Artists
Susanna Cicerone
Susanna Cicerone is a visual artist based in Portland, Oregon. Born in Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, she has worked as a painter and sculptor for most of her life. Her parents were accomplished artists, and while growing up she was never denied the opportunity for creative outlets. Her paternal great grandparents immigrated from southern Italy to New York state. Her maternal great grandparents immigrated from Sweden to Montana. As an extension of her love of nature, she has lived in various national parks of the west, including Death Valley CA, Denali AK, and Glacier Bay MT. She earned her Bachelors of Science from Portland State University, with a focus on Environmental Science, and a major in Art Practices. Early in her career, she experienced the loss of her mother and father within a year’s span of one another. During this time, she found it difficult to be creative. She attributes her artistic resurrection to the birth of her son who forced her to look at art making with the intention of truly meaningful production. As for her art, it embraces the surreal and gravitate towards the organic.
The paintings she creates are reflective of a kind of cinematic dreamscape and have been influenced by different aspects of her life. Raised catholic, her art tends at times to explore historical catholic imagery and themes. She also finds influence through her father’s immigrant experience which even as a second generation Italian was still pronounced throughout his childhood and young adulthood. Both of these themes are explored in her largest painting “Il Problema Italiano”, which is sizable at 3’x4.’
She is also inspired as much from art found in museums as from films. Due in part to growing up, not readily having art which interested her available for in-person viewing. This meant finding inspiration wherever available, it helped that her mother, having grown up in an environment in Southern California where the kids next door may just end up playing opposite Cybill Shepherd in the Last Picture Show, instilled in her an interest in a good movie. The inspiration she sought was not only found in museums, although she admits there is something incomparable about seeing a beloved work of art in-person, such as that of Rene Magritte’s The Banquet, referenced in her painting Solitaire. A similar inspirational feeling was available from certain favorite artistic directors and continues to be to this day.
Visit her art page at Susanna Cicerone Art.
Maksymilian Nosevich
Maks Nosevich is a Portland-based illustrator, graphic designer, sign writer, and soon-to-be tattoo artist. Their work features the bold compositions and steady hand that they have acquired working as a sign writer for almost 4 years.
Instagram: @5knivesart
Simone Hill
Shop Simone's art at simonexart.com.
Simone is a contemporary artist, mother, and writer from Portland, Oregon. Working predominantly with acrylics, Simone crafts pieces that serve as a visual representation of her perceptions of reality and her aspirations for the future. Her Creative process is a delicate balance of organized chaos, where she navigates fluidity in execution while maintaining a clear outline of her vision. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources including music, movies, fashion editorials, sensual imagery, and everyday experiences, Simone’s work encompasses a diverse range of themes and emotions. Whether she aims to convey a specific message or simply seeks to capture beauty and excitement through the portrayal of a woman or vibrant colors, Simone’s art invites viewers into her world of imagination and expression.
Instagram: @simonexart
Gretchen Kreitler
Gretchen Kreitler was given a rapidograph pen while she was an art student at Lockhaven University. That tool, and the hundreds purchased over the years, became nearly the sole medium for her drawings. Living in as diverse places as Berks County, the Outerbanks of North Carolina, and an old firehouse in Brooklyn, New York, Kreitler became a keen observer of animals and their relationship to the environment and humankind. In Berks, she drew what was around her: dogs, bovines and hens; in North Carolina, she observed maritime creatures, including turtles, frogs, and sharks; while in New York, her companions in the firehouse were her dogs and cats. Kreitler’s innate and nurtured talent (she was brought up in a family with a graphic designer father, a mother who taught art, and creative brothers) became intertwined with her interest in the “delicate balance of the environment and how it is connected to all creatures and life.”
The artist grew up in Berks County, and relocated to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and then to Brooklyn, N.Y., only to return to Berks about ten years ago. She studied art at Lock Haven University, where she had taken up rapidograph drawing as her primary art form. Some of these drawings date back to that time, yet appear remarkably fresh when compared to the newer pieces.
Marine images of jellyfish, hammerhead sharks, turtles and a horse or two populate her work done in North Carolina, whereas the urban environment of Brooklyn provided more dogs and cats. Her recent works fall closer to home, exhorting images of house and hearth, farm animals and rustic surroundings.
Some of the pieces are more design-and-pattern oriented, with slight references to illustrators Edward Gorey and MC Escher. Certain pieces proffer an offhand likeness toward Middle Eastern silks, with detailed borders framing the inner drawing with linear patterns.
Morose and solemnly abstract, they are expressive of deep emotion. Their surfaces are covered in various brackish materials and semi-reflective mediums, offering an impression of improvised blotches of line and form within a post-minimalist reversal of the larger drawing’s ornate intricacy.
Jenson Nelson
Shop Jenson's art at jensonnelson.com
Usually dressed in children's clothes and a really cute apron from World Market, Jenson enjoys frequenting hardware stores to be asked "Do you work here?"
When it comes to painting, she just goes with the flow and often discovers the meaning of her art through other people's interpretations. Bios are boring; go make a friend.
Jenna Philpott
Shop Jenna's art at jennaphilpottstudios.com
STATEMENT
I am an artist consumed with the edge, the line, the light, dark and the beauty of the mark. Surprised and enchanted by the space surrounding letters, objects and the humans I adore. My friends and family deeply love me in the here and now even though I know I won't matter much in 300 years. The beauty of the ordinary consumes me. Scars are ordinary. So is time passing. So is a ceramic mug. I’m a radical friend, a story collector, and a plant lover. I am Chief Belly Scratcher for my two Scottie dogs and perennial advocate for my four kids who all have varying expressions of dyslexia and kind, creative hearts. I am a maker of things except a tidy house. I manage worries by cracking jokes, trying new things and walking with friends. I manage my depression by exploring loads of different mediums. When I feel the sads creeping in, I pivot and try making something in porcelain, or paper mache, or attend a bunch of figure drawing studios. I am a Breast Cancer survivor; diagnosed during Oregon’s forest fires at the beginning of the pandemic. Tell me your story and I will tell you mine.
Jason Ungar
Shop for Jason Ungar's art at jasonaungar.com.
EXPLORATIONS
In my artistic journey, I venture into uncharted territories where the lines between reality and imagination blur, where the organic and the mechanical intertwine in a dance of bold strokes and intricate striations. My work is an exploration of the cyborg as an aesthetic infused with elements of societal decay, loneliness, high-fantasy, ukiyo-e, comic art and graffiti, creating a vivid visual narrative that delves into the depths of human experience and the boundless possibilities that lie beyond our understanding.
BIO
Raised in a small town nestled between the ocean and the mountains, Jason Ungar is an artist who has always been fascinated by the intersection of technology and nature. From a young age, he spent countless hours exploring the forests, creeks and beaches surrounding his home, and was equally captivated by the futuristic worlds portrayed in science fiction.
After completing his studies in fine arts at Pacific Northwest College of Art, Jason began experimenting with different media to create works that blended the organic and the synthetic. He is equally at home with traditional painting and drawing techniques as he is with digital tools, and often combine these approaches in his works.
One recurring theme in Jason's art is the cyborg – a figure that symbolizes the merging of human and machine. He explores the ways in which technology can enhance and augment our natural abilities, and the dangers of becoming too reliant on it. Jason's works emphasize the importance of preserving our connection to ourselves and the environment.
Jason loves to create worlds and characters that transport viewers to other realms. His works often incorporate intricate details and vibrant colors, drawing the eye in and inviting the viewer to explore the scene further.
Jason continues to try and push the boundaries of what is possible with his art by exploring new techniques, medias and mediums.
Brent Wear
Shop for Brent Wear's art at etsy.com/shop/brentwear.
Brent Wear is a painter who has been living and working in Portland, Oregon for the past 25 years. Born and raised in Independence, Missouri (Near Kansas City) He studied art at Parsons School of Design in New York, and later at the University of Kansas.
After moving to Portland in 1998, Brent began showing his art in bars, coffee shops, and galleries. He became relatively known for painting round, toy-like birds in unusual circumstances. After years of doing this, he took a step back to look inward and work on a series of abstract paintings, a period which lasted around ten years, a time that he spent mostly in the studio, working on both abstract works and slowly revisiting what he refers to as his “creature” paintings.
This will be his first public showing of these works in over a decade.
When not in the studio, Brent can be found riding his bicycle, observing weather and trains, and communing with his many crow buddies he has befriended over the years.
Marjorie Blume
Marjorie Blume is a mixed media acrylic painter, designer, and jewelry maker. Marjorie grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and is still inspired by its beauty. View Marjorie's available work on marjorieblume.com.
Jamie Cathey
Jamie Cathey is a collage and mixed media artist living in the Nob Hill neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. While she was influenced early on by an artistic grandmother and other creative friends and family members, Jamie's current process is influenced by working with an art therapist beginning in 2021 to process recent personal loss, grief, and isolation from COVID as well as issues surrounding trauma, identity, addictive behavior, and women's roles. She is also a brain hemorrhage survivor after a debilitating stroke in 2018 with continued recovery. Jame utilizes watercolors, intuitive veil painting, and collage work in her process.
Interests in evolutionary astrology, tarot, writing and anthroposophy have helped her connect more with her higher self, and help her express, emote, heal and share. Her work is also shaped by nature, traveling, music, cooking, photography, literature, pop art, pop culture, architecture, art history, fashion, poetry, and film, and has become a lifelong patron and participant!
Her favorite mediums are analog collage (with special thanks to a wonderful local teacher) mixed media projects, and seeking out community and opportunities for growth on this fascinating life journey!