Welcome to the Painters Walking Tour.
Take the Tour.
Studios: First Floor
The first floor is home to Navigation Brewing which is open Thursday – Sunday.
Studio: 187
Artist: Gary Destramp
Studio Name: Destramp ArtGary has been an artist his whole life, working at various regional newspapers including the Lowell Sun. His renderings of local scenes, buildings and daily life are imbued with humor. Gary receives commissions from business owners to portray their stores as well as realtors to welcome new homeowners to their new home.
Studio: 183
Artist: Johniene Papandreas
Johniene Papandreas merges the art of the classical masters with the intensity of the cinematic close-up in large-scale paintings that are at once overtly powerful and intensely intimate. She selects her models from past masterpieces lifting them free of their historical context to reveal glimpses into personality and emotions sensed rather than seen. “It’s those micro-expressions…the expressions between expressions and what you see when you are not looking that intrigues me.”
The paintings are created entirely by brush on sized, heavyweight muslin in casein, a paint derived from milk or soy protein. The paint is applied in thin layers, building visual depth without thickness of paint, and the result is a soft, luminous quality that appears to glow from within even in the dimmest of light.
Studios: Second Floor
The second floor is home to Nibbana Cafe which is open Thursday – Sunday, the Loading Dock Gallery which is open Wednesday – Sunday, as well as Refuge Lowell – an after school arts program for teenagers.
Studio: 207
Artist: Wendy James
Studio Name: Wendy JamesEveryday “in between” moments offer subject matter for my paintings. Heightened hues and contrast encourage seeing our common scenes in a new way. The black and white photomontages depict our almost plausible world with a twist, using skewed perspective, altered proportions, and surreal transitions. The surreal images intend to transport the viewer to inner dream worlds or memories. The ceramic sculptures and pottery are playful, often including an element of surprise.
Studio: 213
Artist: Nancy Lesofsky
Studio Name: Nancy LesofskyClassical painting lessons began at 9 years of age. My teacher Madame Thellen of Lowell Massachusetts. Studied age nine until age twelve.
Art shows at the Whistler House Museum in Lowell Massachusetts, through a juried selection. The museum is internationally recognized.
Owned an art gallery on M Street in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington DC.
Recently awarded a medal in the very prestigious Art – Sciences – Lettres in Paris France.
Studio: 241
Artist: McKenzie West
Studio Name: McKenzie WestMcKenzie West is a Boston-based painter and draftswoman. She attended Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Connecticut and graduated with a BFA in Painting in the spring of 2018.
Studio: 245
Artist: Teo Pique
Studio Name: TeoAcrylic and Oil Paintings. Buddhas, Japanese Ensos, Japanese Kimonos and Abstracts.
Studio: 251
Artist: Priscilla Levesque
Studio Name: Priscilla LevesqueMy technique is pointillism, the art of painting with small dots [points], invented by the French painter Georges Seurat in the late 19th century. Many pointillist works emphasize surface texture and decorative pattern more than three-dimensional space. The medium which I now use is casein, an opaque water-base paint.
Studio: 252
Artist: Pat Coppola
Studio Name: Pat Coppola Studio
I am a retired Design Director getting back to painting and enjoying every step of the way.
Studio: 254
Artist: Jean Curley
Studio Name: Curley Creates
Watercolor classes offered.
Studio: 271
Artist: Gillian Frazier
Studio Name: Gillian Frazier Fine ArtsI like to experiment with pattern, line, color and value and try to capture the essence of this subject matter. I like to incorporate images of water lilies, trees & other elements of nature that can be reflected in the water. I typically work in oils & I enjoy the luminosity of color and the many possible application techniques.
When creating paintings, I usually take a theme from nature and focus on abstracting the elements that I see in the natural environment.
Studio: 275
Artist: Tracy Levesque
Studio Name: Tracy Levesque Fine ArtTracy Levesque (aka “the birch lady”) is the one-woman-show behind every piece of art at Tracy Levesque Fine Art. She is a self-taught artist who was raised by wolves (ok fine, parents) and tree fairies (a few choice exceptional old ladies who instilled in her an obsession for trees and flowers) in the beautiful Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. She got her start with crayons and coloring books, drawing over used dot matrix printer paper her mother brought home from the supermarket, painting marker murals on herself and the walls of her family’s home and by winning cash prizes in local art contests.
She went to college for various subjects and graduated a year early with a double bachelors degree and high honors, but none of that matters in the grand scheme of things. What is important is that she did not study art, but indeed, art made a study of her. Painting at this point was more like a love affair straight out of the Thorn Birds, but as you will surely note, with a much happier ending.
Studio: 279
Artist: Bethany Peck
Studio Name: Bethany Peck ArtBethany Peck is a contemporary landscape painter with a BFA from Monserrat College of Art in Beverly Massachusetts. Her award-winning work can be found in many private and corporate collections. Her primary media are oils and watercolors. She uses a variety of different substrates, most notable: copper plates, linen, birch panels, ampersand panels, cotton canvas, and a variety of papers.
Studio: 279
Artist Name: Monique Cerundolo
I have worked with color and texture for forty years through fabric art. Although I was first attracted to traditional quilting patterns, I soon realized I needed more freedom and moved to free applique designs where I created rich nature pictorials. I have explored texture and color to produce pieces that convey emotion and move the spirit.
Through a Masters in Pastoral Care with a concentration in Health Ministry I integrated my love for fabric art, poetry and spirituality into a Synthesis project on the process of grief called “Seasons of Grief and Hope.” This series combines nature-themed fabric pieces and poetry. It has been a traveling exhibit since 2009. My book “Seasons of Grief and Hope” published in 2013, is available through Amazon.com.
Though I will never abandon my love for fabric art, I have turned my energy to acrylic fluid art. Here, I apply my experience with color and texture, as I use a broad range of techniques which I often combine to obtain a more original design. The creative flow fills me with joy. I enjoy using different modalities to convey feelings, observe nature and discover possibilities. I find the journey more gratifying than the destination, though I always strive for a satisfying outcome. My current work portrays nature in all its wild facets in an abstract form. Each individual will experience viewing these pieces in a personal way and find their own meaning and interpretation as they connect with each piece.
Studios: Third Floor
Studio: 360
Artist: Mary Rose O’Connell
Studio Name: Mary Rose O’Connell Fine ArtMary Rose O’Connell, a lifelong resident of Massachusetts, is a classically trained artist and teacher. She is primarily an oil painter with concentrations in portrait, still life, marine and landscape painting. In addition to studio work Mary Rose is an avid plein air painter and workshop instructor.
Studio: 375
Artist: Gillian Orlinsky
Studio Name: Gillian OrlinskyIn painting, I do not have a pre-conceived end-point. My goal is to connect with something outside and inside and let it inform my creative process using intuition and sense-making to represent visual connections. Based on solid foundations in drawing and painting, my work continues to evolve through practice, experimentation, and discovery.
Studio: 375
Artist: Ivan Orlinsky
Studio Name: Ivan OrlinskyI am a lifelong artist who has focused on watercolor for the last few years.
Studio: 378
Artist: Ed Prozio
Studio Name: White Chicken Running StudioWhimsical, childlike, somewhat abstract oil paintings.
Studio: 379
Artist: Carolyn Lee Cook
Studio Name: Carolyn Lee ArtistCarolyn is a multifaceted artist and creator of all things colorful. This is reflected in her mixed media paintings, beaded jewelry, quilts, and art journals. She also enjoys crocheting, knitting, bead crochet, printmaking, sewing, and soapmaking. Her artwork is influenced by her family, children, nature, travel, and everyday life. Paintings and greeting cards are available at the Loading Dock Gallery or contact her directly. She shares studio A203 with her daughter/artist Vivian Rosalee.
Studio: 379
Artist: Vivian Cook
Studio Name: Vivian RosaleeI am continuously exploring many art mediums, including acrylic, gouache, ink, digital, and even a little bit of ceramics. My favorite subject to include in my artwork is animals of all kinds, especially birds. I take commissions for custom pet portraits, too!
I donate 10% of my profits to the Central Food Ministry in Lowell, MA, as well as to Happy Wings Sanctuary in Orange, VA.
Studio: 395
Artist: David VanNess
Studio Name: Gilded Obscura Arts and Design
My art, decorative and more. I find a certain beauty in things others might find morbid, and it’s enjoyable to create in that vein. Most pieces are for sale, and I’m enthusiastically willing to work out trade/barter with other artists and crafters.
Studio: 397
Artist: Joe Lapiana
Studio Name: Sunset Art studioJoe’s work is inspired by local scenes, European travel, and a wide variety of objects, animals and people. His studio has many styles and subject matter. He does not paint in one style or one type of subject.
Studios: Fourth Floor
Studio: 401
Artist: Angela Alés
Studio Name: Alés at Ales-Lores StudioAngela Alés is an artist born in Barranquilla, Colombia, of Andalusian and Lebanese descent. Alés moved to the United States in 1984 and graduated from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York City. She received her MFA from the Miami International University of Art and Design. She is a dedicated student of philosophies and world religions and her spirituality has emerged as central themes in her work. She has participated in over 30 collective and individual exhibitions in the US and Central and South America. She is also an accomplished Educator with 20 years of teaching experience. She specializes in teaching Drawing and Painting as well as preparing students for acceptance into top ranked Universities and Art Magnet Programs.
Studio: 401
Artist: Roneld Lores
Studio Name: Lores StudioRoneld Lores is a sculptor and painter living in Lowell. He has been an active part of the artist community for over 20 years. Originally from Cuba, Mr. Lores moved to the United States at the age of eight and studied Fine Arts at New World School of the Arts and Florida International University, where he received a BFA in 1994 with a major in Ceramics & Sculpture. One of Mr. Lores areas of concentration is the female figure. Strongly rooted in a classical foundation, his sculpture’s and paintings, abstract and fragment the female figure to conform to his own aesthetics. His style is loose and dynamic with an evident grasp of realism. His work has been exhibited and is in private collections throughout the Americas and Europe.
Studio: 415
Artist: Debra Bretton Robinson
Studio Name: Bretton ArtsDebra’s acrylic paintings on canvas concentrate on the natural landscapes and architecture of New England in vibrating colors, Most of her work is done “en plein air” Her style borders between representational and abstract. The colors and lines of her paintings are inspired by Matisse during the Fauvist movement. The talents of several other artists she continues to draw upon are: William Henry Johnson, “The Seven” (a group of natural Canadian landscape painters from the 1920’s), Alice Neel, Emily Carr and Edward Hopper. Jazz and Blues music continue to be a force in her work.
Studio: 437
Artist: May DeViney
Studio Name: May DeVineyI am a local artist living in West Chelmsford. I have exhibited work internationally and have won awards for my work, and it has appeared in national and international publications. My media is varied, including sculpture, paintings, mixed media, installations and art furniture. My work often includes found objects and recycled items.
Studio: 448
Artist: Peggie Bouvier
Studio Name: Peggie BouvierI went to MassArt as a “non-traditional” age student. I have a BFA in Painting and was the Studio Manager in that department for many years.
I paint in oils, applying the paint with a palette knife. I love the physicality of the paint, and often make small (6×6″) paintings to explore texture and mark making.
I keep a sketchbook for drawing. My work in it can range from color charts to studies for paintings to drawings of random objects on my desk.
Studio: 454
Artist: Laurie Simko
Studio Name: Laurie SimkoLaurie Simko is an oil painter and mixed-media artist mainly focused on the interconnection with the natural world that offers a wealth of visual and metaphorical inspiration.
Simko is a member of the Arts League of Lowell, Cambridge and Concord Art Association, Rockport Art Association, National Association of Women Artists in NYC and has exhibited in many juried shows in the Greater Boston area.
Studio: 456
Artist: Ellen Grandpre
Studio Name: Ellen Grandpre Fine ArtsI paint from life using a direct approach, often “en plein air”. I seek to respond to life, observing and interpreting the natural world through relationships of color, value, shapes and brushstrokes. I am inspired by the visual world around me: the effect of light, color relationships, relationships of shapes. Landscape, the human form and portraiture are the specific types of imagery that inspire me.
Studio: 460
Artist: Becky Kisabeth Gibbs
Studio Name: Becky Kisabeth Gibbs, Fine ArtistBecky Kisabeth Gibbs is a noted Boston area painter whose work focuses on the natural world. She is best known for beautiful realistic seascapes and ocean field paintings, in which the compositions appear to extend beyond the edges of the picture frame and contain no reference to humans or scale. Gibbs spends many hours near the sea, photographing it at myriad times and conditions. Back in the studio, these images become her source material.
Studio: 467
Artist: Michele Boll
Studio Name: Michele Boll ArtMy work is about those moments when light reveals what is beautiful about ordinary places and things. I am generally attracted to run-down buildings, simple objects, alleys glimpsed in passing, or the way light caresses moldings on an old house. My goal is to capture the feeling of a place and moment in time and communicate that through my work. My final composition is never a rendering of an exact scene but rather a reflection of my connection to it. I’ll often remove or add objects to a composition in order to balance and complete the story I want to tell. Somehow, in the spaces between light and shadow, I see reflections of the people who inhabit or built the structures: a hint of the human condition. The presence of the individual is always there –even when absent.
Studio: 475
Artist: Suzanne Hodge
Studio Name: Suzanne HodgeI’m mainly an oil painter whose favorite subject is cityscapes. Nighttime reflections in the city often evoke a feeling of mystery and possibility that speak to the artist in me.
In 2013, I rented a space here at Western Avenue Studios and haven’t looked back since. I paint either in the studio from a photo reference or out in the town.
Studio: 476
Artist: Arlene Hammel
Studio Name: Arlene Hammel ArtMy representational and abstract paintings are created with dynamic brushwork that delivers an energetic visual experience. Using both bold and subtle color palettes, my art explores the world around us to bring that excitement in to all the special places where we live and work.
Studio: 477
Artist: Denise Rainis
Studio Name: Denise Rainis ArtMy interests are varied and I have been influenced by many genres and artists. Currently, the subjects of my paintings are inspired by the humbling colors and beauty of nature, the ever-changing weather and seasons of New England, and the occasional dramatic light that allows transcendence from an ordinary scene to one of extraordinary and breathtaking beauty. I also love to paint on non-traditional canvases including birch bark, stone, and glass.
My first love is pastel, but I have recently branched into watercolor, oil, and mixed media and I am intrigued by the endless possibilities in all mediums.
Studio: 479
Artist: Wanda Metcalf
Studio Name: OrnerymentsA mix of watercolors, jewelry and computer-manipulated photographs.
Studio: 483
Artist: Karen Ancas
Studio Name: Karen Ancas DesignI am an artist and creative designer. My art is inspired by architecture, nature, travel, and quantum physics. My mediums include oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography, and pastel. Some samples of my work are shown here. Please visit my studio to see what I am currently working on and how it is developing.
Studio: 486
Artist: Nan Hockenbury
Studio Name: Nan HockenburyAs a young learner, I was captivated by the colorful illustrations and bold black sentences in my elementary school reader Dick, Jane, and Sally. The spare white pages only enhanced my desire to color and draw instead of doing schoolwork. I’m sure this is the foundation of my becoming an artist.
Now I use paint to picture narratives based on creation myths, different opinions of history, and my own stories or point of view.
Studio: 491
Artist: Gwen Cory
Studio Name: Gwen CoryPainting for me is freedom. My creative process is about observing nature and intuitively painting expressive, bold, and moving colorscapes. Sometimes I like to start with very little reference in mind, play with color, paint thickness, shape relationships, and watch my paintings spontaneously evolve. Other times, I take photographs and visualize what I want to paint. My paintings reflect love of and concern for the environment. I live in the Boston area and paint in my fourth-floor studio here at Western Avenue Studios. I enjoy being part of this large diverse artist community.
Studio: 493
Artist: Patricia Nolan-Brown
Studio Name: Patricia Nolan-Brown (Troods)I have an intuitive/impressionistic style using rich impasto oil paint and walnut oil. I have been working as a visual artist most of my life. My creativity has taken me on an interesting and wonderful journey thus far.
Studio: 498
Artist: Dave Ruckle
Studio Name: Dave RuckleDave Ruckle is multi talented artist, who gains knowledge from all forms of art and design. Constantly Dave push’s the boundaries of all art materials conventional and unconventional. For the past 15 years He’s been working with Insulating Foam Sealant, building landscape dioramas, sculptures and currently uses it as a base, to texturize his most recent series of otherworldly, abstract paintings.
Studios: Fifth Floor
Studio: 500/504
Artist: Heidi Jackson
Studio Name: Heidi Jackson Fine ArtHeidi is a professional New England artist. Inspired by the ever-changing landscape & her love of nature & the sea, she paints life’s ‘fleeting quality’ with bold, generous strokes of delicious color; a romance between movements of line vs. volume is her passion. Layering captured light between glazes images gently rises to the surface exposing a whirlwind of emotion. By sharing her view of the world, she harnesses a little piece of her soul in each composition. Insisting the viewer experience ‘this’ window of the world, offering a language without words, where others can create their own story.
Studio: 501
Artist: Diana Zipeto
Studio Name: Diana Zipeto Fine ArtMy folded paper paintings investigate issues of freedom and equality. The paintings express these ideals as both formidable and fragmented, and attempt to engage with them in a new way.
Starting with paper photographs, I fold the images to give them a new 3rd dimension. The ability to fold, refold, and reconfigure uncovers new meanings in familiar images. I make large paintings of the fragile paper constructions to fix transitional moments in a solid form.
Studio: 507
Artist: Margarita Krylova
Studio Name: Margarita KrylovaHi! I’m a painter that loves the fantastical as much as the every day – after all, there is no true distinction between them.
I take portrait and mural commissions and am open to discussing a variety of projects and collaborations. Feel free to contact me!
Studio: 520
Artist: Jessica Jarva
Studio Name: Jarva LandJarvaland is a mixed media multi-part life installation in interrelated media; paintings drawings sculpture collage music video objects fashion poetry youtube! Interactive & multitiered
Studio: 527
Artist: Dina Mordeno
Studio Name: Dina Mordeno StudioEver so slightly, yet dramatically, each hour of the day, the sun alters the light and color of the landscape. My work focuses on the simplification of the color to create peaceful images for meditation and contemplation. Increasingly, I find it difficult to cut through all the stimuli coming from the media and needed to create images that allow a moment of stillness. Recently, I have been focusing on creating compositions that open the space through an expanding horizon and color palette that works to soothe. Looking at landscapes and translating them colors that vibrate and blend with each other to create distance and light is the focus of the paintings. Beginning with small watercolor studies that I create on location, and then return to the studio to develop them into more specific larger detailed work made using watercolor, oil or acrylic on paper, canvas or wood.
Studio: 533
Artist: Tara-Mae Richards
Studio Name: MASARAT StudiosMASARAT Studios features an exposition of past custom works on one wall and a mish mash of various individual projects tackled on the second wall. The studio is both filled with color and whimsy but also starting to be filled with the monochromatic faces of pets and people loved by those who have asked for them to be recreated.
Studio: 560
Artist: Dave Drinon
Studio Name: Drinon StudioDave’s own approach to painting comprises a blend of academic training along with the influence of the Cape Ann School and the Boston School of painters of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Dave’s passion is painting outdoors, on location in all seasons of the year throughout New England. He then continues to work and complete his paintings in his north light studio.
Studio: 513
Artist: Crissie Murphy & Tom Mulrey
Studio Name: One Ear Up StudiosWe are classically trained artists who also adapt our talents to the world of design. Our work is in the collection of the United States Air Force, US Coast Guard, The National Museum of Naval Aviation, National Museum of the USAF, and others.
Lofts
The Lofts are only open to the public during First Saturday or other special events as posted.
Loft: 101
Artist: Garry Harley
Studio Name: Garry Harley StudiosMy work involves digital paintings on canvas and metal, fine art prints on paper, photographs, and 3-d pieces. Content includes Social Commentary, architectural photography, and abstract images suitable for hanging in residential or commercial spaces. I am a long standing member of the Western Avenue artist community and now have my studio on the 1st Floor of the Lofts Studio Building in Studio #101. I am usually open for the Monthly OPEN STUDIO event (1st Saturday of each month noon to 5:00 pm) or for pre-arranged viewings. My studio includes one entire wall displaying my recent work and a few pieces hanging in the corridor outside my studio door available for view when ever the building is open.
Loft: 109
Artist: George Middleton
Studio Name: George MiddletonI paint with acrylics or watercolor, and make fine art print reproductions of my artwork using digital techniques. I work from the tradition of realism- the picture as a portal in depth, and from the visionary tradition- a narrative representation of spiritual ideas through imagined abstract forms. My workflow is strongly focused on methods, techniques, and continual experimentation- both material and behavioral, to best serve a reflection of this experience.
Loft: 111
Artist: Emily Grace Sandagata
Studio Name: Emily Sandagata ArtEmily Sandagata’s mixed-media work blurs the boundaries between painting, sculpture and textile art, incorporating found objects, natural materials, and earth-based pigments. Her densely layered paintings and sculptures investigate reoccurring themes of survival, growth, death, transformation and redemption.
Loft: 111
Artist: Robb Sandagata
Studio Name: Rob Sandagata ArtRobb Sandagata’s work combines narrative, comics, grotesque figures, experimentation and biomorphism while referencing pop culture, punk, and various styles of music.
Loft: 124
Artist: Wendy James
Studio Name: Wendy JamesEveryday “in between” moments offer subject matter for my paintings. Heightened hues and contrast encourage seeing our common scenes in a new way. The black and white photomontages depict our almost plausible world with a twist, using skewed perspective, altered proportions, and surreal transitions. The surreal images intend to transport the viewer to inner dream worlds or memories. The ceramic sculptures and pottery are playful, often including an element of surprise.
Loft: 211
Artist: Johanna Tiemann
Studio Name: Johanna’s DreamNature inspires me, and I am drawn to paint what I see there. My eyes and mind bask in the colors while my mind analyzes the forms that hold them. I still try to control dye with resists such as wax and water-based gutta to recreate what I see, but these methods of control are no longer my “go tos.” I no longer rush to fix breaks in my lines. I now know that in nature as in life, something beautiful may happen if I stand aside and let the colors play.
Loft: 214
Artist: Amy R. Roberts
Studio Name: Amy R. RobertsI explore in ever widening rings from where I am, I am a witness to that time, that place. I have moved 19 times and lived in nine states. I am about finding the small spaces, hidden places and mercurial skylines, returning at different times of day. The effect of the light is of special interest to me. Reflections in water, glass, ice, a polished floor offer the kinds of challenges I want to master. I prefer working on a larger canvas, building them to complement the subject. I want to see a very small phenomenon grow mighty and beautiful.
Loft: 216
Artist: Angela Alés
Studio Name: Alés at Ales-Lores StudioAngela Alés is an artist born in Barranquilla, Colombia, of Andalusian and Lebanese descent. Alés moved to the United States in 1984 and graduated from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York City. She received her MFA from the Miami International University of Art and Design. She is a dedicated student of philosophies and world religions and her spirituality has emerged as central themes in her work. She has participated in over 30 collective and individual exhibitions in the US and Central and South America. She is also an accomplished Educator with 20 years of teaching experience. She specializes in teaching Drawing and Painting as well as preparing students for acceptance into top ranked Universities and Art Magnet Programs.
Loft: 216
Artist: Roneld Lores
Studio Name: Lores StudioRoneld Lores is a sculptor and painter living in Lowell. He has been an active part of the artist community for over 20 years. Originally from Cuba, Mr. Lores moved to the United States at the age of eight and studied Fine Arts at New World School of the Arts and Florida International University, where he received a BFA in 1994 with a major in Ceramics & Sculpture. One of Mr. Lores areas of concentration is the female figure. Strongly rooted in a classical foundation, his sculpture’s and paintings, abstract and fragment the female figure to conform to his own aesthetics. His style is loose and dynamic with an evident grasp of realism. His work has been exhibited and is in private collections throughout the Americas and Europe.
