Yvonne Allen

Yvonne Allen is a professional mosaic artist specializing in decorative and architectural mosaic art for commercial and residential applications. Her projects include the design, fabrication, and installation of large scale mosaic projects such as the Children's Garden patio and fountain at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and private garden and fine art commissions. With 10 years experience creating tile and glass mosaics, she is also a clay artist and tile maker. Using nature, geometric design, color and texture as her inspiration, she creates abstract and representational mosaic art tiles for use in her work. As a mosaic instructor, she focuses on developing student technique, and the use of interesting design and color combinations. Yvonne creates mosaic art in her Scottsdale, Arizona studio and supports her passion for mosaics by serving on the Board of Trustees for the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA).

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Aleksandra Buha

Aleksandra is a fine artist with a BFA in Painting from Arizona State University and an AAS in Fashion Design from Phoenix College . Her mural projects include Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center Playground murals, Paradise Valley Community College 'Justice' mural and Echo Canyon Elementary School in Phoenix playground mural. At Paradise Valley Community College she teaches various art classes in the Continuing Education Division. Her work has been exhibited in both solo and group shows . She works in oil, acrylic, and watercolor. Color inspires her the most. View her work at:www.artbyaleksandrabuha.blogspot.com

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Crystal Daigle

Crystal Daigle studied at the Philadelphia College of Art. In 2009 she was featured in the Arcadian Journal in an article entitled: “Crystal Daigle, Painter of Bliss”. A painter and instructor for over 25 years, her work has been exhibited in many states and is owned by selected private and corporate collectors. You can view her current gallery at: www.strongartist.com

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Suzette DeBoard

Suzette’s diverse cultural background allows her to connect with a wide range of students. Raised in a small farming community to a German Mennonite father and Native American mother, painting and drawing were an outlet from an early age. After completing high school in Moundridge, Kansas, Suzette left her home to pursue her education at Kent State University in Ohio. There, Suzette obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in art education. During her tenure as an art teacher in Ohio, Suzette taught a comprehensive art curriculum working creatively with various visual media and challenging her students to think about art culturally, historically, critically and aesthetically.

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Michael Dicken

Michael Dicken holds an MFA in Printmaking from ASU and MA, in Printmaking & BS in Art Education from Emporia State University. His teaching experience includes ASU and Phoenix College. He currently creates work in papermaking and casting and holds 1-2 shows per year producing sales to over nine public collections and many private collectors.

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Elliott Everson

Elliott Everson is an artist that has been living in Arizona most of his life. He derives much of his inspiration from the desert around us and uses colored pencil and painting to capture the textures and brilliance of the plants and animals. Each drawing consists of layer upon layer of color, to bring out the many subtle hues that nature itself provides. Elliott graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors degree in Art Education. Since then, he has won local and national awards for his colored pencil work. His skills include fine art drawing, painting and murals in graphite pencil, color pencil, oil and acrylic paint. His cartoons and illustrations have been published in numerous books and brochures including illustrations used in advertising and fund raising for non-profit corporations. Many of his commissioned works are held in private collections. He was the President of the Colored Pencil Society of America and has taught in the Valley for many years.

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Susan Falcon-Hargraves

Susan Falcon-Hargraves studied briefly at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from Prescott College in Arizona. In one previous incarnation she danced professionally, both in New York and Los Angeles; in another she worked as an actress in LA, winning a few small film roles and theater awards before moving to the peaceful Sonoran desert foothills outside of Phoenix. She teaches at the Brio Fine Arts Center in North Scottsdale.

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Dyanne Fiorucci

Dyanne Fiorucci was born in Cleveland, Ohio but arriving in Phoenix at eight months of age has always considered herself a native Phoenician. She had no formal training in the arts but over the past 15 years has taken numerous classes ranging from art history to life drawing and painting at local colleges and she was a Psychology major at Phoenix College. With the encouragement of her favorite instructor, Diane Sanborn at Paradise Valley Community College, she followed Diane to BRIO seven years ago. Oils are her medium of choice but she also enjoys working with acrylics and pastels. For the past 2 ½ years, Dyanne has been working at a daycare facility in north Phoenix. She enjoys working with children as their minds are like sponges. They are always enthusiastic about learning and rarely afraid to challenge themselves. Ms. Fiorucci is a juried member of both Arizona Art Alliance and Sonoran Art League. In 2009, she became an active member in the Arizona Artists Guild .

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Chuck Holley

Chuck Holley has worked in photography his entire adult life, both as a photographer and in the retail field. He is also a graphics arts technician. Chuck has studied at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, N.Y. as well as at Pentax in Denver. His love of photography led him to teaching at a Midwest college for 14 years, then later at Scottsdale Community College. His belief is that photography should be fun and his objective is to turn "snapshots" into "photographs of distinction".

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Kathleen Hope

Kathleen Hope has experience as an instructor, decorative painter, color consultant and artist for many years. She was a Rauschenberg finalist in 2009 and has had her work published in a variety of papers in Minneapolis. She received her diploma in Color Psychology in 2005. Visit her website: www.kathleenhope.com

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Kathy Hunter

Kathy Hunter, originally a pottery artist from Florida, is a Precious Metal Clay Instructor and former owner of THE LOFT Art Studios and Gallery in downtown Scottsdale. She has a dual instructor's certification from Rio Grande and PMC Connection, and enjoys teaching and inspiring students to create fine works of wearable art jewelry. She is an award-winning ceramicist as well as an award winning jewelry artist. Visit her website: www.huntressexpressions.com

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Yvonne Joyner

Yvonne Joyner has a degree in Fine Arts from Indiana University, and was a professional potter and a certified elementary and secondary art teacher prior to her career in watercolor. Her paintings have won awards and been shown in galleries in Scottsdale, AZ, Durango, CO and Sedona, AZ, where she has been featured in one-woman shows and exhibitions. Being a long time resident of Scottsdale, AZ, and an avid hiker, she is continually inspired by the blooming desert. Most recently, however, her work has focused on commissioned portraits. “Watercolor is fresh and spontaneous, and is perfect for capturing a ‘moment in time’ in an individual’s life. It is an honor to paint people’s children, parents, pets, vacation memories ... you feel the love.” She is a juried member of the Arizona Watercolor Association, the Arizona Artists Guild and the Arizona Art Alliance.

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Liz Kenyon

Soft edges and brilliant colors are why I paint with soft pastels. My earlier work in commercial illustration, including fifteen years as a book cover artist, taught me how to convey a theme to the viewer. Now my work is more personal and evokes a snapshot of familiar places and subjects. I consistently look for a strong edge of light hitting the surface and a 'well/thought out' composition that keeps your eye in the picture. In my eight years of working in pastel, I have received over 30 awards from juried shows; I have had seven one woman shows and presented workshops on the use of pastels; I am a Signature Member of the Pastel Society; and my work is highlighted in two Northlight Books, Pure Color; the Best of Pastel '06 and Finding Your Visual Voice '07. Born in California, I am from a small rural town called Watsonville. In the sixties I moved to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona. Although it wasn't famous for it's art curriculum, ali I needed was the encouragement of a couple of instructors to start me on my path. I began my career as a freelance illustrator creating ads for head shops off campus. In the years following school I did everything; design studios, owning my own advertising agency, my own publishing firm and my own illustration business. Among my national clients were Post Cereals, Disney Studios, and Motorola. Since the 1990's I have illustrated book covers for Harper Collins in New York, and when I wasn't working on assignments I learned to paint with soft pastels. I now consider myself exclusively a fine art pastelist. I live full time in Phoenix. I welcome commissions and I'm available for teaching workshops. www.lizkenyon.com

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Karen Leeds

Karen Leeds is a painter, focusing primarily on vivid abstract imagery to convey complex emotions and feelings. Her mediums include acrylic, oil pastel, and dyes on silk. In her own words: “I use painting to explore and express; it’s where I lose myself and find my way.” Karen is a juried member of the Sonoran Arts League and the (international) Oil Pastel Society. The Phoenix Sheraton includes one of Karen’s silks as part of their prestigious permanent collection. In 2008, Karen’s work was on display in Kansas City as part of a citywide celebration and recognition of Contemporary Women in the Arts. The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art featured Karen’s studio as part of their 2006 Working Artist’s Studio Tour. Karen has received many honors, been part of numerous exhibitions, and has patrons throughout the United States and Canada. Her “Art, Courage & Creativity” workshops have attracted hundreds of participants, and her passion for how the expressive arts, neuropsychology, spirituality and social awareness interrelate continue to drive extensive personal research in these dynamic fields of study.

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Betty Leonelli

Betty Leonelli has a B.B.A. from Armstrong University in California. Although she has worked in the field of Ophthalmology for 14 years, she has taken water color classes and oil painting classes for many years. She has been an instructor at the Via Linda Senior Center and The Jewish Community Center. She is a past member of the Scottsdale Artist Association and has displayed her paintings at ASU Gammage and through out the Valley. Betty enjoys her students and likes sharing what she has learned with others, so that they may find their inner self and creativity. In Art Class, she feels one can learn to appreciate art, be creative, socialize, learn from others, and make one self go beyond their limits. Learning to see what is around us is the best gift we can give to our self. Painting is a "Joy". Let's get started!

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Bill Lundquist

Bill Lundquist graduated with a degree in fine art from Arizona State University and participated in workshops with such nationally known artists as Don Ruffin, Mary Beth McKenzie, James Boren, Eric Weigert, Burton Silverman and Sherrie McGraw. He also teaches at the Scottsdale Artists' School, the Scottsdale Via Linda Senior Center, and in his studio. His artwork is in a number of private and public collections worldwide, including the Wells Fargo Bank, Giant Industries, and Kansas State University (in Manhattan, Kansas). For more information, visit his website at www.billundquistart.com

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Matt Mays

Matt Mays was born in Sydney, Australia and grew up on a tobacco farm in Appomattox, Va. He received a BFA in Illinois and has studied at The Art Students League in NYC. He worked for many years as a studio assistant to a pupil of artist Hans Hofmann. His work is owned by all types of folks, including legend Willie Nelson,West Coast Choppers Jesse James, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Google. He is 2007's recipient of the Professional Development Grant from the Arizona Commission of the Arts. He lives, works and plays in Old Town Scottsdale,AZ.

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Marg Nelssen

Marg is a certified teacher and K-12 Visual Arts Instructor and holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Post Baccalaureate from Rio Salado in education. She taught art for the Cave Creek Unified School District at he Elementary and Secondary levels, and is now a full time professional artist working in Mosaics, Oils, Mixed Media, Wire and Assemblage. Marg’s artwork often reflects the joy she finds and shares at ‘Redbird Ranch’ with her son and daughter, four mules, one horse, and 4 busy dogs. These companions often become subjects for drawings and paintings, and the baling wire from hay is recycled to create mixed media folk art with an Arizona twist. Marg enjoys sharing her passion for art with all ages through private instruction in mosaics, assemblage, drawing and painting, and has also taught Club BRIO for children and BRIO mosaic workshops for adults. Marg is represented by Adelante Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ), Mas y Mas Gallery (Tubac, AZ), and Will Wyatt’s (Overland Park, KS). Students and patrons are welcomed to view her art works and contact Marg at margart@earthlink.net, margnelssen.com and additional artworks may be viewed at BRIO Fine Arts and BRIO’s Web gallery page: http://gallery.briofinearts.com/ArtistBio.aspx?artist=8

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Darshana Patel

Darshana Patel was born in India and received her Associate in Visual Arts with Dean’s Honor from Westchester Community College and got her Masters in Art Education at New York University. She also was a docent at Rubin Museum of Art in New York City and taught Henna workshops in New York and Connecticut. Darshana now lives in Scottsdale, where she is a mixed media artist and teaches acrylic painting, book binding, ceramics, collage, drawing, encaustic, henna, jewelry, mosaic, oil painting, pottery, printmaking, sculpting and water color painting.

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Julia Patterson

Julia Patterson, owner of Write/Design, Inc, is an artist and graphic designer. She has developed web and print materials for numerous artists and art groups around the valley. She is also an award-winning pastel artist. Visit her websites: www.juliapattersonart.com and www.writedesignaz.com.

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Dick Phillips

Dick Phillips is a full-time professional artist with over 38 years teaching experience. His work has received major awards in numerous national and regional juried shows. He has had 46 solo exhibitions. Publications include The Best of Watercolor 2, Rockport Publishers; The Artist’s Muse, Painting From The Inside Out and Freshen Your Paintings with New Ideas, Northlight; Faces of Arizona, Art Renaissance Foundation; “International Artist Magazine,” October-November 1998 issue and August-September 2003; “Watercolor Magic,” April 2004 and October 2006 issues. Dick studied watercolor with noted California artists Robert E. Wood and Milford Zornes. He is a juried member of the Arizona Watercolor Association, a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West and the Southwest Watercolor Society. His work was recently included in the Arts in Embassy’s Program sponsored by the United States Department of State. He is listed in “Who’s Who In American Art.” He is represented by Duley-Jones Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ), Raku Gallery (Jerome, AZ) and Courtyard Gallery (New Buffalo, MI).

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Fiona Purdy

After Fiona spent 11 years as an Art Director, she gained much experience and first-hand knowledge of how websites work, the importance of good website design and the principals in marketing and promoting it. As Art Director she was also responsible for all facets of traditional marketing and promotion of the company. As a fine artist she draws on the knowledge she gained in the corporate world and applies it to her art business. Fiona paints original animal art and portraits. She specializes in equine subjects. “ I know just how important the Internet is to my art career. It is a fact of life these days that artists who ignore the tools & technology of the World Wide Web do so at their own peril. The Internet is a major part of my marketing strategy and a key way to sell my work both here in the US, and overseas as well. Every artist today must have an on line presence, at the very least their own website.” Fiona also assists other artist with a wide range of art administrative and promotional tasks that they may not have the time or inclination to perform. “As an artist myself, I have the knowledge of what has to be done in the real world to market artwork. I can advise and help artists do these things for their business”. At BRIO Fiona’s role is to assist artists to create and maintain their BRIO on-line member gallery.

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Diane Sanborn

Diane Sanborn received her MA in Fine Arts in 1980 from Governors State University, Park Forest, IL. In 1972, she completed her BS Art Ed., Illinois State University, Normal, IL and in 1970, an Associates degree in University Transfer Studies, Triton College, River Grove, IL. Her professional experience includes: 2003 – present, Owner and Director of BRIO Fine Arts Center, Scottsdale, AZ, 1998 -2003, Adjunct Instructor of Drawing, Painting and Art History Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix, AZ and 1972 - 1988- Adjunct Instructor of Art, Triton Community College. Her work has been included in many exhibits including EXHIBITIONS 2006 Gallery 57, Highwood, IL 2006 Ox-Bow Summer Art Exhibit School of the Art Institute, Saugatuck, MI 2006 Painted Desert, City of Phoenix 2006 47th Annual, Glendale Arts Council, Glendale, AZ Purchase Award 2005 BRIO Fine Arts Center, Scottsdale, AZ From the Ground Up Series 2004 “The Home” Shemer Art Center, Phoenix, AZ 2003-4 Salon Exhibit, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ 2002 One-Woman Exhibit, McDowell Center, Scottsdale, AZ 2002 Faculty Show Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix, AZ 2001 Invitational Finalist Coutts Memorial Museum, El Dorado. KS 1982 The Washington Street Mercantile and Coffee House, Oregon, IL 1980 Governors State University, Graduate Exhibition of Work, Park Forest, IL 1981 Triton College, One-Woman Show, River Grove, IL 1979 Grand Detour Fine Arts Show, Dixon, IL 1974 Invitational Opening of Triton Fine Art Gallery, River Grove, IL Diane’s gallery page on www.caconline.org

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Ernie Shapiro

Ernie Shapiro attended the Chicago Art Institute and the American Academy of Art. His career covered over 45 years as an award-winning Art Director for ad agencies and corporations in Chicago and New York. He was also a creative marketing strategist in his own agency in Chicago. He has been an art instructor throughout the Valley for the past 14 years teaching Drawing Fundamentals, Life Drawing and Painting Workshops in Oil & Acrylics.

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Judith Spitz

Judith Spitz likes to capture the human spirit and inner essence of her subjects using traditional oil and pastel techniques. She began her art career at the Parsons School of Art & Design in NY and studied with such notable teachers as Gregory Pearce, David Leffel, Daniel Gerhartz and John Burton. Throughout her career she has won many awards at the Arizona Artists Guild, the Glendale Commission on the Arts and various other public competitions. In 2003 she received an honorable mention from the Pastel Journal and in 2009 became the Grand Canyon Association Purchase Prize Award Winner for her oil painting, "Majesty" that was created from pictures she took at the Grand Canyon. Her piece will be on permanent display at the Grand Canyon after touring the country this Fall. Her work can be seen at her website (www.judithspitz.com) and on the BRIO Member's Gallery site

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Olivia Timmons

Olivia Timmons is a printmaker living and working in Phoenix, Arizona. She received her Master of Fine Arts candidate in the printmaking department of Arizona State University’s Herberger College of Fine Art. Timmons began her exploration of the printmaking medium at the California College of the Arts in Oakland and San Francisco, where she received her BFA in 2002. Her current body of work deals with social, political, and physical issues concerning our planet today. She uses creatures of light in contrast with the deep and murky oceanic atmosphere as a metaphor to one of the most prominent concerns of humanity, the sustainability of our planet.

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Kurt von Behrmann

Kurt Joachim von Behrmann was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1962 to a German Father and an American Mother. From that time to the present he has literally followed in his father’s footsteps as an Artist, Professor and Writer. The tradition of creating art and music was always a strong one on both sides of his family. Von Behrmann has maintained that family interest in the fine arts through teaching it, creating it and ultimately criticizing it. Like many visual artists, von Behrmann started out with small scale drawings as a child. That interest in communicating visually remained consistent long after childhood. This interest in the arts translated into a B.F.A in Painting with honors from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and then an M.F.A. in Art from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills Michigan. After the degrees were earned, he followed a path that moved him to North Carolina, Kentucky and Arkansas as positions became available in the arts. During those moves he continued to write art reviews for such publications as “The New Art Examiner,” based in Chicago, “Art Papers,” based in Atlanta, Georgia and “The Little Rock Free Press, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Assorted reviews, poems and short stories were written and published during that time as well. Moving alongside the interest in Art Commentary, von Behrmann continued to paint, draw and create multimedia constructions. The works composed during his appointment as a Professor of Visual Art at Morehead State University became the corner stone for his first solo show in New York City at the Cinque Gallery. . His work has earned a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, A Kentucky Arts Council Award for contributions to the Visual Arts in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, A Faculty Grant from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a Black Scholars Grant from Penn State University and the Phoenix Neighborhood Association Award for Artistic Excellence in the Phoenix Hill section of the City of Louisville Kentucky. Several moves and shows later, he now resides in the city of Phoenix, Arizona and continues to create new work.

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Dennis Weber

I am an artist of varied backgrounds. I studied the field of visual arts and worked at various department stores in visual display. The field of display introduced me in the use of 3-D elements to create visual art. I eventually created my own business called D.W. Designs where I worked with malls, convention centers and businesses to create custom displays including Christmas and promotional presentations. I developed my sculpting ability while working in my business. I became a full-time art sculptor in 2003 and worked in paper clay since 2006. I was president of Fountain Hills Art League from 2006-08 and I am presently teaching workshops and classes throughout the valley. My work is currently being shown at the Fountain Hills Artists Gallery and my website is: www.dwdesigns.com

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Joseph Wolves Kill

Joseph Wolves Kill has studied the work of many artists in order to create his own powerful visual reflections of both personal struggle and success in life. His bold vibrant paintings uncover hidden boundaries between beauty and distrubance. While the main body of Joseph's work is oil on canvas, he has explored other mediums with equal success such as acrylics, watercolor, gouache and pastels. His passion for the arts not only has taken him into the classroom as an art instructor, but as a mentor, inspiring up and coming artists of the future. He has taught for a number of years in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Joseph is active in both Native and non-native communities and his award-winning work has been shown throughout the U.S. as well as in Europe and Japan.

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