SIGNATURE MEMBER AOT

Shirley’s art career started after she had raised her family but she is making up for lost time by painting every day. A viewer once said of her work that the soul was evident in the figurative as well as the landscape paintings. What a wonderful thing to hear!

She connects with her subjects on an emotional level as her heart strings are tugged by the beauty of the human spirit as well as our beautiful Earth.

 Every new painting offers challenges to work through as edges are softened, colors are selected and the thickness of the paint is applied with brush and knife to create an evocative response from the viewer.

Her paintings have garnered numerous awards from the very beginning and have been collected throughout the United States.

She maintains a studio in Humble, TX and is represented by The Dutch Art Gallery in Dallas, TX.

http://www.shirleyquaid.com

http://www.redpaletteartcenter.com

I love the painting process: the texture of the paint on canvas, the color relationships, and the development of the image.  But I enjoy most the final harmony of the elements. When the painting is completed it is closed to me and stands on its own.
 

http://jillrandallart.blogspot.com/

 Martie Rains began painting for the first time October, 2005; however, a trip to Italy was her real inspiration. Upon returning, she began painting Italian scenes, mostly of the beautiful architecture and countryside she had enjoyed in Italy.  She loved the antiquity and unique designs of the buildings and the vivid colors of the landscapes.  Since then, Martie has continued to study art under several well-known artists, incorporating all she has learned into her own unique style of painting.

     Martie’s work has been accepted into juried shows in Texas and has been recognized in several art competitions.  Most recently, her art was one 130 pieces out of 370 juried into Stars of Texas Show, Brownwood, TX.  Martie also recently received an award in the LGAA Spring Festival of Art.  In addition, she is represented by Rising Stars Art Gallery in Mineral Wells and is a member of Artists of Texas and Contemporary Fine Art International.  Martie is also active in the Lake Granbury Art Association and Pecan Plantation Art Guild.

A retired teacher and marketing manager, she lives with her husband, Gary, in Pecan Plantation near Granbury, Texas.

http://martierains.com/

SIGNATURE MEMBER AOT

Painting is my passion and joy, filling an inner need to produce something of beauty. My paintings are an extension of the way I connect emotionally with nature. Painting  from life gives me the opportunity to see the nuances of color and light and a sense of the location. 

I am especially drawn to landscapes and I attempt to capture the essence of what I feel and see whether it be the mountains or the deserts. I especially love the mountains as they revive my spirit with their might and power. . 

Whether I use pastel or oil, large painting or small field study, I lose myself in the process of painting. My paintings begin with large abstract shapes. As the painting develops, these shapes begin to take on recognizable forms. I use a limited palette in oil mixing only primary colors and white to get the preferred color. For pastel works, I use a limited number of colors. Starting with darks, I move toward the light seeking harmony and peace.

Texas based landscape artist, Caroline Ratliff, has developed her painting skills under the instruction of many prominent American pastel and oil painters, including Albert Handel, Matt Smith, and Scott Christensen. She received a Fine Arts degree from the University of Alabama and taught school in the Birmingham area. Moving to Texas, she continued teaching to support her family. When she retired, she became a fulltime artist. Seeing a need for a pastel society, she organized the Pastel Society of Southeast Texas and is the former president.

Happiness is being an artist.

http://carolineratliff.com/

Linda Reedy's first creative interest was in textiles.  As a weaver she taught weaving, spinning, and knitting in her Dream Weaver studio before returning to school for a degree in Fine Arts.

She continued her education with a four month artist residency at the Fine Arts University, Hanoi, Vietnam and extensive coursework at Mass College of Art.

Linda has exhibited in Massachusetts at the Bromfield Gallery, Boston; Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge; Ashwell Gallery, Newburyport; Concord Art Association, Concord; and Alden Gallery, Provincetown.

Howard karren - Co-owner, Alden Gallery
"Observers who are inexperienced with art or those who are highly trained have equally appreciated her work, and its emotional resonance is apparent at first glance.  When we display her paintings in our windows, they are a powerful draw."

She has recently relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Artist Statement

I am inspired by daily life and common objects and locations that evoke personal emotions.  It is the beauty of these experiences, old found objects, and memorable places that fascinate me and motivate my work.  Intuition is my guide, providing the direction I need for the first stages, changes, and completion of my work.  Through this process, I reveal quiet paintings that reflect a sense of time, place, and above all, tranquility.
 

http://lindareedy.blogspot.com/

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/linda-reedy-2023

http://lindareedy.com

Art has been a part of her life since she began painting at the age of 12, when she began studying at The Houston Museum of Fine Art and the Texas Art Institute. The daughter of a journalist, who was also a cartoonist for the Army newspaper during WW II, she was always encouraged in her artistic efforts. As an adult, left brain and right brain activities took parallel paths with mathematics and art.  This unusual pairing has proven to be a benefit in many areas, including perspective and proportions. Currently she divides her studio time between Canyon Lake, Texas and China Spring, Texas.

Painting has always been an exciting endeavor for her. The mixing of creamy paints and the application of vibrant colors provide a sensual experience. She wants her paintings to suggest encounters and feelings in a way that sparks viewers’ imagination.

Kay Reinke's training and unique experiences, along with extensive range of influences, have resulted in a vitality and richness in her paintings. Her many awards as well as her enthusiastic collectors are evidence of her success. It is her belief that art is evidence of God’s willingness to let us share with him in the expression of the beauty and majesty of our world.

http://kayreinkeart.com/

SIGNATURE MEMBER AOT

Ann's favorite meduim has been oils since her aunt gave her a set of oil paints for her 16th birthday.  Although she has used various media, her passion is painting with oils.  One can find her almost any day in her studio painting portraits, figurative works, or large scale landscapes or outdoors painting en plein air.  

Ann is represented by Harris Gallery in Houston.  Her large landscapes are in corporate and private collections in many parts of the country.  Most are East Texas scenes and include streams and lakes.  She is always drawn by the peacefulness of a place and she paints that serenity on the canvas.
 
Ann began "A Painting a Day" in August, 2007 and continued through August, 2008 posting a photograph of each painting on her blog.  It is a learning experience that places a priority on creating a small painting every day in addition to her larger works.  She continues to paint almost every day.  

Ann has painted many commissioned portraits, still lifes, figurative works, and murals and has received numerous awards for her art.    She earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Art from Sam Houston State University and teaches part time in a local college.  She is a member of Oil Painters of America and Outdoor Painters Society.  Ann lives in Lufkin, Texas with her husband and three cats.

"I want people to not only see what I see, but feel what I feel when I paint a subject.  My purpose is not to see how accurately I can depict a landscape or a figure, but how much I can draw the viewer into my painting so they see and feel what I saw and felt."

http://annreyesart.com/

I am a signature member of the Watercolor Art Society-Houston and also have memberships in the Southwest Watercolor Society, the Society of Watercolor Artists and Artists of Texas. I have had paintings juried into numerous national and international exhibits and have even won a few awards! :-} I also accept commissions for portrait paintings. Examples of my work may be seen on my website Kay Reynolds, Watermedia Artist

http://kayreynoldsartist.blogspot.com/

Neva Rossi Smoll is an award-winning artist working in pastels.  Neva’s work has been featured in National and International Exhibitions, including the 16th Annual Pastel 100 Competition where she received an Honorable Mention Award.  Neva’s work has also been featured in the Pastel Society of America’s 2014 Annual Juried Exhibit “Enduring Brilliance” at the National Arts Club in New York, NY.  Most recently Neva was invited to participate in the First Annual International Contemporary Art Exhibition, organized and offered by Art Residence Pro Vobis—Assisi, where her paintings were featured during the month of July 2015 in the Sala della Volte in Piazza del Comune, Assisi, Italy.  Neva is a self-taught artist currently residing in the Gulf Coast region of Texas.  “I strive to capture an emotion in my subjects that turns something ordinary into something strong and evocative.”

www.nevarossi.com

Columbian born artist, trained as a Petroleum Engineer, Hilda Rueda studied art with several artists in Canada and Brazil.   She has exhibited in Canada, Brazil, California and Houston.  Hilda’s home studio is now in Houston.   She has received several awards both locally and abroad. She also writes poetry and is an active member of several art organizations: The Woodlands Art League, DaVinci Artist Gallery, Dutch Art Gallery, The Jung center, Houston, and American Women Artists.

Painting is not just a language for Hilda, but the way to express complex ideas and thoughts impossible to express in words. Her passion has been the human figure involved in daily simple activities. She captures the portrait of the sitter’s soul and their solitude, not as a vice but as the true nature of life. 

http://hruedart.webs.com/

What a joy to be able to paint. I have found so many good friends because of my art.

I am a member of a number of art groups. The one I am most active in is The Caboose Watercolor Society which is a group of six professional artists. We have shows together and meet for critiques and encouragement. I am also in West Texas Watercolor Society, Big Spring Art Association & West Texas art Guild. Each one of these groups has shows and workshops and great demo's to keep me up to date on new trends and give me the chance to be with creative people. 

Most of all I have had the chance to meet so many special people from everywhere in this country and other countries too. My paintings are in the collection of many of these new friends. My thanks for each one of them. Thanks to you who take time to look at my art. Lots of my paintings are of still lifes I have set up or from photos I have taken on trips or in my own yard. God has given us so much beauty and I like to share that with others through my paintings. Hope to bring back memories to some and new ways to see a landscape or still life to others.

I like to work in many mediums but prefer watercolor. It is such an exciting medium that can turn out many different ways. I like to have an idea where I am going with a painting but will go a different way when the magic of watercolor suggest something else. I love the excitement of laying beautiful color on that white paper.

http://lindarupard.blogspot.com/

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/linda-rupard.html

When we share our stories we restore life to the whole community. Whether tall tales or our own personal myths, spoken or written stories bring us together: they give us an understanding of the human condition and heal us of ignorance. In times of increasing cultural dissension, my work explores the links between us and the common values of our cultures. With a sense of the Jungian collective consciousness, I use these images to express our universal connectedness as people living in the world.

I also use my work to tell stories: to point out the mixed culture that stands at the base of our society. My own background makes me part of this larger cultural blending. In this way I am typical of many native Texans. My father, from Fort Worth, very Western in temperament, told us the tall tales of Texas by names like Rip Ford,"Big Foot" Wallace, and J. Frank Dobie. My East Dallas mother was born into an Italian-American family of small businessmen. My blending of cultures continues today. My husband's mother is Japanese, making my children even more a mix than I. Perhaps my images, whether painted or sculpted, can protect and guide them and others by telling stories of community.

http://www.lynnrushton.com/

I grew up in Central Texas and spent many hours as a kid playing in the dirt and cactus of Gillespie and Mason Counties. Most kids took up music or sports, but my childhood calling was art. I've been painting/doodling/creating in a variety of media off and on (mostly off!) since I was a kid. I attribute my fondness for fine art and variety to Sally Archibald, my childhood teacher and mentor for many years in west Austin.
Until very recently though, I never seriously considered sharing my artwork beyond hanging it on the walls of family member's homes. But I do believe one's talent as an artist is a gift that should be shared. So now, with the encouragement of some very fine friends, and as the demands of family-raising and career diminish slightly, I am reaching back into that earlier part of my life to share with you. I hope you find it enjoyable.

greg@schmidthouseart.com
www.schmidthouseart.com

Born in 1967 in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and raised in rural Maryland, as young girl Leslie Sealey’s main interests were horses and art.  Her favorite illustrations to use as inspiration for her own art were Beatrix Potter’s anthropomorphized animal drawings and the whimsical illustrations of British artist Norman Thelwell.  Thelwell’s drawings often depicted scenes of little girls and their short, fat ponies.  These early influences provided later inspiration for her whimsical paintings of hippos and other animals. 

Sealey attended the University of Arizona, where she earned a BFA in Studio Art.  She moved to Texas in 1991, and after a career as a photographer she began painting full-time in 1997.  Her love of animals continues to influence her artwork, and one of her favorite pastimes is placing animal characters into playful and colorful imaginary worlds.

She currently works from her home studio in San Angelo, Texas. “In the last couple of years, I have focused primarily on painting and printmaking.  Switching back and forth between the two media seems to enhance the development of new ideas.” 

http://www.lesliesealey.com/

 http://facebook.com/LeslieSealeyArt

A native of Calhoun, Louisiana, Tanya’s life has taken her on many adventures. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she moved from her small hometown to the Dallas area where she met and married her husband of 25 years. She and her husband have lived in several states across the Southwest but have currently settled in Rockwall, Texas. Known for her wanderlust, Tanya loves to experience life and cultures across the globe thus her feet are never deeply planted.

Tanya has been creative for most of her life but her love for visual art didn’t begin until high school when, in her freshman year, she discovered her skill for drawing.  Earning a BS degree from the School of Human Ecology at Louisiana Tech University, she minored in art and has attended a few workshops but is primarily self taught. After 25 years as a wife and mother of three and with the encouragement of her husband, Tanya is now making art her focus for the second chapter of her life.

Tanya’s art has garnered her several awards and her client list is growing. As a painter, her primary focus is on political and social commentary executed in the mixed medias of paper, acrylic, and charcoal. She has recently taken up photography and plans to incorporate her images into her mixed media pieces.

Tanya is a member of the Liberatchik cultural art movement and Artists of Texas. She is a self described “political junkie” and, when not creating, can often be found on the sidelines of a soccer pitch cheering on her teen son or sailing her beloved yellow boat, often times by moonlight.

http://tanya-slate.artistwebsites.com

http://liberatchik.com/?cat=891

A graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design, earning a BFA in Painting and Sculpture and a Minor in Graphic Design.  I love to draw, pure and simple.  I am especially drawn to the reflections of light on glass and liquid surfaces.  I blew glass in college, and found it a most stimulating medium to work with.  But being a rather small woman, I found the tools and the weight of the molten glass a bit much.  But the appreciation of the surface of glass has always intrigued me.  There is glass an liquid in some form in almost all my work.

Besides being an Artist of Texas (and proud of it) I'm a member of the National Association of Women Artists which has allowed my work to be exhibited in New York City over the past two years.  I also compete Nationally and Internationally, and in the State of Texas.  I was a 2012 finalist for the Hunting Art Prize in Houston and have entered the competition again.  I will be in the Richeson 75 Small Works Competition Catalog, Spring 2014.  Look for the works over the next two years to be focused on a strong Texas theme, starting with these two yellow roses, in a variety of styles and using different media.

www.redhound.com

www.facebook.com/janet.sims.92

Art has been a personal endeavor of mine for years. Through all my life journeys, whether it was directed toward my personal or professional life, I would keep turning to my art and the desire to paint. I have

traveled down many artistic paths,including enjoying the path of my son's artistic journey, (www.travishallfineart.com) that kept me inspired and  close to the one desire I had, and that was to paint.

I have worked with many types of painting medium, but found myself returning to the painting medium of oil.

I love the way it makes me feel and how it can be turned into something beautiful. Through all my experiences with painting I have been blessed with the opportunities to work under some great painters.

I believe you can never stop learning and always try to improve your work. My paintings are created with memories of familiar things and objects that catch my eye because of the color, shape, or just very  interesting to me.

I hope you enjoy and find my work interesting and that it touches your senses as well.

http://cheryljsmithfineart.com/

Born and raised in New Mexico, later moving to Dallas for work in the IT area. I grew up in the art world but did not head that direction but instead went into computer work. I spent many years photographing nature as well, then moved on to photographing dogs professionally.  But found that it wasn't as full filling as I had hoped.  I ended up turning to drawing and in the past few years have become very serious about it.  I continue to work on improving my skills by watching how others complete their work.  I now use photography as a means of research and material for me to draw from and I still enjoy that aspect of the work.   I work in graphite and color pencil and hope to expand to other medias in the future.

http://www.snidowstudios.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SnidowStudios/

My name is Roseanne Snyder and I paint for the sheer enjoyment of it.  I have always had an abiding interest in art, but never seriously considered doing anything about it until about ten years ago and I haven't stopped since.  I did take a couple of art classes at the local college but then decided to go to work to help defray my daughter's college expenses.

In time my husband and I retired amd spent years traveling here and abroad.  He is a wildlife photographer and great source for material and ideas.  Now at a comfortable age I have the time and desire to paint. No inhibitions, no rules, and no children to distract.  My only regret is that I did not do this a long time ago.

I paint whatever I am in the mood to paint, whenever, be it abstract, realism, or maybe just a little whimsical.  I never know what it will be until it is nearly finished.  And then again it may be trash.  My pictures range from "the sublime to the ridiculous".  I try again!

I paint mainly from memory and ideas from my husband,s photography and travels.

I was adopted along with my brother many years ago and as I look back I realize how fortunate we were.  My parents were highly educated and never failed to impress upon us the necessity of an education.  They were right! So I quit college, got married, had a family, and never looked back until my girls were grown and independent!

My husband and I retired and took off for South Africa where my daughter's husband was a professor at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzberg.  We had a grand time.  Africa then was not as Africa is today. We continued to travel but much prefer the southwestern U.S.

I had an obsession with wildflowers and nowhere are they more prolific and beautiful than in central Texas.  We visited LBJ's boyhood home and I was bowled over by the wildflowers.  Lady Bird's agenda was to beautify Texas and that she did.  The ranch was ablaze with fields and multitudes of bluebonnets, indian blankets, etc.  I was standing behind John when I heard a car stop and looking around realized that Lady Bird was smiling at me and said"Aren't the flowers lovely this year". We chatted for a minute until I realized that two cars had stopped behind her so I suggested I leave and she said "Oh ignore them. They are my secret service protectors and follow me everywhere".What a lovely gracious woman.....

I returned to painting and found that it is very relaxing as long as everything goes right. I love abstract art and play with its colors all the time.

http://roseannesnyder.blogspot.com