246 American Way, Dripping Springs, Texas 78620
Joe Lednicky
Anne Shackelford
Primal Gallery Curator
Joe started his high-tech career at NASA and journeyed through a number of engineering and venture business paths for the next 35 years. Although his education was in engineering and business, while working a new business venture in 2012, he got thrust into the care of the elderly by life's circumstances. It was while visiting memory care center patients that he noticed how the Arts (e.g. painting) and Music would improve the cognitive state of the elderly patients suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer's. Joe decided to retire in 2021 and commit himself to the assistance of the Arts. Primal Gallery was established in 2022 to support the local and up and coming artists. In addition, a portion of the gallery is utilized for the sale of estate items for clients needing to pay their bills.
Anne Shackelford
Anne Shackelford
Artwork created in harmony with high vibrations & healing intentions.
For me, I must create. It is incredibly powerful for me in my own healing work, to design pieces that mesmerize and uplift me. In turn, I pray my artwork may bring joy, inspiration and healing to whomever views it.
High vibrational artwork holds the healing intentions imparted by the artist. The energy work done on it, during or after the process, imbues the piece with high vibrations and has a profound effect due to the conscious design that surrounds it.
The higher the frequency of your vibration, the lighter you feel in your physical, emotional, and mental bodies. You experience greater personal power, clarity, peace, love, and joy.
Using crystals, sacred geometry, mandalas, palo santo, sage, incense, sound and prayer I infuse my art with positive vibes.
Susan Henrichson
Susan Henrichson
Susan Henrichson is an artist who loves living in the Texas Hill Country. She spent her career as a Speech-Language Pathologist while raising two daughters with her husband, Tommy.
She began her adventure into the art world with watercolor and folk art, studying with Evelyn Lohmann. After a hiatus, she discovered the flexibility and creativity of oil painting. She has painted with Lilli Pell and studied with various artists, such as Ovanes Berberian.
She aspires to inspire her love of nature. Her love of Texas and the Hill Country greatly influences her work. She especially enjoys painting the Spring bluebonnets and Live Oak trees. While landscapes are her predominant focus, she also enjoys painting still life florals. Color, light and vibrancy are the common threads in her paintings.
Susan is a member of Die Kunstler von Fredericksburg Art Group and the Wimberly Art League.
Renee D'Arienzo
Susan Henrichson
My name is Renee Saylors D'Arienzo and I am a local artist in Austin Texas. Austin has helped me grow as an artist through the many jobs I have done, through the people I meet, and the daily inspiration in the city. I have always been drawn to art which led me down an unconventional and exciting journey when I left college with an art degree. I have been lucky enough to teach various art classes, create one of a kind commission pieces, and murals for clients all over Texas. I have been doing custom murals and canvas work for over 10 years.
With life so full of boundaries and guidelines I love that art is the exception. There are no rules when it comes to creating art. I rely on my intuition, emotions, and inspiration to guide me. I have always been drawn to texture and color. I love exploring all subject matter but recently obscure landscapes and light have taken hold of my attention.
Kat Sherby
I grew up Guthrie Center (GC), a small town in rural central Iowa. I attended Drake University and then graduated with a BFA in design, with minors in Drawing, Painting and Ceramics. I made my way to Austin TX in 1977 and made a career as a graphic designer, art director and illustrator.
My landscapes come from my love of my Aunt and Uncle’s farm in GC. The Iowa countryside evokes a tranquil and simpler time. West Texas landscapes are also instrumental to my vision of wide open spaces and the peaceful impact those conjure.
During the pandemic I found inspiration and beauty in my own back yard. Sky scapes, clouds, horizons, botanicals.
My abstracts are inspired by shapes and patterns found in nature. By subtracting color, layering, glazing, scratching and sanding, the joy and excitement of the creative process is expressed in colorful techniques using acrylics, watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, crayon and marker on a variety of substrates.
My illustrative style for pet portraits developed from my career as a graphic designer. Hand-sketched from a photo, scanned and then the refined shapes are filled with flat colors to create a “paint-by-number” look, always with a clever and humorous twist.
Lauren Hua
Lauren’s elegant yet bold abstract paintings stem from the artistic expression through, or despite, a previously predestined life path.
In the past, she used to be a registered nurse. While she had always been inclined towards the arts, like many young creatives, she was steered towards a more stable career.
So she walked down the predictable path, until she was hit with crippling anxiety during COVID. At the time it felt hopeless, and soon anxiety was joined by depression. Shaken from the loss of control, she sought to reclaim her balance through painting. It was comforting having something to focus on and to make something beautiful.
Her embrace of the abstract realm is another break from the exacting regime of her past. With abstract art, what one person feels and interprets from a painting can be completely different from another. It can even change from day to day, moment to moment depending on mood.
These concepts are what influences her artist expression. Carrying her Asian heritage to the canvas, she deviates from the traditional calligraphy lines by adding her own signature painting style with textures and metallic embellishments. Paying homage to her past and celebrating her new sense of self.
Ted Denny
Bruce Rusiecki
Bruce Rusiecki
My name is Ted Denny, I’m originally from Alaska and grew up in Seattle. I joined the Navy in 1971 and was sent to NAS
Kingsville Texas. I have been here in Texas since then and now live in Dripping Springs. I have been in this friendly town since May 2000. I started taking pictures with my Nikon D3300. Traveled all
around the Eastern United States and have taken thousands of pictures. Since then I have updated my camera and lens to a more professional camera, a Nikon D750, including portrait lens, telephoto and wide angle lens. Nowadays I travel around central Texas and take pictures of
landscapes, birds, animals and flowers.
I’m all so a member of “PODS” – Photographers of Dripping Springs. The club has workshops, field trips and guest speakers and other photography information and opportunities.
Bruce Rusiecki
Bruce Rusiecki
Bruce Rusiecki
Bruce Rusiecki started drawing and painting at a young age. Later in life, he studied studio art at University of Arizona. His bold use of colors, coupled with a range of design patterns in his work, has built a following of collectors and art lovers from all over the world. He is inspired to continue pushing the boundaries of this art form, finding new and exciting color combinations and devising new ways of mixing and manipulating them on canvas. “I am constantly seeing new and inspiring designs in nature, in books, magazines, television, movies and my own imagination. I am passionate about what I do and committed to constantly exploring my passion.”
Helen Buck
Bruce Rusiecki
MaryAnn Lucas
I began studying ways to express beautiful, profound and sometimes disturbing images while studying at the University of Cincinnati and opened my first studio in The Pendleton Building. This move continued to push those boundaries of innocence/loss of innocence expressed through nature with the encouragement of artistic peers, critiques and the public who often visited my studio. Upon moving to Dallas, my work experienced a decided shift in color pallet and theme while travel enhanced and broadened my view. Contemporary floral images to abstract landscapes and representational images with a contemporary approach are all embodied in my offerings as a fine artist and student of nature. It is important to acknowledge that every phase of life is a gateway to the next episode of being, and so it was for me. From early pieces of dark childhood trauma, through marital good times and bad, then on to reflection and simply being. Through all the drama, comedy, ups and downs, the one constant was the portal; the way through; hope; fears; love and discovery. My chosen mediums are oil, acrylic and mixed media and my studio in Dripping Springs surrounded by nature continues to inspire me.
MaryAnn Lucas
MaryAnn Lucas
MaryAnn Lucas
MaryAnn has been studying and practicing art since the late 1960’s. She currently belongs to and participates in the Watercolor Art Society of Houston, Visual Art Alliance, Conroe Art League, Woodlands Art League and Baytown Art League winning various ribbons and awards at each. She is past President of Visual Arts Alliance, Northwest Art League and Lone Star Art Guild; which is an organization representing approximately 15 Art groups located throughout Southeast Texas. She has held numerous other positions with all of these organizations. MaryAnn has an intense love of art, which she expresses and promotes through her continuous support of these organizations. Her studying has consisted of taking courses at formal educational institutions as well as specialized tutorial sessions with various experts. MaryAnn is a firm believer that "practice is the best learning tool", and this has enabled her to become proficient in a variety of mediums. For several years she has conducted workshops and given demonstrations of her art techniques in Houston and surrounding towns. Her work has made its way to various states across this country and Europe.
Marsha Young
MaryAnn Lucas
Marsha Young
Graduate from Southwest Texas State University with a commercial art degree. Although my career led me into the gallery/framing and decorative field, I have continuously painted for years and have been in numerous art shows.
My love for flowers and travel has always been my inspiration for my art. As you are viewing my work, you will see that I work in a variety of mediums. Watercolor has always been my primary medium until I started experimenting with acrylics that I could not achieve with watercolor. Photography has played an important role in my art, as well, either painting from my photographs or enhancing them to create digital art. Each medium gives a different feeling. I love the variety, keeps me excited.
Mikiko Kudo
MaryAnn Lucas
Marsha Young
In 1992 Mikiko Kudo left Japan to come to America to pursue her dream. Her background was in science until then. She taught math, biology, and chemistry at a secondary school in Kenya as a Japanese Peace Corp Volunteer for two years prior to moving to America. After the life changing experience in Kenya, she decided to follow her passion to go back to school to study art. She wanted to become an artist. Vincent Van Gogh, whom she admires, started painting when he was 27, and she was now beginning to study art at the same age.
She received a B.A. in Fine Arts in 1996 from Columbia College, Chicago. After graduation, she worked as a graphic designer in Chicago. In 2004 she moved to Dripping Springs, TX to raise her family and eventually she focused on painting again.
Lately, she has been painting personified animals in the Fantastic Animals Series and also a lot of flowers. She loves to paint portraits of her family. When she is not painting, she is practicing violin (music is another passion of hers).
Marlene Llanes
Melissa Fontenette-Mitchell
Marlene Llanes is a surrealist artist who paints intriguing images that evoke a sense of peace. By creating unusual combinations of everyday objects with natural elements, her works take the viewer to a grounded fantasy. Through the use of light and shadows Marlene creates a sense of depth that draws the viewer into a peaceful dreamlike scene. Marlene has shown her work in numerous exhibits in Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico. Three of her works are part of public permanent collections. In 2012 she was invited to Valloria, Italy to paint one of their doors for their Outdoor Museum of the Painted Doors. Marlene has received multiple awards. In 1998 Marlene was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study illustration in the USA. She finished her master's degree in Fine Arts (Illustration) at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2000. In 1997 Marlene graduated as a graphic designer from Universidad Vasco de Quiroga in Morelia, Mexico. Besides working on her surrealist paintings, Marlene has also worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for newspapers, printing companies, advertising agencies, and publishing companies. Marlene was born in Morelia, Mexico. She currently lives in Austin, TX. She is a proud dual citizen.
Melissa Fontenette-Mitchell
Melissa Fontenette-Mitchell
I humbly focus on visually exploring and capturing life’s moments, small and large. My fine art photography collection celebrates a rich diversity of unique subject matters.
My fine art photography is more than just being artistically inspired and technically excellent. My fine art photography encompasses a trinity – the vision of the photographer; the spirit of the subject and the heart of the viewer.
My work has been exhibited at numerous venues in Texas and New York. Such as The Bydee Art Gallery, The Contemporary Art Museum-Austin, TX, Texas State University, Round Rock Public Library, Round Rock City Hall, Austin City Hall, Hill Country Bible Church and Oh WOW! Recently my work has been featured in Harlem Gallery, in New York, NY and the private residence of Clients. It has also been featured on-line with Texas Department of Transportation, Oprah.com and Shed Media. I have been recently awarded Top 100 Achievements in Black Austin Fine Art Artist.
George Szepesi
I have been developing an art theory around the constant transformation of all things with relation to the passing of time and space. Since the late 70's while doing graduate studies in the Center for Advance Visual Studies at M,I.T., Cambridge, Massachusetts, I began working this art series. "EGABRAG" showcasing the process of objects’ evolution in conjunction with my own theories and concepts of LINE, devoted in researching and understanding its principles. The "BILLION LINE PROJECT" series are the results and culmination of his LINE concepts, where all of my art production is centered and focused.
In 1995, he established the Anonymous Artists Association's Ephemeral Museum IN SITU in Caracas, Venezuela, a museum which creates numerous graphics, temporary art presentations, outdoor installations, indoor performances, and large-scale art works. Before moving back to Houston, Texas in 2000, He worked in Venezuela, France, and Brazil. He currently works and resides in Austin, Texas. His works have been exhibited in various international Biennales. He won first prize at the Lawndale Big Show. He is also represented in different public and private collections around the world, including in China, Germany, France, San Francisco, Caracas, Houston and Boston.
John Gusky
I have a BA in film, and more than 30 years experience in television photojournalism. Honored dozens of times by the AP, UPI, National Press Photographer's Association, and others, I'm leveraging some of those visual skills into an attempt to create art, for home and office. I love to travel and when I do, my Nikon goes with me. I've been fortunate enough to score some space in local galleries (in my home town - Austin, Texas), and also had my work find its way into hotel lobbies and guest rooms, corporate board rooms, and the like. So I guess I'm doing *something* right. So, if you're looking for some really cool art for your space, please consider my photography. Especially now, while it's cheap...these works will be worth a fortune when I'm dead and gone.
Luz Marie Iturbe
Luz Marie Iturbe
Luz Marie Iturbe was born in 1969. She has lived in Austin, TX for 12 years, which has gifted her the opportunity to internalize and deepen the essence of her roots, making the chromatic possibilities that lead to vibrant colors and shape diversity a constant in her work.
Additionally, the cultural melting pot of this city has increased her interest in nature. This is especially true in regards to landscapes and their relationship to people which manifests in the scenes of everyday life found in her work.
She has found a special interest in portraits because she believes that through portraiture the mystery of the human condition is materialized.
Throughout her career, she has been influenced by artists like Edward Hopper, Modigliani, Diego Rivera, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Magda Sayeg, whom she worked with for some years in the yarn bombing movement.
Luz Marie has participated in several collective exhibits in Mexico and the US. She has volunteered at the Blanton museum of art and has worked in different nonprofit organizations advocating for female empowerment.
She thinks of art as a medium with which she can help people reflect both on societal issues and nature. It is her hope that through this reflection, everyone can reach a more just society resulting in a better world.
Ana Ramos
Luz Marie Iturbe
I am a multidisciplinary artist. I like to work in different media and techniques, as a result, i have created etchings, still life, handmade paper paintings, human figure and surreal throughout my career. However, acrylic and realistic abstract painting has proven to be my primary form of expression.
I love to use vibrant, bold colors combined with lights and contrast, and atmospheric backgrounds to arouse feelings, that invite the viewer to make a deep connection with my art.
I am a strong believer of the human power of self-transformation, so my greatest success is when I inspire people through my art, to look inside and find peace and happiness in their lives.
I get my inspiration to paint from moments of my own life and my passion of nature. Before I start a painting, I select my pallet based on the series I am currently working. I start from a photograph or sketch but the piece takes shape quickly and leads the way, so sometimes the result is completely different from what I had planned.
At other, I observe how the colors mixed in my pallet creating whimsical shapes, and from there I get an idea to start a new painting. This is the power of transformation of art!
“No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” Oscar Wilde.
Kay Hughes
When there are no interruptions and all is still if only for a moment, I love to soak in the scene around me. Color affects me. It’s like a dawn to dusk walk along a path with dappled shade, all those colors change and modulate during the day. I like the light to shine through my painting and highlight the contrast of shadows. I paint to express what I see and almost feel. After finishing school for Interior Design I lived in England and the Netherlands where I studied art with several artists in The Hague. While in Europe I took the opportunity of visit as many art galleries, cities, museums, places of interest and natural lands as possible. After leaving the corporate world, I started Knott Garden to sell my art. In Atlanta I painted murals and floor cloths. Now I live in Texas, and I work in oil, acrylic and watercolor with a mural thrown into the mix occasionally.
Suzanne Buckland
As a visual artist currently living in Houston, Texas, I specialize in painting oil and acrylic on canvas, mixed
mediums and drawing charcoal, pastel and oil pastel on paper, clay, photography and sculpture. I have been
drawing and painting most of my life and studied art in The Netherlands over 30 years ago. I am a full-time
professional artist and instructor. My goal is to put a smile on the face of humanity, to preserve nature, the
natural world, our environment, and create a greater appreciation for art, nature, freedom and artistic
expression. One of my passions is sharing my art with people through creative workshops. I've taught all types of art in
stores, schools, and retirement communities including assisted living facilities. I'm currently recovering from cancer and feeling stronger every day. Like most other artists I have experimented with styles, media, and size. I paint in several different styles including ancient hieroglyphs to more classic post expressionism. My subjects include
my take on ancient art forms, floral and botanical, landscapes and seascapes including sunsets, animals,
birds and more. I am also available for commissioned artwork.
Doug LaRue
Connie Schaertl
Doug LaRue is an American Contemporary Artist who describes his artwork as the interplay of emotional and ethereal experiences. The method in his artistic formula often results in Realist, Figurative and Abstract imagery through traditional oil paintings and contemporary mixed media. The outward nature of emotion often results in a figurative expression—the more visceral the emotion the more realist the figurative expression. The inner nature of ethereal experiences often manifests more in the abstract.
Doug developed a passion for art from his mother, an Oil Painter and Photography, Design and Sports from his father, a Mechanical Engineer / NCAA Football Referee. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Design from Texas A&M University College of Architecture while working as a NCAA Sports Photojournalist for United Press International and Associated Press. Doug attended the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Advanced Airbrush workshop at the Smithsonian Institute.
Doug’s artwork has been showcased at the Texas State Capitol, Austin City Hall, The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University and the Forsyth Gallery Collections at Texas A&M University. Doug designed architecture, published an Arts magazine, art directed films, directed a Screen Actor's Guild film and supports Water Conservation.
Connie Schaertl
Mary Rogas (aka Malu)
Connie Schaertl
(Photo by Laurel Coyle)
Connie Schaertl’s early career was in commercial art, but the responsibilities of parenting caused a change in employment and a long gap in the active pursuit of her passion for art. In recent years, she has studied under Carolyn Anderson, Edward Povey, Betty Rhodes, Michelle Torrez and many other master painters. Her work has been displayed at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and many juried shows, as well as a number of private shows in Central Texas. Her oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings are in private collections around the USA and internationally. Currently, her work is being exhibited at the Wimberley Valley Art League Gallery in Wimberley, Texas and Primal Gallery in Dripping Springs, Texas.
Artist’s Statement: Our lives are permeated with stories of all shapes, sizes and flavors, most of which we have little conscious awareness. I've always been drawn to stories, and that may well be what drew me to art. I seek to stimulate a seed in the viewer, an invitation to co-create the experience of the painting according to the wealth of life, thought and perception he or she brings to the viewing.
Tatiana Ilina
Mary Rogas (aka Malu)
Mary Rogas (aka Malu)
I was invited to the United States on a national interest artist waiver, and I came to Texas because it has always been my favorite place in America. Through my imagery, I am passionate about giving a voice to the voiceless – shining a light on those whom society has often placed in darkness. I was brought to photography by cinema when I was 20 years old, and I was fascinated by the new wave in French movies, in particular by films of Jean Luc Godard. His films immersed me in a special, unlikely reality while watching them I understood that I wanted to stop the moments to capture reality and tell the stories with my photographs. I have traveled around the world, working in different countries, creating social documentaries and art projects allowing me to look at things from the other side. After receiving a Masters’s Degree in Journalism/Social Media/News Production from International Independent Ecological-Political University, graduated from Rodchenko Moscow School of Photography and Media Arts. Subsequently, graduated from ESEC Professional School in the field of film and audiovisual techniques.
Mary Rogas (aka Malu)
Mary Rogas (aka Malu)
Mary Rogas (aka Malu)
Contemporary artist capturing life experiences through various mediums onto canvas. Raised in Houston Texas, she had a long successful career and retired to pursue her passion of art. Her journey started in charcoal figurative photorealism drawings and encompasses watercolor, gouache, soft pastels, inks and acrylic. Her style is impressionistic and often deals with the topic of relationships and women’s rights. Through exhibitions and connections she has built a large following community of artists, collectors, art curators and art enthusiasts on a variety of social media platforms. Artist statement : My work is a recording of life experiences and the world around me. Experiences deeply rooted in my subconscious give way to exploring different mediums and emerge in my paintings, as I allow the brush and canvas to convey all that I experience and see.
Nancy Paton
I grew up in South Texas with an artistic mother and grandmother. As a third generation artist, I began art lessons at a young age. My earliest teacher, locally renowned artist Simon Michael, taught me to draw. I learned to see lights and shadows, line quality and variety, and contrast, contrast, contrast. As an adult, I temporarily left the art world to develop the left side of my brain with a career in engineering. I always kept a toe in creativity and, many years ago, I re-entered the art world with vigor. My paintings are a dance between the right and left sides of my brain. One moment, I am in the left side of my brain and accuracy and realism are key. The next moment, I am in the right side, where creativity and spontaneity abound. I love using bold and energetic colors that seem to leap off the canvas. Realism with an expressionist’s palette is the best way to describe my paintings.
Each of my paintings has a special place in my heart and they all have a purpose. Some are works of art created to enjoy a specific color. Some are experiments in form or style. And some are just for fun, because I never want to lose the joy and spontaneity of the creation of art.
Lenora Pousland
I am an Austin based fine artist, working in multiple mediums but with a focus in painting. I’ve been drawing and painting since as long as I can remember. From age eight I found a mentor that taught me everything I know about technique. Then I took my studies to Paris where I studied fine arts for two years and really solidified my practice and why I want to create. Now I am in Austin working to further my art practice. Over my life art has become essential to me as a form of my expression. My journey has brought me to be a believer in the power of art. For me it has become an even more important form of communication than speech, as it gives me the power to turn emotions and ideas into physical creations. I like to paint about my experiences. The topics closest to me are identity, perception of reality, mental illness, and human relationships. I play around with vibrant colors, composition, and new oil painting techniques to create an experience for the viewer that hopefully resonates with them the way it does for me.
Gail Parsons
Penelope Jamrack
Life is filled with moments. Every day brings a new experience. It may be a place, a gathering, someone or something that inspires us leaving a memory of a glimpse of that moment. As an artist it is my hope to share the feeling of simply being there.
In a busy world we must remember to look closely at the details that tell the tale of life. Expressed through oil on canvas it is a privilege to share a moment with you.
Penelope Jamrack
Penelope Jamrack
Penelope Jamrack
Penny is originally from England and lived in several countries before moving to Texas in 1977. After taking an early retirement opportunity in 1997 from a management position in software development she concentrated on creative interests, especially painting in both watercolor and acrylic, as well as travel overseas. She has studied art with accomplished teachers in Australia, in Austin and in Bozeman Montana. She finds inspiration in the varied landscapes from her travel experiences and the natural beauty of plants, birds, and animals. More recently she has developed an interest in portrait painting including several famous musicians. Penny also makes jewelry and mosaics, and her work has been exhibited and sold in Texas, Montana and Perth, Australia.
Marc Nelipovich
Penelope Jamrack
Marc Nelipovich
Marc Nelipovich was born in Houston Texas. He currently resides in Driftwood TX where he is a musician, artist, and brewer. In early 2001, inspired by outsider art that he’d seen around the country he began creating pieces of his own. His art is a combination of his love of music and folk art and is created in honor of, in celebration of and as a tribute to the musicians that have inspired him throughout his life. The words on the frames are sometimes lyrics, quotes from the musicians themselves or from journalists, song titles, and background/historical information about the particular artist or their compositions. Oftentimes, pieces include ”found” elements, such as guitar/bass parts, and harmonica parts. His pieces are in the collections of many people including the late Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, the late Clifford Antone, the late Doyle Bramhall (Stevie Ray Vaughan collaborator), as well as Sweet Basil McJagger (The Derailers), Dave Steakley (Zach Scott Theatre - Producing Artistic Director), and local blues singer/bassist Erin Jaimes to name a few. Marc also created much of the stage art for the Austin musical “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues” at the Zachary Scott Theatre in 2004.
Jeff Fleegal
Penelope Jamrack
Marc Nelipovich
Raised in the N. Va. area by parents who instilled in him ,and brothers, the love for and beauty of the natural world and the need to preserve it. His father worked at Nat. Geo. for 40 years and took his sons to lectures given by astronauts, Leakeys, Cousteaus, Goodall and other explorers bringing their adventures to interested parties. Drawing became a source of expression for Jeff early from these experiences and others including many cross country vacations in the station wagon, camping at National parks and staying with relatives along the way. Schoolwork was boring and many notebooks and textbooks filled up with fanciful artwork. A number of art classes were taken and lessons learned thru the process. Jeff's parents tried incessantly thru the years to persuade him to pick up art as a more serious endeavor but work schedules and life always intervened. After surviving a near death experience in 2017, the acrylic paints his spouse had wishfully bought for him years before, were brought out and experimented with. Oils, watercolors, pastels, charcoal, etc. were added to his passion for trying to explore different media. This passion continues. Jeff and family have lived in Austin Texas since 1993.
Jelena Radovic
An artist sharing her life journey through artwork. Each piece represents a part of me, and a stage of my life. Whether it is a young love, or a newly found friendship, or a sad romance, you will find it through my art.
March Mattingly
I have been painting and drawing since I could pick up a pencil. As a child, I was fascinated by colors and patterns in nature. I spent a lot of time outdoors exploring nature. My paintings are colorful and expressionistic, reflecting our perception of and interaction with favorite places and subject matter; in the context of physical places, emotional states of mind, or a point in time that we cherish from our own, unique, individual journey that we all make on this earth, the beauty of nature and the complex relationships between humans and the natural world. My different series': tropical, sea life, cactus, abstracts, Nordic and hill country landscapes, animals and Austin nightscapes. My tropical and sea life paintings have been inspired by travels to Hawaii, Cancun and Port Aransas. My paintings and pastels reflect my visual experience of living in Norway as well as living in the Texas Hill Country. I graduated from the UT at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I work in a variety of media: oils or acrylics on canvas, charcoal, graphite, oil pastels and chalk pastels. I especially prefer using palette knives and brushes to apply thick, textured oil paint to canvas.
Felipe Adan Lerma
Felipe Adan Lerma
Creativity has been my lifeline since before I knew having fun with colors, textures shapes since before I knew having fun painting was called creativity.
I’ve also been fortunate to have had a supportive partner, my wife Sheila of 40+ years!
She’s watched me range from pure abstracts into landscapes and figures, sometimes providing the modeling - and always the feedback.
Nowadays I enjoy exploring how the various styles and touches of textures can be applied in interesting ways, in varying degrees of abstraction and suggestions of forms and figures.
And if there’s been one constant through my decades - it’s to always express some of the wonder I experience as I’ve been blessed to create.
Both prints and originals of my work are available at Primal Gallery!
Cynthia Kahn
Felipe Adan Lerma
Cynthia Kahn has been creating art her entire life. She was the only Business major in her college Advanced Drawing classes. Post college, Cynthia continued her art education through classes at the Multnomah Art Center in Portland, OR. Cynthia enjoys traditional oil and acrylic painting, but also loves expanding her art with fabric, drywall sculpture and non-traditional mixed media. Don't be surprised if you see her at Lowe's or Home Depot purchasing supplies for her next project. Cynthia recently moved to Austin from the Pacific Northwest, where her work was regularly displayed at art shows throughout the region. Primal Gallery is Cynthia Kahn's entry into the Austin art scene.
Janet Sopp-Sims
I’m from the Midwest and a Graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design. I have engaged in a variety of artistic expression. I have created logos and animated banner ads, infomercial set designs, retail interior design and costumes. And I always return to drawing and painting! I have shown work in Austin, Houston, New York, Cincinnati, and Dayton, Ohio. I have shown virtually in London, England, and even sold work while having lunch at the Ritz Bar! I have been juried into the National Association of Women Artists, The International Guild of Realism, and our own Capitol Art Society. I compete on an International level and am a two time finalist in the Hunting Art Prize. I have a deep respect for the drawing process. I admit to having an obsession with reflections in glass. I don’t use a grid. I set up a still life and draw it directly. I focus on the spatial relationships of the objects. My Fantasy Scapes are also about drawing, and line. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the Work
Daniela Hundley
My name is Daniela Hundley and I am a self-taught watercolor mixed media artist. I established my business in 2021 and have worked every day to take inspiration from the world around me and reshape it as my own. I have always been inspired by old Disney illustrations, abstract work, whimsical pieces and to create art that makes people smile. My goal is to use my art to help others in need by donating a percentage of my monthly sales to a local Austin charity. So, thank you for helping me give my art purpose.
Rachel Wilkes
"Hey there! My name is Rachel Wilkes, and I am formerly from San Marcos, Texas, and San Antonio, Texas. I have always had a love and appreciation for art, which has manifested in pursuing my passion for Art Therapy. I believe that art is a way for one to speak when words will not suffice. While pursuing my Master's in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling, I research various art processes and forms. Currently, I am involved in exploring the relationship between art and mental health as a member of the Strengths and Wellbeing Innovation Research Lab at the University of Texas at San Antonio. This research lab has a unique focus on defining wellness and discovering ways to achieve it, setting it apart from other departments in the field of counseling."
Dena Wenmohs
I think you need to know
this about me.
I don’t do gray or grey.
The brilliant, intensely alive colors in my palette
speak about
me and to me.
My inspiration is art without boundaries, especially women expressing their freedom splashed with unabashed strokes and at times slung from the nearest broom.
Jo Petersen
An active, abstract expressionist artist, Jo Petersen has pursued her love of art for five decades. While working toward an art major in the mid 1960's, she became fascinated with the spontaneity and freedom of the works of Pablo Picasso. His fearless creativity encouraged her to explore the unfiltered imagination.
Jo's painting process was strongly influenced by the creativity classes she taught to over three hundred students at a women's drug rehabilitation center from 1997 through 2001. Her goal was to unleash her student's creativity and enable an atmosphere of fun and excitement with a weekly assignment that was enjoyable while thought-provoking. From her students, Jo learned that each of us brings to the easel a personal, symbolic, visual language from our present thoughts and future desires, as well as from past experiences, that can be turned into spontaneous, creative art. The memory of these meaningful classes continues to confirm her faith that an idea can be visually conveyed through the spontaneous, creative process of an unbridled imagination.
Debbie Upton
Despite having degrees in art education and art therapy, Debbie is mostly a self-taught artist. She relies on inspiration and intuition to guide her artistic journey.
Working mostly in realism as a child and young adult, Debbie moved to abstract pieces as her main artistic focus after becoming frustrated with her unfinished products. She refers to herself as a “recovering perfectionist” because she has worked hard on allowing “mistakes” to happen. The ability to let go of “the perfect art" is one reason she has bonded so well with alcohol inks. Instead of just creating art, she feels like she is conducting a science experiment with each piece, because the inks have a mind of their own and react in different ways every time. Because it is impossible to recreate the same piece twice, all of her original alcohol ink works are one of kind.
Glenda Lackey
Glenda Lackey started out of her garage in 1971, and from there she grew her ceramic business into many buildings at her home acreage where she locally sold for more than 40 years. Eventually, customers came from all over the State of Texas making their way to central Texas in order to purchase Glenda's ceramic art, equipment, and supplies. Glenda does other crafts but the most of her work is still ceramic. She owns molds from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond! Thousands of her molds one cannot be found anywhere, from anybody else, anymore. She thinks one of the most interesting aspects of her older molds are the ashtray molds (oh they were *the* thing to have back in the day). One day, she had a customer come out to her shop and tell her upon seeing all her molds both in the buildings and outside of the buildings that she would be happy and willing to contact the Smithsonian Institute to catalog her molds!
Jan Foerster
I was born and spent most of my life on the Texas gulf coast. I took water color lessons for many years and this was my medium of choice until we retired to our place in the hill country. There I began taking oil instruction under Lilli Pell.
I love the hill country landscapes and oil seems to suit this pursuit the best.
I have painted mostly for friends and family with a few consignments along the way. However, with the opening of Primal Gallery, I welcomed the opportunity to show and market some of my work.
Becky Copeland
I am a lifelong Texan, and grew up riding and basically lived at jumper shows. Later in life, I bought a trained cow horse, and competed in team penning and sorting. My life has been surrounded by dogs, horses, cows and wildlife. I have always drawn, as has my mother and grandmother. About 10 years ago I started painting, training under some fabulous artists, including Lilli Pell, Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, and William Suys. My work is realistic, but with strong impressionistic overtones. My former work with animals is very helpful in creating the legs and overall musculature and bone structure of an animal. I work in bold colors, with a strong emphasis on lighting. In my mind, everything has a light side and a dark side. How can you feel anything if there isn't light AND dark?
I very much welcome commissions, and I especially love very large paintings, which look so beautiful in the modern farmhouse homes being built now.
Professional Organizations
Oil Painters of America
American Women Artists
Die Kunstler von Fredericksburg
Benji Baker
My love of drawing began as a child, growing up in a small Kansas town, I found myself attending multiple art classes offered in my school. Having the opportunity to work and explore with a variety of mediums was so important to influencing my artistic journey. Being on a farm, many of my drawings were of the farm animals and pets I was surrounded by. At the age of 18, a scout from IMG Models brought me to NYC where I would start a career as a print and runway model. I worked for such clients as Spanish Vogue, Italian Glamour, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Catherine Malandrino. I was fortunate enough to work abroad even living two years in Europe. My work introduced me to my husband, a photographer and Texas native. In 2001, our daughter was born and in early 2003, the family relocated to Dripping Springs, TX. I had immediately gone back to drawing, this time completely focusing on pastel and its sensitive quality. My work is mostly animal art and pet portraits. Lines, vibrant color, and movement define my style. The beauty in its texture and relationship to the paper are what I respect about the process.
Michael Goodhue
Michael has lived all over the world. For many years he has been teaching and creating art. He won 2 Olympic medals in Italy for his artwork where he exhibited for many year. He has also exhibited in Houston, Kentucky and Las Vegas. He currently resides in Austin.
Celeste Laney
My first-grade teacher sent my report card to my parents stating how much the class liked my artwork. Art was my favorite class in grade school, followed by several years as an art major at
The University of Houston. Art has always brought comfort to me in hard times and pleasure when life was good.
Now, the focus is experimental art combining different color combinations, different materials, and combining found objects to create an art piece. I have recently started painting small pieces in between painting larger canvases, they helped
lift my spirit during the isolation from the Covid pandemic.
My art also includes metal and glass sculptures which I find really fun to create. I hope that you enjoy my artwork.
Nathan Miller
I am an American raised in Europe who decided that Hill Country is a beautiful place to live. I have been in Dripping Springs Texas now for over 20 years. While I grew up, I went to many museums and loved art but did not envision myself ever using physical medium to tell stories. The few pieces I created before I was 45 were always just for me or my close family.
In 2016, I found out that our recycling often ends up in landfill, and that upset me. So I built a foundry and started doing my own recycling. Once I was able to create molten metal (often from beer cans and BBQ trays) I started pouring it into stuff, just to see what happens. I cast molten aluminum, brass and copper in sand or orbees (water beads) to create. I also use found items from dumpsters or the side of the road to create beauty from trash, and to remind us that in the right form, everything has worth. I use paints and alcohol ink to enhance some pieces, but it should be clear that it all came from recycled material.
Janus Lee
Janus Lee is a sign-painter’s daughter and south Austin artist painting true stories of everyday people — often from midwestern, mid-century family photos. After winning art awards in high school and college, Janus worked many jobs, including: art director, old-school graphic designer, and illustrator. In Florida in the mid-1990’s, Janus helped curate ‘Faces of the Americas’ at the Children’s Museum of Tampa, and exhibited calligraphy with the Suncoast Society of Scribes. Then, detouring from her plans to illustrate medical textbooks, in 2000 Janus earned her master’s degree in Asian medicine, with private practice until 2014. She returned to art at St. Edward’s University studying sequential art for creating historical graphic novels, and the true story of her great-grand uncle, Cap Streeter, is now in progress: #TheManWhoMadeWarOnChicago
Jim Henshaw
Jim Henshaw
I am a self-taught artist and gardener, two seemingly distinct passions that intertwine in my creative process. Over the past five years, I have honed my ability to present a unique interpretation of the world as I perceive it. Just as a gardener harmonizes colors, textures, sizes, and styles to craft a physical space, I employ my canvas, paints, life experiences, influences, and imagination to convey deeply personal expressions through art.
In my studio, each journey begins with intangible emotions and a desire to explore the fusion of personal experiences and the surrounding environment. With every new creation, I am filled with the same elation as when I plant a sapling in my garden and witness its vibrant growth.
Through my artwork, I strive to evoke the same sense of awe and wonder that nature instills in us. I invite you to immerse yourself in my world, where each stroke of the brush serves as a gateway to a profound and personal visual narrative. Together, let us celebrate the beauty of self-expression and the ever-evolving canvas of life.
Mary Orcutt
Jim Henshaw
Mary Orcutt is a stained glass artist based in Austin, Texas. Introduced to stained glass in high school by her Dad, a creative and active hobbyist, she was captivated by the stunning interaction of light with the varying colors and textures of glass. After several early projects, she put her artwork aside to attend college, work in the high-tech industry, and have a family. She resumed creating stained glass art in 2011, and has designed custom pieces for private collections across the U.S. Self-taught, she seeks to continually learn new techniques and incorporate non-glass materials into her unique works of art. Recently retired from the high-tech industry, she is focusing on her artwork, being inspired by nature and her world travels to create new designs.
Joe Christenson
A self-taught artist, Joe was born and grew up in Texas, along with Missouri and in Germany. He has travelled extensively throughout the US and has lived in central Texas for more than 40 years. Exclusively working with oils, his subjects encompass landscapes, seascapes, urban scenes and still life. Joe has found a recent passion in non-traditional canvases, completing projects that use surfboards, acoustic guitars, and other objects as a canvas. As a full-time technology professional, Joe is a Sunday painter, devoting time to his art when work and other obligations allow.
Artist’s statement:
I'm proof that we all possess our own creative strengths and talents, no matter how or when we uncover them. My maternal grandmother discovered her own artistic talents very late in life, and is among the many reasons I have found joy in painting.
My approach to painting is less about inspiration than it is about process. When considering a new project, my focus is on the how; what tools will work, in what order, and what combinations of color will create what outcome. I am a fan of texture, whether from the paint itself, the painting surface or the use of other materials.
Allison Buckner
Since moving to the Hill Country in 2020, I’ve been reveling in the natural world and have simultaneously found new mediums for my art. Ironically, this exploration hinged on inspirations found on-line, including remote classes from all over the world. I like to combine these newfound skills to make unique art, including gelli prints with embroidery and paper cut outs, botanical prints using native plants, rust-stained papers with embroidery, and homemade books. While nature is a common inspiration, I’m equally drawn to the uncanny valley. Some of my tinkerings have yet to bear fruit…coils of eggshell-based biomaterials, found natural objects including rock from our “karsted” landscape, and collections of what would otherwise be trash.
Eva Vig
My name is Eva Vig, born in Budapest, Hungary I have a degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Education. I am a naturalized American living in Houston Texas, working as an Elementary Teacher in a local Private School. I have been teaching Art and Painting privately for at least twenty years. I belong to various Houston art communities and regularly display and sell my art pieces at local galleries, markets and auctions. I typically work in acrylic although I also complete works in Oil and watercolor, pen & ink.
My favorite subject matter for my realistic works are nature, landscapes, flowers, commissions for animals/pets and other still life’s.
Steve Snyder
"I received my first 'Brownie' camera for Christmas when I was 8 years old, and have been taking pictures ever since. I am a native of Iowa, and in addition, have lived in Arizona and California before moving to Kyle Texas with my wife Julie in 2013. I love landscape photography and have travelled extensively through the United States and Europe. I have displayed my photography in galleries in Iowa, Minnesota, Arizona, and California. In Texas, galleries in San Antonio, Wimberley, Dripping Springs, Kyle, Buda, Blanco, and Corpus Christi. In my working life, I was a local chamber of commerce executive for over 35 years in cities located in Iowa, Arizona and California. Nikons are my cameras of choice. I am still waiting to take THE best photo of my life."
Kathy Meador
*** COMING SOON ***
Ron Johnson
William Blake wrote that: “As a man is So he Sees.” My name is Ron Johnson. I am an Austin fine art photographer. I’ve taken this insight to heart in my work. I hope that my photographs encourage you to reflect on the full import of Blake’s words and to see the world with fresh eyes.
My images have been displayed at the University of Texas, Texas Tech University, the Dougherty Art Center in Austin, and many other venues. I have written for, and been published in “Dappled Things,” a quarterly magazine of art and faith. I have won several awards including Texas Tech’s “High and Dry: People and Places of the World's Dry Lands," and have been a finalist in both B&W and color at the Paris Prize. You can see me interviewed for “Three Bridges West” on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F_hnmuBXnA
Samantha Hayosh
Samantha Hayosh
Hello, my name is Samantha Hayosh, but I prefer to go by Sam. Ever since I was young, art has been an alluring subject to me. Art has given me a comfort like no other, for these very reasons I have spent hours after hours exploring my interest in the arts. Beyond the required school art classes, I started individual art classes at 10 years old. In the summer of 2022, I spent two weeks at Champlain College refining and defining my art. This experience helped me solidify what I value in art, that being: I enjoy the ability to capture a moment, as time goes on and I have trouble remembering the things that happened just moments before. I have learned and leaned on art as a means to capture my memories. My trips become paintings, my feelings embedded in each brush stroke, my thoughts in each flick, all my artworks relate to moments in my life that I want to express. Moments that I hope other people can cherish just as much as I have.