June:

Kathy
Luminous - Seasonal - Intuitive

Kathy's abstract watercolor paintings are vibrant meditations on color, process, and restraint. Originally intended as backgrounds for figurative work, her lush, expressive layers quickly took center stage — evolving into standalone pieces that capture the emotional essence of seasons. Kathy works primarily on 300 lb 100% cotton watercolor paper, often painting on both sides to fully explore the possibilities of color layering. Her love for the qualities of different paints — from the granulation of Daniel Smith to the snap of M. Graham and the luminous hues of QoR — makes each painting a personal discovery. Her words? “I’ve lowered my expectations for success every time, and I really love them.” And so do we.

---

Geoff
Expressive - Gritty - Spontaneous

Geoff's work captures the electric immediacy of live creation. Most of his drawings and paintings were made during First Friday events in downtown Phoenix, where he’d set up on the street and create full pieces in four hours or less. His materials are raw and intuitive — from mat board scraps to masonite panels cut by hand — and his medium of choice is often charcoal, lending a bold and emotional edge to his subjects. Each piece is a snapshot of a moment: fast, fearless, and deeply present.

---

Melinda
Versatile - Colorful - Inventive

Melinda brings dynamic creative energy to both the framing desk and the gallery wall. A true multimedia artist, her contributions to the Employee Art Show include glazed ceramics, colored pencil drawings, a vibrant spray-paint series called Botanical Borealis (created using real leaves as stencils), and even face paint designs displayed on foam core to amplify their color. When she’s not helping customers preserve their artwork, she’s painting faces at community events and kids’ parties. Melinda currently works with Twisted Balloons offering face painting. Her work reflects a love for color, playfulness, and bringing joy — whether it’s on canvas, metal, ceramic, or skin.

---

Georgia
Bold - Textured - Unapologetic

Georgia’s current series rides in on a full cowgirl mood — bold, feminine, and totally intuitive. Using primarily high flow acrylics, she’s developed a unique layering process that gives her paintings a soft, fluid blend while still maintaining edge and structure. A self-proclaimed stiff-bristle brush lover, Georgia uses her tools to create surprisingly gentle transitions, especially when working details like eyes, lips, and hair — elements she’s drawn to without fully knowing why. One of her featured works incorporates fiber paste, an experimental texture base that turns high-flow paint into a forgiving, watercolor-like medium. Georgia’s work is playful, powerful, and rooted in curiosity — a perfect snapshot of the Blaine’s Art creative spirit.

---

Fayden
Playful - Improvisational - Whimsical

Fayden's work is rooted in spontaneity and self-discovery. What began as classroom doodles evolved into a playful, meditative process of letting the pen lead. Most of their current work begins with blind scribbling — a process where the artist closes their eyes, fills the page with ink, and then “finds” a form within the chaos. The results are dreamlike, organic, and entirely unique. In addition to ink drawings, they’ve recently experimented with acrylics, salt textures, and on-the-fly creativity — including a favorite piece created during a break at Blaine’s Art. Their work is a reminder that creativity doesn’t always need a plan — just permission.

---

Isabel
Honest - Layered - Intentional

Isabel’s work in the show features film photography — a practice she calls “a break from the serious stuff.” But even in play, there’s intention. With film, you don’t get do-overs. You have to think before you shoot. Every frame costs something, so every choice matters. Behind the scenes, Isabel’s primary body of work lives in a private gallery tucked in the back — too personal, too raw, too real for the main wall. These fine art portraits explore the tension of growing up queer in a small Southern town — the masks, the silence, the feeling of suffocating in a place that couldn’t hold your truth. Her work asks what it means to be fully seen, and what it costs when you can’t be yourself.

---

Liz
Playful - Textural - Nostalgic

 Liz’s work moves between photography and fiber art, with a focus on shape, light, and texture. Her food photography grew out of a desire to play with shadows and pattern. One was inspired by a ‘70s bedsheet she found and stitched into something totally new; the other channels the bright geometry of the 1980s. Whether behind a lens or needle, Liz brings thoughtful composition and a sense of quiet joy to everything she touches.

---

Deb
Playful - Explorer - Imagination Enthusiast

This artist paints like she cooks — with curiosity, variety, and a touch of chaos. The works in this show are entirely imagined landscapes, stitched together from instinct, storytelling, and play. The only exception? A portrait of Buster the dog, placed lovingly into a world of her own creation. Each piece is distinct — none quite like the other — which is exactly the point. As a child, she was told often (and not always kindly), “Don’t you have a vivid imagination.” Turns out, that imagination became the foundation of everything she makes.

---

Cade
Grounded - Observant - Multifaceted

Cade has been making art his whole life, and painting for over 25 years. For the last decade, plein air work has been central to his practice — standing outside, brush in hand, capturing fleeting light and mood in real time. The pieces in this show are studio paintings, but each one is rooted in a real place near Anchorage, drawn from firsthand experience or plein air studies created over the past year. Cade works across oil, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, digital media, and tattooing — each medium offering a new way to explore place, memory, and story. His work is grounded in observation, shaped by experience, and guided by the quiet skill of paying attention.

---