When I told a friend I was visiting the studio of artist Gabriela Pickett, she told me I was in for a treat. “When I first saw it,” she said, “I wanted to bring a sleeping bag and just live there.” Continue reading
artist studio
Daniel Brown – painter
I first visited Daniel Brown because something he had said resonated with me. On his website I read that “finding a direction is one of the toughest things for an artist to do.”
Daniel’s direction is cars. For the last 11 years, he has been earning a living as a full time artist. All of his paintings include one or more cars. Continue reading
Hamilton Dixon – Steel Sculptor
Hamilton Dixon has been working with metal his entire working life. His very first job was as a welder on an offshore oil rig. He decided he liked working with metal but he didn’t like life on an oil rig, so he went to forging school in New Mexico. Then he moved to Dayton where he has been a successful full time artist for the past 30 years. Continue reading
Amy Kollar Anderson – Painter
Amy Kollar Anderson was one of the first artists I met as I was starting to submit my photos to art exhibitions. As Gallery Coordinator at Kettering’s Rosewood Gallery she networked with artists from around the country. She gave me valuable advice on the quality of my work and on where I should attempt to show it.
I took the above photo more than a year ago when Amy was ARTIST OF THE WEEK on my facebook page “Dayton at Work and Play.” Shortly after, she left her position at the Rosewood Gallery to become a full time artist. Continue reading
Mychaelyn Michalec – Painting in the Dark
An artist friend said I had to meet Mychaelyn Michalec, a painter who was creating fabulous work in her basement in the dark. My friend knew I would be intrigued and would want to arrange a photo shoot, which I did.
When I arrived, Mychaelyn offered me a cup of coffee and showed me some of the art she has collected, all by Dayton artists. Continue reading
Darren Haper, Painter
I first saw the artwork of Darren Haper online, and decided he was a Dayton artist I wanted to meet. Shortly after that I met the new Facility Coordinator at Rosewood Art Center, also named Darren, who was nice enough to help me carry my work into the Rosewood Gallery. I didn’t realize that these two Darren’s were the same person until I attended a show at the Dayton Visual Arts Center showcasing five young artists to watch in 2015. Continue reading
Gretchen Jacobs, Painter
Gretchen Durst Jacobs paints in a studio in her home in Dayton’s McPherson Town neighborhood. Continue reading
Terry Welker – kinetic art
Terry Welker is both a successful architect and a successful sculptor specializing in kinetic art. His work is shown in galleries from Mexico to New Mexico and in exhibitions around the Midwest. About a year ago, Terry and his friend abstract artist Ron Rollins moved into a new studio in a formerly vacant storefront.
I have visited the studio three times in the last year, twice to watch Terry work and once to attend an art exhibition in Terry’s studio for two other artists. Continue reading
Bridgette Bogle – Abstract Painter
Bridgette Bogle was born in Roswell, New Mexico – site of the famous alien UFO landings. Leaving Roswell, Bridgette studied art in Texas, Glasgow and Rome before coming to Ohio State. She now lives in Dayton and is a full time teacher in the Painting and Drawing area at Sinclair College.
For the last eight years, Bridgette has shared this beautiful house with her husband and fellow artist Francis Schanberger. Continue reading
Leesa Haapapuro, Sculptor
I recently revisited the studio of Leesa Haapapuro. It is in the building that houses K12 Gallery for Young People and TEJAS (Teen Educational & Joint Adult Studio). It must be the busiest and most colorful art space in Dayton. I asked Leesa about the buffalo outside the building, and was disappointed to learn that she didn’t know why it is there. “It just appeared one day. I don’t know why.” Continue reading
