Growing up in Jacksonville, Illinois, I remember as a child always wanting to draw. It was a wonderful pastime and gave me pleasure in entering contests where I was recognized for my ability to draw.

After graduation I moved to Chicago in pursuit of an art career at the Art Institute of Chicago, but being tall and thin, I found myself swept into the world of fashion. Growing up dancing and teaching dance during my teen years, it was as easy for me to move in front of a camera as it was for me to breathe. In 1988 a friend and I started “Model Image Center Inc.” which my friend is still operating to this day.

After all those years…. moving to Arizona in 2002 gave me the opportunity to do what I started in Chicago – devote my time to art. The first two years I did nothing but draw because I knew I needed practice and to gain back what I had lost. When I felt I was ready to start painting, I started my first class in Scottsdale not knowing what paints and brushes to use or even how to begin a painting!

I enjoy watching people and animals, their actions and reactions to the environment around them. Always carrying my camera with me where ever I go. I want to seek and capture their emotion, looking into the eyes. What are they thinking? What do they want? What is their character? Even though the animals can’t talk, I want to convey what the animals are saying because they do speak a very loud universal language. I find as much emotion in my animal portraits as I do in my human faces.

Charles Huckeba is a contemporary painter with a fine arts degree and graduate study from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he studied under an outstanding faculty of contemporary artists such as Larry Rivers and Irma Cavat.

His influences are varied, including Paul Klee, Jean Dubuffet, Adolf Gotlieb, Cy Twombly, Wassily Kandinski, and Joan Miro. Charles and his wife, Jill, have spent years exploring and recording the rich lode of prehistoric pictographs and petroglyphs found in the Western United States Great Basin.

In 1993, Huckeba began combining and integrating various painting techniques developed from his academic foundation to render rock art designs he had seen into a contemporary presentation. The results are works held in corporate collections of the University of Northern Arizona, the University of California at Santa Barbara Art Museum, the CEU Prehistoric Museum, and the Museum of the San Rafael.

His abstract contemporary art is also shown in fine art galleries in Arizona. Numerous private collectors throughout the United States, England, and France, including actress Lilly Tomlin and archaeologist and writer, David S. Whitley, Ph.D, hold Huckeba’s paintings. Huckeba states “Rock art is the first American Abstract art. What brings petroglyphs to life is the stone beneath the patina (a varnish created by the desert heat and elements over thousands of years). As the surface patina of the rock is removed, the interior is exposed. This is how we see the prehistoric artist’s mark. My paint application is multi-layered and textural. The image elements are scratched, etched, and scoured under and over the strata’s of pigment such as the numerous superimpositions found in petroglyphs. My goal is to build a link between contemporary and prehistoric art.

Jess Davila spent his formidable years in the beautiful state of Sonora, Mexico. He grew up exploring and appreciating the unspoiled beauty of the desert and mountainous regions of his homeland.Davila focuses on exploring a unique contemporary style.

A completely self-taught artist, Davila draws on his experiences with various mediums which allow him to express and develop the many facets of his artistic talent and to further develop his creative being. Inspired by the shape, color and texture of various stone mediums, Davila creates a natural interpretation of what is already in his artist’s eye. He draws from personal experience and the beauty that he sees in all of his surroundings to create impressive works in marble, alabaster, sandstone and limestone.

Davila’s unique stone interpretations evoke strong emotions from all who have the privilege of viewing them. The artist’s profound appreciation of beauty is apparent in every aspect of his pieces, from the natural patterns in a piece of stone to the flowing curves of a finished sculpture.

Davila is the founder of the Arts and Cultural Center in Huachinera,Sonora, Mexico Working along side several of his colleagues  The Center sits on approximately 10 acres of land and now has 6 buildings completed. Jess is giving back to his community, that has provided him with so much artistic inspiration. His purpose for the center is to inspire the people of this region to find within themselves hidden artistic talents and for them to experience the joy that creating art brings. The Centro Artistico y Cultural de Huachinera is a way of bringing the townspeople together to study and learn various artistic methods.

Ultimately, the center is bringing jobs to the people of Huachinera and the surrounding Sierra Madre region, both of which  are becoming tourist attractions. People of all ages are taking classes on various subjects and are eager to continue learning.

What a perfect combination: Art & Ice Cream. Join us on Sunday, March 10th from noon to 4:00pm as the Arizona Fine Art Expo and local Baskin-Robbins stores team up for a unique ice cream social. Art lovers can create an ice cream painters palette, with a selection of their favorite flavors while sauntering through the ‘big white tent’.

Arthur was born in Rotterdam. He is a Dutch artist who specializes in depicting motor racing, Land-and-Water speed record-breaking scenes, abstract, Surreal and Science-Fantasy paintings. He resides outside of London, England.

Benjamins comes from a lineage of artists. His great grand uncle Jacob J. Arend’s work can be found in the museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. His grandfather created a new style of advertising that formed the bedrock of modern illustrative adverts. From an early age he was fascinated by motorcar racing and in the 70s he started painting Formula 1 cars in his own photo realism style.

In the early 80s, he received much publicity through many articles in motor racing magazines and has been featured on TV several times. Benjamins’ technique is different from other artists due to his preference for the far more tricky enamel paints over “traditional” paints. His interest in Land-and-Water Speed record breakers led him to the first of many book jacket covers.  In his book Pilote Che Gente Enzo Ferrari included one of Arthur’s paintings.

Arthur exhibited his work in many countries until 2003 when he withdrew from exhibiting to concentrate on painting “Abstract” and “Surrealism” and to experiment with, what can only be described as a new genre, called “Abstract Iconography.” Arthur Benjamins accepts commission work.

 The Arizona Fine Art Expo Book Signing Event Speaks Volumes for Art!
The popular book signing event returns to the Arizona Fine Art EXPO, February 23rd & 24th. This is a great opportunity for patrons to get their book signed and personally meet the multi talented artists/authors, Jeanne Bonine, Bob Coonts, Christine Hauber, Sandi Ciaramitaro and Kelly Athena.

Jeanne Bonine – Inspirations of Timeless Beauty
One hundred and twenty-eight pages in a beautifully bound table top book presenting over seventy-five full color reproductions, prose, philosophy of the artist and her life calling.

Bob Coonts – Inside Out
This is a coffee table book with 145 color images and a foreword by the artist himself. It includes many of Bob’s beautiful full color paintings and sculptures with information about each. It has a history of the artist and insight into why and how the artwork came to be.

Christine Hauber – Working In The USA
The diversity on the pages of Working in the USA makes it an important contribution to the country’s history. Each photograph is a snapshot in time, a time when job opportunity and freedom of choice are as obvious to workers as the color of the sky. Hauber’s randomly selected subjects rarely complained about their occupations. They often expressed a belief that lack of desire and hope spells employment failure, but effort, persistence, and a focus on goals can take anyone in the United States where they want to go.

Sandi Ciaramitaro – Cook With Love & Paint With Passion!
Arizona artist Sandi Ciaramitaro escorts you on an artistic and culinary adventure to explore why she “Cooks with Love and Paints with Passion”! After many years of being asked for her recipes, influenced by her Italian heritage dating back to the 15th century, she has finally put them together in book form. While filled with delicious combinations of flavor and sustenance, her art, seen in private, corporate and international collections, is not forgotten as she explains the differences between plein air and studio painting. Fill your family with mouthwatering food and an appetite for art! Mangiare!

Kelly Athena – How To Feel Good
It is a collection of 180 musings about being empowered and living one’s life to the fullest.  The cover is taken from one of Kelly’s paintings of three bright hearts floating up.  It also includes 15 “Play Pages” with exercises useful for self-discovery, book groups, or support groups.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE published and award-winning fine art photographer SUSAN QUIN BYRD travels the US and world to make dramatic images of interesting people, places, nature, and wildlife. Images that celebrate the spirit and beauty of the American West and horses in action are just one of Susan’s specialties. In addition to making natural photographs, she also creates contemporary one-of-a-kind artistic works of photographic fine art. Using innovative digital techniques, Susan creates drama and artistic background effects in many of her amazing images or enhances the light to bring the viewers eye to the subject. With limited editions of ten, most images are printed on either archival canvas as gallery wraps or on metallic photo paper which is then adhered to black sintra board or ¼” copper or silver dibond forming a 3” salon mount.

Her photographic skills were developed in-part from training by master photographers from National Geographic Magazine and the prestigious Santa Fe Photographic Workshops among others.

PHOTOGRAPHIC AWARDS, HONORS, JURIED EXHIBITIONS & SALES
I am one of 9 women Western photographers chosen to participate in the ‘Cowgirls With A Camera’ Exhibition and Sale at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, AZ.

COWBOYS & INDIANS MAGAZINE: Portrait winner in the 2011 ‘Photographing The West’. Published in the March 2012 issue.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE: China image chosen as one of top 24 photos of 2009 and published in the July issue.

PHOTO SOCIETY of AMERICA: 2010 Directors Choice best photoplus on HM in International Competition; various Sweepstakes & First Awards over the years.

ARIZONA FINE ARTS EXPO: 10 week juried annual Spring art show, N Scottsdale Rd.

Phippen Western Art Museum:Prescott, AZ: ‘Fresh Eyes’ Western Photo Exhibit’

Scottsdale Health Hospital at Grayhawk: 4 images in permanent art collection.

Peak at the Peak Magazine: Cover Image, 2003.

Phoenix Camera Club: Many First & Second Place images of the year.

Colorado Mountain Living Magazine: 2003 Grand Prize Image.

Born in Spokane, Washington, Susan holds a University of Idaho BS Cum Laude Degree in Education and Home Economics. She resides in Arizona USA.

MEMBERSHIPS: National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Photographic Society of America, Sonoran Arts League (juried member), Scottsdale Artist League, North American Nature Photography Assn, Phoenix Digital Imaging Group, Phoenix Camera Club and AZ Camera Club Council. She was selected as a participant in two exclusive leadership development programs: Phoenix Valley Leadership Class XI and Washington Agriculture/Forestry Leadership Education Foundation Class II.

As a member of Creative Women of Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale, AZ, Susan donated her time helping execute events that raised funds to help women and children at risk.

Larry was born and raised in the Ozark Mountains of southwest Missouri. Being surrounded by nature prompted his interest in drawing and painting at an early age. Inspired by his uncle wildlife artist Lee LeBlanc Larry attended Art school at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Upon graduating Larry painted out of his uncle’s studio for a while before returning to the Ozarks and building a studio there.Larry is a member of the Artists of Northwest Arkansas and The American Plains Artists as well as The Oil Painters of America. His primary subject is wildlife and he paints mostly in oils and is also painting some western art as well as landscapes.

‘I hope the viewer is interested in seeing a few brushstrokes as well as some detail, I just love to paint and study my subjects and hopefully I can translate what I see into a nice painting someone would enjoy in their home.’

Would you risk everything to make a fresh start in an uncharted land? Would you leave the places and people you love for a chance of success, regardless how slim? In nineteenth-century America, millions of intrepid souls poured into the West, ready to take this life-or-death gamble.

Colorado sculptor Craig Bergsgaard is a self-made storyteller of this chapter of American history. His bronzes capture the spirit embodied in the people who made the Wild West their home and are a monument to the independence inherent in the American psyche.

A stickler for historical correctness, Craig believes that an authentic portrayal of the past is the only way to tell his stories. He researches the West with enough zeal to rival any historian, and ensures that everything, from guns to clothing, is properly represented. Explains Craig: “If you don’t get the details right, then why bother? The sculpture simply is not the same without accuracy-’good enough’ is simply not good enough for me.”

This understanding the era’s minutiae has galvanized Craig’s vision of the people who braved the hostile, often lawless, region. “It was all about survival,” he says. “I make sure the faces of all my subjects reflect the extreme challenges of the life: vulnerability, raw emotion, defiance.”

Craig personally understands the siren call of the West. In the 1980′s, he left his home state of Minnesota to create a new life in Colorado. The sculptor lives with his wife JoAnn, dog Bodhi, and cat Kiya in Windsor, Colorado, near the artist enclave of Loveland. Craig also maintains a studio presence in Arizona from January through March during the annual Arizona Fine Art Expo in Scottsdale.

‘Richly colored, expressionistic paintings emerge from intense observation and contemplation of growth and change. Each twist of a leaf on stem, each push and pop of blossom from bud becomes the impetus to explore the miraculous dynamic of life. This is done, not with cool, scientific analysis, but with an instinctual, intuitive, passionate eye. The most important is found in the least apparent.  The details engender thoughts of the universal.’

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