Learn about our artists--
Karen Sewell
Color and texture are my passion and drive my aesthetic. Inspiration comes from observing the small vignettes in everyday life that touch my soul. Working in various mediums and genres, a special love of portraiture as well as intimate landscapes has developed. Capturing that moment in time is important to me as it is never exactly repeated. I am a Floyd native and one of the founding members of the Floyd Artists Association LLC, now A NEW LEAF GALLERY. The interactive experience of instructing students in portraiture, perspective, value and composition (PVC), and color theory enrich my work as I endeavor to pass on my love of creating. Commissions are welcomed.
Jenny Traynham
If you relate to the experience of simplicity found in our surroundings, then perhaps you will find that in my paintings. Paring down the non-essentials, and allowing the pureness of the moment to be discovered are my goals. Using oils, cold wax, oil pastels and lately wool in fiber art, I feel emboldened to pursue the “less is more” concept. Using the pallet knife enables me to leave out the clutter, and allow the viewer to share the experience of the subject matter with me.
traynham@swva.net www.jennytraynham.com
I create simple colorful themes in a modern style. Sometimes the things are in the real world or a memory – sometimes a dream. Most of the subject matter is bold and direct but I usually try to leave plenty of space for the viewers own mental embellishment of the subject. I like to offer the freedom to interpret a piece in the same way I was afforded the freedom and vision to express the central theme. Sometimes, though, I just want to paint a vase of flowers or some sailboats and that’s all it is, a pretty thing.
davidh@swva.net 540 745 3222
Niki Perillat
Niki Perillat is an inspiration to all who know her. Coming back to art after an almost forty-year hiatus, she continuously surprises herself as well as those around her with her colorful landscapes and her insightful and expressive portraits of animals in pastel and watercolor. Still learning and putting forth her best efforts at ninety plus years, she gives all around her something to shoot for in their own artistic journey.
Jennifer Carpenter
Every raindrop holds a tiny little secret wanting to be heard. Anything that shimmers begs for attention. Glass is never just the color by which we call it. Reflections of any kind permit the viewer to look two places at once. These observations and many more are the basis for every drawing I create in colored pencil, each with a story waiting to be told.
Bronwen Valentine
Magic is everywhere. From ancient oceans to soaring skyscrapers, I see the beauty of nature and form. I grew up exploring the secret places of the Blue Ridge Mountains, immersed in the music and the community. My travels have taken me to amazing secret places throughout the world, eventually bringing me back home to Floyd. My paintings are a dance between free form visionary color and delicate hand drawn precise design. I strive to communicate the essential energy of a place or object - the feeling of a precious moment. Custom orders are welcomed!
bronwenvalentine@gmail.com etsy.com/shop/danceafire Facebook: BronwenValentineArt Instagram: bronwenvalentineart
Lori Lynne Sutphin
As an artist, I pay great attention to everything surrounding me. Some would say I'm always looking and researching. I'm intrigued by absolutely everything but especially nature with it's glorious landscapes, plants of all kinds and the fun shapes and angles of architecture. I love vibrant colors, textures, details and contrast. For me, it has always been these things that inspire each of my paintings. It may be the sparkle of dew on a leaf or the pop of color from the center of a flower or the way the shadows fall perfectly from the roof above or the opened door on a building that inspire me to create a painting.
Selena McColley
Always "creating something" as a child led to the desire to study commercial art/advertising design until a high school guidance counselor made my career choice seem undesirable pushing me into interior design. After discovering that wasn't “me,” a marriage, child and divorce I taught 7th grade history for 19 years until CANCER changed everything! Realizing we had no time to waste, my husband and I chose to make our Floyd vacation home permanent in 2018. I am following my heart and creating the art I always dreamed of! I paint things that move me and make me happy. Just Leap!
Ruth Lefko
My artistic journey is a continuous evolution. The more I paint the more I see through an abstract lens. I no longer strive to paint realistic images, with the exception of my pet portraits, which also have an element of spontaneity. I mainly work in acrylic, watercolor, and soft pastels but I do not limit myself to these mediums.
My approach to a painting, whether an abstract or landscape, begins with “play” using 2-3 colors, a spray bottle of water, texture creating tools, and enough time to enjoy the moment. I am energized by the interaction of paint and fascinated with textures that appear to create a unique composition.
Facebook: RuthLefkoArt www.ruthlefko.com Instagram: RuthLefkoArt
Sara Thompson
Sara Thompson is an artist local to Blacksburg; or as much of a local as she can be, having lived in over twenty locations from New Hampshire to Arizona. With many family moves growing up, art was a family focus. Her father was a woodworker, her mother practices thread craft, her older brother constantly sketching, and Sara took inspiration from all of them. Art was her constant across the seven schools she attended, the variety of teachers supplementing her self-taught skills. She found recognition early, having been chosen to have her photography featured in the student gallery of the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA in 1999. Having taken a hiatus from art after high school, Sara is picking up where she left off. Exploring different mediums and techniques, she’s currently experimenting with acrylic abstracts inspired by the late Jonas Gerard.
Facebook: SaraThompson Email: sctaylor97@gmail.com
Joe Rees
If you wish you were there, I have taken a good photograph. Even if the image is of an ice covered tree at sunrise, you wish you were there. I produce strong, colorful prints of landscapes, trees, and structures. Pricing of my prints makes them available to everyone. From a high quality 8.5"x11" Luster print to a framed 22"x66" Exhibition Canvas panorama, I use the best paper, ink and practices to provide a long lasting print. I perform the entire process from seeking out and taking the photograph, to editing, to printing, to mounting, to building the frame. Most of my photographs can be custom printed on various papers and any size up to 23"x95". Rolled up canvas prints can be ordered and sent in a tube via FedEx, UPS, or the postal service.
Email: associatedartisans@gmail.com
Pamela Gibson Goff
I am a naturalist and find inspiration in all forms of nature. Much of my art is driven by a love and a feeling of responsibility for our environment, loss of nature, and a reverence and connection to all living things. I find beauty in all forms of nature and am particularly drawn to hunting for rocks. I am fascinated by the many shapes, colors, and textures. For me, gems and minerals capture the ancient, organic, and historical complexities in nature and become part of my paintings by reflecting the light, color, and textures of life. My hope is to inspire viewers to reflect on nature, even something as small as a pebble, and gain greater appreciation for this natural environment that surrounds us.
Nell Fredericksen
The beauty of the natural world that I see in everything around me flows both consciously and subconsciously through all my designs. I love taking the raw materials, whether metal or clay, and making them “move” with my hands into the shapes and textures that Ipicture in my mind. That, plus the play of colors on those shapes with different glazes and firing techniques, produces pottery that is both decorative and functional. I have been a professional potter and jeweler for more than 30 years. I am an ACV Juried Master Artisan, and Juried Round the Mountain Artisan. I am also a teacher both in jewelry and ceramics, currently teaching a slate of metalsmithing classes at the Floyd Center for the Arts and am the Ceramics instructor for Ferrum College.
Linda Edlund
After twenty-five years away, we decided to move back to Virginia. We stayed in the Floyd Family Campground in our RV and fell in love with this marvelous, magical place! So many places to paint!
Emily Freudenberg Wolfe
I work with nature inspired patterns. Fungi/mushroom and other floral forms grow in eccentric and whimsical ways. There is a uniqueness in them that I am trying to capture.
I choose certain fungal or floral forms that excite me to represent relationships in my life. Using those ideas create my composition and complement them with the color and texture of fabric with embroidery.
Email: emilyfreud92@outlook.com Instagram: fungiee_92 www.fungiee.com
Raven Skye McDonough
Raven Skye McDonough is an award winning artist with deep ties to her native New
England upbringing. Raven’s great love of color and texture permeates throughout her
unique patterned paper collages, paintings and mixed media art work.
Classically trained at The School of the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, Raven
currently draws her inspiration from nature, wild life and her nightly dreams. Her deep
spiritual connection and social awareness also has her tackling subject matter ranging
from war, environmental issues, political concerns, and the human journey to become
enlightened beings.
Raven has exhibited in group and solo shows in New York, Florida, New England and
other East Coast art markets. She’s sold many works of art to private collectors both in
the United States and Europe, and was selected as Florida Artist of the year by Twin
Cities TOSCA Art & Culture magazine for its American Artist series 2013. Raven was also
selected as one of the top 100 mixed media artists in the country by North Light Books.
