Karen Budan

I have had a lifelong desire to express myself through art beginning with paint by number kits at a very early age which quickly moved outside the lines established by others to create my own compositions. Although circumstances led me to pursue a very successful first career in education, I always held alive my art interest through classes and workshops. These opportunities were treats to be savored. After retiring, my husband and I relocated to Scottsdale, AZ. A major decision point for choosing Scottsdale was the art opportunities available of which I have taken full advantage resulting in my growth as an artist. As an artist I am inspired to paint everyday objects in an "up close and personal" approach. I seek to provide a perspective in my paintings which invites viewers to see beauty in the everyday objects which surround us. When I am setting up a painting composition, I am seeking to capture the play of light upon the objects which will allow me to employ the colors, shapes and textures of the objects as tools to transform from "everyday" to "eye-catching" in the eyes of the beholder. Considering my painting approach, it was a natural for me to settle on soft pastels as my medium of choice. What better medium to express light, color, shape and texture than the pure pigment crystals found in soft pastels? Painting with soft pastels is a very "up close and personal" experience for me as an artist as my fingers are primary tools as I apply and maneuver rich, vibrant color to capture the beauty in everyday objects.

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Gayla Doucet

Gayla is a dedicated artist, working from her home studio in Scottsdale. She began creating art prolifically early in her life. Then, after achieving a BA in Humanities and Arts, she took a 180 degree turn and moved into the corporate world for the next several years. In retrospect, it all laid the groundwork for her happy reentry into the world of art and the establishment of her art business. Gayla’s work has been juried into BRIO art shows. Her fabric art can be seen at juried shows such as the Tempe Festival of Arts. BRIO has greatly accelerated Gayla’s artistic talent and she now counts acrylic, pastel, and charcoal drawing as her favored mediums. A certified life coach, Gayla weaves these skills into the art courses she delivers for new artists who are exploring their own world of artistic expression.

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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 (and is a current signature member) of the Phoenix, AZ Chapter 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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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. She has received many league and guild awards including Award of Excellence (AWA, AAG) and Merchant Award (AWA).

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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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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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Red Rohall

Red Rohall, the painter of Roadside Americana, received his fine arts education from Rochester Institute of technology, Rochester, New York and has been a professional artist and arts educator since 1979. He paints detailed realistic oil paintings of the interiors and exteriors of vanishing roadside attractions such as old time diners, vintage motels, ice cream stands, and the 'Main Streets' of small towns. Red's award-winning paintings are represented by G.C. Lucas Gallery, Indianapolis, and Kevin Butler Gallery, Martha's Vinyard. He maintains a studio in central Phoenix. Artist Statement: I travel the back roads of America looking for the unique and unusual. Diners, soda fountains, route 66 attractions, and vintage buildings of all types...these are the subjects of my oil paintings. I paint in thin glaze layers; using the same methods and techniques as the 'Old Masters'. The typical painting is composed of about a billion layers of paint, each about one atom thick. A painting frequently takes many months to complete. The finished paintings glow with a soft and special inner light. All my paintings are of real places with real stories to tell!!

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Diane Sanborn

Diane Sanborn, Owner/Director of BRIO received her MA in Fine Arts in 1980 from Governors State University, Park Forest, IL. She completed her BS Art Ed., Illinois State University, Normal, IL and in an Associate’s degree in University Transfer Studies, Triton College, River Grove, IL. Her professional experience includes: Adjunct Instructor of Drawing, Painting and Art History Maricopa Comm. Colleges Phoenix, AZ, Adjunct Instructor of Art, Triton Community College. Juror, Herberger Gallery. She was chosen as artist-in-residence at Ox-Bow Summer Art Exhibit School of the Art Institute, Saugatuck, MI. Diane was also nominated for the AZ Governors Arts Award in 2008 for “Best in Arts Education”. Her work has been juried and purchased in many exhibits including: Herberger Gallery, Painted Desert, City of Phoenix, Annual, Glendale Arts Councils, and Midwestern University. Some series titles include “The Home” Shemer Art Center, From the Ground Up, Songscapes, and Fables. She has had several solo exhibits. She was an invitational finalist at the Coutts Memorial Museum, El Dorado, KS. Diane was recently nominated for the Phoenix Athena Award.

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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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