Parvaneh Limbert

As an art lover, the Washington area’s rich cultural life, the encouragement of friends and family, and the leisure of retirement have allowed me to resume painting and return to what I had enjoyed so much in my childhood. I began art seriously after retiring from government service in 2005. I set up a studio at our home basement. Good space and lighting encouraged me more. I spend as much as time as I can with my art and my studio inspires me to concentrate on my work.

I began with oils and later took up water color and acrylic. I took a course in abstract painting at the Art League of Alexandria. There I found I loved the bright colors of abstract art. I have participated in numerous shows and am an enthusiastic member of the Arlington Artists Alliance and have displayed in local galleries. I have had paintings chosen for juried shows in numerous venues in Northern Virginia.

Much of my inspiration comes from travel. I have visited France and Italy for workshops and have painted many scenes from Vermont and foreign countries where I lived during 33 years in the U.S. Foreign Service.

Chica Brunsvold

Website: wwww.chicabrunsvold.com

Once an Abstract Expressionist, I now delight in discovering and developing images within my paintings. Some remain abstract but many evolve into florals or into whimsical animalscapes, my trademarked Zooillogicals®. They are my attempt to inject light-hearted humor into the serious field of art. They are also my metaphor for the peace and harmony so often lacking in real life.

A native of Ann Arbor, MI, Chica Brunsvold graduated from the UM with a BS in Design & an MA in Art. She was an Illustrator General for the CIA and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces before becoming a full time award-winning artist.

She has earned Signature Membership in both the American and National Watercolor Societies as well Alabama, Baltimore, GA, KY, MS, MO, MT, Northwest, OK, PA, Pittsburgh, Taos and VA Watercolor Societies. She’s been in over 200 national watermedia exhibitions, won over 4 dozen awards and has had over 25 solo shows both locally and throughout the US in art museums, art centers, universities and hospitals.

Three times she was on the faculty of “Stretching the Boundaries of Creativity” in Ohio. She has given numerous watercolor programs, demonstrations and workshops. She has juried and judged many art shows in VA, and also in WVA & DE.

Three of her Zooillogicals® were part of the US Arts in Embassies program in Rangoon. Her work is the permanent collections of The Art Station at Stone Mt GA; Burroughs/Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC; Ellen Noel Art Museum, Odessa, TX;

Fairfax INOVA Hospital, VA; Longwood University, Farmville, VA; Paine Art Center & Gardens, Oshkosh, WI; Resurrection Hospital, Chicago, IL and Finnegan Law Firm in Reston, VA & Atlanta, GA. She is represented by Gallery Underground in Crystal City and Gallery Clarendon.

Listed in Who’s Who of American Art, her work is published in 8 art books, 4 from North Light: Splash 10, The Artist’s Muse, Celebrating Your Creative Self, The Creative Edge and 4 Creative Press books: The Artistic Touch 3,4, 5 & 6. She has 3 paintings and an article in: “Say it with Flowers” in the June, 2014 issue of Watercolor Artist. She has also been featured 7 other times in nationally published watercolor magazines. Giclee prints are available for selected works.

Jane McElvany Coonce

Email: Jane.Coonce@verizon.net
Website: www.jmcelvany.com

Jane McElvany Coonce has been in the art field for over 30 years. She works primarily in oil, pastel, and terra cotta. Her favorite subjects are children, seascapes, and bridge scenes. She is particularly skillful at capturing the luminescent quality of sunlight reflecting on water and on the interplay of water and sky.
Her works are held by private and corporate collectors. Her corporate collectors include the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and the International Country Club, Fairfax, Virginia and the Rickover Academy in Chicago. She has won numerous awards for both her paintings and her sculptures.
She has been an art instructor for Arlington County Adult Education since 1980.
Born in Washington, DC, Jane McElvany Coonce lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and three sons.

Kerry Britton

Email: kerrybritton001@gmail.com

Kerry Britton is a textile artist striving to share insights about light, shape, color and texture through wall hangings that capture her experiences in natural settings. An avid photographer, she often uses multiple photographs to create unique compositions that capture essence of place, interesting botanical structures, and the play of light on surfaces. She uses commercial and hand-dyed fabrics as well as original paintings on cotton which she embellishes with stitchwork and mixed media.

Gerda Lane

Email: Lanegerda@hotmail.com
Phone: 703-655-1375

Gerda Lane began pursuing her interest in art in 2014 after raising a family and retiring from a career in the US Department of State. She paints in oil, watercolor, and pastel. She has a degree in fine arts and continues to take classes and workshops in northern Virginia to further develop her skills. Gerda primarily paints landscapes, still life scenes and also enjoys creating whimsical nursery scenes. Her style can be described as impressionistic, choosing colors from a soft French inspired palette. She is a member of the Arlington Artists Alliance, Program Chair of the McLean Art Society, and the Falls Church Art Society, and enjoys belonging to these communities of fellow artists. Gerda works in her studio at the AAA Clarendon Gallery in Arlington.

Michael Allison

Email: mikeyallisonart@gmail.com
Phone: 717-991-3626
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MJArtsShop
Instagram: mjartsshop
Pinterest: MJArtsShop

I typically work with acrylic paints because they suite the needs of my style – something that dries fast, can be applied in layers, and is economical when I get ambitions to work large (which I often do).

The painting process I stumbled into over the years involves a masking of each layer of paint after application. Working light to dark, I apply a single coat of paint with a roller and then block off portions of the canvas with an adhesive (typically tape or glue) where I don’t want the next layer of paint to appear. This process is repeated until the canvass is essentially entirely covered in adhesive hiding a painting underneath. Then I take a deep breath, remove the adhesive, and hope the painting that’s revealed underneath looks like what I imagined in my head.

I won’t lie, sometimes the painting matches what I had planned, and sometimes it does not. However, I’m rarely displeased with end result. I think that’s what I enjoy most about the process – the hours and hours of labor always end with a bit of a surprise at the end.

Portraits are my burgeoning passion. If you enjoy my style and would like to commission a portrait of a particular person (or animal) I can be contacted at mikeyallisonart@gmail.com.