Artist Community

Kristi Self

Her thick smears and swipes of colors tease and delight my spirit to lean in closer, pausing to listen for the intersection of emotions that respond to her spontaneous works of beauty. Coming to art in her empty nester phase, she is a colorist who loves texture and spontaneously captures whatever catches her fancy. She openly shares her gratitude for this God-given talent and honor of creating different dimensions of beauty using both oils and acrylics to bring joy to others.

Dawn Normali

This Colorado native artist entered our lives in a searching moment. Her broad and colorful stroke creations share a striking resemblance to her open, loving, adventurous spirit, which has been ordainly-timed to open my heart and usher in hope and faith to take the next right step. Her passioned purpose in painting is to bring beauty and joy to others through the art she creates, recognizing this extraordinary gift is one God has placed within her heart.

Barbara Bonham

Meeting this talented, joy-filled creature is like being in one of her paintings. She will tell you that being creative is one of her greatest joys in life and that she loves bringing smiles to others, which enhances her own joy! Her whimsical, bright vibrant colors reflect her life and are the basis of her art, whether she is painting on canvas or creating a polka dotted pig with an oversized snout in her pottery lab! She is a joy-giver!

Susan Gainen

This Minnesota artist imprinted her spirit upon my heart with her iconic impression of what it looks like for a community to come together in unity to carry one upon their wings during a devastating time of life. She is a whimsical wildlife documentarian, abstract painter, and author whose work stands for “Every Piece Looks Better Because of the Pieces that Surround It,” a plea for people to be kind and behave.

Erin Lawrence

This insanely talented young artist became a part of our family fabric years ago. Her creativity is easily seen within all the aspects of her life. I am especially partial as she is using her palettes of talents to impress and infuse the wonders of art and life into my grandchildren! She is a creator of undiscovered but meaningful art, of unfinished but meaningful children’s books, of chaos and magic, and a co-creator of two incredible tiny humans who share her world and her paint palette. Her favorite mediums are charcoal and graphite, acrylic, and pastels.

Jim Keffer

When we met this self-taught artist many years ago at the Festival of the Arts in Oklahoma City, his work captured our hearts and are now centerpieces of our home. His unique, modern, primitive style is born from a lifetime of observing places in the landscape and within the heart. “My past journeys are connected to my future travels and I have an infinite source of places, thoughts, and things to paint in my style. I believe folk art to be my primal truth, so my painting journey has been a pared-away modern life, trying to be in that primal place—to be in that moment that is new, which is a time of color before there was paint, a time of imagery before there was painting.”

Amy Elise Havern

This beautiful Texan Mixed Media Artist breathes her world-traveling, life-inspiring kaleidoscopes of vivid colors and intricate patterns resembling the beautiful hand-made textiles and native paintings found in the ancient village markets of the Maya and Inca. Deeply textured and rich in contemporary colors, her paintings convey sunny days and happy times including special creations for West Point Military families. Whimsical, folk-art landscapes of country churches and children playing in lush fields, and her small angels made of broken vintage and antique china are unique and uplifting.

Marshall Hawkins

This award winning Oklahoma City fine art photographer specializes in capturing families’ most beautiful memories. His simplistic, personalized, creative style has assured lifetime treasures to the countless families he has served.