Featured Artists

Featured Artists - Page 1

Click below the thumbnail to see several of the artist's works

Carla Sutton
Carla's work	Carla Sutton is a graduate of the Kendall School of Design's illustration program. Her subsequent work as an illustrator laid the foundation for her current focus on fine art. She works as much as possible on location, spending her summers in Northport, Michigan. Her evocative oil paintings are predominantly of the Leelanau/Grand Traverse region.	Carla has exhibited in many festivals and exhibitions statewide, including regular appearances in the Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids. She has had one-person exhibitions in the Huntington Bank in Lowell, MI., Gallery Upstairs in Grand Haven, Mi., and the Muskegon Women's Club. She also has been selected for the Lowell Arts Council Regional Competition. .
Alan Maciag
Alan's work	Alan is a 1974 graduate of Central Michigan University with a Masteers Degree in Art Education. He has retired after teaching for the last 35 years in the Frankenmuth School District.	In the awaking light of the early morning, Alan, a plein air painter, can be found capturing the visual moments presented to him in the vasts rural farmland around his home.
Marge Clay
Marge's work	Marge earned two master's degrees and became in rapid succession a community education director and then an elementary principal in Okemos, Michigan. Despite her fondness for and the demands of these professions, she discoverd that when you really love doing something, you can squeeze it in into the busiest day.	Marge took classes or learned form "how to" books or other artists the skills of watercolor painting, portrait painting, welding, textile art, painted furniture, borken pottery art, stained glass, etc. She has sold her creations all over the country.
George Peebles
George's work	After four years of study at Kendall College of Art & Design, George embarked on his life work. Painted from memory, his works reflect "that place inside of us where we are most connected to the natural world in which we live." He says, "These are places I see in my heart and my sould."	In 2007, George took first place in the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Art Competition. Other awards include those won in the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, Celebration at GR First United Methodist Church, the Lowell Arts Council Regional Competition and the Muskegon Museum of Art Regional Exhibition.
Sy Ellens
Sy's work	A former commercial artist from Kalamazoo, Sy has been a full-time artist since 1980. He is a signature member of the Missouri Watercolor Society and a Fellow of the American Artists Professional League and the National Society of Painters in Acrylic and Casien.	Among the many awards Sy has won for his work are the High Winds Medal of the American Watercolor Society and the National Watercolor Society Award at an exhibition organized by the Texas Watercolor Society. He has several public-art projects to his credit, as well as many private and corporate collectors.
Michael Maitner
Michael's work	Michael says, "I've been influenced by a group of American artists from the 30's known as regionalists. My landscapes are based on the land forms, farm buildings and billowy cloud formations so prevalent in Michigan.	From Grand Rapids, Michael paints in a whimsical style reminiscent of the Americana of Grant Wood.
Eric Nykamp
Eric's work	Eric says, "I consider the spiritual content of a piece of artwork is equally as critical as its technical execution. I strive to create images of silence, depicting moments of introspection or visual depictions of spiritual metaphor. I draw my inspiration from the artwork of the various tribal traditions of Africa, as well as the art of China.	Eric graduated in 1996 with a BFA from Calvin College in Grand Rapids. He has won prizes in exhibits at the college and in the Celebration Religious Arts Festival at the First United Methodist Church.
E. Lynne O'Rourke
Lynne's work	Very often people come into the gallery to see "that artist who uses little pieces of paper." Lynne's torn paper collages are the most talked about work we have each year. The incredible detail can't be seen in these images. You have to come to the gallery to appreciate her work.	Before Lynne became a full time artist, she taught art in the public schools and for 18 years taught private art classes for children. She is a graduate of Grand Rapids Community College and Western Michigan University, majoring in art. She has exhibited throughout west Michigan and has won awards wherever she has shown her work.
Brenda Mattson
Brenda's work	Brenda Mattson, from Belmont, was born and raised in Grand Rapids. She has worked as a commercial artist for businesses, magazines, and freelance. She was educated at Grand Rapids Junior College and Aquinas College, her teachers being Larry Blovits and Armand Merizon.	Brenda is a pastel artist and a sculptor of small, terra cotta and clay figures for the table or shelf. Her pastels are brilliantly colored and realistically detailed.
Gerald Moore
Gerald's work	Gerald Moore holds a bachelor's and master's degree from Central Michigan University, and, from 1962-1985, headed the art dept. at Saginaw High School. For many years he divided his time between Nevada and Michigan and now draws on the outdoor beauty of both places for his work.	Gerald's acrylics and watercolors show incredibly fine detail in plant life and landscape. He has won top awards for his work and was a finalist among 8,000 entries in "The Artist Magazine's" 1996 Annual Competition.