Design Team

Denise Freeman Encouraged at an early age by her mother, watercolorist JosephineDeavenport, Denise Freeman has been a professional artist for over twenty years.  She received her B.F.A. degree from San Diego State university in 1986 where she studied painting, drawing, and printmaking. Denise supported herself through college by developing a small company devoted to making hand-printed silkscreen art cards that received broad distribution. Denise's work ranges from small botanical drawings to full-sized scenic wall murals.  She loves to use bright colors and nature as her source of inspiration.  She has had her children's illustration published by Illumination Arts in Seattle, Washington. Currently, Denise's choice of media is gouache on watercolor paper.  She often uses airbrush for backgrounds and softer touches to her artwork.  She is as proficient in acrylic, oil, and watercolor as she is in gouache and airbrush. Denise enjoys hiking the local woods to gather ideas and..

Thomas Wood is an extremely versatile artist whose enormous productivity has included the creation of over 3,000 individual postage stamp designs for more than a dozen countries, as well as numerous prints, commissioned works and sets of images on a wide variety of themes. The artist, an American painter who lives in semi-rural New Jersey, has had a broad and diverse background in the arts.  He has created over 100 published works of art for international distribution and mass-market sales through higher-end retail chains in the United States and has worked as a printer and painter of limited-edition prints. Mr. Wood has also taught Marketing Art and Design at Middlesex County College in New Jersey, and is well-known for his broad versatility and abilities with all media, including airbrush, oils, watercolors, colored pencil, acrylics, silk-screening, pen and ink, and digital design. The artist has also won numerous awards, and has placed second in the prestigious United State..

Joy Waldman is an award-winning watercolor artist who lives and teaches in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Her expressive floral watercolors, sunny gardens, seascapes, and whimsical children's art express a spontaneity and joie de vivre for which her work is known.   Joy's vibrant use of color and freedom of stroke lend a quality to her work that is at once expressive and decorative.  Her bold, yet sensitive, watercolors celebrate beauty in nature - the spontaneous joy fresh flowers evoke, the universal appeal of spring in bloom or summer unfolding. Joy Waldman is a member of several prestigious art associations, including the well-known Copley Society of Boston.  She has exhibited in numerous galleries, designer show houses and art festivals. The artist's watercolors and commissioned works are represented nationally in private and corporate collections. Over the years, many of Joy's paintings have been published as limited editions, posters, greeting cards, gift bags, placemats, a..

Janet Stever is a life-long artist and illustrator with a long list of commissions and credits, honors and awards. The artist received her B.F.A. in Illustration from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, where she earned the Senior Illustration Award and graduated as valedictorian of her class.  She has many years of experience freelancing and has had several staff illustration positions.   Clients over the years for whom she has created artwork or to whom she has licensed her art have included The Bradford Exchange, BonArtique, Crystal Art, Dimensions, Design Design, Evergreen Enterprises, Hallmark, JCA, Bits & Pieces, Leanin' Tree, Marian Heath, PaperKraft, Byers' Choice, Cherrydale Farms, Rodale, Reader's Digest, Converting,Ceaco, Conimar, Design Design, Franco, Giftco, Independent Can, Hoffmaster, Roman and many others. The rare but interesting staff positions were an exciting challenge for Janet.  Though there may have only been one illustrator on staff it was often nece..

Rosiland Solomon Award-winning artist and illustrator Rosiland Solomon has spent most of her adult life as a commercial painter, creating drawings and paintings for areas as diverse as games, puzzles, advertising, greeting cards, magazines, children's nature books, textbooks, and even an astrology calendar and tarot deck. Her many publishers and licensees include Walt Disney Productions, Carnation, Travelsmith, C&H Sugar, Houghton Mifflin, Clorox, Random House, Scholastic, Golden Books, Harcourt Brace and numerous others.  Rosiland was born in Los Angeles but moved to Ohio at the age of two.  She spent her childhood on the east side of Cleveland, still a sleepy Midwestern area covered with forest and fields of wildflowers and berries during spring and summer, an area full of little foxes, possums, snakes, raccoons or skunks hiding in wonderful patches of wildness. Growing up with a love for all things alive, whether they were green and gr..

Cheryl Rosa has been creating hand painted murals for almost 20 years. Cheryl, who majored in fine art, combines great colors and interesting composition to make unique and appealing designs. Cheryl offers realistic still-life, animals like cats and giraffes, scenic landscapes, and decorative art as well as fun, clever, whimsical looks.   ..

Diane Phalen is known to quilters nationwide for her charming and original quilt designs and her quilt-oriented landscapes.   Diane grew up in the heart of Pennsylvania's Amish farmlands.  "As a young girl," she says, "I sketched barns, mills and covered bridges close to our homestead.  A rainbow of quilts seemed to be hanging on every clothesline, fence and porch rail." Today she continues to roam country roads for handmade inspiration.  "I especially enjoy using quilts to express the brilliance of changing seasons", she explains.  "I like to say 'I quilt with my paint brush'.  Quilt-making is art to me and the colors I see inspire my own color palette."  And togood result - Diane Phalen is America's foremost painter in the world of quilts and quilting. Diane's education includes training in commercial art and design, drafting, technical illustration and architectural design, but her first love is incorporating lovely quilt designs in her warm paintings of country America.   ..

Dave Paulley Award-winning artist, Dave Paulley has created an enviable reputation for his extremely detailed and accurate paintings of cowboy and western subject, air and sea travel in Hawaii and Polynesia, and the glory and reality of flight. Born and raised in Osage, Wyoming, a small community in the foothills of the Black Hills, Dave served in the United States Navy with Air Transport Squadron Five (VR-5) during the Korean War.  He began painting professionally in 1968. Over the years, Dave has created a large portfolio of aviation and western oil paintings as well as images combining both subjects, and compelling landscapes and seascapes.  In the 1980's the artist created thirty-six major paintings of Wyoming historical events that form a special collection at the Wyoming State Historical Society in Cheyenne, Wyoming.   Dave has won numerous awards for his work, including top honors at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the largest air show in the world.  His paintings ..

Michelle Palmer taught herself watercolor as a hobby during college, after that she received her BFA with high honors from R.I.T. in graphic design. Art is part of her everyday, she works from a studio where she surrounded by the most amazing people. She loves to share the talents that she has been given through her watercolor painting...

Kathleen Parr McKenna has an incredible talent for watercolor and she began her art education at the Interlochen ArtsAcademy, and earned her degrees from Lake Michigan College and The American Academy of Art in Chicago. She has shown her works in numerous exhibitions around the country, and is a member of several watercolor societies nationwide. She has taught classes privately and in college institutions, presented workshops and lectured on her career in fine art and licensing. She has been represented by some of the countries finest galleries. Kathleen said "As a watercolorist, I've always enjoyed the mystery this medium bestows. I can express beauty and wonder and it may never be the same twice. Every brush stroke is a pleasure and a completed painting or design is a joy to see. For me, the purpose of putting artwork in front of someoneelses eyes is to make that person feel good."  ..

Valerie Lemme started dabbling in the arts at the age of 11 when she received her first oil art set for Christmas. Her parents were so impressed with her results that they brought her for art lessons with Hungarian art master Bella Somoza whose works were exhibited at Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Even then I think I was destined to be an illustrator when I did my homework assignments which were repetitive decorative work. I was using my window as a light table to trace them since that was more expedient than drawing the same thing 5 times from scratch!! “ Valerie attended both Parsons School of Design and Visual Arts, but really is self-taught in illustration. She lives in NJ with her husband and her yellow Labrador retriever.  ..

Sally Keszler Born in central California, Sally Keszler has had a passion for creating images as long as she can remember. She studied art at the University of the Pacific while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in both mathematics and computer science. She continued her education by earning her Masters in math. It was during this period of study that she started combining her passion for imagery with her love for computers. She now works out of her studio nestled in her family's vineyard in the outskirts of Lodi, California. There she combines her painting, sketching, drawing, and photography skills with her talent as a skilled digital artist to create the perfect image. She has also established herself as a graphic designer with heraward winning wine labels and package designs.  ..

Theresa Kasun's fresh yet familiar images have appeal for both traditional and contemporary products. Her style of painting is a synthesis of her training including impressionism and techniques of the old renaissance masters. Theresa received a B.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and a master’s degree from the new York Academy of Art. Her lovely kitchen and decorative images have generated wide success on a vast array of products for the home  ..

Desiree Habicht has been a southern California artist for most of her life. Primarily self-taught she works in watercolors, pastels, acrylics, fabric and mixed media. Desiree’s professional career began as a muralist for the interior design industry, working in Hawaii and California for prominent interior design firms. Her work has been displayed in private estates, corporate offices, model homes and design centers. Desiree’s love of nature and the outdoors has a strong influence on her art. As an avidhorticulturalist she is always looking to involve the bright, bold colors that are found in nature in her works. Her style is representational with a flair for color and vibrancy. Upon viewing her art one senses her exuberance and zest for life. Desiree is an award winning artist and many of her works are featured in galleries, museums, numerous publications and private collections. She is a member of Watercolor West, Pastel Society of Southern California, Studio Art Quilters Associati..

 Lyn Gianni Award-winning artist, Lyn Gianni was born and raised on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawaii.  Before turning to painting as a full-time profession, she taught acrylic painting in the Hawaii Public Education system.Although she maintains her island roots through gallery representation in Hawaii and by traveling there often, she now makes her home in Santa Barbara, California where she is well-known for her charming and whimsical artistic creations.   Much of Lyn's work often reflects her island heritage.   Her full-color paintings offer the viewer rainbow hues and whimsical design elements and themes.  Drawing on experiences exploring the wonderful underwater life of the tropics,  she has created in her paintings ofsalt water fish vivid celebrations of the myriad colors of species indigenous only to tropical reefs, displaying them as one might arrange beautiful flowers on a white background so that each col..

Jan Ford born to the serene and simple life of a small Ohio farm, surrounded by beautiful flowers and bountiful gardens, Jan Ford recounts her youth through lyrical recreations of those familiar subjects. Jan's array of artwork includes lush flower gardens, floral still-life images filled with lace and the occasional antique, and vegetables from the local farmer's market.  Each piece invokes different musical moods and the floral forms themselves conduct their own song. Jan Ford studied art at Ohio State University and The Art League School in Alexandria, Virginia, as well as with private instructors.  Since the onset of her career over 30 years ago.  AWARDS: Columbus Festival of the Arts, Columbus, Ohio Virginia Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition, Annandale, VA Winter Park Festival, Winter Park, Florida Sanibel, Captiva Arts Fair, Sanibel, Florida Las Olas Art Festival, Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida "Under the Oaks", Vero Beach, Florida Boston Mills Art..

Janice Qiu is the CEO, founder and art director of En Vogue. Janice started her art career early in life while growing up in and further developed and matured her skills after emigrating to California where she now resides. Janice inspired by natural beauty of Southern California and fascinated by the art of dynamic glazing, Janice transformed ancient Chinese tile art into a new media of art expression and decoration.  She has been able to capture not only the emotions and feeling of our day to day lives and special occasions she has also been able to transpose the natural beauty of her surroundings into her creations. This has been accomplished  by her seemingly effortless piping and glazing, which has been furthered enhanced by her precise and slow firing technique which is done over 24 hours period at the range of 500-1000o C.. The vivid color produced by her own technique is the foundation for her free expression and interpretation of all aspects of life interpreted in her own w..