One may define art as the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. We have gathered a small group of artists who have expressed their own definition of what art means to them; what inspires them, what projects they currently are working on, and what are their future plans. As you discover these artists, you will see how they interpret their expression of art.

Brian Hicks

Working in clay has been a process of over 20 years of a self-taught technique. His works are very visual, with bold statements, sometimes graphic, sometimes simple and with organic minimalism. They are also created from a heavy influence of the abstract and modernist masters from years past

Claymation, and Saturday morning cartoons heavily influenced the Phat Flower Series. These lighthearted pieces, brightly colored, individually unique with individual personalities and stories of their own, posed as if reaching out, ready to be picked right from the Garden.

Brian Wolbaum

Brian Wolbaum comes from a farm in North Dakota. After receiving his BA from North Dakota State University, Brian moved to New York City and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology. He eventually moved to Los Angeles. He now paints from his studio in Palm Springs. He is known for his often bright, graphic style and his unique use of color. He paints mostly in acrylics and has occasionally produced digital pieces. Brian has work available at H3K Home in Palm Springs CA where he is also an interior designer. He has an Interior Architectural Design certification from Santa Monica College, Associate in Applied Arts – Display and Exhibit Design

From the Fashion Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising. His work can be found hanging in many homes in Southern California and across the country.

Don Chooi

A young 46 year old, Don is an illustrator, a graphic designer and an aspiring academic. He has been creating art largely attributed to the bear sub-culture since 2005. Don’s work celebrates the lustful appeal of erotic gay male masculinity, body positivity and cultural diversity. His major influences are Gengoroh Tagame, Jiraiya, Christophe Jannin and Bill Ward, among many others. Being an immigrant from Malaysia and now living in Auckland, New Zealand, Don firmly believes in supporting and promoting awareness to Asian influenced art within mainstream gay culture. His work also lends itself to discourses pertaining to cultural and sexual identity of the marginalized minority of the Asian diaspora. While Don uses digital means to complete his pieces, he favors traditional media – using inks and watercolors on paper – as it gives him a ‘closer feel’ and a level of authentic voice to the work. www.dchooidoodles.blogspot.com

Free Ramos

Creating art since he was old enough to hold a pencil, Martin Free Ramos,  a Hong Kong born Filipino, moved to Los Angeles when he was 16 years old. Aside from his high school art teachers, Free has mostly been a self-taught artist. Involving elements of fashion, fantasy & fun, Free’s artistic vision is expressed through mixed media in a signature style he calls “The Glamour & The Whimsy.”  Informed by Erté, Disney & comic book art, he creates “Art from the Heart” that he hopes moves, touches, inspires & encourages all who experience it.

Temporarily switching media, from chalk & pencil to marker & ink, Free is currently working on interpreting pop culture characters through his own designs in the Japanese kawaii & chibi styles. Free presently resides in Pasadena, CA.”

George Thomas

“I enjoy painting realistically and surrealistically. My allegorical paintings are done in the style of utopian surrealism.”

Born the same year as Disneyland (1955), George Thomas grew up in the heady era of early space travel, rocket-themed cars, Googie architecture and the Mid-Century marvels that defined a generation. George brings this fascination to his oil-on-canvas works, with amazing effect, iconic allegories, complex imagery and stunning detail, all with a comfortable nod to the fun camp of the age.

A Southern California native, George graduated with honors from the Art Center College of Design. He raised three children and spent twenty years as a missionary and teacher in remote cultures around the globe.

George currently resides and continues his art in Palm Springs, California.

His recent works include a new original diptych oil painting (in progress), titled “Nothing”, and new digital prints of his paintings “The Ghosts Of Castro Corner” and “One Touch Of A Tiny Red Button”.

Jamie Gallucchi

Born in Glens Falls, New York, James grew up with huge artistic influence; his father, who was a sixty-year Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society.

James received a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1986.

In 1992, James moved to California, and resided in Laguna Beach for seven years where he was a participant in the Annual Sawdust Festival.  As the only non-juried art festival in Laguna, the Sawdust displays paintings, sculpture, printmaking, photography, glass, ceramics, jewelry, woodwork, furniture, textiles, clothing and mixed media. In 2000 he relocated to Palm Springs and has been a resident ever since. Currently residing in Palm Desert, James is creating graphics depicting his interpretations of Palm Springs and the lifestyle it offers through fun, stylized graphics. www.facebook.com/GallucciArt/

Joe Dietl

Joe has been a successful working actor for decades in Hollywood, having done almost 100 commercials, televisions guest roles, and indie features with top stars like Mike Myers, Jennifer Aniston, Will Ferrell and more. His talent as a painter and visual artist, which he inherited from his gifted artist Mom, was unable to emerge until he moved to Palm Springs and allowed himself the freedom to explore it full time. In an ironic reversal, his acting and directing gigs provide the “day job” that financially allows him to explore his talent as a painter. Primarily using a palette knife to apply the pigment to the canvas with an intentionally directive stroke allows Joe to create space and dimension without detailed rendering. This deliberate application liberates him to use saturated and hyper-real color that is not typically seen in landscape paintings. Joe’s influences include Lee Mullican, Marsden Hartley, Mark Bradford, Friedensreich Hundertwasser and David Hockney. Represented in Palm Springs at the Brian Marki Fine Art Gallery. www.brianmarkifineart.com

He is currently getting ready for a show in Provincetown during Bear Week July 12th through the 20th at the Woodman Shimko Gallery.

For more info visit www.dietlart.com

Kat Green

Kat Green is an artist who lives and works in a sunny studio in the high-desert of Joshua Tree, CA. Originally from South Carolina; Kat has been painting for over seventeen years. She has work in private and corporate collections all across the US and abroad.

“My paintings are expressionist in nature and focus on the idea of impermanence relative to life and relationships. Usually, there’s no literal narrative in my work, but rather, the paintings are about flux: a natural evolution that results from the passage of time and the ever-changing nature of life. What I’m inspired by and drawn to are seemingly imperfect elements. The work is about unearthing and embracing subtle details that beckon the viewer to explore the work more closely. This wabi-sabi approach has become central to both my life and art making.”

In addition to painting, Kat is also an illustrator, workshop instructor and co-creator/curator/operator of the Tumbleweed Art Co.– a rolling small works art gallery in a vintage ’72 Winnebago. Barba Contemporary, Palm Springs, CA and Globe Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM represents Kat. katgreenart.com

Kim Chasen

Kim Chasen has been a desert dweller for over 30 years.  The objective of Kim’s current body of work is to unify seemingly different media by exposing elements they share. The metals take on their physical traits naturally through the effects of weathering, aging and years of use. The painted components complement these characteristics by the conscious selection of color, texture and shape.

Kim’s painting, Reclaimed, was honored with a People’s Choice Award at the Artists Council Metamorphosis show at the Galen Museum in March. 

Kim is looking forward to showing her painting, Denim, at Barba Contemporary Gallery during Women’s Week——September 29th-October 5th, 2019.

Lisa Burford

I am an artist who resides in Joshua Tree. Having moved to Southern California from the Chicagoland area nearly a decade ago to expand my passion of design and art, I’ve fallen deeply in love with the desert, including its wildlife, plants, and the natural shows it puts

 on each season. While not every art piece includes the desert, what it has taught me certainly influences my art.

I enjoy telling stories through different mediums. Stories can be literal or abstract within an illustration, strategically built through movements and paths in a website, broken up and paced throughout a magazine layout, informative through packaging design, woven through

 macramé, or meticulously arranged through flowers. I approach my art by examining and studying the smallest of details, better understanding the subject to create something beautiful.

My work has been shown locally in Palm Springs and Twentynine Palms, in Chicago, and internationally in London, as well as published in numerous books and magazines. I run my own business creating custom designs, illustrations, and websites for clients both locally and throughout the US.

Visit lisaburford.com to learn more about me and see examples of my work.