In 1998, Randy Gaul joined Industrial Light & Magic as a concept designer. Prior to joining ILM, he worked for seven years as a freelance storyboard and concept artist for such companies as Wild Brain, MTV and Disney.
Kristine and Colin Poole are figurative sculptors from the United States. Balancing classical inspiration with contemporary expressive realism, their work highlights the beauty and inherent narrative qualities of the human form. Developed on the timeless fundamentals of anatomy and attention to detail, their clay and bronze figurative sculptures feature diverse themes that open doors to conversation.
Since moving to Australia from the UK textile sculptor Robyn Lees-West has become fascinated by the colourful & noisy birds. She has always hoarded retro fabric. As a child she used to love visiting the Victorian Taxidermy Museum of William Potter & The Booth Museum in Brighton. Robyn has now combined all of these passions in her work. She sculpts faux taxidermy birds from reclaimed retro fabric, some of which hats! Recently Robyn has become obsessed with recreating the internal anatomy of birds as well.
Alessandra Maria was born in 1989 in Seattle Washington, and resides in the Hudson Valley, New York. She graduated from Pratt Institute in 2012, and is represented by Galerie Fledermaus in Chicago.
Kate Van Doren explores human resiliency, connection, and the healing power of nature through realism paintings, drawings, and photography. Having worked as an art therapist in the mental health field for more than two decades, Kate offers a unique lens, cultivating connections with her inspirations to foster their stories about the human condition. She is deeply devoted to creating art that raises healing awareness in the lives of others.
Theo Polymorphos is a North American painter of imaginative realism, whose art explores the mysterious journey of the soul, exploring themes of ecstasy, initiation and metamorphosis. Taking a deeply personal approach, he builds on these themes with symbols and motifs from his own dreams, spiritual practices and natural environment. After a decade wandering the globe as a consultant, he rekindled his childhood love of drawing and painting and quickly became obsessed. The confidence gained from learning traditional drawing and painting methods unlocked the door to his imagination, catalysing a total reorientation in life. He recently completed a three year course in imaginative realism under Tenaya Sims at the Georgetown Atelier in Seattle, Washington. He currently resides in Central Florida where he continues to develop his portfolio.
Bob Doucette’s whimsical and highly saturated paintings come from the world of dreams. Sometimes bordering on surreal, his imagery is a product of a decade of theater work, puppetry and twenty-five years in the world of animation. As an animation director he was responsible for many well known animated children’s programs for PBS including, Chloe’s Closet, Dive Olly Dive and Clifford’s Puppy Days. He started in animation at Warner Bros. and was involved with many classics like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. His independently animated films won him many prestigious awards and honors and his MFA thesis film Pink Triangle, the first animated film to depict the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis, is in the permanent collection at the New York Public Library.
Carmit Haller is a visual communications designer, and the owner of Carmit Design Studio. For the past two decades she has been working as a lead graphic designer in the fields of consumer market, high-tech startups and luxury real estate. Her passion lies in poster design and typography. Carmit Haller is the recipient of worldwide prestigious awards such as Graphis and Rockport Publishing. Originally from Israel, Carmit holds a BA in Social Work from Tel Aviv University, and a BFA in New Media from The Academy of Art University, San Francisco. She currently resides in San Francisco, California.
Maysa Bogheiri is a self-taught watercolour painter with a passion for surrealism. Her artwork is primarily centred around female subjects, offering a unique journey of self-expression and introspection. Drawing inspiration from personal memories, feelings and the subconscious, Maysa’s creations exude both darkness and beauty. As an Iranian American artist, her paintings offer glimpses into the crossroad of her cultural background. Through her art, Maysa invites you to explore her inner world and discover your own meaning within her creations.
Zheng Liu, known by the pen name Kuang Chu, is a cross-border, cross-disciplinary artist. His artwork has been exhibited in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, China, New York State, and Los Angeles, U.S.A. He is now based in Los Angeles, Beijing and Chengdu. Currently, Kuang Chu's main focus is on his "Red Balloon" digital drawing series. This series has been exhibited and sold in galleries as printmaking artwork.
Hilary Martin of Alchemy of the Pen is a New Jersey native and a self-taught artist who has taken this concept and flipped it on its head. Her work is known for combining imagery that often contradicts, yet melds effortlessly, in a way that encourages pause and to search for a deeper understanding. After a decade-long hiatus from the art world, she picked up a pen once more while living abroad as a means of therapy to counter mental health issues and subsequently rekindled a lost passion. From watercolor and pen illustrations to oil paintings, Hilary aims to highlight the ever-present beauty that is a constant even in the darkest times.
Besides having opposable thumbs Richard A Williams have been an illustrator for many years working for many well-known publishers, and companies. After leaving that field he dabbled in portraiture for a while working for major portrait companies in the U.S. Later he developed a desire to teach and with the help of “low friends in high places” was able leapfrog from an associate’s degree in humanities to a master’s degree in Illustration and entered the education arena.