2026 New Members Show Artist Statements

Marina Ahun

Marina Ahun (shortened name for Ahun-Babaeva) was born in the shadow of the Ural Mountains in Russia. She was educated at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, receiving the Bachelor of Fine Arts and Architecture degree. This Institute has preserved classical art and maintained what it refers to as the “gold standard” of artistic expression.

Marina became Princeton University's only Licensed and Commissioned Artist providing realistic ‘portraits’ of the University's iconic, historical campus. Her architectural renderings in series “Princeton University scenes” and “Crossing Nassau Street” are extraordinarily detailed and build with accurate perspective and foundation. 18 original architectural renderings of Princeton are in the permanent collection of the University.

Marina does move back and forth between the two styles and two mediums. When she’s looking for urban street scenes that will become realistic paintings, she use watercolor. Marina creates the angles, right perspectives and foundations for the architectural paintings before she starts to actually paint it. When Marina does abstract expressionist paintings she uses oil and she has no idea what the painting is going to look like when finished. The painting dictates its own course. The processes complement one another beautifully and pure abstraction strengthens what she’s able to do when she paints realistically. What Marina chooses to do with the realistic painting ends up being a technical contribution to her abstract paintings.

Meta Arnold

Meta Dunkly Arnold works in mixed media, especially found-object assemblage, and teaches classes in 3D art for children and adults. Flea market figurines and architectural elements suggesting houses or shrines allow her to play with scale and the passage of time, reframing discarded materials as treasures. Meta’s work engages with art history by centering background details and celebrating lesser-known artists. Many of her pieces include kinetic and interactive features, such as opening doors and LED lights, which invite the viewer to participate in her creative process of discovery.

Barbara Backman

Award-winning artist Barbara Backman draws profound inspiration from the natural world. Raised amid the breathtaking landscapes of the Adirondack Mountains, she developed an early and enduring reverence for the quiet majesty of forests, waterways, and shifting light. After relocating to Pennsylvania, she found renewed creative vitality in the pastoral beauty of Bucks County—a region whose rich artistic heritage and luminous countryside continue to shape her artistic vision.

Barbara holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Syracuse University. She is a Signature Member of the Philadelphia Pastel Society and an elected member of the prestigious Pastel Society of America. The distinction of Signature Membership is reserved for artists who have demonstrated exceptional skill, artistic excellence, and sustained achievement—earning recognition through awards and notable accomplishments within the world of pastel art. This honor reflects Barbara’s mastery of the medium and her respected standing among her peers.

Working primarily in soft pastels and acrylics, Barbara creates impressionistic landscapes, evocative figurative narratives, expressive portraits, and tender depictions of beloved animals. Her work has been recognized on an international level, earning distinction for its atmosphere, sensitivity, and storytelling depth. Through each piece, she seeks not merely to represent a scene, but to capture its emotional resonance—inviting viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the enduring beauty of the natural world.

Patricia Byrne

I first started painting all mediums in high school and found that I loved art! Although many years have passed since I stopped working on art, I decided to try watercolor about 4 years ago. The challenge intrigued me! I am inspired by seascapes and how the ocean connects to land; the beauty of animals and the silence of winter. Seeing how the water combines color excites me. I learn so much from working with other artists and am blessed with the friendships I have made in the process.

James Dippner

I earn my living by day as an engineer. I have a wonderful family, a wife and best friend for 30 years and two adult children. We all live on a farm deep in the woods with lots of animals. At night, when the rest of the world is sleeping -- I paint! I have had a passion for art since childhood that has grown and changed throughout my lifetime. While I have no formal art education, I am a lifetime student. The most valuable lesson I have learned, so far, is that it cannot be forced. I fall back on playfulness and curiosity of childhood and let my hand tell stories, express feelings, relive memories, and imagine. I don't aim for a style; I drift. When my paintings hang beside one another, they look to be from the same artist, but this is happenstance.

Most of my subjects are portraiture and figurative, with a few landscapes and other subjects mixed in. I am fascinated by color but restrict myself to four pigments in any single work. I work in many mediums - oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, pyrography, and pastel.

Eli Dock

Eli Dock is an artist living and working in Ewing NJ. As a graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts, she has a BFA majoring in painting and printmaking. Throughout her artistic career she has enjoyed expressing her vision utilizing many different mediums. Acrylic and oil paint, collage, encaustic wax painting, alcohol ink, pastel drawing and photography as well are part of her present repertoire. As an intuitive artist, she works from imagination. Always seeing beauty in the quiet places, she paints abstract landscape and seascapes, hoping for a "feeling" rather than perfect details. "In abstract art, I am allowed the feel the colors and textures without the confines of figurative representation. I hope the viewer can immerse themselves in the feeling as well and take from my art a pleasant feeling or peace. Even within my mixed media collages, I want the viewer to enjoy the color interactions and texture sensations."

Leigh Ferello

My practice centers on material exploration, process, and transformation. Rather than adhering to a single medium, I am drawn to systems, traditions, and techniques—such as faux papermaking, Suminagashi, Kintsugi, and sculptural forms—that emphasize experimentation, repair, and the quiet intelligence of materials.

Impermanence, accumulation, and the poetic potential of repetition interest me. My work frequently begins with simple actions—layering, breaking, mending—that evolve into objects and surfaces shaped by both intention and chance. Process is treated not merely as a means to an end, but as an integral part of the artistic journey. My teaching and practice are united by a belief that meaning emerges through making, curiosity, and sustained attention to the physical act of creation.

I believe that art should be accessible to all.

Darlene Frenock

Inspired by my own personal photographs; I enjoy capturing expressive fleeting moments.

I look for and am motivated by those unique compositions that are within all our daily lives.

The use of pastels allows me the flexibility to create various rich colors by layering and blending directly on the surface. Applying dense color anchors the work and the varying light-play helps to establish emotion.

Thomas Furey

I have painted since the age of five. While there are many intricate reasons I chose this path, the simplest truth is that painting brings me deep personal, physical, and psychological satisfaction. Through my work, I share the happiness that painting gives me with the world.

Style, technique, and subject matter are intimate choices each artist makes. Equally personal is our reason for creating. Some paint to build a recognizable brand or capitalize on popular themes. That is not my way. I do not consider commercial value when I paint—doing so would dilute my ability to create, experiment, and grow. I thrive on challenge, embracing subjects that offer learning and discovery.

My art expresses the situations I experience day to day. I’ve worn many creative hats—as a Master Jeweler, Technical Illustrator, Instructional Designer, and Oil Painter—all of which sharpened my awareness of visual details around me. I’ve trained myself to see life as an artist, and oil painting is at the heart of my life’s quest. It is how I convey my thoughts, hopes, and dreams.

I carry over a billion images in my mind, waiting to be painted. I don’t repeat subjects for the sake of familiarity or sales. Instead, I paint daily with the goal of offering viewers a new lens through which to see the world—whether that evokes a memory, stirs emotion, or simply sparks a smile. Life moves fast, and so much goes unnoticed. I collect moments—mentally and photographically—that call to me. Sometimes the most meaningful pieces come from something someone else has shown me.

Jacqueline Kaizar

I am a self-taught Bucks County artist who works in oil, watercolor and acrylics, as well as quilting and textiles. Recently, I have been experimenting with gel printing and painting on fabrics.

Joan Lasota

I'm academically trained as a biologist/entomologist and worked as a scientist in various capacities until my retirement. In addition to art, I love to be outdoors, especially hiking and kayaking. I play the piano and ukulele. I’ve always loved photography and spent many hours behind my camera when I worked in Switzerland as an entomologist. As I continue to travel, I’m particularly interested in capturing unique images of people and nature. I’m inspired not only by the wonders of nature and the study of ecosystems, but also by the cultural aspects of communities, regions and countries. I’m always anxious to immerse myself in an area and mingle with native and local inhabitants to develop a deeper appreciation of their lives. I believe that the essence of a region and culture can best be captured through the eyes and facial expressions of the local people as they endeavor to live their daily lives. My photographs are not computer manipulated as I prefer sharing with others the emotion behind what I felt when I captured the image. My work has been exhibited in juried shows in NJ and PA.

I’ve been a quilter for about 35 years, but my most interesting challenges have been in designing and creating unique art quilts as colors and patterns of the fabric are chosen and manipulated into endless designs. In addition to using commercial fabric, I've created art pieces using fabric that I’ve hand-dyed. Embellishing with beads, yarn and other materials further enhances the interest of the end product. My fiber art has been exhibited in national and international juried shows.

A year ago I decided to venture beyond two-dimensional art by taking a class in hand- building ceramics. Manipulating the clay gives me a sense of genesis; a feeling of creating something from nothing. Unlike fiber art where I’m constantly surrounded by color and selecting color and patterns to fulfill my design, with clay the majority of work is done in brown, the color of the clay. Under-glazing and glazing are unique challenges to add a further element of depth to the finished pieces.

I’m particularly intrigued by creating human faces, busts and animals, in traditional and non-traditional styles. The clay seems to come to life with the addition of facial features. I’ve appreciated embarking on a learning process that’s new to me. My pieces are both sculptural and functional and may be used indoors and out.

Phyllis Lerner

Art has been a major part of my life beginning with a background in fine arts; painting, then illustration, and a full career in branding, graphic design and art direction. These experiences provided me with the opportunity for visual exploration and expression. I taught design to college/graduate students at NYU, as well as other colleges. Now, this journey has led me to fiber arts; a medium that I find to be exciting, inspiring and filled with creativity and thought-provoking options. In working with fibers to produce my knitted fringed bold artwear, collars and scarves, I have been able to incorporate my lifelong love of fashion design.

My technique begins with a knitted underpinning of fiber which I consider the foundation. Much of the fiber that I use is extinct or considered vintage. Many are metallic. I source it from different places and countries. My focus is the concept of architecturally building and layering the fringe, at different lengths, creating contrast and volume, while striving to produce tension, yet harmony. There is so much that a palette of fiber offers and in working through these various elements and layering other materials, there is a fresh visual beginning.

I derive inspiration from design decisions that I once applied in fine arts, graphic design and branding, and discovered that the elements all present differently. The familiar becomes an unfamiliar creative landscape. I love the challenge and unexpected turns and results that I can achieve, especially experimenting with my additional materials, such as hand painted sticks and painted fabric. Navigating fiber through these experiences allows me to consider its qualities. It is refreshing to keep pushing the limits and disclose what it uniquely has to offer.

Education:

• LaGuardia HS School of the Arts, NYC

• School of Visual Arts (SVA) BFA, NYC

• New York University (NYU) MA, NYC

Karen Lust

I believe that the natural world is the greatest teacher and spiritual guide, and I have always been drawn to poets and painters from the East who treated the landscape as something sacred and limitless rather than simply as subject matter for their art. My earliest paintings were en plein air watercolor and sumi ink sketches. I would sometimes hike for hours before a particular tree or spot in the forest would call to me. I would observe my subject and often get lost in the process of creating with no regard for time and space. The works that I produced did not come about through artistic skill but through observation, meditation and a reverence for nature. I did not see my works as depictions of nature but as encounters with nature. My painting excursions were a way for me to pay homage to the natural world while gaining a sense of joy and peace in the process.

After pausing for decades to raise a family, I returned to painting and discovered a love for working with pastels. While the intensity of the pigments of pastels has led to bolder and more vibrant works and my subject matter has shifted, my reverence for the natural world and meditative approach to creating endure. When I first began painting, I sought to recreate landscapes that were free from human encroachment. Recently, I have begun to paint human made structures, buildings and cityscapes and have discovered that whether the landscape is a forest, an urban scene or a bucolic locale punctuated by human made structures, the spiritual power of nature prevails in the infinite shapes of trees and clouds, the sunlight that creates dazzling colors and shadows against a building, or the way that foliage engulfs a rusted, abandoned train bridge in late spring.

Laura Lutton

For more than twenty years I have worked in stained glass, a medium defined by light and transformation. Each panel can change drastically depending on the time of day, year, and weather conditions, which will change how light translates through a panel, and I find that to be infinitely enchanting about this specific medium. My early practice was rooted in traditional Prairie and Victorian panel design, where structure, symmetry, and historical ornament guided the work. Over time, however, my visual language began to shift. The architectural precision of traditional stained glass gradually opened into abstraction, allowing the human figure and inner emotional life to emerge as central subjects.

Working in vibrant, gem-tone colors, I have more recently been influenced by the perspectives and expressive style associated with Pablo Picasso, Modigliani, and Klimt. In my latest compositions my imagery has grown increasingly whimsical. Humans merge with animals, identities blur, and transformation becomes playful as well as profound. These hybrid forms reflect instinct, intuition, and the shared vitality between human and natural life. Through humor, myth, and imagination, I seek to reveal a deeper emotional truth: that identity is fluid, interconnected, and alive with possibility. And figures often appear suspended between worlds, suggesting moments of introspection, awakening, or spiritual transition.

Through the years of working in this medium, I have found glass to be both fragile and enduring, which mirrors the human condition—capable of breaking, healing, and transforming. Ultimately, my stained glass practice is an exploration of light as spirit—an ongoing conversation between tradition and experimentation, material and meaning, body and soul.

Logan McBride

Logan McBride is a digital illustrator recently transplanted to Bucks County from Brooklyn, NY. Specializing in original character design, game development, sticker design, Logan continues to grow his artistic repertoire through additional mediums such as gouache. Explorations of both natural and supernatural themes suffuse his body of work, which draws from inspirations as varied as punk-alternative patterning, Japanese manga illustration, and American webcomics. Logan lives with his wife Hannah and their orange cat, Pumpkin.

Cyndy Montes

Art has always been an important part of my life. My mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother were artists. But I was never confident that I could be, too.

In the past I was a spectator, an appreciator, and sometimes a collector. I loved the way color could enchant and excite me. I loved the way a scene could transport me somewhere new. The art I loved always evoked emotion and extended my point of view.

Finally, I am at a point in my life where I can explore art by actually creating it myself. Right now I am experimenting to find what mediums and styles suit me best. My favorite genre is abstract, so I am trying all sorts of paints and mediums and techniques thanks to Jim and all the other artists in my abstract classes.

My inspirations are beauty and emotion. When I see something that is beautiful, I want to preserve it, imitate it, and recreate it. When I am moved by anger or pride or love, I need to find a way to express it. So, my paintings are my attempts to share those feelings.

In this show “Watchers” is a statement about fear. In “Winter Sunset” I tried to capture the gorgeous contrast between the beauty of a sunset and the bleakness of winter. In “Take the High Road” I wanted to honor my family legacy. In “Bronze Tree” I was experimenting with the pour painting technique after seeing some beautiful examples online—and I wanted to try to paint an owl that actually looked like an owl!

I’m just a beginner, but I’m loving the discovery of this aspect of myself. I hope others see my spark in my work, but even if they don’t, it’s ok. Creating these paintings brings me joy. That’s enough.

Geraldine Morel

I have always had a great appreciation of the arts as a means of human expression. For me, watercolor is a wonderful vehicle to use to express one’s love of the natural world, the beauty of everyday objects and the state of the world. The process of painting in watercolor brings me peace and I hope my paintings share that peace with others.

Emilia Moritz

Photography is a medium that is not only able to capture a moment in time, but is also able to portray a concealed emotion. My photography aims to capture a felt sense of loss, abandonment, detachment, and loneliness.

Through film photography, I have been able to take complete creative control and convey emotions through photography art. The use of a film camera and the dark room have made this a very hands-on process, allowing me to immerse myself in my craft further.

Michael Pisauro

I have been painting now for approximately six years. I started with acrylics and then moved to oils. I’ve been studying at Highland Studios in Hopewell Borough for the past four years. A majority of my work are landscapes and water scenes. I do mostly studio work however occasionally I engage in Plein Air painting in Mercer, Hunterdon and Ocean Counties.

Barbara Rilling

Color and texture are everything to my art.

The subject matter varies but is usually about nature.

I love texture and use cold wax and oil paint to achieve this effect.

My goal is for the viewer to feel happy and engaged.

Preeti Sant

I am a mixed media artist based in New Jersey. My artworks blend realistic and abstract landscapes and often weave in Indian cultural motifs as well as elements of neurography art. In my art making process, I love incorporating different mediums such as watercolors, acrylics, oils, pencils, and clay. I believe that every medium has its own character, and when thoughtfully incorporated in layers, it brings distinct depth, texture, and expression to my art.

My artistic journey began in childhood with a knack for sketching portraits. What began as a hobby gradually became a commitment to a lifelong creative pursuit.

My artworks for the AOY New Members Art Show are created using acrylic and mixed media. I usually begin with acrylic paints, inks, and markers to build the base of the painting. Then I finish with heavy body acrylics or oils to add depth, texture, and detail.

The diptych Art: Double Delight and Peaceful Monstera is designed to feel like a calm window sill scene. Each painting can stand alone, but together they create a balanced view. In Double Delight, a meditating Buddha statue sits near a glass window. Outside the window, a blooming rose bush represents growth and achievement that come from a clear and focused mind. Peaceful Monstera highlights simple everyday beauty.

Acrylic texture art: I enjoy painting peacocks and often include them or their feathers in my work, in both abstract and realistic styles. One of my favorite techniques is creating three-dimensional textured feathers using only acrylic paint. In Paradise Birds, a peacock rests on an old wooden bench beside bird-of-paradise flowers. A soft landscape in the background adds depth, and the textured feathers give the peacock a strong and elegant presence.

Many of my paintings are inspired by travel photos taken by my husband. Into and Beyond is based on a trip to Florida, where I saw a beautifully painted lifeguard tower and decided to paint the seascape in my own style. The painting shows a coastal scene where the eye moves from the shore toward the open sea. Waves roll onto the sand, swimmers and boats fill the water, and seagulls fly above. The lifeguard tower stands at the edge, guiding the viewer’s gaze toward the horizon.

Sarah Schwimmer

For thirty-six years my creativity was channeled into my work as an elementary school teacher. Now I am exploring new ways to express myself, primarily using watercolor, ink, and collage. I let the pigments and papers inspire me. Natural forms, hidden details, and layers of texture invite me to stop "following rules" and embrace the process of discovery instead.

Karen A. Smith

Newtown Borough resident Karen A. Smith creates art in a variety of media. Using her daily life to inspire her art, Karen is interested in the spaces between objects, situations and conversations and what happens in those spaces. Smith's abstract images are intuitively inspired by nature and the mark making is spontaneous. Building up layers and then breaking through them to uncover and reveal certain clues and hints to life's puzzles. Her drawings are experimental and sometimes contain gradations to add softness and to help join opposites. Karen believes that the process of creating art and the interaction/relationship with people involved in the project are as important as the completed piece of art.

Smith taught Art in the Pennswood Village/Newtown Friends Intergenerational Program. Smith has also worked as an artist and teacher in healthcare settings using art as a tool to help build community. She has also taught drawing in the foundation level programs in the College of Art and Architecture at Northeastern University and Wentworth Institute of Technology both in Boston, Massachusetts. Smith’s art is in private collections in the United States and Switzerland.

Linda Storione

Born in Philadelphia, Linda Storione is a working artist who currently resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Long Beach Island, New Jersey. In May of 2011 she earned her BFA in 2D Fine Art from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia.

She received honorable mention for the Lilly Schultz Prize on behalf of her pieces appearing in the Emerging Artists Show. Linda is a member of Artists of Yardley, Phillips Mill, and she paints with the Carriage House Artists in Southampton. Many of her works have appeared in local and juried shows.

While Linda enjoys many media, she works primarily in oil and watercolor. Many of her paintings tend to be realistic and are derived from photographs she has taken. Ultimately, color and composition are the most important aspects of her work.

Barbara Warren

Barbara Warren works in several art media. She has been a fine arts photographer for over 30 years, and has won multiple awards in local photography shows, including Phillips Mill Best of Show, Phillips Mill Best Body of Work, Voices of the Marsh Best of Show, Robert Ransley Best of Show, and Philadelphia Sketch Club Chairman’s Award.

Lindsey Errickson Wasiuta

I have been working in polymer clay for over 5 years and am just starting to exhibit polymer clay work. I also work in collage.

I seek to capture the elegance of the ordinary. Establishing a connection between one's perspective and nature.

Barbara Hurley Yetman

I have always aspired to be a storyteller. Perhaps that is what first motivated me to pursue drawing, and eventually, painting. My father was my greatest supporter, encouraging me to hone my talents by surprising me with various art supplies when he came home from work. Later, he would ask me to illustrate different themes for his company’s sales meetings. These early experiences inspired me to continue exploring the arts by squeezing a few art classes into my high school schedule. Ultimately, however, it was Norman Rockwell that became my “influencer.” Dabbling in oils, I began to reproduce his work as gifts for various friends and family members, learning quite a bit about color, composition, and expression along the way. Eventually, I began to develop my own stories with a particular emphasis on the fine details, whether in landscapes or genre paintings.

When life and work constrained my time, I drifted away from painting to electronic media as a creative outlet for storytelling. It never quite brought the same level of satisfaction, but it served a practical need. Today, with the freedom and time that is retirement, I’m returning to painting with a new interest in watercolor. I’m clearly a beginner in this medium but enjoy being a student again.

Lotus Zhang

I, Lotus Zhang, am a self-taught oil painter. I love to translate my thoughts and what I saw into art through oil paints and canvas. Nature, animals, and people all are my inspirations. Having been influenced by the traditional Chinese water ink scrolls and Japanese’s Wa-bi-sa-bi lifestyle, I like to paint my art in a simple, poetic yet rustic way. Different from the commonly seen oil paintings, I run oil paints mostly rather thin on the canvas so they appear more like water ink—this can be considered my signature painting style.

I hope my art can inspire people to discover more and diverse forms of beauty. If it can help you gain a moment of serenity in this bustling world, I will be very happy.

The show was recently highlighted in The Bucks Herald. Read the article HERE.