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Annie Royer began producing events that paired artists and musicians in 2011, when she and friends formed the Arts and Music Guild. The first Music in Motion event was unique, loved by the participants, and intriguing to audiences who experienced art and music in a new way. This newest iteration, Live Art 2 Live Music, presents an exciting opportunity for collaboration with Tupps Brewery. Of her art, Annie writes, “From an early age, my teacher and mentor, Gustav Likan, instilled in me the desire to create beauty through color and form, regardless of the subject matter. I grew up in a musical and artistic family, and have always thrived on the synergy of creative collaboration. When I paint to live music, I am a conduit for the expression of sound through color and form.”
Magda Dia is an intuitive potter, and as she says, "always a student," but a student more of nature than of any school or technique. Her studio is her "personal oasis" in Historic Downtown McKinney (404 N. Church St.), which has grown into Jump Into Art Studios. There she and other teachers encourage anyone curious about the creative process to try several media.
Kim Guthrie is one of THE most popular artists in McKinney. In her whimsical style, Kim has canonized shop fronts and street views of historic McKinney. Her delightful images of goats and chickens are painted with as much finesse as her commissioned portraits of people and pets. Kim’s interest in texture has led her to work 3D with papier mache and vintage finds, and the resulting sculptures both large and small are collectibles.
K.D. Hafley pursued formal education in art at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990. After graduation, she pursued a career in the art gallery business in Chicago and San Diego. She now resides in McKinney, where she has played a significant role in the arts community as a teacher, and professional artist. Though primarily known for wildlife and pet portraits, she also creates expressionistic and surrealistic narrative paintings, and creates multi-media pieces and printmaking works.
Leticia Herrera constantly creates images, some with paint, some digitally, all with remarkable originality. Her Walker Series takes the application of paint to a new level dimensionally and conceptually. Her digital imagery utilizes technology to layer color and form with extraordinary elegance. Leticia’s abstracts and figural paintings add breadth to her collections, making her one of the most versatile artists in McKinney. She is represented by several galleries, including in Sante Fe, NM.
Lynne Hubner has been a MAST artist since the tour’s first year. She has been at the heart and center of McKinney’s artist community for decades, and has achieved statewide and national reputation as a gifted printmaker and teacher. She writes, “My art is of a life inspired by nature, travel, literature, family and friends. Experimentation with process and media is key to my language of presenting multilayered thoughts and emotions.” Lynne’s studio has, for many years, been at the McKinney Art House (502 N. Kentucky St., historic district) on the second floor. It’s a magical art-making place, complete with a printing-press and all the makings for an array of image-making processes.
Heidi Kidd and her paintings emit a rational exuberance. Her visual interpretations of Nature, which she dearly loves, reflect her excellent training and demanding career. Heidi graduated from The Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, NY) with a degree in Textile Design, and attended The Art Students League (New York, NY), where she studied classical painting and drawing. She has spent many years as a textile designer, currently working in Dallas for Sharron Young Inc., and is well-versed in techniques of luma ink, gouache, watercolor, acrylic and oil. On the weekends she paints her passion, which is ecological art. “I study nature by taking long hikes, runs, and walks, and my love for nature shines through in my paintings,” Heidi explains.
Darby LaGrave is much loved in the greater McKinney area because she pours her love into the her community. Of art she writes, “In the public venue, art can unite communities by building common goals and instilling a sense of belonging through the shared experience.” With delight, she paints her world, which on any given day includes chickens and guineas, rugged trees, an unruly garden, wildflowers, a serious Blood Hound, and gatherings of family and friends.
Laurie Lynn Lindemeier is a multi-faceted creative with experience in visual, musical, literary and theater arts. She currently works as an editor and classical vocalist, as well as an accomplished painter. Laurie works in watercolor, graphite, conte crayon, pastel and collage. She strives to capture the essence of a moment in her urban/en plein air works. In her studio paintings, Laurie explores the deeply hidden emotions in scenes and subjects… both dark and light. Her palette is warm and, with the support of her art-loving friends, her heart is as well.
Kelly E. Marra writes passionately about her art: "Sharing the beauty of life, the land and our contribution to the pages of human history is important to me. I like depicting a moment in time that future generations will look back on and get a sense of who we were and what we liked to do in this time period on earth. In reflection, my current work focuses on capturing moments that speak to my soul – the vulnerability of a performer’s debut, the thrill of an impromptu performance or an extraordinary sunset – while experimenting with brushwork, and the boundaries of my medium’s accepted limits."
Jesus F. Moreno is an artist, illustrator, photographer, and owner of a computerized graphics design business. He has been actively engaged in producing fine art for the past 35 years. Born in Madrid, Spain, he moved to the U.S. as a young man and soon found a love for the arts and an opportunity to expand upon his early exposure to the classics. Many of Jesus’ works are currently on display in Spain, the United Kingdom, residences throughout the U.S. and in commercial buildings in the southwest. His innovative approaches include huge murals on glass, ink on acrylic panels, and mixed media canvases.
Cindy Peters spreads joy and happiness through her art, which she creates daily. “I believe in PEACE, LOVE and ROCK and ROLL,” she says emphatically, “and I write the words on my blank canvases.” Her exuberant paintings generally start with free-form layers, with forms emerging through the process. Cindy works in several media and styles. Look closely --she hides hearts in her paintings; but her loving heart is evident and emanates from every inch of her images.
Deeply influenced by her early years in Southeast Asia, painter Celeste Seitz creates minimalist abstracts with the strokes of a master calligrapher. Inner strength moves her brush through fluid acrylic, and the gestural strokes speak quietly. “My quiet song is my escape from the daily assault on my ears and my eyes from words, words, words. I feel that as a nation, we suffer from Information Fatigue. I want my art to provide as much respite for the viewer as it does the creator,” she writes. Her work reflects years of disciplined study yet embodies the focused emotion of a moment.
To really appreciate Renee Wrenwood’s watercolors, one must recognize that she is also a gardener, a nurturing soul who understands the processes of nature. It is delightful to listen to Renee describe each plant in her garden, the color and shape of its leaves and blooms, how it propagates, why it thrives. With a similar respect for her beautiful paints and papers, Renee narrates how she makes an experimental start, nurtures a new idea, lets her paintings grow. Like a devoted gardener/artist, Renee is in a long-lasting dialogue with her plants/paints.
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