LET'S FACE IT 2020 - CREATIVE GUIDES
ANGELA KENNEDY
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I have been making some sort of art most of my life. I love all types of mediums but my go to's are watercolors and colored pencil over acrylic. I love teaching art courses online and seeing what people create from them!
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AMY BEEMAN
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I live on the beautiful Central Coast of California, in wine country, with my amazing husband and my two fantastic teenagers. I have always been a creative soul, expressing myself through art, dance, gymnastics, cheerleading and even sewing/quilting! After getting married and getting a pre-nursing degree I went a completely different direction, followed my heart, and fulfilled one of my dreams, owning a gymnastics and cheerleading training center. I absolutely loved working with the kids, teaching a sport that I loved, doing choreography, and being able to raise my own little ones in the gym. After 8 years I was given the opportunity to switch gears once again and I headed into home design and merchandising as a partner in a vintage furniture/gift store where I did design consultations and home staging in addition to the storefront merchandising. Once life got too busy with kids sports and activities, I gave up the storefront to become a stay at home mom, full time mixed media artist, and home decor consultant. I love painting with acrylics, dabbling in mixed media, and finding more of my free spirited, gypsy soul along the way.
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JENNIFER BONNETEAU
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Hi, I'm Jennifer Bonneteau. I'm an artist, teacher and mom living and working in Murrieta, CA with my husband, twin boys, and dog, Jasper. I truly believe that we are all born with creative abilities and that creative expression, in all its forms, is powerful, connective and healing. Through my work as an artist and teacher, my desire is to create opportunities for personal connection, artistic development and just plain joy.
I've been working as an artist in my community for the past 20 years creating murals, designing jewelry and teaching visual art. In 2014, I took an expressive painting course and I fell in love with paint; once I put the brush to canvas, I never stopped. I find the process allows me to both lose and find myself at the same time. I especially enjoy painting portraits because I feel alive and deeply connected to humanity when I'm attempting to capture the essence of a person in a portrait; it's often a spiritual experience for me. My painting style resonates in the areas of abstract realism and modern Impressionism. I draw inspiration from my faith, friends and family, music and life experiences teaching and traveling.
I love sharing my passion for art with people of all ages and abilities. I have a special place in my heart for the autism community and have worked closely with Temecula’s local autism organization, ONF, helping to raise resources and awareness for individuals and families affected by autism. I’m a certified ART4Healing and Expressive Arts Therapy facilitator which has helped me to help at risk-populations find connection and wellness through artistic expression.
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LUCY COOKE
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
My dad gave me that nickname many years ago, when I was just a little girl. I LOVED art as a kid, drawing, and even painting whenever I could.
Yet, when I became an adult, I hardly spent any time on my art making. I was creative throughout my life though, spending time writing poetry, short stories (and longer ones), learning photography, and even developing my own film and prints. Decades later, art found me again. At a time when I really needed it!
Since 2006, art has been a part of my daily life. I started out slowly, making small ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards. Collage was my art medium of choice at that time. I quickly moved on to larger collages, mixed media, and assemblage. I used found vintage items mixed with new finds, to make interesting art. Or I would repurpose something that was discarded, to create something new and different. I also loved the challenge of making digital art.
Around 2008, I was taking an online painting class, and decided I really wanted to pursue my love of painting with acrylics. Since then, my favorite thing to do is sit in front of my easel and paint! My subject of choice, is portrait painting. I LOVE faces! But every once in a while, you will find me painting sunflowers, waterlilies, or even hummingbirds.
Besides painting portraits, as often as I can, you will find me sketching faces, in graphite or ink. And I am a constant student of art, learning from artists of the past, as well as contemporary artists. I love trying new techniques and pushing my art to the next level. This art journey has been a wonderful one!
I am so excited to make art with you!
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CHRISTINA ROMEO
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
love the process of "allowing" the energy to speak, not take my self too serious , and focus on more joy , less stress in a creative journey!
I wish to add bold color with strong emotion and balance, elements I require for peace.
I also include a predominant structural framework using symbolic objects, lines, pencil marks, color and form to operate in a meditative journey within the conventions of a visual language by representing ideas to communicate meaning.
I use mixed media in my work, acrylic, paper, oil pastel, fabric and stitching/embroidery
My mixed media work began with a strong textile focus. Mostly structural using contemporary color and line, minimal form to produce tangible practical pieces. I have incorporated fabric, paint and stitch in subsequent years developing a mixed media almost collage approach to visual art.
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DEANNA STRACHAN-WILSON
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I live in Eugene, Oregon with my husband and two cats. I work full time and use my breaks at work as my creative time. Sometimes, all it takes is 15 minutes here and there to feel satisfied with my creative process. I enjoy using water solubles, acrylics, and collage to create simple or complex faces. For me, I find rest in the creative process.
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EMMA PETITT
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I started painting 5 years ago, coinciding with the Life Changing move from the UK to Southern Spain. I paint expressive faces and figures. I love colour, texture, pattern and layers of interest. I love to include elements of Abstraction and looseness in my work to give a sense of emotion, character and depth.
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JEANNE-MARIE WEBB
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Jeanne-Marie is a Cape Town based Artist. Born in Zimbabwe and now living in Cape Town with her husband and two grownup daughters.
Jeanne-Marie has lived all over South Africa throughout her childhood and lived in the UK as a young adult for a short while where she started her working career in the Film Industry at the BBC, Drama.
Jeanne-Marie returned to Cape Town, South Africa in 1996 to get married and start her family and continue her career as a Freelancer in the Film Industry. Always being creative by nature and always dabbling in the arts, it was something she knew she wanted to pursue on a more full time basis. In 2011 she made that more of a reality. She has been actively and daily working creatively ever since. A lover of film photography, painting, sculpture and more recently, slow stitching.
In 2017 Jeanne-Marie held her first Creative Portraiture on Recycled TeaBags, Solo Exhibition in Woodstock, Cape Town which was later published in Slow and Premier Magazine and Elle Decorate for her work.
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JOSHUA LAWYER
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Joshua Lawyer is a self-taught artist based in the Bay Area, with a background in painting on walls that didn't belong to him. His work is narrative based with the female figure as the protagonist. On top of the many different story lines he explores, he has two narratives that reoccur in his work, Those story lines being "Finding Home" and "Getting Lost" and how universal these themes can be while at the same time feeling so personal and intimate.
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JUNA BIAGIONI
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
My name is Juna Biagioni, I’m a mixed media artist and online art teacher, and I live in the beautiful historic heart of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Art is my biggest passion! Making art is such a wonderful way to express myself, and as an art teacher I love to help people discover their own creativity and become more confident in making art.
I work with various materials and supplies, such as acrylic paint, charcoal, pastel, oil paint sticks, oil pastels, collage, and more. Sometimes I combine these supplies in mixed media works, other times I use these materials on their own.
Some of my work is abstract, but most of my work is figurative – mainly portraits. I love to convey emotions and stories through faces! I try to capture some kind of ‘soul’ in my work – in an unpolished way. Soul can be soft, tender, and beautiful, but also difficult or raw. All these aspects are welcome in my work and interesting to explore.
Art for me is a means to connect with people. It’s my way to express my own inner worlds, but I also like to leave enough open space for people to see their own stories and meanings in my work. The greatest gift is when people are somehow touched by my art, because it means that the artwork has its own power, separate from me, able to move something in another person. That’s just pure magic.
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KATRINA KOLTES
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Katrina comes from a childhood of often traveling, discovering, and seeing new places. Originally of German nationality, but born in South East Asia, she and her family worked full-time doing relief work all over the world.
She loves to create beautiful worlds of magic and mystery, stories of hope and beauty with her art.
She now lives in Italy, is a full-time artist and mommy to two small boys. Her creative imagination is often fueled by inventing bedtime stories for her boys, tales of magical realms, faeries and dragons, mystical creatures, and nature spirits.
But most of all, her inspiration comes from spending time in the nature, working with Mother Earth’s energy and it’s nature spirits. She also paints from her dream journeys, and visions.
Katrina teaches online and in-person workshops, where she enjoys sharing her techniques, ideas, and creative process to inspire others to discover their true magic and creative voice through art.
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LARISSA WEST
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
As a self-taught artist who found art late in life, Let's Face It has been an invaluable resource for me. I am deeply honored to be here teaching this year! Some of my fondest memories growing up were days spent creating and painting with my Mom. Neither of us had any formal training. It was all about the joy of creation. When she died, my passion for creating died too. In 2016, I made a personal vow to embrace the parts of me that had been neglected or put on hold. So, I began with a challenge to draw or paint something every day for thirty days and I fell in love all over again. I have been creating every day since then. I love all the aspects of the creative process and I enjoy working intuitively. I love experimenting with different mediums. I currently work with watercolors, acrylics and pastels, and oils but I love trying new mediums and techniques. I am so excited to be part of YOUR art journey!
Art expresses, art connects, art inspires, and art heals.
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LISA FILION
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Lisa Filion is an artist and visual arts teacher from Ontario, Canada. Lisa has been creating art all of her life and enjoys the challenge of working with diverse media. Her work aims to capture the likeness or character of a person or animal while adding a bold twist or abstract design. Working mostly in painted as well as digital media, Lisa is inspired by the intersection between traditional art and digital painting.
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LUCY BRYDON
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I am an artist and art teacher living in Bonny Scotland! I work mainly in monoprinting and watercolour although I love to explore mediums. I have taught in several collaborative online course as well as having my own online art school at lucysartlab.com
As well as teaching online I sell my work both locally and internationally and teach in person workshops and retreats. I am inspired by nature and folklore, especially that of my Scottish culture.
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MARIA PACE-WYNTERS
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Maria Pace-Wynters was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. She attended Victoria College of Art, Camosun College(Associate of Arts degree), the University of Victoria (BFA honours program) and Victoria Film School before settling down in Edmonton, Alberta with her singer/songwriter/soulmate husband and their two daughters, Imogen and Scarlett. Maria has a studio/gallery in Edmonton where she sells her unique and colourful mixed media paintings. Maria’s paintings and reproductions are collected by her loyal fans worldwide. She also sells her work online through Etsy.
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MELANIE RIVERS
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Melanie Rivers/Tiyaltwelwet, is an Indigenous mixed media artist, instructor, and Expressive Arts Therapist. Melanie is from the Squamish First Nation and lives in her community in West Vancouver, Canada. She teaches in person and online art and creativity classes to women around the world, helping them build joyful and self-compassionate art practices. Melanie draws from her traditional ancestry and teachings in her art and classes.
Melanie says, “Creating art brings me into the present moment, into stillness. In this space I am not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. In stillness, I find myself. I find peace, clarity and connection with my real emotions”. In her art, she depicts the strength, realness and vulnerability of women. She believes art has many medicines to share with us—stillness, joy, connection-- and by building a self- compassionate art practice, we can experience these medicines on a regular basis.
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MISTY HAWKINS
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Misty Hawkins grew up in San Diego, California. Her work explores personal identity in intimate portraits and nudes. Her models are often friends, if not herself. At an early age she started drawing, with an interest in faces, using magazines and books. Later this grew into an interest in cultural ideas about the body informed by personal research and classes. She hopes that viewers can connect with her work emotionally, or the artwork can lead them to an idea or interpretation. She intends to offer a range of meanings in an artwork. In college she focused on Life drawing, painting, and literature courses and received a BA in Painting from San Diego State University. Misty had a desire to continue her formal study in art and experience living on the east coast. She moved Philadelphia to complete a Master's degree in Drawing and Painting from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 2003. Next she lived and worked in Brooklyn and New York, mainly inspired to visit the museums and galleries. Misty returned to San Diego in 2005 to teach drawing courses for the San Diego Community College District and live close to family. She continues to paint in a private studio and exhibit her work.
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MJ LINDO-LAWYER
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
In her bay area home studio piled high with cactus, ferns and philodendrons, MJ Lindo-Lawyer brings to life alternative universes and whimsical and dark fantastical realms. A self-taught explorer in different mediums, MJ has fallen in love with the depths of texture she has found in oil paint and wooden canvases. Using creamy pastels and rich skin tones, MJ builds worlds of whimsy where a giantess woman can befriend a tiny bear cub, or a family of miniature elephants can keep warm at the campfire of a forest goddess.
Since 2003, MJ has told versions of her own life story and those of other diverse women through depictions of their bold grace on the move through dreamlike spaces and in the company of animal friends.
MJ Lindo-Lawyer lives and works in the Bay area with her husband and studio mates, Greg (who is a female kitten), and her 160-pound Neapolitan Mastiff, Mellow.
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PAULINE AGNEW
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Pauline is a passionate artist and art teacher, with a Degree in Fine Art, a Masters in Multimedia, and 25 years experience of making art and sharing her impressive range of skills with others.
She lives in West Cork, Ireland, where the Gulf Stream meets the Wild Atlantic Way, and part of the time these days in Andalucia, Spain. Her beautiful surroundings feed her art and her soul, and are expressed in paintings that are semi-abstract, full of earthy, vibrant colour. Her line and brushwork have a loose, expressive style .
A huge believer in the magical power of art and technology , Pauline uses the connective superpowers of the Internet to invite kindred creative spirits from all over the world into her studio, beside her family home, in the hills above Clonakilty. Through beautifully crafted and intimate Ecourses, and in-person teaching internationally , Pauline manages time after time, to coax art work out of her students that they never thought they were capable of before they came under her spell.
She is described by her growing international tribe of devoted followers, as an art whisperer, with a passionate and accessible style that is inspiring, motivating, and great fun. She is a total advocate of the notion that what we learn with pleasure, we never forget.
Pauline is very active on Facebook and Instagram, and she hosts an online ‘Open Studio’ Facebook event anually, to showcase her paintings and the amazing results she gets from her students.
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RENEE MUELLER
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I received a BFA from the University of Michigan in Dance and Choreography. I danced professionally and had the honor of teaching dance at the University of Michigan's Musical Theater and Theater Departments.
Growing up in the magical world of theater and dance I was exposed to so many gifted and talented artists. Collaborating with dancers, actors, choreographers, musicians, set, costume and lighting designers was an incredibly rich experience. It was fascinating to watch how a small idea would unfold into beautiful productions.
My love for theater and dance is a constant source of inspiration for my art. I hope that by sharing my techniques and creative practices, you will find something to spark your imagination.
I currently live in Ann Arbor, Michigan with my husband Marc, who continues to support all my creative dreams, and our beautiful daughter Olivia.
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ROBERT KELLEY
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I am Rob Kelley and I am a fine artist/illustrator with a focus on portraiture! I live in Stockton, California, and am a single dad to three children. I studied graphic design at UC Davis and then went on to study illustration at Academy of Art in San Francisco. Although I have had an extensive education in art, I abandoned art for most of my adult life. That changed, 4 years ago, when my life hit a dramatic shift. At this time, I began looking at why I was in a constant state of low-level unhappiness and discovered that I had abandoned my true and authentic self. I knew that the one thing I needed that had been missing was art! Since then, I have adopted a sink or swim mentality!
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SARA BURCH
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Sara is an expressive, intuitive, mixed media artist and creative guide who loves creating original faces and works of art. Each painting has a special purpose and is created with the intention of adding love and positive light energy into our world.
Sara truly believes love is the way and each painting she creates is infused with emotions or feelings that connects us all through our humanity and spirituality. Her dream for us all, is to gain a true sense of self, in order to create a more loving, accepting peaceful world.
When a painting finds a new home, her hope is that it will encourage the viewer to go deeper within their own spiritual path, their own truth. She loves when a painting resonates with the soul, a character strength or emotion they connect with, either from the past, what they are currently going through, or what they desire to become. Especially if it is an emotion they are searching for. Like a mark in time on their ongoing spiritual journey; past, present or future. She loves art that touches the soul.
Sara says, “Art much like music, speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.
Art has changed my life in ways I never expected, it has awakened me in the most amazing way possible. I'm so grateful for this journey of art and life, to feel more connected and grounded in my spirituality, it has so has brought a deeper meaning into my world and so many beautiful souls in my life. Love is the way...”
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TONI BURT
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I am mixed-media artist and teacher. Creating art and the challenge of trying something new is what brings me joy. I love exploring with line and form and the challenge of working with materials in different ways. Teaching others how they too can explore art and it’s many joyful moments is my passion. My aim is to make it simple and easy for anyone to follow along and see that they too can create art that tells their story.
My creative process evolves more and more each day. I have a loose and free style and I love to feel that freedom of scribbling with my pencil, often with alternate hands, and to feel unconstrained by any notion of how it should be. Evoking emotions with art is my ultimate goal, and to align with my spirit during the process. I’m inspired by many things – a lump of clay from the earth, mother nature and her many gifts, the longings of my own soul, and the miraculous magic of life in all its dimensions.
My gorgeous home high on a hill of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia is my haven, where I spend time with nature, get muddy in my pottery studio, and create drawings and paintings that my heart delights in. My studio is a delightful clutter of everything I love, and surrounded by various wildlife, kangaroos and natural vegetation.
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SABRA AWLAD ISSA
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
I’m Sabra, a self-taught portrait artist from the Netherlands. I was always interested in drawing but never chose to dedicate myself. Instead I built a business in application design and development. I tried to find ways to balance my need for creativity with all the rest that comes with running a business. But after 15 years I found that it was almost impossible to do. I was always longing for art and became frustrated that my business needed all my time and energy, leaving me drained and very unhappy.
Two years ago my son asked me, “should I do things that make me unhappy?”. As I was formulating an answer in my head, I thought to myself, “what am I doing?”. I can tell my son every out-of-the-box answer I know, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t act on it and be an example. A few months later I quit everything and started painting every day. I’ve never been more driven and content.
I paint humans. Often I wonder if maybe I should try painting something else. Or add some object or symbol. But then I end up painting another face. It took a while but I’ve accepted that that is what I do. It still amazes me every time, how much a face can say. I love learning in the online community and sharing my own experiences with different materials.
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YVONNE MORELL
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Art is my passion. I love to get up, have my head spinning with projects, images and colors, to have a cup of tea and dash off to my studio. My inspirations come mostly from everyday life. People, towns, object whatever catches my attention. It is so rewarding to have it come alive on my canvas..like meeting a new friend. I exhibit my paintings regularly.
I also love to share the passion of creating. I give workshops and online classes. The creative communities, locally and online makes the journey so much richer…what would life be without human connections and friendships. I hope we will connect in a way or another! Happy painting to you!