Featured artist: Stephen O'Donnell
Known since childhood as the “artistic one,” Stephen O’Donnell has followed a winding path back to painting after years exploring music, theater, and performance. Entirely self-taught, his work is rooted in a fascination with history and classical portraiture, yet transformed through themes of self-portraiture, gender, and identity. The result is art that bridges past and present, offering viewers both beauty and space for personal interpretation.
Featured artist: Julia Hagen
After a brief detour into pre-med, Julia Hagen found her way back to art, and back to Chicago. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she spent years exploring different subjects before discovering her true muse: the city’s beloved hot dog stands. Her series Every Last Stand captures these everyday icons with warmth and hometown pride on Ampersand Gessobord.
Featured artist: Elsa Muñoz
When Ampersand President/CEO Elaine Salazar visited The United States and Mexico: A Powerful Past, A Shared Future, a U.S. State Department Art in Embassies exhibition in Mexico, she was struck by a powerful painting titled Primordial Conversations. Upon closer look, she realized it had been painted on Ampersand Gessobord. That moment of recognition led to a full-circle connection: the artist behind the piece was Elsa Muñoz, a former studio mate of Louise LeBourgeois, who had first introduced her to Ampersand panels years earlier.
Featured artist: Tushar Sabale
Tushar Sabale is an Indian-born, London-based, award-winning artist whose work bridges Impressionism and Realism with Luminist influences. Born in India, his artistic journey began in childhood, nurtured by rural landscapes and early mentorship.
Featured artist: Christina Kent
Once a PhD economist, Christina Kent is now a full-time figurative oil painter, inspired by the understanding that art captures the richness of human experience in ways that numbers cannot.
Shawn Dell Joyce
Shawn Dell Joyce began teaching plein air classes in 2000 and continues weekly to this day. She founded a plein air school with an Arts and Agricultural mission based on the historic Hudson River School, called the Wallkill River School of Art.
Sandra Duran Wilson
Sandra Duran Wilson is an internationally recognized artist, author, lecturer, and juror. Her innovative, award-winning mixed media art has been influenced by her extensive scientific background and synesthesia.
Micah Goguen
Micah Goguen grew up in Central Georgia and obtained his B.A. in Fine Art and Masters in Art Therapy from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Ga. Micah focuses primarily on bringing art to the community and using art as a form of communication for those struggling to understand and cope with life situations.
Leslie Giuliani
Artist Leslie Giuliani received a B.F.A. from the University of Delaware and then pursued advanced studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Finishing School, and the School of Sacred Arts.
Vic Hollins
Vic Hollins is a professional mixed media artist based in Tucson, AZ, with a BFA in illustration. Her work is deeply inspired by intricate patterns, the desert’s beauty, femininity, and vibrant colors.
Timothy Joe
Timothy Michael Joe is a self-taught artist and instructor from the rural southern town of Greensboro, Alabama.
Linda Kemp
Linda Kemp’s home and studio backs onto a wooded conservation area in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. She is internationally recognized for her unique contemporary watercolors, acrylics, and innovative use of negative painting.
Teresa Kirk, FWS, KWS SW, GCWS
As mother of two boys, Teresa found she had a lot of time on her hands as they started leaving home. Looking for something to occupy her time, an adult watercolor class (no drawing experience necessary) piqued her interest. The rest is history, she was hooked! She did find that learning to draw was a must.
Judy Lavoie
Tennessee artist Judy Lavoie creates paintings in a highly representational style, primarily using watercolors, inks, and acrylics. Judy especially loves painting on Aquabord, Claybord, and Scratchbord which beautifully facilitate the intricate detail and rich textures in her work.
Lisa Opielinski
Alabama native Lisa Opielinski is a professional artist with an undying passion for her chosen career, and she has been doing it for more than 30 years.
Leslie Pierce
Leslie Pierce is a contemporary artist, known for art that focuses on themes involving coding systems, documentation, fragmentation, and technology. Her ongoing series, Code Defied (2013- ), evolved from contrasting flattened and modeled forms of the human figure.
