Artists. |
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Our artists create artworks that are fresh, thoughtful, spontaneous, and insightful using a variety of mediums ranging from paint and leather to ceramics and three-dimensional creations through repurposed, found, and donated objects.
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As an adult with autism, Ricky has been involved with the Artists First for several years. He works with charcoal, pencil, colored pencil, paint pens, watercolor and acrylic and he also has worked with ceramics. He is proficient with computer 2D and 3D graphics.
Ricky’s first painting at Artists First called “Red Headed Girl” won 2nd place in a statewide contest of paintings by adults with disabilities. The painting toured the state and was on display at the Capital Building in Jefferson City for several months. |
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Charles Baunach has enjoyed art since childhood. He has taken art classes at St. Louis University over the years and painted murals for churches in the community. Following various health set backs, Charles says that he did nothing for many years and that Artists First helped him resume creating his art. Charles enjoys the challenge of using shapes and angles to create the perception of depth and three dimensions in his painting. Charles also enjoys the challenge of repurposing unused every-day items or items found in nature, such as, transforming an old wooden baseball bat or interesting looking branch into a walking stick or transforming seashells into pieces of jewelry. Charles also enjoys photography, gardening, and making jewelry.
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Nakia Jones always has enjoyed art; however, it was not until her adult years that she began devoting her time to developing her artistic skills. A regular at the Artists First studio, Nakia always is prepared to paint, draw, make jewelry, sew and create art using new and different mediums. Nakia, who has an infectious grin, often offers helpful suggestions and advice to other artists. Her patience and thoughtfulness is reflected in each piece of her art. Always up for a challenge, Nakia says, “I like to do art because it makes me feel good. I feel proud of myself that I can do art.”
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Jimmy “Sir James Shepherd” Holmes has been making art since 1st grade. He uses art to live his life and to contemplate and philosophize upon important and sometimes controversial issues. Jimmy likes pretending and using his imagination as he creates heroes, “sheroes”, brains, toilets, feathers and other pencil, ink and watercolor art. “It’s fun pretending to be the characters I create,” Jimmy says. People who view a piece of Jimmy’s art usually are treated to a thought-provoking question or statement to ponder.
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Angela Gee has been experimenting with acrylic paints at home and at the Artists First studio for several years. Though visually impaired from a young age and lacking in formal art education, she loves combining unconventional tools/materials (such as credit cards and bubble wrap) with the simplicity of lines and circles to create complex and unusual abstract art.
Most recently she has been learning the art of acrylic pouring; taking normally "gloppy" paint from a tube and adding medium to it to make it liquid and easily manipulated by the tilting of a canvas. Acrylic pouring allows her to make paintings with lots of detail, detail that might not be possible for her to produce with a brush due to her changing visual acuity. Her inspiration comes from everywhere: furniture design, architecture, people, textiles and of course, other artists. Committed to the abstract image, she never names, only numbers her pieces. Inviting the viewer to dive in and see/feel whatever they can without the limit a name or label can sometimes create. “After all,” she says, “promoting playful discussion which foster's deeper personal connection is what art is all about.” |
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Jason Lee has been creating art since he was a very young
child. He remembers his first major piece as an eight years old - Super Man and Wonder Woman. Jason paints in many mediums from watercolor to acrylic to pastels. His vibrant colors catch your eye complete with his stylized faces. Combing part of a male head with a female head is a specialty. He also enjoys landscapes which he creates in his head and replicates on paper. |
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A recent addition to Artists First Priscilla, has taken the studio by storm. This vibrant South St. Louis city artist excels at drawing, painting, writing, and collage work. At the age of thirteen Priscilla began reading Maya Angelou, whose inspiring words encouraged her to write her own poetry. “When I write I get in a zone. It’s like a new dimension that I create but it’s just different parts of my personality. I was really depressed for about a year. I just stayed in my bedroom that entire year. Writing makes it easier for me to work through whatever problems I’m having. I hope that my poetry can help other people that might be feeling the same way that I was.”
It wasn’t long after Priscilla had begun writing poetry that drawing became a passion for her as well. “It’s almost like drawing just sort of slid in to my poetry. I just started drawing the faces of my emotions that were in my poetry.” Priscilla's goal is to enjoy a career as a writer and artist. As a Lifeworks participant, she is gaining the skills needed to do just that at Artists First. |
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Artist Steven McGee graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2014. Prior to joining our studio, he enjoyed drawing at home. Steven prefers creating original characters from his mind. “I like drawing black characters and ethnic people. I also like making Halloween characters. I like bright colors in my work.”
Aside from art, Steven enjoys playing both video games and board games. He also makes it a point to stay aware of the daily events by watching the news. “I like knowing what is happening, especially with crime. I like to know what is happening around the world.” “I like being at Artists First. I get to do lots of fun art and spend my day drawing. That’s exciting to do and makes me feel good.” |
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Priscilla has taken the studio by storm. This vibrant South St. Louis city artist excels at drawing, painting, writing, and collage work. At the age of thirteen Priscilla began reading Maya Angelou, whose inspiring words encouraged her to write her own poetry. “When I write I get in a zone. It’s like a new dimension that I create but it’s just different parts of my personality. I was really depressed for about a year. I just stayed in my bedroom that entire year. Writing makes it easier for me to work through whatever problems I’m having. I hope that my poetry can help other people that might be feeling the same way that I was.”
It wasn’t long after Priscilla had begun writing poetry that drawing became a passion for her as well. “It’s almost like drawing just sort of slid in to my poetry. I just started drawing the faces of my emotions that were in my poetry.” Priscilla's goal is to enjoy a career as a writer and artist. As a Lifeworks participant, she is gaining the skills needed to do just that at Artists First. |
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Danny has earned a reputation in the outsider art community for his unique portraits. Danny enjoys making portraits for people because “it makes them feel good.” For Danny creating art makes him “feel happy.” Danny’s sense of humor often times comes through his art.
Art, Identity and Love over Disabilities and Fear - St. Louisan: http://stlouisan.com/2016/02/art-identity-and-love-over-disabilities-and-fear/ |
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Paul was born and raised in the city of Saint Louis. Paul’s experience living in Saint Louis often influences his artwork. Paul explains that he had a “tough time coming up…living in poverty…seeing crime all around.” Despite Paul’s difficult experiences he always maintains a sunny disposition and is able to see the best in situations. Paul started off as a self-taught artist; today he has mastered a unique figurative technique. Paul receives joy through sharing his artwork with others.
Painter Paul Stanton's All About the Music - St. Louis Magazine: http://www.stlmag.com/arts/visual-arts/the-art-of-sound-artist-paul-stanton/ |
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Brandon Harris is meticulous in his art. With a photographic memory, Brandon’s forte is sketching city scenes in fine detail. Brandon enjoys drawing architectural structures particularly of cities such as New York City, Chicago and Saint Louis. Brandon uses his art in part to communicate and share his love of travel.
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“I like drawing and using watercolors at Artists First,” says Luke Allison, who has been an artist at the A1 studio since 2012. Luke’s detailed watercolor paintings and other drawings often are based on pictures he sees in books, then paints or draws with his own flair. A graduate of Parkway South High School, Luke began making art in high school and has continued. “It makes me feel calm to be here,” Luke says about making art and being at the studio.
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After exploring a variety of mediums at Artists First, David found his niche with water color paints. He uses his impressionistic style to pay homage’ to the Masters. He enjoys working with the staff to discuss his work as it develops.
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Lines, dots, shapes; colored pencils, chalk; tedious, deliberate, patterned. Julie’s unique brand of art takes time and patience, each new piece representing a work in progress that often takes months to complete. The end result might look like books on a bookshelf, a kaleidoscope of colors, or some sort of abstract of lines and/or dots going in all different directions. Most of Julie’s artwork is small in size, but chockfull of color and an invitation to imagine the possibilities. Julie’s use of color and experimentation reflect her friendly, helpful, sometimes mischievous, personality
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Dakota, an artist at Artists First, is also a high school student where he enjoys art classes and physical education. His favorite art to work on is drawing his own characters and using pens, markers, and acrylic paints. In his own time, he enjoys turning his everyday objects like his bike, helmet, and guitar into art. He also enjoys listening to music, especially punk music like Green Day. He also enjoys writing his own ballads to express his feelings.
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Jasmine Raskas adds bright colors, a sense of hope and resiliency to the Artists First studio – a nonprofit studio serving adults with disabilities, youth and Veterans. Her goal of her art “is to make you smile and then smirk.” She invites you to “take a moment to wonder why. Remember how tiny we are compared to the stars, and yet how big can be a sing heart. Feel that we are all in this together and believe that every moment is as beautiful as you make it.” Jasmine reminds us that in each of us in an innate sense of resiliency as she shares, “after losing regular function in my hands, I have finally stopped fighting the loss of control and started to take further steps away from realism. I am just beginning the journey to discover the limitlessness of nature of these limitations.”
https://www.stljewishlight.com/news/local/climbing-out-of-chronic-pain-artist-with-rare-genetic-condition/article_389d5280-0544-11e9-81ff-5f563313cbed.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share |
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Jeff began creating art at Artists First with two notions. As he explains, “First, I enjoy the arts. Second, I thought it would be therapeutic and it has been.” As for his artistic style Jeff tries “not to define” himself “to any single confirmed style.” Jeff does however incorporate “Warholism, psychedelic and expressionism.”
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Dave began developing his artistic talent at age 55. He came to art-making to rehabilitate his fine motor skills after suffering a brain injury. Dave’s artwork has evolved into an intricate and detailed style. His art is drenched in color and shows an passionate interest in pattern and contour. Dave uses art to “express” himself and to “communicate.” Art is also a reminder for Dave of what he has lost and gained.
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Alehra Evans is a multi media artist. She enjoys creating art through painting, drawing, crochet, knitting, and quilting. She says,“Artists First helped in bringing out hidden art that I never knew I could do.” Alehra hopes to encourage others through her art with the message that “if I can do it, they sure can too.” She believes that “everybody and everything is art”.
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Lindsay Haupert has always been a creative person. When she was about five, she started creating paper art in the form of life-sized paper people. To this day, she still creates amazing 3D art.
After exploring many different media types, Lindsay still cannot decide on a favorite. “Sometimes things just inspire me. When I see a story in the news or a really beautiful thing, I just have to put it into my art.” “I think Artists First is a great opportunity for me to move forward in the art industry.” |
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The words leather and Billy Drope go together like canvas and paintbrush. From the tink, tink, tink of his beveling tool to the bam, bam, bam of his rubber hammer, Billy always has a work in progress.
Billy is quick to describe his ever-changing ideas and plans for his next leather project, to show his work, and to offer his expertise to teens and adults at Artists First. Billy has won several ribbons for his leatherwork, which includes pictures, belts, coasters, bracelets, a purse, a wine bottle holder, a lamp and a footstool. |
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Shelly has been creating arts for the past 7 years. Shelly has experimented with a variety of mediums such as paint markers, acrylic paints and colored pencils. Shelly has been a part of the Artists First family for 3 years which has enabled her to further her artistic talent while inspiring other artists. Art for Shelly is both “relaxing” and a “socialization activity”.
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Pastels and paint are Chaquetta “Cha Cha” Nichols’ favorite artistic mediums. Cha Cha never shy’s away from a challenge. She has explored many different mediums in her times as an A1 artist, including: crocheting, sewing and, drawing human bodies, creating with chalk, cartooning, beading and jewelry-making to name a few.
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Jim is a self-described eclectic, extremely variable, look-at-me type of artist and person. “I usually either do a watercolor collage or else work in pencil and charcoal.” Art is therapeutic for Jim, because it gets him into the art and away from his problems. “When I am doing art, I lose myself in it and when I’m really at my best, I lose track of time, I spend hours on it." Jim has been creating art ever since he was a child and likens himself to Picasso because he got in trouble for doing art instead of schoolwork. Although Jim looks for beautiful faces and other beautiful things to paint or draw, he wasn’t always so upbeat. “I used to draw monsters when I was a child. I don’t know. Maybe I was predicting my loneliness I feel during my whole adulthood. Just my illness made me feel like a monster.” Jim also writes poetry and he dreams of making a living at art or maybe poetry. “I paint what I like to see,” he adds. “I look for things I’m good at that I can put in to the art.”
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August 5, 1954 - April 30, 2017
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