Visual Art by Mario Loprete

Artist Statement:

“My work focuses on research and documentation of the world of hip hop. This philosophy of life now is no longer relegated to just u.s.a. boundaries, but rather it can be found at any latitude.

I use as a support of my new works the concrete, as I find it is the link between my project and hip hop. concrete as the Internet has cleared all geographical boundaries, it's a material created by the ancient Romans, but today it's modernity and contemporarity indicator.”

Photography by Jim Zola

Jim Zola is a poet and photographer living in North Carolina.

Art Gallery Paintings by Derek McCrea

My first experience with art was in 1982 attending weekly art classes at night with my mother that continued throughout the 1980s with established instructors such as Jimmy Peterson. As a family we participated in several art exhibits and events in Georgia during the summer each year. In 1987 I joined the U.S. Army and served for 24 years in locations across the Continental United States and Europe. During my military tours I was inspired by the vast differences in landscape and nature throughout the world and felt compelled to capture that emotion in art. I continued self-study, painted mostly in plein air with oils, and remained active in art galleries and the scene wherever I served as a Soldier. 

Artwork by Ann Christine Tabaka

Ann Christine Tabaka was born and lives in Delaware.  She is a published poet, an artist, a chemist, and a personal trainer.  She loves gardening, cooking, and the ocean.  Chris lives with her husband and two cats.  Her poems have been published in numerous national and international poetry journals, reviews, and anthologies. Chris has been selected as the resident Haiku poet for Stanzaic Stylings.

Visit her author page: https://www.amazon.com/Ann-Christine-Tabaka/e/B06XF2PWSK

Visual Art by Gretchen Ford

Gretchen Ford is a Los Angeles based artist. She paints public space murals as well as smaller works.   Website: www.gretchensportraits.com, Instagram: harlequinjester99, 2protectandserve, dtlafaces.

Photography by Amy Nemecek

Amy Nemecek lives in northern Michigan with her husband, son, and two cats. Her poetry and prose have appeared in The Windhover,Topology, The 3288 Review, Mothers Always Write, Foliate Oak, and Indiana Voice Journal. When Amy isn’t working with words, she enjoys taking long walks along country roads and watching baseball. She shares her thoughts on writing and life at www.beloveddelight.wordpress.com.

A Poem and Artwork by Cecilia Soprano: "I AM"

Cecilia is a published poet from Kanonah, N.Y. She writes stories; and has also published 3 small books. The science and observation of the wild, and natural environment are her subjects and inspiration. She also has endless fascination with the human psyche in all its complexities of expression.

Photography Feature: Cydney Clouse, David J.Thompson, and Fabrice Poussin

Visual Art by Carlos Franco-Ruiz

Carlos Franco-Ruiz (°1987, Managua, Nicaragua) is an artist who mainly works with painting. In 1988, as the civil war was winding down his parents immigrated to Miami, FL.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Miami in 2011. In 2013, he moved to Uruguay and continues to follow his passion for painting where he recently had a group exhibition "La Mirada del otro" at Museo de las Migraciones to showcase his latest body of work. Currently lives and works in Sauce, Uruguay.

Two CNF/Essays and Featured Visual Art by Toni Cogdell

Toni Cogdell lives and works in Bristol, UK, from her woodland studio. Exhibiting her paintings across the UK for many years, she has honed her process and technique to give voice to her expression, a personal style seeking to connect with the world around her. She loves to write as part of her expression and her written pieces like to exist nearby her paintings, gently trailing from their coat-tails.

In walking the space between figuration and abstraction Toni finds a freedom which allows her to go deeper into the intangible substance of the psyche and human condition without restricting or enforcing definitive ideas. Pulling recognisable truths into the work while giving reign to the unknown and ensuing contradiction to hold its own space, her paintings are looking for a balance, a kind of peace. In every journey travelled there is darkness as well as light, with more questions than answers. And these are the places Toni looks to find beauty.

www.toni-art.co.uk

CNF/Essay/Visual Art by Eric Hill: "A Matter of Time"

Telling a story is my priority no matter what the Medium or Style … A Seduction of Color, Composition, Light/ Shadow revealing a sensation of being.

I draw images from the unconscious by spontaneous action over a ‘Section de Or’ grid, then apply Elements of Abstract, Cubism, Symbolism, Expressionism, to heighten the sensation / meaning. I want to leave the Viewer with an insight into the Interior Worlds, like an inward looking Mirror.

Visual Art by Charlene M. Brown

CHARLENE M BROWN FINE ART

Original Drawings & Oil Paintings

“I’m an artist because I’m greedy for life; I want to capture and preserve the significant moments that move me. When I draw or paint, I like to work from what I see. My desire is to discover and share the essence of what it is about a person, place, or thing that arrests my attention. It’s a great mystery how to do this using mere pigment on a flat surface.” 

Essay and Visual Art by Ayesha Adam: "Waiting for Mandela"

Ayesha Adam is a South African visual artist. Her paintings and her text reflect the deep love she has for her country. Many of her pieces are inspired by the socio political condition in South Africa during the 80's and the 90's.You can see more of her work here:
Ayesha Adam/South African Visual Artist

A Poem by Bilkis Moola and Artwork by Shameeg van Schalkwyk

Bilkis Moola is an Educator who works as a Head of Department in Languages at a school in Vukuzakhe, a township located in Volksrust, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.  Her first published anthology, “Wounds and Wings:  A Lyrical Salve Through Metaphor” was received throughout South Africa and launched her poetic persona.  It evolved as an introspective quest for recovery from her personal narrative of an abusive marriage.  She presently divides her time between professional responsibilities and  postgraduate studies in Education.  Her pen continues to sketch the flotsam in her mind from the passion in her heart on shreds of paper that bloom into poems.

   Visual artist- Shameeg van Schalkwyk

Visual Art by Darrell Urban Black

Darrell Urban Black I was born in Brooklyn, New York, I grew up in Far Rockaway, New York. In high school, I excelled in science with an affinity for outer space. In June 1969, as America fulfilled J. F. Kennedy's dream to put the American Stars and Stripes into the dusty surface of the moon My fascination with spaceships grew. As a child I made spaceship models eventually placing my artistic visions on paper resulting in some 500 drawings. Phantasmal spaceships eventually carried me to unique wonderland of strange forms and colors.

Visual Art by Junior McLean

Junior McLean is Bronx native, for a time lived in Anderson, Indiana and back, current freelance digital artist and graphic designer since 1996 and a digital cover “2D/3D” artist for Gaming, Fantasy, Sci-Fi; and fractals which have been used for public exhibitions and more.

Currently, he multi-tasks, runs a small freelance business, sells art online, and is just looking to get himself out there for the world to see.

Visual Art/Photography by Featured Artist Bert Happel

Dr. Albert (Bert) Happel has been an optometrist in Madison County for the past 33 years.  During that time his primary hobby has been photography.  He is currently serving his second term as President of the Killbuck Photo Guild of Madison County.

I describe myself as an "Advanced Amateur" photographer.  My style is often Photodocumentary but I am drawn to capturing details and images with strong graphical elements.

More of my photos can be seen at the Killbuck Photo Guild gallery at: http://killbuckphoto.com/

Visual Art by David Cunningham

 David Cunningham's compelling realistic paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States. In his meticulously crafted oil paintings, he combines traditional 15th century Dutch technique with contemporary ideas about space and composition.  Through preliminary drawings, value based underpainting, and multiple thin layers of colors, David creates paintings that celebrate three-dimensional illusion. 

 Professor Cunningham’s current body of work focuses on the beautiful color relationships and amazing juxtaposition of shapes and textures found in stones.   The paintings reveal the power, hardness, and permanence of its subject matter creating subtle narratives that resonate with something deep, primitive, and spiritual in all of us. Over the last three years, these paintings have received high praise being exhibited in over a dozen juried and invitational exhibits. Recently, he received best of show in Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s Contemporary Realism Biennial and in the Swope Museum’s Wabash Valley exhibit.

Visual Art/Photography by Steph Kay

Steph is, and she states this boldly, a Hoosier at heart. Raised in the west side, attended college in the north, and now living in the tip of Broad Ripple, she's caught the bug of being a Midwesterner. Well, she was born in Ohio, but we can ignore that.

Visual Art by Portrait Artist Gretchen Ford

Gretchen Ford is a Los Angeles based portrait artist. She uses a variety of techniques/mediums to create her paintings and artwork. Spray Paint, Graphite, Color, Landscapes, Animals...you can see more of Gretchen's art here:  http://www.gretchensportraits.com/