Artists

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Krystyna works as a graphic designer and marketing expert who collaborates with nonprofits and small businesses nationwide and locally in Connecticut. Her work spans a range of projects, from branding, to package design, to event materials and beyond. Her design focus is on creating pieces that are clean, and minimalist, but impactful - sparking engagement and excitement while staying true to each client's unique brand voice. As a painter, Krystyna brings new life to old thrift store canvases while she plays with combining geometric shapes and bold colors with the organic loose nature of plants and flora creating a playful sense of balance and wander.

Alex LeFevre is a contemporary artist working in Windsor, Connecticut. Growing up he was always known for being an imaginative person. He first discovered the joy of acrylic painting in High School. Several years after graduating Alex found himself wanting to pick up a paintbrush again. Painting was his way he could express all the things he saw in his head. So he started painting at home. He would spend his free time practicing and painting whatever came to mind until one day he decide to share his art with the rest of the world.

He enjoys painting both the expressionist and impressionist side of art, painting his perspective on things in life. His inspiration would often be his love of music and the beach, or a sonder perspective of the outside world. Alex also tries to take pause and paint the smaller moments in life, whether they bring joy, sadness, peace, or just a feeling. Like candid Kodak moments in life, often this means drawing things that are frozen in motion where the backgrounds beginning to blur. At the end of the day he describes himself as “just a guy painting pieces of life.”

Thanks for coming to learn about me. I paint in many different styles depending on my subject matter. I love to find beauty in the mundane and play with hidden meanings and symbolism in much of my work. I paint familiar things, people, pets, historical subjects and social commentaries. I hope you enjoy seeing the world through my eyes.

I came to painting relatively late in the game. I attribute this to growing up with my mother, who was a social worker and saw only with her heart, and my father, who was a scientist and saw everything through the lens of physics and function. The physical world around us seemed hardly to exist. So, it wasn’t until I began gardening in my 30s that my eyes were opened to the world of color and composition.

When my husband Steve and I built our home in the Farmington Valley, I spent endless hours happily composing beautiful gardens on paper, only to discover that nature intervened to wreak havoc with my plans. I grew frustrated with the ephemerality of it all: The garden might be perfect one day, only to be destroyed overnight by a storm, deer, or disease. In contrast, I discovered with painting that once you’re done, it’s complete. I tried oil, and it was love at first brushstroke, so I surrendered the garden to Steve and began painting in earnest. It’s been an extraordinarily surprising, challenging and rewarding exploration since then.

SAL BARRACCA was born in Brooklyn, NY, and has been an artist for over 50 years. He studied Fine Art & Illustration at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He went on to work as a commercial illustrator and teacher, and later became an Art Director, working with Avon Books, Ladies’ Home Journal and Bantam Books. After years of working with illustrators from an Art Director’s perspective, he felt it a natural progression to represent illustrators as their agent, opening his own firm in NYC. He thoroughly enjoyed developing new talent and working with his artists to create illustrations for the publishing and advertising industries.

Along with his wife, Debra, he created, wrote, designed and art directed the award-winning series of children’s books entitled, “The Adventures of Taxi Dog,” published by Dial Books in 1990, still in print today.

He now lives in Connecticut and is very happy to be a full-time fine artist. His work has appeared in shows and galleries throughout New England, winning numerous awards. His paintings are in private collections throughout the US and Canada, and in the UK, Germany, Israel & Japan

Alex Ranniello is a painter based in Bloomfield, CT. His forte is portraiture and figure paintings in oils. His paintings embody the high spirits of summertime, reflecting the human spirit through bright luminous color palettes and gestural brushstrokes to paint cheerful, tropical, and warm summer scenes. In his oil paintings, Ranniello seeks to initiate classic summertime scenes by staging his own pool and beach photoshoots to paint from. The titles are derivative of the many cities and landmarks of California and the West Coast. Additionally in his studio practice, Ranniello does privately commissioned work in colored pencils, inks & watercolors, pastels, and charcoals. He also paints publicly commissioned murals across Connecticut. His work is influenced by greats of 20th century painting; Wayne Thiebaud, David Hockney, and Richard Diebenkorn. He also channels today’s working painters from the SoCal and Bay Area such as Danny Heller and Eric Nash.

My images celebrate the color, form, movement, and tranquility of the natural

landscape. I strive to capture the serenity and meditative elements of our more secluded wilderness locales.

Amanda Rodriguez (also going by MadnessInTheMorning) is a former alumni of Paier College with a BFA in Illustration. She mainly prefers to work with watercolor but dabbles in other mediums such as oils, acrylics, digital, and photography. Amanda’s work gives the viewer a personal glimpse into the harsh world of someone who struggles with their mental health. During her time at Paier, her work has transformed from watercolor doodles in sketchbooks to fully formed and custom framed pieces as a way of processing stressful times in her life. In sharing this vulnerable aspect, she hopes to not only help break the stigma that comes with mental illness, but to also open up the floor to discuss how one's mental health can affect daily life if not treated.

Krystle Stevenson is the artist behind Farmcliff Studio. She creates a variety of paintings including illustrative watercolor florals and abstract acrylic landscapes. She is passionate about regenerating the earth and that shines through every aspect of her art process. She favors earthy tones with pops of bright hues found in nature. She draws inspiration from her home gardens, the ever changing skyline, and mountain hikes with her family.  

All my life I have been fascinated with the natural world surrounding me. On one hand the natural world is the greatest abstraction this life has to offer. On the other hand, it is the absolute reality from which we cannot escape. Between these extreme points in nature is where I choose to observer nature and create my art using the tactile qualities to be found in painting with the pallet knife as a key element to my portrayal of the excitement and joy to be found in our natural world.

To me, Chinese art is a symphony in ink and subdued, peaceful colors. A gentle choreography of line and harmonious spirits. Empty space and stillness in anticipation of forthcoming life. When I need it most, Chinese art opens the gates of my imagination and delights me. It takes me away from the present to a special place of peace.

It is this mysterious journey that appeals to me. The muted, limited palette, hidden meanings and special treats: if I look deep enough, I am surprised to see treasures. A small butterfly, a tiny bird, cranes playing at the base of a gigantic gorge, mischievous animals delighting in new found food. It is their spirit, not their likeness that I paint (Chi-the life force, essence of all living things). I look for personality and magnetism between subjects, not their portraits; this allows me to share their souls and delight my own. A powerful skeletal base of each painting is created in ink, to support the structure. Colors are slowly added to create life. Spirit is formulated in my choice of focal, and symbolic essences flowing from the innermost depths of my heart and are woven together in an elegant rhythm of Chi.

My soul is in each painting, from sparkling fully mature peonies with yellows, reds, blues and greens to the tiny butterflies. It is then combined with vibrant, rich colors to give hope that life continues and is still beautiful. A broken branch, bits of brown, a shadowy place that reflects the hidden scars on my soul. These places are not the center, but they are there and are gracefully surrounded by new growth and new hope. Instead of anger, I look to create the beautiful places of still, peaceful, healing waters. I seek refuge. Look deep—for you may see your own soul reflecting back.

I have been working in oils for almost 40 years. Over this span of time, my work has been a continuous evolution of many elements that have run consistently within the thesis of my work; from the purely technical manipulation of oil paint on canvas in order to create believable space, and the constant exercise of finding vibrant color harmonies, to leaving perfect representation behind as the notion of illustrative landscape vs. essence of place has opened up a lifetime’s pursuit in capturing, and putting the viewer into, a landscape instead of merely looking at a landscape.

I have always enjoyed capturing scenes of nature and the world around me. With encouragement from friends and family, after retiring from the corporate world, I have transformed my photography avocation into a more serious pursuit. Over the last several years I have had several pieces selected for juried shows in Connecticut and MassachusettsI am primarily a photographer of scenes in New England and Europe. I am an avid alpine hiker – most summers I can be found rambling with long-time friends in the mountain ranges of Europe where I discover extraordinary surprises down every trail. At home in New England, I find that nature in different seasons or light yields a lovely variety of images. I am constantly looking for new ways to record a familiar scene.I occasionally augment my photographs with photo-editing filters to enhance the mood or effect I am trying to evoke. This often yields a transformative “painterly” look to my pieces.You can check out more of my work at www.krisfallonphotography.com.

Art has been an incredible vehicle of growth and pushing internal limits. In a combination of an experiential process over fifteen years, I have learned about the interaction of color and varying values through abstract movement of house paint, acrylic and oil. Nature forms swirls and pictures through water and natural sediments and I have watched, been a part of and directed this process through paint, sometimes excited by the end results and sometimes wanting to tear it up and start again. I have understood trees to be related to higher levels of consciousness and they often are my subject. 

In August 2019 I started painting as a way to simply express my bottled-up creativity. 

I primarily use spray paint, incorporating acrylics and biodegradable matter 

such as grass, feathers, seeds and potting soil to create depth and a 3-D look to my Art.

Given my professional life as a special education teacher and trained school counselor, 

some of my Art targets social justice and alternative lifestyle themes.

Acceptance of individual differences and the celebration of diversity in our world is very important to me 

as a human being and steward of Mother Earth.

Caring is Everything…….

Peace & Love

"My passion for design and all things "home" comes from a lifetime of appreciation for family and beautiful unexpected moments. I believe that simple changes in color, texture, organization and "good flow" can transform not only what a house looks like but how it feels to come home to. I have a great passion for simplistic beauty that reflects everyday life; The smell of the outdoors, a place to gather, a beautiful quiet space to recharge. These feelings are encompassed not only in the interiors I design, but also in the paintings and accessories that I create".

The subject matter found in my paintings, pastels, and prints stem from the natural world. A starting point for me can be choosing one or more of the many photographs I take during hikes on surrounding trails. I call these photographs "Idea Sparkers".

I'm interested in the colors and endless textures that nature provides and how I can manipulate them into a cohesive composition and mood that work together to create an emotional response.

Sometimes I infuse my work with elements of fantasy and semi abstraction because that's where a particular work may lead me. Trusting my intuition is an important part of my creative process.

I find myself coming back again and again to the visuals I could achieve with acrylic paints on the reverse side of recycled windows. My approach has been heavily influenced by bold colors and geometric and architectural themes, finding inspiration from shapes and patterns as diverse as nature photography, film backdrops, textiles, interior design and everyday objects.

My art is influenced by people and places I've experienced in my lifetime. Be it American history, a city scene, abstract images, or a rock star portrait, my work symbolizes familiar and sometimes conceptual images. It allows me to think, invites them in to possibly take their shoes of and stay awhile.

Having been a wedding/portrait photographer in the ‘70s and ‘80s I now find myself retired from the IT world. Digital Photography has now opened up a whole new world, I’m quite literally “Seeing Through A Different Lens”. From capturing wildlife in my own backyard, Eagles and Osprey along the CT River, Industrial machines at Boston Waterworks or American Clock and Watch museum. With todays software I can continue to create beyond just taking a picture.

I’ve become increasingly captivated with transforming knowledge of natural form into places never before seen. The transcendence of color from the expected to the unexpected has led to questioning the surfaces on which I paint. The tearing of the surface and the creation of actual spaces within and around my work, present challenges and bring new experiences concerning space, which allow for a freer interpretation of color and implications of highlights and shadows upon form. My recent works abstract from nature and continue to open new possibilities for connecting color with space.

I’ve been fascinated with taking pictures since I was a boy, from the time my mother let me try out her Brownie camera. The first camera I owned was a Polaroid Swinger, exciting, in that it produced instant prints! In more recent years, I’ve spent time photographing landscapes, flow-ers, nature, architecture, and, of course, people, in formal and informal events, and in their work environments. 

In my day to day I am a freelance graphic designer, photographer and marketing manager of an organic landscaping company. This opportunity has enabled me to experience my greatest loves in life; art and nature - all day, every day. My artwork is a reflection of nature and an exploration of light. My intention is to explore the outdoors, let nature tell me what it wants me to paint and then re-create it with my own unique and graphic perspective. I am in awe of the creatures, flowers and beauty that is always around me. The constantly changing light that has it’s own way of painting the earth and sky, the incredible reflections and colors that make for an endless kaleidoscope of inspiration. There is a peace that can’t be felt anywhere but on a hike, working in a garden or just gazing at the stars. I am drawn to it and enjoy trying to bring those elements, as well as the geometric patterning found in nature, into my art through any medium that I can.

Photography is like meditation for me.

Whenever I pick up my camera I feel like I have a different connection with the world around me. I interact more freely with people and my environment and I notice things that I might otherwise overlook. If I can get a person to see something in a new way, I feel like I've accomplished something.

ARTIST

Peter specializes in Landscapes, Architectural and Industrial photography.  He has a certification in Creative Photography from Tunxis Community College and has been involved in photography from an early age with 35 mm and medium format film.  His photographic inspiration comes from the beauty of the moment in a landscape, the play of lights on buildings or the intricate patterns in machinery.  From travels in the United States and abroad, he has captured rugged landscapes and interesting architectural pieces in Iceland, Scotland, the American Northeast and Southwest.  He has a strong affinity for aircraft borrowing from his professional life in the aerospace industry.

Having acquired a deep appreciation for nature in all its various forms from hiking numerous mountains in New England and spending summers in Maine, I attempt to convey through my work, the many senses of our world. From flowers, insects, birds in our wildernesses to oceans edge, nature itself has become an infatuation. Being immersed in the ebb and flow of the tides, the rising and setting of the sun, I find myself attempting to capture that moment in time in movement and nature.In my explorations I have discovered urban decay with its interesting artifacts and distinct solitude and the opportunities for abstract imagery in that realm. More recently , I have acquired an interest in other venues such as street photography, which of course ,is seeing life in its most real form.My goal is to bring to the viewers attention in my work an awareness that was previously unrecognized.

I have been practicing art since I was a young girl. My parents knew I had an artistic side since I was very young. Throughout my schooling, I was invited to take classes in Talented and Gifted Art, my art was on display at the school’s art shows, I had taken all of the art classes that Pomperaug High School had offered by my junior year and my senior year was dedicated to independent studies in art along with my portfolio preparation. I decided to attend Southern Connecticut State University where I enrolled as a double major in elementary education and studio art. In 1999, I graduated with both degrees and began my career as an educator. Since 1999, I have been a public school educator in the city of Waterbury. Although my career is focused around the visual arts education sector, I still enjoy aspects of art in my everyday life. Within the past 10 years, I have begun to rekindle my love of the visual arts and began dabbling in photography. Most of the photos I have taken have been for personal satisfaction and enjoyment. These photos have never been on display or offered for sale as it was just a hobby that I enjoyed. I have now decided that the time is right to begin offering the public a view into my personal passion and to share those images with them. These images are just the beginning of more to come and I am now looking into broadening my horizons into what other areas of the visual arts I can explore.

Elizabeth is a painter and photographer. She's also a mother and an adventurer. She is the product of a career attorney (father) and a pursuer of many passions (mother). She is as adept at Excel as she is at commanding the dance floor. These pragmatic and expressive experiences all contribute to the contrasting forms of visual art – realism and abstractionism – that have influenced Elizabeth’s development as an artist. She draws upon color and place to inform her paintings and photographs. Geometry, hue and history are common themes that direct the composition. Elizabeth received a BA from Hartwick College and an MS from Boston University. She worked as an Arts Administrator with the Cambridge Arts Council and the Greater Hartford Arts Council for 10 years before leaving the workforce to raise tiny humans. Elizabeth lives in Simsbury, CT, and when she is not creating, you can find her hiking with her 4-legged companion Tucker, fly fishing the Farmington with her husband Ryan, or shuttling kiddos to ice rinks throughout the state.

Malcolm Stanley is a poet, visual artist and musician. His work combines words and symbols as tools of expression. He was born in Meriden, CT to a single mother who was also an artist. His mother studied art in college before being hospitalized for metal illness. As a child Malcolm loved being creative, inspired by his mother and the world around him. Malcolm has studied at Columbia College Chicago, Emerson College, and Southern Connecticut State University. (His work explores self expression as well as self-reflection) and the goal of his work is to connect with other individuals and be loved on a personal level. On a grander scale he wishes to seek the truth through art, and challenge ideas and preconceived notions that do not serve our world. Some common themes throughout my work are clouds (symbolizing creativity, imagination, innocence, and the idea of afterlife), flowers (symbolizing beauty, vulnerability, and emotional openness), and the notion of outcasts/icons. Mediums range from sculpture, acrylic, collage, photography, airbrush, and marker. 

I’m a traditionally trained, realistic painter.  Many say my art is photo-realistic and it may look like a photograph, but my style is more painterly using abstract layers of color built up to achieve the effect I’m looking for.  I create my paintings using traditional methods of laying down thin transparent washes of color until I reach the result.

My original subjects are how I see America, usually larger canvases using acrylic or oil.  I was influenced by Robert Cottingham and Richard Estes during my studies, sparking some of my early work.  Soon after my formal schooling and apprenticeship under artist Armando L. Balboni, I took a sabbatical from painting and left to travel the world as a Naval Officer and Intelligence Operative. This experience culminated with me living and working in over 50 countries, and being a veteran of foreign wars in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These travels made me appreciate the wonderful world of art, but more importantly how different American style was.

Photography is like meditation for me.

Whenever I pick up my camera I feel like I have a different connection with the world around me. I interact more freely with people and my environment and I notice things that I might otherwise overlook. If I can get a person to see something in a new way, I feel like I've accomplished something.

Born and raised in Connecticut, with a generous helping of travel, has given me a  wonderful collection  of landscapes to paint.
In 2008, I was given a gift of art lessons with Ira Barkoff.  Since then and for the past years I has  been taking classes and attending workshops with Ira Barkoff.  
As a world-class rower and Master Gardener, I have spent most of my life enjoying the outdoors rowing, hiking  and gardening.  The vast majority of my works are creations from collections of sunrises, sunsets and landscapes I have experienced while boating, rowing, traveling abroad or just being immersed in the outdoors.

With a multidisciplinary approach, I construct, photograph, paint, and sculpt a melancholic and fanciful existence.  The natural world, full of its flora and fauna, whisper the lore of the mysterious and unfamiliar.  Heavily influenced by a childhood year in Germany, my work takes on a Romantic European aesthetic and philosophy.  

I draw inspiration from my memories and imagination as well as colors and music that surrounds me as I paint. Applying oil paint with brushes and palette knives, I use a variety of techniques to create layers of texture. With bold brush strokes, I achieve a level of abstraction that challenges the viewer’s perception of nature

She studied painting in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Belgrade and graduated as one of the top students in her class. She received numerous awards from the University of Belgrade for her accomplishments in mosaic, drawing and painting. She left Yugoslavia for Canada in 1980 and has since then established herself in Vancouver’s artistic community. Ella exhibits her works frequently throughout Canada, the United States and internationally.

City Bench grew out of our passion for building beautiful objects with meaning and a story. It also grew out of a reverence for the trees that line our streets, fill our public spaces, and enliven our campuses. Those trees represent our shared space and generations of common stories—they are also a vital and overlooked resource.

A rigid support enables me to vigorously activate the surface, adding, subtracting, scraping, wiping and ultimately building many layers of paint. Since I work on several pieces at once and over a long period of time, the paintings not only inform each other, but those that follow.

Through exploration of the mixed media process, I use color, shape, line, texture, and at times, photographic images to create abstract art in a raw and energetic way.  My work is often inspired by landscape and nature, and at times, dances on the line between realism and abstraction.

I am drawn to all things ephemeral. My goal is to reveal the essence of a subject before nature’s inexorable force changes it forever. Documenting these fleeting moments captures an element of immutable truth. This inherent contradiction, irrespective of the subject matter, ignites my creative process and the shifting interplay of value, color and shape becomes the template for my designs.