Over the last two months, I participate in and visited several arts festivals. Instead of another post about me and my work at these markets, I thought I’d give a shout-out to a few of the artists I met and whose work stood out for me.
Artclectic – Nashville, Tennessee
Margaret Baker
Margaret Baker is a painter of people, memories, and the moments-in-between. She is inspired by stories that can be told through images. “The images I paint are often mundane but have a warmth of familiarity and nostalgia.”
Margaret is also my personal friend and the reason I was in Nashville in the first place. We’ve been friends since 1988/89 when I was an exchange student from Germany at her school. We didn’t have a chance to see each other again until the Mainsail Arts Festival in St. Pete in 2022. www.margaretbaker.art & instagram.com/margaretbakerart
Wee S Ng
“Self-taught fine art oil painter on a quest for vulnerability and authenticity.”
If it wasn’t enough that his oil paintings took my breath away, he also turned out to be the most generous artist I’ve met. For anyone who filled out a postcard with their address and joined his mailing list, he created a watercolor painting of an animal of their choice and sent in the mail. I chose a sloth and just received my postcard painting in the mail. It’s now one of my most appreciated artworks I own! weesng.com & instagram.com/weeseingstudio
Sarah Bogdal
Printmaker in Nashville. Sarah Bogdal’s work is inspired by two things: the linoleum block and the carving knife.
spaghettibolognese.work + etsy.com/shop/sarahbogdalprints
Bennett
Mixed media – Each piece is created on a cradled basswood surface. Layers are built using molding paste, acrylic, graphite, etc. to create a textured surface before the final image and words are painted.
bennettartgallery.com
Sara Eberhart
Sara Eberhart uses natural indigo and other dyes to create abstract landscapes in linen, wool, and paper. She also uses cyanotype processes to create collage pieces.
sarakatestudio.wordpress.com
Kate Herold
Kate has been a working artist for eight years. She offers limited edition prints that are the result of multiple photo shoots that are edited, transformed, layered, and combined in Photoshop. “These are images that could not exist in reality, but because of the nature of photography, they feel as if they do.” kateharrold.com
Randy L Purcell
Using birch panels, beeswax, and magazine ink, Randy transfers the ink from the recycled magazines onto a thin layer of beeswax. The finished piece resembles a warm collage of colors and textures.
instagram.com/randylpurcell
James Threalkill
This Emmy Award-winning artist has a history of working with youth in the Edgehill community, utilizing art as a tool for creative and educational development.
James was the featured artist of this years Artclectic – and it was a joy to see him working and interacting with the children.
jamesthrealkillarts.com
Art Crawl – Lakeland, Florida
Nick Ribera aka Chain Assembly
Brian Kostar aka Kostar Kustoms
https://www.instagram.com/kostarkustoms
Hardison L Collins III
instagram.com/hardisonlcollinsiii
Space Bat Designs
https://www.instagram.com/spacebatdesigns
Cricket Edmonds
https://www.instagram.com/cricketdrawings
Stephen Brown aka Humm.ngbird
https://www.instagram.com/humm.ngbird/
Denise Settles
https://www.denisesettles.com/
ArtsVenture – Largo, Florida
Danny Young
https://linktr.ee/young_at_art
Thunderstruck Bonsai – Larry Naeder
https://thunderstruckbonsai.com/
Florida Craft Art Festival
Carol Schmedinghoff
Meticulously carved birds set in handcrafted scenes.
https://www.instagram.com/gatheringsbycarol