsical, fun style, both the array of unique wildlife found in AZ; the astonishing types of different birds found in tropical locations .
Mother Nature; the extraordinary varieties of desert critters & stunning birds is the most playful of all.”

Sue Cataldo is a Massachusetts College of Art & Design graduate with a degree in Fashion design.  She had early success by selling designs to Bloomingdale’s which showcased her talent in the fashion industry.

“I also have always loved to paint.  My background in fashion has continued to inspire my artwork as I explore color, texture and form, bridging the connections between design & fine art.”

Member: Sonoran Arts League

Digital Art 20 x 16 x .75 $550

For me the unique aspect of creating digital artwork is the freedom to play with various digital tools and effects to achieve the desired look. I love blending different painting styles, textures, and patterns into multi-layered, sometimes complex, sometimes simple images that offer new discoveries with each viewing. I’m always experimenting with including traditional art techniques and then extrapolating them digitally. Creating art is definitely my playtime!

Member: Sonoran Arts League