Current Members
Mike Baker
Ellen R. Bartels (Co-President)
Ruth Eilers
Roger Goodspeed
Charles Graves
Charles Green
Kat Heitzman
Amy Hesselbacher
Rebecca Hitchcock
Barbara Larsen
Janice Lockwood
Edward D. Maglietta
Vicki Barraco MacArthur
Ellen R. Bartels (Ellie)
I work primarily in oil and do various forms of printmaking. Lately I have ventured into acrylic painting. I try to find ways to involve the viewer in my work; perhaps to meditate or see something I never imagined. I feel successful when viewers are drawn into my work and spend time with it.
Aside from marriage and raising four children, my whole life has been filled with music one way or another. I’m a retired music teacher and have taught vocal music at every level, directed church choirs most of my life, given private lessons in vocal and piano, and performed as well.
I’ve been drawing or doodling since I was a child. Now painting has added a whole new aspect to the art side of my life. My favorite subjects are faces, people, animals and landscapes.
Trying to reproduce the patterns and structures I see in God’s creation motivates my art. The possibilities can be consuming, frustrating and fun – always a stretching experience that keeps me humble. When the results connect with someone else, it is doubly satisfying.
Lutricia L. Clifton
lutriciaclifton@gmail.com
I work primarily with pastel, watercolor, and mixed media. Working mostly from photographs, I prefer to give the impression of the image rather than transcribe an exact representation. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with different techniques, such as negative painting, collage, and pouring paint. I love the challenge these approaches present and plan to continue in this direction. As for subject matter, I enjoy painting nature scenes, especially rural landscapes. Oftentimes, I will do a photo day, which involves driving around northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin looking for fresh subject matter. I also enjoy doing portraits of people who live ordinary yet extraordinarily lives, such as blue-collar workers and farm hands. I’m a member of the Momentum Art Guild in Freeport, Illinois. Six of my pastels were accepted into the 2015 and 2016 Fine Arts Incubator’s annual juried shows in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Roger Goodspeed
I'm an omnivorous painter in acrylic or watercolor. Landscapes, wildlife, floral, still-life in realistic style and even an occasional musical or mechanical abstract.
Larry McCoy
I am a watercolor painter first, and then occasionally branch off into a few acrylic paintings or just try something completely new like duct tape painting. I go back to watercolor because it expresses the colors and textures of natural life well at a speed that fits my temperament. I especially enjoy the unexpected accidents that watercolor provides.
Spinning and weaving wool (usually from my own sheep) has been my primary creative expression for many years. Drawing has been a lifelong habit. Art history (perhaps better expressed as "cultural history") provided my official occupations, as teacher (Highland Community College) and collections manager (Freeport Art Museum). These currents come together in my drawings in which I try to express thoughts and questions that weaving and spinning alone cannot convey, about the metaphorical oneness of weaving and human life.
Faye Sanders Hughes
mimigh-2
My work as an artist has evolved in both style and content over the years. Flowers, landscapes, and seascapes in both Illinois and in Florida where I spend the winters have been the subject of my recent works. In my response to nature I want to capture the mood and spirit of my first impression. Personal involvement in the creating a work of art is a joy and a passion of mine, it fulfills my need for self expression. To share my vision with others gives me a sense of achievement, a sense of being productive.
Cindy Vondran
www.cindyvondranphotography.com
Photography is my favorite medium. I use my camera as a tool in the same way a painter would use a brush. I love to experiment and I resist falling into a single niche. Most of my inspiration comes from Mother Nature, but I can usually find something interesting to photograph in a creative way no matter where I happen to be. WIth the aid of software editing programs, the digital age has taken my photography to a whole new level of creativity.
Sheila Kelly Welch
sheilawelch41@gmail.com
In junior high, I wrote in my diary that “someday” I hoped to create books for children, both text and illustrations. But I wasn’t committed to reaching that goal until after open heart surgery when the tick-tick of the artificial valve was a constant reminder of the passage of time. Since then I’ve illustrated my own stories in magazines, written and Illustrated five books and illustrated five by other authors. In 2007 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and have found myself redefining my goals to focus on Fine Arts type work. Drawing has always been a favorite activity, and now I’ve been experimenting with combining several media – often graphite pencil, colored pencil and acrylic. My subject matter reflects my interests: children, animals, and the natural world. I find the process of creating visual art satisfying and hope to be able to continue for many more “somedays.”
Elleanor Wells
hobbesjw@comcast.net