How do you find inspiration?
Barbara Hack: As an artist, I have always held a deep passion for the figure, which is central to my work. My paintings serve as an ongoing exploration of people and their emotions, allowing me to connect with the essence of each individual I portray. I seek out a diverse array of figures, each representing a unique mood and context that resonates with my own experiences.
In every painting or drawing, I strive to capture an ephemeral moment—those fleeting expressions and gestures that tell a story. This relationship between myself and the figure is vital; it’s a dialogue that transcends the canvas, revealing the complexities of human connection. Through my art, I aim to make these moments last in time, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on the shared human experience.

What is the best thing about being an artist?
Barbara Hack: The best part of being an artist is the constant presence of inspiration all around you. It’s in the smallest details—the way light filters through trees or the the expressions on people’s faces. . Inspiration doesn’t have to be sought; it’s always there, waiting to be noticed. It’s in the quiet moments, in the unexpected, and in the mundane. As an artist, you’re always open to the world around you, finding beauty in the everyday, and turning it into something unique.

Inspiration and art are inseparable.

To see more of Barbara’s work, visit:
Website

How did you develop your unique style?
Poppy Balser: It was when I began with watercolours that I started to make progress with my paintings. I started painting outside shortly after that. Having to work quickly at a pace to keep up with the changing light of the sun helped me develop what has become my way of painting. I was not consciously seeking a “style” I was simply painting things I like to look at: water, boats, the seashore of the Bay of Fundy. Over years and lots of practice I found what worked for me to make pictures that I like to look at. I have been blessed that viewers like what they see too.

What is the most interesting thing you have painted and why?
Poppy Balser: I did a number of paintings of herring weirs. These are fishing structures that once dotted the shores of the Bay of Fundy, made of tall poles strung with netting. As the tide rises and falls, the nets strung from pole to pole are a fascinating visual subject. Weirs have almost entirely disappeared now so I paint them to document an important part of the local history of where I am from.

To see more of Poppy’s work, visit:
Website 

What is the best thing about being an artist?
Cynthia Inson: The best thing about being an artist is the journey of learning, analysis, decision making and discovery that I so enjoy as I create. All these things truly fuel and run my engine.

Painting is much like writing to me. Instead of words I am using paint, color, brushstroke, lines, form to develop the story and create an impression of mood, light, distance, and three-dimensionality on a two-dimensional surface and space.

My goal, as an artist, is to captivate the viewer, to convince them to feel that sense of awe and joy that I felt seeing the sky that I painted or the mountains, roses, water, whatever. The goal is to stop them in their tracks and for them to respond and enjoy the impression the painting evokes.

The added challenge, for me as an artist, is also to create paintings that continue to draw the viewer in, to visually wander, to see parts or the whole of the painting differently over time. This worthy challenge also continues to fuel my growth as an artist.

Cynthia is represented by the Nedra Matteucci Galleries, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 505-982-4631

To see more of Cynthia’s work, visit:
Website 

How did you develop your unique style?
JuliAnne Jonker: My journey began at a traditional Atelier school, where I honed my skills in classical techniques. I later discovered encaustic and cold wax painting, influenced by my background in photography and mentorship from several abstract painters. My current style is a fusion of both abstract and traditional elements. This blend not only reflects my artistic evolution but also my passion for exploring the interplay between abstraction and realism.

What is the most interesting thing you have painted/sculpted and why?
JuliAnne Jonker: I find profound inspiration in creating portraits of artists I admire. Two standout pieces include an encaustic wax painting of Jimi Hendrix and a bronze sculpture of Alphonse Mucha. Each portrait deepens my connection with the subject and the artistic community. Creating these works felt like tapping into a universal creative thread, making the experience particularly enriching and meaningful for me.

To see more of JuliAnne’s work, visit:
Website 

How did I get started in my career?
Kathleen Kalinowski: My career has gradually been building over the last 30 years as I constantly strive to improve my artwork through education and painting almost everyday. I have experienced working with galleries, art consultants, and did over a decade of art fairs. The combination has given me a decent collector base here in the Great Lakes region. I now have a good website, consistently selling galleries, receiving commissions, teaching workshops and participating in a few plein air events. Working from life has greatly improved my painting skills and informs my studio painting. I started my art career primarily using pastel and now I also love using oils both in the studio and for plein air work.

How do I find inspiration?
Kathleen Kalinowski: It isn’t hard for me to find inspiration, especially with my love of the landscape and painting outside in nature. I like to fill sketchbooks with small thumbnail designs and color notes. I also use watercolor and gouache to explore ideas and compositions for future studio work. Artistic growth and inspiration comes from the exploration of ideas, along with mindful and consistent time at the easel.

To see more of Kathleen’s work, visit:
website

How Do I Describe Success?
Nancee Jean Busse: What a beautiful, thorny, complex question! And man, has that ever changed with time! I was an illustrator and single mom, so success was about art in exchange for money; purely transactional. It had to do with the number of illustrations I could crank out and how much I was paid for them. I was keeping the roof over our heads after all. This transactional sensibility stalked me like a specter into my fine art. Sales, galleries, competitions, shows, recognition, bla-bla-bla… ugh. I unwittingly did everything I could to separate myself from ever really knowing who I was as an Artist. I never stopped trying to please the client. But at least, when I was illustrating, I knew who the client was.
Exhausted and totally willing to get over myself, I stopped. Stopped and stared at my easel for a year. Opened up paint tubes to see if they were drying out. Muttered. Eventually I picked up a brush and stepped up to a blank canvas. For me, that ballsy maneuver has been my greatest success. My art is now truly true to me. My (he)art sings in this sweet journey of self-discovery.

To see more of Nancee’s work, visit:
website

How do you find inspiration?
John Meister: The term ‘magical realism’ truly describes New Mexico. Living here, I appreciate the aesthetic of life in all its forms and gravitate toward intimate views of nature. Getting up close to the botanical life here, there are endless possibilities for amazing subjects. Life must do a little something extra to thrive here, and it can display great beauty in the process. I strive to capture that.

How did you develop your unique style?
John Meister: Recently, I have primarily been working on a new body of work that I call my “Vaudeville” series. These paintings feature a somewhat stylized botanical subject, such as a cactus or flower, in front of a simple, colorful, graphic backdrop. I imagine them as depicting a performer on stage. They are mostly produced in the studio but from many years of experience painting up close to my subjects outside, en plein air. The idea for the first one came as a dreamy flash image as I was waking up one morning. I painted it in two days and haven’t stopped working on the series. Prior to painting full-time, I was a graphic designer for 23 years, and these satisfy my “design itch”.

To see more of John’s work, visit:
website

How do you find inspiration?
Jill Stefani Wagner: I’m lucky that inspiration comes easily to me. There are so many things I love to paint, and never enough time to do them all! Though I paint some portraits, I consider myself an oil and pastel landscape painter, both plein air and in studio. The subject that really flips my switch is Italy! I’m half Italian, and when I visit the country of my ancestors the juices begin to flow. The colors, shapes, atmosphere and gorgeous light seem to be embedded in my soul and flow easily from my brush. I just returned from giving a workshop in Tuscany and now have hundreds more Italian photos to inspire me!

How do you describe success?
Jill Stefani Wagner: When I started painting professionally 12 years ago, I thought success would be winning major awards and selling everything I created. But as I’ve matured as an artist I’ve realized that sales and accolades are fleeting. At this point in my career, I’ve come to understand that success (for me) is continuing to learn and improve my work. When I tackle a difficult subject and am happy with the results, I feel a deep feeling of accomplishment and gratitude for my art life.

To see more of Jill’s work, visit:
website

What is the most interesting thing you have painted and why?
Susan Hediger Matteson: The most interesting things I have painted, are the snowy scenes or dusk, early morning scenes. The subtle colors that shift ever so slightly. Snowing scenes are a favorite of mine with the fading to nothing. If we ever had fog where I live, that would also be a favorite. It is a challenge to get the softness, the mystery, that any of these scenes.

How did I develop your unique style?
Susan Hediger Matteson: The soft and subtle variations are an inspiration. For these scenes it is the desire to capture the feeling and look. You just have to keep practicing.

To see more of Susan’s work, visit:
Website

How do you find inspiration?
Carrie Lacey Boerio: For me, flowers are the ultimate visual inspiration with their exquisite colors and forms. Emotionally, they offer me even more. I spent much of my youth at my aunt and uncle’s nursery and greenhouse. It was a place of natural beauty and unconditional love. This converges with my love of color to make me inspired by every garden and bouquet I see. I paint my own flowers from life and take hundreds of reference photos everywhere I go.

How did you develop your unique style?
Carrie Lacey Boerio: As a self-taught artist, I seek instruction and experiment on my own. To paint the radiant, stained-glass colors in flowers, I’ve discovered the intensity of acrylic inks on a white canvas. In oils, I start with saturated transparent color or apply it as a glaze at the end. I learned combining realism with abstraction in my compositions feels most natural. My flowers are lovingly observed in detail, while the backgrounds are invented or abstracted to support the emotion of the work. My painting process is a meditative one where I enjoy the luxury of taking my time and delighting in my subject. The more I look, the more I see.

To see more of Carrie’s work, visit:
website