For Bay Area painter Ali Hall, the California coastline is both subject and sanctuary. Working in atmospheric abstract realism, she transforms ocean horizons and shifting skies into softened, immersive memories shaped by light and emotion. What began as a personal return to painting during a period of recovery has evolved into a deeply intentional practice centered on restoration, reflection, and connection. In this conversation, Hall shares how acrylic layering, intuitive mark-making, and creative wellness workshops all stem from a desire to create moments of stillness in a fast-moving world.

Under vast prairie skies and shimmering northern lights, Nicki Ault finds her deepest sense of belonging. Based in Saskatoon, the contemporary Canadian painter creates luminous landscapes that act as visual love letters to the Earth. Guided by intuition, memory, and a profound emotional connection to the natural world, Ault translates late afternoon light, boreal forests, and endless grasslands into paintings filled with warmth and humanity. In this heartfelt conversation, she reflects on discovering her identity as a Highly Sensitive Person, embracing spontaneity in the studio, and reaching major milestones that affirmed her path as a full-time artist.

Dallas-based artist Anese Cho on her Lighthouse series, why light is her primary material, and how childhood shaped a practice built around refuge and safety.

In her bold digital compositions, Kuan-Hsuan Lu transforms flowers, hands, and glass containers into a visual language about growth, protection, and the courage to break through. Now based in New York after moving from Taiwan, Lu reflects on identity, distance, and the emotional terrain of building a life between cultures. Through saturated color, strong composition, and symbolic storytelling, she creates space for viewers to see their own resilience mirrored back to them. In this thoughtful conversation, Lu shares how fragility and strength coexist in her work and why the digital medium remains essential to her evolving practice.

From her Los Angeles studio, Anelia Torres creates work that bridges sculpture, digital design, jewelry, and surface pattern. Inspired by Southern California’s beaches, semi-desert terrain, art deco landmarks, and mid-century architecture, she blends real places with memory and imagination to craft pieces that feel both modern and emotionally resonant. In this conversation, Torres reflects on growing up in a family of artists, embracing Adobe Illustrator as a sculptural tool, and her commitment to creating art that honors light, beauty, and possibility.

For multidisciplinary artist Leisa Rich, creativity begins with touch. From early childhood hospital stays to immersive, interactive installations, her practice bridges fiber art, recycled materials, 3D printing, laser engraving, and AI. Guided by curiosity and a fearless embrace of experimentation, Rich creates vibrant, pseudo-Utopian environments that honor animals, celebrate tactility, and invite viewers into moments of wonder. In this candid conversation, she reflects on creative freedom, aging boldly, and the courage to resist being placed in a box.

In her luminous paintings of smoke, shifting light, and dense Pacific Northwest forests, Kendra Larson invites viewers into a space where landscape becomes both emotional mirror and living system. Based in Portland, Oregon, Larson reflects on awe, folklore, environmental consciousness, and the thin boundary between the visible and invisible. In this thoughtful conversation, she shares how residencies, teaching, and gallery leadership inform a practice grounded in presence, wonder, and the quiet intelligence of place.

For Aunia Kahn, art began as a lifeline. What started as a deeply personal act of survival has grown into a vibrant, multidisciplinary practice grounded in symbolism, sanctuary, and transformation. In this intimate conversation, Kahn reflects on navigating chronic illness, rediscovering traditional media after years of digital work, and finding joy alongside resilience in a career spanning more than two decades.

In Becoming Feral, artist Darcy Whent examines the instability of memory, the pressures of domestic expectation, and the liminal space between girlhood and womanhood. Through autofiction, overwhelming patterns, and hybridized protagonists, her paintings navigate the psychological terrain of inheritance, emotional labor, and the instinctive self pushing toward transformation. This intimate interview offers a deeper look into the narrative structures and symbolic motifs that shape Whent’s evolving practice.

In this thoughtful interview, Romanian artist Andreea Alunei reflects on the intertwined experiences of motherhood, loss, and rebirth that shape her symbolic mixed-media paintings. Through humor, spirituality, and mythic imagery, Alunei explores life’s most profound uncertainties—turning vulnerability into strength and grief into play.

Richmond-based artist Elizabeth Coffey creates evocative mixed media paintings that explore identity, duality, and the tension between the seen and unseen. Working with lace, oil paint, and graphite, her work reveals layers of meaning through material experimentation and narrative depth.

Lauren Moses’ work bridges art, history, and music. Her layered paintings reimagine classical myths and allegories, capturing both beauty and tension. In this interview, Moses discusses her creative process, the influence of music on her art, and the ways her paintings invite viewers to reflect on inherited narratives and contemporary meaning.

In her enchanting creative universe, Sophia van der Bank—also known as Mrs. Helichrysum—invites viewers into Studio Black Stockings, a space where myth, femininity, and transformation intertwine. Through her dreamlike paintings and performative imagery, van der Bank explores the archetypes and rituals that shape our inner lives, blending humor and mystery to reimagine the feminine experience.

Lauren Cohen’s interdisciplinary practice spans painting, ceramics, and installation, exploring systems of power, identity, and belonging. Drawing from her New England childhood, she reconstructs domestic objects and maritime stories into dreamlike stage sets—blurring history and fiction to question what we inherit and what we can remake.

Rochester-based artist and writer Corinne Ann Bowen creates film photographs that transform the ordinary into the sacred. Guided by light, shadow, and the quiet rhythms of everyday life, her devotional practice explores how reverence can be found in fleeting moments and familiar spaces. In this conversation, Bowen reflects on patience, ritual, and the alchemy of analog photography.

Phaidon copublisher Emilia Terragni reflects on the legacy of The Silver Spoon, sharing its history, cultural impact, and what makes this Italian classic essential for every cook.

In this inspiring interview, artist Sharon Harms reflects on her transition from a celebrated career in graphic design to painting professionally, sharing how her background in visual storytelling continues to shape her work today.

Miniature paintings, slow travel, and a dream fulfilled—Dina Brodsky returns to Italy and captures its radiance in a luminous new exhibition at Paradigm Gallery.

Toronto-based artist Poonam Khanna transforms rainy cityscapes into luminous, dreamlike paintings. In this feature, she shares her creative journey, unique process using a “portable window,” and the emotional resonance behind her vibrant acrylic works.

In this intimate artist feature and Art & Cocktails podcast episode, Lauren E. Peters shares her journey with self-portraiture, identity, costuming, and creative longevity. From returning to painting after a hiatus to balancing art with a career in the arts, Lauren offers powerful insights into building a meaningful, sustainable practice.